CEOs Role in Family Business

Author: Bill Lee

I first met Roland (not his real name) in 1972. He was a high school student working a summer job in his father’s business.

“We’re teaching him the business from the ground up,” his father told me proudly as he introduced me to the tall good looking kid. We shook hands, exchanged a few words, then Roland jumped on a fork lift and was off to stage another delivery.

The next time I saw Roland, he was approaching 40 years of age and had served four years as company president.

The business was located in a fast-growing metro market, but under Roland’s leadership, sales had not kept pace with the growth of the market. His father, now retired, suggested that he bring in a consultant to take a look at the business.

We met at my hotel for breakfast. In many ways, he had not changed all that much. He was wearing jeans, a red flannel shirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. His image was far from that of a company president.

Roland got immediately to the point, “What do you need from me to get this project started?”

“Let me begin by asking a couple of questions,” I answered, “What is your vision for this business?”

“How do you mean?” Roland asked.

“What are you trying to make happen here? When December 31st rolls around, what evidence do you look for to determine if you’ve had a satisfactory year?” I said, trying to clarify my question.

“Well, if you’re talking about strategic planning or budgeting, things like that, I don’t do any of that,” he responded bluntly.

“How do you personally spend you time every day,” I asked, trying a different approach.

“It depends on where I’m needed,” he said. “Sometimes I’m doing the buying, but other times, like when the warehouse foreman doesn’t show up, I’m working out back.”

“How much time do you spend in the office?” I probed.

“As little as possible,” he fired back with the hint of a smile.

“Sounds as if you don’t like office work,” I asked in a feeble attempt at humor.

“You got that right.”

“Your dad says that sales haven’t kept pace with the market. Do you have an explanation?”

“Yeah, I can’t find decent salespeople.”

“Who’s in charge of recruiting salespeople?”

“I am!”

Roland didn’t have a clue what role a CEO should play. He had graduated from college, but with a meaningless degree. When he rejoined the family business, he received no preparation for taking over the reins; he had grown up working with his hands and that is still what he enjoyed most. When he was made president, it was in name only.

I interviewed a couple of salespeople whom Roland had been unable to hire. They told me that they didn’t want to work for a man like Roland, and referred to his lack of sophistication and his abrupt communication style. Their image of Roland was not that of a leader, so they each opted to take jobs with more progressive businesses in the area.

At the end of my visit, I suggested that Roland hire a general manager who had the talent to perform the essential business functions that Roland hated so much. To my surprise, he didn’t resist the idea. He was not stupid; he knew full well that being a company president was not his cup of tea.

Today, the company is growing and earning more bottom line profit than ever before. Roland is the happiest he has been in years.

Lesson: If the owner doesn’t have the talent or the willingness to prepare a strategic marketing plan or hammer out an annual capital expenditure budget and an operations budget, hire someone who does. There is no rule in business that says the owner has to be the general manager.

Management acumen is not always passed down to the next generation.

Bill Lee is a business consultant who works with owners who want to put more money on the bottom line.

Got A Meeting Planned? Ask This Question

Author: Kevin Eikenberry

Meetings – they are a fact of our business lives. And while the number of meetings and the amount of time you spend in them may vary based on your job title, it is hard to argue that they are a significant part of business life today.

Anything that consumes a major chunk of our time is ripe for analysis and is likely a great source of productivity improvement. And meetings are no exception.

Even a casual conversation about business life will soon get to the frustrations and challenges people experience in meetings. You will quickly hear things like:

“They are such a waste of time.”

“We never seem to finish anything.”

“We just spend too much time in meetings.”

“How can I get my work done when I spend all my time in meetings?”

“I’m not sure why I was at that meeting.”

I’ll bet you’ve said or thought one or more of these things yourself.

In my experience, there are several questions we can ask to help improve the effectiveness of our meetings. But one of those should clearly come first. It is the question we should ask at the very start of planning any meeting. Answering this question carefully is the fastest way to improve our meetings.

The First Question

Do we need a meeting?

Too often people don’t ask this question. They have information to share, a problem to solve, or a question to consider and so they do what they always do – they schedule a meeting. We do this for many reasons, including:

- Wanting everyone to be involved

- Not wanting someone to feel left out

- Wanting everyone to buy-in to the results of the meeting

And the most common reason, habit.

We schedule meetings because that is what we have always done.

How to Answer the Question

The first hurdle is to ask the question. Once you have asked yourself the question, you need to know what to consider when answering the question. Think about:

• Geographic location of information/participants. If your whole group is located together this is less of an issue, but it is a definite consideration if your people are spread out or travel regularly.

• Number of people affected. If the number of people affected by the issue or information is really large, the method of sharing information might be different, alternatively if the number affected is small, getting them together might be the best answer.

• Complexity of the issue. If the issue you are thinking about meeting on is very complex or highly emotionally charged, then you probably want to get people together. Issues that are more simple might require less or a different form of input – meaning that a meeting might not be required.

• Goals – is this one-way information sharing? Many meetings end up being one way information sharing. If that is the case for your meeting, you might consider other ways of disseminating the information. If you really want dialogue or conversation about what is being shared, then a meeting is more likely your best option.

• Need for independent thought from individuals. While meetings give us the chance to discuss things openly and thoroughly, sometimes stronger individuals in a meeting will dominate. If you really want each person’s input independently, you might substitute one-on-one meetings for your originally conceived group meeting.

• Cost. The costs of having a meeting are huge. And no, I’m not talking about the coffee and donuts. When you consider the real cost of putting people in the conference room (calculate this by estimating the cost/hour/person in the room) you will be shocked. This factor alone can help us really think more carefully about whether a meeting is our best option.

Other Options

Asking this question may lead us to having fewer meetings, but the need that prompted the question still exists. So if you have a need but have determined not to have a meeting, how do you meet you need?

You can always have face-to-face one-one one conversations, use email or voice mail, or even have phone calls with people if you can’t catch them face to face. Each of these options gives you ways to share information, and to request input in return.

Final Thoughts

Meetings while sometimes tedious and not as effective as we would like, are an amazing tool for getting work done. Asking this initial question – Do we need a meeting? – is one of the single best things we can do to improve the success and productivity from our meetings.

Discipline yourself to ask this question every time you start to schedule a meeting.

Is Chess Good for Management?

Author: Bright Johnson

The game of chess has been applauded and taught in business school as a game that gingers creative intelligence.

Chess is a game involving kings, queens, bishops, knights, castles, and pawns like a real life. The pawns (also called soldiers) advance first, lead or supported by officers all to fight and protect the king. It is like fighting a real war similar indeed to fighting or capturing business competitors, employees, or customers. The only difference is that at the end it is only a game.

Chess like every other game is intellectually stimulating. Anything that has calculation, no matter how trivial, is good for management. That is why the Russian grandmaster Mickail Botvinnik declared, “The greatest pleasure is when one feels he is thinking and this is best accomplished with chess.”

With all due respect to the grandmaster, good thinking (or the feeling) is not accomplished with chess. Good thinking is accomplished by an exchange of intellect not by circulating existing know how. Chess, like video games, are basically circulating know how—you learn the rules, then, try to arrange them into a winning pattern. People who play games like football, tennis, chess, and video games are among the dullest professionals. They are dull, mind you, not dumb. You don’t become brilliant or intellectual sound for playing a game—it will not improve your speaking skills, or writing skills, or personal skills, or administrative skills, it only engages the mind and leaves it as it found it.

Many chess players have failed in business, in their jobs, in school, in personal relationships because they spent 5 to 7 hours daily playing chess. Alexander Kotov in his book Think like a Grandmaster rightly warned that if you are a student, don’t play chess at the expense of your studies, if you work, don’t play chess at the expense of your job, if you run a business, you cannot move people the way you move chess piece. But if you play as a profession then invest into it.

Playing chess will not make you a creative manager. What will? You have to be a student for life

Why You Should Never Hire Your Best Friend?

Author: Glenn Shepard

Supervising close friends rarely works because the dynamics of the two relationships contradict one another. Friendships are based on mutuality. Friends reveal intimate secrets to each other and make themselves vulnerable. This completely contradicts the relationship of a manager and employee.

Managers are in a superior-subordinate relationship with employees. It is not possible to simultaneously be a person’s superior and be his peer. Ultimately, your friendship or your ability to supervise will suffer. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average job lasts about three years. A good friend lasts a lifetime. Good employees are hard to find but good life-long friends are even harder to find, so don’t hire your friends.

The situation differs if you developed a friendship with coworkers who were previously your peers, and you’ve recently become their supervisor. After-hours social outings are now different. If you regularly went out with your coworkers in the past, don’t stop altogether. This will be too abrupt and they’ll think becoming a manager has gone to your head. Start pulling back slowly by periodically finding an excuse to decline invitations. On the nights you do go, leave early so they can have fun without the boss. Once you become a manager, you’re not one of them any more. Don’t fool yourself into thinking differently.

Glenn Shepard is a speaker, coach, and author in Nashville, TN. This article is excerpted from his book “How to Manage Problem Employees: A Step-by-Step Guide to Turning Difficult Employees into High Performers”, available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com.

3 Steps to Stop Absence and Make People Happy At Work

Author: Alan Fairweather

If you’re an employer or a manager then work place absence is costing you money, inconvenience, and upsetting your customers. And as we all know, not all days taken off work are due to genuine sickness. Many employees “take a sickie” because their morale is low and they just don’t like or can’t do their work.

The challenge for employers and managers is to make people happier at work. And if people are happy at work then they are less likely to take a day off every time they wake up with a stuffy nose.

Some bosses think that paying more money, improving job security or working conditions is the answer. It isn’t and it’s also something that can be very hard to achieve.

People who employ or supervise other people need to become more tuned to their employees’ emotional needs and find out what really motivates them. This is also much easier to achieve than paying more money or improving job security, however there is no quick fix.

To reduce the amount of absence there are three steps you need to consider.

Firstly, pick the right person for the job. You need to get better at interviewing and selecting people.

Take more time over it; pay more attention to the applicant’s

human side rather than their qualifications or experience. Get to know them better.

Find out what makes them happy, how well they get on with other people and how much energy and enthusiasm they have. Make sure they know what they’re getting into and be sure the job suits them.

Secondly, you need to believe in your people. If you’ve interviewed well and picked the right person for the job then you need to trust them to do that job. You need to constantly demonstrate to your people that you trust and believe in them by what you say, your tone of voice and your body language.

If you believe that your people are not to be trusted, that they’re unable to make a decision without checking with you. That they’ll turn up late and go home early, then that’s exactly what they’ll do.

If on the other hand you believe that they’ll do their job well, that they can be trusted to make decisions and they’ll

give you a fair day’s work, then it is more likely this is what you’ll get.

As with all theories there is no guarantee that it will work every time, however the majority of employees are reasonable people and if you treat them as such then they are more likely to behave in a positive manner.

The third and probably the most important thing you can do to reduce abscence and motivate your people is to give them feedback and coach them.

This is where so many employers and managers fall down in dealing with their people; they’re hopeless at giving feedback. Many managers are uncomfortable telling staff how they feel about their work performance.

Most employees want to know how they are performing in their job; they want to know if they are doing it right or how they could do it better.

If you really want to motivate your people then you need to give them feedback on what they’re doing well and what needs improvement.

When you notice an employee doing something you do like, tell them about it. When you notice something you don’t like, tell them about it.

Do it as soon as possible. Acknowledging a job well done is not much good six months later. Also, if you don’t immediately call someone’s attention to something you’re not happy about, then they’ll assume its okay. Either that or they’ll think you didn’t notice or you don’t care.

Do it in private. Why is it some managers still feel its okay to reprimand someone in front of their colleagues? Even the mildest rebuke can have a negative effect on morale.

When you do speak to the person use “I” messages. Say things like “I liked the way you did that” or “I’m unhappy with the way your reports are always late and I’d like your views on why this is.”

Avoid “You” messages such as “You’re doing great.” That can come across as patronising or insincere. “You’re doing that all wrong” may cause conflict, lower morale and may not sort the problem.

Focus on one or two things. Don’t run off a whole list of attributes or misdemeanours. Also be specific about job behaviour, focus on what the person did or didn’t do, don’t make a personal attack.

Employees will feel happier if they perceive their employer or manager as a reasonable and fair individual – someone who is quick to praise but also says when they’re not happy about something.

The message is – if you want motivated staff then make their work interesting, give them feedback and give them the feeling that they’re involved in the business.

We can make the job more interesting by giving people more responsibility, assigning projects and by training and developing them. We need to regularly give people feedback on how they’re doing; focussing on what they’re doing well rather than on what is not so good. To meet their need to feel involved we should regularly communicate both formally and informally. We could also involve staff in meetings they might not normally attend.

These steps will take time and thought however they’ll make a huge difference as to how employees feel about their work. If they feel good and gain satisfaction from their work then they’re less likely to find a reason to “take a sickie”.

Discover the “3″ Secrets of team motivaion. Alan Fairweather – “The Motivation Doctor” -is the author of “How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team” To receive your free newsletter and free ebooks, visit: Team Motivationwebsite.

Retain Your Best People

Author: Dorene Lehavi

Many managers and team leaders ask me how to deal with employees in a way that will maximize their potential, create loyalty and respect, and cut down on high turnover and destructive behavior in the workplace. The single most common reason people stay or leave an organization is based on the relationship they have with their direct supervisor. Therefore, the key is to show a keen personal interest in each person. Recognize everyone’s uniqueness and find ways to allow that uniqueness to be expressed at work.

The following tips can be adapted to your particular situation.

- One-on-one Meetings.

- Build trust; have meetings in your office over lunch or coffee with each individual.

- Get to know your employee by asking about their career goals, even if you have to acknowledge that working at their present job may just be a stepping-stone on the way.

- Ask what opportunities for growth they might like in their job.

- Ask what part of their present job they enjoy the most. Find ways to give them more of those tasks.

- Ask if there is any part of their job they don’t like. If possible, relieve them of the particular task. If not, help them find ways to make it more pleasant. Break it down time-wise. Build in rewards.

- Always recognize jobs well done; give bonuses, e.g. tickets to movies or other events, recognize the employee of the month, rewards for creative ideas, etc.

- Where possible allow the employee to learn a new area of interest. Encourage that interest by sending them to a class, etc.

- Set up a mentoring system.

If each individual employee feels appreciated they will more likely remain motivated to stay in an organization and consistently provide quality work that is aligned with the company’s goals.

Dr. Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. is principal of Next Level Business and Professional Coaching. She coaches Professionals and Business Partners. You can purchase her ebook or soft cover editions of Stop Doing What You Hate…Start Doing What You Love at http://www.StartDoingWhatYouLove.com. Contact Dr. Lehavi at Dorene@CoachingforYourNextLevel.com or on the web at http://www.CoachingforYourNextLevel.com and sign up for her free newsletter, Mastering Your Next Level.

The Two Most Powerful Words in Business

Author: Sandra Sims

There’s a series of television commercials currently running for a bank rewards program. It features people who find an unusual way to get out of awkward situations.

My favorite is the one where a man and woman are sitting in a fine restaurant when the lady brings up “the talk.” Ladies, you know the one, the “where is this relationship going” speech. The woman in the commercial comes right to the point, “When are we getting married?”

The poor guy gets the “deer in the headlights” look on his face and says of the first thing that comes to mind, “Thank you!” Well his girlfriend is so surprised and thrilled to hear these golden words she completely forgets the whole marriage talk.

This illustrates in a humorous way the power of those two little words, Thank You.

Everyone has a psychological need to feel wanted and appreciated. Appreciation is such a little thing; you can’t touch it or see it, but you can feel it in your heart. Saying thank you to each other keeps the circle of goodwill and gratitude alive.

Showing appreciation is especially important in business relationships. This applies to a variety of business associates including clients, co-workers, supervisors and subordinates. Everyone likes to be appreciated so be sure to spread your words of thanks around to everyone in your circle of contacts.

Showing appreciation affects business relationships in a variety of ways. You may find that by using these two simple words communication becomes easier and others are more open to hearing your input. When someone feels appreciated and acknowledged for their own worth, they are more likely to be open to giving the same respect in return.

The easiest way to show appreciation is a simple verbal word of thanks. This is especially true for direct reports and other employees that you may supervise. After putting in a long day on a special project or difficult task, a simple thank you could make all of the hard work worth it. Feeling appreciated is a strong reason that employees are happy in their jobs, maintain productivity and intend to continue with an employer.

Letters and thank you cards are also ways that you can show appreciation for any business associate. Sometimes a simple card can really make the difference in improving or solidifying a business relationship.

Saying thank you is a simple way to improve business relationships and foster a sense of goodwill among those you come in contact with on the job.

Sandra Sims coaches non profit organizations with issues such as fundraising, volunteer management and administration. She offers hands on resources such as tips for writing thank you letters and thank you letter templates.

Are Employees Really Your Most Precious Asset?

Author: Rick Johnson

I have yet to walk into a company during my thirty five years in the industry that didn’t have some form of this statement about the value of employees printed somewhere. A mission statement, in their employee handbook, on a poster on the wall, the company newsletter and even in the strategic plan for the very few that actually have a strategic plan. However, when I think about it, I almost want to puke. Why ? Because the majority of the company’s that make this claim have no idea what it really means to treat their employees like their most important asset.

Listen carefully, if you don’t treat your employees like your most important asset — Then they certainly will not act nor will they perform like your most important asset. And that means you are missing the greatest opportunity in the world to leverage talent in creating competitive advantage in your market place. Make no mistake, it is your employees that create core competencies and core competencies create competitive advantage.

Kudos to every company out there that has figured this out but you are in the minority. Treating your employees as your most precious asset is not a mystery. It’s not rocket science. It’s actually fairly simple. WARNING! Lip Service about it isn’t good enough. Putting it in your mission statement, posting it on the wall, publishing it in the company newsletter doesn’t mean crap if you don’t act on it. Acting on it means spending money. Invest in the greatest power you have for achieving success. Your employees. Don’t cut training and education from the budget every time there is an economic hiccup.

. Examine the following tips and I think you’ll be able to figure it out

• Start at the beginning, examine your hiring practice. The first thirty days of employment are critical. Create a buddy sponsor and pay the buddy $100 to guide the new employee the first month. Let the new employee choose his buddy after two weeks. Can you imagine the cooperation and help the new person will get that first week. Make sure you have a legitimate documented employee orientation program.

• Identify training needs throughout the organization. Create a training matrix. Allocate funds. Develop an intern program for leadership candidates that show exceptional promise. Create mentoring programs. Train your managers on coaching and mentoring. Don’t forget education. Reimburse tuition, create specific educational curriculums for specific management level employees. Create a company university program.

• Burn the annual appraisal forms. They are worthless. Create an obligation for all managers to spend a minimum of thirty minutes a month discussing performance and opportunity with their direct reports. Record it on a 3 x 5 card. This will make annual performance reviews meaningful because you now have data for the entire year, twelve mini reviews.

• Statistics and surveys prove that the majority of employees that leave their employers do not leave due to pay. Employees want to be treated like people. They want respect and trust. Employees will not start respecting their leaders until their leaders start respecting them. They will not start trusting their leaders until their leaders start trusting them. Ask yourself how you would want your managers to treat your son or your daughter if they worked for them? Some of you have family in the business.

• Fairness—- Employees want fairness in all their dealings. This starts with fair pay. Is it your goal as a company to pay at or above market? This includes base pay, benefits, recognition and other non monetary rewards. Fair and consistent treatment is a must. Award and recognize with extra paid days off in conjunction with a weekend. Buy the book 1001 ways to make it fun to come to work.

• Accountability —- Employees want to be held accountable. They want to be empowered. They want to contribute. Make sure they understand what their job really entails. What are their responsibilities. Job descriptions, if you have them, are often vague or incomplete.

• Coach and Mentor your employees.

Do these things and you will be on your way to becoming Employer of Choice. Your recruitment and retention problems will be minimal. Employees will excel. They will release that discretionary energy and apply it to creating competitive advantage. Training your employees will increase their drive for success. Fairness creates happy employees. Happy employees create satisfied customers.

Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in leadership for wholesale distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with company executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information.

Rick received an MBA from Keller Graduate School in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management from Capital University, Columbus Ohio. Rick recently completed his dissertation on Strategic Leadership and received his Ph.D. He’s also a published book author with four titles to his credit: “The Toolkit for Improved Business Performance in Distribution,” the NWFA & NAFCD “Roadmap”, Lone Wolf-Lead Wolf—The Evolution of Sales” and a fiction novel “Shattered Innocence.” Rick’s next book due in November is titled; Lone Wolf – LEad Wolf The Evolution of Leadership

Managing with Authority and Democracy

Author: Mark Meshulam

If you watch closely, you will eventually notice that people who manage the work of others tend to fit into one of two categories: authoritarians or democrats.

The authoritarians, as you would expect, manage by telling others what to do. They are not big on eliciting opinions of their subordinates, and not coincidently, their superiors usually treat them in much the same way.

They get whipped like dogs, then they turn around and whip their charges like smaller dogs. Information and direction flow downhill only. Things get done, but quality of work output and quality of employee life suffers.

The democratic manager is quite opposite. He will seek consensus and try to make sure everyone on the team is happy. Things get done eventually and the love-in can be quite heartwarming. Employee satisfaction is high, but efficiency can lag.

I paint these opposing management styles in purposefully stark contrast. In the real world of course, managers fall on a continuum with these extremes as endpoints. What places them at their unique position on the numberline?

Corporate personality – the kind that flows downhill in an organization, and the manager’s inherent personality combine (harmoniously or otherwise) placing the manager somewhere on the scale of the authority-democracy meter.

The art of managing becomes the blending of the best of both worlds for the betterment of the organization. Then, it usually follows that as the organization succeeds, so does the individual.

As managers strive to balance authority and democracy in their management styles, they would do well to add two more factors to the mix: reality and results.

After all, it may seem that the source of authority is the boss from above, the guy who feeds workers with a paycheck.

But the higher authority is the marketplace. If your company, with its unique mix of people, products and philosophies performs well in the marketplace, it will grow and bring rewards to the individual.

Thus, the reality of the marketplace, as well as the results your organization is able to deliver will be a key determinant of the rewards your company will be able to distribute to its people.

Reality and results are the real bosses in business and an enlightened management style should reflect this realization. How to we blend authority, democracy, reality and results?

Authority: “Do it because I said so.”
Democracy: “Will you do it? Do you think it is the right thing to do?”
Reality: “Our competition is doing it. We need to do it to compete.”
Results: “We did well last quarter doing it. Let’s do it more.”
Blended: “Joe’s research indicated that it has helped our efforts. Jane has determined that we have gained market share with it. It’s time to really push in this direction. Here are goals for the next quarter. Best of luck everyone, let’s beat ‘em.”

Copyright 2005 Poingo.com

Mark Meshulam offers the Poingo Productivity Suite, unique and inexpensive software solutions which make your work much easier and more enjoyable: Email tickler system. Create JPGs and PDFs and edit them in MS Outlook. Timestamp your filenames. Send large files using FTP technology. Hotkey shortcuts to most anything you want to do. Cropped screen capture. Check it out! http://www.poingo.com

Employee Motivation – Access Their Unique Talents

Author: Martin Haworth

Your people are invaluable to you. They are the lifeblood of your business or organisation. And yet, in many situations, managers take little time to truly find out what makes each of their people special. Makes them unique.

But why would this be important to know?

When people bring their special blend of skills to your workplace, it’s important to know about it. And not just because you might be able to get more out of them. When you know what turns your people on, they work happier and contribute more; sometimes, much more than you might expect from them. When they are working in their ‘flow’, they are on top form, in overdrive. And then remarkable results flow.

So, how do you find out what your people are best at, and also where they struggle?

Many organisations now use a variety of techniques to get to the bottom of who their employees truly are. These take the form of assessments – often simple questionnaires – that their employees complete. Then both employee and line-manager work together with the data, to understand the focused results that such information provides.

More commonly now, external coaches are brought in to work with special types of assessments, to provide an outsider’s support, well away from line management or performance assessments. This enables openness and honesty – not always possible if your boss is your coach.

In the assessment systems that are available, some tend to place people in boxes, which can almost lead to the employee ‘acting out’ what they expect to be like from the results. This can be very discouraging, especially when told that it’s ‘just the way you are’ (and this with little hope of changing ever!).

There are now more modern approaches, which are enabling employees to understand better their behaviours. These can be adapted and developed, with the encouragement and challenge of a coach, to deliver far greater performance than previously possible.

Often these ‘behavioural’ approaches accelerate development, to such an extent that prolonged coaching contracts are unnecessary, although after a time, such is the success, that (especially senior employees) come back for a further burst of activity, to raise the bar on their own performance even further.

Ultimately, it the employee’s prerogative to decide in which areas of developing their performance they might wish to focus. With a modern, self-assessment style questionnaire identifying where they are in the moment, it is be well worth the time and investment to give themselves a head start. Celebrating the unique skills and talents they already have is a good place to start.

Those at the head of a business or organisation can set an example. This enables them to model change as a ‘good thing’ and encourage others to take full part, in the knowledge that this is not going to be a painful experience, yes, maybe challenging, but ultimately good, for the employee as well as everyone else, both inside and outside the workplace.

© Martin Haworth 2005. At Coaching Businesses to Success, we work with clients from all sorts of business backgrounds worldwide, often entirely by phone, using Intercept® ID, a proven, soft-skills gap analysis tool.