A colleague and I recently conducted a training for student employee supervisors.
At the end of the workshop, we gave everyone apples. A real apple for the short term and a felt apple to serve as a reminder during the rest of the year. An apple for the teacher.
In our view, a key role of being a supervisor is being a teacher, no matter what level of employees you supervise. The student employee supervisors need to teach life lessons, such as promptness, attire, confidentiality and work ethic. But staff supervisors need to make it part of their daily work to teach employees about the bigger context, latest trends, threats to the organization, how to push themselves further and where to apply initiative.
The most successful people I know lead their lives with equal parts as teacher and as learner. Never stop trying to improve, and never stop sharing your knowledge to help others improve too. Follow that advice and you’ll be rewarded with more than just a shiny Red Delicious.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Month: September 2012
#100 100 days
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use the 100-day mark as a measuring stick for his administration, and ever since, media and politicians have used this timeline as a standard for assessing the effectiveness of a president. During FDR’s first 100 days, he passed 15 major bills through Congress, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Civil Works Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Civilian Conservation Corps. It was a welcome response to the calamity facing the nation, and set the tone for decades to come. It also set the bar high for future presidents, as their first 100 days is evaluated against the sweeping legislative success in the early stages of FDR’s first term.
I am not sure why 100 days was chosen as the benchmark — maybe because it is a more sexy sound bite than “three months”. The measurement is now used in other settings: 100 days until the election, 100 days of summer, 100 day challenges, 100 day countdowns until Christmas (which is September 16 if you’re keeping track), and 100 day projects or exhibits. Google “100 days” and there are enough entries to keep you reading for that length of time.
What I will say about my first 100 days is that it hasn’t turned out at all like I expected. For years, I have been putting off writing a blog because I had it in my head that the work had to be linear — I needed to organize things first and then write it. As it has happened, so much of what I have commented on is from current events and daily observations — things that I didn’t even know existed when I started.
And that brings us back to the theme of this whole thing — that little things are like dots that can be connected together to make a whole. I hope this blog has in some way inspired you to focus on starting something — making that first dot is the hardest one. The other 99 have come with relative ease, and dare I say, even enjoyment. If you’ve learned one thing from me in these 100 days, I hope it is that little things do matter — and do quickly add up to make an impact.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#99 purple
Yesterday we said farewell to one of our most talented employees — who we lovingly say was “poached” by the guy to whom this blog is dedicated (see entry #1). As with any departure, there was the goodbye gala, cards, hugs, tears and a mad scramble to finish all the last minute details.
What set this exit apart was a little gesture that I hope communicated how much we love Tricia. As part of her responsibilities as a graphic designer, she took on the role of brand monitor. And that included abhorring the color of our main competitor. She would give people the evil eye if they wore it to work or even suggested it appear in print.
So yesterday, every single person in the entire division came to work clad in purple in her honor. We got a lot of funny looks as we went to meetings or people saw into the office where everyone there was in the same hue. Tricia took it all with good humor and the gesture was understood.
Note that it cost us not a cent. Oftentimes the most meaningful things we can do are the ones that show we listen. Whether in fun or in recognition, once again, the little things are what make a big impact. Pay attention to those nuances that can make the people in your life feel heard.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#98 nuances
Say the word “nuance” aloud and hear the similar root to “new.” I do not believe that anything is completely new anymore. Newness today is created in altering the nuances of items or situations. There are no wholesale inventions or changes; subtle or slight degrees of difference are created when things are tweaked, elements deleted or existing concepts are combined in different ways. There may be limitless variations of the methods, but almost everything today is a modification of something else.
A hotel allows your reservation to sync with your Outlook calendar. Starbucks offers pumpkin spice lattes. The iPad allows you to translate all your concepts to Spanish. The dry cleaners provides pick up and delivery to your office. The beer comes in an aluminum bottle. Version 3.0 has a few more bells and whistles than version 2.0.
All these are enhancements that serve to differentiate one product from another, or even one service from its earlier self. I think you’ll be more successful if you stop searching for that silver bullet or big idea and focus instead on the “newances” you can provide that provide value to you or your organization.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#97 hang ups
It was another weekend of purging old mementos at the homestead, and the only thing my mother’s house had more of than mothballs was hangers. We had a proliferation of them — three garbage bags full and counting. Apparently the donation centers have their fill of them as well, as hangers are on the list of items that are not accepted in their pickups. Unless someone has ideas for a large-scale wire art project, I’m afraid they are landfill bound.
As a society, we have made great progress in reducing the demand for plastic bags. Why could we not have similar incentives to stop the wasteful supply chain for hangers? Stores, dry cleaners and resale outlets could offer incentives for hanger return. Just as you now often receive a discount for bringing your own bag, you could save a few cents by putting last week’s hangers in with this week’s laundry service. Stores could revert to the sturdy wooden hangers that were reused for generations. We could stop selling those trendy plastic hangers that line almost every dorm room closet in America and make the trusty metal ones a hip/vintage, in-demand item again.
The hanger used to be a standby staple for fishing open the locks that were closed on the car door by mistake or for crafting an emergency set of rabbit ears for the television. With their secondary use market gone, and more clothes sold on hanger-filled racks in big stores instead of lovingly folded on shelves in the boutiques or hand-crafted at home, there are more of them around than ever.
Just like the theme of most entries on this blog, little things add up to make a big difference. Little steps in reduction of waste and consumption can have a meaningful impact. Let it start with you.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#96 leave a message
There was an article in USA Today yesterday commenting on the decline in use of voice mail. Many users considered the retrieval of voice mail to be “a chore” and as a result callers are resorting to email or text as the preferred vehicle for leaving messages. In my opinion: hurray!
Voice mail has become like a landline for me — it is reliable and dependable, but it is also logistically cumbersome. Just yesterday my sister left a voice mail on my cell phone. In contrast to most people today, I am not tethered to my phone. Unlike the unobtrusiveness of a man clipping it to his belt, I was wearing a dress and would have had to carry it around. I did not. So I did not receive her important message until evening and it may result in six hours of driving for me to do what she could have done if I had received her request.
Had she emailed instead, I would have seen it at multiple points during the day on my computer or iPad. Had she called my voice mail at work, I would have received an email message on my computer or iPad. (Ironically, I would still have to go through all the prompts to delete it from my physical phone so it loses points there!)
For many, email is as slow and bulky as voice mail is for me. They would much prefer the instantaneous, mobile accessibility of texts. There are others who have no email access during the day, so a phone message is much preferred. Many medical records and documents are still delivered by fax, and that method works well for the involved parties.
It used to be miraculous to be able to communicate across distances at all, and now we are all wanting our messages to be faster and delivered to us through the vehicle of choice. When you craft your message for delivery, even when it is only to another individual, consider whether your words should be recorded, texted, emailed or faxed. As the venerable media analyst Marshall McLuhan said in the 1960s: “The medium is the message.” It applies today as well.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#95 the details
We have interviewed several candidates lately and when asked what they would like in a supervisor, all of them say “someone who doesn’t micromanage”. It occurs to me lately what a fine line that is. How do you balance being the brand evangelist for your organization without micromanaging?
Leaders know that everything matters when creating or preserving your brand: e.g. handwritten signs, staff apparel, how the phone is answered, appearance of offices and publications. If a leader sees a detail that is out of sync with the impression or standard of quality that she is trying to establish, the natural tendency is to say or do something about it. And soon it feels like the leader is immersed in minutiae instead of focusing on the big picture or execution of strategic initiatives.
As someone who often finds myself seeing the details, it is hard to know when to comment about what I observe or whether to stay out of it and let it go. I often try to reconcile this internal tension by pointing out what I saw, without directly prescribing the solution to fix it. I lead discussions about the ideal state, and let people use their own observations to notice what is out of sync. I hold “lessons learned” evaluation meetings where groups can provide feedback-without-blame to improve details in future years. And, yes, I have been known to just tend to a few things myself.
I try to have my efforts as a leader focus on the impact of the details rather than the precision of how to execute them. Maybe that could be called micro-leading? I hope my potential staff would approve.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#94 wait for it
The different between man and beast at my house revolves around delayed gratification. My dogs don’t know how to save; they live in a world of “NOW”.
> They wake up at 3am after a nice “nap” and don’t know how to save their energy until morning.
> They have the day’s treats devoured before I am out of the driveway because they don’t know how to save them for more than a nanosecond after they get them.
> They barrel me over with affection as soon as I walk in because they can’t save their love until I am fully inside the kitchen.
Obviously there is a distinction in our cognitive functioning, but often it comes down to how long I am able to wait for things. I wonder if we would be better off in our working environment if we did a little more waiting. Taking time to think through things and getting input from others before jumping in with a decision. Saving our resources until we have enough of them to truly do the project as we want it done. Holding back on our emotional response until some time has passed.
The world is moving fast and it often beckons for the effusive enthusiasm of my goldens. Many times this gusto is embraced in organizations and speed produces results. But often the best moment is when all is quiet and the dogs are curled up at your feet. Some things are worth the wait.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#93 here’s to less
Why does the speedometer on my car show to 160 mph when even half of that is speeding in all 50 states? Why does the tachometer display through 8 rpms when even 5 feels like I’m in a rocket ready for take off?
I fear that we have this obsession with “more”. It looks better if we have more potential on the speedometer than we use, as if putting on the numbers means that the car could go that fast. It looks better if a company’s website lists thousands and thousands of products, even though it only sells a few hundred different items. Universities list courses in their academic catalog that haven’t been offered in years. Lists of bank fees outline obscure services that are likely never used, but portray them as a more comprehensive financial institution.
More is not always better. Don’t fall into the temptation to hype your product or offerings beyond what is reasonably used. It just clutters what we truly use and value.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#92 salt shaker
A student employee was asked to cover the lunch shift of our Welcome Desk receptionist. “I can cover until 12:55,” he replied. “I have a 1pm class and walking in late to that is like walking into an active volcano.”
It is Week 1 of classes, but obviously this professor had established clear boundaries and expectations for behavior. The same principles were described by Danny Meyer in his book Setting the Table. Meyer likened supervision to keeping a salt shaker in the center of the table (i.e. setting expectations of desired action). Customers continually moved it (i.e. tested expectations). The job of the leader was to continually put the salt shaker back to the center through “constant, gentle pressure” about why it was important to be there.
Even if leaders set clear expectations, over time they will be abandoned without continual resetting and articulating the consequences for even a little variance. Coming to class at 1:02 becomes 1:05 and then 1:10. Some leaders believe it is easier to let minor transgressions slip, but by allowing the salt shaker to “scoot” a little each time it will invariably fall off the table altogether.
Think about what the salt shaker represents for you and take care to honor it — over and over again.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com