Business Owner | SeibCo, LLC

Do You Want to Succeed and Make a Lot of Money? Then, Be Coachable!

August 3, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Photo provided by tumsasedgars vis Canva — “Do you want to excel professionally and financially? Being coachable is the #1 way to make it happen.” Jeannette Seibly

“The paradox is that the very things that hold us back are the reasons we need a coach in the first place.” Seth Godin

Successful leaders and future leaders have coaches! They have developed the skills to succeed by being coachable.

There are many things in business and in life that you don’t know that you don’t know. Being coachable uncovers the blind spots that get in your way of receiving promotions and special assignments. Making lots of money and achieving huge goals. And, being a leader others want to follow.

What Does Being Coachable Mean?

“Coachability is not a technical skill or an inherent ability. It is a mental attitude.” It reflects your ability to ask for feedback, listen, and make appropriate changes. It is also a reflection of your emotional ability or emotional intelligence (EQ) to learn from constructive criticism. (mvorganizing.org)

What Does Being Uncoachable Look Like?

When someone is uncoachable, they often will roll their eyes, take things personally, and have a myriad of excuses. They also misinterpret comments and resist taking the right action. It reflects their fears of having others think of them as “weak.” Or, their unwillingness to stretch their mindset outside their comfort zones.

One entrepreneur loved creating new products and was very talented. He dreamed of resigning from the day job he hated. The problem was, he didn’t want to focus on the business requirements to create a foundation for growth. As a result, he ignored the coach and did things his way. He’s still dreaming about one day being a successful business owner and giving up his hated day job.

Why Do Employers Fail to Offer Coaching?

Many companies agree coaching is a must. But they fail to work through the resistance teams and team members put up as barriers. Companies must then fire poor performers (90% of the time it’s due to poor interpersonal skills) because they are not coachable.

How Can You Improve Your Coachability?

Seek Out Feedback. Ask team members, customers, and your boss for feedback. “What’s one thing that would help me improve …” (e.g., interactions with others, project results, ability to work well with others, etc.). Listen and be respectful, especially if the feedback isn’t what you want to hear. Don’t forget to say thank you!
Be Open to Learning. You can learn something from anyone! While you may selectively seek out people more experienced than you, be open to hearing from co-workers and direct reports too. Their insights can be invaluable.
Be Willing to Stretch Beyond Your Comfort Zone. We all love our comfort zones. But successful leaders and future leaders know they must move beyond these confining spaces! When you’ve already tried something that didn’t work or don’t feel comfortable with the recommendation, ask clarifying questions. “I tried this approach and it didn’t work for me. What do you believe is missing?” Listen and don’t debate. This helps you discover your blind spots and how to overcome them.
Become Self-aware by Being Present. Self-awareness is critical to your success. It requires being present during ALL interactions. This means setting aside thoughts and distractions while listening and learning. During the process, you will discover insights between what you say you want and what you are doing.
Make Positive Behavior and Attitude Changes. Talking the talk won’t make a difference. You must do the work! If you don’t know what to do, ask an experienced coach and use a qualified job fit assessment to guide you through the steps required. Then, immediately take the first step!
Check Your Ego at the Door! Even if you believe your results are the best they can be, be willing to accept criticism, especially around tough issues. It’s a golden opportunity to learn from your successes and If you are unclear what the problem is, deep dive by asking clarifying questions. Be aware of your tone of voice and other non-verbal communication (e.g., rolling your eyes). Otherwise, you can shut down the opportunity to receive invaluable feedback and have amazing breakthroughs.
Hire the Right Coach. Successful leaders and future leaders have coaches. They seek out and find the coach that can guide them to achieve what they really really really Also, select a coach that has a coach too! (Yes, coaches need to be coachable too!)

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach, management consultant, and keynote speaker for over 28 years. Her focus is getting leaders and their teams unstuck and able to achieve dynamic results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about the lesson we all need to learn: “Many of us have the assumption that someday life will be easy. We will coast along effortlessly and will be successful. … But this assumption that it gets easier is not true. It is never true because you change, the organization changes and the business environment is constantly evolving. A successful life means constant change and continuous learning. So set a goal now to remain coachable throughout your career.” (Forbes)

Not sure where to begin, contact me for a confidential conversation.

Today’s Hiring Failures Are Due to Being Uncoachable!

July 27, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Many new hires today are failing in their jobs. The #1 reason? They are not coachable!” Jeannette Seibly

Poor interpersonal skills are the reason why there are so many hiring failures today! The #1 issue? They are uncoachable!

Why is being coachable important? It reflects the ability to accept and put in place feedback from bosses, team members, customers, and others! (Leadership IQ) Being coachable is why leaders and teams succeed in business!

Here’s are shocking stats:

Almost half of new employees today will fail within 18 months of hire.
Almost 90% of the time it’s due to the new hires’ attitudes and poor interpersonal skills.
Only 11% of failures are due to technical skills. (Leadership IQ)

Many hiring managers admit overlooking or explaining away flaws they saw during interviews. But they were unsure what to do with these insights or biases because they failed to use real consistent data that job fit assessments offer. They hired the job candidates based on technical and other hard skills, but fired them due to poor interpersonal skills!

To improve your hiring and selection process, it starts during the interview by making this important time count!

7 Keys to Improve Your Hiring Success

1. Job Fit Is #1. According to a Harvard Business Review study, job fit is why people succeed! Use a qualified job fit assessment to ensure you’re seeing the whole person objectively. When using real and consistent data, you can delve deeper and learn more about the person before hiring them! This avoids surprises!

2. Determine Coachability by Asking These Two Interview Questions. A coachable person is looking to improve and is willing to ask for help to do so.

Ask: “When was the last time you made a mistake?” and “How did you handle it?”

Then, listen for:

“What did s/he learn?”
“Who did s/he talk with?”
“Why did the mistake happen?”
“What were the results?”

This is perhaps the most important revealing part of the interview.

3. Gain Insight During Reference Checks with Previous Co-Workers. Ask this question: “Would you work for this person? Why?” Listen. I’ve found this question to be a very good indicator of a person’s on-the-job interpersonal skills.

4. Talk Straight. Share with the job candidate about your company’s ongoing training and development programs. During each interview, emphasize your expectation that the person participates. If there is any pushback (e.g., “What if I already…?” “I already know that.”), you may need to reconsider hiring this candidate since you are looking for team players that are open to learning and expanding all their job skills.

5. Focus on Results Required for the Position. Put together a 180-Day Success Plan. Share it during each interview with the job candidate and listen. The person’s reactions may change over time, so it’s important to address any change. Remember, you are seeking team players with the attitude of, “I’m open to learning from my mistakes and contributing to the success of everyone.”

6. Provide a Coach and a Mentor. Provide teams and future leaders in your company with an internal company mentor and an external executive coach. One fast-growing company shared this expectation with job candidates. Those that didn’t believe they would need a coach were not considered further. Several years later, the coachable team members achieved executive and leadership levels in their careers. It was due to their focus on coaching, developing, and learning.

7. Be Coachable! Yes, many successful leaders have coaches. Be sure you have one and be sure you are learning how to be a good coach, while developing and learning along with the team. Believe it or not, it can be a lot of fun!

A note from Jeannette about how to hire coachable people. We’re in a talent tsunami, where 20% to 50% of employees are seeking new jobs. One of the top reasons is they are uncoachable in their current job and believe the grass will be greener in other companies. It’s up to you to use real and consistent data to make good hiring decisions and uncover a job candidate’s coachability before you hire them. This impacts your ability to attract and keep top talent and great customers, while improving your bottom line. Unsure of how to get started? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Do You Have Problems Working with Authority Figures?

July 20, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

“If you want to get ahead in your career, you must learn to listen to and work well with your boss.” Jeannette Seibly

Do you:

Ignore advice and only argue for your point-of-view?
Do it anyway when your boss or board says, “No?”
Have a team that bickers a lot?
Deny having authority issues and place blame for mistakes on your boss?
Look for approval from your boss and seldom get it?

Can you imagine NFL team players thumbing their nose at the coach when told to adopt a new game strategy? I cannot either.

Yet, many times, business leaders fail to work well with authority figures! They believe they know how things should work and fail to listen to sage advice. This mindset costs them valuable time, money, and energy that could have been better used for business growth.

7 Tips to Improve Effective Working Relationships

Recognize You Have a Problem. “You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.” (Dr. Phil) When you cringe because someone sounds like your mom, dad, or teacher, you have a trigger. Heal the relationship with your parent(s) and you will go further faster as a leader.
Positively Handle Feedback and Criticism. Many times, when you get triggered, it has nothing to do with the feedback. It’s an automatic reaction from your ego saying, “Don’t talk to me that way.” Breathe. Put your feelings into words. Learn to ask questions for clarification. If you truly listen, you will find your boss’s insights (or someone else’s) were “right on.”
Encourage Brainstorming and Listening to New Ideas. When you or your team know-it-all and rely on past solutions, you will fail to get to the core issue. Be open to listening to others…it saves time and money while creating viable solutions.
Resolve Conflict Before It Diminishes Your Results. Authority avoidance leaders create lots conflicts. They have poor communication styles and work ethics, making it difficult for team members to succeed. Remember, successful leaders have coaches to help them resolve conflicts before they are no longer manageable.
Learn to Delegate. If you want to achieve true leadership, you must stop doing it yourself! To expand your business, sales results, and influence with your team, create a team that is resilient, reliable, and resourceful. That starts with your willingness to listen and work well with your boss, board, team, and customers.
Get Over, “Do It My Way.” Life is not about doing everything “your way.” Yet, there are many stories on social media about DIYers. It takes maturity and experience to work well with your team, customers, business, and bottom line. You will make mistakes. But your ability to learn from those mistakes and seek counsel will improve your results.
Take a Good Long Look in the Mirror. If you are a leader that acts as a lone ranger, be aware your team members will mimic you! While you may believe this is OK, at some point, it will create irrevocable issues at the wrong time! Learn to be coachable and understand there are other workable ways to get the best results.

A note from Jeannette about being an authority avoidance leader. Everyone has a boss, board, team, and/or customers that provide feedback and criticism. Failure to listen and learn will sideline your career. Take the time to develop effective working relationships, be coachable, and take feedback, while learning from your mistakes. If this sounds too difficult, contact me for a confidential conversation.

It’s Q3! Are You On-Track to Achieve End-of-Year Results?

July 13, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

“If you want to improve your results, focus on real data and hire a coach to get you unstuck and keep you moving forward.” Jeannette Seibly

Many companies are looking at their current and projected sales numbers to determine if they are on track to achieve their 2021 results. Some will fiddle with the numbers and adjust their expectations so they don’t feel like failures. Others will give up. But the ones that will succeed are talking with their coach and making real adjustments now. Remember, it’s not business as usual.

7 Tips to Achieve Real Sales Results

Hire the Right People. This #1 rule makes a big difference in your EOY sales results! Remember, not everyone can sell your products and services, no matter what they’ve sold in the past. There is an old saying, “Just because they can sell Honda’s in Boston, doesn’t mean they can sell Lincolns in Denver.” Get real about who you are hiring and their natural ability to prospect and close. Use a qualified sales assessment that provides you with real, consistent data. For example, hiring a person that is unwilling to work in a straight commission position will not work out well for anyone.
Coach with Laser-Focused Accuracy. The right assessment tool also provides you laser-like coaching When you address the true issue with “why” a salesperson is struggling, it’s easier to improve their skills. For example, telling your sales rep to meet more people when they are already making a lot of contacts won’t make a difference. Instead, coach them on how to engage these contacts to determine buying interest.
Stop Focusing on Technology to Fix Sales Performance. How many times have you told yourself that a new CRM will improve sales results? This is a big illusion…it’s a tool, not a result-producer. If you don’t have the right salespeople, technology will only make things worse. Your low producers will hide out behind learning the system. Your high performers will be annoyed at learning another new system.
Engage Customers Every Quarter. Are you engaging your customers quarterly? If you are, they are less likely to stray! Also, when you are top of mind, your customers are more likely to refer you to others. When meeting with the customer, use a scorecard. This focuses them on the quality, service, and prices of your deliverables and how to help them in the future. Remember, training is crucial for these conversations to be effective!
Conduct Sales Team Huddles Every Morning…These Are a Must. If you’re not already doing this…start now! Have a standup huddle each morning for all salespeople. Keep it short and on-point…10 to 20 minutes. Have everyone stand since it’s harder for lower-performing salespeople to hide out. Focus on progress and any changes required for better results. For example, allowing current economic situations to excuse poor sales results prevents your sales team from getting creative.
Train for the Details! I remember years ago a sales expert told me a successful salesperson knows the details of their products and services. This wisdom made a positive difference for me when closing sales! Provide weekly training, updates, and stories to your salespeople. And, there is nothing wrong with repetition!
Acknowledge Results…It Works Wonders. Acknowledge your team, individually and as a group. Share brags with each other. Have a dashboard showing daily results. This encourages team support when someone is stuck. And, encourages team members to do more of what is working.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019-2021

A note from Jeannette about achieving sales goals for 2021. It’s Q3 and 2021 is halfway done! There are companies exceeding sales projections while others are struggling to keep their doors open. Before making any changes, focus on real data for real results. Winging it and hoping for a miracle won’t make a powerful difference on your bottom line. If you are uncertain about where to start, contact me for a confidential conversation.

How to Improve Leadership Results Before You Need to Fire Them

July 6, 2021July 6, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Due to the talent tsunami, experts warn 20-50 percent of employees are looking for new jobs or are planning to quit once the pandemic is behind us. To attract top talent, you must have leaders that are considered good leaders. Now is the time to make a positive difference.

A bad leader is someone who fails to work with and through others to keep customers happy and satisfied while building successful teams.

Examples:

When the oldest sibling was promoted to President of the family business, everyone expressed concern. She was insecure and relied only on her favorite people when making decisions. As a result, after losing several key customers, the family fired her.

In another company, a leader wasn’t a strong boss, but did make good decisions and cared about the customers. But a disgruntled employee scrutinized and gossiped about him to the point where he was considered a bad leader and felt forced to leave.

7 Signs of Poor Leadership

This list is endless…what are your key indicators of a bad leader?

Loses focus on the goal by getting lost in the “weeds”
Lacks empathy
Stifles creativity and new ideas
Is unable to motivate the team to achieve intended results
Is indecisive
Is unable to talk straight
Plays favorites when assigning work

Too often, we wait until we’ve lost good customers or top talent before getting the leader the help and guidance needed for success.

7 Tips to Improve Leadership Results Now Before It’s Too Late

Provide Executive Coaching. Many bad leaders are overwhelmed by the challenges they face. The right executive coach guides these leaders to improve communication, navigate politics, and manage sticky situations. Hire an executive coach from outside the company to ensure confidentiality. If the person isn’t coachable, it’s time to create an exit plan or job reassignment.
Use qualified assessments. Use a qualified 360-degree feedback assessment and a job fit assessment. These provide objective insights and guidance based on consistent real data.
Design a performance plan. It’s important to require bad leaders to participate in workshops. This helps them to acknowledge what they don’t know that they don’t know. Focus on one specific area at a time and team them with an internal company mentor (in addition to the outside executive coach). Courses must include addressing leadership blind spots (e.g., emotional intelligence, working with and through others, diversity, ethics, critical thinking, to name a few).
Analyze the cost. Too often, we overlook bad leadership because we don’t see or understand the impact. When conducting a cost analysis, review turnover of top talent and customers, quality issues, and complaints. NOTE: If there are little or no problems, look deeper. The leader may be the scapegoat to distract from the real issue.
Talk with disgruntled team members. Don’t be surprised if the bad leader’s problem is due to the inability to handle group think, cliques, and subjective expectations. Have the executive coach work with the team and the leader to get everyone on the same page. Remember, change is a process, not an event. And, no leader is perfect.
Some bad leaders are good individual contributors as long as they don’t have people management responsibilities. Also, look for a special project or new opportunity that can use the leader’s good skills. NOTE: When making a transfer, the new position may have a new job title. But it’s best to avoid adjusting the paycheck or it could trigger a dissatisfied leader with an axe to grind.
When All Else Fails Let the Bad Leader Go. Be sure you work with HR and/or an attorney to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. If you don’t, this can be very costly, especially if you’ve allowed it to go on for too long.

A note from Jeannette about turning around bad leaders. Turning bad leaders around is one of my primary strengths. As an executive coach, I’ve worked with many poor leaders to transform them, or help them move on. When a bad leader needs help, the best solution is to do the right things now. If a team views their leader as needing help, don’t wait! Otherwise, s/he may need to leave the company! Remember, a bad leader cannot transform into a good one on his/her own! Contact me for a confidential conversation.

13 Tips for Leaders to Positively Influence Their Teams

June 29, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

“When you positively influence your team, great results are achieved.” Jeannette Seibly

Take a moment:

Think about the worst boss you’ve ever had.
Now, think about the best boss.
What was the difference?

Many would say the difference was how the best boss applauded their efforts and ideas, while the bad boss was dismissive and negative.

Bosses are leaders in the company. Leaders influence team members by how they interact with them. This includes listening to new ideas, guiding them through challenges, and encouraging them to meet (and exceed) customer demands.

As a leader, you influence team members in their daily lives, both at work and after work hours. To be considered a “best boss,” take the time to be present and aware of your interactions with others … this will fundamentally influence your team’s results.

How to Create a Positive Influence with Your Team

Learn from Mistakes. When you help your team learn from mistakes rather than berating them, your team’s confidence will build.
Handle the Politics. Every company has internal politics. Protect your team members by stopping gossip, addressing complaints, and dealing with microaggressions. Remember to keep confidential issues confidential!
Brag on Them! Share with others about the team’s results and individual accomplishments.
Be Courteous. Say “Please” and “Thank you.” Ask, “Do you have 5 minutes to talk?”
Ask Questions. Instead of assuming you already know it all, be open to learning something new!
Get Both Sides of the Story. When a problem arises, get both sides by asking questions without sounding like an interrogator. Only then will you learn the truth.
Build Confidence. Point out where progress is being made. Only focus on one challenge at a time and guide them through to achieve a positive solution.
Provide Real Goals. Provide stretch goals instead of just providing tasks camouflaged as goals.
Be Fair. Don’t have favorites when handing out assignments. Build on team members’ strengths; this builds a stronger, cohesive, and more agile team.
Support Personal and Professional Goals. Be a resource and/or guide to help them achieve both.
Be Ethical. Show a good work ethic and be the type of leader that is honest. Remember, your team members will mimic you!
Think Bigger! Be open to thinking beyond the norm and welcome each team member’s ideas. Encourage all team members to take part when brainstorming.
Trust and Value Them. Allow your team to do their work without being micro-managed. If problems arise (and they will), keep your door open. Trust and encourage them to work with and through others to create viable solutions.

A note from Jeannette about being a leader who provides a positive influence. Providing a positive influence isn’t hard. But it does require being present and aware during ALL interactions. If your team has a challenge, encourage them to learn and work through the ups and downs. This positive influence builds trust and team confidence. Want to be a positive influence with your team but don’t know where to start? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Entrepreneurial Leaders Who Believe They Know Everything Will Fail

June 22, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash — “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” Donald Rumsfeld

A CEO shared ideas with an executive team member on how to achieve better results with her team. Instead of listening and learning, she replied, “I already know that.” OR “I’m already doing that.” In other words, she was not willing to admit what she was doing wasn’t working! She believed her past successes would somehow resolve the current issues. But, when she was unable to improve her results, six months later she left. Her parting comment was, “I don’t know what I could have done differently or better.”

Clearly, there were things she didn’t know that she didn’t know.

Many entrepreneurial leaders believe it’s important for young leaders to be open to learning new things. The truth is, it’s important for ALL leaders! Even long-time leaders don’t know everything!

The #1 challenge that gets in our way is our egos! Especially those with long-time experiences in a profession or industry. We stop being open and learning from others and believe we know everything! Or, we fear being thought of as incompetent by hiring a coach, even though, most leaders have coaches! As a result, failure is right around the corner for those leaders who believe they know it all!

Remember, knowing something doesn’t mean you have the skills to perform at the level required.

5 Tips to Expand Your Ability to Learn

Listen to Learn. Building a confident team that produces consistent and intended results starts here! As an effective entrepreneurial leader, listening is a two-way street. You need to listen to your team, just as they need to listen to you! Provide persuasive listening training and attend as a participant!
Practice is Required for Mastery. A new leader had done two board room presentations with his boss. He believed he now had the skills to go solo and would hit his goal for a promotion. When his boss recommended he take a workshop to learn the fundamentals, he declined. “I have it handled and don’t have time,” he replied. But, during the next two presentations, he failed to keep the board members engaged and answer questions truthfully. Instead of a promotion, he was sidelined. Effective practice depends on the quality of the practice. As every martial arts person will tell you, the right practice is required daily, over and over, even as a master. It starts with learning the basics, practicing them, then, expanding on them.
Pay Attention to Job Fit. Many leaders fail to get real about their strengths and weaknesses and that of their team members! They believe anyone can do anything well. This arrogance results in miscommunication, missed deadlines, and customers leaving! Take the time to get clear about “why” you and your team members are successful…and, why they are not! Now, use this objective information to build a solid foundation for your business, teams, and customers to succeed.
Learn How to Be An Effective Coach. When your team does not follow your advice, you will label them as not being coachable. Your attitude will get in the way of expanding your skills to become an effective entrepreneurial leader and coach.

Questions to ask yourself and review with your coach:

Have you asked them about actions already taken?
Have you been clear that their performance isn’t hitting the goal?
Are you clear about your expectations? Are they realistic? Have you used straight talk when explaining them?
Are you using a “Rule of 3” to deep dive into their responses by having a two-way conversation, not an interrogation?

Note: To be an effective coach, you, yourself, must be coachable.

Who is your coach?
How often do you talk?
What stops you from listening when your coach shares knowledge you don’t like or disagree with?

Critical Thinking. Remember, not all ideas will provide a positive ROI! Get real by deep diving into a topic and understanding the pros and cons. This requires reading more than the headlines on social media posts. Also, it requires you to talk it out with several industries and/or company contacts to get the inside scoop. The most important questions to ask, “Why did it work there? What are the challenges for it to work here?” Once you set aside your belief that you know how it should work, you can build on the structure you already have in place with your team.

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach, management consultant, and keynote speaker for over 28 years. She is an expert in guiding entrepreneurial leaders and their teams to get unstuck and achieve dynamic results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about know-it-all leaders. As an entrepreneurial leader, success requires being open to new ideas, systems, and people. When you are willing to set aside your beliefs that you know how it should work, you can achieve dynamic results. When you hit a wall (and you will), reach out. It can mean the difference between success and so-so results! Contact me for a confidential conversation.

How Do You Build a Confident Team?

June 15, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash — “Your team’s success depends on you building their confidence.” Jeannette Seibly

Building a team that is confident and focused on achieving intended results takes time, energy, and awareness. As the leader, it’s one of your key job responsibilities. And, when you pay attention, the results can be fabulous!

The challenge is when you have team members concerned by what others think, fearful of asking for feedback, and are not coachable. That is the time for you to zero in, build their confidence, and help them succeed. If you don’t, it will diminish their (and your) results.

7 Tips to Build a Confident Team

Patience is a Virtue. When a team member is too concerned about others’ opinions, it can be frustrating. Be patient and take time to listen to their concerns. The problem could be they don’t see the value of the goal or they don’t feel comfortable with the process of getting there. Partner the person with a team member to review the written timeline, milestones, and goals. Also, have them create a graph and/or talk through different scenarios. This helps the team member gain confidence, alleviate his/her concerns, and get on the same page with the team.
Everyone Make Mistakes. When you have team members that fear making mistakes, it will often bring out their insecurities. Use the three-step process and debrief: “What Worked?” “What Didn’t Work?” “What Would You Like to be Acknowledged For?” Beware of the same mistake being made over and over because that indicates additional training is required.
Use a Qualified Assessment. These help team members value and become aware of different thinking styles, core behaviors, and occupational interests. Using the right assessment shows natural differences and builds confidence.
Believe Your Team Members Can Develop Solutions. When your team hits a wall (and they will) or has an overwhelming problem, first(!) clarify the true problem. This will require straight talk and listening. Then, brainstorm the solution. Do not interject your ideas until after each team member has shared. If you do, you risk shutting down your team and diminishing their confidence.
Provide 1:1 Constructive Feedback. Many times, when team members are feeling insecure, they can be defensive. When this occurs, within 48 hours provide 1:1 feedback. For example, “During our weekly team meeting, you ignored a team member’s idea to resolve your issue. This resulted in you losing feedback that would have moved the project forward. Plus, you diminished the other’s confidence in you to create a solution.”
Acknowledge Each and Every Person. When acknowledging team members, take the time to be specific and generous. Remember, whatever you acknowledge them for, it builds confidence and encourages more of the same great behaviors and attitudes!
When Nothing Is Working. Since you’ve already made changes without success, you need objective input! Work with your executive coach to determine changes required. Otherwise, you’ll continue hurting your team’s confidence and their ability to achieve intended results.

A note from Jeannette about building a confident team. As a leader, one of your key job responsibilities is building a confident team. A confident team achieves intended results. If you’ve hit a wall with your team’s confidence or your own confidence needs a boost, contact me for a confidential conversation now before mischief shows up.

Are You Using Your Interview Time Effectively?

June 1, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Use a qualified job fit assessment and the provided interview questions to deep dive. https://www.pxtselect.com/SeibCo

Most hiring managers believe they conduct good interviews with job candidates. Unfortunately, they are not getting enough of the right information to make good hiring decisions. The added challenge they experience is that many candidates come well-prepared, but rely on canned answers to the same common questions.

How do you…

Prepare the right interview questions to get a real picture of the job candidates?
Use good objective data to provide consistent job fit insights?
Know if candidates have the right technical and people skills?

Using your interview time effectively requires asking the right questions. Then, you can have a conversation to determine job fit. It’s important to remember the interview should be only one part of a well-designed strategic hiring process. The other key parts include assessments and due diligence.

Note: It’s easy to fall for candidates who say the right things. (We’ve all been guilty of doing this.) Instead, invite them back for a follow-up interview. Do this after you’ve selected at least two other job candidates for follow-up interviews. This practice prevents surprises!

How to Create Good Interview Questions to Attract Top Talent

1. What are you looking for? While this may seem obvious, too often, hiring bosses don’t spend enough time answering this question. This is where you get real about what and who you need. Then, brainstorm the required skills for the position. Remember, it’s a new normal, and business requirements have changed.

Ask and brainstorm:

What actual qualities are required?
What does the right candidate need to accomplish in 30-60-90-180 days?
What job fit assessment is best to see the “whole person?”

For example, if you’re seeking someone who can sell, can they generate leads, close, and provide good customer care? Use a qualified job fit assessment and the provided interview questions to deep dive.

2. Do your questions meet legal requirements? Too often we want to ask about recent books and movies a person has read or seen. Unless you are a bookseller, this can get you into trouble. Why? You will infer characteristics about the person without factual data. As you already know, stay away from questions about a candidate’s lifestyle, childcare, age, race, religion, or gender type, to name a few.

For example, a hiring manager asked a candidate about the most recent book he’d read. He said, “Jaws.” She refused to talk with him further inferring he was an angry person.

3. Keep your questions focused on required job skills. When you ask good questions about job skills, use the Rule of 3. It will help you determine the depth and breadth of their skills.

Here’s an example of using the Rule of 3 to hire a project manager:

How do you handle team conflict? Can you give me an example?
What were the results?
If I talked with the team, how would they describe your leadership skills?

4.Are they willing to take on new assignments and learn new processes? Many will say, “sure.” Again, use the Rule of 3 to determine their true willingness. When you deep dive, you’ll hear their willingness (or unwillingness) to learn new things. Don’t dismiss their reactions!

5. Listen for how they interact with others. Ask about working relationships with previous work teams, bosses, and customers. Ask for examples and don’t be afraid to deep dive to determine their ability to use good people skills.

Many years ago, I conducted a final interview with an experienced general manager for a business owner. Each time she talked about her past three jobs and working relationships with each business owner, she was negative. When I asked if she was aware of her negativity, she gave me an honest, “no.” I then shared with her that this company likely would be no different.

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach, management consultant, and keynote speaker for over 28 years. She is an expert in guiding leaders and their teams to get unstuck and achieve dynamic results. These types of results start with hiring the right person the first time! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

Do You Bring Your A-Game to Work Each Day?

June 1, 2021 by Jeannette Seibly

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay — “It’s fun to experience your A-Game at work…but it’s up to you to bring it with you each day!” Jeannette Seibly

Your A-Game occurs when you are playing like a top-performing leader. This means you are working well with people, focused on the right business challenges, and bringing resources to your team. And, getting the results you want. It’s a great feeling. At the end of the day, you want to do it again!

But top performance doesn’t happen by accident. It takes doing the right things the right way…and starts by being present and aware.

How to Experience A-Game Days

Self-Care Is Critical. Taking care of yourself is important. It’s difficult to operate at top performance while denying your health and well-being. Hire a coach if your normal days seem like B-type days.
Resolve Conflict Instead of Hoping It’ll Go Away. Team conflict doesn’t mean you’re off-track. It means you need to address the core issue(s) you’ve been ignoring. This will make the difference between achieving dynamic results or experiencing costly hit-or-miss results.
Delegate to Your Team and BELIEVE They Will Come Up with the Answers. Your belief and trust in others will make projects easier to accomplish. (Or, more difficult if you’re micromanaging.) Remember, your team can take the initiative, be resourceful, and wants to be trained. A-Game leaders value the learning process and lead by example.
Brainstorm Solutions and Then Get Out of the Way. Lack of true brainstorming is a key reason teams fail! Trust the process of brainstorming and don’t latch on to the first and easiest answer. Now, get out of the way and allow your team to explore these new options.
Keep Your Eye on the End Results While Managing the Process. There will be times you will go off-track and into the weeds! It’s important to objectively ask and answer whether or not the current actions will lead you to the desired results. Watch out for busywork that occurs when a team member doesn’t have the skills or interest in using these skills to get the job done. Now, manage the process to stay on track. Remember, don’t manage your team members’ personalities, manage their actions.
Dial-Down Your Ego. Being humble every day is important when bragging about your successes! It also builds trust from your team.

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach, management consultant, and keynote speaker for over 28 years. She is an expert in guiding leaders and their teams to get unstuck and achieve dynamic results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about bringing your A-Game to work each day. Your A-Game occurs when you are operating at top performance levels. But those levels don’t happen by accident. They require you to consistently do the right things the right way…and that starts with you being present and aware. If you find that many of your days are B-, contact me to understand how to reach A-Game levels consistently!

Are you frustrated that your team loves conflict and chaos more than achieving intended results? Discover how to step up and work through these saboteurs now, before it’s too late!