Team

What Do You Do When Your Team Is Hurting Results?

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“When a team fails to achieve intended results, bosses and leaders need to look in the mirror first for answers!” Jeannette Seibly

No one likes to think their team is hurting results. But dismissing the issue, believing it’s unimportant, and failing to take responsibility for the systems and outcomes is a no-win for teams, bosses, customers, and leaders! Remember, finding new customers and talent costs a lot of money. And it overlooks the necessity to improve quality and your team’s reputation!

Tips to Discover and Improve Results

Get into Action. Ask questions to get to the core of the issue. Use an objective process: “What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?” Debrief as a team. This exercise will end the usual finger-pointing or the blame game. During this process, use acknowledgment for the “good things that did happen.” Appreciation encourages viable solutions!

Be in Communication. Keep your team and co-workers apprised when there is an issue. Ask questions after conducting your team debrief to see what else may be missing. Do this immediately, BEFORE talking with the customer or other people affected. Keep everyone up-to-date while valuing their input! Promise to resolve the issue(s). (Very Important Hint: Don’t drop the ball … people have long memories when promises are not kept! These memories can stifle your co-workers and team from working with you in the future.)

“Excuses don’t help make things better. They only offer a rationale to avoid trying.”

Simon Sinek

Bring in Outside Expertise. Everyone wants to hide that they failed to achieve the intended results, fearing embarrassment and humiliation. Consider that bringing in outside help takes the pressure off you to have all the answers. (Hint: You don’t; others may not value your opinions right now.) Work with these experts to diagnose the actual issue. Listen. Make appropriate changes. Don’t forget that ongoing and consistent training is crucial when developing new habits!

Use a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. When teams and team members fit their job, it diminishes miscommunication, factionalism, and other mischief! Often, issues can be resolved by using people’s strengths and placing them in the right jobs! First, refine job descriptions and job responsibilities. Second, develop the skills that impact the quality of the results: communication, critical thinking, and team management.

Top-Down Challenge. When results fail, many bosses and leaders focus on the bottom-up (employees v. management). Consider the issue may be you! While many bosses and leaders believe they are above reproach, their rigid perspectives and do-as-I-say mindset get in the way. Remember, it’s not business as usual anymore! Bring in an executive coach/consultant to improve the management team’s coachability and ability to coach others for results. Then, empower each boss and leader and provide the tools to make the necessary team changes.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom guides clients to achieve intended dynamic results consistently! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about when your team hurts intended results: Set aside the normal finger-pointing! Now, create conversations and solutions to create win-win-win outcomes. Contact me for a confidential conversation about how to have conversations that produce intended results.

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? Great bosses work with an experienced executive coach as a sounding board. I have extensive experience and wisdom in guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching program. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to achieve intended results for you and your teams!

Are You Sabotaging Your Employees?

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“Good decisions will not sabotage your employees.” Jeannette Seibly
  • Are you a leader that believes you make good decisions?
  • Are you aware of the times your decisions have sabotaged your employees and others?
  • Have your employees and customers had to clean up issues caused by your bad decisions?

As a boss and leader, you must make decisions in the best interest of the company, its customers, and employees. But, often, due to limited/mediocre/poor critical thinking, playing favorites, or not understanding the core issue, these decisions sabotage your employees and negatively impact others.

Good Decisions Need These Critical Factors

It Starts with Clarity. What is the core issue of the problem? Once it is identified, wait! Before you implement a solution, conduct your due diligence! While you may believe you’ve answered the pros and cons, there is a bigger, often overlooked question, “How does this decision impact my employees now and in the future?”

Ask for Input! While it may seem like an excellent decision, it does not mean others will agree. Talk with employees and customers to better understand the core issue from their perspectives instead of relying on rationalization or circular thinking! Brainstorm possible solutions.

A company needed a better technology application for its core program. The problem? Their solution did not include input from the salespeople that use it, sabotaging sales!

Listen! Instead of pushing your agenda, talking over employees’ objections, and ignoring customers’ and coworkers’ concerns, listen! Or, they will covertly (and overtly) sabotage you! Don’t overlook or ignore the hard questions. For example, “What is the #1 challenge for getting everyone onboard?”

Plan for Impacts. When designing the plan, consider the well-being of your employees. Stress and mental health challenges are at an all-time high. So, plan for the number of hours expected, changes in workflow, and new skills required.

Focus on Creating Win-Win-Win Outcomes. Focus on alignment for the solution, not consensus building. Consensus building often sabotages efforts due to the fear of change and office politics.

Keep Everyone Up to Date. Use all forms of communication (emails, internal newsletters, and chats) to keep everyone apprised of the process and results. Include the challenges and wins. Good communication minimizes sabotaging or unexpected changes.

Get Real and Don’t Insulate Employees. When there are tough (and unpopular) decisions to be made, talk straight. Address the alternatives considered. Share the upside and downside of your decision. The worse things you can do are: be silent, hide, or make assumptions (or all three).

Compassion and Sensitivity. This can go a long way towards having your decisions well received with minimal disruption and sabotaging of your employees.

Most Importantly! Don’t Blame Your Employees. Every decision-maker has made bad decisions. But great leaders and bosses understand they must take responsibility for them. What can you do to correct them? Start first by talking with your executive coach and an internal company mentor before doing anything. Otherwise, you can make the outcomes of a bad decision even worse!

(c)Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Right Reserved

If you’d like to help employees to be talent ready, explore using the PXT Select to ensure job fit now and for future opportunities.

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Her wisdom guides clients through sticky situations and challenging relationships for dynamic results! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about sabotaging your employees: You and other bosses frequently make decisions believing they are in the company’s and customers’ best interest. But, at times, these decisions can and do sabotage or negatively impact your employees. Contact me for a confidential conversation about how to avoid sabotaging your employees!

Have you considered the benefits of strengthening your superpowers and becoming a great boss? It’s not complicated, but it does require an experienced sounding board. I have extensive experience guiding bosses and leaders to work with and through their teams to achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching program. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to make better decisions and prevent sabotaging your employees.

Great Results Require Winning Attitudes!

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“A healthy relationship with ‘winning’ is required to blast through circumstances.” Jeannette Seibly

Winning isn’t everything, but developing a winning attitude is required to achieve amazing results, especially in the face of negativity, misperception, and other limiting circumstances. The bonus? It feels great!

However, many people today have conflicted feelings and attitudes about winning. They find it more comfortable to conform to peer pressure, not exceed others’ expectations, and not rock the boat. Unfortunately, this attitude gets in the way of winning for them and their teams. While it keeps them from overshadowing others, there is a huge personal and professional cost (e.g., being overlooked for promotions, not being selected for key opportunities, low self-esteem, confidence, etc.).

Why is having a winning attitude vital for you?

  • It creates healthy self-esteem while improving your results.
  • It builds your confidence and mindful awareness.
  • It provides you the courage to ask for help, hire a coach, and influence others.
  • It increases your ability to take the initiative, be coachable, and be resourceful.
  • It makes you promotable while having more fun and making more money.

Remember, especially when you want to throw in the towel and say, “I give up,” it’s not about whether you win or lose. It’s about your attitude toward winning. It’s about enjoying the process of gaining new knowledge, skills, and awareness that comes from a winning attitude. And these experiences are priceless.

How to Create a Healthy Winning Attitude

  1. Do the Work Instead of Creating Excuses. We all love our excuses. But they get in the way of winning! When the process isn’t working, don’t let it deter you from achieving the goal! Don’t change the goal; instead, change the process. Remember, the process rarely looks like you think it should! It requires stretching outside your comfort zone and developing a new one.
  2. Take Initiative. Too often, people dream the dream but fail to honor the commitments required. They blame other people and situations. Instead, make a good plan and follow it. To achieve any goal, focus on what’s important to you. Now, get in the game and go for it! That’s taking the initiative and getting into focused action.
  3. When Obstacles Occur, and They Will, Become Resourceful! Everyone hits a wall. Sometimes it’s a massive one. But giving up isn’t an option. Instead, be flexible, resourceful, and resilient. Adopt the winning mantra, “I can do this, and I do it.” Now, take it moment by moment, step by step, and day by day as you move forward. Yes, there will continue to be bumps in the road. But don’t let them stop you.
  4. Celebrate the Wins with Gratitude, not Ego. When you win, it’s important to celebrate and acknowledge your accomplishments! Add the achievements to your resume and bio. Bragging in a humble manner works! Don’t forget to say, “Thank you!” to those that helped you along the way! (You didn’t achieve it without them!)

©Jeannette Seibly 2021-2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has guided the creation of three millionaires and countless 6-figure income professionals. As an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 30 years, she guides others to make a positive difference. Feel stuck in a political work situation? Want clear advice on how to get out of it? Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A Note from Jeannette about having a winning attitude and achieving amazing results: Too often, we rely on our excuses for not achieving intended results. The truth is that we need to stop accepting mediocrity and develop a winning attitude. It’s not hard, and there is work to be done. The rewards are: It feels great and can offer external rewards too (e.g., promotion, new home, etc.)! What do you want to accomplish? It’s not too late to get started! Let’s Chat!

Are you frustrated because you are a results producer and now not producing the intended results? It’s time to find out “why” and get back into the game. It requires seeing your blind spots and hiring a coach! I have extensive experience guiding bosses and leaders to work with and through their teams to achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one coaching program over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to win.

Want Better Results? Encourage Employees to Speak Up

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“Want great results? Encourage your employees to stand up and speak up!” Jeannette Seibly

Yes, we’re all busy! But taking the time and encouraging employees to speak up ensures better solutions and retention of top talent!

Many leaders fear taking risks, especially today. And in turn, employees fear speaking up to report mistakes, ask questions, offer new ideas, or challenge action plans or decisions. With everyone focused on keeping their jobs or not rocking the boat, projects, and plans fail because no one risked standing up and speaking up!

(Watch “Air,” a film based on true events about the origin of Air Jordan, Nike’s basketball shoe line with rookie player Michael Jordan. An employee had to step up and speak up. It forever changed how players were treated.)

How to Get Employees Talking and Creating Solutions

First, ASK! The #1 key to encourage employees to stand up and speak up!

Second, LISTEN! If you don’t, they won’t speak up again.

Brainstorming! Many leaders do a poor job of brainstorming. They latch on to the first idea that sounds good! However, often, it’s not. Learn how to truly brainstorm. It saves customers, bottom lines, and retention!

Critical Thinking! Take the time to conduct an analysis of essential considerations with all ideas (e.g., budget, ROI, impact on others, company mission and vision, workability, etc.).

Listen, Value, and Build. Use good listening skills and value others’ thoughts and opinions. Then, build on these ideas. Remember, all ideas can spark new ones. Build on these for better solutions. Also, avoid consensus building and focus on alignment with team members before agreeing on a plan.

Encourage Everyone on the Team to Participate. Ask each person several times for their input. Then, allow them to say “pass.” Many times, the second or third time, they’ll offer great insights. So, don’t ignore or overlook them.

Provide Training and Manage Conflicts. While having differing ideas is important, it needs to be a safe space for employees to talk! Ensure everyone is trained on how to participate in meetings (NO! It’s not natural, and learning by trial and error leads to employee disengagement). Manage disagreements by ensuring every employee can share without being criticized, humiliated, or made fun of.

Team Selection Is Important. Most teams fail because they include employees with no interest or time to commit (but meet diversity initiatives). Seek out those with the interest and willingness to attend all meetings. Include those without the skills with someone they can learn from during the project.

Get Out of the Way! Like in the movie Air, leaders do get in the way! It would be best to learn how to work through new ideas without shutting down employees from speaking up. For example: After a 6-month employee project, a company president decided he didn’t want employees offering suggestions to solve a critical issue. The problem? He feared the risks of adopting a new approach to solve an old problem.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She is an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author. Her wisdom of over 30 years guides clients to work through sticky situations and challenging relationships. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about getting employees to speak up: I remember working with a client that bet me a cookie that I could NOT get her employees talking. Yes, I won the cookie! (And I’ve won other similar bets with other clients!) When you are willing to listen and value employees’ input, they will talk! Often, their ideas are better than yours! It’s learning how to do it! Contact me for a confidential conversation about team facilitation.

Have You Considered the benefits of strengthening your ability to ask for and listen to employees’ input about a project or plan? It makes a positive difference in your success as a leader! I have extensive experience guiding leaders to work with and through their teams to achieve unprecedented results. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to win.

Ask your employees to share their ideas! This is a superpower that many leaders fail to develop! Then, they experience turnover, shaky bottom lines, and loss of customers. Working with and through others builds confidence and the ability to influence! Take action and contact me for a confidential conversation.

How to Achieve Results While Working through Uncertainty

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“Uncertainty in life is normal. Embracing it fully creates a positive difference to achieve results.” Jeannette Seibly

When you feel uncertain about a decision, it is often due to your fear of making a mistake, experiencing a failure, or not being in control of the outcome. Uncertainty feels uncomfortable. Many people will do everything they can to avoid it, which causes anxiety in their jobs, relationships, careers, businesses, and life choices. But life never provides absolute certainty.

So, how can you make uncertainty a superpower and have it help you create a great business, career, and life? Keep reading!

Tips to Work Through Uncertainty for Great Results

Be Open to Others’ Ideas. Like many leaders, you rely on your thoughts, opinions, and feelings about what is true and certain. But this is short-sighted. Instead, welcome others’ ideas. Learn how to brainstorm. For each idea, develop five reasons it could work, not why it won’t.

Unleash the Power of Others. Delegate! Get comfortable delegating! Allow others the opportunities to explore new ideas, even if you’re uncertain whether or not they’ll work. Their ideas and results can often be better than yours if you get out of the way!

Embrace Not Knowing How to Achieve the Outcome. Otherwise, you’ll feel stuck, paralyzed, and procrastination will set in. Instead, allow for the fact that you don’t know that you don’t know! And not knowing is OK. (Yes, reread those sentences.) Be clear about the goal and outcome you want to achieve. Now, move forward step-by-step with your team and executive coach through the uncertainty.

Develop Inner Confidence. Celebrate each step along the way, no matter how big or small. Develop “brags” to help you gain confidence and believe in yourself. “Brags” remind you that you’ve handled uncertainty and achieved successful outcomes in the past.

Make the Best Decisions for Now. When making decisions, collect factual data and don’t rely solely on your intuition/gut or overthink everything. Remember, no one has a crystal ball that foretells the future. While many believe success demands you move forward, a good decision can also include staying where you are (e.g., signing a new lease with your current landlord). Remember, uncertainty can and will still occur because uncertainty doesn’t go away.

Avoid Group Think; It Impedes Agility. Too often, during times of uncertainty, fear will prevail. Then, the team will adapt to the fear. Instead, share your concerns, and ask good questions.

  • “What would be the best outcome for this project or program?”
  • “What would we need to change?
  • “Give me five reasons why these changes could work?”
  • “Why won’t these changes work?”

Now, allow the team to own the project. Be their champion for winning and working through the unknown factors! And always welcome critical thinking!

If you embrace these six tips, uncertainty becomes your superpower!

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She is an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author. Her wisdom of over 30 years guides clients to work through sticky situations and challenging relationships. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about embracing uncertainty in work and life: We seek certainty in everything we do. We think it helps us avoid making mistakes or experiencing failure while staying in control of the outcome. Yet, doing the same old same old will hurt your team, results, and bottom line. Want uncertainty to become one of your superpowers? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Have You Considered: Strengthening your inherent superpowers? It can make a big difference in your success as a leader! I have extensive experience guiding leaders to work with and through their teams to achieve unprecedented results. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to win.

Taking the safe path to avoid uncertainty will never work in your business, career, and life. Develop your superpower and learn how to work through uncertainty. It builds confidence and the ability to influence others! Take action and contact me for a confidential conversation.

Leaders Who Quietly Quit Their Employees Hurt Their Company

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“Quietly quitting your employees will come back to haunt you!” Jeannette Seibly

In Q3, I wrote an article about how to prevent employees from quietly quitting their jobs. The newest craze is for leaders to quietly quit their employees! For some leaders, “quiet quitting” is in retaliation to employees quietly quitting on them.

Yikes! It’s creating a vicious circle with no winners!

For leaders, what does quiet quitting your employees look like?

You may change, eliminate, or withhold:

  • Flexible work schedules
  • Paid training and skills development
  • Availability for 1:1 or team meetings
  • Focus on employees’ self-care
  • Bonuses
  • Benefit packages
  • Acknowledgment and appreciation

During and following the pandemic, leaders significantly enhanced these benefits and actions to attract and keep employees.

But it’s pay now or pay later! If you’re citing the reason for making these changes as a way to improve your bottom line, stop and think! This form of quiet quitting will hurt your company’s productivity and your ability to improve retention, revenues, and results now and in the future!

How to Stop Quietly Quitting Your Employees

Remember, your actions speak louder than your words!

Keep the Lines of Communication Open. To turn around employees that may have quietly quit (yes, you’re the leader … it’s up to you):

  • Meet 1:1 at least twice a month
  • Have short weekly team meetings to keep everyone on the same page
  • Keep an open door
  • Have the tough conversations when employees are not producing the required results
  • Show that you care by guiding them to achieve intended results

 Make It Safe for Employees to Speak Up. If employees feel you’ve quietly quit them, they will hesitate or fear reporting mistakes, asking questions, offering new ideas, or challenging a plan. Leaders and employees cannot hide when they’ve quietly quit! Remember, your actions speak louder than your words! Work with your coach to get back in the game of being a great leader!

Don’t Change Policies & Procedures (P&P). If they are working, there is no need to change them. It doesn’t save time or money! However, if employees abuse the P&Ps, manage them for the intended results. For example, if you’ve been allowing flextime, and it’s not working, have a team meeting to discuss it and develop win-win solutions.

Upgrade Training & Development. It’s very short-sighted to stop providing training and development. These dollars keep your employees’ skills top-notch. Remember, you cannot replace employees or teams without experiencing the lag time before they are fully productive! This can range from weeks to months (sometimes several years!). Create individualized career plans with the required budget dollars.

Require Coaching for Managers. This is critical. Usually, when managers don’t want a coach, there is a reason (e.g., fear, dislike of people, unable to delegate). Hire outside executive coaches to support them. This will eliminate your managers from quietly quitting and these managers from quietly quitting their employees. Remember, the other leaders within the company are often poor coaches since they want others to follow the same pathway they did. But they can make great mentors.

Ensure a Competitive Benefits & Compensation Package. Employees stay where they are valued. It also attracts top talent when weighing job offers! Make changes to pull together a comprehensive package, not reduce coverages. Messing with employees’ pay and benefits will cause quiet quitting or worse!

Focus on Team Development. Throwing together team members to meet diversity and inclusion efforts is failing. But the reality is that most teams were failing before the pandemic due to a lack of resources and poor leadership—base team creation on required skills. Or team members will quietly quit due to lack of interest. Also, make sure you and your teams are continually developing skills, including facilitation skills.

Keep Focusing on Well-Being. Many employees are experiencing burnout! It’s one of the reasons they quietly quit! This issue will not go away by ignoring it and quietly quitting on them! Honor their work hours. Encourage breaks and vacations! Do not allow employees to come to the office if they are ill! Don’t forget to focus on your self-care too!

Thoughtfully Develop Your Workplace Culture. Engagement and connection to the company’s vision and mission are essential. But many leaders and their employees have forgotten all about it! Review the company’s core values when you or your team are struggling. Consider making this a monthly practice and discussion. Are the decisions you’re making in alignment with the company’s vision and mission? For example, are your selection practices for hiring, job promotions, and job transfers in alignment? Most are not.

Instead of quietly quitting on your team members, take the time to engage, create workable solutions, and develop their skills. Your involvement makes a significant and sustainable workplace culture now and in the future. Don’t forget! The bonus is that happy employees keep customers from straying to your competition!

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She is an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author. Her wisdom of over 30 years guides clients to work through sticky situations and challenging relationships. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about leaders quietly quitting on their employees: Leaders are doing this for several reasons, including retaliation for employees quietly quitting on them. It’s time to step up as a leader and get back in the game. Or you will lose customers and a healthy bottom line. Contact me for a confidential conversation to re-engage yourself and your employees before it’s too late.

Have You Considered: As a leader, strengthening employee engagement is critical to everyone’s success. I have extensive experience guiding leaders to engage their teams and achieve unprecedented results. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to engage your employees to excel.

When you feel like quietly quitting your job, stop! Working through sticky situations and complex relationships isn’t hard if you understand “why!” Your mindset impacts your resilience and ability to achieve intended results! Stop waiting and hoping things will change! It won’t get easier if you wait! Instead, take action and contact me for a confidential conversation.

Resilience Requires Leaders to Step Up

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“Successful leaders must strengthen their resilience to achieve results.” Jeannette Seibly

Traditionally, resilience was about being mentally tough, stoic, and silent about your true feelings. In other words, don’t say anything and hide your reactions.

The American Psychological Association defines resilience: Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

I’m amazed by the number of younger employees who hate their jobs and say, “I’d rather be unemployed.” They jump from one position to another and are often surprised that there is no relief. Many older employees may not love their job responsibilities either. But they have developed a healthy resilience to adapt and become flexible to their jobs’ typical external and internal demands.

This is resilience today! Leaders need to acknowledge their feelings or emotions when triggered and not let them run the show! And, while it is healthy to express yourself, verbal dumping doesn’t work and only creates resentment, not resilience.

Resilience requires taking responsibility and addressing your reactions in a positive manner with your team. Doing so allows for new ideas, resolutions, and solutions to appear.

7 Tips to Create Resilience

Breathe. When you notice you are triggered, breathe in for 5 counts. Pause. Exhale for 5 counts. (Or any number that works for you.) Repeat this breathing pattern 3 times. Breathing reduces the fight, flight or freeze stress response triggered in your brain. Breathing also allows you to take responsibility for your reactions (aka triggers) and is critical before attempting to resolve any issue.

Self-Care. Self-care is essential today for leaders to strengthen their resilience. There are many changes occurring in jobs and workplaces where you have no control over the impact (e.g., loss of employment, work responsibilities, etc.). If you’ve experienced a loss (family member, pet, job, finances, etc.), take the time to grieve. Remember, you do have a choice in your reaction and the attitude you choose.

Get to the Heart or Core of the Problem. Conflicts between you and your team, or between team members, need immediate resolution. This requires a commitment and resilience to work through the apprehension and fear that often stop you and others from achieving the intended results.

Be Responsible for Your Communication Style (most people aren’t)! As a leader, take responsibility. It strengthens resilience. When you are responsible for how you communicate, you show others they can trust you.

Examples:

  • Apologize and stop using words or terminology that others don’t understand.
  • Ask team members questions when they present new ideas and be curious.
  • Remember, when presenting a new solution you’ve been thinking about, it’s the first time they’ve heard it.
  • Keep in mind that people learn at different rates of speed. So take it slow to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Have Reality-Based Conversations. Team members may hold onto upsets, exaggerate them, and use them to justify their poor job performance. Resilience and straight talk with compassion require having tough conversations. Before these conversations, get the facts. Then, talk with your executive coach, boss, or human resources to clarify how to create a positive outcome.

Learn How to Forgive, Even When You Don’t Believe You Should. As a leader, you will have arrows aimed at you when team members feel frustrated or upset. But resilience is vital. While this is easier said than done, forgive those that gossip about, criticize, or blame you. Remember, forgiveness is for you. Remember, don’t say, “I forgive you,” to the offender. This often only worsens the situation since they believe there is nothing to be forgiven for.

Hire the Right Coach. When you’re resilient, you can expand your point of view and step up as a leader. If sticky situations or political relationships are not going well, immediately talk with your executive coach to strengthen your resilience. Listen and learn. You can make things worse and sideline your career if you attempt to do it alone. The same mindset or lack of awareness that created the problem will not resolve it!

©Jeannette Seibly 2020 -2023 All Right Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. With over 30 years as an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author, Jeannette’s clients effectively work through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about strengthening your resilience: Being aware of your feelings and emotions is essential. When you verbally dump on others, it’s damaging and demonstrates a lack of resilience on your part. Contact me for a confidential conversation to strengthen your resilience.

Consider: Strengthening resilience takes time and the experience of successfully working through challenges. I have extensive experience guiding leaders (current and future) to achieve unprecedented results. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to excel, starting with strengthening your resilience.

Have you met a challenge you’ve not been able to work through? Many managers and directors have, and their bosses may not be of much help. Now’s the time to develop your resilience and ability to achieve intended results! Waiting will not make a positive difference. Take action and contact me for a confidential conversation.

Honor Your Grief Now

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Honoring your grief can be difficult as a leader and normally strong person. Throughout our careers, we’re taught to be stoic, mentally tough, and strong in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, these traits and others fail to support us during life’s unalterable challenges.

When my cat, Gracee, passed away suddenly two weeks ago, I was devastated. My counselor said, “No more work for the next two days.” This was despite my excuses. She added, “Do not make life decisions at this point either. You need time to honor your grief.” I followed her advice and can see (and feel) the difference.

The death of a spouse, parent, child, sibling, family member, or pet can be devastating, even when we believe we are ready for it. A professional woman denied that people needed to feel and deal with their grief. She thought she was completely prepared and too strong to experience grief … until her mother died. Then, she understood that grief happens to all of us regardless of our opinions about it.

The following are some other ways you may experience grief due to fear and not feeling safe in today’s world (the list is not intended to be inclusive):

  • Divorce and loss of home
  • Job loss or working in a job you hate
  • Natural weather disasters
  • Health issues
  • Loss of money
  • Failure at work
  • Outside factors (e.g., pandemic, school shootings, political rhetoric, and economic uncertainty)

Here are ideas to help you honor your grief:

  1. Talk with a therapist or grief counselor. They are skilled (and licensed) to guide you through the five common stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages can happen all at once. Having an experienced counselor to talk through your challenges can help you avoid making decisions that are not in your best interest.
  2. Take Time … Grief Is Not a Quick and Easy Process. You may need to take time beyond your company’s bereavement policy. If it is a job loss, work with a career counselor after taking time to process your anger and cry. Talk with a business advisor if it is due to a business loss. The key is to honor, and not ignore, the grief while taking the actions required to move forward.
  3. Journal for your eyes only. A University of Michigan study has shown that writing can engage the brain differently. This allows you to dig deeper to find peace. Remember, do not send out your letters. To repeat, these are for your eyes only. For me, it helped me realize Gracee was now well and at peace and to be grateful for our time together.
  4. It’s OK to Cry. Yes, tears do help and can erupt at any time. Allow them to do so now to avoid additional stress in your body. For example, if you are in a meeting, excuse yourself. Cry. Then return to your meeting if you can and be present. I stopped wearing mascara for three days.
  5. Set Up a Tribute or Memorial. There are so many ways of doing this. Social media makes it easier. Be sure to talk with other family members first. In last week’s newsletter, I included “In Memory of the COO in my life” and included a cute cat picture of Gracee. It really helped.
  6. Health Wise. Self-care is essential during this time. Exercise, rest, and eat appropriately. Yes, it may be challenging to do so … but not doing so can hurt your health and well-being.
  7. Stay in Communication. Reach out. If you’re unable to talk, simply listen. Work with your therapist or let a friend know if you need to vent. Be responsible for not making judgments or burning bridges that could hurt your job or career in the future.

Something to consider: An executive refused to grieve after surviving a natural weather disaster where she lived. Months later, she experienced an executive meltdown and lost her job. This might not have happened if she had taken the time to honor her grief.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. With over 30 years as an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author, Jeannette’s clients effectively work through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about honoring your grief: Many leaders and other normally strong people don’t take the time to grieve. They believe it hurts their credibility and can create a loss of respect. But failing to honor your grief will come out at some time and somewhere if you don’t honor it now. Contact me for a confidential conversation when you’re ready to move forward. (I’m not a licensed therapist.)

NOTE: Life has a way of throwing you challenges that move you into unknown situations at work and in life. I love coaching and supporting current and future leaders during these transitions. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to develop the confidence, competence, and clarity required to be a great leader.

Your managers need your help! They are being held accountable for results and people, and many don’t have the skills to do it well! Therefore, they fail to achieve the intended results! It’s time to provide an Effective Manager and Director Workshop and ongoing coaching. The company’s increase in retention, revenues, and results will thank you! Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Producing Effective Results Requires Trusting Yourself

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“Trusting yourself requires experience, resilience, and the willingness to learn from your mistakes.” Jeannette Seibly

Wanting to be a leader, boss, team member, and good citizen requires trusting yourself to take the right actions and asking for help on what to do to create effective results. What you do or do not do impacts others’ ability to trust you to make win-win-win decisions.

How often have you decided and second-guessed yourself because you didn’t trust yourself? Too often, we realize that if you’d asked the right questions or knew what you now know, you’d have made a better decision. But we didn’t trust ourselves, and every leader has been there.

So, how do we learn to trust ourselves?

Important Traits Required to Trust Yourself

Tell the Truth! We love to rationalize, justify, and lie to ourselves and others that we’re doing our best. Trusting yourself is built by asking for help when you don’t know what to do.

Example: What are you doing to make it difficult for your team members to trust you to achieve intended results or to ask you for help (e.g., gossiping, withholding resources, blaming others, etc.)?

Honor Your Word. This can be difficult for many people, including leaders. But, remember, while you may not believe your word impacts yourself or others, it does … and builds or diminishes trust.

Example: Pick up the phone and talk directly with the right person to solve a team conflict or other brewing issue (e.g., HR, boss, or coach). Then, follow through!

Stop Relying Solely on Intuition or Gut Feelings. Too many people rely on feelings, social media rants, and other lousy information and cite these as intuitive or gut reactions. While scientific studies indicate intuition and gut reactions are important, we can’t rely solely on them when making decisions.

Example: Too many hiring bosses rely on intuition and incorrectly use job fit assessments when selecting the right person for the job. This creates losses in retention, revenues, and results.

Learn the Rules. Many people today flaunt or ignore the rules; they are there for a reason. While they may need changing, complaining about them or signing a petition doesn’t make a difference. Building trust in yourself means being accountable for what you say and do with others.

Example: Are you working within your company’s policies and standard operating procedures? Or do you hope no one notices you aren’t? Learning the rules prevents you from planning your excuses if there is a huge and costly mistake.

Learn to Apologize for Mistakes. Instead of relying on your excuses when you make a mistake, genuinely use these words, “I’m sorry.” “I apologize.”  By trusting yourself to apologize for your mistakes, you will build trust with others so they know you take responsibility for your actions.

Example: A woman failed to show up twice in meetings she’d requested, set up with the same person, and then refused to apologize for being a no-show. This is what it looks like when you don’t trust yourself; it encourages others not to trust you.

Be Coachable! The fastest way to learn to trust yourself and encourage others to trust you is to be coachable. While no one can know what to do in every situation, trust yourself to seek the right person to coach you through the best way to resolve issues. Listen and follow the advice of your coach and boss.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. With over 30 years as an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author, Jeannette’s clients effectively work through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about trusting yourself: Many leaders like to think they trust themselves. Yet, they don’t. How do you know? Watch their actions, which speak louder than words. Contact me to assess how to trust yourself more for better results.

NOTE: Learning to trust yourself requires making the right choices and the right changes. I love coaching and supporting current and future leaders during critical and strategic situations. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching accelerates your ability to trust yourself. This, in turn, influences your team for unprecedented results that others applaud.

How’s your leadership development progressing? Are you moving forward … or a tad stuck? Do you need a “nudge” and “clarification?” Want to accelerate and soar your results? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Be Present When Listening

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“When you’re present during conversations, you become an influential leader because you heard what was being said.” Jeannette Seibly

If we want people to talk to us more, we should start by listening to them more. Simon Sinek

  • Would you like to achieve epic results?
  • Have working relationships with team members that develop them to be leaders?
  • Keep reading!

When we’re in meetings or conversations, and someone else is talking, we often allow ourselves to think of other things. The problem? We stop listening. We miss what the other person said. We also miss nuances that make a big difference in the person’s meaning, even if they didn’t say it.

In my recent article, Are Your Relationships Working?, I mentioned “Be Present” as a key to building relationships. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel a positive affinity when someone is unable or unwilling to listen to what I have to say. Also, as an excellent listener, I am always amazed by others who fail to hear due to bad habits or an unwillingness to be present.

So, what are the critical tips for “being present” during conversations? How does being present impact retention (aka relationships), revenues, and results? Keep reading!

5 Key Tips to Be Present When Listening

Be Focused. When entirely focused on the person speaking, what you learn and hear, and the solutions that can evolve are incredible. It’s true. Just listening and setting aside internal mental chatter makes the person feel valued and respected (aka retention).

Stop Multi-tasking. When listening, set aside your work, negative feelings, and other distractions (e.g., social media posts, gadgets, email notifications). That will allow you to hear the genuine concerns you will otherwise miss (think, customer and employee satisfaction).

Stay Mentally Focused. Instead of allowing yourself to think of rebuttals or allowing yourself to be triggered by what they’ve said, be present and listen. Yes, I understand; this is easier said than done. However, successful leaders learn not to be offended and address issues at the appropriate time.

Set Aside Answers. Too often, when we listen, we listen to develop a solution or answer the person … even when they don’t ask a question! Instead, be present and listen. Don’t offer ideas. Listen to just listen. Be a facilitator and guide the person to brainstorm, allowing them to develop their own answers.

Ask Questions. When you are present, you can ask questions that ensure you understand what is being said. Being present and listening will allow you to inquire into gaps in their thinking or contradictions. Use facts, not feelings, when asking questions (feelings are fleeting and usually don’t reflect the speaker’s words spoken at that moment).

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and business author. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. As a result, they can work through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about being present when listening: It can be challenging to listen when someone is long-winded, or you have no interest in what s/he is saying. The problem? As a leader, not listening hurts your retention (aka relationships), revenues, and results. And being present and listening can make a big difference in what you hear. It allows you to reduce misinterpretations and hurt feelings. Contact me if you’re unclear about how to be present, especially when you don’t want to listen.

This week’s PODCAST: Listen to the Moments of Brilliance: You Don’t Have to Have the Answers! with my guest, Denise Roberts, on The Entrepreneurial Leader.