Transform the Organization

Are you listening to the criticism?

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It always feels good to get compliments, have others think highly of your interactions with clients, or be lauded for the goals you’ve accomplished. In fact, most of us expect to hear that everything is great and wonderful—even when it’s not.  Unfortunately, unadulterated praise rarely provides you with the inside information you need to advance in your career. Every success has its learning opportunities, such as overcoming poor communication habits, correcting ineffective project management skills, adjusting biased attitudes towards others, and becoming more resourceful.

Climbing the corporate ladder requires being open to hearing what you don’t want to hear from co-workers, bosses, and clients. It’s important to learn from your mistakes and learn how to manage perceptions by seeing yourself from others’ point of view. Instead of thinking people are being super critical or are unaware of what you had to do to achieve results.  Failure to welcome the truth can stymie your upward mobility.

The truth is you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge! 

Successful leaders listen instead of defending themselves. They seek out constructive criticism and learn from others’ perspectives about what is working and what needs to be improved. In addition, they rely on the expertise of an executive coach, a trusted advisor who can help them develop their natural strengths and overcome their inherent weaknesses. http://SeibCo.com

When we listen to criticism, we can hear the gold. When we respond appropriately, we improve our leadership.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2014

Is our hiring process reactive?

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Today many recruiters and hiring managers simply react when someone quits, retires, or gets fired. We post an ad, interview, and hope we’ve hired the right person.  Usually, hiring mistakes result when we focus too much on the person who left and let our biases lead us astray. We tend to look for someone who is similar or dissimilar to the person we’re replacing, and we fail to base our decisions on objective data.

To make matter worse, as creatures of habit we rely on the same old processes. They’re easy to fall back on when we don’t take the time to strategically assess where we are today and what we need to do to be successful tomorrow.

To become proactive, we need to infuse objectivity into the selection process upfront, before the interview process begins. The better-quality information we obtain from qualified tools, the better our hiring decisions.  Such objectivity requires a new mindset, a mindfulness of what we are doing and why.  For more on this subject, see my article Easily Infuse Objectivity Early in Your Hiring System. (http://wp.me/p2POui-nj)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2014

Want to achieve your 2014 goals? It requires commitment.

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Setting goals for the new year can be exciting—it’s a time for creating new opportunities. For many, it’s also the time to put aside failed results from last year’s goals. But in about thirty days, our 2014 goals will lack their initial luster too, and we will struggle to stay in focused action.  Why is it so hard to stay on track? Various internal and external business factors may be the culprit. But it’s more likely that we have simply failed to develop the muscles and mindsets to manage the design, planning, implementation, and fine-tuning required of any project.

Follow-through isn’t just a problem for individuals. Organizations struggle with it too. Although many companies create annual goals, few effectively manage the process required to achieve them. It’s a challenge that many business professionals face every year with their employers, or as business owners themselves.

Here are some suggestions that can help you stay focused and continue to chip away at your goals until they’re met:

Be Realistic. Hire a business advisor who can help you blast through your reticence when you get stuck or want to make things too hard. An advisor can also help you create realistic goals and focused action plans, offer tactics and strategies for reaching them, and help you see your progress.  An advisor will encourage you to talk with your co-workers, clients, and boss to share your goals and plans. Be open to others’ insights and recommendations.  They will help you streamline your efforts and avoid lots of effort with little payoff.

Divide Work into Small Chunks. Set up quarterly goals. The immediacy of short-term goals can make all the difference in getting and staying in focused action.  Many people plan for the entire year, but a year can be a long time, and a lot can happen in 12 months to take us off track. Shorter-term goals will also help alleviate detractors, commonly known as the “shiny objects syndrome.”

Celebrate Progress. Too often we focus on what isn’t working and fail to see what we have achieved. Take time daily to recognize your accomplishments and use those successes as motivation to achieve your larger goal.  Appreciate when you have taken responsibility for honoring your commitments to yourself and your company, no matter how small of a step it appears to be to you. It’s one step closer.   Get your copy of 5 Simply Steps to Improve Your Results: https://seibco.com/books/eguides/5-simple-steps-to-improve-your-results/

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2014

When company changes so do you

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The right attitude and action is required during company mergers and sales.

Changes in company business structures can quickly eliminate the need for your job, or you! They may reduce your job responsibilities so that you are no longer part of the core team—most employers don’t need two people doing the same job. If your position is eliminated, the key is to be available and open to sharing your knowledge and experience. Be helpful and provide the training required to the person who will take over your responsibilities. Why? Your positive attitude can change the company’s plans to eliminate you! It may alternatively motivate your boss to provide a glowing reference to your next employer or a valued introduction to your next boss. Have your brag statements ready to share in any interview, formal or otherwise, to let others know how you can be an invaluable resource. (http://TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

CEOs achieve their goals easier

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Hiring a coach is a wonderful gift to give to your executives, even when they don’t believe in the value a qualified coach can provide them! It’s a gift that keeps on giving! Hiring an outside business advisor or executive coach can help you achieve your goals easier and with less effort while improving results. Remember, most executive management team members are focused on driving the enterprise’s financial and strategic performance. They are not coaches and don’t have the interest or expertise to be one.

If you are the recipient of the gift of coaching, learn how to be coachable and be open to hearing what you don’t know or new ways to be successful in this ever-changing global market. If a coach is mandated because of your poor performance, ineffective people skills, or failure to achieve intended results, listen carefully and take action faithfully—otherwise, the next step may be termination. (http://SeibCo.com/contact)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Hiring biases cost you money.

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Today, many recruiters are complaining about not finding qualified candidates. Yet candidates with the credentials and required experience never hear back after applying for opportunities. Or, if they are interviewed, they’re told they are overqualified, don’t have a particular skill set, or don’t have the right pedigree (e.g., industry experience, professional titles, salary history, etc.).

Age does matter. Although the EEO and other agencies frown upon age discrimination, we all know it happens all too often. Recruiters are simply following edicts from their bosses to find someone younger and cheaper. They don’t know how to “sell” a qualified candidate to these bosses. Bosses and recruiters don’t believe they have the time to strategically assess what is truly needed and are unwilling to think outside the box to find the gold. Statistically, younger employees are more job-mobile and will leave a position when more qualified ones will not. More-experienced employees have been through the instability every company experiences and have learned to roll up their sleeves and wait it out.

Here’s a newsflash: Amateurs don’t save companies money! A well-qualified professional who fits the job, regardless of age, can normally do it faster, more thoroughly, and with better quality than someone without experience. The failure by hiring managers to objectively assess for job fit by using qualified assessments can hinder your company’s ability to select the right employees. The truth is poor job fit will create short-term employees or employees who simply do enough to get by and keep their paychecks but no more. It’s a costly status quo with a limited return on investment, because it keeps your company focus in a reactive mode, not on proactive growth.

Filter and invest. Infuse objective data into the process upfront, before the interview, because quality information will make for better decisions. Interviews are inherently biased and can filter out well-qualified candidates because of bias factors (e.g., age, weight, tattoos, gray hair, bald, etc.). Example: If you’re looking for a trainer and have candidates who have done training, talk with them. Use a qualified assessment to determine if they have an interest in presenting the subject matter required. What training and skill development will they need over time? Will they be comfortable in small or large groups? Can they write training content or do they rely on off-the-shelf programs? What will be the best return on investment for the company in the long run? What other skills are currently missing in the company that they can provide?

Remember, using qualified assessments can make a huge difference in vetting the right people, regardless of experience. Hiring qualified people, regardless of age and other biases, and investing in them builds a stronger company faster.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Your boss is leaving.

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When your boss leaves, whether willingly or not, you need to be ready. If you are qualified for the position, find out how to apply. Have your brag statements available and share them appropriately. (http://TimeToBrag.com) If you’re not qualified, see this as a great opportunity to network with your former boss (or boss’s boss) to determine what you need to do to be ready for the next opportunity—don’t wait until after your boss has left; he or she will be less likely to want to maintain ties at that point. Be prepared to seek other jobs within the company or new opportunities with new employers, since new bosses tend to bring in their own people. Although new bosses should always assess current talent before replacing them, shake-ups happen too often, which makes it imperative for you to be ready to move on. In the meantime, be willing to take on other job responsibilities to broaden your depth and breadth of experience and knowledge. Build a great working relationship with the new boss. It may save your job, or provide valuable references or contacts for the next one!

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Are you ready to align a misaligned company?

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Making organizational changes can be daunting when there are many siloes, turf wars, and lines of demarcation that prevent everyone in the company from getting on the same page at the same time.  However, putting off making the tough decisions for fear of emotional upsets will only continue to exhaust you and create more elephants in the room, land mines, and entrenchments.

Make a commitment to the new direction of the company and get everyone on board, starting at the top of your enterprise.

  1. First, don’t entertain the drama—instead continue to parrot the value of the new direction while listening to objective rationale and making required tweaks. No plan is foolproof.
  2. Second, support and keep your leaders on track by using objective data and real metrics to gauge progress. It’s imperative that you are actively involved in managing others, keeping them focused, and paving the way so they can do their work. Be open to suggestions.
  3. Third, hire a coach or business advisor for each of your executives so they can learn how to work with each other, ask the right questions, and move forward to achieve the intended results. Everyone needs an objective and confidential sounding board to keep them on track and moving forward.  (http://SeibCo.com/contact)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Your job may be ending soon.

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Is your employer is in the red? If yes, it does mean your job may be ending soon if you don’t get in action now. As a leader, it’s important that you network to determine what can be done to change the organization’s financial situation before sending out your resume. (You’re right: This process should have started prior to now.) Are there new markets to pursue? Tweaks required to keep current customers? Additional training of staff? Get busy … urgency is the key! Waiting only encourages more procrastination.

A confidence builder for employees is to put together brag statements for the business—i.e., what you’ve achieved as a group—and share them with your network. Second, put together brag statements outlining what you’ve done for each customer and share those statements with them. Most customers stray because they don’t know what you’ve done for them lately. (http://TimeToBrag.com) If you have been ignoring customer demands, immediate and progressive changes are required, but first you need to ask your customers what those changes should be. Be responsive and make it happen. Along the way, it may be time to network for your next position, send out resumes, and learn how to brag about your own achievements in a business-savvy manner. (http://TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

 

Stop the denial!

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Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how you handle them that makes all the difference. Allowing your ego and impatience to get the best of you can and will cost you your job. First apologize to all involved, sincerely. Clichés or platitudes won’t change anything. People will naturally be forgiving if you are not continually making the same mistakes over and over. If you missed an important milestone, committed fraud or lied, gossiped about your boss or upset an important customer, it will take more than the apology to set the right tone for the future, if you are given the opportunity. When you are, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance—become very coachable and do whatever is requested to get back on track (http://SeibCo.com/contact). If you have burned your bridges, learn from your mistakes and negotiate a good severance package. Be responsible about lamenting your situation to others, because no one wants to hire someone else’s problem!

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013