Vicki Anderson

Have you noticed how different leaders focus on different things? As I met with a client today I was reminded that how followers behave is often dependent on the leader they choose to follow. Some leaders focus on integrity and make everything they do point to the integrity of the situation and the people involved. While integrity is important to almost everyone, it is not the only reason people follow a leader.

Some people follow leaders because they get things done. They are active people themselves and pride themselves on accomplishment. They will get bored working for someone who spends most of the time on analysis to get fewer things done, but done right. Others may find the analysis stimulating and comforting to know each solution is well thought out.

Some people follow leaders because they are people oriented. They are involved with their followers and give them a sense of belonging. It feels good to be a part of this team and there is a lot of camaraderie.

So, is there a right way to lead? Of course not. Each of us has a natural focus and often a combination of focuses that guide our method of leading. The key issue is in why someone would follow you. Looking at the situation involved, it is important to understand which focus of leadership might be needed. If that is not a strength of yours, you might need to bring in someone else to help lead. That person could even be someone within your team.

It is not only the situation and your natural focus, but the need of the people you are leading. They may have varying needs at any one time and you will have to adapt your leadership style to fit their need if you want to achieve the most results from them.

“Isn’t consequences the same thing as punishment?” someone asked me recently. “Not really,” I answered.

This association of words often keeps supervisors from following up on their employees’ unacceptable performance. You see, we associate “consequences” with “what happens when you mess up.” Consequences are issued to unruly children and teenagers who make poor behavior choices in order to help them learn appropriate behaviors. However, the same concept can be used with adults. Punishment, on the other hand, has an emotional component that is supposed to make you feel bad for what you did.

Consequences are actually what happen as a result of your actions. Consequences can be positive or negative. For example, when a salesman signs a new customer, he might receive a bonus, which is a pleasant consequence. On the other hand, an employee who makes a careless safety error may receive a reprimand, which is an unpleasant consequence.

The problem lies in inconsistent consequences. If consequences only happen when someone does something wrong, they feel like punishment to the person receiving it. If you want to see consistent results from your people, then you have to use consistent consequences. Make sure that people hear lots of good news from you when they are performing well. Don’t be a recognition miser and don’t wait for the super achievement to give recognition. Reward consistent positive results and efforts toward behavior improvement. People want to know that what they do pleases you. You have a lot of power to inspire achievement if you will use it.

Be also free with natural consequences if you see incorrect behavior. This is difficult for many supervisors so they wait too long before giving consequences. Thus it gets escalated to disciplinary action quickly. Instead, give people useful information that will help them get back on the correct path immediately while there is no emotion attached to it. Just as you quickly pull your hand back from a hot pan when cooking, employees ought to know where the limits are by your quick reaction to near misses, not crises. Discuss lessons learned and apply the “what happened, why did it happen, and how can we keep this from happening again” approach. In this way, natural consequences are follow-up actions in response to incorrect or unacceptable behavior. The purpose is not to make the employee feel bad, but help them be successful the next time.

A recent article by The Conference Board reported that only 45% of people were satisfied with their jobs vs. 61.1% in 1987. http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=3820 They also reported that 22% of the people surveyed said that they didn’t expect to be in their current job in a year.

I don’t think this is very surprising given all the changes in employment and the economy in the last year. I also don’t think it is just that people are scared for their jobs. When major layoffs and economy downturns happen it is natural for people hunker down and look out for themselves. It is more difficult to think about what you contribute to the team and how you are making a difference wherever you are if you are only focused on yourself.

I think being a successful part of the world is considering what contribution you make. Job satisfaction is not only being paid what you think you are worth, but it is feeling like it matters whether you do your job or not. And that doesn’t mean whether you get in trouble for doing it or not. Take a look at any job from garbage pickup person to waiter to lab technician to manager to ceo. If that person does not see the importance in their job and is not surrounded by others who value what they do, they are less likely to take an interest and feel satisfied.

And who has the power to help people see their work as worthwhile? It is management, coworkers, and the employes themselves. If you don’t like what you are doing, ask yourself why it needs to be done and what would happen if you didn’t do it. If you have coworkers who serve you by getting you what you need to do your job, let them know you appreciate their effort and what difference it makes to you being able to do your job. If you are a manager, don’t be a recognition miser. Be generous with appreciation and discuss what value employees bring to you and your customers by the way they work. And don’t forget to let your boss know if he or she is doing a good job. They are often the least recognized and it flows downhill from there!

My favorite saying is “The grass is always greener where you water it.” What are you doing to help your grass grow greener?

Do you ever think of something you “should” learn but you never really get around to doing it? Isn’t it easy to think things are impossible when it’s really just uncomfortable?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in the last few months that someone would like to know more about social networking because they just don’t understand it. Is that you? It’s me! Well, I have tried to stick my toes into the water little by little with the help of my daughter and a few friends, but I’m not convinced I do it very well. So, I have attended a couple webinars recently and I signed up for a comprehensive, hands-on social networking course offered by the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully, I might find I’m doing some things right as well as learning what else I should do.

It is so hard to keep up with the latest as the world is changing so fast. Therefore, it’s important to use the tools we have efficiently. I don’t have time to do everything, so I have to figure out what will give me the most results for the least effort.

Whatever it is you need to learn, get started right away. You don’t want to be one of those “old people” who don’t understand what this world is coming to. Be part of the change now and it will be easier down the road.

An organizational culture is very important because it determines how you will do business, how you will treat your customers, and how you will treat your employees. This is a three-legged stool built with respect. The Key Principles for Toyota include Respect for Others. This means everyone.

Your employees will only treat their customers as well as they are treated. If someone does not feel respected, they are not likely to respect others. It will be easier to be judgmental and arbitrary toward others. For all the bad treatment we receive at the hands of others, it boils down to a lack of respect. If you respected the other person, you would not use a sarcastic tone of voice to them. You would not get mad at the slightest variance from your expectations. You would want to be helpful because you respect that their intentions are good.

How hard it is for employees today to feel that their management respects them when they are considered so disposable. So many employees feel they have no choice but to shut up and do as asked–even if they disagree or know it is wrong. How hard it is for managers today to feel that their employees respect them when they have to monitor their every movement for fear they will be not working or not doing what they are supposed to do without prodding.

How poorly served are customers today who have to deal with vendors who don’t seem to care about serving them. It is easy to get mad at the apathy or disrespect shown when seeking help. How does this translate into your business’s bottom line? Organizations that encourage respect bring repeat business from their customers, who tell more customers.

Respect cannot be legislated. You cannot command that someone respect you. You have to earn it and I think you have to give it in order to get it. If you want a respectful environment for your employees and customers, it is important to stop allowing disrespectful behavior. As leaders, set the tone by the way you treat others. Talk about the importance of the show of respect toward one another. Everyone can give you examples of what disrespect looks like, but there may be varying answers to what respect looks like. Start the dialog today and get people involved in setting the standards at your organization. It can start with you.