Tim discusses the worst hiring mistake you can make: Compromise!
Remember: When it comes to hiring – never compromise. Deal with the pain and spend the time to find the right person.
Check out more on the Zealeap YouTube Channel
Culture Starts In The Lobby
You can feel it right away: The energy, the vibe.
You see it on their faces as people walk in to work: Their eye, their mouths.
And you know it when someone speaks to you: The tone, the warmth.
It’s Culture, and it starts right there in the lobby.
(And the “lobby” I’m talking about could be on the phone, in the waiting room, or at the checkout counter.)
You Know How I Know That You Have A Great Culture?
When I walk in to your office, your showroom or your warehouse:
- People smile warmly
- People offer to help
- Someone offers me a drink of water.
OK, we all know that in some places the smiles are forced: car showrooms, department stores.
But you can get the best clues from the people whose job
title is not “Receptionist” or “Salesperson”:
- Do random people walking by offer to help me?
- Do employees smile at each other?
Key Culture Question: Does your organization treat visitors like honored guests?
You might be asking: Why do I care? And isn’t this Customer Service not Culture?
I care because the way your people treat your guests (customers) tells me a lot about how your employees feel they are treated.
People can force a smile – but it doesn’t feel genuine. People can say “Have a nice day!” and it sounds robotic, almost rude.
No. If you want your employees to care for your customers, you have to care for your people first. If you want your employees to honor your clients, you have to honor your people first.
It’s the corollary to the Golden Rule:
“Treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers.”
Because they will treat your customers they way they feel treated anyway!
The CEO Sets The Tone For Culture
So don’t rush out and hold a training class on treating customers like honored guests. That won’t work unless your employees feel honored.
And the CEO has to start it:
- How does your CEO treat people in the lobby, the elevator, the lunch room, the factory floor?
- Does she think about the human impact of decisions, policies and strategies?
- Does he live the values written on that plaque getting dusty on the wall?
If you are a senior leader make the change today:
- Treat your people like honored guests (they are!)
- Do the same for the janitor as you would the VP (in fact, be even nicer to the janitor!)
- Go help the next guest you see sitting in your “lobby” (yes, you, the CEO!)
When it comes to Culture, CEO’s have to show not tell.
And you can learn a lot just hanging out in the lobby.
Thanks for reading,
Tim
Posted in Leadership 3.0
2 Comments
Why Don’t We Say What We Feel?
When we feel excited about something, what holds us back from sharing that? When we feel happy about something, what holds us back from allowing others to see our joy? When we are angry, what makes it so that we don’t share?
Far too often we feel things and don’t allow others to see it. I believe that this holds us back from truly connecting to our message, and more importantly, truly connecting to other people.
We tend to say what we THINK, why not what we FEEL?
Fear!
Fear of what others will think of us. Fear of judgment. Fear of looking weak.
Of course we are afraid to say what we feel. We’ve been conditioned that we need to hold back, to protect our emotions, to “just let it go”. But what does this get us?
Strained relationships?
Mediocre results?
Disconnected teams?
I suggest that we start sharing. Tell people when you are
feeling happy. Tell them when you are feeling sad. Tell them when you are frustrated. Tell them when you are excited about something.
Be respectful – but be true! True to yourself, and ultimately true to them.
So throw away the fear. Get in touch with how you FEEL about the things you think.
Then share them.
You will be amazed at the power this has to connect you to others.
Michelle
Posted in Communication 3.0
5 Comments
Video Blog: Idle Chit-Chat
Tim discusses the power of just chatting with the folks in your company.
Remember: Get out of your flippin’ office and Chat!
Check out the Zealeap Video Channel on YouTube
Don’t Play The Blame Game
Have you noticed that if you try to blame someone else they push back even harder?
Most people respond the same way, it’s almost automatic:
- Deny – “No, I didn’t say it like that. Anyway the customer was
already upset.” - Defend – “Listen, my team has been working night and day on this. You can’t expect us to be perfect.”
- Deflect – “I couldn’t complete the report because Accounting didn’t send me the spreadsheet.”
My good friend Aaron Walker points out that there is another way.
And it’s revolutionary:
- Tell the Truth. Don’t try to make yourself look better by “bending” the truth about what happened. 90% of the time the truth will come out in the end. You will look way worse being caught in a lie than you will look by making a mistake.
- Take the Blame. I don’t care if you think the other person deserves 99% of the blame. You had some part in this – even if it is just 1% – so own it. Accept your part of the problem with grace.
- Make it Right. Be the first to offer to fix the situation. Apologize to the customer, take the fall for the systems issue, walk over to accounting to get the spreadsheet and finish that report.
And be the first to do it!
Here’s the thing about accepting the blame, and it’s pretty darn cool:
When you accept the blame, others often step forward to take the blame too…
“Oh you didn’t say it so badly, and I didn’t help by bringing up their late payment before we realized the customer was upset.”
“Your team has been working really hard, how can my team help out?”
“Jim’s right, we did owe him that spreadsheet, we’ll get it done today.”
The weird thing is: It actually feels good to share the blame equally with someone!
It’s forgiving. It’s compassionate. It’s connecting.
And isn’t that a good thing?
Thanks for reading.
Tim
