When Winners Lose

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There are times you can win simply by quitting. Or, losing gracefully.  You recognize them. Times when there’s been a financial drain. Resources are unavailable. No one is willing to work with you. It’s time to move on. If you’re unwilling to hire a biz advisor and incorporate their ideas, it’s doubly time to quit.

Feeling Bad. Regret rarely makes a difference to your team, investors, boss or customers. While many people will need to process it emotionally, moving forward is important so it doesn’t overwhelm you, your team or the company. If you’re not committed to the goal, consciously and unconsciously, your internal dialogue will stop you! Turn your monologue into a dialogue quickly instead of reinforcing “why it should’ve, could’ve and would’ve worked if only it had been different.”

Get clear. Every success and every failure provide “lessons learned.” These will be repeated in future projects and ventures until they are learned!  Complete a review of what worked from the project or venture. Clarify specifically what didn’t work. Using numbers will often help you see it more objectively. Incorporate these lessons into future plans.

Be Coachable.  Too often, people will give up too quickly due to entrenchment in how it’s always been done, or unwillingness to learn a new method. They might hang on too long due to their boss or leader not moving them forward.  Learn to quit gracefully after talking with a biz advisor to determine if the project, plan or venture can be turned around profitably and fulfill the intended outcomes.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

Leaders! Learn to lead in 3 steps.

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There are leaders amongst us today who achieved their status by domineering, controlling and scheming how to use the organization’s resources and connections to their own advantage. For them, it’s not about serving their clients or employees or other benefactors. It’s about “what’s in it for me.” They falsely believe this makes them successful long term leaders. The truth?  It’s a short term fix, with long term consequences. Career derailment is inevitable.

Want to learn how to be a good long-term leader? Want to possess skills and attitudes that consistently work? First and foremost, hire a business advisor to help you see what you’ve been unwilling to see about yourself. To do what you’ve been unwilling to do. Remember, long term executive savvy requires a higher quality of leadership competencies and expertise.

1 – Straight talk. Attempting to out-talk or manipulate people into thinking the way you do is not the mark of a true leader.  Listen to others’ ideas and build upon them. Understand there is always more than one way to achieve the required results.

2 – Goals. Set true and compelling goals on behalf of the company. This is different than focusing on your own personal financial or professional gains. One Regional Manager wanted his people to get out there and sell so he could purchase his dream sailboat. Needless to say, this manager’s self-serving attitude permeated the team and discouraged them from playing full-out. Their buy-in was to achieve the company’s sales goals, not rack up big boy toys for him. His career as a sales manager sunk. Be prepared to understand and communicate what is in it for your team. Focus 100% on your employees winning. You are only as successful as your people!

3 – Elicit the best in others. Lying, playing people against each other, and using punitive threats to get your way or achieve goals does not bode well in the long run, although it may appear to provide needed short term gains. This type of leadership style creates havoc, litigation and bad will with internal and external clients. Learn how to manage people or hire someone else to do it for you. Learn to talk straight and tell the truth appropriately. It will make a difference in people wanting to work with you. It will build your career as a leader.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

Want a Fabulous 2012? Plan it.

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It’s that time for you to complete 2011. Review. What was successful? What lessons did you learn? Then, create 2012! Build upon your successes. Avoid pitfalls! Be sure to include your business advisor during the strategic process. A qualified facilitator will keep you focused on the right things, point out avoidable pitfalls and help you recognize new opportunities to build upon for financial growth.

Lone Wolf approach. Turn monologues into dialogues!  Many business owners attempt to go it alone. They believe they are the only ones that know what their company needs. They use the excuse that others will only cloud the process. Or, take up too much time or money. The reality? It costs a lot more time and money to implement anything, if at all, when they are not part of the planning process. Hire a qualified business facilitator. Work alongside your core team to create plans with positive ROIs. You’ll be amazed by the positive difference!

Group Consensus. On the other end of the spectrum are executives that will negate the strategic process because it’s impossible to get everyone to agree. A 100% consensus is an illusion. Use a thorough brainstorming process to capture everyone’s ideas. Write them all down. Then, work towards alignment, not consensus. Can everyone align with the goal? What are the additional steps to be considered?

Bright Shiny Objects. These pull you away from your core, money-making business (think, positive ROI). Properly designed strategic plans will cause a magnetic pull forward. Focused action plans provide the sustained effort required to achieve this new reality. The keys for success are to stay focused and clear. If you simply can’t resist the allure of the shiny object, on your own time, create a blueprint and review the ROI. Get others’ input before investing time and money to implement it. Don’t neglect your core business!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012

Leadership Maturity

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Reprint from 2-11-2011

Honestly ask yourself:

Are you able to discuss others’ opinions without being defensive?

Do you know how to take an idea or concept and make it profitable?

Do you laugh at appropriate jokes without taking it personally, even if it’s about you?

Do you have the ability to see the bigger picture and patience to rephrase it into bite-size pieces so that others can get on the same page?

Can you make decisions that balance both the facts and the human interests?

If you answered yes to these questions, good for you! You are on the right track as a leader. The higher up the corporate ladder we climb the more our effective leadership relies upon interpersonal skills such as these and less about technical expertise.

But often as leaders, we take ourselves too seriously. We are unable to build upon ideas or create a consensus that works. We openly disparage others when they disagree with us. We exclude people with broader experience instead of learning from them, and defend our limited experience in an attempt to feel better about ourselves. This is career limiting behavior for any leader!

Persuasive Listening. To truly listen, we must silence our internal chatterbox and refrain from thinking about our response when others are talking. We will hear similarity in arguments even when it appears we are on a different side of the issue. Good leadership skills – like active listening – provide new solutions that might not be readily apparent.

Be open to differing opinions. We can make better decisions for our companies and organizations when we openly hear what others have to say. But if we become defensive or belittle differing perspectives, we make less than adequate decisions, fail to address the bigger picture or miss details for implementation entirely.  We create a negative reputation for ourselves and our organizations. Disparaging others reflects more negatively upon the speaker than the person being belittled!

Be a team player. Many leaders don’t make good team players. They may play at being part of the group; however, they are more interested in how it applies or affects them personally.  Team has evolved into a broader definition this decade: It’s getting everyone on the same page and moving forward together. It’s not about everyone thinking the same thing or using the same signals or jargon!  It’s about learning to appreciate others and elicit the best in them, as they are. Learn this masterful skill and be seen as a leader to follow!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2011

Measure Sales Success During the Interview, Not After

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Timeless reprint from 2008 and 2010

Contact me for a complimentary analysis of your sales team! JLSeibly@SeibCo.com

Selecting sales candidates who can actually sell is a huge challenge for any employer.  Even if they sold the same or similar products or services for your competitor, it doesn’t mean they can adequately sell for you.

Many times future employers are “sold” or mis-led about an applicant’s sales abilities when:

  • They have very good verbal skills (does not mean they have the personality and/or interests to deliver the results);
  • They appear to be good team players (many good sales people are not); or
  • They are able to sell themselves (does not mean they can sell your products or services).

The following interview metrics do not eliminate the need to use valid and objective assessments that actually (and legally) measure your candidates’ true sales capabilities (think, learning style, core behaviors and occupational interests). These questions simply provide you additional information to ensure you’re getting a true sales person, and not a “marketing-type person” who relies upon others to sell and close the deal.  Your sales people create your company’s reputation, now and in the future.

  • What was your candidate’s quota for his last employer(s) – did s/he hit it?
  • What was the average size deal?  (Dollars and re-sales)
  • Did s/he make President’s club or receive other industry recognized “acknowledgement.”
  • Does s/he have inside vs. outside sales experience?   Which did they prefer?  Why?
  • What were the number of cold calls, conversations, presentations, etc that s/he made daily and weekly?
  • What was his or her close ratio? (How many presentations vs. number of actual sales?)
  • Where did his or her leads come from – were they generated by the person or were they given to them by others in the company?
  • What were his or her day-to-day activities, including time at the desk and time in front of the potential customer?  Or, in front of current customers, up-selling or cross-selling?
  • What formal sales training has s/he had?
  • What tracking system did they use to keep stats on lead generation, lead conversion, and repeat business?
  • Do they plan their work and work their plan, effectively?   How do they know?
  • If they were to describe a sales person, what words would they use?  (Remember, you’re looking for the positive attributes, not the age old “snake oil” descriptors.)
  • If they were to use one word to describe his/her customer’s experience of working with him/her, what would that word be?

© Jeannette L. Seibly and John W. Howard, 2008-2011

Jeannette Seibly, Principal of SeibCo, is a nationally recognized coach, who has helped 1000’s of people achieve unprecedented results.  She has created three millionaires.  You can contact her:  JLSeibly@SeibCo.com OR http://SmartHiringMadeEasy.com  Jeannette is also the author of “Hiring Amazing Employees” (BizSavvyHire.com)  and “It’s Time to Brag!” (TimeToBrag.com)  Contact me for a complimentary analysis of your sales team! JLSeibly@SeibCo.com

John W. Howard, Ph.D., owner of Performance Resources, Inc. helps businesses of all sizes increase their profits by reducing their people costs. His clients hire better, fire less, manage better, and keep their top performers. He may be reached at 435.654-5342, OR JWH@prol.ws

Promote Yourself – No One Else Will!

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Many of us are perplexed that people with lesser skills, results and abilities win the job, the sales contract or the award. They woo away our clients and potential investors, even when we have a superior product. What’s the problem?

Unfortunately, we’ve been taught from a very early age that bragging is wrong. Even in adulthood we are still careful not to be seen as a braggart. So we attempt to look and sound like everyone else. It doesn’t work. They’ve heard all the similar sales pitches. They are bored by the same old introductions or elevators speeches. They are unimpressed when you spiel off a list of all the tasks you can perform.

“The analogy? Too often we pretend we are raccoons when, in fact, we’re cats. Everyone knows we’re cats. The raccoons know we’re not one of them. The raccoons expect us to act like a cat when we are interacting with them. Obviously, as a cat, you can never be a raccoon. Attempting to be someone you are not is unimpressive, even when you act in a respectful and tactful manner! Sadly, you hide your true abilities and accomplishments.”  Taken from It’s Time to Brag (TimeToBrag.com)

The point? People are less likely to purchase your products and services when they are unable to distinguish a difference between you and so many others competing for their attention. They’ve heard (or seen) all the traditional benefits and cost analyses. We misinterpret people’s glazed-over look, if we even notice it at all.

People do business with people they feel comfortable with. They like to work with people who will help them be successful. If you’re comfortable with yourself, they will be too. If you look and sound like everyone else, people won’t see the need to meet you, talk with you or do business with you. If you’re trying to be like everyone else, they will simply shut out everything you say and think, “I’ve heard it all before.” 

Whenever you hear yourself starting to sound like everyone else, stop it! Think of the cat and raccoons. Hiding out (as someone you are not) won’t pay the bills. It will not earn you money or any well-deserved recognition. Nor will it win you a job or promotion.

How do you show you’re a winner? How do you “Wow!” them subtly and clearly and depict your product or service as the best?  In my recently released book, It’s Time to Brag! (TimeToBrag.com) I outline five amazing steps to differentiate yourself when selling or vying for that promotion or job. I have found these exercises also help keep clients who are ready to go with your competition. The results from the exercises can also attract potential investors and bankers. They place you at the top when you are nominated for an award.

Learn how to brag with biz savvy skills! It’s time! (TimeToBrag.com)

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011

How do you manage talent incompetence?

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We’ve all had to work around them, to the detriment of the organization or clients. These troublemakers refuse to work well with certain people and blame others for their own inadequate skills. They make it impossible to resolve issues since they believe they have the authority to say “no” and use it too often. They can wreak havoc on any business if left alone to do what they want, if they want.

Why not simply fire them? It may be due to longevity, specialized job knowledge, or they simply know where the company skeletons lie. They fail to take responsibility and know how to manage their boss. Their false sense of bravado may have started with overly positive performance appraisals, an over-inflation of their abilities reinforced by a boss with poor managerial skills. They refuse to develop their skill-sets to keep up with industry or profession changes.  Or they may rely upon manipulating the system and/or their boss for their own interests. This type of chronic behavior makes it difficult for employers to take corrective action. Some companies actually give promotions – not-earned commissions or extra bonuses – hoping these tokens will give incentives to improve. But it only exacerbates the problems.

Come Down to Reality. If you inherit one of these people, don’t automatically fire them. They may have insights and job knowledge crucial to keeping current customers, building systems for the future and handling nuances not readily apparent in a system or product. This type of employee may simply require the right boss!

Take time to talk and work with them. Review the job description and job perception. Then, let them know exactly what your expectations are, including the scope of their authority and the quality you need in their work and people interactions. Since these employees often keep procedures in their heads to ensure their employment, be a step ahead and require them to cross-train others on their job. Some may be afraid of technology or have poor reading and writing capabilities. Do not allow them to continue to believe they are an exception to the rules. Insist they come up to speed. It will take time to break old habits. Be consistent. Be clear. Follow-up!

Qualified Assessments. Have the person take a qualified assessment. Use a tool that meets or exceeds the Department of Labor Guidelines for pre-employment tools; these tools have the highest validity and reliability on the market.  It’s very hard to effect change if you rely upon the results of a tool that has face validity (how a person wants to be seen) but no predictive value (actual correlation between the results and job requirements). Adjust job responsibilities accordingly. Provide skill development training.

Hire Bosses who can manage. Hire and promote people into management positions who are great motivators, unafraid of managing actions to produce actual results. Train them on how to conduct performance reviews. Remember, most employees want a coveted manager’s job since it’s the only way to earn more money and/or take on additional job responsibilities. The reality is many may not have the ability or interest to effectively manage or lead others. Some may simply need additional training. Create career ladders that allow non-managerial talent to be promoted and receive pay increases.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011

7 Sure-Fire Ways to Derail Your Leadership

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Leaders today are busy addressing new challenges in this uncertain economy, many times without considering their own behaviors and attitudes in light of how others see them. This can be detrimental. Leaders need followers: loyal employees, suppliers, vendors and customers. It may be time to slow-down, assess and repair any damage before it’s too late.

Speak up without thought. Don’t confuse fearlessness with confidence and tactfulness. Be responsible for what and how you say anything, both spoken and in writing. Otherwise, people will tune you out. Those taken aback by your message will scrutinize your actions and infer a low level of core values. Truly listen. Hear things you don’t want to hear. Respond diplomatically. Be genuinely effective.

Accuse others of spam or junk. Too often social media connections are viewed as accumulating numbers. Accusing others of Spam or Junk when they reach out to you can hurt your ability to attract new clients. You never know who they know! Learn to reach out to others to make a difference – not just make a sale – and respond appropriately.  If you don’t wish to receive their information, simply unsubscribe.

Lack of follow-up. Many people today don’t follow-up if they don’t readily see a purpose in doing so (aka Hot prospect ready to buy now). Unfortunately, people can be very shrewd in what they share with you. Too often you find out later they purchased from your competitor, who did follow-up.

Do it my way. Leaders in their quest to keep their bottom lines positive forget that their employees know their job better than their boss. But learning new systems and procedures by management’s mandate is not easy for employees. Stop pretending to listen! Ask employees for their input and incorporate their ideas appropriately. Ensure they feel valued. Make ongoing training and development a priority.

Bits of information. We make decisions and declarations based upon the tiniest pieces of information. Many times there is no factual basis. This behavior will have others see you as a poor decision-maker. Respect differences in opinion and balance this with the facts. Disparaging or bullying others to your way to thinking will not elicit the best response from others.

Delay important decisions. Uncertainty about which path to choose is understandable. Continually using it as an excuse is not. Your co-workers are tired of hearing about it!  Ask the right people for input. Hire a business coach for guidance. Make certain you understand the pro’s and con’s of your decisions. Don’t dismiss legal and financial implications as unimportant or as something that won’t happen to you. Develop sustainable practices to ensure replicable results.

No strategic direction. It’s time to dust off your goals for 2011. Review, recharge and get back in action to wrap up 4Q. Work with your business coach to determine which goals that seemed promising last January will provide the best ROI now. Reliance upon your own mental monologue will not provide the clarity required to move forward. Establish focused action steps and stay away from busy work. Learn how to manage for results.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011

Is indecisiveness plaguing your results?

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For many leaders, it’s fun and inspiring to create the future during a strategic process. New goals. New business practices, products and services. However, the problem arises when it’s time for the rubber to meet the road in a focused, tactical implementation of the Plan. This is the danger zone, the time when a great idea can become a bad idea due to nothing more than a leader’s (or group’s) indecisiveness. They may simply be uncertain as to how to close the gap between today’s circumstances and tomorrow’s goals. Or unsure how to handle the natural dissension inevitably caused by change.

The Plan will never be perfect while still in progress. Changes can cause apprehension and new challenges even if they create opportunities. Change brings out the fear in otherwise fearless leaders once everything is in motion. They may feel as if they can no longer control the outcome, or people’s perceptions. Team members worry about making wrong choices. Nay-sayers reinforce these doubts! The economy, community opinions and even natural disasters are often used as excuses for maintaining the status quo. Resorting to comfortable Band-Aid modifications rarely work long term. The key is to be flexible without taking your eyes off the end results. Create a step-by-step Plan. Elicit other’s ideas at the beginning and incorporate them as is appropriate. Communicate the Plan and walk people through it. Try it for thirty days and do not make any ad-hoc deviations; these variations will create unnecessary confusion and dissent.

Budget and time constraints are really an opportunity. To resolve an issue, get the team started by asking simple questions to get the team’s thought processes started. Stay away from conceptual or abstract questions since they tend to stifle creativity. When following a team’s recommendations, be sure to ask the right business questions of them and make sure they think through and answer those questions adequately. Do not focus on reaching group consensus; this idealism has thwarted many companies from meeting timely business challenges and making positive advances. Strive for alignment. This means team members can agree with the Plan even if they have some reservations.

Sustainable Plans require a team effort. Sole reliance on one person rarely creates lasting outcomes. Poor leaders quickly stifle followers if they micro-manage everything and everyone. Their team members only participate to dot i’s and cross t’s, then, blame failure on the leader. Unfortunately indecisive leaders make up the process as they go along, dismissing any structured plans along the way. They lose even the staunchest of supporters since the Plan cannot be replicated. Strong leaders trust their teams, working with and through them for results. Even if team members would not do it the same way, they have confidence in their leader! Decisive leaders know how to check in (verbally and in writing) with their teams to assess progress, the reality of reports and viability of solutions.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011

Focused on the Wrong Things to Hire the Right Person?

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Every boss, C-Suite and executive wants to hire the best person to achieve the best results. When the right candidate is selected, companies grow profitably. The major concern for employers during the selection process is fear – fear of hiring the wrong person. This is the hard reality: No one wants to hire someone who is a thief or can’t or simply won’t do the job. But instead of creating a process to collect the right data and make an informed decision, employers too often rely upon tiny fragments of information that are not factual or misconstrue observed behavior. When interviewers fail to follow a strategic selection processes, they are unable to sufficiently compare applicants to make the best decision (think, apples with apples).

Structured Interview: Many employers create questions that have nothing to do with the person’s actual ability to do the job. They focus on whether candidates like money, are loyal employees, want to work, are task or idea focused, etc. Savvy interviewees will tell you what you want to hear! Ask interview questions that are legal and focus on results the person has achieved. Determine the level of skill they actually possess currently, by drilling down into their responses (e.g., Tell me more. Which means?)

Assess Whole Person: Interviewers rely upon their perceptions to infer a person’s entire character. They dismiss a candidate because s/he didn’t bring a pen to the interview, or read a book or listens to music they don’t like. Traditionally we have relied upon 1/8th of the information readily available to evaluate a person’s job suitability: key words on resumes, interview savvy and reference checks. It’s time to access job fit – the 7/8th’s that is often overlooked. You can train the right person to develop needed skills.

Use qualified assessments to determine job fit. Review the Department of Labor guidelines and Technical Manual (each publisher should provide these) to determine appropriate use of any assessment. When choosing an assessment tool, do not solely rely upon a sales person’s knowledge or their attorney’s letter to determine if the tool can be used for pre-employment purposes.

Due Diligence: Use core value and job-fit assessments; background, credit and criminal checks; employment and school verifications; structured interview questions (including all the ones contained in assessment reports); and reference checks with previous employers. Follow your own system in its entirety. If your selection system and interview questions are constructed to obtain the right information and are used correctly, you will make an informed hiring decision.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011