Developing Your Salespeople is the Mark of a Good Leader

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!

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.

How Do Leaders Get Out of the Way for Change?

Finger about to press a change button. Concept of change management or changing life
Finger about to press a change button. Concept of change management or changing life

Change is occurring everywhere today due to the pandemic, protests, and economic failures.

Many team members that have been silent are now standing up and speaking up. This can be intimidating for even the strongest of leaders because change can be difficult whether or not you believe in it.

You can view change as a phoenix rising out of the success your company has already experienced. Or, you can hide behind the numbers, policies, and “the way it’s always been done,” and hope no one notices.

The truth is, leaders must manage the change or it will manage them.

How Do You Get Out of the Way?

Embrace, Don’t Fear of Change. This is a must and required to be a leader, especially in today’s new world of work. Learn to embrace change and be part of its evolution instead of allowing it to happen by default. Be the leader that guides teams forward by encouraging innovation along the way.

It’s Not Personal. When team members are standing up and speaking up, it’s not about you. It’s about changes they believe are required of the company’s systems, policies, and/or practices. When you set aside your ego, biases and judgments, you will hear what needs to be heard. Then, you can ask questions to brainstorm ideas that build change and create win-win-win outcomes.

Develop Mindful Resilience. We all get triggered by certain words, facial expressions, or gestures. 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. Work with your executive coach or therapist to guide you through these triggered reactions that can get in the way of leading and managing change.

Get Over the Need to be Well-Liked When Making Decisions. It hurts your credibility. Many leaders are afraid to upset others and it is reflected in their decisions. However, change requires fearless leadership to make the tough decisions and manage worthwhile change. Work with your executive coach as a trusted sounding board and focus on understanding the impact your decisions have across the company and with your customers. Include team members in decision-making processes by using facilitated brainstorming sessions. Give them a voice and listen to what they are saying!  You’ll be amazed by their ideas and insights.

Make Your Feedback Positive. Recently a group of people were providing feedback on a project by saying, “I don’t like this or that.” When asked why, they said, “Just because I don’t.” This type of feedback is meaningless and not helpful to a project manager or team. As a leader, discover “why” by asking non-accusatory questions. Otherwise, you and your team will fail to stretch and develop the skills required to make better decisions.

Questions to get the conversation started:

  • Tell me more about why you don’t like this idea.
  • Interesting…could you tell me what you’re hearing or seeing about this idea that has you say “no”?
  • What would make it a “yes”?

Getting out of the way and leading change will make you a better leader. Your career will thank you.

©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 embracing change. 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.

Change can be a difficult process for everyone! As a leader, learn about your style to see how well you have managing it! Contact Jeannette about the CheckPoint 360oassessment.

Mindful Resilience is Required to be a Successful Leader

Mindful Resilience.BizSavvyCoach.5Note: this article is an overview for an upcoming webinar I’m presenting for a financial association. If you’re looking for a presenter, please contact me @ JLSeibly@gmail.com or call me @ 303-917-2993 if urgent.

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 diss 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. 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 to Become Successful. 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.

Do you want to improve managing your leaders to get results? Contact Jeannette about the CheckPoint 360oassessment.

The Initial Crisis Is Over…Now, How Do You Energize Your Team?

Leaders.Crisis.Team.BizSavvyCoach.5While the crisis initially energized many teams, now, they find themselves plateauing.

Many of you as leaders may not see or feel the difference because you’ve already moved on to other ideas and opportunities that energize you. And, you may have overlooked the needs of your team!

Many team members are not Type A’s like many leaders are! As a result, they need your help as their leader to be productive after the initial hype of any crisis. Regardless of your leadership style, how you handle going forward will determine if your team is engaged and energized!

5 Tips to Engage and Energize Your Team

Listen as Though They Matter. Develop the habit of recognizing where your listening skills need improvement. When you listen with intent, you will hear what your team is saying and notice the all-important non-verbal cues! Listen and ask the right questions. Now, you can be a catalyst to keep the team engaged and energized.

Your Actions Are Louder than Your Words. Non-verbal communication accounts for 80% of what people hear! With the initial crisis over, you cannot hide out during virtual meetings! When you slouch, yawn, or play with your phone, you’re indicating you are not listening and bored. This can be upsetting and demoralizing to team members. Instead, turn off electronics and other distractions. Nod, smile, and look directly into the camera when listening and speaking. This will let you team know you are engaged and expect the same from them.

Influencing Others Is More Engaging. When making decisions, instead of relying on the power of your job title and other factors, learn how to influence others. If you’re committed to engaging team members, you will provide them the opportunity to be part of the decision-making process. This requires training your team members (e.g., listening, critical thinking, brainstorming, etc.) and addressing real-life issues. While this process builds stronger, more engaged teams, remember, the final decision is yours.

Include 1:1 Meetings…They Are Also Important. Talking and providing feedback with individual team members builds trust. It also builds a stronger collective team. 1:1 meetings provide a great opportunity to learn what each and every person needs to be successful. After all, that’s what successful leadership is about…helping teams and individuals succeed!

It’s OK to Admit to a Bad Day. Self-awareness is the mark of a healthy leader and healthy team members. During this crisis (and future ones), being aware of your triggers and upsets are an important part of being an effective leader. Share your upsets appropriately by taking responsibility and communicating your actions to mitigate them. Don’t fall into the common trap of blaming others, the situation, or your boss, customer, or board. Remember, your team will listen and learn from you if you’re being authentic about the challenges you are facing.

©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.

Remote Leadership is the New Normal, So Get Good At It!

Remote Leadership.BizSavvyCoach.6

Business today is not business as usual. It’s why we call it a “new normal.”

While many of us have experienced “new normal’s” during our careers, we have found each one to bring new challenges to the workplace.

The question is, are you ready to be an effective leader in today’s new normal?

The answer is good news because current and future leaders can step up and learn to effectively manage in any situation. The bad news is it’s easy to overlook developing key skills thinking they don’t matter.

For example, many of you have already experienced the challenges of being a remote leader. Skills like listening. You are learning the hard way that listening is the foundation required to build trust and achieve intended results. I’ve addressed these skills and more in two articles this year, Are You Ready to Excel as a Leader? Now is the Time! and  Knowing How to Lead Virtual Team Members Is a Required Skill

This article addresses those commonly overlooked skills that remote leaders must also address to become effective during any new normal.

5 Often Overlooked Leadership Skills

Be More Proactive and Less Reactive. For example, many businesses had been considering allowing employees to work remotely prior to this pandemic. But, they pushed it off thinking it would take too much time and too many resources. Yet, within a week of “Stay at Home” orders, these same companies were able to have millions of employees working from home! What ideas, programs, and plans have you been sitting on thinking now is not the time? Now is the time to either move them forward or find a shredder. Don’t be afraid to brainstorm new ideas with your team!

Manage for Results. Before this latest crisis, only 10% of teams actually executed their plans! Today we don’t have that luxury. To improve your results, expect success and work with your team to achieve them! Do you know the #1 skill to develop? It’s how to listen.  That means no multi-tasking while you pretend to listen. (Yes, I know I’m a parrot about listening! I find it amazing the results achieved when you do!) When you listen intently, you will hear ideas and nuances that you previously missed. Ask questions to deep dive. This #1 skill will facilitate 1:1 and team effectiveness and results!

Choose Who Should Work from Home. Be aware and sensitive to the fact that not everyone can work from home productively for a variety of reasons. Create new options for remote team members to work in safe and healthy environments. It’s up to you to ensure they have the tools and resources needed. Schedule 1:1 meetings to ask, listen, and ensure your team members have what they need to be productive.

Build Resilience, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness. It’s important to develop a team that pushes the edges, takes initiative, and creates positive differences.  Mistakes will be made by you and your team; use these as learning opportunities. Provide podcasts, online webinars, and other opportunities to develop new skills for both you and your team! An added idea: Focus on one new skill per week by facilitating a short discussion (or have a team member do so). This process builds team comradery and ensures they are using their new skills. Skills include, listening to one another, appreciating the diversity of people, using critical thinking, and executing a plan, to name a few.

Be Coachable. Yes, during fast economic growth, we often overlook this essential skill believing we don’t have the time to talk with a coach. Yet, successful leaders have coaches regardless of the economic highs or lows! The bottom line is, you don’t have the time for trial and error for this new normal!  That’s one of many things a coach will help you with. Also, remember your team members will only forgive you for your blunders once or twice before circulating their resumes! So hire the right coach today!

©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 achieve unprecedented results remotely!  Are you ready?  Contact Jeannette  Don’t forget to listen to her podcasts on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

The Right Hiring Assessments to Revive Your Bottom Line

Hiring.Today.Assessments.BizSavvyCoach.7

“If it weren’t for assessments, I would hire the way I always do and get the same bad results!” — President, Engineering Company

As offices reopen, companies everywhere must focus on strategies to improve team performance and revive their bottom line.

It starts with hiring and selecting the right employees for the right job…aka job fit, the first time. Sadly, too many companies spend more time evaluating equipment and systems than focusing on hiring the right people to run and manage them!

 “It is not experience that counts, or college degrees or other accepted factors – success hinges on fit with the job.” (Source: Harvard Business Review, Vol. 58, No. 5)

Today, more than ever, using the right assessments for hiring and selecting the right employees will determine fit with the job and impact your bottom line.

Cost of Poor Hiring Practices

As a leader, you know your turnover rate. In fact, you may be proud that it is below industry standards. Yet, the truth is, you do not know how the actual costs of your current hiring practices impact your bottom line. (Think of the client you just lost and the intangible costs!)

Now is a great opportunity to calculate the cost of a bad hire, and how much it costs to promote the wrong person, or lose a talented team member. When you do this, you will realize you’re losing money each and every quarter, even though your bottom line may be acceptable…not great…just OK!

Not All Assessments Are Created Equal

Not all assessments are designed for hiring and selection purposes. Using assessments that have not been statistically validated for pre-employment and selection purposes can get you in legal trouble. Also, the wrong assessment will cause you to hire the wrong person for the right job OR hire the right person for the wrong job.

Why?

People are like icebergs: they only let you see what they want you to see and what you don’t see under the surface is often far more significant!

Currently, most employees hate their jobs (over 71% according to a Gallup study) due to poor job fit. Many hiring managers and recruiters overlooked tell-tale indicators and used assessments that were not statistically validated for pre-employment use.

Using the wrong assessment or no assessment allows candidates to tell you what you want to hear not what you need to hear. (Note: there is only a 15% chance of discerning a lie!)

For example, candidates will…

  • -Talk about the skills and talents they don’t use appropriately.
  • -Share achievements they didn’t accomplish.
  • -Win the job offer and not be the same person that shows up to work. (Or, ghost you!)

These avoidable hiring mistakes will hinder your ability to revive your bottom line.

Use the Right Assessment to Ensure Job Fit

You would not use a screwdriver to put a nail in the wall. The right tool is a hammer. Using the right assessment tools are no different.

There are over 3,000 assessments in the market today. Most do not meet the Department of Labor’s 13 Guidelines for Using Pre-Employment and Selection Assessments (See: Testing and Assessment: An Employer’s Guide to Good Practices, Department of Labor).

How do you choose the right assessment to determine job fit and core values?

There are two options:

  1. Read the DOL’s 13 Guidelines (citation noted two paragraphs above) and review the technical manual for each one. A qualified assessment will have a technical manual showing statistically that it meets the validity and reliability and all other requirements for pre-employment and selection purposes. The key is to ask for the technical manual and refuse to use an assessment for pre-employment and selection purposes without one.
  2. Talk with an assessment expert to guide you through the process.

When you take the time to select the right assessments and use them as directed, they work and will positively revive your bottom line.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2015-2020

Source: “Hire Amazing Employees,” Chapter 11, Assess for Job Fit—Use Qualified Assessments http://BizSavvyHire.com

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 hire, coach, train, and manage for unprecedented results. The new world of work is here.  Are you ready?  Contact Jeannette  Don’t forget to listen to her podcasts on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

When You Hit the Wall of Resistance, What Do You Do?

wall of resistance.bizsavvycoach.7When you experience fatigue, loss of energy, and/or poor results, you’ve hit the wall of resistance. And, no matter what you say, think or do…nothing will change until you do.

We’ve all hit that wall of resistance in our lives. It doesn’t matter if you have been successful in the past… it means change needs to happen for you now.

My wall of resistance recently occurred when I bought a new laptop and software. In the past, I’ve been able to make the changes necessary to be up and running quickly. Initially, I had success. Then, I hit my wall of resistance when the new backup program wasn’t working and I had to call for a tech geek instead of being able to do it myself. The following key points and tips helped me breakthrough my wall of resistance.

Since life and business have changed so dramatically, you will experience more walls of resistance than ever. The good news is, if you’re willing to be open to new ways of doing things you can break down your walls just like I did.

4 Key Points to Remember

  • -Humans are resilient…and so are you!
  • -This new normal can attract new opportunities.
  • -You, along with others, are creating a new world.
  • -Be ready! Now is a great time to create new habits, mindsets, and POVs.

Your wall of resistance is a gift. It’s letting you know now is the time to make changes.  

6 Tips to Discover New Opportunities

Breathe! Yes, inhale and exhale. Do this consciously. Breathe in for 5 counts. Pause. Exhale for 10 counts. Repeat this 3 times. Breathing, along with one or two of the following tips, will help you uncover new possibilities. However, you will still need to take focused-action for them to happen.

Write it out. Fear limits new opportunities. Watching the news and reading all the controversy about COVID-19 is confusing and depressing. So, instead, focus on the positive. Journal every day about what is working and your successes (brags). Also, include what you’re grateful for. The act of writing will create new awareness and new ideas. (For those of you that don’t like to write, try it, you’ll be surprised by what happens.)

Move away from the issue by walking it out. Take 20 minutes and physically do something different (exercise, dance, participate in an exercise podcast, etc.). When you return, you will have a different and calmer POV.

Use Your Sounding Boards and Stop Being a Lone Ranger. Learn how to talk and listen to your family and/or work team. Also, talk with your executive coach, therapist, mentor, or other trusted confidant. If you don’t have one, find the right one for you. Together create new solutions by listening and valuing each and every idea. (SEE Brainstorming below.)  Important Note: Don’t fall into the trap of talking ad nauseam about it that you don’t take any action. Pick one good idea and take focused action steps toward a solution.

Brainstorm. Yes, truly brainstorm. Now is a great time to develop and hone the skill of brainstorming. This will help you create new solutions anytime and anywhere in life, especially when you hit the wall of resistance. However, keep in mind, it does require a new level of listening and aligning with your team before creating a focused-action plan!

Update and Upgrade. Now is a great time to update and upgrade your skills: technical, financial, decision-making, and people skills.

Here are some ideas (trust yourself by picking one and taking action now):

Remember, hitting your wall of resistance can be a gift. When embraced and acted on, it will open up new opportunities for you to excel.

©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 blasting through walls of resistance and creating positive results. The new world of work is here. Are you ready to lead?  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.

To Win, Focus on Building New Strategies in a New Way

Winning Strategy.BizSavvyCoach.5

The new way is to use your team…

Recently, I worked with a leader that had taken on a new project. Her primary concern was to help her team avoid another project failure. As we talked, she shared her plan based on articles that focused on what “she should” do.

As I listened to her, it was clear she lacked a clear strategy and plan on how to get her team back on track. Her approach needed adjusting or she and her team would fail again.

Using my straight-talk approach, I shared with her several concerns.

Together, we created a new strategy and plan for her to guide her team to success, instead of doing it all on her own. We focused on guiding her team to build new strategies and tactical approaches for success from start to finish. She left the meeting feeling clear and energized. As a side note, they won!

Because of COVID19, many leaders today are becoming lone rangers and relying on, “This is what I’ve done in the past.”

Studies show that right now leaders have heightened levels of anxiety and stress. As a result, they have become more focused on the goals and are more task-oriented and less “people-oriented.”

Frankly, this is a lazy approach.

It’s not business as usual! As a leader, you must work with and through your team to build new strategies for success. Before working with your team, talk it out with your executive coach. It’s important you address your fears and gain a healthier perspective. This is the mark of a successful leader.

4 Foundations for Creating a Successful Team Experience

1.Stay engaged during ALL conversations. #1 Rule! Put away all electronic gadgets. If you pay 100% attention, you and your team will generate better ideas and solutions every time.

2. Learn the differences between facilitating remote and physical meetings. These skills and practicing will help you win success.

3. Conduct true brainstorming sessions. When generating strategic and tactical ideas, write them down each and every time so everyone can see them.

4. Talk out disagreements (aka conflict management). It’s critical all team members get a voice. To achieve this, you must manage meeting saboteurs (e.g., difficult team members, side conversations, people not listening, etc.). Otherwise, great ideas and solutions will be silenced. This can be even more difficult with remote meetings.

11 Tips to Win with Your Team to Create New Strategies and Tactics for Success

1.Know Your Team Members. While you may believe you know your team members, too often you don’t understand why they (and you) communicate, work, and interact in a way that impedes results. Use a qualified assessment to clarify why. Also, use this tool to manage them (and yourself) more effectively. Using an executive coach can accelerate this process.

2. Clean Up the Past. To effectively create “the new,” you must complete “the old” work efforts. Otherwise, team members will gravitate backwards if not acknowledged for their achievements or brags. Use the exercise, “What worked?/What didn’t work?

3. Visioning Exercise. Read carefully before proceeding with this exercise. This process moves the team out of relying on what they’ve always done and opens up something new and different.

Have team members:

  • -Write an outline of what should happen in the next 6 months (keep it to one hand-written page).
  • -Share a few of the ideas. These will sound like “should’s” and “what we’ve done in the past.”
  • -“Shred. What. They. Wrote.” This is a critical step to creating a true strategy.
  • -Now, write a one-page outline answering the question, “What would you really really really want to have happen?”
  • -Stay away from HOW (tactical) to make it happen…that discussion comes later. 

4. Be clear about the difference between your strategy and tactics. Your strategy (goal) acts as a guide for the tactics (actions) that your team will undertake. Tactics answer the question, “How are we going to accomplish the strategy?” Source: https://www.dummies.com/business/business-strategy/ 

5. To get started creating a new strategy, engage team members by asking these questions and listening to their responses.

Who are we?

-Where do we want to be in 6 months?

-Why is this important now?

6. Brainstorm. Write down all ideas, especially the off-the-wall ones. These usually prompt additional ideas and keeps the team engaged and listening. Remember to have fun.

7. Align on the strategy (without “how” you will achieve it). Write it down in 10 words or less. This keeps everyone engaged and on the same page, now and in the future.

8. Now, develop the tactics. Brainstorm and align on specific detailed focused-actions for your team to achieve the strategy.

9. Address current team skills, budgets, legalities, and resources. What’s missing and what’s needed? Don’t be afraid to encourage initiative and resourcefulness.

10. Build on current systems, procedures and policies. This will move you and your team forward faster and more effectively.

11. Measure results. Determine what you will measure so you can track the team’s progress and impact the results, now and in the future.

If you are still experiencing challenges and unable to create true strategies for success, contact your executive coach for answers NOW. Remember, waiting and hoping it will resolve itself is not a winning strategy.

©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 achieving unprecedented results. 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.

How to Move Forward When You Reopen Your Office

Reopening Office.BizSavvyCoach.Jeannette Seibly

Attention all leaders! Business will never the same when and after you reopen your office!

How you handle reopening your office will determine your team’s ability to trust you now and in the future. The key is to focus your time and energy on communication, safety, and team connectivity. Remember, change is never easy for anyone regardless of the reasons why.

The challenge is providing clarity and building trust 24/7. When you do, you will find your team members are amazingly resilient.

Focus on These 6 Tips to Provide Clarity and Build Trust

1. Manners Matter. Fear of this pandemic will not go away for a long time. Unfortunately, fear can and will be expressed in unexpected and, sometimes, unacceptable ways. Handle microaggressions immediately or team members will become disengaged. Lead by example with exemplary manners and encourage others to do the same. These positive new habits will build a positive new workplace culture. The simplest way to get started? Always use “please” and “thank you.” Now, build from there.

2. Use Positive Acknowledgement as the Norm. Meet with team members individually and as a group to express gratitude for their contributions…no matter how small. Don’t forget to give out gift cards and other small perks as acknowledgments. These make a big difference in team members feeling valued, especially right now. Be on the lookout, now more than ever, to positively acknowledge each and every person, each and every day!

3. Rally Your Team’s Spirit. Today, there has been a major upheaval in each team member’s world. So it’s important to focus on rallying them back together as a team. For example, your sales team will need a boost. Host fun and engaging sessions to review product offerings, share new research, and encourage new ways of talking with customers.

4. Health and Safety is #1. Regardless of anything else you do when you reopen your office and bring back your team members, health and safety is #1. On Day 1! Re-onboard ALL team members! Review new and old policies and procedures. Don’t expect them to read and understand your intentions. Share your expectations of them, what they can expect from you, and why it matters.

Here are some examples:

  • -Are there new cleaning protocols?
  • -Are hand sanitizers and face masks provided?
  • -How will you monitor team members’ health?
  • -How are you staying current with local, state, and federal changes?
  • -What are social distancing requirements for reopening the office (e.g., large group gatherings, shared office space, break rooms, etc.)?
  • -When can they work from home and what are the protocols?

5. Encourage Self-Responsibility. Team members must be responsible (including you) for following ALL protocols. This includes paying attention to their own health, safety, and well-being. Examples include honoring other’s boundaries, avoiding large group gatherings, and relying on virtual meetings whenever possible. Also, encourage team members to stay home when feeling ill without the threat of repercussions.

6. Remember, Change Is a Process, Not An Event. Respect the fact that each team member will process this period of loss and change differently. Ensure frequent and consistent communication…even if you sound like a parrot…to enforce new policies and practices. Team members will forget or not understand how their attitudes and behaviors impact others! It’s imperative that you are mindful and set a positive example…or confusion will reign and trust will quickly diminish.

Remember, providing clarity and building trust is a 24/7 job when reopening your office.

©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.