Tip #457: 7 Traits of Strong Leaders

    
Whether in business or sports, many teams include stand-out superstars. However, as any sports fan knows, one or two amazing players is not enough to carry a team to a league victory.

Teamwork requires the effort and inclusion of everyone on the team - not just the top performers. A good coach must focus on the success of the overall team by mentoring each team member - not by focusing only on the star player.

7 Traits Of Strong Leaders.

Team leaders understand the balance of attention required to ensure all team efforts run smoothly. That said, team leaders proactively exhibit the following traits:

Traits Of A Strong Leader	Do You Have These Skills?
1. They Understand Value: A good team leader examines existing processes and best utilizes his or her team to maximize the value of the business.
2. They Remain Organized: Effective team leaders keep organized; this keeps everyone else on track. They prioritize tasks and make sure everyone has the resources they require to complete projects.
3. They Focus On Results: The best team leaders are goal-oriented. Good leaders can find a "win" in any situation.
4. They Demonstrate Accountability:Strong leaders exhibit a high amount of personal responsibility. They expect each team member to remain responsible for his or her own job and also take accountability for him or her self as well as the team being led.
5. They Value Diversity: Top leaders appreciate diversity. This means understanding and utilizing everyone's strength and recognizing that everyone has weaknesses. This allows a leader to create synergy in a team. Team leaders should recognize that some employees are particular "specialists" in certain areas. Good leaders utilize this particular talent.
6. They Communicate Effectively: The best leaders know that they need to ask the right questions to get the information they need. This will also reveal what others want or need from the team or the business in general. Knowing what motivates others is a powerful tool in sales and management.
7. They Enhance People Skills: Strong leaders understand that working with a variety of people and personality types is a necessity. They strive to remain assertive but diplomatic.

Executive Summary: Effective team leaders must work with a variety of skill sets and personalities. Strong leaders understand how to identify the strengths of each team member and assign tasks accordingly for the best results.

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Tip #456: 6 Tips for Handling a Difficult Employee

    
Sooner or later, all managers must deal with a difficult employee. What you need to remember is that a difficult employee is not necessarily a bad employee.  All too often, people associate "difficult" with "bad."  This simply is not true.  There are a lot of circumstances that could lead to difficult behavior -- stress at home or work, for example.

If you find yourself tasked with handling a difficult employee, you may find the following six tips insightful.

Click here to watch a video on ways to handle a difficult employee

6 Tips For Handling Difficult Employees:

Tip #1: Evaluate The Issue -- In other words, think before you act.  One complaint is not reason enough to call an employee into your office for a verbal lashing.  A clear understanding of the issue is required before you take any action.  Consider all of the relevant factors, such as the people involved and the details surrounding the situation.

Tip #2: Gather The Facts -- Because the workplace is a social environment, there is bound to be rumors and hearsay -- neither of which is reason enough to take action.  As a manager and leader, your job is to be a mediator and assess the situation fairly by gathering the facts.  Hearsay is unreliable and easily refuted.  Evidence, on the other hand, is undeniable.

Tip #3: Develop A Plan -- The workplace is not the Wild West -- you cannot go into a situation "guns blazing."  This will only exacerbate things further.  Having a plan will give you more control over the situation and help maintain order and focus.  Carefully decide when and where you will speak with the employee, how you want the meeting to go, and whether others might need to be present.

Tip #4: Focus On The Problem -- All too often, we let one negative aspect of someone define them entirely.  This, of course, is a mistake.  Just because someone is difficult does not mean they aren't good at their job.  When handling a difficult employee, you need to focus on the problem, not the person.  Otherwise, the employee may feel like they are being personally attacked.

Tip #5: Hear Their Side -- When speaking with a difficult employee, it is only fair to hear their side.  Understanding the reasons behind difficult behaviors is crucial to remedying them.  Your job, as mediator, is to find the common ground and figure out where and how you can smooth the wrinkles over.  This requires having as much of an understanding about the factors surrounding difficult behavior as you can.

Tip #6: Come To A Solution -- Ultimately, your goal is to come to an agreement with the employee on how to solve the issue; otherwise, it will continue to persist.  The first step is for the employee to acknowledge the issue.  From there, draw out a plan of action as to how it will be solved, and make sure you follow-up with the employee to ensure that change is maintained.

Executive Summary: Remember, a difficult employee is not necessarily a bad employee, so focus more on the issue and less on them.  This helps prevent employees from feeling as though they are being personally criticized.  As a result, they will be less resistant to working out whatever is causing their difficult behavior.  Once you do agree upon a solution, be sure to periodically follow-up with the employee and praise them for their efforts.

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Tip #455: 4 Fun and Inexpensive Ways to Re-Engage Your Staff

    
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to do someone else's job for a day? Some organizations take this question very seriously and employ it as a means of employee engagement. This is one of several low-cost tasks that management can do to increase employee engagement and discussion about job satisfaction in the workplace. Consider these creative, inexpensive employee engagement solutions.

4 Unconventional Employee Engagement Solutions.

#1. Change Your Company's Wardrobe - While your organization might allow the typical "dress down Friday," you might want to switch things up a bit. That said, you might want to consider establishing the following when appropriate:   

• Sports Jersey Day
• Hawaiian Shirt Day
• Company Color(s) Day

#2. Interview Employee Day - Have you ever looked at a job titles in your organization only to wonder exactly what it is that person does? Chances are, most of your employees have as well. Set aside some time for your employees to "interview" each other about their roles in the organization. This will inspire personnel to achieve new goals in the company and to make new contacts within the organization.

#3. Change Your Music - Most offices/warehouses allow employees to listen to music as long as it is low volume or in headphones. While this can boost productivity, it does create a level of isolation as well. For a change, allow employees to appreciate each other's musical tastes by asking everyone to contribute a song to an office playlist for the day. Alternatively, you might want to consider using a free web-based service such as turntable.fm, Pandora or Spotify.

#4. Have Your Staff Switch Jobs For A Week - Job swapping is a great way to enrich your staff as it allows your staff to explore other areas of interest and gain appreciation for what their coworkers do. Additionally, it inspires individuals to communicate beyond their own teams as they get to learn about new departments. This can also reveal a great deal about your employees' interests.

To best accomplish this, build in a 30 minute meeting between employees so they can learn about the essential job duties and what must be accomplished within the workday.

Executive Summary: Employee engagement does not have to be a large or expensive program or process. Most employees are curious about the jobs and interests of others, and you can learn a great deal about your employees' goals by allowing them to learn about each other's preferences and job duties.

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Tip #454 - What is Employee Engagement?

    

Employee engagement does not simply mean "happy employees." Even if a worker is happy, it does not mean that he or she has an overabundant sense of loyalty resulting in higher productivity. While it can help to host parties and thank employees regularly, that does not mean employees are engaged.

Additionally, a "satisfied" employee is not necessarily engaged in their work. Those who describe themselves as satisfied are not likely to put in the extra effort.

Employee Engagement: It's More Than Happiness Or Security In A Job.

Click here to read Forbes' article on employee engagement: It's Time To Rethink Employee Engagement.

Employee engagement is more than happiness or security in a job. It is the indication that an employee is actively and emotionally committed to the progress of your business and its goals.

Employee Engagement Encourages Effort.

Because engaged employees understand their impact on the overall organization, they actually care about the quality of their work and effort. This means that the salaried employee will work more hours than required to make sure the job is done right. Engaged employees do more than what is specifically required.

Examples include:

• Someone who takes out the trash before their shift ends.
• Someone who triple-checks their work.
• Someone who rearranges clothing racks before closing the store.

How Is Employee Engagement Profitable?

  The results are factual: According to Dale Carnegie Training's employee engagement survey, top companies whose employees are engaged boast 6% higher net profit margins.

Click here to download a FREE copy of our employee engagement white paper.

It works like this:

• Engaged employees provide better products and services to customers, which leads to a higher rate of customer satisfaction. And satisfied customers say good things about your company and buy from you again, again and again. This leads to increased sales and more profits. Greater profits results in greater shareholder returns.

Executive Summary: Employee engagement is marked specifically by an employee's emotional commitment to his or her job. Engaged employees produce higher quality work and put in discretionary effort that translates into higher productivity and greater profits.

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Tip #453: How to Win a Sale When Dealing With a Decision Maker

    

As you go through the sales process, you will find that there are often multiple decision makers who analyze the information you or your salespeople provide to them. You and your sales team need to be aware of the verbal cues and body language of each decision maker - this indicates the decision maker's progress in making the buying decision.

How To Win A Sale When Dealing With A Decision Maker.

Have you ever observed a gifted salesperson in action? If so, then you know that effective salespeople know when to move a sale forward with a decision maker. While this is natural to some salespeople, it is also a learned art.

It's All About Buying Signals Based On Asking The Right Questions.

A buying signal is a key element of any sale. Buying signals indicate that it is permissible to move the sales process forward. Buying signals also demonstrate a level of trust between the salesperson and the decision maker, who now sees the salesperson as a trusted advisor with recommendations.

Good salespeople know how to:

1. Ask Key Business Questions, NOT 'Are You Ready To Buy' Questions: 

Asking a prospect a series of open-ended questions can provide you with a number of important answers. From identifying their needs to getting a prospect to talk about how they go about making a buying decision.  The key is asking good questions. 

2. Identify Buying Signals.

Buying signals can be verbal or nonverbal. Verbal buying signals include questions about specific products or the level of customization you offer. Examples of nonverbal indications include thoughtful perusal of your collateral material or leaning forward in the chair.

3. Interpret Buying Signals.

An expert salesperson can not only recognize buying signals, but understands how to interpret them. Buying signals demonstrate the decision maker's specific needs at this time. It is up to the salesperson to expertly guide the customer to make the best buying decision without overwhelming him or her. This requires a great deal of focus from the salesperson.

4. React To Buying Signals.

By the time a decision maker is done seriously evaluating a product, an effective salesperson will have specific recommendations. A good salesperson will know whether to explore another avenue or suggest add-ons as well. Additionally, efficient salespeople head back to the office with proposal notes and follow up with a proposal as soon as possible.

Executive Summary: Although this e-tip is specific to salespeople, what we have listed above can improve anyone's communication skills. The best way to truly motivate a decision maker is to focus on providing a solution to their problem - a solution that saves them time and/or money. Understanding buying signals will help you know when it's time to ask for a final commitment. 

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Tip #452: How Much Will a Disengaged Employee Cost Your Business?

    

Whether you are looking at a sports team, business or political campaign, supporters who are not actively engaged by the charisma and content of their leader can quickly become dissatisfied dissenters who will abandon the current effort.

In the business world, losing a dissatisfied employee is more than an inconvenience. It will cost your business time and money and create a lot of aggravation. By the way, United States businesses lose $11 billion annually as a result of employee turnover according to the Bureau of National Affairs.  

5 Ways A Disengaged Employee Will Cost Your Business Money.

The primary difference between an engaged and disengaged employee is the following: The engaged employee believes that he or she can truly affect and positively change the growth of an organization. An employee lacking engagement feels insignificant, and this attitude negatively affects your business in several ways:

Click here to down our free white paper on employee engagement:Engaging Employees: What Drives Employee Engagement and Why It Matters.

1. Impact On Co-Workers: Negativity is contagious, and your disengaged employee has the potential to "infect" his or her coworkers. This has an overall negative impact on team morale and productivity.

2. Their Performance While On Company Time: As you know, time is valuable. The disengaged employee makes poor use of his or her time, costing the company money.  Often times you will find a disengaged person on their cell phone and/or surfing the Internet. 

3. Poor Customer Service: Your employees should be cheerleaders for your business and seek to make the same out of customers. However, a disengaged employee has no enthusiasm to pass on to customers.

4. Less Than Stellar Productivity: A disengaged employee is not motivated to meet goals or go the extra mile when it comes to getting work done. Additionally, an employee without sympathy may dodge phone calls, e-mails and other responsibilities.

5. Lack Of Quality In Their Work: A disengaged employee has little motivation to produce quality results. He or she may struggle with deadlines and will not seek out responsibilities or leadership roles. By contrast, an engaged workforce wants to do what is best for the company. They are generally more creative and innovative and feel loyal and emotionally connected to their work environment.

Executive Summary: The cost of a single disengaged employee may seem insignificant, but most organizations contain multiple examples of this attitude and behavior. Entire departments may feel apathetic, leading to a major productivity issue for the entire company. 

Additionally, our research has revealed that although there are many factors that affect employee engagement, it really only comes down to three key items:

1.     Relationship with someone's immediate supervisor.
2.     Senior leadership's ability to lead the company and communicate its goals.
3.     Organizational pride - vision of organization and corporate social responsibility.

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Tip #451: 9 Great Customer Service Traits to Develop in Your Team Members

    
Having the right corporate culture within your customer service department is essential to the success of your business. Your customer service representatives (CSRs) are the face of your company - they need to be enthusiastic about the product and service you are selling as well as patient and professional. With an engaged customer service team, you will experience increased growth and customer loyalty.

One Bad Experience Can Cost You A Sale. 

When it comes to customer service, it only takes one bad experience to lose a client for life. In this e-tip, we will look at 9 elements to consider developing in your staff - skills that can project a positive image for your company.

9 Customer Service Skills.

Customer service reps who succeed demonstrate the following set of skills - skills that you should train your team on:

1. Positive Attitude When Someone Calls - A cheery outlook is a requirement for any CSR. CSRs who demonstrate a positive attitude are often described as friendly, helpful and likeable.

2. Remain Objective - The best CSR can see issues from all angles, understanding how a problem can affect the organization as well as the customer. They present an objective outlook to the customer.

3. Are Sympathetic To A Customer - A good CSR is always a cheerleader for your organization, but remains sympathetic to the customer. This perspective generates long-term customer loyalty and provides the CSR with a unique opportunity to suggest process improvements.

4. Have The Ability To Manage Stress - Even on a good day, most CSRs will handle serious complaints from customers. They understand the difference between overwhelming stress and the balanced stress of a heavy workload. Effective CSRs keep control of their emotions under duress.

5. Strong Interpersonal Skills - To get things done, a good CSR understands how to create and maintain business relationships in and out of the company. This enables them to get things done quickly and effectively without consuming resources or starting drama.

6. Strong Communication Skills - The bulk of a CSR's job involves interacting with customers. CSRs must be able to separate facts from emotion. They are able to communicate effectively in both spoken and written conversation. Additionally, an effective CSR can summarize a customer interaction to you.

7. Has The Ability To Influence Someone - A persuasive CSR can guide the customer towards the desired conclusion. Additionally, they motivate others to achieve the corporate culture you wish to foster in your organization.

8. Remains Flexible - A useful CSR is adaptable and will try different approaches within set rules or guidelines. Additionally, a flexible CSR is receptive to new ideas and procedure changes.

9. Uses Clear, Simple Language - An effective CSR can simplify information when talking to a customer, helping to minimize the customer's frustration. A good CSR understands that there is not usually a need for a customer to understand your company's internal process or the acronyms you use to identify things within your organization.

Executive Summary: Customer service is not simply a department - there is also an attitude that goes along with it. Whenever a customer interacts with your customer service team, it represents the potential to retain a customer, garner customer loyalty and sell additional products and services to them. CSRs demonstrating the key traits listed above will be assets to your organization.

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Tip #450: Why Should you Care About Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is profitable for both your company's bottom line and the overall work environment. By improving profits and making your workplace more attractive to employees, you can gain a serious advantage over your competition.

Employee Engagement Is Profitable.

Fact: Employee engagement really pays off - a company with engaged employees saw a 19% increase in operating income. By contrast, those without employee engagement saw a decrease of 33% in the same area of income.

Click here to download Dale Carnegie Training's Study On Employee Engagement.

Engaged Employees Are More Productive.

Did you know that an engaged employee is about 25% more productive than one who is not? Additionally, employees who feel valued and connected to their employers are at lower risk for leaving their company.  Specifically:

• 26% of Engaged Employees would leave their current job for just a 5% pay increase.
• 46% of Partially Engaged Employees would leave their current job for just a 5% pay increase.
• 69% of Disengaged Employees would leave their current job for just a 5% pay increase.

Companies who actively recruit with the mentality of employee engagement generally attract the top talents in their fields and produce a higher profit for shareholders. 

Employee Engagement Breeds Loyalty.

Engaged employees also perform well on performance reviews and tend to call out of work less often. When change happens in the workplace, your engaged employees are the most consistently supportive, trusting that the change is beneficial for the organization and taking an active role in implementing it.

How To Begin The Process Of Employee Engagement.

After learning that employee engagement can result in a lower turnover, more productivity and higher profits, are you ready to begin an employee engagement program? Here are two simple ways to begin:

1. Just Thank Your Employees - Are your employees meeting your expectations? If so, say "thank you." Especially in a difficult economy, employees put in extra time and effort to maintain productivity. As the economy turns around, you will lose these dedicated employees if you do not provide recognition for their extra efforts. Engaging such employees starts with a simple "thank you."
2. Provide Recognition Consistently - After you have created incentive and space to motivate an employee to perform, provide a way for direct managers and coworkers to recognize effort that goes above and beyond what is required. This not only lets the recognized employee know that he or she is doing a good job; it shows others that positive contributions are rewarded.

Executive Summary: Employees who feel motivated towards company success must also feel valued. The process of employee engagement begins with thanking an employee for his or her hard work and understanding how such behavior directly correlates to the success of your company. Remember, disengaged employees can have a huge financial impact - from high employee turnover to your business' productivity and level of innovation.

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Tip #449: 4 Tips for Improving Your Decision Making Process

    
Efficient AND effective decision making differentiates industry leaders from the status quo. Not only that, good decision-making skills are critical for any leader. Without them, your employees will waste their time; therefore, their productivity will drop.

Proactive decision making skills affect all aspects of your business.

In business, as in life, you need to have a decision even if you have a limited amount of information.  So how can you make better decisions?   To help you and your staff, we have listed below a number of proven tips. 
  Improve Your Decision Making Skills With These Four Tips.

Tip #1: Find The Facts - Before you can make a good business decision, you need to gather as much information as possible - the key is to remain objective.  Additionally, fact-finding will help you analyze a problem and uncover any underlying issues as well as possible short and long term solutions. Determine and execute the most efficient way to collect and analyze any data that can help you.

Tip #2: Brainstorm Solutions As A Group (And Establish A Defined Deadline) - As you review the pros and cons of each of your options, make sure you do it as a group - with a deadline. This will allow you to stay focused and maintain efficiency. Consolidate your information onto a chart/spreadsheet. It also helps to have at least one associate assisting with your analysis. While the decision is ultimately yours, others can provide insight and/or pros and cons that you may not have noticed.

Tip #3: Evaluate Results - Once you have decided upon a decision and implementation schedule, you need to analyze how you have done. Do not be afraid to make adjustments or take notes for future decisions.

Tip #4: Remain Consistent - As you tackle the decision making process, keep in mind your consistency with the following:
 

• Remain objective in your analysis.
• Manage your stress and stress of others.
• Stay focused on what the options are - both short and long term. 

  
Executive Summary: While there are a myriad of ways to decision making processes, you cannot overlook this one key element: Work on problem solving as a group.  Although the ultimate decision will be yours, an organization cannot move forward or remain innovative without decisive decision makers.  By taking action and carefully streamlining your decision making process, you will improve the organization by just making a decision.  

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Tip #448: 5 Ways to Develop an Employee into a Mentor

   

Your highest performing and most talented employees are obvious assets to your team and organization; however, they tend to get the least amount of attention from management because they need the least amount of help.

Turning your efforts towards your top performers can actually improve your overall team - especially if you can develop them into mentors for others.  

Your Highest Performing Workers Might Be Great Mentors To Others.

Effective leaders understand how to build relationships in and out of an organization, but convincing them to spend their time coaching or mentoring others may require an incentive and persistence on your part.

5 Skills Should You Look For When Considering An Employee As A Mentor: 

1. Look For Someone Who Exhibits Results-Oriented Behavior:The key is finding someone who looks at finishing a project and then moves on to other projects - one that closes any and all open issues. 

2. Look For Someone Who Manages A Project Well: With so many projects being worked on at once, look for someone who can manage large task even though they are being pulled in different directions.  Remember, good project management skills can be contagious.

3. Look For Someone Who Is Proactive: Many good leaders are already proactive. And with a bit of tweaking, a leader can apply this thinking to mentoring.  Additionally, someone who is proactive is never satisfied with the status quo. 

4. Look For Someone Who Exhibits Leadership Skills: In addition to a go-getter mentality, a mentor must have solid leadership skills. As all good leaders know, you need to be goal-oriented, aligned with the organization's vision and make good decisions that add to the overall value to the company.    

5. Look For Someone Who Focuses On Overall Value: Mentors not only enlist the help of others, but they also assist others to contribute maximum value to the organization. Plus, skilled mentors who know value are great resources to use when developing joint ventures in and outside the organization. 

Executive Summary: If you organization has a mentoring program, mull over this vital point: Build upon your organization's core vision and value - but remain a pioneer in your thinking.  Another point:  Select the employees who are engaged, innovative thinkers and are highly productive.

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