Summary:  Valentine’s Day in your business should be an ongoing event not once a year.

It’s Valentine’s Day. The one day of year where the world reminds us to say “I Love You” and spend money on gifts. Yes, like everything else, it has become very commercialized. For me, things loose their true value once very commercialized. So I prefer to do something special on one of the other 364 days in the year.

Let’s set that part aside and apply Valentine’s Day to your business. What?? Yes – I know that sounds like trouble almost asking for someone to file for sexual harassment. That’s not what I mean!

Here’s a question to get you on the right track. Do your employees love working for you? If you are uncomfortable with “love” how about “like” or “enjoy”.

Why is this important? If your employees enjoy working with you and their team – not only are they happier but it will show in their work.

If they work with clients – they will treat your clients better which in turn will make your clients happy. Happy client provide repeat business and refer you to others.

If they work internally – your operations will run smoother. A happy person does not go out of their way to be difficult for others or let things just “sit”.

Go beyond Valentine’s Day and show your appreciation all year round in different ways. Make a cultural change or be a conscious leader and see how you affect those around you.

How do show appreciation to those around you?

Summary: Do you find yourself with employees and saying “if you want it done right – do it yourself”. It’s about control. Try these three steps to let them work better and remain in control.

When it comes to working with people one of the things we have to do is let them do their job. I know it seems obvious, right? Then why do hear “they don’t do what is needed” or “I can’t delegate to them” or “if you want it done right – do it yourself”?

There are several factors that take place here:

• training
• their skills and abilities
• attitude (both yours and theirs)
• delegating properly
• control

Training means you have to take your time tot each or coach someone to do their job.  The key word is “time” because when you have a new person or a new process/procedure it takes your time and patience to explain to the other person how do their job.

Their skills and abilities is most times the most frustrating.  We believe someone has the skill and ability to do what is needed to later find out…they don’t. This comes from either poor recruiting (a topic on its own) or pushing someone past their abilities. As much as we may believe that all people should be striving and doing more – not everyone is capable.  See people for who they are and what they can do.

Attitude is a two way street. If you have the “to get it done right, I have to do it myself” attitude, guess what…the other person will see that and make it true. Guaranteed every time! When they have the attitude, try to focus in on why its there.

Delegating properly is not as tough as many make it out to be. Well in one way – you have to get out of their way. Explain to the person what needs to be done, by when, provide all the information they need and set out of the way. Yes, that means don’t start by going back and saying “I forgot to tell you about x, y or z” or “how is it going’. Plan ahead of time and let them know you are available. The rest is up to them.

Control! This is your biggest challenge because you were the person who started out by doing everything and knew each everything about your business – no mysteries. Until now. Now you find yourself giving responsibility to another person so you are no longer seeing emails, invoices, checks, messages, faxes, etc. You know feel out of control!

So how do you find that balance of feeling in control without doing all the work?

Try these three steps:

• Determine what you need to know. For example is it necessary to see every check that comes in or do you need a summary at the end of the week/month?
• How do you want the information. Do you want a summary, a daily/weekly report, a quick email, etc.? Think about what you need to know and what the easiest way for the person to give it to you. Make it easy and simple otherwise you won’t get it or it will take up too much of their time.
• Tell them. Only after you know what and how you want something can you have a discussion with the person. Explain why you need the information, how to present it and how often.

Have you found yourself being out of control? Share how you overcome it below.

Summary: Frustrated by two employees not working well together, try one of these three tactics.

What a frustrating situation – you have two great employees who do their jobs wonderfully and the customers love them EXCEPT they can get along with anyone else. Arg! The real frustration is because they need to work together.

You probably have already tried the “you need to work together” or “can you please get along” or “communicate” or some other variation to no avail. This is what can get many managers to wonder about why they decided being a manager was a good idea to begin with…

Don’t let the frustration overwhelm you – just have them work it out.

I know it sounds simple enough, however you will need to be providing the encouraging or mediation skills to get this to work. Here are a couple things to keep in mind before you start:

• They don’t have to like each other, just work together
• Determine how they need to work together – get specific (for example – don’t say “communicate”, say “when you get a request for x, tell Mary”
• What happens if they don’t work together

By having you expectations clear before meeting with them will help keep you focused. Now get together with them and do one of the following:

Explain your expectations. Tell them what needs to be done and have them work out the “how”. Tell them what happens if they don’t find a way to work together.

Be the Counselor. Ask each one to listen to other without interruption and ask “Why can’t you work with him/her?”. It will be hard to listen to but at least it clears the air. Then how are they going to move forward based on your expectations.

One at a Time. A combination of the above two, meet with each person seperately to discuss why they are having trouble with the other person and bring together to discuss expectations.

These situations are always difficult since most of the time the underlying factor is not related to work. Go through the uncomfortable now to get to the “great” of later.

What employee stories do you have? Share below.

Summary: Don’t be the cynical person who thinks no one wants to work. To find the right person to work for you look beyond skills.

I have to be honest, if I hear this one more time – I am going to scream! I have the privileged of working with some entrepreneurs on hiring their first employee. It’s a rewarding experience to work alongside these folks and help with their business growth by ensuring they have the right team in place.   They are positive, eager, and a little nervous – after all it is a big leap.

Courtesy of sheelamohan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Then they start talking to other business people they know about hiring an employee and BAM! their dream is shot down.  How? Somehow, somewhere they have become cynical and are convinced that either people don’t want to work or they are no good people. If you are one of these cynical people…stop it!

There are good people out there and they are looking for work. How do I know? I meet them almost every day, some in person as a volunteer job coach and others on-line trying to figure out how to get your attention so they can have an interview.

So how do you make sure you don’t become cynical. It starts with knowing what you want.  Typically we think of the tasks or knowledge needed, this is a good start but don’t stop here.  Also think about the personal characteristics you want this person to have – outgoing, friendly, curious, responsive, imaginative, studious, or whatever else you can think of.

If  you focus only on the tasks, you will only get half way there. Think about yourself, the kind of person you are and what works well with you – this is the other half. Now when to talk or write about a position include the characteristics you would like and get better candidates applying for the position.

Share your stories and feedback below!

Summary:  Just like puzzles or brain teasers, by viewing people from a different view from out own can lead to good changes.

I am a self-proclaimed puzzle or brain teaser addict. Luckily for me, my six year old has the same fascination. While working on a puzzle together and explaining he needed to look at the puzzle differently in order to solve it, I realized this is what I am telling my clients this on a regular basis.

What am I talking about? It is a normal human point of view that when we look at situations, we see it from our point of view. Any situation, comment, experience we relate it to what we have done and experienced in the past.Totally normal.

However, when dealing with other people, this isn’t always the best point of view. Huh? Just like the brain teaser puzzles – looking at people from a different point of view can help you “solve” the puzzle. What does this mean? If you were to take step back and try to view the world or work space from their point of view what would you see?

How would you treat the person, talk to them, explain, teach or coach them? Think about the impact this would have on your conversations – would the person understand you better the first time? Would you have a better understand of how to communicate effectively?

Now – what would this mean to you as a leader? Would you have people more willing to follow you and listen to you? After all that is the main difference between a manager and a leader. A manager is a title and a leader is followed.

Try it and let us know what happens below.

Summary: Are you making resolutions you won’t keep or create a revolution in your business? Ask yourself a few questions and let the revolution begin.

The beginning of a year is usually when we start filling our heads with promises to ourselves – we call them New Year’s Resolutions. You know what these promises look like:

“I will loose 10 pounds this year”

“I will exercise at least three times a week this year.”

“I will save more money this year.”

And more often than not, by the time February has finished we have forgotten or make excuses as to why it can’t happen or why it’s impossible this year. You know the routine.

STOP!

Instead take a different approach – create a revolution! While you may not be overtaking a country or stopping a fascist dictator, you can change what is around you.

Take a look at your business – a good hard look, no skimming allowed. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is working?
• What’s not working?
• What has to stay the same?
• What can be upgraded?
• Are there any sacred cows?
• How do I feel about the office environment?
• Where do I want to be at the end of the year?
• Are we working together as a team?
• Do I have plan?

As you are answering these questions, you may realize the revolution needs to take place in your business. Envision what it will look like at the end and create the plan.

Post your plan to the wall, talk to your staff, and let everyone know so they can help hold you accountable and most of all - Just do it!

What would you like to change in your business?

I may be a David Letterman wannabe…I thought a good way to send off 2011 was a recap of the most popular blog posts. Hope you agree, here they are!

10.  Is Fear Holding You Back? (6/1/11)

9.  Are You Guilty of This? (3/29/11)

8.  Clarification – The Missing Element of Communication (10/18/11)

7.  Create a Complaint Free Zone (7/26/11)

6.  What do Employees Expect From You (7/20/11)

5.  Coffee Maker Efficiency (3/1/11)

4.  Your Support System – do you have one? (8/9/11)

3.  Preschool Leadership (9/20/11)

2.  A Sense of Purpose (2/1/11)

drum roll please….

1.  5 Ways to Bad Leadership (1/18/11)

Summary:  A common question is “Do I have an independent contractor or an employee?” Here are some questions to get you thinking in the right direction.

A question I am asked often is – I need help but I don’t know if I need a independent contractor or an employee?

It’s a difficult question and not one easily answered without digging into your business. I would like to give you some food for thought to get you thinking on the right path.

First, the reason you care is because if you treat someone as an independent contractor however the IRS or DOL sees them as an employee you will subjected to fines, penalties and back taxes. OUCH! Consider these questions before you decide.

Is the work project based? If you have a project or “to do” item that you can hand off and are only worried about the outcome and not how it’s done – get a contractor.

Does the person need to be in your office to complete the work at certain times? If you are telling someone when and where they will work – you need an employee.

Do you care when a person does the work? If you are only concerned with the work being done regardless if it is at 8am or 8pm as long as it is done by a certain date – get a contractor.

Is it ok if they have other clients? If they can work for you and others at the same time – get a contractor.

My favorite resource for this is by the IRS. This publication does a great job of getting you thinking in the right direction.

IRS Independent Contractor or Employee

What has been your experience with employee vs. independent contractor? Share below in comments.

Summary:  Have you ever watched a conductor with their orchestra? Imagine yourself as the conductor in your business.

Have you ever watched a conductor with their orchestra? Each musician has their piece of music, surrounded by their peers some playing the same instrument and other playing a different instrument. The conductor stands up on the podium, faces the musicians and through the movements of the baton keeps each person on the same beat while at the same time bring out the beauty of the music. As you watch everyone on stage makes it appear effortless and natural – not to mention almost magical.

Augustana College Orchestra in Chicago

Won’t you don’t see is the hours of practice both individually, as a team and finally as an orchestra. During this the conductor is working on bring out the best performance from each person to match the music.

Imagine yourself as a conductor – after all you are not that different. Granted you are not using instruments or sheets of music but you are working with people to do their best individually, within their department and as a company.

In order for your company to appear to work effortless takes patience, working on each person’s strength, and coaching. You have your policies and procedures on how things need to be done (the music) and each person has the tools needed to do their job (their instruments) now it is up to you to lead them (you are the conductor). What everyone needs is coaching to get the most out of their abilities and to work in the team (practice).

Improve your coaching abilities by following HR Basic #6 Coaching

Share how your coaching has improved your team below.