Don't be afraid to show that you care...

After a year of talking about emotional intelligence – primarily with my consulting partner on over 100 Facebook Live presentations, we’re developing courses for managers and supervisors to better acquaint them with this practice. It is one of the key aspects of the philosophy of servant leadership, where leaders practice servant-first concepts for the benefit and development of their employees. And while there are many leadership styles, servant leadership and emotional intelligence can be applied to most of them. In today’s hyper-competitive talent market, job seekers and employees are looking for a more emotionally connected workplace that understands their issues and seeks to meet their needs and expectations. Awareness and empathy are some of the characteristics of emotional intelligence that help create greater trust in the workplace. Being compassionate rather than judgmental can go a long way in relieving the tensions and pressures that people are obviously feeling these days when balancing their personal and work lives. This may not work for everyone or every situation, but it’s probably a good idea to equip yourself with more management skills and tools as you deal with today’s Great Resignation and War for Talent.  Don’t just take my word for it: there are lots of books and articles about these subjects by the likes of Ken Blanchard, Robert K. Greenleaf, Stephen R Covey, and my partner Don Zillioux. Consider learning more about emotional intelligence and servant leadership today. 

 

John Connolly (born 1968): Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.

Be humble enough to ask good questions...

Good leaders don’t always try to be right: they know that sometimes they just need to stop and learn what really is right. Leaders can’t always know things: that’s why they need to collaborate, ask the right questions, and listen to others. I remember when we were building Bellagio and complex questions arose about the maintenance schedules requires for those famous fountains being developed out front: that on-going maintenance would cause them to be shut down so many days a month and they needed approval to do that. But nobody knew if that was the right thing to do. Pride was involved in making that decision. Pride demanded an immediate answer. Our boss was humble enough to realize he didn’t know enough to make a quick decision, so he humbly said he needed to know more. Most people in that position wouldn’t have been confident enough to say they didn’t know enough to make that decision yet. And most people would have been wrong. He brought in the experts and together they dismantled one of those pumps, learned all they could together, and discovered that a different and better maintenance schedule would be more appropriate. Then, and only then, was he confident enough to make the right decision. We learned a valuable lesson from how he handled that complex question: never be too proud to do what it takes to be right. Be humble enough to learn what’s right today.

 

Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994): American Political (US Secretary of Agriculture) and Religious Leader (President of the LDS Church)

Learn this...

I like listening to How I Built This, the NPR podcast with Guy Raz: this past week he interviewed Roxanne Quimby, the woman who founded Burt’s Bees. Like all the entrepreneurs on this show, she had a great idea and stayed true to her ideals as she built the business. When asked, Quimby said the toughest part was managing employees: I’ve heard similar complaints from lots of business owners.  It takes a lot more time and effort to recruit, train, manage, and retain employees than most think; they often are confounded by the fact that not everyone is as dedicated and driven as they are. They, like all businesspeople, must learn to create an organization and infrastructure capable of managing lots of employees and that means committing the resources and funding to do it right. It’s an expense, for sure, but one that if spent wisely can pay dividends. And while many businesses claim their employees are their most important assets, many, unfortunately, really mean “most costly”. But if they take the time to tell employees exactly what’s expected and give them the training, tools, and resources to perform effectively, there can be an excellent return on that investment in terms of productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability. That’s one of the most important lessons any leader can learn today.

 

Randall David Johnson (born 1963): American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball

Don't be so surprised...

Seems like everybody is surprised that it’s December already: the end of this crazy year. After all we’ve been through, you’d think most people would be happy this year was ending. Like last year. But uncertainty remains and continues to hang heavy in the air. If you’re running a business, or managing people, you should take some pride in the fact that you made it through this year of lingering unknowns and surprises when, on the surface, things appear somewhat normal, they’re still not. People seem to be unhappy – maybe not about anything specific, but in general there’s an unease because we’re not yet back to normal. Because people just don’t like uncertainty. So, they’re looking around to see if the grass might be greener somewhere else and that’s part of what’s driving the Great Resignation. But despite these unknowns, your employees know you and you know them… and in that is the basis for the conversation you should be having with them about staying and being proud of what they have. Be open, honest, empathetic, and flexible. Let them know you care, ask them what else they want to, and listen to their concerns. Then do what you can, tell them when you can’t, and let them know you are there with and care about them. That’s the best way to help them get ready for and deal with the uncertainties of this December today.

 

Sarah Kay (born 1988): American poet and founder and co-director of Project V.O.I.C.E

Make every day count...

Work is hard, especially if you aren’t passionate about it. I get up every day and go to work as fast as I can: I love what I do. Everyone should feel like that. Long ago I learned to make plans and try to keep to them – that way I always have a roadmap for most of each day. And when unexpected things happen, I try to take a deep breath and quickly get ready for them. Most leaders deal with countless things each day, making decisions for most of them – they’re easier if you’re prepared, especially if you let others help with the load. There are always more things that come up each day that can and should be delegated to others – that’s how they learn to assist with the overall management of things. I’d like to claim some mastery of time management but that’s not the case – I just try to keep my wits about me. And that’s certainly easier to do when you love and are passionate about how your time is spent. But it’s not perfect – there are always things that are unpleasant or boring: that’s when you should step back and add up the plusses and minuses – because when it’s good, it’s all good. Spend your time doing what you feel passionate about today.

 

Richard Wayne “Little Richard” Penniman (1932 – 2020): American musician, singer, and songwriter, and influential figure in pop music and culture for more than seven decades

Get your own house in order first...

Throughout my career I always looked to change the world. Policies, practices, systems, training, handbooks, organizational structures, collective bargaining agreements, recruiting strategies, employee communications programs… all were fair game for updating and improving. I was full of ideas, energy, and confidence. Today, I spend my time thinking about how to improve myself. And when asked for professional advice, I now often start with how someone can improve what they think they should be and do before we get to how they can change others or their circumstances. That’s the essence of coaching: focusing on the person being coached and helping them discover what’s right and best for them. While it’s sometimes easier to just tell someone what to do, the process of discovering that for themselves is the important first step of their ultimately buying into what’s next. And unless someone buys into something, they can never get passionate about it. As leaders, we must wisely focus on helping others become inspired and passionate about themselves before we encourage them to think about cleverly changing the external aspects of their lives. Be passionate about changing yourself today.

 

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207 – 1273): 13th-century Persian poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar, Maturidi theologian, and Sufi mystic 

Discover what you really love to do...

Do you love your job? Given the Great Resignation, it seems a lot of people don’t. I’ve said it before, and it seems right to say it again now: the best job is usually the one you have… the challenge is to make it the one you want. One you can be passionate about. One you’ll want to keep. If you don’t, rather than quit, tell your boss about that, ask if you can do more, or suggest reasonable changes. And if you’re supervising people, be proactive and ask them if they love their jobs: for those who say they don’t, listen to what they say, and be open to their suggestions. Some of today’s workers seem generally unhappy with their lives and their work – if together you could make work better then you might slow down this Great Resignation… and possibly help them be a little happier in these crazy times. It’s worth the effort for both of you; solve this problem, one employee at a time, and you just might end up with more satisfied employees and customers. Try to accomplish something like that today.

 

Arthur Rubinstein (1887 – 1982): Polish-American pianist, widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time