Be a life supporter...

This is what parents tell their kids to help them believe in themselves. It’s what kindergarten teachers tell their new students to help start them on their educational journey. Both intended to build self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-motivation. So, it stands to reason company leaders and managers should follow along the same path with their new employees. Because it takes courage and bravery to start anything new, especially a job. And strength of character to live the values they’ve learned along the way. And the competence and confidence to do a good job, forge ahead, and make an impact. That’s what we want and need from our kids, students, and employees. It’s all the same. We each think our parents were unique, but kindergarten teachers are much the same everywhere – kind, cheerful, helpful, and always looking out for their “kids”. Put the two together and you have a good role model for how to approach your responsibilities as a manager, being genuinely interested in the well-being and success of your charges, and leading with care, clarity, and concern. Because people who believe in themselves care greatly about what they do. In life and business. Help create that in your employees today. 

 

Alan Alexander Milne (1882 – 1956): English playwright, poet, and writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh. [1]

---

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tRepZdoRmY&t=1s

Be a shoulder to lean on...

Life is full of successes and failures, and we each win a few and lose a few along the way. Unless you set a record, nobody really notices. But we feel each and the emotions that go along with them can sometimes get you down, making it hard to keep going or put on a happy face. That’s life. As leaders, we need to keep that in mind and be there to give a boost at the beginning of each day. Whether working on an opening of a resort or running one, I found it helpful to start each shift with a message reminding everyone to be there for each other. That’s how these daily messages got started. That’s part of teamwork. And, no matter how you feel, that kind of support provides the courage to get going again. Life, like work, is hard enough, more so when feeling alone. Help others face and overcome the ups and downs they face and feel today.

 

John Robert Wooden (1910 – 2010): American basketball coach and player.[1]

---

[1] He won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times.

 

Think about making things right...

Every leader should encourage their people to dream. And make it a habit to discuss with them the things they think about while doing their work. Most will probably be about how to improve something related to their work. Listen carefully, there’s no telling what you’ll learn. Then challenge them to come up with a plan to do it. The best ideas come from people at work. Once upon a time that was me. My boss provided the vision for extraordinary design and service and challenged us to make that happen in the things we did. If we could explain it, were passionate about it, and were willing to take on the extra work, he gave the green light. Most ideas are born of necessity – the way it’s always been done no longer works. It’s what makes any job the best job for you. And adds extra challenges and accomplishments. The bigger the better – if it doesn’t scare you, it’s not big enough. All my crazy computer projects were like that – almost too big. But worth it. In the end it makes you feel good about making something right. Talk to your peeps, encourage them to dream big, and let them bite off a little more than they can chew today.

 

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born 1938): Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.

Everything goes better with a smile...

One thing you’ll find a lot of here in the Adirondacks are small-town-Main-Street-diners. Some are bars, some are eateries, many are both. For locals and tourists. Food’s mostly the same. Same with the atmosphere. Only variable is the staff. Lots of kids working summers; a few old timers who work year-round and set the standards – good or bad. Waitress we had tonight got it all right. A three-year veteran. She works two jobs, running 10 tables here tonight. On her way from and to other tables she stopped quickly to smile, welcome us, and smile a lot more through a very efficient and pleasant dining experience. Felt like we were the only one’s there. There are gems like her in other places here and its fun for me to see the kind of service-with-a-genuine-smile that would fit in Vegas. Great service employees are what people talk about after experiencing that – usually more about the experience than the food. These are small family businesses, and their style is usually evident – good or bad, on their employee’s faces. In the good ones, it’s a smile. It’s what makes good hospitality great. Oh yeah … I had a BLT. Treat your peeps so they’ll want to wear a smile today.   

 

Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia; 1938): American actress and singer.[1]

---

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Stevens

Instill passion and pride...

I used to say my role as an HR leader was to inspire our managers to inspire our employees to embrace our mission and culture. The Mission was ‘keep the promise’ of the beautiful and fanciful buildings with amazing service: employees knew they had to make that happen every day.  And the culture revolved around treating employees and customers with respect – just like the Golden Rule. We knew it wouldn’t be good enough just to have those defined and posted – we wanted our employees to passionately live and support those in everything they did. And since supervisors couldn’t be there for every moment of service, employees had to be inspired to do perform even when nobody was looking. It was akin to a cult and through screening, training, and coaching, we made sure the right employees were in the right jobs with the right mindsets. I’ve been asked many times how we made that happen – in addition to those things we did to support employees, we spent lots of time and energy communicating to them, recognizing their efforts, and treating them like customers. That’s why the staff dining room was the nicest restaurant in our properties, internal communications were on par with external communications, and the employee areas were just as nice as the guest’s. And then we let their personalities shine through the services they provided. Do what it takes to treat your employees like customers today.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821): French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution.[1]

---

[1] He led a series of military campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. He led the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then ruled the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815. He was King of Italy from 1805 to 1814 and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine from 1806 to 1813.

 

Set your vision and mission...

Your efforts as a leader should make your employees feel good about how they contribute to your company’s goals and objectives. The messages here these last 4 days are all about creating a culture of excellence that does that, and the roles you and your employees play in developing and supporting it. Your job is to provide clear visioning, messaging, and planning, and to manage a disciplined implementation of effective communications and recognition programs. Employees provide feedback and engage in continuous improvement. Don’t leave this to chance – employee surveys can measure the perceived effectiveness of management and its policies, programs, and activities. And don’t be afraid of what you might find – the facts are always friendly, especially when you take the time to analyze them objectively and use the results to fine tune (or fix) what you do.   Employees like being asked and appreciate it when management listens and responds. These are the kinds of collaborative efforts that create a culture of excellence. That makes employees feel good. Make that your vision and mission today.

 

Tracy Streckenbach: Operating Partner at Gridiron Capital; from an interview, Clear Goals Matter More than Mission, The New York Times.Se

Listen to Professor Maslow...

In Monday’s message I suggested that if you don’t treat employees well, they’re apt to be disengaged and end up focusing mostly on their wages, which won’t, in their opinion, ever be enough. To them, it’ll all be about the money. Not the work. 

 

Connecting this with the last two messages, the ROI for treating employees well is that they’ll be emotionally invested, as in they’ll feel and act like an owner. All in on making whatever they do the best. Not satisfied unless the company is best in breed. Loving that what they do matters. 

 

It seems so simple as I write this, but I know a lot of companies that don’t get it. I think that’s called penny wise and pound foolish.

·      If that’s the case (where you work), take it upon yourself to make this kind of culture work in your department by focusing on your employees. Starting during onboarding and every day thereafter.  Training, coaching, recognizing, and appreciating.  Being engaged to get them engaged. You’ll look like a star. 

·      And if your company does get it – double down and really make it work in your department. 

 

Either way, get engaged and get y0ur employees emotionally invested today.

 

Simon Sinek (born 1973): English-born American author and inspirational speaker on business leadership. His books include Start with Why and The Infinite Game.