Tag Archives: michael lee stallard

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Help Colleagues in Need

Smiley face balloons looking up representing positivity

#53 Help Colleagues in Need

It connects with people when you reach out to show you care or help them during a time of need. The Beryl Companies has “Beryl Cares” to monitor the needs of employees and coordinate a response.

If you learn about a colleague who is sick, or has a serious illness or death in the family, respond in an appropriate way. Perhaps you could send a card to let him/her know you are thinking of him/her and offer to help if needed.

This is the fifty-third post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

Photo from Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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How Leaders Can Guard Against Unethical Behavior

When leaders behave in ways that violate ethical norms and harm customers, it has a devastating effect on connection and employee engagement. A quick glance at business news headlines shows the extent to which unethical behavior has become a problem today. Many of these unethical practices seem to defy common sense, such as the restaurant owner in China who made headlines for lacing food with opium in an effort to get customers to return.

The best leaders, whom we at E Pluribus describe as servant leaders, maintain a mindset that they serve employees who in turn serve customers.  This mindset inspires them to excellent performance and helps protect them from drifting towards unethical behavior.

If leaders don’t maintain this mindset, they are likely to start serving themselves, which makes them vulnerable to drifting into unethical territory to beat competitors and maximize personal wealth, power and status. Ironically, this mindset only diminishes personal wealth, power and status because unethical behavior sabotages sustainable superior performance once a business’ reputation is tarnished.

How do you protect yourself from the temptation of unethical behavior? Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.

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Connect Others Through “Flash Mentoring”

Employee connection with leader

 

#51 Employ “Flash Mentoring”

One way to match mentors and mentees is to ask them to commit to meet just once to see if both parties “click” (or “connect,” if you will) and if the mentor believes he/she has the knowledge/expertise and sufficient time available to meet the mentee’s needs and expectations. If both parties agree to continue, they should agree to a set number of additional meetings rather than leave the term open-ended. Unless both mentor and mentee agree to a set number of additional meetings, there is no commitment to meet again. “Flash mentoring” was a term coined by K. Scott Derrick in his work with 13L, a group of federal employees who share a passion for leadership excellence.

This is the fifty-first post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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How to Save “The Shack”

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RadioShack is on the ropes. What can be done to save it?

Over my career I’ve seen this scenario several times.  Xerox comes to mind.  In 2000, when Anne Mulcahy became Xerox’s CEO, the company was nearly bankrupt.  Her leadership helped save it.  In 2012, I spoke with Ms. Mulcahy in a series of interviews about how she led Xerox’s turnaround.  She described three behaviors that were similar to how A.G. Lafley led the turnaround of Procter and Gamble, how Howard Schultz and Howard Behar led the turnaround of Starbucks and, more recently, how Alan Mulally led the turnaround of Ford.

Our firm’s research over the past decade found these three behaviors in leaders who achieved long-term superior performance. The behaviors brought about an extraordinary degree of connection, community and unity so that people pull together rather than retreat to protect self-interest. Stated another way, these leadership behaviors create a team that pulls together and protects the culture from spiraling down into a dog-eat-dog environment.

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Celebrate Your Organization’s Culture Through a Blog

Women working on laptop at home

#50 Create a Blog to Celebrate Your Culture

Create a blog or intranet site where colleagues can post positive examples of people who live out the core values of your organization.  This provides employee recognition, encourages everyone to bring the values to life, and spreads positive examples and practices.  For example, see the “Nuts About Southwest” blog at www.blogsouthwest.com.

This is the fiftieth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Leaders: Don’t Forget to Make Time for Q&A

Disengaged employees explaining employee engagement to their boss

#49 Make Time for Q&A

If you directly and indirectly lead a large number of people, set aside times for people to ask questions that you then answer.  You can have people anonymously submit questions or just ask them during the meeting.

Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International, called the sessions he held “Open Forums.” Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS Institute, holds sessions like this that are referred to as “Java with Jim.” Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL, had people email him questions that he answered on his blog so everyone could see the question and his response. The founders of Google used to do this each Friday at the “TGIF” meeting by having people email questions that are then posted on Google’s intranet. Google employees would vote on the questions and Google’s founders would answer the questions that receive the most votes.

This is the forty-ninth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Connect With Your Direct Reports By Helping Them Find Mentors

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#48 Arrange for Peer Mentoring

A great way leaders can serve their direct reports is by making peer mentors available for those who want to improve in a specific area of competence or character. Select a mentor who is strong in the given area, and make the introduction. The mentor does not necessarily have to be someone at a higher level in the company, but should be someone knowledgeable about the area and willing to help others grow.

This is the forty-eighth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Cut the Strings: Provide Autonomy in Execution

Smiling leader talking to employee

#47 Provide Autonomy in Execution

Monitor progress and be available to help your direct reports but refrain from “micro managing” unless they ask for specific help. This meets the human need for autonomy that allows people to experience personal growth.

This is the forty-seventh post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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What CEOs Can Learn from Alcoholics Anonymous

Change-Direction

By Michael Lee Stallard and Colton Perry

As seen on Fox Business.

Change is hard.  It requires energy and effort. Some people relish change; most resist, consciously or unconsciously.  For them change is uncomfortable at best, painful at worst.  CEOs who want to effect major change have their work cut out for them.

It might not be an obvious place to look, but CEOs can learn about successfully implementing change from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Beating addiction is no easy feat. Seventy percent of addicts relapse within one year.  Since its founding in 1935, AA has helped many alcoholics change their attitudes, language and behaviors to resist drinking alcohol despite the extremely unpleasant sensations of withdrawal.  Clearly AA is doing something right because presently it is helping more than 2 million members in 180 countries.  How does AA do it?

Here are three insights from AA’s approach that CEOs need to understand if they are to succeed at changing their organizations.