Assessments

How to Respond to the “Why Generation”

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why generation

“’Why do you do it that way?’  Is a great question to streamline anything.” Jeannette Seibly

 

Two-thirds of today’s working population is made up of Millennials and GenZs, a.k.a. the “Why Generation.” They are asking questions to understand:

  • “Why were these policies and systems designed this way?”
  • “How does this procedure help people access products and services easier and faster?”
  • “What are the reasons for this decision?”

When digital natives ask “why,” it is not to be rebellious, disrespectful or rude. Instead, they want to offer their technology skills to makes a way of making a positive contribution.

Traditionally, the fear of asking bosses “why,” is that it was seen as challenging their authority. The truth was, bosses often didn’t know the answer or have the power to change a system or procedure. As a result, employees were wary of offering new ideas. They feared speaking up would hurt their promotion, pay increase and/or continued employment.

In today’s workplace, leaders must set aside their egos and encourage curiosity. “Why” is a great question to ask when building a win-win outcome with any project, team and/or system. It requires each person to be vulnerable and say, “I don’t know. But, let’s find out the answer together.” It’s how and why innovation and disruption get created, saving time and money while engaging top talent.

7 Ways to Engage the “Why Generation”

  1. “Why are policies and systems that way?” It’s one of the first questions many ask. Embrace this question. It’s a great opportunity to review and update policies, systems, and procedures.
  1. Educate employees about the impact they have. Train them on “how” and “why” their tasks (or lack of effort to do them well) impact the work done by others. Cross-training within the department and throughout the company will broaden everyone’s POV.
  1. Be available to answer “why” in a way others will understand. Some employees learn in a methodical manner (show and tell me). Others learn best by sharing the concept. Then, through trial and error, they will learn the details of how-to-do-it (tell me and let me figure it out). Using scientifically validated job fit assessments will reveal how employees best learn and help you be a better boss and coach.
  1. Learn how to listen and talk with one another. Listening is a two-way street. Asking and answering “why” creates new opportunities and expands old ones. To build win-win outcomes, training must include communication, critical thinking, cultural sensitivity, decision making, and other soft skills. These can and do impact the creation of improved products and systems.
  1. Sharing history will prevent a repeat of history’s errors. If you don’t know the “why,” find out the facts. Also, be open to having an inquiry with your employees: “Why do you believe it was done that way?”
  1. Be curious and ask open-ended questions in team meetings (e.g., who, what, when, where, why and how).
  • “Why do you believe this system or procedure needs to be changed?”
  • “How and when would your idea improve it?”
  • “Who have you talked with that is affected by this change?”
  1. Evaluate changes before implementing them. While change may look good on paper, in reality, it may not work for your company. Don’t forget to share your findings of why it will or won’t work.

As a boss and leader, it’s important to remember “why” the “Why Generation” is asking so many questions. The answer: to offer new ideas and make a positive contribution to everyone.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert for the past 26 years. As an executive coach, speaker, and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. It takes courage to ask and answer “why.” Help your employees and bosses learn how to do it with ease. Contact Jeannette for a preliminary confidential conversation. And, do it now.

How to Provide Practical Feedback for Success Today

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Leader comm“Leadership success requires giving practical real-time feedback.”

Many employees, teams and companies fail due to lack of real-time, practical feedback. Bosses wait until annual performance review time, bringing up issues from months ago. Managers fear saying anything negative because it would reduce their likability. Most lack experience on how to turn feedback into a positive process and instead wait until it is unavoidable.

The good news is providing real-time, practical feedback is a skill that can be learned. Good leaders check on progress to provide timely feedback. They are proactive about resolving issues and not waiting until there is a crisis. Plus, they demonstrate by example how to offer and receive feedback in a constructive manner.

5 Feedback Tips for Success

  1. Do It Now. Have a conversation after a quick and thorough investigation into the complaint. Talk with all people directly involved. Listen for the core issue. Then, build an agreement with everyone involved on how to proceed forward.
  2. Build Good Working Relationships. Develop good relationships with all of your employees: full-time, part-time, contract or temporary. This builds trust and makes it easier to provide needed feedback in the future.  It also makes it easier to communicate tough decisions. Employees value well-delivered feedback from someone they know is committed to their success.
  3. Use Sandwich Approach. Here’s the formula: 2 positives to begin + 2 factual and specific concerns + 2 positives to end = positive feedback. This basic outline provides effective feedback in a manner that employees can hear. Don’t forget to listen to their POV. There will always be more than one side to any story or problem.
  4. Provide Training. Provide training on how to use persuasive listening skills to offer good feedback. Using scientifically validated job fit tools will uncover misconceptions employees have about one another … and provide invaluable laser-like coaching. This allows you to turn around tough issue easier, faster and more productively.
  5. Use 360-degree Feedback. Real-time, critical feedback can be difficult to get. Use scientifically validated 360-degree tools quarterly, not annually. Quarter reviews will provide far more powerful feedback than annual performance reviews! These tools keep individual responses confidential and encourage truthfulness. Work with your executive coach to review the results. Then, share key results with others and listen to their feedback on how to improve.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. Feedback after the fact is useless. Feedback provided in real-time is invaluable. What do you need to be able to deliver and listen to feedback now? Contact Jeannette for a preliminary confidential conversation. Do it now.

7 Bad Habits that Get in the Way of Results

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Bad Boss Habits.2

Today’s podcasts and articles focus on motivating your employees to achieve amazing results. But, for many bosses, there are times it seems like a difficult, never-ending challenge.

It can be difficult to motivate others with four generations in today’s workplace. To add to the challenge, many bosses have not been well trained. Sometimes it’s the bad habits bosses learned from their own bosses that get in the way. Other times, they fail to upgrade how they talk and manage their employees.

If you have any of these 7 bad habits, get a coach and transform into a great boss.

  1. Violating Confidentiality. Transparency doesn’t mean sharing private conversations. Instead, share numbers. Share good tactical and strategic methods. Never call people out on their stuff in public. Only do it behind closed doors.
  2. Treating Experienced People Like Rookies. Talking down to people or micromanaging them won’t motivate them to do better. Instead, it can create a backlash of negativity. Talk in a respectful manner and talk straight when there is an issue. Be specific in the feedback. Listen and find value in their experiences.
  3. Threatening Jobs. Putting fear into employees rarely achieves positive results. It will also impact your relationships with clients. Job fit is the #1 reason people excel in their jobs. By using qualified job fit assessments, you will clarify “why” they are and are not successful. These tools will also improve your hiring, coaching, managing and training style.
  4. Being a Friend First. This bad habit impacts your ability to make decisions, give assignments and coach others. If you were a team member and are now the boss, have conversations with each team member to discuss the change. Boss first, and a friend second.
  5. Treating Them as Children. Too often we fail to talk and treat our employees as adults. Micromanaging their activities and insisting everything must have your approval, is demoralizing. Instead … trust them.
  6. Changing Expectations. Every employee needs consistent goals, policies and expectations to succeed. Constant changes negatively impacts employee morale. They give up, become apathetic and develop a why bother attitude. Be consistent and stay the course.
  7. Lacking Awareness. Even the best bosses value scientifically validated 360-degree feedback tools. These tools improve management styles because individual responses are confidential and encourage truthfulness. Hire a coach to review the results with you to increase your awareness as a boss. Then, share key results with employees and listen to their feedback on how you can improve.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. Are your bad habits demotivating your team and negatively impacting your results? Ready to make needed changes? Don’t wait! Contact Jeannette now for a preliminary confidential conversation.

What Happens When You Update Your Hiring Practices?

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sales-hiring-assessments-01The short answer: you will find great qualified job candidates.

Yet, many of you are lamenting, “I don’t believe that … there aren’t any qualified candidates looking for a job.”

Look again. They are out there! They will not waste their time applying for and interviewing with companies using out-dated hiring systems and practices.

The bad news is, if you keep hiring the way you’ve been hiring, you’ll keep the same results and miss out on the good ones.

Q4 will arrive soon. Now is the time to review why your qualified job candidate pipeline has shrunk and how to improve it for 2019.

7 Critical Selection Factors to Improve!

  1. Cost of Hiring Mistakes. It’s important to know the true cost of making hiring mistakes. This information will impact decision-makers to make the right changes needed.
  2. Objective Data. To improve your decision-making process use good objective data. It ensures that you are hiring for job fit, are aware of the skills needed and can plan for future workforce needs.
  3. Due diligence. Conducting background, education, theft and reference checks are important. To uncover honesty and integrity issues not found in public records, use qualified core value assessment tools.
  4. Job Postings. Well written and attractive job ads are the key to finding active and passive job seekers! Hire an outside company or have your marketing team put together the job ads. Keep your ATS up-to-date, easy to use and mobile friendly. Remember, you only get one opportunity to grab their interest.
  5. Biases. Selecting applicants and making job offers based on gut reactions or other biases will limit your applicant pool. And, not in a good way. Examples include:
  • 50+. These workers are amazing. They show up. They don’t job hop. They get the work done. Yet, their expertise is often overlooked.
  • 25-. These are our future workers. Hiring and training them now will support your company’s workforce in the future.
  1. Onboarding. This critical practice should begin the minute they apply. Engaging them immediately keeps their interest high. Use chat and other electronic messaging to stay in communication. And, remember keep it user-friendly.
  2. Key Words. For every job post, your key words should be reviewed and updated. For example, the key word CPA will overlook qualified job candidates for accounting positions.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Grab your FREE Tip Sheet on Selecting the Best Coach for you!

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. Does your company need to upgrade how you hire your employees? Are you open to making the needed changes? Don’t wait or it might too late. Contact Jeannette now for a preliminary confidential conversation.

How to Become an Effective Coach to Your Employees

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coaching puzzle

 

Grab your FREE Tip Sheet on Selecting the Best Coach for you!

 

Do your employees value your coaching style?

Research has shown that many leaders overestimate their coaching abilities. Some don’t understand how to do it, while others don’t like to do it. The additional issue is, many bosses have been poorly trained by their bosses on how to coach others effectively.

Effective coaching focuses on:

  • -Improving employees’ abilities to do their jobs
  • -Developing soft and technical skills
  • -Guiding critical thinking and decision-making processes
  • -Changing poor behaviors into good ones
  • -Clarifying goals and focused actions steps
  • -Encouraging initiatives and resourcefulness

Telling employees to “work harder” does not improve anyone’s performance. This coaching hype is often used when bosses are not effective coaches and don’t know what else to say.

5 Key Factors Required for You to Become an Effective Coach

Get Trained. To develop any skill, it’s important to hire the right trainer. This makes the learning process easier and faster so you develop good habits and stop bad habits quickly. Skills include how-to: listen, ask open-ended questions, build solutions, answer ‘why’, establish milestones and goals, and develop patience.

Listen. The ability to truly listen is the #1 reason effective coaches are successful. When bosses talk over employees, multi-task and give standard responses, they are not being effective coaches. As a coach, listen to what is being said and not said. Use persuasive listening skills to brainstorm and build solutions. Then, guide your employees to take focused action steps.

Believe in Them. Believing in your employees’ abilities is key, even when they are failing. For example, a facilitator was having a difficult time leading her team. Because the manager believed in her, he adjusted his coaching style. He shared on-point stories, and provided specific and actionable feedback. Along the way, he reminded her to believe in herself. The team’s results were amazing.

Use Qualified Assessments. Scientifically validated assessments help you coach with laser-like effectiveness. Too often as coaches, we aren’t on point with the real issue and we fail to provide actionable feedback. For example, telling sales people who are highly sociable to ‘listen more than talk’ won’t change their behavior. They love telling stories and sharing experiences. A good coach will provide specific feedback on how to ask open-ended questions and listen with a purpose.  

Have Compassion. Many of us forget what it was like when we were an employee. Some of us learned from the school of hard knocks, while others had bosses that micro-managed them. Times have changed. Effective coaches listen for the employees’ concerns and their specific road blocks. They have compassion for their circumstances and customize specific feedback. (Remember, what worked for one person may not work for others.) They empower their employees to take initiatives and focused-actions required to achieve desired goals.

Remember, coaching skills are simple and can be learned. However, it takes disciplined practice to master them.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Grab your FREE Tip Sheet on Selecting the Best Coach for you!

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. What’s in your way of becoming an effective coach? Are you ready to step up and become the coach your employees value? Don’t wait until it’s too late. Contact Jeannette now for a preliminary confidential conversation.

How to Improve Team Accountability and Business Growth

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Want to improve your business growth? Hold your team (and yourself) accountable!

Many times we play the blame-game when we don’t achieve our intended results. We blame the economy, lack of resources, our boss, and each other. This no-win blame-game hinders your business growth (and your career too).

A key employee took over facilitating a project after the former facilitator received a promotion. The former facilitator had done an excellent job of holding team members accountable for their results and setting up the required systems. The key employee ignored the established systems since she was “not a detail person.” After two team members complained, she stopped holding team members accountable because she wanted to be liked. When chaos erupted after failing to meet a client’s deadline, she blamed the team and said, “It’s not my fault!” Her boss fired her.

Team accountability is required to produce intended results. If you don’t have the skills to hold your team accountable, it’s critical that you take responsibility for learning them now!

It’s Never Too Late to Hold Your Team Accountable

11 Key Skills:

  1. Start with a Positive Attitude. No matter where you are in the project or what mischief has already happened, be respectful and speak positively about each and every team member. Vent your frustrations privately. Otherwise, team members will not don’t feel their efforts matter.
  2. Clarify the Team’s Natural Strengths and Weaknesses. When you use a qualified assessment tool, the objective data will address “why” some members naturally excel, while others need additional encouragement to succeed. Share this data appropriately with team members to build a “can do” attitude and team comradery.
  3. Participate in Team and Facilitator Training. Many facilitators don’t know how to conduct an effective meeting, and don’t have team and project management skills. (Often they don’t know that they don’t know!) Attend workshops to gain these skills, especially if you’re in the middle of a project. Additional training can uncover issues lurking in the background and missed opportunities.
  4. Check on Progress. Too often we believe everything has been handled after each meeting. However, we fail to conduct interim check-ins and follow-up with each person one-on-one to make sure there are no surprises. These check-ins uncover inactivity, nips in the bud brewing resentments, and helps discover additional resources required.
  5. Listen As Though Your Results Depend On It. Listen for: what’s working and what’s not working. Your ability to truly listen sets the tone for others to pay attention too! Often you can prevent future issues by also hearing what others are not saying!
  6. Keep the Goal. If you’re not hitting your milestones, changing your goal to support the team’s efforts may feel good. However, it’s only momentary and will diminish the team’s satisfaction, credibility and future career opportunities. Instead, work with an executive/business coach to discover why and get back on track.
  7. Distribute Minutes from Each and Every Meeting. This traditional idea is still very important today … it keeps everyone accountable. Only keep track of what has been agreed on and who is responsible for completing a task or spearheading a study, etc. Distribute minutes within 24 to 48 hours after the meeting.
  8. Be a Parrot. At the beginning of each meeting, remind members of the goal, purpose, company values, and company or client mandates. This will set the context for the meeting. Then, conduct a review of team progress.
  9. Handle Tough Conversations Quickly. Holding people accountable won’t initially win you any popularity contests if it hasn’t been done previously. But, over time, people will change their opinions based on how well you handle tough conversations. Here’s how … Handle disagreements quickly before they escalate. Ask questions to clarify and understand their concerns. Repeat what they said before offering your own opinions. Remain neutral.
  10. Let Them Go. Holding people accountable will uncover team members who are not willing to do the work. Give them the choice of staying or leaving. Don’t humiliate them with snide comments; these don’t motivate any one!
  11. Celebrate Every Success. Host a small celebration and use the Brag! exercises to help everyone be fully acknowledged.

Remember, it’s never too late to take responsibility for training your team (and you) to be accountable. Use these 11 key skills to ensure success of your project and grow your business (and your future career options too).

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. What’s in the way of holding your team members accountable? Don’t wait or it might too late. Contact Jeannette now for a preliminary confidential conversation.

What Happens to Your Business If Something Happens to You?

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Successor

Many business owners, executives and entrepreneurs have failed to plan for their retirement or for when they are no longer able to handle their job responsibilities. As a result, when something does happen, the company and its employees, clients and vendors will experience unnecessary chaos, uncertainty and stress. Some companies will need to close their doors.

All of this can be prevented by creating and implementing a well-thought-out succession plan now.

Start Developing Your Successors Now!

Business requirements have evolved, along with the qualities required to be successful. When you select your successor(s), it’s important to see beyond likeability, hearing what you want to hear or seeing potential in the person that is not evident to others.

It’s costly to select the wrong person. According to Harvard Business Review, 64% of executives in new positions fail within the first 18 months! (Remember, when they leave, they will take good employees and customers with them!) So, it’s important to get it right the first time.

9 Keys to Create Successor Success

  1. Job Fitness. Whether you promote from within or hire from the outside, the person must fit the job responsibilities to be successful. (For example, if financial management skills are required and they don’t have the interest and skills, they will make poor financial decisions.) Use a qualified job assessment and a 360-degree feedback assessment to develop and uncover any concerns that need to be addressed now. Developing the successor’s skills and business savvy are required before they receive the new job title and compensation package.
  1. Conduct Conversations Over Time. Meet at least quarterly and assess the future successor’s values, vision, interests, skills and understanding of the business and industry each time. It’s a great opportunity to mentor, talk over challenges and learn from one another.
  1. Design a Long-Term Game Plan. The intent is for the transition to be seamless. A customized game plan prepares each successor, so there are no surprises to the company and its employees, customers and vendors. Develop more than one person in the event of life and/or career changes. Update the plan every three years. And, remember, ask each person first before slating them for the position and make sure they will do the work to be ready!
  1. Executive Coach. Hire each future leader an executive coach to be the person’s confidential sounding board. Relying solely on internal mentors can hurt a successor’s future if confidentiality is broken.
  1. Outside Experience. It’s important for future leaders to gain the depth and breadth of experience by having worked for other companies, especially if the company is family-owned. As part of the Game Plan, have these potential leaders work in another company environment for five years, preferably in a management role. This will expand their point of view and leadership skills.
  1. Redefine Job Responsibilities. One year from retirement, review and update job descriptions with the people slated for the new roles. Don’t be afraid to redefine jobs and split the roles based on key skill requirements (e.g., Chief Financial Officer (CFO) may handle financial matters well, but not human resources issues. Break the position into two jobs, CFO and CPO (Chief People Officer).)
  1. Common Values. This is a critical factor that is often overlooked, particularly when nepotism is involved. If someone does not possess the values or integrity required to run the company, don’t be afraid to say, “no.”
  1. Step Away. Too often, the person leaving wants to stay and have the successor shadow them. This is not advised since successors lose important credibility that they are unable to gain later. Set aside egos, let go and move forward. (Please note: smart successors will set up quarterly meetings during the first year to meet and talk through issues with the former leader.)
  1. Let go. Sale of the company is always an option. When emotional attachment is high and there is a strong desire to leave a legacy, this option is often ignored. It can actually be more financially beneficial to all parties.

By creating a long-term succession game plan now, you develop successful successors.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results.  Are you having trouble planning for the future, and picking and developing your successor(s)? Don’t wait to let go of the reins! Contact Jeannette now for a preliminary confidential conversation.

Are Your Future Leaders Ready to Lead?

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strategic hiring

The mindset of how to identify and train new leaders has changed. Due to technology advancements, geographical influences, and financial and people demands, many companies are failing to clarify what they need, and failing to find and develop the right ones. As a result, many future leaders are not ready to lead.

How do you identify and develop future leaders for your company?

First, Identify and Qualify Them

Competence. Are they results producers? Where is the gap between the skills they currently have and those required? Do they have the people savvy to effectively communicate and work with anyone, anywhere and at any time?

Qualified Assessments. Use them. Start now. They help uncover what you don’t know about a person—the kind of information left uncovered that can come back to haunt you. Due to their incredible accuracy, qualified assessments are invaluable in helping guide the development. They clarify the “why” a person is effective, or not.

Oust Biases. Identify your own biases and set them aside.

A business owner was having a hard time hiring the right person to take over running his company. He had failed several times. His bias was to hire people he liked who had the right title and came with the right connections. If they had a one-time winning experience, that helped too. Unfortunately, using these biases as criteria for a leader does not translate into actually being able to effectively run and build a financially successful company!

Don’t Promote Too Soon. This is a company’s biggest hidden expense. When managers promote employees who are not ready, lack the resilience to handle challenges or conflicts, or do not have the interest in developing the required skills (regardless of what they tell you), they leave. They take employees and clients with them. Use incremental titles to keep Millennials who are impatient to get ahead.

Second, Develop Them

Recognize Lone Rangers. Many up-and-coming leaders refuse to take advice. These DIYers will take the company and management team down with them rather than ask for help. Provide them board and management team training focused on working with and through others, managing conflict and executing change. If they are ineffective and unwilling to improve, now is the time to look elsewhere.

Preparation. Assign them team projects and have them participate in trade association events and boards. Include them in high-level discussions and ask their opinions. This will help them understand there is more to leadership than just having the title. They will either relish the opportunities or dread them. Do not overlook their readiness to assume the next leadership role.

The Right Coaching. The laser-like ability to develop talent is a critical skill many current leaders, executives and business owners do not have. Provide future leaders with an internal mentor and an external coach to help groom them. Guide the creation of quarterly goals and check in to ensure they are on the right track.

What If They Are Not Ready?

There may come a time when you need to bring in someone from the outside to get the company on track and build future internal leaders. The problem is where to look. One option is finding a current executive, but they are often happy in their current job and must be promised job security to move. Another option is a consultant, but they are often overlooked because they have gray hair. Other challenges could be stereotypes or consultant only wanting to work part-time. Ask your network for introductions. Ensure the new leader is able to develop a successful succession plan, work past family business or existing succession plan biases, and navigate internal company politics. Don’t forget to negotiate a win-win exit plan for them when the internal candidates are ready.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017-2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results.  Are you having trouble planning for the future and/or letting go of the reins? Don’t wait! Contact Jeannette now for a preliminary confidential conversation.

 

10 Quick Must-Have-Skills to be Career Fit

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Develop Leaders2There are necessary must-have-skills that will support you in any career. They determine your ability to be promoted and ready for future career opportunities, and, they impact your side gigs and entrepreneurial interests as well. If you become too comfortable and fail to develop your skills, there is a greater risk of being sidelined in your career.

Instead of expecting your employer to help you develop these skills, take program(s) (on-line and in workshops), hire a coach and raise your hand when opportunities appear at work.

Remember, no one was born possessing these skills … it takes time and commitment to be ready when career options appear.

Career Fitness!

Regardless of your career choice(s) the following 10 skills are required to succeed in any position.

    1. Communication. Possessing and developing good verbal, non-verbal and written skills are critical. Become aware of how your choice of words, gestures and stories impact others.
    2. Decision-making. The ability to create, negotiate and follow-through on agreements is key to making good decisions with win-win outcomes. Remember, someone may forget the details, but, they won’t forget whether your attitude was helpful or hurtful.
    3. Project Management. Many studies have shown that accountability and responsibility are required to brainstorm an idea with a positive ROI, design a viable system and execute the plan to achieve intended results. Work with your coach when team conflicts, withdrawal of funds or other project stopping situations occur; otherwise, they will take the project (and your career) off course!
    4. Resiliency. The key is, when mistakes or failures happen, and they will, learn how to responsibly resolve the matter and move on. Use it as a teaching moment for you and the team…and keep moving forward.
    5. Business Basics. There will be skills that you enjoy learning and others that you won’t. It’s important to use a qualified assessment to understand “why.” This awareness helps you develop the needed mindset required to learn all of them. For example, if you don’t have an interest in financial management, becoming an accountant is not the best idea. However, it is important to learn basic accounting skills, read a P&L and develop good money practices.
    6. Sales and Customer Service. In almost any position within a company (or as a business owner), you impact the customer! Take responsibility for ensuring you’re a positive contributor in the sales cycle (e.g., prospecting, uncovering needs, presenting and winning the sale) and delivering the results.
    7. Follow-up and Follow-through. In the current survey I’m conducting, one of the most common challenges many express is the failure of people to return calls or provide promised information. Listen and deliver. Do NOT rely on your brochure or website to answer a prospective customer’s questions or current customer’s interest in learning more. This can be one of the most important skills you learn, and the reason opportunities disappear.
    8. Manage Your Time. Good habits are developed through positive practices. Return all calls. Be on time for everything. And, fulfill your promises.
    9. Bragging. Self-promotion is important today. If you’re not aware of your achievements, neither is anyone else. You will be overlooked for promotions, pay increases, and new business and other lucrative opportunities. Learn how to brag in a business savvy manner. You cannot rely on your boss, customers or business associates to do it for you!
    10. Hire, Manage and Coach. Every boss needs to learn these critical ingredients for business success … it starts with hiring the right person for the right job. Only then can you effectively manage and coach. Engaged workforces, satisfied customers and profitable performance don’t happen by accident!

If you are willing to learn and practice these 10 must-have-skills, you will succeed in your career!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst for the past 25 years. As an executive coach, speaker and author, she provides straight talk with dynamic results. Remember, it’s up to you to learn and perfect the necessary career skills so you can have a great career, start your own business and/or become a self-employed! Don’t wait! Step up now! Check out her website, or contact Jeannette for a preliminary confidential conversation.

9 Areas in Your Worklife Where You Can Make a Positive Difference

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resiliency

Most business professionals today seek a worklife that makes a positive difference. But, don’t know how to create it. Since you spend most of your waking hours at work … it’s important to take the initiative in how you handle work responsibilities, develop relationships and pursue goals. This gives you the opportunity to achieve other goals in your life too.

9 Keys to Create a Great Worklife

1.Stay Focused. Many imbalances today are due to allowing distractions and disruptions to get in your way. When having a conversation or participating in a meeting, put away electronic gadgets and listen. By actively participating, you can guide the direction and development of new products, systems and/or policies…reducing the stress normally caused by change.

2.Keep It Real. Many people today believe if they say something often enough it will become true. The reality is, saying it doesn’t change the facts. Talk straight. Learn the facts. Listen and incorporate people’s concerns when you are making decisions to ensure win-win outcomes.

3.Honor Your Word. The word integrity can evoke a lot of defensiveness. However, it’s important to get real about what you are promising and what you actually do! Actions speak louder than words. Nobody cares about your excuses. When you promise to return calls or send additional information, follow-up and follow-through quickly. Simply, do what you say you will do.

4.Prioritize. Remember, not everything is a priority. Make a list of everything that you believe needs to be done. Circle the top ten. Now, cut the list down to the top three. Rank them 1, 2, and 3. Do number 1 now. When it’s done, move on to number 2. Now, it’s time for number 3. Celebrate the completion of each task.

5.Delegate and Expect the Best. Your employees or co-workers won’t complete a project or task the same way you would. However, if you provide the training and address the purpose of the task, they usually will do it even better than you!

6.Hire Right. Incorporate objective data into your company’s strategic hiring process. It can and will make a positive difference in how you hire employees. Hiring right will also make a positive and significant impact on your relationships with employees, co-workers, boss, board, clients and vendors.

7.Schedule Time for You. Create a block of time each day for yourself and honor it. Read a chapter in a book, listen to a short podcast, dance to music, doodle, meditate, go for a walk, etc.  It’ll make a big difference in rebalancing you after handling a stressful project or situation.

8.Stop Avoiding Difficult Conversations. Be responsible for handling conflicts quickly and responsibly. Remember, listen to others and repeat what they’ve said before you offer your own opinions. When someone feels heard and valued, it will help in resolving any issue.

9.Hire a Coach. A sounding board allows you to talk confidentially about your concerns. It also helps you streamline your activities, provides a broader perspective when resolving challenges and reminds you that you matter.

Creating a worklife that makes a difference will have a profound and positive impact on your entire life. The time to make it happen is now!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2018

Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst for the past 25 years. She is an executive coach, advisor and consultant who provides straight talk with dynamic results.  Are you seeking a worklife that makes a positive and profound difference? First, you have to admit you are committed to having one. Then, check out SeibCo’s website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.