Category Archives: Leadership

3 Ways to Kill Morale At Work

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 Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.”

-Anne M. Mulcahy

Can a leader really motivate others?  This is a question that has been asked over the years without a clear answer.  Psychology talks about intrinsic motivators that come from inside an individual, i.e. seeking to go back to school for more knowledge and extrinsic motivators that come from a person’s environment, i.e., bonuses, challenging work, etc.   I don’t believe this is an either/or answer but rather a “both” answer.  In order for a person to be motivated to work at a higher level, they must possess an inner dialogue that wants to improve and an environment that supports that improvement.

While we don’t have much control on the intrinsic motivators that a person needs to succeed, I believe as leaders we can make a big impact on the employee’s environment and therefore their extrinsic motivators.  So what are the three morale killers in an organization?  Read below for the answers:

 

  • Showing favoritism-sometimes it can be difficult for a leader to recognize when they are showing favoritism of one employee over the other.  We don’t always see our actions but clearly going to lunch more often, giving the easier or more challenging work, bonusing one performance more than another, hanging out with a person outside of work hours are all forms of favoritism that kills morale.  Other employees do not see the benefit of going the extra mile when their boss rewards someone else for being a favorite. 

 

  • Not caring for your employees-a great leader needs to know as much as possible about their employees.  Do you know their birthday, work anniversary, and son’s or daughter’s names?  Do you know what sports or hobbies they prefer? Do you know their strengths? Do you show appreciation for their work on a regular basis? When a leader genuinely cares for his or her employees, the relationship begins to feel like a family.  I remember a boss I had years ago who knew my daughter was ill on Friday and asked my Monday morning how she was doing.  Twenty years later I still remember how important and valued her remembering to ask made me feel.

 

  • Lack of challenge- even in small organizations where the promotion ladder is short or nonexistent, employees still need meaningful and challenging work.  Are you able to offer work in an area of strength for the employee? Are highly competent employees able to mentor and train others in their area of strength? Are you able to cross train valuable employees to increase their value to the company?

 

As the economy gains steam and employee options for work increase, it will become even more critical that you eliminate these three morale killers from you team, department and organization as a whole.

Question For You:

Are you currently favoring one employee over others?  Do you do the bare minimum to get to know your employees and the bare minimum to show appreciation for their work? Do employees stay stagnant in their training and work with minimal effort to help them grow personally and professionally?

Action For You:

If you realize that you may be offering more of your time and attention to one employee than another…STOP immediately.  Don’t beat yourself up for this but simply cease doing those things with this employee that you would not do with others.  If you only know your employees superficially, begin creating a list of questions that would help you better understand your employee’s personal and professional life.  Make certain you are not asking any illegal or embarrassing questions like their age or sexual orientation.  Finally do you have continual one-on-one meetings with staff to help you uncover their needs for growing in their positions?  Do you take any steps after these conversations?

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

— Albert Schweitzer

 

6 Tips For Remembering People’s Names

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I recently spoke at a conference on the topic of Networking for People Who Hate to Network and my audience asked if I could help them better remember people’s names.  I realized how important this skill is to communicating more effectively and thought it would make a great topic for this week’s newsletter.

Great reading and remembering!

Diane

 

At some point in my young adulthood I was asked the question, “What are the most pleasing words for a person to hear?” The answer I received may surprise you….it is a person’s name.  If hearing your name is so pleasing and important in a conversation than why is it so hard for us to remember others names in social settings? I have to admit that I must constantly work at this skill because it does not come naturally to me.

We have all been in that situation where we have met someone before and had a conversation with them, but when we meet them again, we do not have any recall as to their name.  And so we do the dance by pretending we know who they are and asking a myriad of questions that might trigger an answer that gives us a clue as to their name.  This is embarrassing, frustrating and time consuming all at once.  So, how can we better recall a person’s name once we hear it?  I have five techniques I have used that help me and hopefully will help you as well.  I am sorry to say I do not remember the source for some of these ideas and some I have created myself:

 

  • Be focused in the moment.  You know when you are about to be introduced to someone…this is not the time to multitask or think of your grocery list waiting for you.  You must clear out all other thoughts and look the new person in the eye so you capture their name and how they say it.

 

  • Once you are introduced, find a way to verbalize their name out loud to help it sink into your memory.  For instance, you just met Bob Jones and so you ask him a question shortly after your introduction by saying, “Bob, did you go to school in this area?”   By using his name quickly in a question, you have now practiced using his name which will lend itself to better recall.  Another great time to use their name again is when you are departing.  Try saying, “Nice to meet you, Bob,” as an example.

 

  • Associate their name with a feature of their physical presence or someone they look like.  For instance, if I am introduced to Tina Smith and she is tall, I may remember her as Tall Tina.  This works especially well if there is a distinguishing feature in their physical structure or mannerisms. By putting a feature of the person with their name, you are creating an emotional marker with their name that helps with recall. If they look like someone famous you may try connecting that Tina Smith has Tina Turner’s hair.

 

  • Ask them to spell their name.  I am a visual learner and by seeing their name spelled, I am often better able to recall it.  This can sometimes backfire when they have a simple name like Mary Anderson but usually there are multiple ways to spell a name and you are trying to make certain you have it accurately.

 

  • Apologize if you do forget their name.  Simply state, “I am so sorry that I have forgotten your name, would you please tell me again?”  Sometimes we would save a lot of time and embarrassment if we would simply do this right away but there are times when it seems so inappropriate if we were just introduced. 

 

  • Help others know your name.  Why not help your fellow socialites by introducing yourself to everyone that may not remember your name.  I like to shake people’s hands that I have seldom met and say, “Hi, I am Diane Amundson; you may not remember me.”  Wouldn’t the world rotate so much smoother if everyone made the assumption that you don’t remember their name?

 

Question for You:

Do you often forget people’s names?  Sometime right after being introduced to them?

Action for You:

Saying a person’s name is one of the most pleasing words for that person to hear. Try to focus and be in the moment when that introduction is made, verbalize their name quickly, find a physical feature or mannerism to assist you and ask them to spell their name if you are a visual learner.  Don’t be afraid to quickly apologize if you forget their name and help other’s remember your name by not assuming they remember you and offering your name first

Are You Open Minded?

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Happy Columbus Day!  On October 12, 1492 Columbus arrived in the Americas to explore a whole New World.  By nature someone who chooses a career of exploring would need to have an open mind.  In writings about the characteristics of an effective leader, having an open mind is usually listed in the top ten.  So, what is an open mind, how do you get one and keep it open, if that is possible?  Good question for this week’s newsletter.

Happy exploring!

Diane

What does it mean to have an open mind?  Most dictionaries will define an open mind as being receptive to new or different ideas or opinions.

So, why is it difficult to have this open mind?  One reason may be our past success. Our current beliefs have helped us get to where we are today, and if you like where you are, you do not want to get rid of those beliefs.  Let’s take a look at some beliefs we held tightly as a society but were later proven wrong:

  • The earth is flat
  • Our personality is shaped by our environment only
  • The size of the universe is constant and not expanding

While scientists have proven all three of these beliefs to be untrue, we fought very hard for their existence.  So what old ideas are you holding onto?  I thought I would share a few of mine:

  • It was best to be understood first and get your point across quickly than to hold your opinion for last so you could listen to others first.
  • Most problems existed with people and not systems.  I didn’t understand what a system was until Edward Deming’s work with systems thinking.
  • My culture and upbringing was the correct way.  Everyone else was strange or wrong.

Employees, co-workers and family members enjoy being with someone who maintains an open mind.  As a matter of fact, they list this characteristic as critical to a successful leader. If you are not continually trying new concepts or ideas you are not growing as an individual or organization.  And the saying goes…if you are not growing you are dying.  So how do we get more of an open mind?  I want to share some of my insights from years of trying:

 

  • Seek first to understand before being understood.  Covey got it right in his 7 Habits book.  Even though we all know it to be true, it can be so difficult to practice.  What I have learned to do is force myself to go last in a discussion.  Sometimes I will write my idea down so I don’t lose it and this will open myself up to listening. Other times I sit on my hands to remind myself to listen first.  What is so great about this concept is that I often change my opinion after hearing such brilliant ideas from others first.
  • Ask yourself what is good about an idea before critiquing it. I was working with a group of doctors when someone suggested this idea and I really liked it.  The idea is when with someone or in a group an idea is given, you must first say how it has merit or why it may work before you are given the opportunity to say why it won’t work.  It forces the brain to use a higher level of thinking before its “safekeeping” thinking.
  • Reflect on what you have tried in the past that has now become a habit.  It is helpful to think back to a time you tried something new but you were uncomfortable. You decided that the idea had merit so you may have tried it on a small scale and found it to be successful and now it has become a part of your everyday life.  For me, I recently became a great fan of Skype. When my brother introduced it to me,  I didn’t want to join, I didn’t want to buy a camera for my monitor and so I thought it was one more piece of technology I didn’t want to learn.  Wow, was I wrong!  I am now Skyping my daughter several times a week while she studies in Spain. 

Question for You:

Would your employees, peers, boss or family members consider you to be open minded?

Action for You:

Try to listen first, find merit in another’s idea and remember when you were successful trying something new in the past.