Entrepreneur

Improve Your Expectations to Encourage Better Results

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expectations.boss

Many of us as bosses or team leaders have had to read our bosses’ minds and hope we read their expectations correctly. We are often afraid to ask too many questions out of fear of looking stupid. Yet, the problem is, we’re not mind readers!

Now, as bosses, we’re doing the same thing to our teams. Instead of sharing expectations simplistically and consistently, we expect them to just know. We even expect them to let us know if they are off track. The problem is, because they are not mind-readers, how are they going to know if they are off-track?

When you fail to share your expectations in a clear and consistent manner and expect your team to read your mind, there will be missed deadlines, miscommunication, and missed opportunities that cost you and your company millions of dollars.

6 Tips to Improve Expectations for Better Results

  1. Be realistic! This is #1. Engaging your team to achieve intended results requires your expectations to be in alignment with company and customer expectations. Be clear and ask questions to ensure you’re on the same page with your boss and customer before sharing your expectations with your team.
  2. Let Go of “Shoulds.” Stop focusing on how things “should” look and how the process “should” go. Results never occur in a straight upward line. Instead of insisting on only your way, ask your team for their ideas. Brainstorming gets everyone on the same page and your expectations in alignment with them while encouraging innovation.
  3. Communication is Key. Practice sharing your expectations out loud in front of the mirror. Keep them simple to understand. Then, like everything in life, communicate…communicate…communicate by being consistent and realistic.
  4. Be Responsible and Accountable. When your team members go awry, and they will, their results often won’t support your customer’s needs. This is on you.

      Ask yourself:

  • -“What did you fail to communicate?”
  • -“How can you get the team back on track?”
  • -“What does the team need from you to regroup and refocus?”
  1. Get Unstuck Quickly. Otherwise, the team’s motivation will be sabotaged. Remember, when you don’t share your expectations and managed accordingly, team frustration will set in and grow exponentially. If you keep sending mixed signals, you will get mixed results.
  2. Encourage Feedback to Avoid Surprises. At every meeting, ask for feedback on the project. Ask: What’s working? What’s not working? Then, “What do you need from me?” This will let you know if your expectations are on track, off track, or too unrealistic. It’s easier to fix things now rather than wait until the team has been stuck and is afraid to let you know. (Hint: with that level of frustration, they are circulating their resumes.)

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to improve your results and communications with your team?  Contact Jeannette now for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

New! Podcast! How to Humanize Your Story for Success

Today’s guest is Don Cardona. As a former NBC and ESPN Sports Producer, he understands the power and importance of humanizing your story for success.

http://ow.ly/clfl30q3783  

https://youtu.be/Tr501DBbBlw  (YouTube)

It’s Time to Focus on What Will Improve Your Sales Results

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It’s that time of year when everyone is looking at their sales numbers and making projections for next year. Yet, too often we fixate on the wrong things to improve our sales results and numbers. It’s time to get real and focus on the right things.

7 Tips to Ensure Your Sales Team is Delivering Real Results

  1. Hire the Right People. This is the #1 requirement to achieve sales results! Why? People that fit their job have a natural interest in achieving real results. It’s always important to go beyond the interview where they tell you what you want to hear! Use a qualified sales assessment to positively impact your results and bottom line. The right assessment provides you with interview questions and addresses the critical factors necessary for sales results (e.g., compensation, prospecting, closing, building relationships, resourcefulness, etc.). For example, if a person is unwilling to work in a sales commission job, hiring them doesn’t make a positive difference for anyone.
  2. Coach with Laser-Focused Accuracy. The right assessment tool also provides you laser-like coaching When you address the true issue with low performing salespeople, it’s easier to get real about how they can improve their sales skills. For example, telling someone they need to meet more people when they are already making a lot of contacts won’t make a difference. Instead, focus on coaching steps of how to engage people to determine potential buying interest.
  3. Focusing on Technology Doesn’t Fix Sales Results. How many times have you believed a new CRM or other technology-based sales system will improve sales results? This is a big, huge illusion. If you don’t have the right salespeople, technology will only make things worse. Your low producers will hide out behind learning the system as an excuse for not initiating the right conversations. The high performers will be annoyed they have to learn another new system.
  4. Customer Engagement Requires a Process. Are you engaging your customers on a quarterly basis? If yes, 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 to get real about what you are delivering versus what they need. Design these conversations to uncover new current problems and growth challenges. Provide qualified resources for your salespeople to become valued and trusted advisors. Remember, training is crucial for these conversations to be effective!
  5. Sales Team Huddles are a Must. If you’re not already doing this…start now! Have a standup huddle each morning for all salespeople. (Yes, stand up…if you sit during the meeting will go too long.) It is harder for so-so salespeople to hideout. It only takes 10 to 20 minutes. During the sharing, focus on progress actually being made and where to focus your attention for better results.
  6. It’s All about the Fundamentals. Train for the Details. I remember years ago a sales expert told me that you need to learn the details of your products and services to be a successful salesperson. This has made a positive difference for me when closing sales! Learn and teach your systems. Provide weekly training, updates, and stories. You can use the daily stand-up huddle for this too. Remember, successful selling is a lifelong process of learning with consistent reinforcement.
  7. Acknowledgment Works Wonders. Acknowledge your team, each team member, and your customers often. Share brags with others. Have an up-to-date dashboard showing results readily available. This encourages team support when someone is stuck.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want a stellar 2020? Improve hiring and coaching your sales team. Now is the time to contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

New! Podcast! How to Create Values for Balance and Success 

Interview with Katy Piotrowski…how to live an authentic, peaceful life based on creating your values for balance and success.

http://ow.ly/yZoq30q11ai (Anchor.FM)

https://youtu.be/9nt2rHoR4pE  (YouTube)

How to Provide Performance Reviews That Engage Your Team

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Mistakes.2

Imagine that you’re in a meeting with your boss to review your past year’s performance. Out of the blue, he reminds you of an incident that happened 10 months ago. You’d forgotten about it. Your boss didn’t mention it before now! How would you feel? What would be your response?

You might think, “Why didn’t you bring it up 10 months ago? Why are you bringing it up now?”

As the boss, when you conduct meaningful performance reviews, you must leave out the surprises. This all-important skill is required to build high-performance teams.

7 Tips for Conducting No-Surprise Performance Reviews

  1. Do It Now. Don’t Wait. Once a year is not productive. Instead, conduct interim performance reviews every quarter. Look at, “What is working? What is not working?” Consider using a qualified 360-degree feedback assessment…these can provide additional insights from team members. When a critical issue arises, address it immediately because memories will be more accurate and intervention can make a positive difference in the moment.
  1. Be Specific. Being prepared with specific facts and examples makes a positive impact. It encourages team members to listen to your feedback. Offer specific opportunities to support their development and growth as business professionals (e.g., coaching, training, work assignments, etc.).
  1. Individualize Feedback Using a Structured Approach. Avoid using rating systems, which rank or rate each team member against one another. This approach does not promote a high-performance team. Instead, use a structured questionnaire for each team member’s self-review. Then, review their feedback with your notes and insights. Now you can have a meaningful conversation.
  1. Focus on Growth and Development. Saying, “You’re doing great. I’ve nothing to add” or providing a list of criticisms is not helpful or meaningful. Remember the primary purpose of performance reviews is to provide objective growth and development feedback for each team member. Take the time to ensure they leave the performance review with one or two areas for improvement.
  1. Use First-Hand Knowledge. Failing to investigate issues doesn’t let you off the hook. Neither does saying, “I heard about this issue.” Investigate and verify before adding your observations. Then, ask for their perspective. Otherwise, you will create distrust between you and the rest of the team.
  1. Be Proactive. If there is problem brewing, share a story that exemplifies the potential issue and outcome. End by saying, “I’m committed that a similar situation doesn’t happen to you. This may be nothing…but, let’s be proactive. What do we need to do to get you on the right track?” Now, listen, make a plan, and follow-up to ensure progress is being made.
  1. Take the Time Required. Rubber stamping self-reviews may seem faster, however, it doesn’t make you a good boss or build a high-performance team. Again, it’s up to you to take the time to conduct performance reviews that are meaningful and engage your team.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to improve your managing and coaching skills? Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

New Podcast! How Failure Can Shape Positive Success

Interview with Lisa Reinicke … how to learn from failure when experiencing challenges and setbacks…and create success.

http://ow.ly/qyfo30pZ2io

https://youtu.be/JZzECTTXPD8 (YouTube)

8 Ways Toxic Bosses Can Stop Creating Toxic Workplaces

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When a toxic boss finds fault with everyone, including themselves, they create a toxic workplace. Their poison is to create fear about what they will do or say next. They further alienate their teams when the team feels they must walk on eggshells.

All bosses have strengths and weaknesses. But, if your team is not producing intended results, you are not building a strong team. It’s time for you to get real about whether you are a toxic boss by reviewing the following antidotes.

8 Antidotes for Toxic Bosses

  1. Success is an Inside Job and It Starts with You. Gain objective insights on why you are a toxic boss. Start with a scientifically strong validated assessment to review your thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests. These will answer why you are having trouble being a boss, and how to effectively overcome these challenges.
  2. Build Your Self Esteem. Too often when bosses misbehave or create mischief, it’s because they lack confidence and don’t feel good about themselves. Hire an executive coach to talk you through murky challenges and confidential concerns. Also, engage an internal industry/company mentor to guide you through company politics and industry expectations. It’s important you make the time and financial commitments to work with these experts as remedies to overcome your toxic boss style.
  3. Review Your Brags Daily. Use Brag! exercises daily to remind you that you have what it takes to succeed. This helps keep you on the right pathway to become a better boss when frustrations seem overwhelming.
  4. Build on Team Strengths. As the boss, your primary responsibility is empowering others for success! Assigning projects or work based on who you like best at that moment creates distrust and fear. Take the time to build on the strengths of all of your team members, regardless of your feelings about them. Remember, feelings change, but, often, your team’s memories won’t forget.
  5. Rely on Your Team for Solutions. Having the title of “boss” doesn’t mean you know everything, or should know everything. Don’t micromanage or base decisions on tiny bits of information without delving deeper with your team. Remember, as a boss, it’s your job to guide your team to develop solutions by asking the right questions to elicit their best ideas.
  6. Value Feedback. Feedback is gold. Ignoring it will cost you your title and paycheck! Listen and learn!
  7. Share Selectively. You’re not in the right job if you’re venting to anyone and everyone about what is wrong with your team members, projects, clients, and company. Instead focus on finding solutions, which will reduce your frustrations. When you need to vent, share with one or two confidants…and, of course, your executive coach.
  8. Take Your Responsibilities Seriously. Great bosses hold themselves to a higher standard. While it may have been a fun exercise as an employee to gossip about others, now you are the boss. What you say and do will create a positive or toxic workplace. Focus your attention on ensuring others have the resources and support they need so everyone can excel. Remember, you are responsible for your team, client, vendor, and company successes.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to get rid of your toxic boss behaviors and become a great boss?  Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

Podcast! On the Air with Jeannette Seibly, It’s Your Time for Success!

This week: The Importance of Acknowledging and Handling Grief

Interview with Leslie Charles talking about how to handle grief and why it’s important to do so.

http://ow.ly/4wlb30pWKkh (Anchor.FM)

https://youtu.be/oCvfp_UqpPo  (YouTube)

Alert! What Your Employees Need from You to Be Engaged!

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team.results.positively speak

Employee engagement is a great way to attract and keep great employees. It’s every hiring boss’s #1 concern today…or, should be.

If you don’t believe employee engagement is important, stop for a moment. Use the Cost of Hiring Calculator to get a conservative dollar value of what turnover is costing your company! Remember, you are already experiencing how hard it is to replace good employees! In the meantime, you’re losing profits, customers, and top talent while you are looking for the ideal candidate or attempting to manage someone that doesn’t fit the job.

6 Tips to Engage Employees and Create a Happier and Healthier Workplace

1. Begin Onboarding Immediately. Starting employee engagement on the day candidates apply for the job produces happier and healthier employees and reduces surprises later.

 Questions to ask yourself:

  • -Am I responding quickly and in an effective manner?
  • -Am I prepared for each conversation?
  • -What were the promises made (e.g., when to expect the job offer, key points and salary discussed during the interview)?

Remember, candidates today have short attention spans, but, long memories of how they were treated.

2. Engage in Conversations. Instead of checking the box for each interview question, engage the candidates in all conversations.

 Questions to include:

  • -What are they really looking for in this job?
  • -What is their purpose in life? In work?
  • -What are their goals in the next 3 to 5 years? (Don’t shy away from this question for older talent.)
  • -What specific skills do they need to learn or improve on?
  • -How can we provide a work/life/balance with our company?

Write down their responses and review them before each conversation. Remember, Millennials and Gen-Zers want to make a contribution that fulfills their purpose…not just pushing keys on the keyboard. Also, Baby Boomers and GenXers want to contribute…however, they will have different expectations of what the company needs to provide.

3. Use Qualified Assessments. While there are over 3,000 assessments on the market today, most are only for fun. They do not meet the Department of Labor’s Guidelines for pre-employment use. When you use scientifically validated tools with strong validation and reliability studies, you are telling candidates and employees that you value them and want to make sure they fit their job responsibilities. The right tools help you as a boss to hire, manage, coach, and train your employees effectively, while engaging them!

4. Stay in Communication. One manager said it took 9 months before he met his boss. During that time he felt he was doing a great job…until his manager told him he wasn’t, during their first meeting! It was a disempowering conversation that could have been avoided! The manager left 3 months later. Lesson? Bosses need to be available on Day #1. Schedule daily meetings for the first week, and less often as time progresses and they are on the right track!

5. Create 180-Day Success Plans. What will the successful candidates achieve? Be realistic. Include in the Plan how to build relationships, understand systems and policies, and be a contributing member of the team. Don’t forget to provide resources (e.g., training workshops, videos, or podcasts) and a mentor. During this time, provide positive daily reinforcement. This is very important and often overlooked. Remember, it’s a stressful time to learn a new job, meet new co-workers, and understand company expectations (both, written and unwritten).

6. Offer Brags! Studies have shown that bosses who provide daily acknowledgments to their employees don’t need formal recognition plans…and their employees stay much longer! Be sure these kudos are specific to each employee’s contribution to make them more meaningful.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to improve your employee engagement practices?  Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

New Podcast! How to Energize and Have Productive Meetings

We’ve all grown to hate meetings and feel they are a big huge waste of time. How can we turn this around and achieve the intended results?

My guest this week is Dr. Ronald Beach, author of The Virtual Divide.

http://ow.ly/kNRf30pUYfD (Anchor.FM/Jeannette-Seibly)

https://youtu.be/ux_UdwN0dPw (YouTube)

How to Reduce Stress in a Timely Manner

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Stress

It’s that time of the year when handling holiday expectations, family demands, and personal needs create stress. In addition, when business projects, profitability, and people need your attention, stress increases even more.

While stress is normal and part of being alive, holding onto how situations and people “should” behave and talk will increase your stress to an unhealthy level, especially during this time of the year.

The key is to be aware of your stress before it becomes unmanageable. Otherwise, your stress will limit your effectiveness and results as a boss, leader, and team player…and, your personal life will suffer too.

6 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress

  1. Breathe. Yes, breathe in for a count of 6, pause, then, exhale for a count of 12. Do this at least 3 times.
  2. Get the facts. Instead of worrying and becoming stressed, get the facts. Many times we allow a small problem or perceived failure to mentally and emotionally fester into a much larger issue. Stop it! Clarify the real problem you are experiencing. Or, identify the perceived failure causing your stress. Remember, small problems can be easily fixed! Talk out the facts with one or two trusted advisors and your executive coach. What did you learn? How can you reduce your stress when the same or similar situation happens in the future?
  3. Have the tough conversations you’ve been avoiding. Many times you will allow someone’s choice of words, hand gestures, or facial expressions to mean too much! The truth is, you are not a mind reader! Don’t gossip about what someone has said or done to cause you stress. Instead, ask the person for clarification in the moment. This builds relationships if handled in a non-defensive manner.
  4. Keep a private journal. Many people keep a journal about what isn’t working, past failures, and upsets. Instead, use journaling as a way to create a more positive future. Write down “brags” about what has been working. Include “I am grateful for …” Write about your future and goals. Write down anything that helps you remember why your dreams and desires inspire you. Remember to include the results you want to have at work (e.g., become a better boss).
  5. Focus on something different. If you are experiencing stress with a project, task, or relationship, focus on something else. Walk away. Then, after 20 minutes, you will probably have a different perspective and a new solution.
  6. Be present with people. Many times stress occurs when we don’t feel heard and valued. Learn to be fully present (mindful) in every conversation. Be open to other’s POVs and ideas! I promise, you will learn something new and life will seem less stressful.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to reduce your stress? Enjoy your business and job again? Find a more challenging career? Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

Why Is It Important to OWN Your Mistakes?

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The answer is simple. If you don’t own your mistakes and hope no one notices, you will sabotage your career now and in the future.

A new fast-track manager wanted to make a positive impression with his team. So, when he made a major mistake on a financial projection for a new product, he didn’t say anything to anyone. Since no one said anything that day or in the days that followed, he believed the mistake must not have been that bad. He breathed a sigh of relief at the end of his workweek on his drive home.

However, his teammates did notice, attempted to fix the problem, and told his boss. Then, the product failed. What’s worse, the boss waited six months before bringing up the mistake and focused on it during the manager’s performance review. The boss reviewed the mistake, impact, and costs. But, by then, it was too late to fix the mistake and trust had been already broken. The new fast-track manager’s career was sidelined because he didn’t own his mistake.

The 5 Critical Ways to Handle and Own Your Mistakes

  1. Take responsibility and acknowledge your mistake as soon as possible. Don’t make the mistake worse by minimizing the error or diminishing the impact on others.
  2. Apologize directly and immediately to the people affected, including the boss. Talk straight and don’t pretend it shouldn’t matter to anyone. Your purpose in sharing your mistake is to protect the boss, company, and co-workers from the known and unknown costs.
  3. Factually share what happened and create a practical solution for win-win outcomes. Again, talk straight. Be responsible for taking additional training, pay closer attention to details, or improve your interactions with others. Hiring an executive coach is also a good way to learn how to own and handle your mistakes in the future.
  4. Ask if the solution works for everyone before and after the mistake has been fixed. You made the mistake so don’t make it worse by thinking you know what needs to be done to fix it so others are satisfied. Ask for their input and incorporate their recommendations as needed.
  5. Where appropriate, share your mistake for training purposes with team members. This is perhaps one of the most critical to own and handle mistakes. Be authentic. We all make mistakes. It’s how you handle them that inspires others and helps them avoid making the same mistakes.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Do you need to improve how you communicate with your team and produce unprecedented results?  Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

Want Better Results? Speak Positively About Your Teams

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team.results.positively speak

Many executives and bosses want their teams to improve.

Yet, many of us sound like a critical parent when we talk about and to our teams.

You cannot build a strong team that produces amazing results by focusing on weaknesses!

When you speak positively about your teams, you encourage better results.

When you encourage your teams to stand up and brag, they will exceed your expectations.

If You Want to Improve Your Team’s Results, Change Your Approach

Speak positively about others.  Set aside your biases to help your team members excel and improve! Focus on one or two specific things a person did well and let them know (too many will sound insincere). For example, I had a difficult employee who was prickly to work with. Yet, she could find a penny when reconciling invoices and billings. When I acknowledged her and others, she became easier to work with. I did need to remind her from time-to-time, that while accuracy was important, she needed to be careful to not overdo it.

Use a laser-approach for how-to-do-it coaching. Take time to outline your expectations and specific requirements when assigning projects to the right person. But, don’t micromanage them.  For example, I had a team member who wanted to excel but feared her co-workers would make fun of her for wanting to become a manager. I gave her a project and outlined the basics. She excelled at putting together the project and addressing the details. After I complimented her on a great job, together we addressed specific details for her to address further. She overcame her fears of what others thought and today she is working in a management position.

Acknowledge and support frustrations and upsets, instead of criticizing your team. Breakdowns are inevitable, but, team members don’t need rescuing or fixing. (Stay away from engaging in no-win emotional drama, finger-pointing, and gossip.) Treat them as successful adults.  Listen to their initial concerns and frustrations and focus on the facts, not the emotions. Ask…what is factually working? Then, what is factually not working? Acknowledge the person’s efforts before asking how they would resolve the issue. Then, fine-tune.

Did you know job fit is the #1 reason people naturally excel?  But, only if you get out of the way! According to Harvard Business Review, job fit is the #1 reason teams and individuals excel. Using the right scientifically validated tools for selection and promotion ensures fit with job responsibilities. This encourages people to improve team and communication efforts. Use the coaching report (from the assessment) to become “laser-like” and get out of the way for your team’s success.

Offer spot-on training. Everyone started their jobs not knowing how to do them. Instead of labeling team members as smart or not-so-smart, offer on-the-spot training. Remember, team members need and want to improve. But, your team members do not all learn in the same way. Some are auditory learners…provide podcasts. Some are more visual learners…provide videos. Some enjoy human interactions or hands-on experiences…provide workshops and training programs. However, the best way to develop soft skills is to mix it up when conducting face-to-face training, live webinars, and coaching.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 27 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to improve how you engage your teams for results?  Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

 

NEW! Podcast: This Week: Why is it Important to Promote Yourself?  On the Air with Jeannette Seibly … It’s Your Time for Success!

It’s Time to Get Unstuck for Successful Results

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-Are you unable to get started on a project?

-Has your project skidded to a halt and you don’t know why?

-Have you limited your career choices or has your boss derailed your career options?

-Do you wish you had different co-workers or bosses or clients?

-Have you ever over-thought an idea?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are using too much brainpower and spending too much time overthinking “why” you and/or your team are stuck. This cyclical thinking hurts progress and will continue to keep you stuck. And, if you wait too long to talk with the right coach, team members, resources, your options will vanish.

Deidre*, a corporate executive, was fired from her job. For the next 7 years, she felt stuck. Because of her past successes, she relied on past beliefs on how to make money. She bought a company…it failed. She worked in several low paying jobs where she became bored. The right opportunities to use her leadership experience and skill sets seemed elusive. She became more dispirited after listening to motivational techniques. She finally agreed to take a PXTS assessment and listen to her executive coach. The result … She started taking focused actions! She got unstuck! And, this all happened on the same day! She chose a new position from several high-level opportunities she was offered and is still there today.

*Note: In this story, Deidre represents many people I’ve talked with over the years that got stuck after leaving successful corporate jobs.

3 Great Ways to Get Unstuck and Move Forward Now

Talk it out. Share your “stuck-ness” with only a few trusted people and your executive coach. Otherwise, too many opinions will actually keep you stuck and hinder any progress. Stick with the facts of the situation. And, stay away from telling your story about “why” you feel the way you do. That will impede real progress. Instead, listen to the feedback you received from your trusted advisors and select one option. Remember, the right focused actions make all the difference. They are a magnet for attracting new opportunities … just like Deidre experienced in the story above.

Walk it out. Keep physically and mentally fit. Doing so will also keep your emotions more objective. While you’re stuck, stay committed to the end result and take the right focused action steps. Be aware of playing the blame game (e.g., economy, money, boss, customers, etc.). That will prevent you from becoming unstuck! Remember, it takes responsibility, resiliency, and flexibility to move forward.

Write it out. When projects or relationships become murky and confusing, stop! Breathe. Take the time to write out the following exercise to get unstuck and achieve the results you really want.

This exercise is simple…it’s only two questions: What worked? What did not work? To get the most out of this exercise, use numeric results. Example of what worked: increased sales by 10%. Example of what didn’t work: missed Q3 goal by 15%. Then, acknowledge yourself in the mirror for what you’ve accomplished. Now, you are ready to create a new game plan by addressing how to handle “missed results.”

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011-2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For more than 26 years, she has guided bosses and teams to get unstuck quickly. Need help moving forward?  Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

Many bosses wish to improve how they manage … here’s how.

NEW! Podcast:

How to Do the Things You’ve Always Wanted to Do 

Interview with Natli VanDerWerken…when the Universe hits you with a two by four, you’d better listen!

http://ow.ly/o8B330q4LgZ  (Anchor.FM)

https://youtu.be/clq1NSjAnfA  (YouTube)

Can Personal Values Get in the Way of Success?

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Values.Personal.Professional.SeibCo.Coach.Keynote Speaker. Author

I’ve talked with many bosses and business leaders who have lamented that their talented performers are not promotable. What they say is that their personal values are not in sync with the professional values and expectations they have for successful future leaders. 

These bosses and business leaders don’t know what to do. They believe successful future leaders should already exhibit solid professional values. The problem is, these bosses and business leaders fail to take responsibility for providing training and development via coaching, workshops, mentoring, etc.

Professional values inside a company are often unwritten, yet, you are expected to abide by them as you move higher in a profession, company, and industry. Also, many executives and boards send confusing messages. They overlook poor values as long as the results are being produced or there is the “right” excuse. This makes it harder to learn the level of professional values expected.

Accept the challenge…read the following story and look for what you would do differently?

DeeDee, a fast-rising sales manager, also enjoyed vaping and smoking other substances. She would disappear several times during the day for a smoke or two. She believed this calmed her and improved her ability to handle customer needs.

Her boss, Tom, had heard of DeeDee’s smoking habit. He turned a blind eye, even though her personal values violated the company’s “no smoking policy.”   DeeDee surpassed quarterly sales quotas and made him look good as a sales director. He allowed her to do her job as she wanted and only got involved to resolve complaints.

This façade lasted until DeeDee landed a major client…a much bigger client than she normally managed. Then, everything changed.

The major client expected DeeDee to honor her promises and fulfill the contract. But, DeeDee’s personal values of doing what she felt was right for her overrode the professional values expected by her company and her new client.

Her personal values didn’t include responding to client’s calls whenever they needed to talk with her. She excused missing deadlines as no big deal. She ignored calls if she felt the issue was mundane and sent short emails or texts hoping they would stop bothering her. These bad habits only frustrated the client since their questions were not completely answered. These missed deadlines impacted the client’s company and their customers!

It wasn’t until the client threatened to cancel their contract that her boss Tom finally paid attention.

After talking with his VP, Tom assigned Tony, a customer service manager, to act as an intermediary between DeeDee and the client. But, Tony resented having to do DeeDee’s job. She wasn’t qualified to efficiently and effectively handle this size of a customer. Also, he knew DeeDee’s sales commissions were not going to be shared with him!

Tony’s complaints landed on deaf ears. After all, one of the company’s professional values is everyone needs to be a team player when working with major clients.

To make matters worse, DeeDee signed an apartment lease that stated, “No smoking or vaping of anything.” She ignored it and blamed her neighbors for reporting her. One of the neighbors was on the new client’s team. When he shared the situation with his team, his company immediately canceled their very large contract.

Why? They cited DeeDee’s poor performance and blamed the company’s inability to enforce their leadership values (e.g., poor hiring, management, etc.).

What would you have done to ensure a better outcome? Take this challenge to your next company meeting and look at it from each person’s POV (Tom, DeeDee, Tony, Sales VP, and major client) to create the best game plan.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning champion for people and results. For the past 26 years, she has guided bosses and teams to excel. Want to clarify your professional values and be promotable?  Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

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