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/

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/

A Balancing Act

I have recently been working with a client who wants to create a new incentive program for a group of his employees. Simultaneously, he also wants to create a progressive discipline policy for violations of the company's safety policies. In considering the development of these two items simultaneously, I have also been reflecting on the delicate balance between incentives and discipline-based policies.

Creating an environment that fosters the greatest productivity at the same time as fostering a disciplined environment where employees understand and respect the policies that keep everyone safe and provide fairness and consistency in employee matters is quite a balancing act. I have seen organizations swing too far to both sides of the fence. Those who concentrate too heavily on incentives run the risk of creating an expectation that employees will be paid above and beyond their base wages for any extra effort they may put forth. While incentives are certainly a good idea and can often promote exceptional productivity among work teams, they can also be over-used and create complacency about performance incentives.

On the other hand, too much focus on discipline-based policies can create an atmosphere of oppression and mistrust. When the employees only hear about what they must not and cannot do (lest they violate the policy), the message often creates an undesirable "us versus them" mentality. Companies with union workforces often fall into this unfortunate pattern due to the policy-heavy nature of collective bargaining agreements.

Those companies who strike a wholesome balance between providing incentives for exceptional performance and reasonable, fair, and consistent policies to maintain discipline and order in the workplace usually have the greatest productivity, team orientation, and highest morale among their workforce. Just as the greatest level of personal health is achieved by balancing proper diet and exercise, a proper and reasonable balance between incentives and discipline-based policies is the key to a healthy and productive team.

Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
http://www.high-impacttraining.com/
http://www.getsaddlesense.com/

The Round Up - Evaluating The Situation

Thinking back over your own career, how many times do you remember having a performance evaluation where your supervisor or manager spent no more than about twenty minutes with you, told you a couple of areas where you needed to improve, asked you to sign the evaluation, and that was the end of it? Sadly, for most people, this is more likely the norm than the exception. Most organizations do have some sort of employee performance evaluation system in place, but many are not designed to really achieve the primary result of improving work habits and performance, as well as, the secondary result of strengthening the relationship between the employee and their supervisor or manager.

Consider, for just a moment, the idea that most organizations take only one opportunity annually to let their team members know where they stand regarding their work habits and performance. And even at that, they don't really take an adequate amount of time to hold real dialogue with the team member as they review the evaluation. In reality, the performance evaluation process, if handled properly, provides some of the most fertile ground in which to foster personal, professional, and team growth with your team members.

The next time you are faced with the task of conducting a performance evaluation, ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I really prepared for this process? You may need to spend more time in considering how you will handle sensitive subjects such as personal issues that are affecting work habits or performance. It is also a good idea to have a peer help you to prepare by playing the role of the team member you will be evaluating, especially if there is a possibility of high emotions. This will help you get a feel for how you will handle the situation ahead of time.

2. Have I properly adjusted my focus? In preparing the evaluation, it is fairly easy to focus on the past few weeks of performance. You need to make yourself adjust your focus to see the bigger picture of how the team member has performed over the full course of time since the last evaluation.

3. Are there any potential surprises? Truthfully, there should never be any surprises in an evaluation. Anything that merits discussion in an evaluation (undesirable work habits or performance issues) should have been worthy of some sort of mention prior to the evaluation. When we hold onto issues and wait until an evaluation to discuss them, the team member is usually confused about why it was not discussed with them when it occured. It usually makes them question why it is a problem now but apparently was not a problem then.

4. Have you made sure the setting for this discussion is appropriate? Make sure to meet with the team member in a setting that is both comfortable and allows for a thorough meeting that is free from any distractions for either of you.

5. Have I set aside adequate time for this meeting? This is so important - don't rush through the meeting! I encourage that you allow at least 45 minutes for a performance evaluation review. I usually spend no less that a full hour on this part of the process and believe it is worth every minute of it. There was a time when I did those "quicky" reviews, and I usually got "quicky" results - the kind that fade away as quickly as they show up. When I began to spend much more time with the actual review process, I started seeing much more significant results and finding that my team members showed a genuine appreciation for the extra time I spent with them. Without a doubt, there was a higher level of trust, respect, and loyalty as a result.

6. Have I committed to a follow up to the review? Be sure to schedule a follow up with the team member to revisit the issues, the action plan you both agreed to, and to see what progress has been made. The time frame for this follow up can vary, depending on the issues. However, I would encourage that you don't exceed about six weeks at the most for any given issue. Without a follow up, there is a deminished level of accountability on both sides to ensure that the action plans are followed.

The obvious goal of a performance evaluation system is to improve the work habits and performance level of your team members. But don't miss out on the secondary goal - building a stronger relationship with your team members.

Mike Purcell - Speaker, Trainer, Author
President, Compass Performance Group, LLC
www.high-impacttraining.com
www.getsaddlesense.com