Tag Archives: Clear

How Do You Encourage Employees to Take Full Responsibility for their Jobs? Five Points

Situation: A CEO is discouraged because employees are neither taking initiative nor holding themselves accountable for results. They see potential problems, but don’t act to either prevent or resolve them. They continually bring situations to the CEO and expect the CEO to solve the problem or save the day.  What have others done to shift responsibility and accountability to staff? How do you encourage employees to take full responsibility for their jobs?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • There are two important questions to ask:
    • Is this a situation that includes a large number of employees or just a few? If it’s just a few then these situations can be handled individually. If more than a few then systemic changes may be necessary.
    • Are all employees clear on their responsibilities and what is expected of them? Is there written documentation on responsibilities associated with specific roles or individuals? Has this been communicated to individual employees during performance reviews?
  • It is essential that direction and individual responsibility be clearly stated and understood. Encourage dialogue once direction or instruction is given to test understanding. Important direction should be documented in writing.
  • Have clear core values been established that guide both the company and individual responsibility and decisions? Have these core values been publicized and posted in break  areas as well as work areas? Use the core values to assess employees’ work to reinforce emphasis.
  • Assure that employees are clearly empowered to make decisions. This is particularly  important if employees have been subjected to micromanagement in the past.
  • Ask for and encourage dialogue, both in one-on-one situations and in team and company meetings. Make employees part of the decision process so that they feel ownership over their responsibilities. Assure that excellent performance is recognized, rewarded and publicized.

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How Do You Encourage Others to Take the Initiative? Five Points

Situation: A CEO has a challenge getting employees to take initiative in areas that she wants to delegate. Part of the challenge is that she needs to “let go” and tends to do too much checking in. She is concerned that this results in employees’ hesitation to demonstrate the initiative that she desires. How do you encourage others to take the initiative?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Continual checking-in alters the “urgency.” It feels more like a lack of confidence in the individual’s ability to complete the task to specifications and on schedule.
  • Work to establish more trust. Do this incrementally – start with less urgent / important responsibilities or tasks and move toward more urgent / important ones.
  • Determine boundaries and clearly establish deliverables.
    • Write the objective down ahead of time – as well as how much information to give them.
    • Ask yourself: Is this providing “just enough” information to guide them without micromanaging or over specifying the solution?
  • Is an objective being set, or are you trying to teach a methodology to reach the objective?
    • Unless the methodology is critical, focus on the objective and let them determine the methodology.
    • Once the objective is completed review and learn from them how it worked. Ask how they prefer to complete the objective so that you can provide the appropriate level of guidance in the future.
  • Delegating takes more time than doing it yourself.
    • Employees will complete a task differently than you will. As long as an acceptable result is achieved, be tolerant that the method or tone is different. They may be coming up with a better way!

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How Do You Enhance Teamwork and Leadership? Six Suggestions

Situation: A CEO wants to enhance teamwork and improve leadership at all levels within the company. Occasionally there is an attitude of “not my job” in response to a request. Differences in direction from leadership within the company has led to confusion of priorities. A common issue is the need to assure that priorities are aligned and consistently communicated across teams and the organization. How do you keep everybody on the same page? How do you enhance teamwork and leadership?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Conduct daily and/or weekly meetings to assure that everyone is aligned and on message. This has the additional advantage of bubbling up more ideas from deeper down in the organization.
  • Develop clear action items within these meetings. Confirm at least verbal understanding and agreement on each item.
  • Involve all team members in team meetings. Enforce participation.
  • As facilitator, take charge of the meetings.
    • Reduce long, drawn-out meetings to short, concise meetings.
    • Prep ahead of the meeting – let all participants know that they are expected to come prepared as well.
    • Stay on focus during the meetings.
    • At the end of important discussions, and again at the end of the meeting, summarize action items and responsibilities, and confirm understanding.
  • Other things that help:
    • Reduce the use of buss words during meetings. Speak in language that all understand.
    • Speak in terms of outcomes, not tasks. If the discussion is derailed, refocus on outcomes.
  • This works effectively in meetings with all levels of employees.

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How Do You Motivate the Team to Act Proactively? Four Thoughts

Situation: A company has developed a good team to support its projects. They work together well and demonstrate good work habits. However, the CEO wants to improve communications between team members, and also between herself and team members. When challenges arise, she wants to hear about them proactively, on a timely basis and with recommended solutions. How do you motivate the team to act proactively?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Is this just a question of communication within the team, or is there also concern with communication beyond the team?
    • There are two long-term employees who consistently demonstrate a poor work ethic; however, due their seniority and relationships with the Foreman, this is tolerated.
  • What steps should be taken to deal with this situation?
    • The Foreman reports directly to the CEO. The proper way to deal with this is to develop a solution that serves the interests of the company.
    • The company lives and breathes on customer satisfaction. If any worker shows a pattern of substandard work, this negatively impacts both the image and the value of the company.
  • Clear and fair standards and expectations are critical:
    • Establish a policy that workers are responsible for assuring that work meets standards before completing a job.
    • Establish a list of specific standards for work, and job checklists to assure that work is complete and meets standards. Spot check to assure that the work and checklists meet standards.
    • If a supervisor finds work performed below standard this will result in a warning to the worker. If the worker continues to perform substandard work, this becomes grounds for termination.
    • If a worker misrepresents the quality of work performed on a final project checklist, this is grounds for immediate termination.
    • Ask key managers and supervisors for input on the policy. This is not a democratic process, but others should be given an opportunity for input.
    • Post the policy and provide all employees with a copy. Communicate the policy openly both verbally and in writing.
  • Meet informally and frequently with the team to deepen relationships with them and between each other.

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How Do You Restore a Strong Team? Five Points

Situation: A CEO is looking at his company following the pandemic slowdown. Employees have returned but much of the energy that was there before the pandemic has dissipated. Employees seem to be looking for guidance and inspiration. How do you restore a strong team?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • There are many options for team building activities. There have been some excellent TV shows like Monster Garage and American Chopper that address these. Though these series are no longer aired, episodes can be downloaded. These feature some very effective methods of building team camaraderie and energy.
  • One company regularly conducts team building activities:
    • Taking the crew to the new movie openings of epic movies that are best seen on the big screen.
    • Go-Cart racing.
    • This is done during working hours, and the employees appreciate both the effort of the company, and the fact that they are not asked to do this after hours.
  • While team building functions are an essential part of building and maintaining company culture, they are only part of the task of building a strong team. The group considered conditions that they had previously experienced that harmed morale and even prompted some employees to leave:
    • Lack of advancement or any clear path to advancement,
    • Ambiguity in roles and expectations,
    • Salary and advancement caps,
    • Poor managers, and
    • Lack of consistent or clear feedback on performance.
  • Looking at this list, the converse represent the things that are needed to build a strong retention culture and strong teams:
    • Clear expectations of employees in terms of performance,
    • Clear and public tracks for advancement in job and salary increases,
    • Frequent and consistent feedback on performance – both positive and as necessary corrective feedback – but always with considerate and constructive delivery,
    • Well-trained managers.
  • These factors parallel the findings of the Gallup Organization in their investigation of factors contributing to high levels of employee engagement and profitable growth.

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How Do You Incentivize Employees to Document SOPs? Six Observations

Situation: The CEO of a specialty component company wants to standardize documentation of company procedures covering sales, production and ISO documentation. This will take time and effort, and employees are concerned about accountability for poor results. How do you incentivize employees to document SOPs?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Are employees are being asked for accountability without being empowered or rewarded for performance? Currently, there is nothing about employee performance that is directly tied to:
    • Longevity,
    • Dollars in raise, or
    • Share of the bonus pool.
    • Everything is determined at the CEO’s discretion.
    • Why would anyone want more accountability if they feel that they have little control over their jobs or future at the company?
  • To increase accountability and drive, employees must be given control over the factors tied to retention, pay and bonuses.
  • To create an effective system for employees to document standardized SOPs they need:
    • Incentives that are under their control to achieve the objective – creating standardized SOPs.
    • Objectives that are achievable with clearly stated rewards for performance.
    • Performance evaluations tied to clearly stated objectives, discussed with and agreed to by each employee, which drive raises, bonuses and rewards.
    • The messaging about these changes must be delivered with energy and passion. Employees must feel excited by this opportunity.
  • Understand that this may cost 10-15% in increased overhead but will boost the value of the company way beyond the cost.
  • Employees need to know the vision for the company and must be empowered to achieve the results to fulfill this vision.
    • The why behind the desire for standardized SOPs is just as important as the incentives created to achieve them.
    • The why must be clear, simple, and must be understood by the employees for everything to work.
  • To further motivate the team, involve them in designing the incentive program.
    • Ask what they want. Maybe it’s something as simple as a fun day with the team.
    • If they aren’t asked, the danger is that they will not respond to the incentive offered. Money is not the only, and in many cases is not the most effective incentive.

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How Do You Boost Morale in a Branch Office? Five Solutions

Situation:  A company started a new branch office last year. This office started with three people and has remained at that level with some turnover. Morale is low because the branch office team doesn’t feel supported by the home office. The CEO is concerned that this could kill the branch office if it is not fixed.  How do you boost morale in a branch office?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The problem is most likely the home office, as they assert. There have been few visits from home office personnel – particularly the company president. In addition, they are being criticized in weekly reviews for not hitting the same metrics as the company’s established operations.
  • Remediate this situation by scheduling weekly executive visits and monthly visits by the president until things are up and running and there is a track record of profitability.
  • Clarify your expectations to everyone – this is a new office running to different metrics until they establish themselves. Once they are established, they will run to the same metrics as everyone else. Coach the heads of other divisions that the new office needs support, not criticism, until they establish themselves.
  • Allow the branch office to bid low for market share until they are established in their new location for a period – at least 6-12 months. Create a different set of metrics for a start-up office, and review these during weekly sales meetings.
  • The role of management is to show the colors in the new location and manage peer feedback from established locations. Help them win! Establish start-up metrics like lunches with potential clients to establish relationships. Since the branch office is generating business for other locations, create separate general performance metrics from territory specific metrics for this office and show both in staff meetings.

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How Do You Set Expectations for an Employee? Six Suggestions

Situation: A company hired an employee one year ago. The employee is competent but slow. Even after a year on the job, other employees with similar skills and experience are able to complete the same job three times faster. What is the best way to handle this? How do you set expectations for an employee?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The most important principle governing situations like this is clarity of communications. You must clearly express your expectations, and you must assure that the employee clearly understands your expectations.
  • Assure that expectations are clearly expressed. This means what you expect in terms of performance, and firm timelines for achieving minimum requirements. You also must assure that the employee understands the consequences for failing to meet minimum requirements. The best assurance is written confirmation that the employee understands what is expected.
  • Don’t be vague or nice about your expectations, performance requirements or the consequences for failing to meet minimum requirements. This risks sending the wrong message to the employee.
  • Put the employee on a performance improvement plan to meet minimum job requirements. Monitor and document for 30-60 days and then handle according to how the employee responds.
  • If the individual can’t meet the objective, but has potential value to the company, offer the person an appropriate position at the level that the new position pays.
  • Have a second person in the room when you deliver the message. If you determine that you have to terminate the employee and the employee elects to sue, this will help your case in a judicial action.

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When Are You Dominant and When Do You Facilitate? Three Keys

Situation: For a CEO to lead effectively, she or he needs to be able use both dominant and facilitative modalities of leadership. James Church, in Navigating the Growth Curve, ties the use of each mode to the growth stage of the company. A CEO asks whether the use of each modality is purely a question of growth stage, or whether there are situational guidelines for the use of each modality. When are you dominant and when do you facilitate?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The Dominant Mode is appropriate when there is an immediate situation with a clear desired outcome; whereas the Facilitative Mode is appropriate when fixing a broken system that produces issues, or to increase team communication and contribution. As examples:
    • The Dominant Mode is appropriate when there is an immediate issue to be resolved, with clear legal implications and a clear response based on established policy.
    • The Facilitative Mode is appropriate when you want to develop and institute policies and procedures to handle issues ahead of time, or to establish guidelines for action. In these cases you want both input from the team as well as buy-in to institute the resulting decisions.
  • Strategic Planning shifts from Dominant to Facilitative Mode as the organization grows and becomes more complex. Early on, strategy needs to come with a single, decisive voice. In larger companies strategy becomes a group exercise because there are many moving parts and teams.
  • Another way to think about this is that Dominant is appropriate when “the buck stops here,” and will shift from CEO to managers for specific decisions when you reach a stage where the managers are now dominant. Facilitative becomes appropriate when managers and employees – those below the level of company or division leader – need to make the decision instead of the leader.

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