Are You Asking Questions of Yourself? Here is Why You Should!

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Your Best As a Leader Depends on Your Questions

We love answers! We want to know! Why has the term “Google It” become so popular? Because it is a quick and easy way to find answers. Type in a phrase or keyword and in a flash Google gives you results. Lots of results!

Outside of Google, how do we find the answers we seek?

We ask questions.

Questions Get to the Basics

When I took a class in journalism at the University of Central Florida (GO KNIGHTS!) they emphasized that a journalist always seeks to find answers to the certain details about a story. The answers are covered with the acronym WWWWWH. That’s Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

WHO is involved in the story?
WHAT happened?
WHEN did it happen?
WHERE did it happen?
WHY did it happen?
HOW did it happen?

If you answer those questions you have told the reader most of what they want to know. Everything else is details.

Applying Questions in Life

I’ve kept that idea and tried to apply it to my life. In general I try to use questions as much as possible to learn, to discover, and to get clarity.

Sometimes I ask those questions of others. Most of the time I ask them of myself.

As a leader, we need to question ourselves often. Not the questions of doubt and deceit. Those are the questions that are meant to tear down; to break down our confidence, destroy our purpose, and rationalize choosing the easier path.

The questions we need to ask are ones that build, that focus, that reinforce our confidence, reaffirm our purpose, and show us a path no matter the difficulty. According to John Maxwell, author of Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, asking questions provides several benefits:

You Only Get Answers to Questions You Ask

Seems obvious, right? But amazing how often we don’t ask questions about what we want or need to know.
Questions Unlock and Open Doors that Otherwise Remain Closed

Peter Drucker once said, “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.”
Questions Are the Most Effective Means of Connecting With People

Have you ever stopped to ask directions from a stranger, say when your GPS is lying to you? How many told you to go away without giving you directions? Not many I would bet. A simple question generates interest.
Questions Cultivate Humility

When I was fresh out of college with my degree, I felt I had to have all the answers so I never asked questions. The more I learned, the more I learned what I don’t know. Questions help me discover that even more but helps me learn faster.
Questions Help You Engage Others in Conversations

Look at talk show hosts. Their entire existence revolves around asking questions of celebrities to start a conversation.
Questions Allow Us to Build Better Ideas

What we discover from others leads to great things. When I work with clients I use this to help them improve their workplace.
Questions Give Us Different Perspective

When we want to do things differently we have to see things differently and overcome our assumptions.
Questions Challenge Mind-Sets and Get You Out of Ruts

We settle into the familiar. Asking questions like “why” and “why not” can disrupt our status quo.

Start with Questioning Yourself

I recently read a blog about the 11 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Day. It was impactful and insightful. Unfortunately, it is on a subscription service and I am not able to share it here. If you want to find it yourself, the subscription program is called Maximum Impact Mentoring.

That was 11 questions and that may seem a bit much. Most of us complain we don’t even have time for breakfast, much less time time to go through a bunch of questions every day. Eventually you want to get there but in the meantime…

Let’s Go Simple

The statesman and philosopher Benjamin Franklin has been said to guide his life by asking himself two questions. In the morning he would ask himself, “what good will I do today?” and then in the evening before going to bed he would ask “what good did I do today?”

Simple and if you think that’s enough for you, that’s great, go for it. If you want it more customized to your role as a leader, however, let’s try something else. For best results, I recommend keeping a journal. Use Evernote (my favorite), a diary app, or just a spiral notebook or composition book. Every day, set aside 5-10 minutes and ask these questions. Modify them based on whether you do this in the morning or evening.

What did I learn yesterday (today)?
How did I add value yesterday (today)?
Who do I need to recognize today (tomorrow)?
How will I focus on my strengths today (tomorrow)?
Who will I show appreciation to today (tomorrow)?

Do you ask a lot of questions? How did not asking questions cost you? How can you make sure you lead with questions?

Share your comments here or email me at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com.

Why Employee Engagement is the New Black and How to Make it More Than a Fashion Trend

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The Number of Employee Engagement?

I seem to find that number a lot.

Preparing to write this, I do a Google Search for Employee Engagement and set search parameters to only list items posted in less than 24 hours. I get 70 results.

Employee Engagement is the new BLACK.

That’s why so many employee satisfaction surveys have been renamed to engagement surveys.

It’s why Engagement Software is becoming a new niche industry.

And then there is this. The other places where I see the number 70.

Survey Says

A Gallup Survey shows that 70% of employees are disengaged or not fully engaged in the workplace.

Another study shows that 70% of customers leave because of poor customer experience. In other ways, they become disengaged.

In a large way, these were wake-up numbers for many. They may have looked at how they attempted to do more work with less people and found that actually they weren’t doing more with less. They were doing less. A Cornerstone study showed 68% less.

So the conclusion we can draw from all of this is that engagement is a critical factor. In fact, employee engagement has a direct relationship to customer engagement.

In fact, a 2016 study by the Temkin Group found that companies with a more engaged workforce scored significantly better on customer experience ratings than those with less engaged workforces. Customers with a great experience stay.

[tweetthis]Employee Engagement has a direct relationship to customer engagement. [/tweetthis]

More Than a Trend

So Employee Engagement is the new black. Or at the least the buzz phrase is.

Many organizations, however, don’t seem to really understand what engagement means. Let’s take a look at the data we shared above.

When we talk about customer engagement we also use the word “experience“. We worry about the customer experience because we know that a negative experience repels customers. Even one has a big impact. It’s recoverable, but only when we act to make it right.

We should also worry about the employee experience because it impacts THEIR engagement.

When we add to their workload because we eliminated the positions that used to do that job, we create a negative experience.
When we try to “keep them in their place”.
When we seek to “fix them” as a manager once requested of me.
When we create a culture that discourages independent thought, values youth over experience, values tenure over productivity, or values gender over contribution.
Even when we value customers over employees we create the negative employee experience that leads to disengagement that leads to negative customer experiences.

We create great customer experiences, however, when we focus on creating great employee experiences. We do that by creating a culture that both equips and encourages our employees to insist on their best and do what it takes to provide the superior customer experience.

A key word there is EQUIP.

You can’t expect a carpenter to drive a nail without a hammer (or nail gun today). It would be unreasonable to expect a cook to make breakfast without food supplies and kitchen tools. You can’t expect anyone to provide a great experience without having the tools.

What are some of the tools we need to provide for a great experience, whether for an employee or a customer?

Identified Core Values
Make it clear what we stand for and what is non-negotiable in everything we do. For employees it helps them understand the guidelines under which they are to operate and interact with customers.
Communicated Expectations
People work best when they know exactly what is expected of them. We establish that by constantly sharing our expectations in both our words and our actions, as well as letting them know what they can expect from us.
Personal Connection
People want to know that they personally matter. She’s not employee #100. She is Liza who makes a major contribution to our excellent customer service standards. He is not customer #347568. He is Charles who has done business with us for the last three years.
Appreciation
With that connection, they want to know that it makes a difference to you. Recognizing both informally and formally what someone does in the workplace on a daily basis shows appreciation for it. Reward what your desire. If you want consistent, above average performance, recognize it freely and frequently. If you want a customer to come back and buy again, show recognition for this visit. T-mobile thanks me for being a 15+ year customer every time I call them. It’s little yet goes a long way.

Is employee engagement more than just a buzzword in your organization? What are the things they do to prove that? What are some of the great experiences you have had? Share your thoughts here or email me at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com.

Leadership Lessons from Uber’s Corporate Culture Fail

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Leadership Starts with Culture

Uber’s corporate culture problems began long ago. You could probably say they began at the beginning.

The corporate culture in Uber from the beginning was one of “always be hustlin'” and “stepping on toes” according to an article in BGR. In a culture that hinges on that philosophy, you can expect that there will be personality conflicts. In addition you can expect harassment and abuse. It creates a no-holds-barred atmosphere where the only thing that matters is winning and crushing the competition.

What results is an eventual disintegration of the organization and the business.

Lack of Strong Corporate Culture Brings Disastrous Results

What’s resulted for Uber with this?

Most recently, the resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick.
Earlier in this year, the departure of 7 additional senior executives.
Sexual Harassment Lawsuits.
Uber drivers attempting to organize AGAINST Uber.
200,000 users delete the Uber app from their phones in protest to Uber’s actions during the NY Taxi Driver protest
The apparent revelation that Uber has implemented systems to circumvent the law

Uber’s problem is clearly a top-down problem. It has created a poisonous corporate culture that has now put the organization in it’s current position of NO SENIOR LEADERSHIP at it’s most critical moment.

Before we go too far to eviscerate Uber management, however, we may want to see another picture.

More importantly for us than what Uber has done wrong is what we can learn from it and do right.

How Can Leadership Do Better?

Here’s some of the basic leadership lessons I see:

Establish Core Values Early

It seems clear that a lack of real values exist in the corporate culture at Uber. When your primary drivers are to “Always Be Hustlin'”, promote “Meritocracy and Toe-Stepping”, and “Principled Confrontation” you easily fall into the trap of justifying behaviors for the sake of organizational success. Which is precisely what happened.

Case in point. Susan Fowler‘s blog post back in February of 2017. in the post she revealed alleged harassment and other abuses at Uber; along with a virtually powerless Human Resources department. When Fowler complained to HR about the manager she reported to directly propositioning her, she expected immediate results. Instead, she was told that while it was clearly sexual harassment the manager in question would simply be given a “stern talking to”. Why? Because he was a high performer and they didn’t want to ruin his career.

Core values place priorities where they belong and provide a barometer for the actions of every department and every employee.

I’m not a big operation right now, actually I’m barely a small operation. However, one of the first things I did when I started was to determine what was most important in what I do. I value trustworthiness, relationships first, and adding value to everyone. Through that, I can then gauge every word and every action around that. Anything that might jeopardize my trustworthiness, sacrifices relationships, or fails to add value simply is not appropriate. Failing to meet any one of these values is a deal breaker.

Set a Higher Standard for Senior Leadership

Whatever behaviors you expect out of your employees has to be not just exhibited but MAGNIFIED by leaders. This is especially true at the executive level.

Years ago I worked for an organization that in the business unit in which I worked started a large Total Quality Management campaign. Each and every employee not only had to develop a personal TQM statement, it had to be posted outside of their cubicle for all to see. I won’t even get into the insanity of creating cubicle world to promote total quality; that’s another talk for another time.

What made it fail was the lack of consistency at the executive level with this. Employees observed actions that were executed that seemed to fly in the face of most of the TQM principles. The reasoning then became that if they didn’t buy it, why should we?

Each senior leader needs to set the bar high for themselves because perception will always be a microcosm of reality. In other words, they will only see in their minds a small measure of what you actually are. If you want to promote trustworthiness, there is no room for moments where you aren’t so trustworthy; otherwise the perception is that you aren’t.

[tweetthis]Whatever behaviors desired in employees must be MAGNIFIED by leaders. #values[/tweetthis]

Place a Priority on the Care and Nurturing of Your People

Employees feel when they are NOT valued. They also feel it when they ARE valued.

Unless you are in an organization where the only person who ever talks to or serves a customer is you, then your employees are the real face of the organization. They will treat customers no better than they themselves are treated. So it only makes sense to place first value as a leader on your employees.

The Law of Reciprocity kicks in here. Treat people with respect and trust. Care for them professionally and personally. Help them get ahead. In return, they will commit more to you and the organization and treat your customers with respect and care.

Plan and Cultivate a Line of Succession

Teams (companies, organizations, throw your own word in here) of any size run in cycles. Leadership should and will eventually change. The ones that sustain success are the ones that have planned for that.

Excellent teams have intentionally cultivated people to assume greater roles.
They have embedded the core values in them.
Leaders train and coach them.
The Leaders have challenged them.

When that eventual change occurs, it’s almost seamless because the core values are still there. Even if some of the style changes, the core does not. The alternative is chaos while new leadership is identified and put in place; as well as for a long time after.

What do you think are the lessons learned here? How can leaders better ensure that behaviors are appropriate and consistent?

How I Stopped Whining and Started Leading

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Learning the Secret to Solving the Problems Leaders Have

New Job – New Leadership Challenge

It took just one month out of college to discover a secret of leadership.

I had worked at WUCF-FM as a college student being as it was the campus radio station at the University of Central Florida. I was on-air talent, producer, News Manager, and other roles. When I graduated, they had a need for a Radio Manager – a professional who would oversee all operations of the station. They weren’t offering a lot of money, so people who were much more qualified for it than me turned their noses up at it.

I got the job.

Problems Begin

Just a few weeks in I started to have some substantial problems with one on-air talent who had a certain disregard for some station policies. The problem festered until I went to the General Manager and complained in an exasperated voice about how I thought I needed to fire this guy.

I won’t forget what he said.

The General Manager, his name was Keith Fowles, puffed on his cigarette and then turned to me and said “No!”

That’s not the significant part. He followed that up with this.

“Paul, you can’t fire him because the problem is of your own making. Firing him won’t fix your problem, it will simply eliminate one symptom of it.”

And then he said what stuck with me all these years.

“Remember this: management creates all the problems. Management is also the only one who can solve the problems.”

It made perfect sense to me! I hope you see it too!

The Secret Sauce

Still today, I use the brief and pointed phrase to share with leaders all over ….. with a little twist.

Poor Leadership creates all the problems. Excellent leadership is the only way to solve the problems!

[tweetthis]Poor Leadership creates the problems. Only excellent leadership can solve the problems![/tweetthis]

You see, it doesn’t matter what the symptoms of your problem are today they had their source in poor leadership decisions. When we make poor leadership decisions we create situations that negatively impact our team’s performance and growth. And I can personally say I have been guilty of many of these decisions like what you see here.

Adding the wrong member to the team
Undeclared expectations on team members
Not equipping the team to achieve excellence
Not removing unproductive members
Failure to challenge individuals and the team to perform
Changing performance targets
Not recognizing excellent performance for individuals and the team

And the list could go on. While each of these sounds like a management problem – and in some cases management plays a part – they are actually leadership problems. What makes them leadership problems is that they involve decisions and not necessarily process. If I add the wrong member to the team because I wanted to fill the role quickly, or I didn’t ask the right questions, or I ignored the red flags, then that is a problem with the decisions I made and not the process. In other words, the process didn’t necessarily fail me, I failed the process.

Using the Secret to Move Forward

Once I came to terms with taking responsibility for my role in the problem, I was in a much better position to resolve it.

I would like to say that we made friends and everyone lived happily ever after.

No.

But we did manage to co-exist and he actually went on to do some cool stuff for the station. Stuff that likely would not have been done if I had just fired him in an attempt to fix my problem.

Do you agree with the statement that “poor leadership creates all the problems and excellent leadership is the only way to solve the problems”? What philosophies have you learned over the years that have helped you?

Leave comments here, or text me at 321-355-2442 or email me at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com with your thoughts.

New Name: Boldly Lead!

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If you have visited here before you may have noticed the change in the name of the blog from Discover Leadership! to Boldly Lead!

There were two good reasons for this:

There is a training company called Discover Leadership and I did not want people getting us confused.
Boldly Lead is more in line with the brand and the attitude of this blog.

Of course, you can also visit our website: BoldlyLead.com and check us out on Facebook (Ahhamoments), Twitter (BoldlyLead), and LinkedIn (Paul Simkins).

Since I have your attention here, can I ask a favor from you?

Can you drop me a line at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com and let me know what kinds of topics on employee engagement and leadership you would like me to address here? It is very important to me that this blog remain relevant to your needs.