How different countries deliver criticism and feedback

How you deliver praise and criticism in one country doesn”t necessarily work in another. Below is an interesting look at how countries differ across the world when delivering feedback....

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How Leaders Grow People

As leaders, we are like farmers and our employees are like seeds. Seeds have everything they need inside of them to grow and achieve their greatest potential, if they are in an environment that is conducive to their growth. As leaders, we are responsible for cultivating that environment. You can take any seed of your choice, an apple seed, or a pumpkin seed and those seeds will lay dormant for months or even years, until they feel the environment is just right for their growth. If a seed is not exposed to sufficient moisture, proper temperature, oxygen, and for many seeds light, the seed will not start the growth process. Employees are just like seeds. If they are not exposed to a fertile foundation of trust, sufficient amounts of respect and recognition shinning down on them, as well as proper water or flow of open communication, the employee will remain uninspired to excel, grow and break out of his or her comfort zone. And like a dormant seed, the employee may be idle and develop a paycheck mentality and start doing just These extra charges the cost of credit card rates consist of any amount that exceeds the amount borrowed (the principal). enough to get by. Build a Foundation of Trust: • Do what you say (common sense, not common practice • Admit mistakes • Be consistent (trust takes time) • Trust others first (make yourself vulnerable) Let Open Communication Flow: • Encourage feedback • Ask for input and involve others • Be open minded and listen Respect: Let it Shine! • Be helpful not hurtful when delivering feedback • Focus on facts not your feelings when communicating • Praise and recognize at least weekly (be genuine) Learn how we can help your organization”s managers and leaders grow people. Click here to request article reprint...

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Reducing Staff Turnover Case Study: Casino Company

The Organization A tribal casino and resort organization with over 300 employees specializes in providing remarkable casino gaming and entertainment experiences for players and resort guests. The income generated from the casino and resort activities is used to fund a wide variety of social services for members of the tribe. The Challenge • The casino was extremely effective in attracting resort guests and gaming players, but struggled in their ability to retain them. • With a turnover rate of roughly 40%, it was becoming increasingly costly to not address this issue, due to the real costs of recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding new employees, all of which were direct impacts on employee productivity, customer service, and profitability. (See our free turnover calculator) The Solution We immediately focused on diagnosing the reason why significant amounts of staff members were voluntarily leaving within a twelve month period. Using a combination of exit interviews and our signature anonymous employee engagement survey, we quickly discovered that ineffective mid-level managers were creating undesirable work environments and driving the turnover rate. Over 95% of the casino managers had at least five years of management experience, but had never received any formal leadership training. They were deficient in knowing how to motivate employees without money, instead they used their authority, threats and intimidation. When giving employees feedback they communicated using condescending tones of voice and body language, making the staff feel undervalued and underappreciated. We strongly discouraged the senior-level leaders to not invest in a company wide customer service training (their initial plan) until their mid-level managers were trained and equipped to be effective leaders. Our rationale was that once employees felt good about coming to work, valued, appreciated, and motivated to perform, only then would they act, behave, and communicate in ways that would positively impact guests and players. Until then, they would continue to have “paycheck mentalities,” and would voluntarily quit once they found more favorable employment. The casino decided to implement training for not only mid-level managers but also senior-level leaders as well, to send a message of the importance of the training. After six months, an engagement survey showed a 50% improvement in employee attitudes toward managers. However, many employees were still skeptical and were not sure if the behavior of managers would be sustainable. After only twelve months, turnover was reduced to 32% which resulted in more than $250,000 in savings related to costs of turnover, and more than maximizing the return on their training and consulting investment. We informed the casino’s senior-level leaders that employee engagement and effective leadership was not a single event, but a process which must be cultivated and maintained over time. Learn how we can help your organization reduce turnover and retain top talent. Click here to request article reprint...

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The #1 Key for Hospital Administrators and Exceptional Patient Outcomes

Hospitals across the country are constantly having to adapt to change. One of the most recent changes is that hospitals will now be rewarded for patient care rather than patient volume. USA Today recently reported that under the Affordable Care Act, “the government will offer financial incentives to hospitals that perform well. The government determines good performance through a combination of clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction surveys. The Affordable Care Act also will penalize hospitals that perform poorly.” With the potential for significant financial losses for reimbursements for hospitals that fail to meet patient satisfaction and quality clinical care outcomes, employee engagement is more important than ever. However, many of today”s hospitals lack leadership and staff development programs, and now employee engagement is “code blue.” The losses could total millions of dollars for some hospital systems that receive funding from government reimbursements. Based on our experience in training over 100 hospital administrators and clinical leaders in roughly 50 hospitals and surgical centers across the U.S., patient outcomes are extremely dependent on motivation, communication, devotion and exceptional customer service skills of hospital staff and physicians. How can hospital administrators start preparing to adapt successfully and engage their staff to create exceptional patient experiences and outcomes? Determine a patient experience strategy The average hospital has a mission statement, which describes what a hospital does (provide care) and for who it provides care for (patients/local community) but we”ve found that many hospitals have no strategic vision that outlines where their hospital will be within the next five years. The advantage of having a strategic vision is it helps hospitals clearly define and communicate their goals and focuses the entire staff”s efforts toward meeting specific expectations and achieving desired outcomes. Exceptional Patient Experience = (Staff Engagement Physician Engagement) Staff Engagement and Retention The first part of the strategy should focus on fully engaging and retaining hospital staff. In a Towers Watson’s health care engagement study, only 34% of hospital workers stated they go the extra mile or “above and beyond” to exceed expectations. In addition, 42% of hospital workers are partially engaged or more simply put they just “go through the motions.” While their physical bodies may be present, their hearts are not in their work. If hospitals can engage and retain talented staff to perform their best, their actions will positively impact physician relationships and ultimately patient outcomes. What is employee engagement? We define employee engagement as the strength of the emotional connection and devotion employees have to an organization. Engaging staff requires effective leadership. Hospitals must ensure their mid-level supervisors and managers lead by example, provide praise and recognition at least weekly, cultivate an environment of open communication, trust and respect. Source: Towers Watson The current national average turnover rate for hospitals is roughly 15%. Hospital administrators should calculate and compare their turnover rates to ensure people are not leaving due to poor leadership. As many seasoned authentic leaders know, people don”t typically quit jobs, they usually quit supervisors, managers and toxic work environments. According to Nursing Solutions Inc., 89.5% of hospitals believe staff retention is a “key strategic imperative,” but it is not made a priority or practiced in day-to-day operations and leadership planning, since 51% of hospitals have no formal staff retention strategy. The best staff retention tool is hiring, training and equipping effective leaders. Physician Engagement The second part of the strategy is physician engagement. Health care reform laws will require increased communication, teamwork and coordination between hospital administrators and physician leaders to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients. Unfortunately, most physicians are not taught leadership skills...

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Should managers and leaders focus on being feared, liked or respected?

Should I be Feared Many managers focus on using fear or intimidation as their overall leadership style.  And yes, they do get results. Employees will perform the required jobs, tasks and duties assigned, however they will not give their best performance, take ownership, be innovative or take initiative. Instead they will do just enough not to get fired. Although there are times when managers and leaders do have to be direct and firm in their communication, they must be careful not to overuse that leadership style, since employees do not want to work under a dictator style of leadership for an extended period of time. Some employees will quit and leave, others will quit and stay and start going through the motions at work simply to collect the paycheck. Should I be Liked Sometimes new and recently promoted managers think that if they can just get their employees to like them, they will perform better for them. This type of thinking is dangerous. If you’re focused on being liked, then your decisions and actions as a manager will become blurred since they will be based on if your employees will like you. Remember, you do not have to be best friends or buddy-buddy with your employees. They may like you on Monday for something you’ve done, and then can’t stand you on Friday for something else you’ve done. Being liked will change and fluctuate like the weather. Your employees do not necessarily have to like you in order to perform for you. If your employees happen to like you, that’s just icing on the cake. Should I be Respected Respect is something that you’re always in the process of earning from your employees. How do you earn it? Do what you say you’re going to do and be consistent. Also, admit mistakes and take full responsibility. A manger of a logistics company calls a team meeting every time he makes a significant mistake. In the meeting, he informs his team about the mistake, admits it without excuses, discusses the impacts to the team, and what he will do differently next time. Why does he do this? To reinforce the desired behavior of accountability in their minds. Employees respect leaders who are honest, have integrity and have their back. Protect your employees from other department heads and senior-level leaders. If they make mistakes, do not leave them by themselves to face the music. When your employees respect you, they will perform for you even if they disagree with you, or don’t really like you. If you work for the mafia, its better to be feared. If you work with kids at Disney World, its better to be liked. But if you’re manager or leader in today’s workplace, its more effective to be respected. Grind for...

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