Category: Values & Motivators

You can tell quite a bit about a leader based on how they conduct meetings. If you can improve the discussions, solutions, and team morale through team meetings, you’ll be more effective at running your business as a whole.

Consider the following 4 things to get more done in meetings:

1.    Clearly define the purpose.

If you can’t establish an objective for a meeting, then you should not hold one. Think through what you would like to convey to your team and accomplish before you schedule the time.

A good rule of thumb is to focus your meeting on S.M.A.R.T goals, which is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound goals. By following this model, you will be able to hold meetings that are beneficial for both your team and the company’s mission.

Meetings should not be a surprise for employees. Send out an agenda in advance for their review so they are prepared to discuss the matters at hand.

2.    Select a decision maker.

Each meeting agenda that is sent out should include the name of a decision maker. This person has a key role because they will help facilitate the follow through and how decisions are carried out.

Leaders must select a decision maker to increase accountability and ensure that action items make it to completion.

3.    Leaders should be role models.

When in a leadership role, your attitude and habits are often reflected amongst the team. Be a good role model. In other words, you’ll want to listen well, be truthful, admit when you’re wrong and ensure that the meeting stays appropriate and on task.

Strong leaders keep commitments. You should always start on time and end on time so that you set clear expectations that are consistent. Staff members will know you mean business and that you respect their time by staying on schedule.

4.    Follow up is essential.

Follow up is an amazing and underutilized tool in many companies today. After each meeting, the leader should send out a memo that recaps the discussion and action items.

You’ll save time, money and have less confusion if you follow up to be sure that everyone is on the same page.

No one wants to waste time in a fruitless meeting where there is no clear purpose or call to action. As a leader, you can accomplish more in meetings if you are intentional, organized, and lead by example.

Remember time is money and should not be wasted! 

Have a fantastic and productive meeting!

We would love to hear your comments. Please comment below or contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

 

Written by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.

Hiring is not an easy feat.

When you try to hire for a manager, the task is even more difficult. The candidate that you select for a management role needs to be passionate, innovative, solution oriented, dynamic and have an exceptional work ethic.

When hiring for a management job you’ll want to look for the following 7 attributes in order to make a great hire.

1.     Positive Attitude

Strong leaders have positive attitudes that show through in their daily actions. They are able to boost employee morale with their pleasant and upbeat energy. Employees see their can-do attitude as refreshing because nothing looks too difficult or too overwhelming with their leadership intact.

2.     Cultural Appreciation

These days a strong cultural appreciation will go a long way in the workplace. Employees appreciate management investing in the culture of the business. Most companies have diverse settings and a manager that embraces and encourages the environment is preferred.

3.     Accountability

Management must embrace being accountable for their decisions and those of their team. Employees respect them and are more loyal for owning up to their responsibilities and accepting accountability.

4.     Honesty is Always Best

Leaders must be honest and transparent at all times in order to be successful. A straightforward management approach fosters better relationships and morale within any team. Be sure to do reference checks on a potential management hire to find out about their character.

5.     Sensitivity

A great management hire should have sensitivity and a keen emotional intelligence. They need to be able to recognize what works and does not for their team members. A sensitive manager would know how to handle each employee and act according to their strengths.

6.     Plenty of Empathy

Outstanding managers are not only considerate but they know how to be empathetic. They consider how they would feel in any situation that they place their employee in. During an interview, ask your candidate how they would handle a personal situation with their team members to help gauge their empathy.

7.     Passion for Learning

The best managers have a passion for learning. They have a constant desire to grow and seek out educational opportunities. Your goal should be to find a lifelong learner so that your business will grow and thrive under their leadership.

You won’t regret taking your time as your hire for a management role. Consider these 7 attributes and you’ll make a solid hire that will add value to your team and company.

We would love to hear your comments. Please comment below or contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

 

Written by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Cost of a Bad Hire

When you need to fill a position, you are often in a time crunch and feel urgent. No matter the need, try and slow down to hire well. The cost of a bad hire is both pricey and hurts a variety of other areas of your business.

Costs Associated with a Failed Hire

In the event that you make a hire that doesn’t work out, you’ll find that the costs associated with this unpleasant situation are not just financial.

Other Costs include:

• Salary loss
• Recruitment time
• Training and education
• Missed deadlines or potential business
• Team morale
• Increased supervision

When you think about all those costs, then you’ll want to avoid a bad hire more than anything. Some of the most trying aspects of the above list are recruitment, training and a greater need for supervision.

Recruitment Process

Whether your company recruits themselves or uses an agency, there is a lot of time invested with recruitment. The process can be long, expensive and overwhelming when trying to recruit top talent.

If your company makes a poor hiring choice, you’ll have to go back through the process all over again.

Costs and time spent include:

• Ad placement
• References
• Criminal and credit checks
• Interviews

Recruitment should be carefully handled and have several people involved during the decision making process.

Beginning Costs

In the beginning, you’ll spend time with your new hire in training, orientation and completion of new hire paperwork. Since you spend so much upfront time with your new employee, it becomes harder to terminate because you’re left with the hope it will work out.

You’ll save time and money by making a necessary change rather than continuing to invest in someone that is not the right fit.

More Supervision

If you hire and the employee is not performing well, then you’ll have to give them more supervision. The problem with having to supervise more is that you’re not able to complete your own job in a timely fashion. This makes the bad hire more costly, frustrating and even hurts other employee’s performance.

Don’t get so rushed in the hiring process that you make a choice you’ll live to regret. Be sure to do more than one interview, complete your company’s hiring process in full and consider in advance the real costs associated with hiring your candidate.

Your HR department will appreciate your care, effort and thoroughness in making a solid hire. The paperwork alone with hiring is a lot for any company to complete.

We would love to hear your comments. Please comment below or contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

Written by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.

Anyone that is a boss, a manager or a leader knows that strong leadership qualities are a must if you and your team are going to succeed. There is so much information out there on how to be a great leader; however, there are also things that should be avoided if you’re in a leadership role.

The 10 biggest leadership mistakes to avoid include:

1.  Forgetting to listen

Leaders have an agenda, a plan and a mission that they are trying to carry out. However, they can sometimes forget to listen to the advice of others. There is wisdom in consulting people for advice and ideas. Listen to those around you and put your heads together.

2. Ignoring the details

Leaders can often fixate on the big picture. The only way you can pull off the ultimate goal is to stay the course and note the details that it takes to get there.

In other words, a leader should avoid ignoring the details. They matter and are what helps you to achieve the overall project or mission.

3. Missing individual successes

Don’t forget to give credit where credit is due. Your team will thrive under a little pat on the back and encouragement. If you miss celebrating individual successes, then you could miss a very important motivator for your team.

4. Slow to change

Strong leaders should be quick to change if it makes sense.  You gain nothing by making the process slow. If you can make an improvement for your team or company, then go for it.

5. Being “incognito”

Don’t get lost! Your employees should be able to find you with ease. If they think you are always gone or unavailable, then you will miss opportunities to mentor them.

6. Skip the micromanaging act

No one likes to be micromanaged. Be sure to hire well and you can skip the constant checking up on them and the getting into every detail.

7. Not communicating well

The goal should be to inform your staff about what’s happening in the company. The less surprises the better for your team. Good communication is important for success.

8. Making things about you

Don’t make everything about you.  Your team will get annoyed and not respect you. Be sure that you are open to helping the team as a whole rather than just you.

9. Not admitting your mistakes

Leaders need to admit when they are wrong and make mistakes. Your honesty with the situation will help your team see you as more human and even more approachable.

10. Not being willing to fire people

Terminating someone’s employment is never a good situation. However, leaders need to be willing to make a change and fire someone when it is warranted.

Leaders should focus on how to lead well but not miss these 10 mistakes to avoid at the same time. Strong leadership is essential to the success of a mission and company.

Contact us today for help finding top talent!

We would love to hear your comments. Please comment below!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

Written by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.

We believe all people have UNIQUE TALENTS + SKILLS of which they are often unaware. Clear Focus LLC exists to REVEAL + HARNESS this talent using the SCIENCE OF SELF®

Let us show you how… Contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.