Let me begin with an apology to those of you who count on these articles being regularly available each two weeks. Thanks to Hurricane Gustav and the residual flooding issues in our area of North Louisiana, I was unable to get an article out last week. However, this event has given the inspiration for this article.
Both hurricane Gustav and the more recent storm, Ike, left in their wake a vast amount of devastated property and disrupted lives. Here in the northern region of Louisiana, there was not so much wind-related damages as there was wide-spread flooding. In the aftermath of such events exists an opportunity for employers to show their true character and "walk the talk" about providing a family-oriented workplace for their employees.
Whether a hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, or other disaster, such an event will always provide an opportunity for employers to show their best face, and it doesn't have to be a wide-spread event. Having only one employee who endures a disastrous event provides no less opportunity to show compassion and aid to a team member in need.
Some of the greatest stories I have heard over the years are those of humanitarian efforts by employers to assist employees after tragic events in their lives. Bearing this in mind, the best employers can always be found putting their best foot forward in an effort to meet the circumstantial needs of their employees in the face of the storms.
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President - Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Off To A Great Start
I was recently sitting in the office of a client where we were visiting about first one thing and then another. As he picked up some items from the side of his desk nearest to me, I noticed a sheet of paper, folded in half, simply printed with a photo of someone on the front, and a title that read A Very Short Book above the photo. My curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to ask if I could look at this very short book. It turned out to be a collection of bits of advice for young, first-time pastors. It was written by a retired Presbyterian minister from Texas named Bill O'Neal.
This collection numbered nineteen short pieces of very solid advice about how to fit in, endear oneself to the new congregation, and stay out of the danger areas that are easily stumbled into by young pastors. They were, no doubt, all lessons he had learned from his own experiences in his long career as a pastor.
As I looked at this list of thoughts, it occured to me that, with minimal changes to Pastor O'Neal's phrasing, at least thirteen of the nineteen items he spoke of could easily be applicable and timely advice for new supervisors or managers. Here is what he offered as advice (where substitute words apply, I have added them in parentheses):
- For beginning ministers (supervisors/managers): Take a good look at yourself, and if you really don't like people, do something else, like get a PhD and teach, be a stock broker, or bureaucrat.
- When you start a new pastorate (supervisory assignment), simply show up, smile, and let the people know you are happy to be there.
- Make no changes for at least the first year. Exception: Unless there is a clear indication that the people (your team) are ready for it.
- If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
- Avoid conflict with the Presbyterian Women. It can be hazardous to your health. (New supervisors - don't stir up the ladies. They have more power than you realize!)
- Listen to your members (subordinates) and respect their stories and history. Many of them have been doing church (working in their jobs) since before you were born.
- Major in preaching, teaching, and pastoral care (coaching, supporting, and showing that you really care about your team). Everything else will fall into place.
- Try not to give the impression that you think the church (this department or work area) was about to tank before you came to save it.
- Don't swagger or smirk. It gives a bad signal. Remember you are a servant.
- Be a friend to your colleagues in ministry (your peers in the workplace). It can be lonely out there.
- Don't pick a fight you can't win. You only waste your capital.
- Avoid an adversarial attitude toward the church members (your work team).
- Let her lay where Jesus flung her. (Don't dig up old issues that need to be left alone).
As Pastor O'Neal has proven, the wisdom of the ages is usually free and willingly offered to the next generation. Our task is to accept, embrace, and implement that wisdom, then pass it on to the next generation as those before us did for us. Hopefully, you will feel compelled to share this wisdom with others in your organization.
Thanks to you, Pastor O'Neal, for sharing your experiences!
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President - Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
This collection numbered nineteen short pieces of very solid advice about how to fit in, endear oneself to the new congregation, and stay out of the danger areas that are easily stumbled into by young pastors. They were, no doubt, all lessons he had learned from his own experiences in his long career as a pastor.
As I looked at this list of thoughts, it occured to me that, with minimal changes to Pastor O'Neal's phrasing, at least thirteen of the nineteen items he spoke of could easily be applicable and timely advice for new supervisors or managers. Here is what he offered as advice (where substitute words apply, I have added them in parentheses):
- For beginning ministers (supervisors/managers): Take a good look at yourself, and if you really don't like people, do something else, like get a PhD and teach, be a stock broker, or bureaucrat.
- When you start a new pastorate (supervisory assignment), simply show up, smile, and let the people know you are happy to be there.
- Make no changes for at least the first year. Exception: Unless there is a clear indication that the people (your team) are ready for it.
- If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
- Avoid conflict with the Presbyterian Women. It can be hazardous to your health. (New supervisors - don't stir up the ladies. They have more power than you realize!)
- Listen to your members (subordinates) and respect their stories and history. Many of them have been doing church (working in their jobs) since before you were born.
- Major in preaching, teaching, and pastoral care (coaching, supporting, and showing that you really care about your team). Everything else will fall into place.
- Try not to give the impression that you think the church (this department or work area) was about to tank before you came to save it.
- Don't swagger or smirk. It gives a bad signal. Remember you are a servant.
- Be a friend to your colleagues in ministry (your peers in the workplace). It can be lonely out there.
- Don't pick a fight you can't win. You only waste your capital.
- Avoid an adversarial attitude toward the church members (your work team).
- Let her lay where Jesus flung her. (Don't dig up old issues that need to be left alone).
As Pastor O'Neal has proven, the wisdom of the ages is usually free and willingly offered to the next generation. Our task is to accept, embrace, and implement that wisdom, then pass it on to the next generation as those before us did for us. Hopefully, you will feel compelled to share this wisdom with others in your organization.
Thanks to you, Pastor O'Neal, for sharing your experiences!
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President - Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Square Pegs, Round Holes
Have you ever been in a situation where you just didn't really feel that you belonged in the place or with the group you found yourself in at the time? More than likely you have been there. Maybe it was back during your school days, at a party or social event, or maybe even at a corporate event. Remember that feeling - the "I just want to get out of here" feeling? Most likely, you only stayed as long as you absolutely had to and, as soon as you had a choice, you made a swift exit.
Feeling that you don't belong is very uncomfortable. It's even worse when it relates to your work situation. Many companies lose good employees because they don't understand the relationship between an employee's overall job satisfaction and his feeling of being a valued part of the organization. This is a concept I often refer to as the circle of belonging factor when teaching the principles of employee retention, productivity, and morale. It is based on the idea that one of the basic needs of all people is to feel appreciated, understood, and accepted in their work environment. And, greater than any single factor, it is the relationship between the employee and the direct supervisor that has the most significant impact on whether or not an employee develops a deep sense of belonging.
The loss of a good, productive employee is often accompanied by some head scratching by the management team as to why the employee chose to leave. "I thought he was doing a great job and was happy with his work", says the supervisor. "He said he really liked working for us when I spoke to him on the rig site just last week", says the district manager. Personally, my first reaction to this would be to say "Well, what did you expect him to say??" Most employees, in response to questions like this, are going to give the answer they think their supervisor or manager wants to hear. This is one of the foundational principles of the circle of belonging factor. Only employees who feel they are securely within the circle of belonging will volunteer information about how they truly feel when asked by someone higher on the food chain than themselves.
To help you visualize this circle of belonging concept, imagine a circle with a picture of an employee inside the circle. If this employee feels accepted, understood, and appreciated, he will be squarely in the center of this circle. At that point, your risk of losing this employee is very minimal. In addition, he is most likely one of your most productive and loyal employees, which is exactly what you want. However, if things are not so great for this employee, and he feels that he are not always accepted, understood, or appreciated, he will begin to drift away from the center toward the outer edge of the circle. At this point, his attitude, loyalty, and productivity will begin to decrease along with his sense of belonging. If this pattern of movement continues as a result of a decreased sense of belonging, this employee will eventually move out of the circle of belonging altogether. It's at this point that you will more than likely lose this employee. At a minimum, his attitude, loyalty, and productivity will be very low.
This concept seems to be somewhat magnified in how it affects front-line employees. With higher level employees, there are several factors that minimize the impact of the circle of belonging factor. First, simply by virtue of having been promoted to a higher level position (supervisor, manager, etc.), they normally feel a fairly significant sense of belonging. Secondly, the stakes are typically higher for them regarding job changes. For them, making a decision to leave brings with it a much greater level of risk and uncertainty. Can I replace my current level of income? Will I be able to find a job with the same benefits? Can I find a job with the same level of responsibility and job satisfaction? These are less often major considerations for front-line employees. They typically have less risk involved in a decision to change jobs. Exit interviews with front-line employees in heavy industry jobs often indicate that they may have remained in their job had they been dealt with in such a way as to foster a greater sense of belonging.
The long and short of this concept is simple. If you want to keep your good front-line employees - the ones who get the real work done each day - make sure your leadership team understands the circle of belonging factor. Making sure your employees never feel like a square peg in a round hole will ensure you have the highest potential to maintain a team of very productive and loyal employees.
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
Feeling that you don't belong is very uncomfortable. It's even worse when it relates to your work situation. Many companies lose good employees because they don't understand the relationship between an employee's overall job satisfaction and his feeling of being a valued part of the organization. This is a concept I often refer to as the circle of belonging factor when teaching the principles of employee retention, productivity, and morale. It is based on the idea that one of the basic needs of all people is to feel appreciated, understood, and accepted in their work environment. And, greater than any single factor, it is the relationship between the employee and the direct supervisor that has the most significant impact on whether or not an employee develops a deep sense of belonging.
The loss of a good, productive employee is often accompanied by some head scratching by the management team as to why the employee chose to leave. "I thought he was doing a great job and was happy with his work", says the supervisor. "He said he really liked working for us when I spoke to him on the rig site just last week", says the district manager. Personally, my first reaction to this would be to say "Well, what did you expect him to say??" Most employees, in response to questions like this, are going to give the answer they think their supervisor or manager wants to hear. This is one of the foundational principles of the circle of belonging factor. Only employees who feel they are securely within the circle of belonging will volunteer information about how they truly feel when asked by someone higher on the food chain than themselves.
To help you visualize this circle of belonging concept, imagine a circle with a picture of an employee inside the circle. If this employee feels accepted, understood, and appreciated, he will be squarely in the center of this circle. At that point, your risk of losing this employee is very minimal. In addition, he is most likely one of your most productive and loyal employees, which is exactly what you want. However, if things are not so great for this employee, and he feels that he are not always accepted, understood, or appreciated, he will begin to drift away from the center toward the outer edge of the circle. At this point, his attitude, loyalty, and productivity will begin to decrease along with his sense of belonging. If this pattern of movement continues as a result of a decreased sense of belonging, this employee will eventually move out of the circle of belonging altogether. It's at this point that you will more than likely lose this employee. At a minimum, his attitude, loyalty, and productivity will be very low.
This concept seems to be somewhat magnified in how it affects front-line employees. With higher level employees, there are several factors that minimize the impact of the circle of belonging factor. First, simply by virtue of having been promoted to a higher level position (supervisor, manager, etc.), they normally feel a fairly significant sense of belonging. Secondly, the stakes are typically higher for them regarding job changes. For them, making a decision to leave brings with it a much greater level of risk and uncertainty. Can I replace my current level of income? Will I be able to find a job with the same benefits? Can I find a job with the same level of responsibility and job satisfaction? These are less often major considerations for front-line employees. They typically have less risk involved in a decision to change jobs. Exit interviews with front-line employees in heavy industry jobs often indicate that they may have remained in their job had they been dealt with in such a way as to foster a greater sense of belonging.
The long and short of this concept is simple. If you want to keep your good front-line employees - the ones who get the real work done each day - make sure your leadership team understands the circle of belonging factor. Making sure your employees never feel like a square peg in a round hole will ensure you have the highest potential to maintain a team of very productive and loyal employees.
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
Monday, July 21, 2008
Keeping The Keepers
As we all struggle with the recent downturn in our economy and upturn in the price of fuel (and cost of living overall), many employers are faced with an unfortunate residual effect. Because of the tremendous increase in the cost of driving back and forth to work, many good employees who otherwise are quite satisfied with their jobs are now considering the possibility of finding work closer to their homes.
So what's an employer to do? Giving everyone a raise is not feasible. However, there are some other things that may help to keep your employees in the mindset that your company is a great place to work, even if it is a little far from the home.
When I ask people to tell me what makes their company a great place to work, they typically speak in terms of the overall package, not just the pay and benefits. They usually talk about things like the atmosphere, how they enjoy being with their co-workers, the relationship they have with the manager or supervisor, how the company makes them feel more like family than an employee, how the company has stepped in to assist them or one of their co-workers in a time of great personal need, etc.
Now would be a good time to re-evaluate the benefit of things like an annual family day event, a flexible work schedule, a time-bank program (where employees earn personal time off with pay for perfect attendance), a company sponsored shuttle van service from the outskirts of the city to the office, the promotion of a car pool group, etc. Some of these things cost more than others, but most should be fairly insignificant in comparison to the cost of replacing good employees.
It's times like these, when the potential of losing good employees due to purely economic circumstances exists, that provide the greatest opportunity for employers to beef up their employee relations efforts and solidify that desired perception of being a great place to work, regardless of the distance.
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
So what's an employer to do? Giving everyone a raise is not feasible. However, there are some other things that may help to keep your employees in the mindset that your company is a great place to work, even if it is a little far from the home.
When I ask people to tell me what makes their company a great place to work, they typically speak in terms of the overall package, not just the pay and benefits. They usually talk about things like the atmosphere, how they enjoy being with their co-workers, the relationship they have with the manager or supervisor, how the company makes them feel more like family than an employee, how the company has stepped in to assist them or one of their co-workers in a time of great personal need, etc.
Now would be a good time to re-evaluate the benefit of things like an annual family day event, a flexible work schedule, a time-bank program (where employees earn personal time off with pay for perfect attendance), a company sponsored shuttle van service from the outskirts of the city to the office, the promotion of a car pool group, etc. Some of these things cost more than others, but most should be fairly insignificant in comparison to the cost of replacing good employees.
It's times like these, when the potential of losing good employees due to purely economic circumstances exists, that provide the greatest opportunity for employers to beef up their employee relations efforts and solidify that desired perception of being a great place to work, regardless of the distance.
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/
Monday, June 23, 2008
Stealing Their Time
Recently, I took my family on a vacation to the gulf coast of Florida. We stayed at an RV park with direct access to the beach. The weather was great, and there was plenty to keep us busy. But even in this beautiful setting, and with all of the great family things to do, I found it hard to get myself out of the business mode and focus on vacation.
Many of you who read this will find that it hits very close to home for you as well. With less people to handle greater work loads, increased expectations in higher positions of leadership, and greater competition for fewer valued positions within most organizations, we are all working harder than ever to be the best managers and leaders that we can be.
While there is certainly no shame in being a very driven and dedicated person, we sometimes overlook the need to be equally dedicated to other very important aspects of our lives. Family time, when we are engaged in it, should garner as much of our attention and dedication as work time does. One of the most important tasks we face in our lives is that of raising our children. And just like the relationships we culture and care for in our work lives, we must be constantly vigilant to work on building and maintaining those critical family relationships as well.
The next time you are planning for a family vacation or outing, spend a little extra time ahead of the event laying the ground work to ensure that your focus is as much on family time as it can possibly be. Your family will give you a great performance evaluation for your efforts!
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
www.high-impacttraining.com
www.getsaddlesense.com
Many of you who read this will find that it hits very close to home for you as well. With less people to handle greater work loads, increased expectations in higher positions of leadership, and greater competition for fewer valued positions within most organizations, we are all working harder than ever to be the best managers and leaders that we can be.
While there is certainly no shame in being a very driven and dedicated person, we sometimes overlook the need to be equally dedicated to other very important aspects of our lives. Family time, when we are engaged in it, should garner as much of our attention and dedication as work time does. One of the most important tasks we face in our lives is that of raising our children. And just like the relationships we culture and care for in our work lives, we must be constantly vigilant to work on building and maintaining those critical family relationships as well.
The next time you are planning for a family vacation or outing, spend a little extra time ahead of the event laying the ground work to ensure that your focus is as much on family time as it can possibly be. Your family will give you a great performance evaluation for your efforts!
Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
www.high-impacttraining.com
www.getsaddlesense.com
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