It's okay to lose your way

I have just been reading some of my much older posts both on this blog and elsewhere. I don't know about you, but often when I have epiphanies they are fleeting and intangible. Rare moments of insight that bring my life and my place in it, into sharp focus.  Sometimes, if I am lucky, I will have an opportunity to write or record these moments of clarity on social media or the back of a napkin.

I have been thinking that right at that moment the flash fades and the thought is written down or recorded, that all that lies before you seems to focus, your way seems clear and you understand your worth and where to apply it.

In terms of leadership, these ideas can often come in "runs" or series, and you become the author of some quite persuasive and inspirational philosophies. An inspirational momentum if you will. I would argue that this quality is one of the essentials of a good leader. Like most authors, though, leaders are not immune to writer's block. Evidenced in point by the dates between my last post and this.

Was I uninspired or a non-believer in that period? No, I got lost in the detail of my beliefs. I was so focused on putting my nose to the grindstone that I forgot to stop and look up at the horizon. That delicate balance between demonstration of grit and  living in the moment. The difference between working for works sake and striving to achieve goals.

A Leader must have vision and the tools to achieve it by coordinating the efforts of themselves and others. One of the things that builds a leader's integrity and trustworthiness is their ability to get in the trenches with the troops when its required. Equally, it is their ability to know when to stop fighting the battle and stand up and direct the war.

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.”
– Seneca (4 BCE-65 CE)


I just wanted to say to you today. Stop, look up, breathe in and remember "It's okay to lose your way"

Refocus

You reap what you sow

You reap what you sow. If you sow honesty, you reap trust. If you sow humility, you reap greatness. If you sow perseverance, you reap contentment. If you sow consideration, you reap perspective. If you sow forgiveness, you reap reconciliation. If you sow hard work, you reap success. Nothing can substitute for these, and you can’t speed up the process. So, be careful what you sow; it will determine what you will reap later.

This fundamental truth about relationships applies not just in leadership development but in customer engagement, employee engagement and indeed in most of the relationships you will develop in life. This weeks thought is a simple one. There is a saying in the construction game, measure twice cut once. Do not rush to complete a task for the sake of efficiency or expediency, make sure the otucome is the one you seek. This pearl of wisdom should be in the toolkit of all modern managers and leadership contenders. Slow down, ask yourself one question "What will I reap?". If you want to grow and instil trust in those you engage with, start with trust.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it. The seed of suspicion is lack of communication. Openess and honesty are the seeds you should be planting and from this you will reap.... trust. Have a great week.

Quality Conversations, Corporate Leadership and the 5 C’s

Apple™ are goliaths in the world IT market, it is no secret they do not hawk the cheapest products in the market nor do they possess niche control. What then is it about these types of mega-brands that engages their customers? Why do customers return again and again to these brands when there are a plethora of cheaper and in some cases better alternatives?

It is their ability to have quality conversations with their customers. It is the ability of the company itself to recognise and differentiate a high value client from a window shopper and to treat those customers accordingly and with respect. Put simply it is BRAND TRUST, and it is backbone of any long term sales strategy. Case in counterpoint is poor old Vodafone™ (Australia) who have had several PR disasters in recent years in this market and are still trying to recover.

Without trust customers are simply not engaged and therefore unattached. What is a quality conversation and how does it elicit engagement? I would suggest it is one in which the customer feels understood, and one in which there is brand/client parity. Remember that old pearl, seek first to understand if you would seek to be understood? I am not suggesting that customer is always right but that the customer in fact just wants to be heard.

It astounds me that many companies today still fail to understand that customers are real life human beings governed by human emotions and capable of independent decision making. The impact therefore of human touch points for the customer cannot be understated. Yet often it is in this very capacity many service or retail focused industries stumble. Too often your brand ambassadors are themselves not committed to your brand, and that apathy (in some cases animosity) is undoing any investment you are making in advertising and branding. The end…..

Okay, maybe not. However, if your sales teams and customer service agents and not impassioned by the company they work for then they cannot build that client trust and quite frankly the customer is astute enough to distinguish that.

The goal then would be to impassion your employees, would it not? With marketing budgets and customer retention programs under constant pressure it would seem naïve, nay even reckless, to implement engagement and retention strategies without first getting the commitment of those who will execute them for you?

How? Here is the $64,000 question (insert your marketing and recruitment budget here). Quality conversations begin at home, that’s right, if you want your brand ambassadors to build trust and brand engagement then it starts with you and your leadership group (note the absence of the word management). Quality conversations are demonstrated by the five C’s.

Reference is often made to “business acumen”. I suggest that this does not just denote the ability to negotiate commercial agreements or understand sales/production cycles but that it in fact refers to quality of the team you build around you. Long term success is not determined by the personalities of your managers, but by the character of your leaders.

The character traits of a Care, Compassion, Communication, Congruency and Commendation. Your employees are also human, NEVER forget this. Your leaders will care what these people think and respond appropriately, and the staff should know you care.

Leaders should show compassion/empathy for the employee’s point of view in a way that is measurable (staff attrition, seems obvious doesn’t it?). This is achieved through effective communication. True communication is evidenced by openness and the ability of your leader to deliver news of change, success and challenges with equal aplomb and for the team member to feel as if they are being listened to. Congruency in deed as well as word is paramount to building trust within your team and is in fact a defining characteristic of a leader.

Over the last decade I have recruited and managed over 300 contractors and employees, with a staff attrition rate well below industry averages. I put it down to liberal use of the above qualities and lastly and most importantly commendation. I hold to a simple principle when it comes to staff engagement, use praise liberally and criticism appropriately and sparingly.

Employee engagement is the secret to customer engagement. In most businesses they will be your single biggest investment and an appropriate level of consideration should be given to maintaining and ensuring they are operating at maximum effectiveness.