A local Realtor is putting catchy phrases on the top of their “for sale” signs. Quips include such as “Free Pizza with Purchase” or “Free tacos if you sign by Tuesday.”
Obviously, no one is going to decide to buy a six-figure home because of a free pizza, but the humor and small incentive might just be enough to nudge people into action. If nothing else, it makes their real estate sign stand out among the many listings.
What gimmick can you use to catch attention, and hopefully, spur some action for your clientele? Perhaps I should offer a free leadership dots pen if you comment on the blog today!
If a supervisor is attempting to enact change and one of their employees is resisting, much of the supervisor’s energy can be drained trying to persuade the employee to buy in.
As the leader, your priority must be on clearing the path for the new way of doing things. Instead of trying to change the road the employee has been traveling, build a new road parallel to the current one.
You can invite the employee to buy in (like putting a paved crossover during construction), and later more firmly seek their engagement, but ultimately the old road ends and the employee comes to a fork where they must commit or leave.
Spend your time on the new road and help people see that it is better than the path they have been traveling.
Think about the change process as going from one to three, with one being “what is” and three being “what the desired state is.” The challenge comes in when people know they need to do number two but they don’t know what that is. The issue is further compounded when they think two is in line with one and three, but rarely are the good solutions that obvious.
What is needed is an open mindset, a history of taking a broad view of a situation, problem-solving skills, and maybe a good coach to help highlight different options.
If you are trying to create change or solve a problem, seek a custom solution, not a cookie-cutter one.
Yesterday morning, the skies were sunny and it was hard to imagine that severe weather was lurking. But, true to the forecast, the winds picked up and the rain poured down. It proved to be a nasty afternoon and evening.
This weather pattern can be a metaphor for organizations. When the sun is shining, it’s hard for people to internalize that gloom may be on the horizon. If company leadership acts like meteorologists and forecasts the future, people either become anxious if they believe the predictions, or doubt their validity based on pattern shifts that made past predictions inaccurate. It’s hard to achieve a measured response.
While drastic weather changes can occur in the short term, most shifts that impact organizations occur over a longer period. Take advantage of that window to keep your team informed of changing elements and evolving patterns that may influence the organization’s environment. You don’t want people surprised or caught without their umbrellas.
As expected, yesterday (April 15) was the biggest day of the year for tax giant H & R Block — but not in a good way. Failure number one was with its desktop software program that prevented thousands of filers from electronically submitting their returns. To make it worse, each time a person tried to file, their credit card was charged $19.95, racking up hundreds of dollars over multiple failed attempts.
But the real failure was in H & R Block’s (non) response. The company ignored its calls, did not respond to chat, and sent infrequent, inaccurate, and thus meaningless messages on social media. There were no ongoing updates. No apology. No adjustment of its simultaneous humor-based promotion with Wendy’s.
Customers wouldn’t have liked it but would have been far more forgiving if the company had immediately acknowledged that it was Tax Day and this blunder was worse than an IRS Audit. Instead, saying things would be “resolved in an hour” and twelve hours later having the same issue did not endear the company to its clients. For example:
If (no, when) something goes astray in your organization, no matter how bad, the best thing you can do is to own it. Apologize. Communicate. Share what you know and admit what you don’t. Acknowledge the hardship this places on your customers. Radio silence or platitudes just serve to incense those you’re trying to calm. Don’t be a blockhead and compound your problems with a bungled response.
I went to a garage sale where items were not individually marked, but instead, you made “what you believe to be an appropriate donation” which was given to a local charity. I paid for my item but received a glare from the clerk. Apparently, she did not think my contribution was enough!
If you have a certain expectation in mind, it is better to state it explicitly rather than make people play the guessing game.
If you say “it’s up to you” how you do a task but mean “do it a certain way,” say that from the beginning
If “unlimited PTO” has a ceiling before your time away starts raising eyebrows, state a limit instead
If “I don’t care where we go to eat” is disingenuous, say where you actually want to go
If “we can leave whenever” means that you’ll start pacing after a certain time, be clear about what time you mean
If “get to it when you can” translates to “do it by Tuesday,” do both of you a favor by outlining a deadline
If “all you can eat” will prompt glares after two servings, be upfront about those limitations
Providing latitude sounds like a good idea until the uncertainty outweighs the alleged freedom. Clarity is a gift.
The Hallmark Dream Book came out this weekend — featuring all the Keepsake Christmas ornaments that will be released this year. It’s April! There is no need to think about decorations eight months in advance.
Before you expand your season, consider the tradeoff that comes from having something so pervasive that it becomes ignored. The longer you “feature” something, the more diluted it becomes.
Someone thought nothing of parking their truck — and trailer — like this, taking up far more space than would normally be considered acceptable.
It serves as a metaphor for some people who take up space in a similar manner — those who dominate the conversation, bulldoze their opinions through, or put all the focus on themselves.
Be conscious of the space you command — both in parking and in speaking.
It’s common practice to teach things in layers — you learn the alphabet, then words, then sentences. Onboarding to a new position works the same way — you acquire the fundamentals to do the job, then other responsibilities are added, and finally, you are able to demonstrate initiative to innovate and expand the job further.
The problem in organizations comes in when the interview process and onboarding are not clear about the ultimate expectations and responsibilities of the position. Employees who don’t understand that the work will be distributed to them in phases as they add layers of learning often (falsely) assume that the initial assignments they are given are the only duties they will have. They then balk at the natural progression of responsibilities, feeling it is “extra” work instead of a sign they are finally able to do the whole job for which they were hired.
Help new employees see where they stand on the spectrum of learning and responsibilities — outlining a tentative timeline for them to assume deeper aspects of the work as their abilities allow. The “extras” should welcomed as a positive sign of growth rather than as a burden.
Several long-term employees have announced their upcoming retirement, setting in motion the processes to find their replacements. If you are seeking to fill a vacancy held by someone for 10, 25, or even 40 years, there is no way that you should expect the next person to fulfill the same duties they did. Positions like that evolve, with additional responsibilities added in layers over the years.
Instead of futilely trying to replicate a person, take advantage of the opportunity to reflect on what you need someone to do, as well as what you hope someone could ultimately do in that position.
I am reminded of Alex Williams’s (Dulé Hill) comment on the drama Suits. “A parent’s job isn’t to show their kids how the world is, but rather to show them how the world should be,” he said. To paraphrase, a hiring manager’s job isn’t to replace an employee to do what is, but rather to do what could be.”
Any good hiring process starts with deeply considering what skills and temperaments are needed, irrespective of those you are losing. Don’t ask your departing employee what they did; ask yourself what you need the next person to do.
