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ONE

You are probably judging the title thinking: here's another reminder on what "one" can do to improve the biz environment. Not totally this time...check this out.

Last week Sara Grace and I were at a favorite restaurant. By now we have gotten to know most of the staff and wow are they an awesome team. The service and emotional intelligence is top notch from each and every person. A "must have" if you are in the service biz. On this trip we had a new waiter - Alex. Not sure why we had not met him before, but regardless it was a pleasure as he treated us like royalty. At one point Alex noticed we were waving at someone across the restaurant. He noticed we were waiving at his co-worker "G"...well Alex waves "G" on over and says to us, "I brought that guy here shortly after I came!" Stay with me here...."G" rolls up and gives a shoulders back, teeth showing, hand extended greeting with pleasure as if we were a joy to him. After initial greetings "G" says -- "yeah guys, Alex brought like 13 people here from where we all used to work!!"

Here is the gig: I said "wow man they must treat you all better over here." He proceeds to go wild on telling us how much better they treat him than the previous place and clearly stated "It's totally about how they treat us here -- like we ALL mean something!" "G" and his comrades knew their jobs were relevant and they felt included as part of the business. There appears to be a Leader behind this crew friends -- a darn good one at that!

We were informed that the previous restaurant they worked (been there too -- very similar menu, ATTEMPTED atmosphere etc.) treated them like crud. "She treated us like we were children and it was awful...we put up with it for about 4 years....when Alex left and came over here and told us about this place...we were gone from her place fast!"

ONE Boss treated her people One way and One Alex gets fed up One last time and leaves to check out the competition where One Boss influences another boss who causes One Alex to call 13 friends to come over to his new house and play and "we" the customer benefit oh so well. I guess this just turned out to be a message where One can impact the biz environment (positive or negative)....Ooops I just cannot seem to get away from that.

You see - associates are like child siblings. When mom and dad may happen to get very angry and go trawling through the house, the brothers and sisters huddle up like puppies and get in a room together, hoping to make it through the tense time. When Slammin Sue Supervisor stays in a funk and treats her people like raw hot garbage -- the associates get in a room together and try and make it through - only they have the option of fleeing the scene for a better place to be.

Are your people huddling up to cheer you on as a leader or are they huddling up to plan their escape? If planning an escape -- It's gonna hurt when Alex leaves and brings the other 13 with him in a matter of days.

I am not sure how this group of Alex's and "G's" did under the tyrannical ruler, but I know they are highly capable and excellent in an environment that enhances their existence! I am ready for another date with my Bride!

How do your people feel everyday? Irrelevant or Relevant, Anonymous (another number) or included?

Application: Spend some time thinking on who might be feeling irrelevant or anonymous and spend the next two months taking a sincere interest in those people. The ripple effect will produce positive results in and from your department.

When Ramping up...Catch Air Together

Is your business experiencing surprising growth right now? Has your business had a surprising growth time in the past? I hope you can answer yes to one of these questions and what a blessing if your answer to both is yes!

I am talking about the type of growth that was totally unexpected - where you did NOT have the 1-3 months of planning before a set launch date, etc. More like a week or two of on-the-fly planning while moving about rapidly to ensure excellent execution.

The natural route is to of course be sure and allocate the best resources to the project. You pick the most capable leaders, associates, equipment, systems, etc. If you have been through it before, you likely have a team you know can deliver during these chaotic blessings of growth...if never having gone through this, you probably pick the ones you feel can handle the task based on current performances, interest, zest, etc. This is all good because the team has to be up to handle the dream.

An unfortunate other natural action of this surprising growth is when the leadership team tends to lose their touch on the front line associates who are locked in for the long haul and long hours amidst chaos. This tends to be the natural issue because the leadership is so focused on every little unpredictable piece of what must go right  and cannot go wrong while operating in unfamiliar territory. They are applaudingly focused on catering to the new customers needs (if only it stays that important is key!) However - go back a few sentences where you forget about the people on your team. Your front line is the group that needs the same level of attention - if not more. Ultimately they are the ones who are going to be handling the daily business when the growth explosion simmers down. They must be enthusiastically enlisted, appreciated and included every step of the way, every day.

Here is your imagery:

You are a radically gifted skateboarder and you are speeding towards launching off the ramp for a boost of insane air. Imagine your people as your 4 wheels. They are allowing you to have the speed that get you to that ramp, they take you up the ramp and explode off the top with you. Imagine something goes wrong at lift off and the wheels come off while your about 15 feet high --- OUCH! You will likely have kids all over the world watching you eat it on YouTube.

If during your explosive growth, your process focus exceeds your people focus. The wheels are likely to come off in mid-air and the landing will not be one of excellence. You have to catch air and land together. During chaotic growth, the stress level is higher for everyone and the management and leadership of the entire team must rise accordingly.

Suggestion: Next time you are faced with the opportunity to grow rapidly in just a moments notice, have someone on your key leadership team with a high level of emotional intelligence whose main role is to rally the troops, empower them, equip them and motivate them every day until the pixie dust settles. Your customer will praise you, your team will have the most fun and more people will be excited to enlist the next time your company is called on to save the day.

Watch what happens when the wheels stay on to remember this principle: Email subscribers go to my blog page and click on the video.

Watch Your Language

Sheesh...where has this guy been you might be thinking? Obviously not providing new posts as much as I would like. Thanks for not jumping ship and we'll get back going here.....

Last week I was in one of my Starbucks offices cramming a few to-do's on the web. I really like to observe quality work environments and find the certain learning experiences that lie within them. You know, who stands out, who has the highest level of emotional intelligence, who smiles the most...pretty much who seems to lead the mood state? Well, in Starbucks case...it's more like who ALL leads the mood state because it is likely to be more than one person who help create the extraordinary environment they are known for. There was one particular young lady...we will call her Jamie. You see Jamie was creating a rock show of leadership and customer service. She was enthusiastic, smiling, productive and attentive to many more details than she had to be. Oh yes, the partners working with her were quite appreciative of her as well. They shared laughter, efficiency and passion was prevalent.

Within my 1.5 hours in the store, the district manager comes by and he as expected is conducting business with the partners in the store, checking on things as you would imagine and fielding a call with what sounded to be uber corporate. Not a bad guy, but something was not right with him.... for all I know he may have been having a tragically grum day. One minute he was trying very hard to seem authentic, the next it was just drab and no not once did I see him smile at a customer. Very inconsistent with his tone is my diagnosis. Well - it went toxic.

District Manager (call him Bil)....Bil calls Jamie from behind the counter to talk with her and to his credit he does spend a moment connecting nicely with her and a smile nearly cracked through (almost dude!). Jamie was receptive and respectful as you would expect from her towards her boss or anyone for that matter based on my observations of her leadership. Bill proceeded her to go and take a look at the front display because "it looks Horrible!"....whoa Big Bill--- watch your mouth! I watched the color in Jamie's face go from vibrant to vile and the mood state dropped to a frigid temperature. Bill continued on with his disruption amongst the crew. He never dropped another nasty negative, but his presence sunk the place.

As a leader at Bill's level - do you have moments where your word choice stands to shatter the positive mood state of the environment you are responsible for? If you have an issue, present your thoughts in a manner that is more respectful than say "horrible" and do not lay the egg of conducting this conversation with Jamie in earshot of your customers or anyone for that matter.

I would have taken Jamie to the dabbling display and asked her how we can make this look extraordinary so it matches the excellence in witch she is doing things already? I could have done this with confidence because I was paying attention to the environment she was creating....not looking for the worst.

My extra advice to the Bill's (no offense if your name is Bill): Read the preface and first seven pages of Primal Leadership by Dr. Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Anne McKee. Especially this excerpt:

"Understanding the powerful role of emotions in the workplace sets the best leaders apart from the rest- not just in tangibles such as better business results and the retention of talent, but also in the all important intangibles, such as higher morale, motivation, and commitment. This emotional task of the leader is Primal---that is, first---in two senses: It is both the original and most important act of leadership."

And yes: Watch your Language...