Recruit, Inspire & Retain

While reading Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive & Others Die, I immediately thought of the messages we send out about working in our companies — whether in our formal recruiting info or informally. In an interview w/Motivation Strategies Magazine, one of the authors, Chip Heath, had these things to say:

My Definition of Stickiness
"Our definition of sticky is that people understand the message when they hear it, that they remember it later on and that it changes something about the way they think or act. So there are a lot of good ideas in the world that haven’t been turned into sticky ideas – a lot of business memos or PowerPoint presentations, for instance. People absolutely don’t remember them, and they certainly don’t change the way people think or act."

What’s Needed for a Sticky Message
A memorable message doesn’t necessarily have to include all of these, but the more of these qualities it shares, the more likely it is that the message will be remembered:

• Simplicity. The core message is both simple and profound.
   
• Unexpectedness. It generates interest and curiosity by overturning expectations.
   
• Concreteness. The message is put in terms of sensory information and human actions.
   
• Emotions. It should tap into people’s feelings.
   
• Stories. The message makes use of a short, coherent story or stories.

Getting Onboard With Your New Leader

An often-overlooked aspect of assimilating a new external executive into a company is not getting that person onboard with the organization but vice versa. When the new executive takes the reins of leadership, the question then becomes whether the team is ready to be led.

Every seasoned manager comes into a new business with a sense of excitement and anxiety. There's excitement about the opportunities promised during the interview process and anxiety in discovering the unknowns.

A newcomer might experience a love-hate relationship with the new team and peers — the organization loves the fresh perspective, new ideas and new practices but hates that the new person just won't leave things alone. The new leader wants to lead change.

One of the best tools to overcome resistance to new leaders is a set of assimilation questions. Although deceptively simple on the surface, these questions can help a new leader and the organization in profound ways. They are based on the notion that meaningful relationship building and an open exchange serve as a solid platform for leadership.

Kevin Wilde, vice president and chief learning officer at General Mills, uses four key topics with leaders and their teams about two to three months into the new job:
 

	What does the team know about the leader? What does the team wish to know? Some new leaders are better than others at self-disclosure. Teams are more willing to trust and follow leaders when potentially sensitive topics are covered early, in a direct way: Background and Career. What were the leader's most developmental jobs? Who were their most influential bosses? How long does the leader plan on staying in the role? What's next? Communication Style and Preferences. In person, e-mail or voicemail? Scheduled or drop-in meetings? Headlines or detailed messages? Likes and Dislikes. Everyone has pet peeves and preferences. Must meetings start and end exactly on time, or is a bit late OK? Should problems be reported early or only after potential solutions can be offered? Expectations and Direction. What results are most important to achieve? Short-term? Longer-term? How do other senior managers view the team, the situation and what needs to change?
	What does the leader need to know about the team, and how does it like to be led? Getting team members to talk about themselves facilitates the group bonding with the new leader. Discussing how the team prefers to be led allows it to describe many of the topics the leader shared in the previous questions such as communication styles and preferences.
	What challenges might the leader face? Part of getting a team onboard with a new leader is having the group put itself in the place of the leader. This topic builds empathy and a bridge to the new leader. Groups often link challenges with what the leader has shared about goals and expectations.
	What are the team's challenges and potential solutions? The challenges the team shares can provide the leader with an inside view of the team's thinking, including how the team views its situation in the organization, their pressures and creative approaches to consider.

Helping Execs Be Better Presenters

From the CEO and founder of Fast Signs, Gary Salomon:
I’m not a natural public speaker, but I have steadily gotten better at it over the years thanks to a lot of practice and a willingness to work hard to improve. I am always willing to give my presentation in front of people who can assist me and provide guidance.

Training is a big part of our culture at FastSigns International Inc. Each year, our training department holds a presentation-skills training session in preparation for our annual franchisee convention. As part of that training, presenters are required to submit notes detailing what they want to include in their PowerPoint presentations, and then a person on the training staff schedules training with all presenters so that they have an opportunity to rehearse, receive constructive feedback, and work toward becoming a stronger and more confident speaker.

If this process isn’t easily replicated in your own organization, or training is not part of your corporate culture, my advice is this: Let these "challenged" speakers watch their own performances on video so that they can see for themselves how invigorating they are. If that doesn’t make the point, hire a third-party presentation expert to provide training and assistance.

One way to sell the idea of hiring an outside consultant is to inform execs that based on across-the-board learner evaluations, all staff within the company could stand to make some improvements. Then have the third-party expert come in and evaluate and critique every person’s presentation, not just the CEO’s. If your execs aren’t willing to spend the money on an outside trainer, establish an internal review committee tasked with evaluating video of all staff presentations and providing constructive feedback.

If your execs are so out to lunch that they aren’t willing to accept assistance or constructive criticism, then they have bigger problems than just presenting. If that is your situation, I’d either find another company to work for or simply accept the fact that you and the learners may continue to suffer "Death by PowerPoint."

We’ve helped hundred of executives and other staff improve their presentation skills. If you need help, call TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC. at 800-469-3560 or email cbt@trainingsys.com.

The Gallup Organization has identified 12 questions to ask to determine if the level of employee engagement is where it should be. The company says its "Q12" system is based on findings of hundreds of companies and millions of employees it has gathered data on in the past 20 years.

Essentially, Gallup says that the more a company’s employees can answer yes to the list of questions, the greater their level of engagement. Engaged workforces have proven to be significantly more productive than non-engaged workforces, according to the company. The 12 questions:

• Do you know what is expected of you at work?
• Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
• At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
• In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
• Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about you as a person?
• Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
• At work, do your opinions seem to count?
• Does the mission or purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
• Are your associates or fellow employees committed to doing quality work?
• Do you have a best friend at work?
• In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
• This last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

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