Playing Hurt

Whatever happened to the days when team members could be counted on by other team members no matter what? I know they do not grow warriors like Cal Ripken, Jr. or Brett Favre on trees, but has the expectation to "play hurt" for the overall benefit of the team dwindled in recent years.

Okay, let's step out of the realm of pro athletes for a second. What is the expectation among your team? Do your team members pick up the slack for one another when one member is unable to perform? Do folks in your office or on your team readily volunteer to cover vacations for one another? A deeper question to ask yourself is just how much of a role does the quality of leadership play when it comes to the willingness to "play hurt?"

The culture of team-building is a tricky science. A mentor of mine used to refer to the "team" as an ongoing science or chemistry project. That analogy always kept the dynamic of team-building fun. Proper planning, goal-setting, levels of accountability and a low-tolerance for poor performance are all critical in formulating the winning team. Do you want your team-members to "play hurt?" If so, they need to know exactly why they should be laying it all on the line at all times. What is the mission, the vision, the end goal? In professional sports this can be obvious in the form of a championship, a legacy or a Hall of Fame induction. In the business world, this is often up to the team leader to define, plan and execute. Does your team clearly understand and support the goal? Are they zealots? When people are passionate about their work, they execute at higher levels of performance. Part of a leader's responsibility is to be constantly stoking this fire. A unified goal, cause or mission will go a long way to creating a "playing hurt" performance culture. Which will in-turn go a long way in helping the team exceed performance expectations.

"As long as I can compete, I won't quit. Reaching three-thousand is not the finish line as long as I can contribute." – Cal Ripken, Jr.

You: Defined

How would you define yourself in terms of your most special set of skills? Better yet, how would others describe your professional expertise in one word or phrase? Want to better differentiate yourself from others? Find your one special skill and begin to build a professional brand around your expertise. Are you the "Sales Guru," the "Tech Expert" or the "Get Things Done Person" in your office? If so, build upon this image. If you have yet to define yourself or carve out your special skill within your organization, it is time to give this simple process some thought. In today's employment environment, it is important to increase the value you bring to your organization. Build your own personal brand within your organization. Put forth some effort on this simple yet effective project and you will see positive results. Go ahead; carve out your special niche. The extra effort will also help you in terms of working on your own professional development. Never, never stop investing in your own development. Make sure you learn and work to develop yourself each and every day.

What is your one special skill? How would your boss, peers or direct reports communicate this to you? Are your own thoughts similar to the feedback you receive? If you answered no, why not?

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

Never mind searching for who you are. Search for the person you aspire to be. ~Robert Brault, http://www.robertbrault.com/

Investment of Time

When you are in a leadership position you are subject to getting things done through others. It can be easier, less aggravating and ultimately quicker to follow the old saying, "If you want something done right you do it yourself." While a do-it-yourself mentality certainly works well for some, in my opinion it is not a practice to which effective leaders can subscribe. Leaders have to have patience to allow for those that they are leading to learn to execute. This also means that at the beginning stages of leading or teaching new projects or skills there will be a greater investment of time in getting the job done correctly and up to the leader's standards. Leaders have to allow for failing-forward and the potential for errors or less than perfection based on their own standards. A mistake creates a learning opportunity. Effective leaders use these instances to teach, coach and counsel. Of course, the leader's ultimate goal is that, in making this investment, he or she will be able to completely hand-off the responsibility for accomplishing said tasks and be confident that they will be executed properly.

The next time you catch yourself wanting to take the reigns, be prepared to permanently hold on or start looking for the person who is willing to learn and who will show continuous improvement and profit from his or her mistakes.

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it." -Andrew Carnegie

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." -Theodore Roosevelt

Perception Versus Rejection

In our professional careers, we come across many different types of individuals with a wide ranging number of personalities. Most of us will find that we gravitate towards some and away from others. It is only natural and human that you will ultimately want to spend more time with certain individuals. Unfortunately this is not always the best mix for success in business. Even the individuals with whom you may not get along (at any level) have the opportunity to contribute value in the form of good ideas if you keep an open mind. Make sure you do not automatically discount the ideas of individuals for whom you may not be fond just because of your own personal perception of that individual. Even though they are not someone that you would enjoy spending time with away from the office does not mean that their ideas and ability to contribute are any less. In fact, this interaction can sometimes provide good balance for you when making key decisions.

I am not saying that there is great value in always being a contrarian or to seek out those who always tend to disagree with you. There does after all need to be some form of "team fit" for an individual to be a successful part of the team. Just be careful not to discount a good idea because of the individual who came up with it in the first place.

212 Degrees

A colleague of mine sent me a link this morning that took me to a video on a site called Just212 that was very inspirational. The point of the site/video is to use the fact that it only takes an increase of one degree in temperature to create boiling water which creates steam that can power a locomotive. That analogy spills over into how you approach your profession, your home life, your existence. You can order the book 212 The Extra Degree, authored by S.L. Parker, from this site. After viewing the video, I am compelled to order his book to read more about the 212 concept. Has anyone already read this book? If so, what did you think?

Do you have room for one additional degree worth of effort in your performance? How the "degree" looks and feels based on your profession could differ greatly, but there is little doubt in the fact that extra effort pays off. The pay off could be in separating your own performance from your peers in order to progress in your profession, it could mean attaining higher commissions or more bonuses, etc.

All too often people use the fact that they have too much on their plates as a way to justify their performance or lack thereof. I frequently ask those folks if they do not want to further advance their career. I ask this question because undoubtedly any advancement will bring the need for additional responsibility, not less, which means more of a demand of one's time. What people often forget is that as they move up in their profession the game speeds up (football players use this analogy to describe what it is like to go from playing college ball to pro ball).

I think using 212 degrees as a way to communicate the fact that a little extra effort goes a long way is right on target. If watching the very creative video doesn't increase your temperature by one additional degree due to getting fired up you might as well be in a professional coma.
In these days of "recession" and "tough times" it will be the individuals, the businesses, the organizations that take the 212 degrees approach that will not only achieve success but will also create separation from the competition. Define what effort and responsibilities you perform on a daily basis that are the most important to your success, and turn up the temperature!

Let’s say you are an inside sales representative. If you average 25 sales calls each day and average one sale per day and increase your daily calls by five per day you could increase your total number of sales by one additional sale per week. Here at Employment Guide Media this small increase in activity could mean as much as an additional $5,000 or much more in annual income.

This reminds me of an exercise I used to conduct with my team when I was a local manager leading our efforts at the St. Louis Employment Guide. Together we would conduct an income check-up that would in essence be a backwards math exercise that would take our great sales team (they are great!) through the process of understanding what they would need to commit to in order to hit their personal financial goals. We found this to be a great way to create a game plan for each member of the team, because each individual had different levels of expectations and goals related to their personal incomes, like wanting to purchase a new car, or buy their first house, etc. I was impressed with how clear everyone's personal goals were that were tied to their finances. You might find this exercise of great benefit to you personally or to your team. It was always clear through these kinds of exercises that effort created opportunity and increased opportunity led to obtainment of personal goals.

Take your effort to 212 degrees verses 211 degrees and see if it makes a difference in some aspect of your life. Where can you apply this practice and make the biggest difference? At work? At home? Give it a shot. What do any of us have to lose by putting forth a greater effort and being the best that we can possibly be at everything that we do? Let's be difference makers!

I have also added a video that I found on You Tube that also promotes the 212 philosophy.

Headlines

There have been a lot of headlines in the news of late about the condition of our economy, the fact that we are in a recession, or are on the verge of one, companies laying off workers, hiring freezes, etc. How you lead a business through these kinds of conditions is going to determine the ability for your business to ultimately be successful in the future, or not. One of the immediate moves of a business in a recessionary period is to cut expenses. This is obviously smart and for most businesses is an ongoing practice even in the good times. I was recently emailed a good newsletter distributed by The Recruiter's Digest and written by Bill Radin that I feel outlines some pretty good steps to take, and although they are referring to the recruiting industry, their recommendations can apply across all industries and leadership positions. Here is a copy of the article and a link for you to view it on Mr. Radin's site which also offers other resources and tools for folks in the recruitment industry.

Learning from Past Recessions by Bill Radin (Source: Recruiter's Digest April 2008 newsletter) If you've never experienced a recession, here are 10 things you should know:

1. Jobs that made you rich in good times can make you poor in a recession. This is especially true with mid-level positions, in which duplications in skill sets or job titles exist within a single company.
2. You may need to switch from a "delivery" business model to a "value-added" model. If your business depends on delivering mass quantities of average-quality candidates or you do little to add value, you'll find it harder to compete.
3. Some job markets and desk specialties will be spared. Case in point: After 9/11, when job cuts were rampant across the board, certain job markets, such as defense contracting, construction and legal services, actually thrived. If you can identify the markets left standing, they can be your lifeline.
4. The greater the supply of "active" candidates, the more valuable "passive" candidates become. Since layoffs flood the job boards with unemployed or marginal candidates, you'll need to brush up on your cold calling skills and find creative ways to source top-flight candidates who are currently employed.
5. Employers are more cost conscious. As a result, you can expect more pressure to reduce your fees, and for hiring cycles to slow to a crawl. And as more recruiters fight over fewer jobs, you'll need to tighten up your "ownership" rights to candidates; otherwise you'll fight more frequent battles over who gets paid.
6. Candidate marketing will become more common. Most employers will throw out the rule book if you bring to their attention a candidate who can make an immediate, positive impact. If the candidate has enough sizzle, employers will find a way to make the hire, even if they have to create a special position.
7. Your time management becomes more critical. With fewer positions to work on, you'll need to be highly selective about which assignments will give you the greatest return on your investment of time.
8. Weaknesses in your selling skills are more exposed. Recessions leave little margin for error. The better you are at qualifying, closing, handling objections and making presentations, the more efficient you'll be with respect to converting activities into income.
9. A recession is the best time to be in the recruiting business. I know this sounds counter intuitive. But look at it this way: When times get tough, the weaker recruiters will wash out with the tide. If you can weather the storm and find ways to gain market share and build your reputation, you'll be positioned to grow as the market recovers.
10. Cash flow is everything. Learn to control your spending or make cuts in your budget. Otherwise, you might end up working with your back to the wall.No doubt about it: A recession is a buzz kill. But it can also be a great teacher, because it humbles you and makes you more aware of your weaknesses. If you can stick it out and learn from your mistakes, you'll make tons of hay when the sun shines again, and you'll be more immune to future downturns.

Very compelling!

Now back to my opinions...

If I were to add to the list of ten items above, my contribution would be to increase your level of activities and focus on what has the most obvious link to driving your business. Are sales activities the best driver of your business? Is it association involvement? Maybe even attending trade shows? Find what works best, clear your schedule of all other time consumers and focus on what is going to allow you to build your business. The businesses and leaders that are going to emerge on the other side of the current economic conditions on top of their industries are going to take some calculated risks to gain market share and increase their customer counts. This will be successfully accomplished by being wise with where their organizations focus resources and by taking necessary risks to grow their market share and ultimately their business.

What activities are the most important to your business? Are you investing all of your time focusing on this most important aspect of your business?

Sound Leadership Principles

2008 is going to be a year in which many professional leaders at all levels of organizations separate themselves from their peers by way of producing excellent results within industries that are cyclical in nature. It is increasingly important that those in leadership positions have made a concerted efforts to plan their strategies for the year well in advance of whatever current market conditions might be, while remaining sensitive to the fact that (since we live in a business climate that changes faster than the leader of the current presidential primary elections) their plans will need to be constantly reviewed and updated throughout the year.

Below is a list of ten sound leadership principals we can all follow as leaders (at all levels) that become increasingly important when faced with challenges.

• Stay positive - Make sure that those that you lead understand your plans and initiatives to navigate the tough times, while simultaneously keeping the focus of the organization on proper execution of basic fundamentals and celebrating successes.
• Identify solutions, not just problems - When you find something that is not working or is need of repair, be prepared to offer suggested solutions to the problem in lieu of just being someone who comes across as always pointing out the negative.
• Catch your folks doing something right - You will be encouraging the type of behavior or accomplishments that you want among your teams.
• Listen - I mean really listen. Give those that you lead your full attention when you are engaged in conversation. Not only will this give you a better sense of the pulse of your organization, it will send the message that you care.
• Have high expectations - You have to keep yourself and those within your organization focused on performing at higher levels of success. This means you, too. Make sure the people that you lead see that you are willing to go the extra mile. If you expect more from your people, it will increase their willingness to roll up their sleeves while putting on their company hats if they know that you are also going to be in the trenches.
• Quickly identify and lose any and all dead weight - Constant poor performers, under-achievers, bad attitudes, constant complainers and negativity can quickly be a big drain on those in your organization that are getting it done. Identify it and remove it quickly. Not only will overall attitudes improve quickly, but you might be able to afford to pay your top performers better if they can absorb the workload that was being put forth by those who did not possess the will do or can do or simply did not fit in with the team or organizational culture.
• Put the right people in the right jobs - People are happier when they are doing what they enjoy. Have you ever promoted a top performer into a new capacity just to watch as they struggled in their new role? You will also need to take the time to hire the right people the first time.
• Invest resources in what works and quickly - If your organization is not focused on the ongoing research and development of your next big initiative, your company is at risk. It might take trying twenty different products, strategies, and initiatives in order to find the next $10 million dollar business. Keep developing product, and get it to market fast.
• Get your organization lean - Healthy organizations do not waste resources. Find where and on what you might be spending money that you can live without and get rid of the waste.
• Reduce your stress - Be sure to make time to recharge your batteries. Don't forget to make time for yourself and your family. Exercise, eat healthier, go for a run, read a good book, go for a family walk around the neighborhood, etc. A healthy mind and body will afford you the ability to make better decisions and will provide you with increased energy.
  

I am excited about the initiatives The Employment Guide has in store for 2008. These include launching HealthCareerWeb.com, the introduction of video job postings and many other great initiatives, as well as the ongoing development of new products to meet the needs of our customers well into the future.

What other sound principals that you utilize would add to the above list?

"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been." - Henry Kissinger

Professional Resolution

The process of establishing a New Year's resolution is very similar to the goal setting process. Two key aspects of developing a resolution are writing it down and the fact that it is time sensitive. New Year's resolutions are typically personal in nature, but I have found that using this process in business can be an effective means by which to lead individuals to establish personal work-oriented goals.

If you are in a leadership position, you can resolve to mentor or work on the development of the individuals that you lead. You might also resolve to improve one area of your leadership skill set to a new level. This could include the improvement of listening skills, organizational skills, presentation skills, writing skills, etc. If you lead a sales team, you can use this exercise to have each member of your team establish a resolution that would be activity based. Agree to be your sales team's income coach throughout the year to keep each person on track to hit their personal income goals by measuring activity. This can be broken down into individual resolutions in the areas of increasing the number of sales calls being made, number of prospects being called or improving his or her ability to execute a sales call from the opening to wrapping up the sale, etc. This will not only demonstrate your interest in his or her success but your commitment to helping in the obtainment of their income goals. Weekly one-on-one meetings with your team can have a segment in which you analyze each team member's progress towards staying on track to achieve their income goal. This will mean establishing new activity-based targets throughout the year to act as a road map to success against the backdrop of, say, “If you do this you will be on track to hit your income goal for 2008.”

A side benefit of this process is in the fact that each member of your team has a vested interest in following your direction. Weekly coaching sessions do not include, "Your activity levels are too low...make more calls," which in my mind is a lot like a track coach running behind a runner yelling "run faster" (doesn't work). Instead, your coaching sessions now sound more like, "Your goal is to make $90,000 in 2008, and based on your sales and activity levels, you are not on track to hit your goal. However, let me show you that if you increase your efforts (here and here) you will get/be back on track." This is a great example for sales representatives, but this process can also be imperative in developing goals for those in leadership positions who (verses higher commissions, etc.) might aspire to achieve higher levels of responsibility. Therefore, developing a resolution that is focused on their professional development over the year could make this individual a better candidate for any promotional opportunities that might arise in 2008.

I have yet to finalize my own resolutions (professional or personal) for 2008. Professionally, I do know that I am going to continue to be a student of leadership and continue working on my own professional development. Reading a book each month on leadership is a good option and one that I am considering. Attending seminars on leadership is another good option. Personally, I am giving some thought to training for and running in a marathon. I completed my first half-marathon in 2007 and feel as though this could be the year that I could cross "run a marathon" off of that proverbial "life list." I only have a couple of days left to make a decision. The Chicago marathon in October could be the ticket...

What is your professional resolution for 2008? How about your personal resolution? Have you ever used this process in the establishment of goals for those that you lead?

Happy New Year!

Best regards,

Jeff Littlejohn
Vice President and General Manager
The Employment Guide

Core Purpose

The second part of defining your organization's core ideology is in identifying your "purpose." The "core purpose" as defined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, the authors of Built to Last, follows:

Core Purpose - "The organization's fundamental reasons for existence beyond just making money - a perpetual guiding star on the horizon: not to be confused with specific goals or business strategies."

The purpose of an organization should be able to act as a guiding light to inspire an organization for a substantial period of time. It should be of a nature that it can never be fully achieved but yet continually pursued. You have to "get at the deeper more fundamental reasons for the organization's existence."

What is the core purpose of The Employment Guide? It is to provide information, tools and resources to help people find jobs and employers find qualified people within niche recruitment segments (i.e., hourly, health care, transportation, etc.).

The combination of your organizational core values and core purpose is what makes up your core ideology. It is important for the people who make up an organization to have an understanding of their responsibilities and how their efforts tie into the core ideology of an organization. This is also a good way to evaluate prospective employees. Do they "fit?" While this may or may not be uncovered during the interview process, an environment or culture that is self-sustaining or has a high level of self-accountability will quickly move to expunge individuals who do not share the fundamental organizational beliefs of the organization.

What is your company's core purpose?

Core Ideology

I recently had the book Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras recommended to me by a business colleague as a must-read. One of the guiding principals throughout the book, which uses what the authors label as "visionary companies" as examples throughout the book, is that in order to set your organization apart from the competition, you must clearly identify your organization's "core ideology." While this is detailed out at great length in the book, I walked away asking myself the following questions in order to get to the answer for our business. What are the fundamental items that make up your organizational DNA? What are the underlying guiding principals of your company that will not waver in the face of economic or financial issues? Here are the results of our discussions:

• Do what is best for our customers.
• Be honest and ethical at all times.
• Develop our future leaders and promote from within.
• Have high expectations and a low tolerance for poor performance.
• Run lean while maintaining a high level of fiscal responsibility.

Our original list of items was about 30 deep. We had to go through a series of eliminations as well as discussions among some of our key folks in order to chunk this list down to the five aforementioned items. While we are still in the refinement process of ensuring this is truly "the" list for our organization, I feel compelled to share what we find through this process and share my own thoughts with you along the way.

You could even do this from a personal standpoint. Ask yourself the same questions about your own person and you can identify your self-core ideology. Pretty interesting. If you are an entrepreneur, you could even incorporate your self-core into your business core. What a great way to keep your passion for your business alive and well.

What I like the most about this exercise is that makes it pretty easy to streamline the decision making process. If something goes against your core, you do not pursue it. While we all live in a business climate of healthy change, it is important for businesses to know why it is that they exist beyond the underlying concept of making money. If you want to build a "visionary company" as Collins and Porras mention in their book you have to exist for a "purpose beyond profit." This will provide for a much more "clear vision and sense of direction" while maintaining a "pragmatic pursuit of profit."

The next step in this process is for us to identify our core purpose as an organization. On the surface this seems pretty easy. We shall see, as I plan to open the issue up for discussion among some of our leadership folks here at The Employment Guide.

While I find these exercises especially intriguing as I just finished reading the book, I also see a great benefit in taking our leadership team through the BTL process. So far, we have benefited from the depth of the discussions and have a clearer sense of direction or vision for our organization.

Did you come up with a list of three to five items that make up your own personal core ideology? If so did you encounter any surprises?

Thanks for your time.

Jeff Littlejohn

Change and No Change

Let's face it, most publishing companies that operate in the classifieds business or within one of the classified verticals are undergoing a transformation from being traditionally print to electronic media oriented (at least the ones that hope to still be around in the future). We at The Employment Guide are no exception to this transition. As we become more knowledgeable about what the future of our business will look like and what that means to us as an organization, we have a better idea of how to navigate the directional waters to realize increased levels of success. It is through the acquisition of this knowledge that we will continue to differentiate our products and services from the competition and excel at meeting the needs for our customers (both job seekers and hiring managers/companies).


While the change that we are experiencing as an organization is fascinating and is a very exciting journey that everyone is embracing, there are still certain aspects of our business that need to remain the same, primarily our ability to execute. Proper execution is one of the best competitive advantages for us as an organization (coming in a close second behind the talented folks that make up our employee complement). The process of unifying our direction from the field level up to the senior management team has given us a profound competitive advantage in the past and will continue to do so in to the future. Our best ideas inevitably come from the field, our local employees on the front lines or even from our customers. A quick look back over our history reveals this to be true. We got into the job fair business via a customer's request. Here we are more than 1,000 job fairs later still reaping the benefits of following that suggestion. Another thing I like a lot about our organization is in the ability we have to adjust to the current business climate. This is an exceptional trait for any business but is critical when you operate a business that is cyclical in nature. Let's see: labor industry - employment advertising - cyclical in nature? DUH! This is also a great place to insert that we do not utilize this as an excuse for lack of execution but as another factor in determining our next best course of action.


It is my opinion that you can take quality leadership skills, sound decision making and quality operational skills and apply that across just about any industry and you will have a recipe for success. The secret ingredient on achieving a high success factor is in the passion and individual desire to be successful (not only for an individual, but for an organization as a whole). This is something that definitely starts at the top, and I am not exempt. I for one am very excited about the direction we are heading as an organization. I enjoy greatly talking about this with new recruits and current employees. As a former field general I can tell you that the thing I enjoy the most is getting back out in the field and speaking with our talented group of folks all over the country. It was, is and will continue to be the strength of what makes The Employment Guide successful, as well as truly differentiated from the competition, in fact all competitors! The journey that we are on is exciting. The transition we are experincing as an organization is one of the coolest things I have professionally been in a position to oversee.


So, as we experience organizational change and explore new directions, some things will not change. Mainly, our ability to properly execute will continue, which includes maintaining a strong bias towards the ongoing development of our people (who remain our greatest strength).


Do you embrace change, new concepts and ideas, or are you more of a traditionalist?

Needle in a Haystack

Why are good people so hard to find? Is it due to leaders setting their expectations too high? Is it a matter of modern day economics? Could it be more related to the emergence of a sense of entitlement among the professional workforce? More than likely all of these things are contributors to not being able to keep businesses staffed at a desired level of employee complement.

So what are some of the things successful leaders are doing to ensure their company has the employee fuel it needs to make a push to higher levels of success? First they are making sure that their message is the right one to attract the best type of candidates, as well as those who are most qualified for the position. (If this is currently a challenge for your business, you can contact one of our 57 Employment Guide offices across the country, and we will work with you to make this a reality for your business.) Leaders are also taking advantage of social networks and building a community that can aid in their ability to reach out to talented folks with their opportunity. It is keeping your hiring managers engaged in the process of constantly building their teams and not just waiting until they have an opening. It is also being on the lookout for talent no matter where you are at any moment over the course of the day. When was the last time you handed out a business card because you came across someone with a highly transferable skill set that could translate well into your industry or occupation? The organization, more specifically the leadership within an organization, that has the responsibility for staffing their operations with those skilled individuals who can do all of these things will be the one that sets itself apart by finding the best talent (often referred to as the proverbial "needle in a haystack").

In my opinion, no matter how automated, electronic and avoidance-natured our business culture becomes, the most successful organizations will always point back at their people as the primary reason for their success or demise. Leaders who understand this will make sure their organization will have the greatest opportunity to always possess and attract the talent needed to drive results. What tools are being used to accomplish this goal all come down to the specific needs of the business and leadership that is is steering the organizational ship.

What are you dong to attract the talent you need to drive your results?

Leaders Learn

If a leader expects their organization to be centered on the development of its people, he or she needs to be personally engaged in the process of improving his or her own skills and knowledge level. Effective leaders utilize all of their resources to accomplish this, including followers who can elevate their ability to be informed and make better business decisions. By having a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each team member's talents, a leader can better tailor his or her search and interview questions to find qualified people who will improve internal resources.

We have all heard the saying, "You are only as good as the people with whom you surround yourself." I know I am surrounded with the most talented folks possible who are a complement to my skill set. These are individuals on my team that I can lean on for advice, direction and knowledge and who are engaged in the leadership and direction of our business. Personally, I am on a professional development journey that I do not expect to end. Learning and growing professionally makes what we do fun. Even more enjoyable than the learning process is the benefit of being able to teach increased or new-found knowledge to others to effectively elevate our organizational knowledge level. Leadership development or the continued development of the leader transcends into an organization being centered on the continued development and professional growth of its greatest resource, its people.

What have you done recently to work on your own professional development? How have you utilized your new-found knowledge in developing your people?

Buy-In First

In order to effectively lead you must first be passionate about the mission. The leader's passion and desire to succeed must also be bought into by the individuals that are going to play a role in achieving success. So how does a leader go about gaining "buy-in" from their team? What about when going into a series of discussions the leader already has a good idea that the individuals on his or her team are going to be reluctant to rally to a leader's cause? My recommendation is to first speak directly to your team leaders individually and then as a group. After gathering all your team leaders' opinions, empower these individuals to act as sounding boards and to play a role in the development of the business plan or strategy to accomplish your goals or the goals of your organization. Another piece of advice is that you do not rush this course of action. Permitting others to participate in the advancement of your cause can take time, and you need to schedule your agenda through proper planning to allow for the "buy-in" process.

Once your team leaders are bought into and have ownership over the cause, the rest of the process comes about quickly. Set a time to meet with your entire team and lay out the framework for accomplishing your task or goals. If you are met with resistance, the leaders on your team will step in to support and defend your position and aid in leading your team to rally around the cause. The other great aspect of this process is that, if one of the team leaders does not quickly jump in on his or her own accord, you can call on the individuals who are on board to share their opinions with the group. Once everyone hears how the leaders within their peer group fully support your efforts, you will quickly gain "buy-in" from the remainder of your team.

This application may seem basic and more of a refresher for many, but all too often leaders try to impose implementation without following this procedure, and that ends up creating problems. Take the time needed to execute the "buy-in" process first so you can properly execute your business strategy. Ultimately this will save you, as the leader, valuable time by not having to continuously to look over your team's shoulders to ensure proper execution.

How have you gone about gaining "buy-in" from your team prior to a new challenge or task? Do you use a different process when it comes to special initiatives as compared to daily activities?