Remember your first supervisory job? I still remember mine.  And some of those memories are, frankly, not pretty.

I had been hired as the operations manager for Canada’s largest private trucking company.  I had minimal trucking experience and barely knew the difference between a brake pot and a tea pot! Nor had I ever had to deal with getting a union to cooperate with the management team.  Now I had all of that and more besides!

When a new machine is installed in a department, a handbook comes with it!  There may even be a technician specially qualified in how that particular piece of machinery works, or directions on how to keep it in good operating condition, and even what to do when it breaks down.

Supervisors get new people arriving in their department all the time, but for some reason the handbooks don’t come with them!  And they never seem to arrive.

How do we keep those new persons in top shape? How long is the warranty on this new employee? And what will you do if they fail?

Yes I understand Management wants output and quality.  But output and quality always require the loyalty and cooperation of people, in addition to what those machines can accomplish.

And is it possible that supervisors can do something which will improve loyalty and cooperation?

Remember employees tend to judge the whole organization in terms of the treatment they receive from their immediate boss. When 95% of employee turnover is a result of “not getting along” with their Supervisor the pressure is squarely on that relationship.

Today thousands of people in supervisory positions were operators just a short time ago.  And in the coming months and years thousands more men and women will assume supervisory jobs – as aging Boomers move into retirement or as is frequently happening, semi-retirement.

Some of these people have experience, some do not. But regardless of their history, they must quickly learn to work through their people.  They must recognize that they can get their jobs done only through the cooperation of the people whose work they direct.

Failure to do so will not only hurt the enterprise, but jeopardize that newly minted Supervisor. Trust me I have felt that challenge!

I was the youngest person to be promoted to a terminal manager’s position.  When I arrived at the terminal I had been with the company only four years.  The terminal manager I was replacing had almost 30 years with the company!

The office manager had 20 years under his belt and the union lead hands, 23 and 24.  It made for some interesting first days, but in my 8 years of management in that terminal, we had minimal grievances, we never had a strike, and only once did we end up in arbitration.

Most importantly we were successful in our business, while some other key trucking companies were closing their doors

Every great enterprise has great leaders at all levels, and being a good supervisor means that the people in your department do what you want done, when it should be done, and the way you want it done…

But most importantly, they do it because they want to do it.

That is the lost art of motivating people for maximum results.

More on the “Magic of Motivation” next time.

Neal Diamond

Associate

MaximumImpact.ca

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Financial freedom comes to the person who saves ten percent or more of his income throughout his lifetime.

One of the smartest things that you can ever do for yourself is to develop the habit of saving part of your salary, every single paycheck. Individuals, families and even societies are stable and prosperous to the degree to which they have high savings rates. Savings today are what guarantee the security and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Start With Yourself
The first corollary of the Law of Saving comes from the book The Richest Man in Babylon by George Classon. It is to “Pay yourself first.”

Begin today to save ten percent of your earnings, off the top, and never touch it. This is your fund for long-term financial accumulation and you never use it for any other reason except to assure your financial future.

Develop New Habits Regarding Money
The remarkable thing is that when you pay yourself first, and force yourself to live on the other ninety percent, you will soon become accustomed to it. You are a creature of habit. When you regularly put away ten percent of your earnings, you soon become comfortable living on the other ninety percent. Many people start by saving ten percent of their income and then graduate to saving fifteen percent, twenty percent, and even more. And their financial lives change dramatically as a result. So will yours.

Take Every Advantage
The second corollary of the Law of Saving says, “Take advantage of tax deferred savings and investment plans.” Because of high and even multiple tax rates, money that is saved or invested without being taxed accumulates at a rate of 30% to 40% faster than money that is subject to taxation. Self-made millionaires, according to Dr Thomas Stanley’s book The Millionaire Next Door, are almost obsessive about accumulating their funds in assets such as real estate, self owned businesses and equities that increase in value without triggering tax liabilities.

Invest in company pension and retirement plans, 401(k) plans, IRA’s, Keough Plans, Roth IRA’s, Education Investment Accounts, stock option programs and whatever else has been approved by the IRS for long term financial accumulation. Make every dollar count!

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to apply this law immediately:

First, begin today to put away ten percent of your earnings. Set up a special account for this purpose and treat your contributions to this account with the same respect that you do your rent or mortgage payments each month.

Second, become a lifelong student of money. Read the best books, take courses and subscribe to the most helpful magazines. Know what you are doing so you can always make intelligent decisions when you invest your funds.

How Can You Attract More Wealth and Abundance?
We are now surrounded by more wealth than at any time in our history. The real question is how do YOU gain this abundance? Brian Tracy can show you how! Become a money magnet, immediately increase your income and learn wealth building secrets. Get the knowledge you need to make your financial future an outstanding one with The Unbreakable Laws of Money Package. Click here to get yours today!
Get Brian Tracy’s Unbreakable Laws of Money Package today!

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I suggested that they can really take this organization to a higher level of contribution and fulfillment.  What can keep these professionals from making the most of this opportunity to serve?  There are seven rules for the internal strengthening and success of their team.

And whatever team you are a part of – you want it to be a high performing team. No one wants to give heart and soul to a mediocre team – in fact no one will.  This is why so many organizations fail to live up to their mission, fail to accomplish their unique reason for existence.

According to performance guru Blair Singer there are certain “rules” for playing and winning on a championship team.

Here are 7 of Singer’s rules for the internal strengthening and success of their team:

1. Be willing to support our purpose, our goals, our rules. You’d think this was obvious, but no – not everyone on your team is really on board with the purpose and goals – they are acting for themselves not the team and they need to find another team.

2. Speak supportively to one another and always speak with good purpose. Words are tools, and can build or tear apart.  Watch the tone when speaking to your team – no one signed on to be disrespected by you! No ethnic jokes, no gender jokes, no swearing – always speak health, life and abundance, not blame, lack and excuses.

3. Acknowledge that what is being said is true for the speaker at that moment. Take a deep breath.  Stay engaged – don’t dismiss others’ comments in your mind as “the dumbest thing I ever heard.” You may discover that some points of view are equally valid to your own!

4. Complete my agreements – 100%. You are on time. You are ready to go with your commitments met.  This builds trust and raises everyone’s commitment to the team.

5. Clean up a mess at the earliest possible moment. Sure sometimes things happen – you book two meetings at one time, or you just plain forget something.  Don’t sweep this under the rug as if it didn’t happen – take responsibility and apologize.  Explain what you’ve done to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

6. Commit to win, as a group.  Allow others to win on the team too. It’s a team – the whole team either wins or loses – there is no half-win – no win for me and a loss for the team.  So commit to play ALL IN.  And ensure others on the team feel they are winning too.

7. Agree to agree. This does not mean giving up your position to keep the peace – no it is the opposite of that!  It means committing to talk things through and discuss until everyone can agree, without anyone “losing” the discussion, or their ground. Compromise is not always a good thing.  There must be a commitment to agree, so everyone can win together.

The potential they have in their hands is incredible.  The potential you have on your team is awesome.

Make these rules the rules for engagement and see what can be done!

Jamie MacDonald

Principal / Facilitator

Maximum Impact Training & Development

604.839.8051

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And all three were highly suspect, if you ask me. Not one seemed genuine or prompted by any real remorse.

An apology when you screw up is nothing new. But it is often neglected and when problems are left to fester, that’s precisely what they do. From little acorns do grow great, big, blooming issues when someone does not say ‘sorry’ and make amends when it’s necessary.

Contrast Joe, Serena and Kanye’s lack-luster mumbles with the clear language, and sincerity of expression found in all the messages from Michael McCain, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Foods in the aftermath of the Listeriosis crisis.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgk3o3AJM2U

He stepped up and apologized via every form of modern media available and what’s more, he sounded and acted like he meant every word. His statements and demeanor were credible, not slick; honest, not crafted and humble, not sullen. McCain then made sure his company did everything it could to fix the problems that led to the outbreak and put in place new processes so it would not recur.

Recently, a client of mine, the owner of a construction company, had to apologize publicly when chemicals associated with renovations to a building they were working on were found polluting a nearby stream. Behind closed doors, some of his senior staff fumed that it was a subcontractor who was directly responsible for the pollution, but the CEO shut down that discussion, pointing out, quite rightly, that his company was ultimately responsible for anything done by specialists they hire.

He apologized to the building owners, to the neighbors who fished in that stream and, via the media, to the public. At the same time, he financed the clean up of the stream, paid the fine levied by the environmental regulators and made a voluntary contribution to an environmental organization that protects fresh water habitats.

The public is remarkably forgiving and even displays a very short memory for misbehaviors of all kinds, when the responsible person or organization apologizes and makes amends. We recognize our own frailties as human beings and we can forgive and forget.

But we can’t forgive if there is no apology, no acknowledgment of harm or failure, and we do not forget when the unrepentant refuses to recognize his or her failings.

Deborah Folka

Senior Consultant

Maximum Impact Training & Development

604.517.1339 (direct)

www.maximumimpact.ca

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First, he briefed the managers, and then gathered everyone for a staff meeting. “You can see that business is down,” he began. “Let me tell you the full story.” And he did.

Then he said, “We have to bring costs down. If we lay off about 20 per cent of you, we should be able to survive until the market comes back. Layoffs have to happen in reverse seniority order. Does anybody have any other ideas?”

A voice from the crowd said, “I’ll cut my time back, if everyone else will.”

That started a whole new conversation. By the end of the meeting, no one was getting laid off; everyone would be working 80 per cent of their regular time, and they all understood that they would be taking home an equally lower amount of pay. Better than nothing, they said.

Easy, right?

Wrong.

This employee-generated solution came about because Joe had put a number of key elements in place long before the meeting.

Here’s what he did right:

• Joe told the truth.

To be able to “buy-in”, people need to hear the straight goods from the person who has the most credibility on the issue. In this case, that’s Joe. Joe has always been up-front with employees about the company’s performance. Employees know this, so they want to hear from him.

• Employees had a chance to speak up.

When we explain to people how and why we are making a decision, and give them a change to communicate with us about it, they generally can deal with it. What they really need to know is that the decision-making process is fair. Then, they need to know what’s expected of them.

• Joe accepted suggestions.

If you ask employees for feedback, be serious about using their suggestions. The simple fact of asking implies a commitment to act. If you cannot use certain suggestions, explain why not. Otherwise, don’t bother people in the first place. Consistency is more important than the superficial appearance of consultation.

The key to engagement is “buy in”,

Joe knew how to get it.

Do you?

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“I can’t depend on them to get it done”

“I am working with people that like to be told what to do”

These are actual comments made to me recently by frustrated manager, Freddy. He is planning a trip – all the way from unproductive to effective, from unacceptable to measurable results. He is trying to take a few passengers with him but they are reluctant to join him on that journey.

We know that the average person works at 50% or less of their potential. This means that the greatest immediate improvement in results you can create comes from unlocking and unleashing the latent potential of the people that report to you.

But how can that happen?

First recognize that 80% of any company’s problems are internal – not external. We estimate that 80% of those internal problems are caused by management. Unless there is a change in the way we manage our people, we are going nowhere. Nice place to visit but I don’t want to live there.

The truth is – no one wants to be told what to do. We can depend on people to get it done. Everyone has the ability to take the initiative.

So why isn’t Freddy experiencing these attributes from his team? Maybe it’s time to look in the mirror.

“What have I done to erode the trust of my people this week?”

“What have I said that I (or the company) would do that failed to materialize?”

“How have I communicated to my people that their input is unwanted and unneeded?”

“How have I failed to recognize the contribution and achievement of my people?”

Somehow people come to the conclusion that participation is futile- that initiative is too risky, that bringing their best to the job is not going to be appreciated or rewarded.

Sadly, they arrive at these conclusions through their interaction with their managers.

And until we re-establish trust, we, like Freddy, are flying solo.

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