Leadership

Culture is the fall guy

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Why do so many executives fail in new jobs? While many blame company culture, I would suggest that culture is the scapegoat. Poor cultural fit simply amplifies or points out what the C-suite or board members on the hiring committee failed to uncover during the vetting or onboarding process!

Instead of blaming culture, management teams should take the time to think through and write out a strategic hiring process that works, and design it to ensure that each party explores and investigates the other. They should use qualified systems and tools, trust the process, and follow it. Remember, more conversations will be required when hiring an executive to ensure consistency of philosophy and provide deeper exploration of issues and potential solutions. If you follow a well-designed system and use it in the spirit in which it was intended, you will know that you’ve done your best to ensure a positive partnership—even though there are never any guarantees. Excerpt from Companies and Executives Need to Vet and Onboard Each Other! http://SeibCo.com/books/eguides   

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Are Your Company’s Values Meaningful?

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Everyone brings their own set of personal values into a company, whether it’s when to pay bills, if and when to respect authority or follow rules, or even what’s an acceptable time to arrive at work or an event. Some employees’ values will naturally fit into your organization’s culture, while other employees won’t align with your written business practices and unwritten business expectations. (Qualified core value assessments can reduce selection errors so you hire the right people with values that match your organization. [http://SeibCo.com/assessments ])

The purpose of having a written set of company values is to get everyone on the same page in order to create a workable structure for open communication, clarity of expectations and ethics, respect, trust, and so on. For values to have a positive influence, all employees and managers within an organization need to feel free to voice their concerns and learn how to interact without fear of retribution. Creating meaningful workplace values contributes to reducing turnover, increasing sustainable profits, and building a positive business reputation, since everyone is working from the same set of company principles.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Are your colleagues claiming all the credit?

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Learning how to brag in a business-savvy manner requires you to be aware of the metrics and results of any project. Simply saying, “I’m the one who did that” will not elicit the notoriety you may deserve! First, get your copy of It’s Time to Brag! and complete the five simple exercises. (http://TimeToBrag.com) Second, share your brag statements with your boss and coworkers. Third, understand that a coworker claiming all the credit for a project may have a different point of view—don’t dis him or her. Have a conversation to see if you can meet halfway and share the credit.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Have you hired a salesperson who can’t sell?

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Selecting salespeople who can actually sell is a huge challenge for any employer, particularly when a significant number of applicants stretch the truth or lie. When technical sales skills are required, the level of deception increases to offset lack of experience or poor results in previous positions. Even if they did well and sold the same or similar products or services for your competitor, it doesn’t mean they can or will produce the same level of results for you. 

Many times sales managers are misled when applicants:

  • Have very good verbal skills (which does not mean they have the personality and/or interests to deliver the results);
  • Appear to be good team players (many good salespeople are not); or
  • Are able to sell themselves (which does not mean they can sell your products or services).

Measuring sales metrics during the interview, not after, requires you to ask the right questions and listen to candidates’ responses. Be specific in your questions by asking for actual numbers, percentages, and increases or decreases in results. It will not eliminate the need to use valid assessments that objectively, reliably, and legally measure your candidates’ true match to your sales job.  http://SeibCo.com/assessments

©Jeannette Seibly, 2013

Emotional hiring can be dangerous!

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Many executives are good decision-makers or they wouldn’t have the title. However, many are so busy that they fail to listen during interviews unless the candidate says the right things. Then their impulsiveness and impatience kicks in and they hire people that “feel like the right ones”! Hiring based on intuitive powers may sound great, but in reality it is an excuse for not using a strategic hiring system.  

Anytime you hire someone who doesn’t fit all the necessary job requirements but has the likeability factor, you’re doomed for failure. Frequent job-seekers—people with backgrounds to hide and manipulative types—have honed their interview skills well! They know what to say and how to sell themselves to get a job. They know how to be likeable.

Infuse objectivity early in the hiring process. (http://wp.me/p2POui-nj ) This will significantly reduce the possibility of interviewing these types of job candidates and falling into the emotional hiring trap. Use a structured interview process, qualified assessments, and due diligence. Call those references! (Learn how to hire the right person. Get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees, Second Edition. It could save your own job!  http://BizSavvyHire.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Is your ethical compass spinning?

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When ethical issues get overlooked during the design and implementation of a project, everyone blames somebody else. It’s very easy to succumb to the strongest advocate’s point of view that ethical issues won’t matter. But the problems created by lies or by dismissing the truth won’t resolve themselves. As the leader, you need to guide your team on how to proceed. Make it easy for your employees and peers to bring these types of concerns to your attention—discovering ethical issues down the road usually makes them more costly, if not impossible, to fix. Don’t shoot the messenger! Don’t blame the informer for someone else’s theft or violation of company policy. Is your ethical compass still spinning? Now is the time to call a highly experienced business advisor, someone who can confidentially bring clarity on how to resolve ethical issues. Remember, ethical doesn’t always mean easy!  http://SeibCo.com/contact

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

How do you handle the company bully?

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People can be difficult to converse with when they are being bullies constantly in search of special favors. As an executive, you don’t have the luxury of avoiding them. However, you can minimize and structure your interactions to be effective. First, listen to their request. Don’t dismiss it simply based on who’s asking. Second, ask what the return on investment is. Third, have them put it in writing. Fourth, make a decision that works best for the company. For additional insights on how to handle difficult interactions, get your copy of Most Discussions Require More Than 140 Characters! https://seibco.com/books/eguides/

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Innovation frauds

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Many professionals make changes for the sake of making changes. Some hope change will be recognized as a good thing and keep them employed. The bottom line? Change can be disruptive to any business when modifications are made without a specific goal others can agree upon. Remind new hires to learn the current way your company conducts business before offering any recommendations for changes, at least for 30 days. Just because it worked with their former employer or is considered the industry norm does not mean a change will produce the required results in your environment. Teach everyone how to ask the right questions of their teammates and brainstorm possible adjustments before making any agreed-upon changes. For a new system to work profitably, it must include everyone’s input into its design and alignment.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

How does “new normal” impact your leadership?

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The new normal is a paradigm shift. Old thoughts and beliefs are being replaced with new expectations about sustaining and growing our businesses. We may have to take new actions in order to acquire new clients and embrace new technology to meet expanding needs. We may need to refine marketing, sales, and hiring systems or give them a complete overhaul. But we will still need to measure successful operations, financial growth, and strategic planning against the company’s actual results to ensure we’re headed where we want to go. Integrity and ethics will be increasingly scrutinized by prospective customers and prospective top talent in the new normal.  Sometimes these shifts are for the better, and sometimes they are simply a passing fad.

A new executive kept telling the CEO they needed to make changes in their marketing plan and sales activities to attract larger companies. The CEO kept reminding her that “bigger clients are not always better ones, nor do they necessarily provide bigger ROIs.” The company’s strategic plan was deliberately focused on small to medium-sized clients. The new executive was unwilling to adapt and left because of poor job fit after 18 months—and the company grew and prospered because her replacement embraced the company’s strategic vision.

What is your responsibility as a leader? Stay consciously aware of shifting criteria. Some principles will start quietly until they become so loud that they demand your attention. Others are much more subtle and may only hang around until they are replaced by a newer craze or trend. Regardless, don’t follow blindly along. Take charge of defining which changes will work well for your company. Infuse as much objectivity as possible when making any modifications, and don’t forget the human factors, regardless of how small the modification. Your employees’ emotional reactions will create a smooth or difficult transition.

“The grass is greener at other companies” is a myth many job-hoppers believed when taking new positions that promise increased pay and work responsibilities. They may find that their new employer does not offer the same benefits package and other perks as their old one, or that their new bosses are not better people and project managers. Increased work responsibilities could instead simply mean working longer hours with fewer resources!

The key? Don’t become an ostrich with your head in the sand. Investigate and explore the potential impact of any new normal. Consciously choose when, where, why, and how to follow—or not! You don’t want to be left scrambling to refocus on the right things.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Rewire Your Leadership

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  • Are there rumblings about you that are becoming harder to ignore?
  • Is your boss or board upset over something you’ve done and you’re unclear why?
  • Did you fail to meet budget or ROI requirements when executing a project?
  • Are disgruntled employees or peers pointing fingers at you?

Business is rapidly changing. We need to change too! It’s time to rewire our leadership! As many successful executives will tell you, hiring the right business advisor/executive coach and being coachable are two primary ingredients for success. It’s lonely at the top! The feedback you’re looking for within your organization can be hard to come by or fraught with ambiguities.

Too often we are unaware that our job is about to be sidelined or could soon end. Even when there are clear signs that we’ve made mistakes or ignored less-clear indicators, we fail to act in a proactive and positive way. Unfortunately, some C-suite bosses will delay in making the inevitable decision to terminate, and leave us with a false sense of hope that all is well.

 

A high-level manager with 20 years of experience worked at a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company. She asked her boss’s boss the wrong question at the wrong time. He took it personally and began a covert crusade to get her fired. She sensed something was wrong and contacted me. We resolved the problem within 30 days! Soon thereafter she applied for and accepted a new position with a salary increase, a job that wouldn’t have been offered to her without the work we did. We kept talking to ensure she didn’t inadvertently step on any new land mines or shoot at any sacred cows in her new job. Several years later she retired, received an early retirement package, and is now happily traveling around the United States and Europe.

 

Regardless of your years of experience, job knowledge, and allies, you can still say or do something that sidelines your career. Although you may lack clarity as to what happened or rely on others’ friendly sentiments that it will all work out, there are always signals to pay attention to and handle immediately with outside guidance. (Insiders may be less willing to get involved for fear of reprisals.)

 

A man who had many years of executive experience finally got an opportunity he really wanted. He started the job with bravado and relied on promises of advancement. Although it was a poor strategy for a leader, his primary goal was to be liked. He failed to discern what needed to be done to move the company forward—even though he was apprised of the required results. Soon he was dragging through his days. Employees stopped talking to him. His boss sidelined him by ignoring him or going on a rampage over his mediocre results. He refused outside coaching and clung to the false belief that he “knew what needed to be done.” After several less-than-subtle conversations with his boss to try and rectify the situation, he was fired. Unfortunately, his anger will keep him unemployed for a long time.

 

Instead of listening and learning, we rationalize or justify our beliefs about “how things should be.” We fail to do what is necessary or fail to understand why it’s in our best interests to clean up problems in our working relationships. Then, we are mystified when people stop talking to us or stop providing us with critical information. Subtly we withdraw from the team and become overly critical of the company’s direction or activities. None of these unconscious strategies work well for anyone’s career.

 

“Jeannette’s work with executive and leadership teams is targeted and focused in a way that will align the people side of your business with its goals and growth objectives.” —Nikki Ellison, Co-Founder, ELEVATE

 

Rewire your leadership provides clarity, knowledge, and best practices to rectify the situation through executive coaching customized for your challenges. The mark of a great leader is learning how and when to effectively clean up mistakes and focus on ignored issues while developing positive relationships. Many executives have poor project management skills. Learning how and when to get help can be a challenge. Outside objectivity is the key to your success.

Your first step is to call SeibCo—we have been providing qualified business advisory services for over 21 years to over 75 executives; along the way, three became millionaires.

We can help you make the difference to keep your job title, paycheck, renew your commit to doing the right things in your job, achieve the required results, improve your declining reputation and likeability, and stay employed.

The key is to do it now before it is too late.

Only you can do the work. Do it the right way for the right results. Don’t go it alone.

Contact me today!

Contact Jeannette Seibly today: http://SeibCo.com/contact.

To read Jeannette’s profile, recommendations, and endorsements, go to www.linkedin.com/in/jeannetteseibly/

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013  All Rights Reserved