Are You Ready to Hire Your First Office Manager pt. I

Save Yourself a Lot of Headaches, by Putting the Correct Foundations in Place!

When you hire your first office Manager, you can avoid a lot of problems by putting the correct foundations in place.  First off, the manager MUST be rightly positioned.  Making sure their behavioral style matches the needs of the position, and that the skills, knowledge, and training of the person fits their responsibilities.  A lot of headaches can be avoided right here!  Then, they must have a clearly written, and understood job description which includes:

• Their specific responsibilities

• Attitudes expected of them

• Compensation the company will be providing

• Holidays and/or days, and sick leave

• When performance reviews will be given to them

Continuing education should be provided so that they are continually upgrading their leadership skills.  This should include how much the company is willing to invest in their training and/or materials.  You can’t manage poorly communicated expectations.  Every time I go into a company to consult, or provide executive coaching, and the manager is frustrated with the owners, it is invariably these items which were loosely agreed upon, and not put in writing. If this is the case, you will eventually experience conflict over what the Office Manager expected and was told, as opposed to what the owner remembers he/she said.  They need to be given the company handbook detailing the

• Mission

• Vision

• Values

along with the job descriptions of the employees they will be managing.  They must have a crystal clear understanding of how to support, train, monitor and encourage their employees.  Problems can be averted by setting the correct foundations at the beginning.  Having a clear understanding of their responsibilities, will avoid any need to micro manage as well!

Done right, you will have more time to do the things you love doing, which is why you became a business owner in the first place!

End of pt. 1

 

ARE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY MAKER, OR AN OPPORTUNITY WAITER

The secret to maintaining or building momentum in your business during a lull, is to create fresh, exposure!

I’ve learned to never underestimate the simple power of giving of yourself freely, weather by speaking, training, or working behind the scenes. As a business owner, I give of my time strategically, and sparingly. Although, when I first started out in business and needed exposure, or when I’m in a lull, as many experience during the holidays, I would drum up opportunities to present. One such event occurred on a Saturday where I gave a presentation to a small network marketing group on understanding and building one’s business utilizing “Behavioral Styles” DISC to market, sell, and build one’s business and team. Little did I know this would open up “the” and I mean “THE” opportunity of a lifetime. After this small 18 person training was over, a local business consultant approached me proclaiming he need my assistance on a project where there was considerable conflict among the executives. He brought me in to use DISC to resolve the conflict and build cohesion. I ended up not only providing conflict resolution with these executives, but team building, communication and listening strategies throughout the whole organization. It wasn’t until I was done, having worked with them for three years, that I discovered that this wasn’t just a billion dollar public works engineering project, but the largest engineering project to hit the Phoenix Metropolitan area for the next 50 years. And how did all this happen? It all came about because I said yes to a training where I was pretty sure no one would be able to hire me. This truly was one of the best experiences of my career. I gained invaluable experience, saw monumental results, and all the while built my brand and resume. The moral of this true story is; don’t despise small beginnings, in other words, you may be a part of a:

• • Small networking group

• • Training or speaking to a network marketing group

• • Boy Scout event

• • Or even donating time to a non-profit organization in need

It may just be the opportunity for you that, will create critical mass in your business and launch your career to a whole new level!

YOUR COACHING MOMENT: During this holiday season, where you may be experiencing a lull in business, ask yourself:

1. How can I gain exposure?
2. What do I need to do to “make things happen” where you touch lives with your expertise and at the same time gain exposure ?

Ask yourself how you can BE an OPPORTUNITY CREATOR:

• • Where can I speak or train where they may know my target market,

• • What group needs a leader, support person, or board member?

• • Who could I collaborate with that compliments my skills and abilities?

• • What non-profit needs assistance that allows me to shine while I serve?

Oh, and on another note, you can take it to a whole other level and bring others with you. Now you’ve got an opportunity to create a party!  Doing projects together, just plain rocks.  Ultimately, be sure to provide valuable, relevant information and/or superior service that’s notable enough for others to talk about.

STAY TUNED: A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IS COMING SOON! Read more

Peak Performing Employees Have Great Managers

Who Take Responsibility For What Is, And What Is Not Working!

Once you have discerned what’s not working, what you do about it says what kind of leader/manager you are. If you have discovered your employee is not doing an adequate job of their position you could:

• First and foremost find out “WHY” they aren’t performing up to par. Unless you know the why, you can’t fit the right solution to the cause.
• Be sure they understand their job description, what is, and isn’t expected of them. Obviously this means you have a well thought out, thorough “Job Description”.
• Be sure there are standards of operation in place, which they are aware of, along with ways to monitor their progress, or lack thereof.
• Institute specific employee motivators. See the book: “Love Em or Leave Em” and “1,001 Ways to Reward Employees“.
• Be sure their “Behavioral Style” fits their role. Contact us to provide you with a current DISC profile.  You can also profile the role with a “Roles Analysis” to be sure the person fits this element of the job description.
  
• Provide or send them for more specific training to fill their current gaps in knowledge or training.
  
• Or, provide an internal or external coach to assist them in creating an appropriate development plan.  This will also give extra accountability to the employee to make the needed changes.
  
• Move them into a department that fits their skill sets, behavioral style, education and passion.
• Allow them a certain period of time to upgrade their skills, take a college courses, or become certified.
• Be sure there isn’t conflict with their manager. More people leave a company because of their direct manager than any other reason!

If  none of this works, their skills and or attitude don’t change, find someone who will. Move on, and remember this: “Some will, some won’t, so what, next!” There are certain things you can’t provide, and one of them is the motivation to change. If you’ve given them an atmosphere conducive to growth, believe that they can do better, support and encouragement to change, with motivators and de-motivators along with the proper training, you’ve done everything you can. Find someone who will appreciate the support and training you provide.

Remember, if you want peak performing employees? You can by following the system above.

How to Develop Your Leadership Destiny?

BE THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR OWN FUTURE

“If you build it, they will come.”  We all know that famous line from the movie, Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner, but what does that have to do with developing greater levels of skill sets?  I guarantee you, I can do that now that I’m over 50 you know,whatever you learn, add, develop, and acquire as a leadership skill set, you will one day be extremely glad you did.  For example, I became proficient, and the local resident expert on DISC, a way to understand one another’s and your own behavioral style 30 years ago.  I could, and still can, spot not only one’s primary style, but their secondary and probably third.  I can then use this knowledge to communicate better, motivate, coach, lead and develop this person to become a stellar employee or team member. It started out as a fun, enjoyable “knowledge set” I learned in my early 20′s to understand myself.   I’ve used that one skill for 30 years to do recruiting, retention, performance reviews, training, team building, and conflict resolution.  It’s taken me from working with a solo entrepreneur to a billion dollar project.  My husband has done the same.  He learned Spanish fluently while in High School, as well as while living in Guatemala and Mexico.  He is now, after doing a major job transition, using it on a daily basis in a great government job.  And because of it, he’s making 10 to 15 thousand dollars more a year all because he knows Spanish.  His intent was not to learn it to for work, he learned it because he enjoys language development and usage.

I’ve found, the more I learn, the greater I am in demand.  What’s better, is that the skills and knowledge I continue to acquire I genuinely enjoy.  What better way to work than to create and chart your destiny yourself.  Doors now open up around my skills sets, and because of them.  So where should you begin?  As  a new leader, the first skill I would recommend you learn would be “Communication Skills“  and all that tangles around it.  If you learn to communicate clearer, listen better, affirm people more effectively while they speak, the outcomes will be greater CONFIDENCE in yourself, TRUST from others, and you’ll be seen as one that “CARES” a rare commodity in the world of leadership and coaching.  All this will launch you into better, more profitable, challenging projects.  So I’ll say it again, Build it, and the opportunities will come.

Seven Steps to Grow Into Leadership?

LEADERSHIP CAN BE LEARNED

Can leadership be learned?  What do I need to do to gain influence?  These are two typical questions I receive repeatedly by those who have been promoted to positions where they need to direct, inspect, recruit, retain, and inspire people on their team to get a job done.  Yes, I believe leadership, to a large degree can be learned.  But first you have to:

1. Be teachable
2. Be willing to get out of your comfort zone and learn to take an interest in others as much as you do in accomplishing a goal or project.
3. Develop good listening skills.
4. Find a mentor, a coach to bounce situations  off of.
5. Read, read, or at least use your car as a rolling university and listen to books on CD;
6. Learn about Behavioral Styles, DISC!  A great too in your arsenal.
7.  Own your mistakes, say you were wrong, therefore, leading by example.  They will appreciate you more  if they know you’re human, and able to step up to the plate and take responsibility.

As a young leader I enjoyed multiple projects launching simultaneously.  I remember one time I was almost finished with am assignment and had already begun strategically preparing to catapult into the next program when three people approached me.  They were upset that I had volunteered to take the next role, leaving them behind.  I didn’t get it, they were all upset about me leaving.  It wasn’t until one of them took me out to coffee, and explained that they were on the project because I was leading it, that it dawned on me.  I was on the project for the satisfaction of a job well done.  Isn’t that what everyone’s motivation is?  As far as I was concerned, it had been a resounding success and I was moving forward.  They were on the project to be around me!  Wow, what a revelation.  It was then I discovered people join things for different reasons.  It was a real shock, and wake up call.  It would have never occurred to me that people were there for any other reason than to get a job done.   Learning DISC was the beginning of a lifelong journey into understanding the values, motives, and differing styles of people.  This knowledge alone has transformed my life and lead me into projects, places and opportunities I could have never envisioned.  This understanding has given me the knowledge needed to recruit, retain, motivate, correct, and direct people in small and large projects.  If this intrigues you, and you want to know more, check out the tele-class workshop coming up the end of June.  I guarantee, you’ll never be the same!  Go to the EVENTS page to learn more, then sign up on the SIGN UP pag and take the challenge.  The people challenge that is.  It will become one of your very greatest tools in your leadership career.

Three Steps To Greater Confidence

BE AN INTENTIONAL LEADER

Everyone seems to know it, the minute someone walks into the room with the aura of confidence, it’s unmistakable.  But how do you learn to exude this leadership trait without coming across arrogantly or superficial?  Here are three simple steps.

1. Begin leading through your strengths.  Realize what and who you are, and then build upon it like a master architect.  No matter what it is, if you see it as a strength, others will as well.  They’ll feel your confidence, and be able to rest in your assurance.  Trust me, I’m telling you now, they’ll begin following  you.  Have you ever been around someone who when making a decision you weren’t sure about, but because they were so convincing, you got behind them, trusting their intuition.  This is exactly what I’m talking about.  Let me give you an example.  My son is tall, very tall.  In fact, he’s 6’7″ and he sees it as a strength.  Because he does, others follow suit.  His self assured nature didn’t inhibit him from entering in, or being approachable.  Conversely, I’ve been around tall people and I could tell they considered it a hindrance, a liability, and you sensed they were insecure.  Therefore, for them, it was a liability.  Why, because they projected an unassuredness about them.  This leads me to the second step.
2. Make a line down the middle of a page of paper and on the left side write down your behavioral style characteristics, skills, and experiences.   Now on the right side I want you to write out how those qualities and experiences can be (here’s the key), and are, positive in light of the position you’re in.  Really, take the time to work on this project.  Remember, a negative behavioral quality is many times only a positive attribute taken to the extreme.  For instance, if you’re considered lazy.  Laziness is at times a lack of focus or knowing what to do next so the person does nothing.  The more confused a person may become, the more others may label him/her as being lazy, when in all actuality they are unsure of themselves or don’t know what’s expected of them.  The key to this step is to work on transforming what would normally be negative, into seeing it as a positive. Get help from those closest to you if you become stuck.
3. Now, read this list every day for 30 days.  Why do I say 30 days, because it is a well know principle that a habit is formed or broken in 28 to 30 days.  Meditate on how you can use your personality, skills and past experiences to propel your leadership influence, by becoming convinced yourself that you have it in you to be the best leader you can be.   And, you’ll find the more you read this list, the more you’ll begin to believe it.  The more you believe it, the more confidence and trust others will attribute to you.

It may have been an accident that landed you in this position, don’t let it be lack of confidence that takes you out.  Be intentional and you will grow into your leadership role!

How my Leadership Ladder was Climbed

Part I  WHY AM I THE “ACCIDENTAL LEADER”

Why is this blog called “Confessions of an Accidental Leader”?  It’s because I myself never set out to “BE” a leader, or to be “LEADING” leaders.  It was a natural progression of my interests, passion, and personality 30 years ago.  It began when a friend shared that if you read 7 books on any one given subject, that you would be considered an expert in that field.  While recuperating from surgery, I attempted just such a feat by consuming anything I could get my hands on regarding the behavioral styles method called DISC.  From there, for fun and personal enjoyment I began sharing the information informally with groups.  People found it instantaneously fascinating, and particularly helpful, so I was soon asked by friends and their husbands to conduct workshop for their office staff and employees.  What started as a hobby, launched me into the arena of entrepreneurship,  consulting, coaching, training on team-building, conflict resolution, communication and ultimately leading.  I’ve since become certified in a myriad of applicable competencies see: www.dpdwebsite for more information on my journey.