Want to achieve your 2014 goals? It requires commitment.

Setting goals for the new year can be exciting—it’s a time for creating new opportunities. For many, it’s also the time to put aside failed results from last year’s goals. But in about thirty days, our 2014 goals will lack their initial luster too, and we will struggle to stay in focused action.  Why is it so hard to stay on track? Various internal and external business factors may be the culprit. But it’s more likely that we have simply failed to develop the muscles and mindsets to manage the design, planning, implementation, and fine-tuning required of any project.

Follow-through isn’t just a problem for individuals. Organizations struggle with it too. Although many companies create annual goals, few effectively manage the process required to achieve them. It’s a challenge that many business professionals face every year with their employers, or as business owners themselves.

Here are some suggestions that can help you stay focused and continue to chip away at your goals until they’re met:

Be Realistic. Hire a business advisor who can help you blast through your reticence when you get stuck or want to make things too hard. An advisor can also help you create realistic goals and focused action plans, offer tactics and strategies for reaching them, and help you see your progress.  An advisor will encourage you to talk with your co-workers, clients, and boss to share your goals and plans. Be open to others’ insights and recommendations.  They will help you streamline your efforts and avoid lots of effort with little payoff.

Divide Work into Small Chunks. Set up quarterly goals. The immediacy of short-term goals can make all the difference in getting and staying in focused action.  Many people plan for the entire year, but a year can be a long time, and a lot can happen in 12 months to take us off track. Shorter-term goals will also help alleviate detractors, commonly known as the “shiny objects syndrome.”

Celebrate Progress. Too often we focus on what isn’t working and fail to see what we have achieved. Take time daily to recognize your accomplishments and use those successes as motivation to achieve your larger goal.  Appreciate when you have taken responsibility for honoring your commitments to yourself and your company, no matter how small of a step it appears to be to you. It’s one step closer.   Get your copy of 5 Simply Steps to Improve Your Results: https://seibco.com/books/eguides/5-simple-steps-to-improve-your-results/

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2014

When company changes so do you

The right attitude and action is required during company mergers and sales.

Changes in company business structures can quickly eliminate the need for your job, or you! They may reduce your job responsibilities so that you are no longer part of the core team—most employers don’t need two people doing the same job. If your position is eliminated, the key is to be available and open to sharing your knowledge and experience. Be helpful and provide the training required to the person who will take over your responsibilities. Why? Your positive attitude can change the company’s plans to eliminate you! It may alternatively motivate your boss to provide a glowing reference to your next employer or a valued introduction to your next boss. Have your brag statements ready to share in any interview, formal or otherwise, to let others know how you can be an invaluable resource. (http://TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Hiring biases cost you money.

Today, many recruiters are complaining about not finding qualified candidates. Yet candidates with the credentials and required experience never hear back after applying for opportunities. Or, if they are interviewed, they’re told they are overqualified, don’t have a particular skill set, or don’t have the right pedigree (e.g., industry experience, professional titles, salary history, etc.).

Age does matter. Although the EEO and other agencies frown upon age discrimination, we all know it happens all too often. Recruiters are simply following edicts from their bosses to find someone younger and cheaper. They don’t know how to “sell” a qualified candidate to these bosses. Bosses and recruiters don’t believe they have the time to strategically assess what is truly needed and are unwilling to think outside the box to find the gold. Statistically, younger employees are more job-mobile and will leave a position when more qualified ones will not. More-experienced employees have been through the instability every company experiences and have learned to roll up their sleeves and wait it out.

Here’s a newsflash: Amateurs don’t save companies money! A well-qualified professional who fits the job, regardless of age, can normally do it faster, more thoroughly, and with better quality than someone without experience. The failure by hiring managers to objectively assess for job fit by using qualified assessments can hinder your company’s ability to select the right employees. The truth is poor job fit will create short-term employees or employees who simply do enough to get by and keep their paychecks but no more. It’s a costly status quo with a limited return on investment, because it keeps your company focus in a reactive mode, not on proactive growth.

Filter and invest. Infuse objective data into the process upfront, before the interview, because quality information will make for better decisions. Interviews are inherently biased and can filter out well-qualified candidates because of bias factors (e.g., age, weight, tattoos, gray hair, bald, etc.). Example: If you’re looking for a trainer and have candidates who have done training, talk with them. Use a qualified assessment to determine if they have an interest in presenting the subject matter required. What training and skill development will they need over time? Will they be comfortable in small or large groups? Can they write training content or do they rely on off-the-shelf programs? What will be the best return on investment for the company in the long run? What other skills are currently missing in the company that they can provide?

Remember, using qualified assessments can make a huge difference in vetting the right people, regardless of experience. Hiring qualified people, regardless of age and other biases, and investing in them builds a stronger company faster.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Your job may be ending soon.

Is your employer is in the red? If yes, it does mean your job may be ending soon if you don’t get in action now. As a leader, it’s important that you network to determine what can be done to change the organization’s financial situation before sending out your resume. (You’re right: This process should have started prior to now.) Are there new markets to pursue? Tweaks required to keep current customers? Additional training of staff? Get busy … urgency is the key! Waiting only encourages more procrastination.

A confidence builder for employees is to put together brag statements for the business—i.e., what you’ve achieved as a group—and share them with your network. Second, put together brag statements outlining what you’ve done for each customer and share those statements with them. Most customers stray because they don’t know what you’ve done for them lately. (http://TimeToBrag.com) If you have been ignoring customer demands, immediate and progressive changes are required, but first you need to ask your customers what those changes should be. Be responsive and make it happen. Along the way, it may be time to network for your next position, send out resumes, and learn how to brag about your own achievements in a business-savvy manner. (http://TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

 

Stop the denial!

Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how you handle them that makes all the difference. Allowing your ego and impatience to get the best of you can and will cost you your job. First apologize to all involved, sincerely. Clichés or platitudes won’t change anything. People will naturally be forgiving if you are not continually making the same mistakes over and over. If you missed an important milestone, committed fraud or lied, gossiped about your boss or upset an important customer, it will take more than the apology to set the right tone for the future, if you are given the opportunity. When you are, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance—become very coachable and do whatever is requested to get back on track (http://SeibCo.com/contact). If you have burned your bridges, learn from your mistakes and negotiate a good severance package. Be responsible about lamenting your situation to others, because no one wants to hire someone else’s problem!

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Are your next leaders ready?

Many companies today are starting to feel the squeeze of needing experienced leadership and looking for it in all the wrong places. It starts with vetting and onboarding your future leaders now and providing them the learning opportunities they need to build business acumen. (Read more on this topic is my eGuide “Companies and Executives Need to Vet and Onboard Each Other!” http://ow.ly/qYzMB)

Onboarding your leaders in new jobs require:

    • An inside mentor and outside business advisor (or executive coach)
    • Building upon strengths and providing opportunities to develop and grow
    • Developing initiative, resourcefulness, and an ability to work with and through others to achieve results through collaborative opportunities
    • Very importantly, coachability. Hiring know-it-alls will only limit their ability to grow, be promotable and your company’s ability to attract and retain top talent.

Use a strategic hiring process to ensure the candidate can do the job now and appears to have the objective ability to be promoted in the future. Qualified selection and coaching assessments along with qualified 360-degree feedback can make a significant difference in selecting and developing the right person, one with executive potential, regardless of past work experience. (http://SeibCo.com/assessments)  

When interviewing candidates for employment or promotions, drill down—most candidates are adept at telling you what you want to hear. Ask the right tough questions and listen to their responses and examples. Many times candidates truly believe they can handle job responsibilities and don’t take into consideration other life commitments, a different work culture, or different expectations required in the executive office. Devise a structure to ensure that if candidates fail, they aren’t automatically fired. You’ve invested a lot of time and money in employees’ success—simply restructure their upward movement in a lateral direction. (For additional insights in how to interview, get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees: Second Edition (http://BizSavvyHire.com)

Have you had a bad review?

A bad review doesn’t mean your job or career is over. However, it’s a warning something needs to change and change quickly. Your opinions or feelings about the review won’t save your job or change your boss’s decision! Chances are good that you’ll take whatever issue you’re confronting (bad boss, poor company practices, poor performance or attitude, etc.) to your next job due to your attitude about authority, how companies should structure their businesses, or not having found your career niche.

Before actively renewing your resume or increasing your interview readiness, take time to review what you have achieved. (http://TimeToBrag.com) Share your successes with your boss, and put them in writing so he or she can attach them to your performance review. Also, be sure you have your past and current metrics available and include them with your review if they have been favorable. Next, work with your boss to put together two or three “must-dos” to help you improve your performance. Hire an executive or business coach to help you navigate the list and ensure that you are making the right decisions along the way. (http://SeibCo.com/contact) Finally, schedule weekly meetings with your boss to assess progress, tweak the process, and address any new issues that arise.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Successful Leadership Is Evolutionary

Every generation of leaders likes to believe they invented the newest and most effective way to manage people, build profitable companies, and “build a better mousetrap.”  The reality? We didn’t do it ourselves. The achievements of our businesses, inventions, and other ideas were an outcome of working effectively with and through others to achieve the intended results, and at the same time acknowledging our predecessors.

True leaders are humble and take great care of their teams. They set aside their egos, hubris, and other personality impediments to pave forward the pathway and open new doors to achieve their intended results. If they’ve made a lot of money, it is shared appropriately. If they created a lot of press, they generously include others’ contributions in their brag statements. (http://TimeToBrag.com)

Why are these insights important?

1.       When you understand that your success stands on the shoulders of your mentors, business advisors, bosses, and team members, you become humble knowing you didn’t go it alone. It makes it easier for others to want to work with you and share their knowledge and experiences, since it’s not all about you and your credentials or paycheck.

2.       It’s never solely your ideas or creativity that make the system or product work. Sharing the credit works wonders for current and future undertakings. Asking the right questions, listening and building upon ideas, and making available (or creating) the required resources are key traits of leaders. They ensure others stick with you during the design, launch, and refinement processes of your projects.

3.       Documentation of your process, including charts and graphs, helps others visually understand the progress. They can then see potential glitches and possible solutions, and not rely on any overly optimistic feelings of triumph you might have. Documentation also provides a foundation for you, and them, to build on for the next venture.

Remember, leadership and business, as most things in life, are evolutionary—they build on previous successes and learn from past failures to create the next victory.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Are you ready for an executive coach?

  • Is it a challenge to get projects accomplished with and through others?
  • Do you vow to find a job that doesn’t require working with anyone?
  • Do you and your boss butt heads with the end result based on who has the strongest willpower?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you need an executive coach immediately. There is still time to achieve your 2013 goals, if you are willing to do so. Urgency is the key! Bad habits can be easily redirected if caught early enough. A qualified coach can help you do what you don’t want to do so you can achieve positive results. Don’t wait! Your job may depend upon it!

A good executive coach:

  • Provides on-the-spot insight and options
  • Helps you overcome your blind spots
  • Provides constructive feedback and appropriate praise
  • Asks the right questions to help you develop the right course of action
  • Provides options for how-to work with and through others

 Contact Jeannette today @ http://SeibCo.com/contact

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Have you been sidelined?

Many times executives and key players are sidelined and no one has told them about it! It can be devastating to learn you were not invited to an important meeting or are no longer included in making important decisions. It can be hurtful when coworkers and employees avoid you and refuse to buy in to your ideas or plans.

First, talk with your boss and find out what happened. Be willing to apologize for any misunderstandings or inappropriate comments you may have made. Even though it can be difficult to hear the truth, you cannot fix what you don’t know for a fact. If your boss doesn’t know why you are being sidelined or is unwilling to get involved in rectifying the situation, insist nicely that you need to know what happened. Remember, it won’t help you keep your job if you burn a bridge!

Next, hire a coach immediately to determine what can be done to salvage your job, reputation, and paycheck.

Third, set aside your denial and take action now. Urgency is the key! The longer this situation goes on, the less likely it can be turned around. Yes, it is your responsibility to make the needed changes, determine what needs to be done for the company and boss, and seek the resources required to make the necessary changes! (http://SeibCo.com/contact)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013