It’s hard to handle a nice employee who is underperforming at his job.  We tend to compromise our own standards because the person is congenial and doesn’t make waves in the business.  But if the person isn’t meeting his performance goals, it often creates more work for other employees.  This leads to resentment and a lack of teamwork and effectiveness.

Dealing with an individual like this is more about the kind of questions you ask during a counseling session than it is dishing out criticism of their work.  Questions like:

• How do you feel you’re doing at your job?

• Is there anything I can do to help you?

• Of the duties you are responsible for, which bring the most satisfaction?

• What changes might you make that would improve your success here?

When the individual in question is nice, but underperforms, coming alongside and asking these kinds of questions can be very helpful.  Without making them defensive, you are helping them to improve.  Once you’ve had the session and laid out the steps to help the individual improve, it is your responsibility to hold them accountable to what they agreed to do.  If they don’t, you can have another talk, but if no real progress is made in an appropriate amount of time, well, then you know what you have to do.

Tags: Advice, Business Development, Business Tips, Compromise, Developing Leaders, Effectiveness, Employee, Help, Improve, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Personal Development, Success, Teamwork, The Mind of a Leader

• Want to get stuff done each day without procrastinating or forgetting? Make a list of things to do every morning. Tackle something easy first to get your mojo going. Then prioritize based on urgent and important things. Remember the Nike tag line: Just Do It!
• Sharing important goals with others like daily exercise, losing weight, or reading a book a month helps hold you accountable to forming good habits and meeting your objectives. But if you are a determined individual, you can hold yourself accountable to doing what you know you want to do without using an accountability crutch. It’s more a matter of personal integrity. Just how bad do you want it?
•  If you want to lead anything, you must have solid judgment. That means making good decisions in the midst of crisis, complexity, and ambiguity. Your ability to deal confidently and assertively in these conditions is what will set you apart from others.
•  Would you rather be respected or liked in business? Respect is earned by building trust and confidence in followers. If you earn that respect with sincerity and empathy, you will be liked as well. People who put likeability ahead of earning respect dilute their leadership effectiveness so as not to lose the affection of people.
•  Our mothers insisted we say please and thank you. They are still two of the most powerful words in language. Mother was right.

Tags: Accountable, Advice, Business, Business Development, Business Tips, Complex, Confidence, Developing Leaders, empathy, Integrity, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Personal Development, Sincerity, Success, The Mind of a Leader

Here’s a simple multiple-choice question:

When people say they don’t have time to do something, what do they mean?

a) They really don’t have time to do it.

b) They don’t have the interest to do it.

c) They don’t have the energy to do it.

d) It’s not a priority to them.

e) All of the above.

There’s no one right answer, but my guess is you chose e) All of the above.  You know you’ve said you don’t have time to do something many times, as have I.  But what do we really mean when we say it?

Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses for why we don’t do something so we can understand the real problem.  Maybe it’s time to start making our true needs and interests the priorities for our time.  When this happens, we’ll be focused on what we are enthusiastic about instead of wasting time on unimportant things.

I don’t have time to write any more, but I probably don’t need to.  Let’s make time instead of saying we don’t have the time.

Tags: Advice, Answer, Business Development, Business Tips, Developing Leaders, Energy, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Needs, Personal Development, Priority, Success, The Mind of a Leader

I watch just enough news to know what’s going on in the world, but not enough to allow it to depress me.  We can get so wrapped up in the negativity of what we see and hear that we lose the optimism that business people must have in the marketplace.

Business owners exist to create a better life for themselves, their families, and their employees.  News media exists to tell us what’s going on in the world and in our communities, but bad things are often sensationalized without giving just cause to the good that is done all around us.  Local news tends to be more positive than national news, but it can still get us down.

I don’t think business people should put their heads in the sand to make bad things go away.  Nor do I think we should fear the challenges that exist all around us.  But if you own or manage a business and a staff of people, you have to stay positive and optimistic so you can weather any storms that come your way.

News should be given the respect it deserves without getting in the way of planned and measured forward movement.  Anything more than that is a downer, and must be avoided by business people who want to be successful.  Seeing the glass half full is the best way to compete in the marketplace, so measure your news intake with that in mind.  

Tags: Advice, Business, Business Development, Business Tips, Challenges, Community, Developing Leaders, Employee, Family, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Marketplace, Measuer, Mind, News, Optimism, owner, Personal Development, Positive, Success, The Mind of a Leader

I see it all the time in consulting for family businesses:

• Two brothers are as opposite as opposite can be, one an “inside” guy, the other an “outside guy.” Yet they build a very successful business together.
• A mother and daughter have very different skills, one with great experience and the other with a knack for new technology. Together they grow a thriving business.
• Two cousins take over family business that is going nowhere. One is a salesman and people person; the other is a back of house expert. The business propels exponentially.

Family businesses are a lot like marriages. Opposites attract because we see in a partner talents and characteristics that balance our own skills. Business owners don’t always have a partner to compliment their skills, so they must seek the kind of people who can help to make them “whole.” This is the brilliance of surrounding yourself with people who share your core values, yet add to the family business a set of skills that balance yours as an owner.

Sometimes the stress and pressures of business cause disagreements between partners, family members, and owners and employees. It is vital to understand the differences in style and perspective, and to meet somewhere in the middle. Take the time to talk things out and share your views in an open and caring way.

The power of having complimentary skills in any family business is the key to maximum success. It’s not easy, but family businesses are successful when members are honest with each other and learn to put their own interests aside for the good of the company.

Tags: Advice, Balance, Brilliance, Business Development, Business Tips, Compliment, Core Values, Developing Leaders, Employee, Experience, Family Business, Honest, Interests, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, owner, Partners, People, Personal Development, Perspective, Salesman, Skill, Success, Technology

Integrating the next generation into a family business can be challenging.  30 years separate generations, so differences in perspective based on the societal norms that were present during each’s formative years can create problems and dysfunction that are hard to reconcile.

Baby boomers, in particular, have a hard time understanding Millennials, let alone the Gen Zers who are now entering the workforce.  Of course, these younger generations have an equally hard time understanding the mentality of Boomers and even Gen Xers.

Styles of work and thinking differ markedly.  Youth can’t understand why older generations are so rigid in their ways, and older generations complain about the work ethic and novel expectations of the younger generations.

I spend much of my consulting and coaching time bridging the gap between generations to get each to understand the other.  The willingness of both to learn and gain mutual respect is the key.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

In my view, the largest responsibility lies with the older generation.  Family business owners have to ask themselves what they really want for the future of their business.  Just how badly do they want it to continue in the hands of the next generation?  And what are they willing to compromise on in order to make that happen?

Bridging the generation gap in family businesses is a little like living in harmony in a business partnership or even a marriage.  Compromise becomes the mandate for success.  If you are challenged with bridging the generation gap in business transition or succession, drop me a line or give me a call to see if I can help.

Tags: Advice, Business Development, Challenge, Compromise, Developing Leaders, Expectation, Family, Gen Z, Generations, Harmony, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Millennials, Partnership, Personal Development, Perspective, Responsibility, Success, Succession, The Mind of a Leader, Transition, Willing, Work Ethic, Workforce

When generations collide as they often do, it can lead to anger, frustration, and resentment.  This is what I encounter when working with businesses that need to rise above the family baggage that has crept into the company.  Parents get labeled as obstinate and “old school” and children get labeled as complacent, if not lazy.

As often as this happens, what I see just as frequently is misplaced love in an effort to appease and win favor with children.  If we keep enabling the younger generation, nothing will ever be learned on their own.  Parents need to wake up, distance themselves, and exercise tough love.  Unfortunately, people who have been given too much too often will resent their parents once the “gifts” are taken away. 

In yet other instances, threats and demands by parents get forgotten or overlooked.  So young people learn that nothing will happen if their behavior or habits persist because they have seen the lack of follow through by their parents.

Each of these examples causes stress and heartache for both generations.  What each needs to learn is that relationships between parents and children must operate like a successful marriage.  By this I mean that reasoned compromise must be evident to ensure a successful family business transition.  It isn’t easy, and no family or family business is without its challenges.

If help is needed, I encourage you to get it.

Tags: Advice, Anger, Appease, Business, Business Development, Business Tips, Business Transition, Challenge, Children, Company, Complacent, Developing Leaders, Distance, Encounter, Encourage, Family, Favor, Frustration, Generations, Habit, Knowledge, Lead, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Learn, Learning, Misplaced, Old, Persist, Personal Development, Relationships, Resentment, Success, Successful, The Mind of a Leader, Win, Work, Young

I was meeting a client at the airport and we’d never met.  He asked, “How will I know you?”  I told him I’ll be the old bald guy wearing a blue suit.  He chuckled, and had no problem finding me at curbside pick-up.

People are so serious today.  Sometimes I wonder where all the fun went out of interpersonal and working relationships.  I’ve found that people who know how to poke fun at themselves are usually more confident and self-assured that those who can’t or won’t let their guard down.  After all, a little humor can take the edge off even the most awkward of situations.

I developed the nickname “slash” from my golfing buddies because of my swing.  That doesn’t bother me.  It’s become more a sign of pride, especially when I beat them at the game and take a few dollars from them.

Business owners, professional speakers, comedians, and most professions win people over quite easily when they can use self-deprecating humor to make a point or lighten a conversation.  We always laugh and appreciate those who know how to reveal themselves as human, rather than hiding behind a cloak of perfection.

Let’s not take ourselves too seriously.  I know there are times when we have to be sensitive, but there are other times when we have to be fun.  Fun is what life and work should be. 

Tags: Advice, Appreciate, Awkward, Business Development, Business Tips, Client, Confifent, Conversation, Develop, Developing Leaders, Edge, Game, Guard, Humor, Interpersonal Skills, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, owner, Personal Development, Pride, Problem, Professional, Relationships, Self-assured, Sensitive, Serious, Situations, Speaker, Success, The Mind of a Leader, Working

I work with a lot of businesses and none of them are perfect.  Sometimes they are surprisingly successful in spite of their problems.  

Every business faces different challenges, but one they all share involves co-workers.  Troubled relationships between associates can create an uncomfortable environment, even one that becomes toxic and a threat to the business itself.  When long-standing grudges aren’t resolved, individuals blame others, teamwork is destroyed, and even owners give up on the possibility of equitable solutions.  These owners either don’t know what to do to resolve the problems with people, or they refuse to act on what is in the best interest of their team and their business.

Despite the now-popular hybrid models in the workplace, the importance of quality relationships amongst co-workers has never been more important.  That’s partly because unemployment is so low and people have more choices today.  But it’s also because associates are less likely to tolerate co-workers who push their “hot buttons” or make the workplace an unattractive place to stay.

I am convinced that an individual’s overall happiness and success depends largely on their working relationships.  It’s the people you work with, those you oversee, the boss you have, how peers and colleagues collaborate, and how you are energized (or deflated) with business prospects and important clients.  We spend more time at work than at home, and we often have our closest personal relationships with the people we work with and the clients we serve.

If you have problems with co-worker relationships, there are solutions.  But you first have to recognize the problems and understand that you must solve them.  If you need assistance, drop me a line or give me a call to see if I can help.

Tags: Advice, Assistance, Associates, Blame, Business, Business Development, Business People, Business Tips, Challenge, Co-worker, Collaborate, Colleagues, Destroy, Developing Leaders, Employee, environment, Equitable, Grudge, happiness, Individual, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, manager, Matter, owner, Peers, Perfect, Personal Development, Prospects, Quality, Recognize, Relationships, Resolved, Serve, Solutions, Staff, Success, Successes, Teamwork, The Mind of a Leader, Tolerate, Unemployment, Work

Fear is debilitating and paralyzing.  It’s the reason why we can’t make a decision.  It’s the avoidance principle.  If we simply disregard the problem, maybe it will go away.  It seldom does and usually gets bigger.

What about new ideas or changes you know you need to make?  Again, we procrastinate, believing that if we let time pass to let things ruminate, it will serve us well.  Again, it seldom does.

There’s nothing wrong with doing your homework.  Any big project, problem, process, or even person deserves adequate research.  But after you’ve completed your review, a decision should be made.  No decision on the change or idea or process or person is still a decision.  It’s a decision to do nothing and that’s what you usually get.

If we aligned our thinking to understand that no decision is a decision, it would change the way we lead and manage.  It would change the way we deal with daily frustrations and problems.  It could change the way we deal with people who get under our skin or fail to perform.

NO DECISION IS A DECISION.  Do your homework and make the decision!

Tags: Advice, Avoid, Believe, Business Development, Business People, Business Tips, Change, Debilitating, Decision, Developing Leaders, Disregard, Excellence, Fear, Homework, Idea, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Paralyzing, People, People Leader, Perform, Person, Personal Development, Principle, Problem, Process, Procrastinate, project, Research, Success, The Mind of a Leader, Think, Understand