Business Owner

How to Become a Trusted Leader

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Did you know: team members that work for trusted leaders are far more innovative and achieve top-notch results?

That’s the value of being a trust leader. But to earn this reputation, you must build your credibility over time.

Right now, this can be difficult due to changes and the unexpected economic twists we’re experiencing. Yet, not trusting yourself and others will create the need to control others, micromanage, demand too many meetings, and play office politics. None of these behaviors or attitudes will earn the trust you need from others to be a successful trusted leader.

5 Key Factors to Build Trust

Trust Your Team. First, you must trust your team members. It doesn’t mean you overlook half-truths, missed deadlines, or poor quality. It means, if someone says they cannot get a task done by a certain time, listen and ask, “What do you need from me?” Teams that feel trusted will go above and beyond to get the intended results.

Learn from Mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, including you! Yelling or expressing frustration at team members is not the way to build trust! Instead, together, conduct an objective review of “what worked/what didn’t work?” Acknowledge things they did well. Then, specifically focus on two things to improve. When you develop an ear to listen, your natural curiosity and good questions will get you to the heart of the error or failure. Then, you can create new solutions.

Embrace Tough Conversations. Most leaders would much rather avoid them. But if you do and don’t get to the underlying issues making progress on projects difficult. The team either doesn’t believe in the outcome or fear failure. Some will complain they don’t have all the resources needed. Don’t buy into the excuses. Instead, encourage their resourcefulness, brainstorm new ideas, and champion their ability to work the conflict or issues.

Be Known for Straight Talk. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This makes THE difference between your team trusting you to look out for them or feeling manipulated to get the job done. When a project has not met the customer’s needs, tell the truth about why. Avoid spinning the facts to make yourself look good and your team feel OK. Remember, they want to learn and grow.

Brag about Your Team! Sharing successes about each and every team member makes a positive difference. This requires being aware of each team member’s contribution…no matter how small. Also, it’s imperative when speaking with others that you brag about their successes and mean it!

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for more than 27 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

Do you know the secret to selling yourself to win the job, promotion, or pay increase? Learn how to do it in 5 easy steps:  http://CareerBragging.com

Want more customers? Learn how to prepare and Be a Fabulous Podcast Guest who gets invited back!  http://SeibCo.com/workbooks/

Healthy Conflict Supports Collaboration When Done Right

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Many times, when there is conflict or disagreements, we view the other team members as enemies. Then, most team members will take sides, while others will want to remain neutral. Regardless, viewing others as a friend or foe impedes collaborative actions since the focus is no longer on win-win-win results.

The added challenge is, when there is conflict, many people get fearful. They do the “ostrich approach” and stick their heads in the sand. They hope for the best since they don’t have the confidence or skills to impact the conflict. They also fear the impact the conflict will have on future job opportunities.

Conflict and collaboration impact the results of any project. They also impact the effectiveness of the team. While avoiding conflict limits your effectiveness as a leader, failure to build collaboration limits your team’s results. It also hurts your future career opportunities.

7 Tips to Improve Collaboration

  1. Set the Right Example. It’s OK to disagree and have differing ideas, values, and experiences! This awareness is key so that you and your team members don’t overreact or stop listening. The key is to listen and be open to hearing others’ points of view. As the leader, it starts with you setting the right example and expecting your team members to do the same.
  2. Brainstorm. It isn’t hard when done right. When brainstorming ideas, list ALL ideas from each and every team member. If there are concerns, ask questions for clarification, not for debate.
  3. Ensure Everyone Speaks. Call on each person for his/her perspective and ideas. Allow them to “pass” if they don’t want to share at that time. Again, ask each team member until there are no new ideas offered. Go around the team at least 2 times after new ideas have stopped to ensure no one is hiding out.
  4. Respect Each Team Member. Remember, it’s OK to not agree with others. Conflicts arise, along with voices when people do not feel heard. Get the training necessary for you and your team to feel heard. As the leader, set the example of listening while valuing and respecting each and every team member’s perspective and ideas. Remember, off-the-wall or silly ideas can spark the right ones!
  5. Stop Multi-Tasking. Have everyone leave their electronic devices and other distractions at the door. If on a remote call, remind them to shut down other programs and minimize distractions. It’s important to remember when we truly listen new ideas get generated.
  6. Address the Fear as It Arises. Regardless of all the team training, some team members will get fearful during conflicts. Fear is contagious. As the leader, it’s up to you to learn how to recognize and manage it now. Work with your executive coach to develop a mindful resilience for yourself, which inspires team members to do the same.
  7. Align for Better Results. Many companies rely on 100% consensus as their way of resolving conflicts. However, it’s a poor strategy. The hoping and waiting costs time, money, and customers! It also breeds silos and distrust. Instead, align by agreeing on the best plan for right now. Understand how it will impact the company tomorrow. Then, put together a strategy to move forward.

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker. For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel in business and beyond.  Need help developing you and your team to achieve better results?  Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation. Don’t forget to listen toOn the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

There are a lot of posted jobs right now. Selling yourself will attract the recruiter’s attention. Learn how to do it in 5 easy steps: http://CareerBragging.com

Expanding your business doesn’t need to be difficult. Learn how to Be a Fabulous Podcast Guest (and get invited back!) http://SeibCo.com/workbooks/

 

3 Bad Habits You Need to Break to Be a Confident Leader

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Leaders today are facing new challenges. Remember, it’s important to build true confidence in yourself and others during this time.

Building your confidence today and inspiring confidence in your team is critical! And, given what’s going on in the world, it’s even more important now.

What inevitably gets in the way of being a confident leader? Your bad habits.

Due to all of the uncertainty, as a leader, you are under more pressure than ever before. Now, is when your leadership habits…the good, not-so-good, and bad…can either support you and your team achieving great results or not.

It’s Critical You Breakthrough These 3 Bad Habits

  1. Poor Listening Skills. This #1 bad habit will sabotage your results!   

A leader had a bad habit of checking his emails and texts during meetings. He insisted he was only multitasking and could hear everything being said. He failed to understand the human brain is wired for one activity at a time. (Multi-tasking is a myth!) It wasn’t until he missed hearing critical information that he learned this lesson the hard way. Even after the team member repeated himself, he failed to understand or question the significance of it. As a result, the budget was exceeded and timeline was missed.

Always listen as though your results (and career) depend on it…because they do!

  • Lack of Awareness. One leader constantly found fault with how others did their work. He thought he could do it better and faster. The truth was, he didn’t have the skills to do their jobs. He lacked the awareness of the impact of his comments and did not understand these comments disengaged his team and hurt productivity.  

When someone fails to achieve the required results, it’s time to inspire confidence in your team members, not criticize their work habits. Remember, during this crisis, it’s NOT business as usual.

During ALL conversations stay present and aware:

  • State the intended goal or results in 10 words or less.
  • Listen to each team member’s input and concerns.
  • Work through any push-backs in a win-win manner (think, ethical considerations, workability, impact on others, etc.).
  • Align on the work and completion dates with your team to meet your client’s needs.
  • Provide necessary resources. Remember, working from home is not the same as working from the office.  

Your awareness determines the quality and timeliness of your team’s results.

  • Know-It-All Attitude. A new leader was a micromanager, a common trait of inexperienced leaders. She wanted everything done exactly as she thought it should be done. Whenever a mistake was made, instead of taking responsibility, she blamed her team (and others) for making her feel humiliated and for letting her down.

To break this bad habit, listen to your team members’ ideas. They are working on the front lines and can be resourceful when encouraged to do so. Also, listen from compassion since they are experiencing a lot of frustration, stress, and anxiety during these uncertain times. It’s up to you to inspire confidence in them!

Building true confidence in yourself and others starts inside you.

Remember, bad habits are amplified during a crisis. They will come out and be displayed in unexpected and unwanted ways. Work with an executive coach NOW to effectively navigate through these uncertain times. It’s the mark of a confident leader who inspires confident team members!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2012-2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning dynamic results coach and keynote speaker. For the past 27 years, she has guided the creation of leaders to excel in achieving results. Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results. Don’t forget to listen to her podcasts on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

I’ve got an invitation for you.

All leaders are bosses! If you want to be a better boss or hope to be a boss someday, I invite you to download “15 Ways to Be a Better Boss”  It’s free.

Mindful Resilience is Required to be a Successful Leader

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Life.Should.2Note: This is a reprint, originally posted on June 23, 2020. Last week I conducted a Mindful Resilience webinar for the Denver Financial Professionals. Participants shared: “This is very helpful…I love it…Thank you.” Due to so many changes occurring right now in the workplace and in life, I would recommend reviewing the 6 Tips.

What can you do to handle your emotional triggers while eliciting the best from others?

We are all triggered by certain words, facial expressions, and gestures. As successful, resilient leaders, we don’t have the luxury of hanging onto our upsets.

Mindful resilience is when we develop a conscious awareness of our triggers and address our reactions in a positive manner. It’s starts with you, as the leader, taking responsibility for your triggers when they occur so they don’t get in the way. Remember, clarity of what triggered your reactions is required before you can create win-win-win outcomes.

6 Tips to Create Mindful Resilience

Breathe. Remember, everyone gets triggered. The moment you notice you are triggered, breathe in for 5 counts. Pause. Exhale for 10 counts. Repeat this practice 3 times. Why should you practice breathing? Breathing reduces the fight, flight, or freeze stress response triggered in your brain. Breathing allows you to take responsibility for your reactions (aka triggers) and is critical before attempting to resolve any issue.

Have Come-Down-to-Reality Conversations. Team members can hold onto upsets and use them to justify their poor job performance. That’s why you, as the leader, need to be aware of when these upsets are brewing and take responsibility for resolving them before they turn into a major issue. Remember to use straight talk with compassion during these tough conversations.

Get to the Heart or Core of the Problem. When you as a leader inadvertently dis someone or ignore a festering issue, upsets will be covertly expressed. It’s like a mole hill expanding into a mountain. Remember, you are human and you will make mistakes! So, will everyone else. Instead of allowing your ego to justify your actions, ask and clarify what happened with your team member or team, then, talk it out. If you don’t, the upset will become an irreversible issue that overshadows the core problem.

Be Responsible for Your Communication Style (most people aren’t)! When you use words or terminology that others don’t understand, apologize. Start over by asking questions and be curious about their responses. It’s very easy to lose people when you present the same information over and over (think, you’re probably bored). Also, when you’re presenting a new idea you’ve been thinking about for a while, remember, it’s the first time they’ve heard it. Keep in mind, people learn at different rates of speed. Be prepared to draw a graph or show them a specific example. Remember, as a leader, it’s your responsibility to slow down and get everyone on the same page.

Learn How to Forgive, Even When You Don’t Believe You Should. As a leader, you will have arrows aimed at you when team members feel frustrated or upset. But you don’t have the luxury of hanging onto these insults without them impacting your mindset and success as a leader. Forgive those that gossip, criticize, or blame you. While this is easier said than done, remember, forgiveness is for you. Remember, you don’t to say, “I forgive you” to the offender to forgive them. If you do, it may make it worse.

Hire the Right Coach. Mindful resilience requires you to expand your POV. When a sticky situation or political relationship is not going well, talk immediately with your executive coach. Listen and learn. You can make things worse and sideline your career if you attempt to do it on your own.

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel at working through difficult situations and political relationships. Contact Jeannette to improve your strategic hiring, coaching, training, and managing processes.  Don’t forget to listen to her podcasts on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

How do I interview to win the job offer? Selling yourself is key to winning the job, promotion, and/or pay raise you want! Learn how in 5 easy steps:  http://CareerBragging.com

One fun marketing idea: learn how to Be a Fabulous Podcast Guest (and get invited back!)  http://SeibCo.com/workbooks/

How to Develop a Great Relationship with Your Boss

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building-better-relationship-with-your-boss.4Every successful leader has times when his/her boss doesn’t like them! This happens for a variety of reasons. For example, you’ve made a series of bad decisions, your direct reports are complaining about you, or your ego hurts results.

Why doesn’t your boss like you? Because you’ve made more work for him or her!

The key to developing a great relationship with your boss is resolving issues as they arise. This requires 1:1 communication. Unfortunately,  you tell yourself to wait it out. You hope that you won’t need to talk it out. Yet, this strategy rarely works and hurts your relationship with your boss. You also miss out on new career opportunities.

6 Tips to Develop A Positive Working Relationship with Your Boss

Develop Trust. If you are someone that doesn’t listen to yourself when you make promises, it’s the reason your boss (and others) don’t trust you. Learn to be present and listen when you make promises. Also, listen to your boss, especially when you think you already know what the boss is going to say! Ask follow-up questions to clarify expectations for assignments.

Develop Confidence. While you may not have confidence in your boss’s ability to make the right decisions, set this aside. (If appropriate, recommend an executive coach!) It’s important you develop your boss’s confidence in your ability to manage your team or project. To develop this confidence, work with your own executive coach and focus on the inevitable ups and downs of managing others and projects. This makes less work for your boss! The added benefit is confidence breeds likability.

Develop Integrity. Bosses value honesty and candor. But, when telling the truth, be responsible to state it in a tactful and diplomatic way. There are 2 ways (hint: use the best one based on the boss’s type of personality):

  • -Warn the boss s/he won’t like your answer and then use straight talk; OR
  • -Use a sandwich approach: share 2 positive things before sharing 2 specific issues. Then, wrap up with 2 good things.

Develop Good Working Relationships with Others. If team members complain about your management or project style, this breeds discontent. Many bosses don’t like resolving people issues or getting in the middle of conflicts! To alleviate this from happening, learn to slow down when interacting with others. Build alignment by being present in all conversations and work through conflicts. Be a champion for team success not just your own success. Work with your executive coach and learn how to elicit better responses from others.

Develop Project Success. If you fail to meet your customers’ expectations, you will create distrust. And, eventually your boss will be forced to fire you! Instead, learn how to manage projects for success. Start with developing strong project management habits, brainstorming skills, people development skills, and meeting facilitation skills.

Learn How to Brag! Most bosses have no idea what you’ve been doing, and, when they do, they only hear about problems! Learn how to brag and bring your successes and your teams’ successes to your boss’s attention. Also, learn to appreciate your boss…it makes you more likable!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel in business and beyond. If you have a boss that doesn’t like you, get it resolved now before it’s too late! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation. Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

Having trouble landing your next job? It’s time to learn why! Selling yourself is key to winning the job, promotion, and/or pay raise you want! Learn how in 5 easy steps:  http://CareerBragging.com

Want to attract more customers? Learn how to Be a Fabulous Podcast Guest (and get invited back!)  http://SeibCo.com/workbooks/

How to Put Others at Ease During Conversations

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microaggression.bizsavvycoach.3As leaders, it’s important to learn how to put others at ease during conversations. Mastering this skill opens up a world of possibilities! With conversations, you will learn about potential project flaws, how to motivate team members, and how to improve your influence with bosses and clients. And, these are only a few of the benefits!

Are you someone who:

  • -Can comfortably talk with all types of people: team members, boards, executives, and influencers?
  • -Marvels at others’ ease when conversing with anyone, anywhere, and at any time?
  • -Enjoys talking with others and have a desire to listen and learn?

Developing excellent conversation skills will make you a better communicator. If you’re willing to do the work, you can learn how to interact, motivate, and influence others with ease as a leader.

9 Tips to Fine-Tune Your Conversation Skills

  1. Be Present. Set aside all distractions before starting any conversation. When talking or listening, keep your focus on the other person. Think of them as a VIP, regardless of their title or position in the company. Whenever possible, move from behind your desk and sit in a chair close-by. When working remotely, keep your eyes on the screen. Start to notice how present you are or are not during conversations.
  2. Unleash Your Natural Curiosity. This is important when interacting with others. Instead of taking a righteous position, keep your mind open to hearing what others have to say, and create new solutions together.
  3. Allow Others to Communicate in Their Own Way. Expecting others to communicate with you in a particular way can be off-putting. You will miss out on hearing important information. Instead, allow them to communicate in a way that works for them. (To quickly understand their communication style, use the PXT Select.) Develop a thicker skin if you are easily offended. Learn how to ask questions to elicit the best from others instead of debating their POV.
  4. Have Compassion for Others’ Challenges. Be open to listening, and, when asked, provide appropriate advice. Do this without blaming them (or others) for the situation. Stay objective while being understanding of the situation. This is not a time for jokes or other humor. Be responsible for ensuring any excuses shared don’t derail a project, client relationship, or team effectiveness.
  5. Keep Your Calendar and Office Decluttered. You might ask why this matters during a conversation? It matters because a clean office is more inviting. Others feel more comfortable and are more open in what they have to say. If working remotely, remove wall art that could be offensive. Always minimize distractions. Otherwise, these can be become deterrents to having conversations and learning what you need to know in any situation.
  6. Pronounce Their Names Correctly and Use Their Preferred Names. Avoid using shortened versions (e.g., Jenny for Jennifer, etc.) or labeling others (e.g., superwoman, strong man, etc.). If you don’t remember the person’s name or don’t know how to pronounce it, ASK! “I’m not clear how to pronounce your name.” OR “I’ve met so many people recently. Can you remind me of your name?” Then, repeat the person’s name to their satisfaction.
  7. Ask Questions Without Sounding Like a Reporter. A good conversation puts others at ease. Learn how to have a conversation without first deep-diving into the who, what, when, where, and why. That’s what a reporter does. If you uncover a problem, be responsible for setting up the conversation before deep diving into it. “I’m hearing a potential issue in this conversation and need to clarify what I’m hearing. Is that OK?”
  8. Share Your Own Experiences. Team members want to know they are not alone in their challenges. When you share your experiences, start with the point of your story and end with the point to re-emphasize it. Remember, keep it short (about 1 minute) and stay focused on the topic. Most importantly, honor confidentiality.
  9. Keep an Open Mind. Stay focused on the topic at hand by taking a positive and healthy interest in their POV. Listen and respond to questions using straight talk. This encourages team members to stay at ease during any conversation. It’s how you discover what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel in business and beyond. Find out how effective you are as a communicator with all types of people. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation. Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

If you are underemployed or unemployed, it’s time to learn how to sell yourself and get that job, promotion, and/or pay raise! http://CareerBragging.com

Do you want to increase your business? Learn how with Be a Fabulous Podcast Guest (and get invited back!)?  http://SeibCo.com/workbooks/

 

There IS a Better Way to Improve Meetings

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Delivering Bad NewsLeaders and team members want to be productive. Engaging team members during meetings create shorter discussions and better decisions. Productivity will naturally increase!

Ironically, the #1 challenge leaders face is engaging team members and keeping meetings productive. And as we all know, today there is the additional challenge of conducting remote meetings.

Consider, There Is a Better Way

Stop Focusing on PowerPoint presentations. Recently, Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoint at Amazon. They found meetings are now shorter and smarter…while costing nothing to implement! (Inc. 2020)

The presenter provides a written, readable, and stand-alone hard-copy document (1 to 3 pages). This requires the presenter to think through and communicate with greater precision.

Team members read, together and in silence, at the beginning of each meeting. This encourages leaders and team members to get on the same page faster and engage in more meaningful conversations.

By replacing PowerPoint with briefing documents, Bezos effectively increased company-wide management productivity by at least 25 percent.

But Wait! Before You Implement!

Understand Reading Levels

Before you jump in and hope to achieve the same dramatic results, remember people read and comprehend at different rates of speed.

According to a study of literacy rates by Wylie Communications, 34% of Americans read between a 4th– and 5th-grade level. 37% read between a 6th– and 8th-grade level. Savvy presenters focus on communicating at the lower grade levels. Yet, writing at a 4th-grade level can be difficult. That requires eliminating “big words” and “jargon” while simplifying numeric data and charts.

Also, leaders must manage the discussion process since team members can become difficult when others read too slow, ask too many questions, or misinterpret the data.

Develop Clear Communication Strategies

Communicating information on point and in simple terms requires practice. When writing, focus on your audience, include simple graphs and other documented data.

Use a readability indicator (Google for sites) to keep your ideas simple and on point. Some sites provide the grade level for the document. (The readability indicator for this article is 8th grade.) Keep in mind, your audience’s reading level will be lower than you think. (Center for Plain Language)

You may believe distributing information before the meeting can be helpful. It’s not. Team members can’t or won’t take the time to read it…and will fail to remember content and/or pretend to understand the data. This can further disengage the team.

Manage the #1 Saboteur

The problem of multi-tasking is still a major deterrent for productive meetings. It’s why some companies ban electronics during meetings!

Yet, the distractions of working remotely and poorly managed meetings continue to make it difficult to keep leaders and team members focused.

To keep people’s attention during my workshops, I use worksheets with key points listed and provide blank spaces to fill in data. This approach provides a structure for note-taking. It allows team members to absorb more information while keeping them engaged and focused on the topic. While some may resent this approach, it’s usually because they don’t want to stay present during the conversation.

Provide Training to Improve Communication Skills

Due to greater reliance on video conferencing, online chats, and phone calls, leaders and team members must step up and improve their communication skills.

Tips:

  • Listen with the intention of learning and ask questions to clarify. Non-verbal communication includes physical and auditory cues. Since 80% of communication is non-verbal, if you don’t develop the skills you will find it difficult to truly discern what they mean.
  • When speaking, start with the point you want to make.
  • Keep your ideas on-point and brief since attention spans are short. Avoid talking just to talk.
  • Use simple and easy to understand explanations and graphs.
  • Ensure everyone is being responsible for staying present during all conversations.
  • It’s important you and your team participate in various training opportunities to improve speaking, listening, and debate skills!

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel in business and beyond. This includes conducting engaging and productive meetings! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation. Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

Is your career at a stand-still? It’s time to learn how to sell yourself and get that job, promotion and/or pay raise! http://CareerBragging.com

Do you want to Be a Fabulous Podcast Guest (and get invited back!)? Learn how: http://SeibCo.com/workbooks/

5 Ways to Boost Your Career as a Remote Leader

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Sales.business.time.focus.get real

Typically, leaders have boosted their careers by having frequent 1:1 time with their bosses.

In this new world of work, 1:1 time is disappearing since you are now a remote leader. The new challenge is taking responsibly and committed actions to create 1:1 time with your boss or miss out on career opportunities and promotions. Remember, your actions will always speak louder than your words!

5 Tips for Boosting Your Career and Paycheck

Take Initiative. Pick up the phone, send an email or text. Say and ask, “Just checking in. What do you need from me today?” Communicate in a method your boss prefers and is most likely to check. Also, provide updates on special projects or notify him/her of any unusual challenges. If there is a project or situation that needs his/her attention, request a voice-to-voice or video conferencing meeting asap. Come to the meeting with the facts and more importantly, potential solutions.

Brag. Bosses and clients seldom know all that you’ve done to meet quality requirements and deadlines. So, use metrics to let them know in a biz-savvy manner of your accomplishments.

Follow-Up and Follow-Through. Working from home does not mean you are on vacation! Set up work hours that reflect the company’s and client’s needs. Be sure to set up your home workspace and environment to reduce distractions and interruptions.

Develop Good Relationships. Working with and through team members as a remote leader requires new skills. Develop your people and project management skills by working with an executive coach. This will avoid costly trial-and-errors.

Remember, it’s a new normal.

  • Plan on extra time to resolve the usual challenges.
  • Take responsibility for clearly communicating and guiding others through confusion.
  • Make a commitment and follow-through to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Be a Solution Provider. Today there are many new challenges. Don’t be afraid to recommend new ideas. First, listen to team members’ feedback. Then, share with your boss before implementing the new ideas. During video conferencing, listen and don’t multi-task. If you do, you’ll risk missing out on valuable information. When there are issues, research to uncover the true problem. Focus on the work, procedures, and systems, not on team members’ personalities.

© Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel in their careers. The new world of work is here. What are you doing to excel?  Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation. Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

Developing Your Salespeople is the Mark of a Good Leader

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Smarter.Not HarderSuccessful leaders know one of the toughest jobs today is developing their salespeople.

It starts with your expectations and your ability to hold them accountable. Sometimes it will feel like herding cats! Yet, strong profitable sales are a result of your salespeople following the systems, knowing the product details, and mastering successful sales habits.

8 Tips to Develop and Improve Salespeople’s Results

It starts with the right hire! Hiring and promoting the right salespeople sends a strong message to employees, clients (current and future), vendors, and investors. Remember, use scientifically validated job fit assessments to determine a salesperson’s true ability to prospect, build relationships, and close sales.

Did you know…?

  • -Promoting the wrong person is very costly. Many times, when you promote the top salesperson into a management role, s/he will fail. The skills and personality traits that make them #1 in sales are not the same skills and personality traits required to be a great manager.
  • -Many job seekers can sell themselves by looking the part and saying the right things. But are unable to sell your products and services. Make sure to go deeper to discover how willing and able they are to work straight commission or base plus commission.

Create a Workplace Culture that Values Sales Success. Invest in training for each and every salesperson! This starts on Day 1 in a well-designed onboarding program! Remember to remind everyone of best sales practices during daily stand-up meetings via video conferencing. Hold everyone accountable to dress up and show up on time and be ready to go sell. Host weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual sales summits to improve knowledge of systems, products, and industry changes. And, make sure you include fun!

Provide Relentless Coaching. Remember, the goal is to close sales. But there are other activities that must happen first. Hire the right sales coach to provide you and your team coaching and training for developing good sales practices. Eliminate the heavy emphasis on finding and closing the BIG ONE. This mindset hinders developing solid sales activities, habits, and skills. In the long run, the right skills and practices will build a profitable and financially solid bottom line.

Create the Right Winning Mindset. Everyone has slumps and bad days. A successful leader will make sure to acknowledge personal and team achievements and share challenges the team has overcome. These are great learning opportunities and help everyone to keep moving forward. Creating winning mindsets includes encouraging everyone to work with and through team members to create new ideas.

Don’t Ignore Poor Sales Performance. Good leaders don’t wait for poor sales performance to turn around. Instead, review the coaching report from the job fit assessment for salespeople. This will bring clarity to the issue. Focus on only one issue at a time or you will overwhelm the salesperson. Together create a performance improvement plan. For best results, focus on the salesperson’s strengths. You cannot manage their weaknesses and expect successful sales results!

Motivate with Recognition and Rewards. While great pay and perks are important, they are not everything. Create a strong recognition and rewards program with immediate acknowledgment. Be sure you are rewarding the right behaviors and profitable results. Keep in mind, top performers enjoy financial rewards, regular performance feedback, and autonomy. So, look for non-monetary ways to reward great results.

Create Meaningful Metrics. First, prospecting is a process (e.g., cold calls, emails, networking, etc.). This requires follow-up and follow-through every day. These all-important skills separate successful salespeople from wanna-be successful salespeople. Second, track who, what, when, where, and why along with how to best stay in contact with prospective and current buyers. Remember, companies buy from salespeople that have their best interests at heart.

Brags. Learn how to brag in a biz-savvy manner. Using brags in introductions and to stay self-motivated is important. Too often salespeople do a poor job of enticing people to talk with them. Remember, networking meetings are a great way to generate interest, not sell products. Selling products and services usually requires at least one meaningful conversation. And, that doesn’t usually happen at a networking event.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel.  Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation to strategically develop a coaching and hiring program for exceptional and profitable sales results. Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

Do You Want to be Heard? Keep Your Commitments!

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Commitment.BizSavvyCoachWe’ve all had the experience of leaders, bosses, employees, vendors, clients, and co-workers telling us of their commits to the team, company, and/or project. Yet, their actions tell a different story. These actions tell the truth about a person’s true commitment.

Have you ever worked with someone who promised to deliver a service or product by a certain time and date, and failed to do so? And, to make matters worse, instead of apologizing they keep saying, “I forgot.” OR “It’s not my fault.” OR “I don’t remember it.”

These types of replies and attitudes send out a distinct message: You don’t value the relationship.

Before you deny others’ reactions, answer this question: If I promised you a million dollars to be at a certain place by a certain time, would you be there on time? Most would say, “Absolutely yes!” That’s commitment!

While the conversation about commitment can bring up a lot of excuses, successful leaders understand that their actions speak louder than their words. Their actions reflect their true commitments to people and teams.

As leaders, remember that while the commitment you make may not seem that important to you, it is very important to others and will be long remembered.

How to Put Your Commitments into Focused Actions

Be Present during Conversations. Memories can be faulty, particularly in conversations where you are attempting to multi-task. So, pay attention to what you are promising. When you make a commitment, write it down. Listen and check back with the person to clarify what they heard to ensure you’re both on the same page. Again: Write. It. Down.

Keep Great People in Your Business (and Life).  It’s easier and less expensive to keep great employees and clients than look for new ones. This starts with straight talk. Take Responsibility. Nothing is worse than someone failing to take responsibility for what they committed to do. Don’t rely on your memory. When you make a commitment to offer a lower price or promise delivery by a certain date, fulfill that promise. If it is impossible, then, call before the deadline to let them know.

Develop a Higher Level of Integrity. Doing what you say by when you say is critical for every leader, even more so today. Many leaders spend more time justifying their lack of actions and poor results than honoring their commitments. Set aside your ego and hire an executive coach to help you achieve the intended results of your commitments. This level of integrity speakers louder than any words you can say!

Take the High Road When There is Failure. There will always be times when you cannot fulfill your commitments. Have a straight conversation with the person or team involved and don’t wait until the last minute to do so. Apologize. Complete the conversation by reviewing what worked and what didn’t work and end with acknowledging each other. Now, make a new commitment. This is a great opportunity for everyone to end on a positive note because you never know when you may need to work with each other in the future. (CAUTION! If this is something you need to do more than once in a while, work with an executive coach to determine how to transform your role in it. Or, you will sideline your career.)

View a Hand Shake or Verbal Agreement the Same as a Signed Contract. Many companies still do business by a hand shake and honor their verbal commitments. If an agreement is complex or long term, have an attorney draft a contract for both parties to review and sign. Or, put an agreement in outline format for everyone to review and agree to. Be sure all parties sign. Now, it’s time to honor the commitment!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel at leading by example and building trust. The new world of work has started. Are you ready?  Contact Jeannette to improve your strategic hiring, coaching, training, and managing processes.  Don’t forget to listen to her podcasts on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

Make a commitment to yourself and your team to be the best leader you can be. Now, fulfill that commitment by learning about your management style and how to improve your skills! Your team will thank you! Contact Jeannette about the CheckPoint 360oassessment.