Home
How managers create disengaged “paycheck employees”
One of the biggest mistakes new managers and supervisors make who have not had formal leadership training is treating people the way they want to be treated, mistakenly managing people the way they want to be managed. But isn’t that the golden rule? Yes, but many managers and supervisors misapply the golden rule in two core areas of leadership- communication and motivation of staff. The golden rule is about treating people fair, with respect and dignity, and most people prefer that. The mistake I often see in government agencies, school districts, and private companies is that managers and...
Read MoreEmployee Negativity Causes and Cures
Today’s organizations lose more than $3 billion annually due to the impact of negativity on performance and productivity in the workplace. The Costs of Doing Nothing Loss of productivity. Negative and disengaged employees only give 65 percent of their full effort on tasks and duties, although they are receiving 100 percent of their full salary. This means an organization is obtaining a negative return on investment in labor for all disengaged staff. Lets assume you are paying an employee $55k in annual salary, and since they are disengaged they are only providing $35,750 (.65 x $55k) worth of...
Read MoreTop 50 Worst Things to Say in the Workplace
In our latest Tactful Communication Workplace Survey, we asked four hundred supervisors, managers, leaders and front line staff from various industries in six states and ten countries to share statements they made, or heard others communicate that were considered untactful and made others defensive. Here are the top 50 statements as a result of the survey: 1. “That’s not my job” 2. “Why can’t you do it” 3. “I’m here to work, I’m not here to make friends” 4. “I’m busy can you get all of this” 5. “I’m right, you’re not” 6. “You don’t know what you’re...
Read MoreWorst Performing Leaders: 5 Qualities that Define Them
In 2015, we analyzed 360 leadership feedback data on 1,000 managers supervisors, and senior level leaders, as well as the most popular leadership training and executive coaching requests and discovered patterns and themes in the “worst performing” and “least effective” managers and leaders. The Worst Performing Managers, Supervisors, and Executives: Inability to communicate clear vision and direction When employees ask them “why they are performing a certain task,” they respond by saying, “you worry about it doing your job, and let me worry about why you’re doing it.” They focus on daily, monthly, quarterly goals, and fail...
Read MoreEmployees with Paycheck Mentalities?
“If your employees do not connect to a purpose, they will connect to a paycheck.” – James Bird Guess Are you a leader attempting to communicate purpose to your people? Think of a puzzle inside a box. A puzzle is made up of many pieces. The picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like once it’s completed is shown on the outside of the box. This “big picture” is like the vision for your organization, and the puzzle pieces represent the many tasks, goals, and responsibilities required to achieve the vision or big picture. Just imagine...
Read MoreHow 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....
Read MoreHow 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...
Read MoreReducing 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,...
Read MoreThe #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...
Read MoreShould 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...
Read More