Leadership

Your Beliefs Determine the Quality of Your Results

by

BeliefsMany emerging leaders think they know what is required to spearhead larger projects, successful teams and projected outcomes. They trust their knowledge on how to design, develop and execute projects and believe that is all they need for success. However, what you know doesn’t guarantee success. The truth is, your belief in yourself, the team and the project will better determine the quality of your results.

Let Go of Limiting Beliefs

Limiting Belief #1: I Already Know All About Me. We want to believe that others see us the way we see ourselves. This is rarely the case. When you lack awareness of your impact on others or assume you already know what they think, it limits your ability to influence them. If you really want to know how you are perceived (and real leaders do), use qualified assessment tools and an executive coach to uncover your blind spots, release limiting beliefs and help you get out of your own way.

Limiting Belief #2: Failure Is Not an Option. Many of today’s business professionals have been taught to believe there is no such thing as failure! However, being unable to admit mistakes or blaming others when the project doesn’t look like you think it should discourages others from wanting to work with you. Believe in the process by working objectively through the plan’s design, development and execution. Allow yourself and your team to uncover errors, make mistakes and even fail. Remember, this won’t necessarily be fun, but it’s the quickest and the best way to learn.

Limiting Belief #3: All Change Is Good. Change can be great when it’s required – but change for the sake of change doesn’t usually work. Believe in the process of change and don’t shortchange it. Build on others’ ideas, encourage conflicting opinions (yes, I said conflicting) and align on team decisions before proceeding forward.

Limiting Belief #4: I Have the Wrong Team. Did you know that many leaders think they have the wrong team? Get over it! Team members will make or break your success, depending on your belief in them! Put away your laundry list of why they can’t or won’t do the job. Believing and trusting your team members to handle their responsibilities can and does produce unprecedented results.

Limiting Belief #5: Asking for Help Shows Weakness. This limiting belief is deadly. When you can ask for help, you are showing strength. Asking for help and advice from your team members, business advisor and/or boss is the best place to start. Only fools believe they have all the knowledge required.

Breaking free of these limiting beliefs will make a profound difference in the quality of any project’s results.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s management group? Have issues to address or conflicts to resolve that you have been avoiding? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you need to learn how to work together as a team? Conduct effective meetings? Break free of limiting beliefs? Check out her website, or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

How Do You Make a Positive Impression?

by

leadership6A businessman is very knowledgeable about his profession. However, people don’t return his phone calls or invite him to work with them on projects. Why? He gossips. He tells people they are wrong in front of others. He mocks them when he doesn’t understand their point of view. The result? The negative impression he has created limits his ability to make a positive difference.

Many people today are in a big rush and rarely slow down when they communicate with others. Miscommunication occurs and can leave the impression that they are difficult to work with … one of the fastest ways to derail a career. Don’t let this happen to you. Understand that ALL of your actions, words, attitudes and behaviors impact others. While you cannot control everyone’s impression of you, being mindful of how you interact with co-workers, bosses and clients will allow you to create a positive impact.

Be Mindful in Your Communication

Texts and Emails. Slow down! Consider how your communication will be interpreted before sending that email or text. Your digital interaction is the #1 way to create an impression that you are able to communicate well with others.

Social Media Postings. When you post pictures or statements that may be considered offensive or spam, they will determine others’ willingness to work with you. While you may believe self-expression is your right, poorly thought-out postings can create an impression that you are difficult to work with. They can even impact your ability to get a job offer, receive a promotion, close a sale or receive funding for a product, idea or book.

Meetings. When working with a team, it’s important to outline and communicate expectations and group rules and provide training on how to handle team meetings. As the leader, a little planning goes a long way. It creates the impression that you respect your team’s time and are committed to their success and the intended results of a project.

Gossip. Gossip hurts others, and many times it’s based on fragments of information that are not the whole truth. It may even be considered harassment. Instead of participating in gossip, shift the conversation and be supportive of each and every team member to create a positive impression of the team.

Truth. Lying to others will diminish trust. Know that eventually the truth will surface and your excuses will only create an impression that you cannot be trusted. Tell the truth using the facts only, regardless of the situation. Remember, you may need to say you are unable to share the details of an issue due to confidentiality.

Feedback. While you want to hear great things about your efforts, your boss, co-worker or client may provide a different perspective. It’s important to listen to them and say thank you. Your ability to graciously receive feedback provides the impression that you are open to learning from your mistakes. It’s a great way to make a positive impression.

Transform Negative Impressions

Talk It Out. When you believe you’ve created a negative impression with one or two people, have a conversation. Do it now. Sit down one-on-one and ask, “What is your impression of me?” Listen nondefensively. Apologize for any misperceptions before talking further.

If it is with your team, conduct a 360-degree feedback process using a qualified assessment tool. After the results are back, sit down one-on-one and review it for additional insights.

Remember, you create a positive or negative impression each and every time you interact with someone. These impressions will determine others’ willingness to work with you in the future.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s management group? Have issues to address or conflicts to resolve that you have been avoiding? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you need to learn how to work together as a team? Conduct effective meetings? Check out her website, or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

If You Want to Be Successful, Develop Resiliency

by

resiliency

 

“There will always be someone who wants to knock you down. Develop resiliency so you can get up and keep moving forward.” Jeannette Seibly

 

Experiencing a major mistake or failure means you have fallen down and need to get back up. Being able to bounce back requires developing resiliency. Although it’s not a difficult process, you do need to be aware of what actually happened.

The good news is that resiliency is not a gene you are born with. Resiliency is a skill you develop and build on while working through difficult issues or problems. Over 95 percent of the population has dealt with adversity before the age of 20. Those who become adept at managing adversity are the people who get ahead.

Overcome Adversity by Learning from It

Resilience

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, resilience is “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” Our ability to rally quickly after difficulties and learn from them helps us develop stronger leadership capabilities, greater confidence and positive outcomes. In fact, adversity can build character, compassion and help pull everyone together. How do you learn to overcome adversity?  Talk it out confidentially with a business advisor, coach or therapist. Write it out (but do NOT send what you’ve written to anyone). Walk it out … exercise improves your serotonin levels. The key is to work through the disappointment, embarrassment and other feelings you and your team may experience. Denying these feelings will only hinder your ability to move forward.

Respect

Respect yourself. Respect your team. Respect the process. We have all made bad decisions. Deal with them and move past any disappointments. Life can be unpredictable…things happen beyond our control. It’s what you do about it that makes or breaks you as an effective leader and team member. Set aside your ego and thoughts that life’s not fair. Apologize where appropriate. Move forward by reviewing what worked and what didn’t work before making any changes. This will get everyone on the same page and produce unprecedented results. Keep in mind, too, that this is a good time to review the process and a great opportunity to rewrite it.

Listen and Be Heard

Listening to others’ opinions can be difficult when you are feeling vulnerable or exposed due to a mistake or failure. Being heard while telling the truth requires taking responsibility for what you and/or your team did. Do it responsibly and appropriately. Immediately have a confidential conversation with your business advisor and follow his or her advice. Then, work with your boss, board and/or attorney to say what you need to say, put together a plan to clean it up and help others impacted by the mistake or failures. Remember, it may take time for others to trust you again.

Success is built when you and your team members overcome adversity and develop these all-important skills.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s management group? Have issues to address or conflicts to resolve that you have been avoiding? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you need help learning from adversity and developing resiliency? Learn from someone who has been there and done that successfully! Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

When You Have a Disgruntled Team Member…Resolve It!

by

Disgruntled Team Member.2jpg

 

You are leading a meeting and need to have a detail handled. You ask the person taking notes to record a comment a team member just made.  He declines, saying, “I didn’t write down your comments so I’m not going to write down his comments either.”

You think, “Huh?”  Then, to keep the meeting moving forward, you simply start creating your own notes for future reference.  

In case you’re not sure, that was an early warning sign that you may have a disgruntled team member.

Unfortunately, disgruntled team members can subtly appear out of nowhere! They are often unaware of their reason for being upset and so they project their dissatisfaction onto you. Left unaddressed, they will disrupt a team, diminish team members’ efforts and hurt the results of a project. Ignoring them isn’t an option.

Why Must They Be Addressed Now?

Creep Factor.  Negativity expands faster than positivity. While it may start with subtle comments made by one or two team members, it can grow exponentially—even if no one understands what the real issue is. Other signals include disregard for the group’s (or company’s) rules, disparaging remarks or gossip, reluctance to share ideas, being late for meetings and assignment deadlines, etc.

Bias Barriers. Even when they’ve had awareness training about harassment, learning differences and life choices, team members often don’t know how to work with and through different perceptions.

Team Cynics. Your team cynics may be bored or don’t feel heard and will undermine you, the project or others’ efforts. They lack the appropriate communication skills to build agreement in a positive and profitable manner.

Avoiding the Inevitable. If you create ways to work around disruptive team members instead of addressing the issue, you will thwart the process, deplete everyone’s energy and blow the budget. Failure to effectively address issues now will sideline and potentially kill your career.

How Do You Address Disgruntled Team Members?

Voice It. There are times you’ll need to stop a meeting and voice the issue. Ask everyone for their input. Initially, they may deny there is a problem. Share your perception and wait it out. Don’t allow external blame or “everyone’s tired” to be the excuse. The core issue must be identified in order to transform it. Putting beautiful decorations on a mud pie still leaves you with a mud pie. Get rid of the decorations and dig into the mud to see what the real issues are. This may be messy … but doing it allows you to identify and address the necessary changes.

Hold Them Accountable. Integrity issues (lies, theft, mischief and gossiping) will sabotage the team and its goals. Taking a hard line will be unpopular; however, uncovering what’s in the “mud” will pay off in the end.

Stick with the Facts. Facts are important. Make sure they are accurate and share them. The team skeptic(s) will challenge you, and initially others may readily agree with them. Encourage everyone to share their point of view. While uncovering misperceptions, offer reminders about the facts and goals – this process will realign team members to get everyone on same page.

Ongoing Training. Team members today love to blame conflict on personality differences, believing it lets them off the hook … so they stop listening and fail to resolve the issue. Use qualified assessments to identify and talk through differences – we are all unique in our own ways. Team training should be an ongoing part of your team development process.

Review Project Scope. Team members will bicker when the project isn’t stretching their capabilities … mostly because they are bored. Delegate key opportunities, consider alternatives and think about monetizing the project in other areas of the company. Strategic visioning, true brainstorming and training (how to handle the technology, communication and people aspects of meetings) are required for each team member to interact, expand and excel.

Talk with Your Coach. As the leader, you are ultimately responsible for the project outcome and the team’s experience of getting there. Going it alone is not a good option! Get help now before you have lost the team, and their respect, forever.

Disgruntled team members can be a blessing if you are willing to dig into what’s behind their behavior and address the real issues.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you have a project that needs outside intervention to achieve the intended results on time and within budget? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

How to Recover Quickly from a Bad Hiring Decision

by

imagesU4QT41U3No one likes to admit they made a bad hiring decision. However, as a hiring manager, it’s always possible you will fail to hire the right person for the right job.

What makes it harder is that you’ve invested lots of time and energy into a long and arduous interview process. However, hanging on to a bad hire isn’t going to change the person! While there are times it will not be a clear-cut decision to reassign someone or let them go, it’s important to never sacrifice your business, great employees or customers by keeping someone who cannot or will not do the job.

First … Get Real about Your Decision

  1. Admit it. Denial isn’t helpful and will hurt you and your company’s reputation the longer you hang on to the bad hire.
  2. Create a professional development plan. For example, if someone has limited outside sales experience, have them shadow several top salespeople. Then, the sales manager should go with them on calls. Well-defined sales indicators (e.g., number of calls, appointments, presentations and new customers) and a qualified assessment can uncover where to focus coaching efforts.
  3. Talk candidly with the person. Many times, she or he did their best to land the job interview without truly understanding the job requirements. This is a good time to review expectations. For example, cold calls are a norm for outside salespeople — something good salespeople enjoy and others despise.
  4. Evaluate them for a different position within the company. Use or review the qualified assessment to determine what you missed when interviewing the candidate. What did you assume? What did you ignore? Did you make your decision based solely on the interview without including the assessment results (which should be 1/3 of the hiring decision)?
  5. Talk with HR and/or legal before terminating them. When you fire someone, make sure to include a key employee during the exit process as a witness. Be sure all passwords and proprietary information are collected immediately. Keep in mind that no exit interview is required.
  6. When termination may be the best solution:
  • – The employee misrepresented his or her skills.
  • – The employee has excellent skills but is a terrible team player.
  • – The employee does not follow basic company policies, despite warnings.
  • – Theft or drugs are involved.
  • – It would cost more money and time to invest in the employee than your company can realistically afford.

According to Insperity, the average U.S. employer spends about $4,000 and 52 days to hire a new person. A bad hire will diminish management, co-workers and customers’ confidence and hurt your P&L. Find out the real costs you incur when a bad hiring decision is made by using the Hiring Calculator. This will help you understand the need to improve your hiring practices.

Second, Review and Improve Your Hiring Decisions

After firing Candidate #1 and before contacting Candidate #2, take a candid look at your current hiring process. (Hint: One great idea is to bring in an objective facilitator to strategically review your hiring process and, if necessary, build a new one.)

Consider the following:

  1. Use an ATS system that pushes job postings to many sites to attract more qualified candidates.
  2. Review the job description and rewrite it to attract better candidates.
  3. Share the rewritten job description and get agreement before restarting the hiring process.
  4. Use qualified job fit assessments to better understand candidates’ natural strengths and weaknesses.
  5. Deep-dive into candidates’ responses to better understand the quality of their skills. (Note: Just because they have skills doesn’t mean they will use them.)
  6. Conduct complete due diligence and use a qualified core value assessment. Remember, over 70 percent of resumes contain inaccuracies. For example, it’s critical to validate the name of previous employers and job titles, actual base salary and actual dates of work, etc. Read Hire Amazing Employees for additional insights.
  7. No one wants to admit their personal biases override common sense. But studies have shown we make decisions within 4.3 minutes of meeting a candidate and spend the rest of the interview validating our biases. Stay out of this trap.
  8. Prepare for the interview. Winging an interview today is simply rude, and many job applicants will say no to the job offer if you are unprepared.
  9. Conduct several interviews with more than one top candidate. Candidates today are savvy and will often say what you want to hear rather than the whole truth. For example, asking, “Are you familiar with QuickBooks?” and having them say yes does not mean they know how to use it. Instead, say, “Tell me about your proficiency in using QuickBooks.” Then, deep-dive into their responses to determine actual skill strength.

Acting wisely and quickly will improve your hiring decisions and make the difference in attracting and retaining great employees.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you have a hiring system that needs to be updated, really updated? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

Don’t Be a Nitpicking Boss … You Need to Change

by

leadership stress3

Bosses, do you constantly criticize your employees? Did you know this nitpicking style sabotages your employees’ successes as well as your own (think: career, paycheck, bonuses and promotions)?

While bosses need to ensure employees are providing great customer service and quality products, only focusing on the negative hurts everyone. There is a fine line between ensuring the best results and nitpicking. It starts with your ability to focus on what needs to improve and having the right attitude and behavior when working with and through others to make necessary changes.

You Determine the Outcome

Your Lack of Clarity. Many times, bosses manage others without having learned the tasks themselves. Then, they believe they know how to do the work better than their employees and start nitpicking. This 30,000-foot critical view doesn’t build new awareness and skills for either party.

Your Fear Works Two Ways. When you want your employees to fear you, you come on too strong and loud. This can be belittling. When you fear they won’t like you or will gossip about you, you may make poor decisions, gloss over specific areas that need improvement or work late fixing the issues yourself.

Your Choice of Words. Poor coaching and management skills will only make the issues worse. But clamming up is no better. Not saying anything will not change anything.

Stop. Ask for Help. Fine-Tune Your Skills.

Develop Your Style. Hire an external coach and internal mentor. Be open with them when sharing what is working and what is getting in your way. Participate in workshops and attend trade conferences to build your inner awareness and confidence. This will improve your openness to learning from employees and talking with them effectively. It will also help you treat them as smart and skilled people.

Learn from Your Mistakes. We all make mistakes. Admitting them is key. Learning from failure is critical. Sharing mistakes can also help when done appropriately. This will lessen your need to uber-control others, hoping they won’t make mistakes. When mistakes are made (it’s inevitable), use them as mutual teaching/learning opportunities. Together review the processes or interactions to determine where changes can be made next time. This will bolster your confidence and their willingness to learn from you.

Build Your Confidence. Being a new boss can be a challenge when you are promoted from within the company and former co-workers are now your employees. Being a boss with a new employer can also be a challenge if there are employees who felt they should have been given the job. Take time to talk with each and every employee. Learn from them. Listen to their ideas and brainstorm solutions (nitpicking is not allowed here – save the details for later). When you value them, they will in turn learn to value you as their boss.

As a boss, stop nitpicking. Learn how to work with and through others in a positive manner. It will determine your success.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Are you a boss who wants to excel? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

High-Impact Hiring Practices for Amazing Results

by

strategic hiring4We all love to celebrate amazing hires. These exceptional candidates make our day. Yet rarely do we take the time to strategize about how to find more of them.

When creating CRM systems (customer relationship management), managing sales teams or producing quality products, we take the time to review specific changes that are required to ensure the right results: in other words, what worked and what didn’t work. How can we use the same process to positively impact our hiring and selection practices? In short, by learning how to improve our selection practices rather than relying on gimmicks, false promises and cute ads.

First, Get Real about the Costs

Many companies believe that if their turnover is less than the industry average, they are doing well. The truth is, turnover still impacts the bottom line, leads to the loss of top talent and is a red flag to qualified candidates. Additionally, it also negatively impacts current and future customers because turnover can translate to a less-than-satisfying experience. Use our New Hiring Calculator to get the real picture about your hiring costs!

Second, Review Less-Obvious Concerns

Inexperienced Interviewer. Experienced job applicants need good and honest conversations about what to expect from the position, company and career opportunities … not canned answers.

Lengthy Application Process. Shorten the process and feature your company’s benefits and job requirements. Include short video clips about why the company is a great employer.

Bad Interview Questions. Failing to ask job-specific questions and deep-dive into candidate responses will create a false impression and lead to candidates turning down job offers.

Focusing Only on the Money. Remember, today’s employees are very interested in training for career advancement in addition to a competitive paycheck. Talk about both.

Poor Job Fit. According to a Gallup poll, over 71 percent of employees are working in jobs that don’t fit them. Use incredibly accurate qualified assessments for hiring, coaching and managing. These effective tools can improve job satisfaction and your hiring success.

Third, Include These Practices to Positively Impact Results

Define an Exceptional Hire. Ask yourself and your team, “What does an amazing hire look like today? In three months? Six months? A year from now?” Now, rewrite the job description with those answers in mind. Ask your marketing department for their input when you create an exciting and enticing job posting to advertise this newly conceptualized position.

Make Promises. Ask yourself and your team, “Why should applicants want to work for us? How will this job help their career now and in the future? What specific training and development can we offer them?” Now, keep those promises!

Create a 180-Day Onboarding Plan. The plan should include on-the-job training, meetings (one-on-one and in groups), company and trade conferences, etc. Keep this list short and on point. Remind applicants during the interview process and the 180-day onboarding period to listen, learn and ask questions. rather than talk too much.

Assign an Internal Mentor and an External Coach. An internal mentor can help a new employee or executive navigate the written policies and unwritten expectations of your company. An external coach can confidentially allow them to vent concerns and not hurt their chances for future promotions or job assignments. Both can guide them to make better decisions, work effectively with and through others, and achieve intended goals. These are important skills for all employees to develop.

Use Qualified Assessments. Using objective data will accurately show you the inherent strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. Knowing these details will expedite selecting and onboarding job candidates for great results. Remember, while people may have the skills, they may not wish to use them! For example, selecting an applicant as a bank loan officer requires more than previous experience. Are they good at working with people, are they proficient with numbers and do they have an interest in networking? If not, they will not normally succeed.

Customize Individual Career Pathways. Clear pathways should begin immediately upon hire. Use the data from the qualified assessment and what the employee wishes to achieve when designing them. Provide alternative career paths and compensation packages that include two options: managing others or being an independent contributor.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works!

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you have unresolvable issues that you need to transform? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

Improve Productivity by Focusing on the Right Things

by

Smarter.Not HarderMany busy professionals today are feeling overwhelmed because of their many commitments—to work, family, elder care, community and so on. They allow things to creep on to their to-do lists, often unconsciously. By failing to say no and take the right actions, their ever-growing list becomes overwhelming. Anxiety and exhaustion soon follow. Productivity falters, and often they develop a bad attitude.

Reduce Overwhelming Commitments Before They Reduce Productivity

Acknowledge Everything. Write or type a weekly to-do list of everything that needs to be done. Get the vague, undefined list out of your head to stop disruptive mental chatter. Include the simplest things (change a light bulb) to the most difficult (a presentation for the boss). Stay out of the details at this point.

Get Real. Next, cross off those things you will NOT do. Even a superwoman or superman can’t do everything and be a happy, productive person. Review the list again and cross off more items – tell the truth — you know what you will (or must) do and will not do. (This will require you to have conversations with family, friends and employees, letting them know up front what you are doing to keep your relationships strong.)

Clarity Is Key. Now, circle ONLY the top three items that must be done. Rank them. Get into action and focus on number one, now!

Focus and Stay in Action

Outline a Plan. Type or write out a short plan for each action item. Get with others to see what is missing from the plan and who can help. Then, create a timetable. Now, get into immediate action to ensure a feeling of productivity.

Focus. Talk with your boss and clarify the specific results he or she wants. This usually eliminates your mental chatter and clarifies what needs to be done. Focus only on result-oriented items and stop making the process bigger or more complicated than it needs to be.

Delegate. Who can you delegate the whole plan to, or specific items? Watch out for any control issues you may have. Understand that others will not tackle things the way you would. That’s OK. You will often find that they do a better job than you would have. During the process, review actions taken and expected results together. Fine-tune. You’re done!

Work with Your Team. Who can you include to make sure the results are great? At home, kids can load a dishwasher (remember, there are over 100 different ways to do it). Others on a committee can pitch in and help with setup and cleanup after an event. Employees can learn how to do a job, often more quickly than you think they can! Don’t nitpick their approach; focus on the right things, like the customer, outcome, number of attendees, timetable, etc.

Acknowledge. It is very important to appreciate others and their efforts, individually and as a team. Stop micromanaging. (Yes, I need to keep repeating this point.) Instead, fine-tune what is expected of others and brainstorm together to resolve any issues before they become problems.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works!

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Do you have unresolved issues that you need to transform? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.

Happy 25th Business Anniversary!

by

jls.2011.3Acknowledging everyday successes and milestones are important in life and business! They encourage us to do our best.

On October 7th, I will be celebrating my 25th business anniversary. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to overlook this significant achievement and downplay it. Having written three books on the importance of bragging (“It’s Time to Brag!”), it would have been an epic mistake! (Whew! Thanks to my friend and coach Diane for reminding me to brag. We all need friends like her!)

There are many posts on social media about people not fulfilling their dreams and goals for a variety of reasons. Over 90 percent of businesses fail in their first five years. So, it is important for me to share what I’ve accomplished. You should too. I hope this will be a great reminder for all of us to brag, share and inspire others.

So, here goes!

In 25 years of helping my clients become successful, I have directly worked with over 1,000 business owners, executives, family businesses, boards, entrepreneurs and key employees in many different industries, helping each of them become successful.  There have been times I’ve loved it … and times it’s been a challenge. Fortunately, I’ve only had to fire two clients.

I have been told my trademark is my uncanny ability to help business professionals identify hidden roadblocks and help them blast through those barriers to produce unprecedented results. This creates the possibility for bosses and their teams to effectively communicate with each other, achieve intended goals independently and as a team, and confidently hire the right people for the right jobs. Along the way, I also guided the creation of three millionaires (this was an amazing and unexpected outcome!).

During these past 25 years, I have also fulfilled several dreams and goals:

  • -I’m a published author (with five books and over 400 articles focused on leadership, management and hiring challenges).
  • -I live in sunny Colorado, where I can view the gorgeous Rocky Mountains daily. (A lifelong dream.)
  • -My business has been awarded with high accolades four times.
  • -I’ve created noteworthy events to fulfill a need and celebrate accomplishments (the Job Summit Association and NAWBO Detroit Women Business Owners of Distinction are just two of many).
  • -I’ve advised hundreds of business owners and executives on expanding their definition of “strategy” to fulfill their goals and dreams.

So, what’s next?

My intention is to publish more business books, expand into writing a fiction series and continue to advise top-level bosses on achieving unprecedented results for themselves and their team members. Personally … yes, I have my bucket list, and will continue to knock things off that list.

Being a Boss Is Not Easy…Learn How to Excel

by

leadership stress3

Being a boss today is not easy and learning how to excel is surprisingly not hard. But it does take time, energy and an interest in developing and using the necessary skills.

According to a Gallup poll, over 71 percent of employees are in jobs that don’t fit them (and includes people in “boss” positions). Bosses with poor managerial styles are often the No. 1 reason employees leave.

So, although it is not easy being a boss today, you can improve your boss savvy. Here’s how.

First, Not Everyone Should Be a Boss! (We need to get this out of the way.)

See if any of these situations apply to you:

  • -If you have been (or are) a top performer, you excelled as an independent contributor. While you may have the necessary people or project management skills, many times you don’t have the interest in managing people on a daily basis. If this is the case, redesigning your job responsibilities or going back to being an independent contributor would be best for your career.
  • -If you do have the interest in developing the skills, ask for help. The key is to hire a coach and follow through as part of your normal daily actions.
  • -Remember, if you are fired, talk about your failures and successes with a therapist or career coach who can help you get real about future careers that fit you!

Second, Improving Your Boss Skills Requires Interest, Time and Energy on a Daily Basis

First, ask yourself if you are really interested in putting in the time and energy to develop yourself to be a great boss. If you answered yes, here are actions you can take:

  • -Take workshops to develop project and people management skills (e.g., learn how to hire well, coach people, manage for unprecedented results, make better decisions, etc.).
  • -Select an internal company mentor. He or she can help you navigate written policies and unwritten expectations.
  • -Hire an external coach to confidentially eliminate the controversial “shoulds” of how employees are supposed to act. Being able to vent and not worry about future promotions and job opportunities is critical. Work with a coach who uses qualified assessments and qualified 360-feedback assessments to guide you in developing a natural style that works for you and others!

Third, It’s No Longer Just About You

And, here’s why…

  • -Being a great boss means it’s no longer about you! (Yes, that needed to be repeated!) You need to be available for your employees, find them the necessary resources and support their efforts.
  • -You have a responsibility to balance the needs of the company, your peers and all employees in an ethical and fair manner, while supporting customers and vendors too!
  • -You have to be willing to do the right things the right way by following policies and procedures. AND, you have to know when to step outside of the norm to handle special circumstances.
  • -Lack of integrity (e.g., fudging numbers, gossiping, theft, playing favorites), lack of compassion, failing to listen or stealing others’ ideas are the fastest ways to torpedo your success.
  • -Your potentially biggest pitfall? If you want to be liked more than respected. Many times, this type of boss makes ineffective or inappropriate decisions. Great bosses are both liked and respected.

Fourth, Ongoing Development Is Required

What does that mean?

  • -Great bosses hire a coach and do the work. They know there are no shortcuts.
  • -Take courses or programs (e.g., supervisory, communication, leadership and project management) designed to help you understand yourself and your hidden biases. Workshops give you insights into fine-tuning your approach to get the results you want to achieve.
  • -Annually (yes, once a year) take a refresher course on employment and legal updates. Focus on how to prevent negative issues from occurring.

By paying attention to the challenges and solutions raised in this article, you will learn how to excel and be a great boss…if you have the interest to do so.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2017

Need a speaker or facilitator for your company’s executive group? Have issues to address? Conflicts to resolve? Contact Jeannette Seibly. She will provide confidential, laser-focused coaching that works! 

Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Are you a boss who wants to excel? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes? Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.