Hey Leaders! You Have Just One Job.

Want to know the single, most important responsibility of a leader?
 
It’s easy to become overwhelmed just thinking about everything we, as leaders, should be doing. Becoming a better leader is easier said than done. Some people have given up trying because there is just too much to think about. But what if we distilled being a great leader down into just one thing?
 
I recently consulted my mate, Professor Google, about a couple of burning questions that I had. I typed in ‘definition of leadership’ - 280 million search results. I also searched ‘what do leaders do’ - 515 million search results. I have a bookcase in my office that is chock full of big, thick leadership and management texts. How did leadership become so complex?
 
Here’s the one thing that, if leaders focus on achieving, will make a massive difference. Make people better. This thinking was inspired by the 6^th President of the USA, John Quincy Adams who said “If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, learn more and become more, you are a leader.”
 
Think about this really important question. As a result of your leadership, are your people becoming more, are they remaining the same or have they become less? Sort of tragic if they are less then when they met you. Almost as sad if they have not changed as a result of your influence.
 
‘You manage things, you lead people” said US Navy Rear Admiral, Grace Hopper. It can’t be any simpler. Focus on helping your people grow and develop as your number one leadership priority. Do this, and everything else will fall into place, as it will be your people that will step up and, together with you, make your organisation successful.
 
You have one job. MAKE. PEOPLE. BETTER.

Ikea’s Approach To Measuring Performance

I love IKEA. I don’t like shopping, but I love IKEA. For me, the most attractive thing about the Swedish furniture and home accessories chain is its focus on simplicity.

I did a presentation today to the Managers and Supervisor’s of IKEA’s Customer Support Centre at its national HQ in Tempe, Sydney. I arrived early so I had the opportunity to have a quick look around the store, (and to have some of their famous meatballs!).

On the way out of the the cafe I noticed a sign asking ‘How was your dining experience today’? As you can see in the photo above, the Happy Or Not panel has four options. No written survey that would take minutes and might have 10 or so questions, just four coloured buttons with emoji faces.

Simple to participate in, simple to analyse the results. My guess is they get a really high participation rate due to its simplicity.

Part of my presentation to IKEA’s managers was about how to increase employee engagement. One of my Care Factor 100 Principles is to give honest and regular feedback on performance. I reckon one of the reasons managers don’t do this is because they perceive it to be too complex (eg annual performance reviews). My theory is that if we kept it simple, really simple, we would do it more often and the effect would be better performance and better engagement.

Imagine using the Happy or Not approach once a week with your employees? You would then follow it up with a conversation that would improve performance and increase engagement.

What do you think? Happy or Not?

2 THINGS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SEX AND CHOCOLATE

Praise and recognition cost nothing, but are the keys to productive relationships and good leading.

There is strong research that shows that heartfelt praise and recognition for good work are far more powerful motivating factors than money!

If you don't believe me, imagine working in an environment where nothing you did was recognised and you received no thanks or acknowledgment for your contribution.

It is not always possible to increase financial rewards for your team, but what is stopping you taking the time and effort to recognise their efforts?

Without praise and recognition people can feel taken for granted and undervalued. You can greatly increase the level of engagement of your people by providing them with regular and genuine feedback on their progress as well as providing opportunities for them to tell you what’s going on for them.

Invest a little time and effort and reap the returns.

Praising and recognising your people costs nothing, but leads them to care more about their work.

WHY YOU SHOULD SAY "NO" MORE OFTEN

In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown encourages us to discern 'the essential few from the trivial many'. He recommends focusing only on essential tasks, those things that make the highest value contribution to achieving our vision or purpose. (By the way, its a great read / listen. I highly recommend it).

In order to make your highest value contribution, you need to say "No" more often.

You should say 'No" when ... you are saying "Yes" just to be nice or please someone else. We all want to be liked, but we will create a difficult situation if we become a "Yes person". Leaders need to get comfortable with not being liked.

You should say 'No" when ... you know that saying "Yes" will set you up for failure. When you know you can't deliver on what is being asked, you have to either decline or negotiate a different time frame. This isn't being rude, just assertive.

You should say 'No" when ... you know that the task is not your highest value contribution to your vision or purpose. You have a responsibility to be as productive and efficient as possible and being caught up with tasks that someone else could do defeats this purpose. Delegation is the key here.

You should say 'No" when ... being authentic is important to you (and it should be). Saying "Yes" when you know you should be saying "No" means that you are compromising your values. Being authentic sometimes means pushing back.

You should say 'No" when ... you need time to think, create, plan, recharge. We can't be at our best when we are too busy. We need to eliminate non essential activity and focus on 'protecting the asset', as Greg McKeown puts it. Don't feel guilty about looking after yourself.

Saying "No" to a lot of things means that you are saying "Yes" to just a few, but it is the laser sharp focus on the most important stuff that the best leaders apart.

ARE YOU GETTING ENGAGED THIS YEAR?

A hot topic at the moment is ‘employee engagement’.  What is it and how important is it?

When two people become engaged it means they are making a commitment to each other. It means that they intend to be loyal and loving into the future. It means that they care, deeply, about each other.

How I explain employee engagement is whether your people care about the organisation they work for or not. What is their ‘Care Factor’?  This could range from ‘Care Factor Zero’, where, as a someone recently told me “They couldn’t give a sh#t”, to ‘Care Factor 100’ (the name of my next book), where 100% of your people are 100% engaged.

There is strong worldwide evidence (Gallup Consulting) that high levels of engagement correlate with positive organisational performance. Organisations where the ‘Care Factor’ is high experience better profitability, productivity, growth, safety and quality.

Think about this question. What is the ‘Care Factor’ of employees at your organisation? How much do they care about your organisation? Where, on the scale between ‘Care Factor Zero’ and ‘Care Factor 100’, would you employees be?

It’s our goal in 2017 to help as many people get engaged as possible! We want both employees and organisations to care more about each other, so there is loyalty, happiness and greater organisation outcomes.

Can we help you to achieve ‘Care Factor 100’?