Are you someone who fails to respond?  Not to cold-calls or blind solicitations, but rather to someone you contacted first?  I am curious what is causing you to behave in that manner?  Do you realize that when you reach out to someone else, they must spend time and energy to respond?  Your own lack of responsiveness when they reply to you creates more work for that person, who wonders if their message was actually delivered or tries another way to reach you, thus expending even more time and energy.  If you contact someone and then change your mind, it would seem to be common courtesy to let them know.  You could send a quick note or leave a voice mail message, anything that would enable the other person to take you off of their list of things to do.

Vistage is not for everyone, so I know that many of the people I speak with will not be a good fit for our organization.  However, I want to help people and will always try to respond in a timely manner when someone reaches out to me.  However, when they fail to respond to my offer to answer any of their questions or provide them with information, it becomes very frustrating.  I am left alternating between irritation, concern for their well-being, and curiosity as to why they reached out to me in the first place.

If you read this and realize you have been unresponsive to others, it’s not too late to change your behavior.  Just let them know you resolved the situation and no longer need their assistance.  Display some no-longer-so-common courtesy!

cathyse97 / Foter / CC BY-ND

In our personal lives, April is often the month to check a number of items off of our to-do lists. Common things people do in April include: Filing personal tax returns and doing a financial plan for the rest of the year, spring cleaning, registering for summer camps for the kids, and planning family vacations. While not all of those are fun (e.g., taxes and spring cleaning), we generally feel good once they are checked off our list.

Good leaders have lists in their business. April is a great time to look at your goals and strategic plan. Did you achieve your first quarter goals? Are you making good progress toward your strategic plan? Or you a bit off track, necessitating some adjustments? Taking action in April can get you back on the path to success for the rest of the year.

Good leaders also schedule time for spring cleaning. Spring cleaning in business might mean evaluating personnel. Are people meeting or exceeding your expectations? If not, have you given them feedback and shared clear expectations and time frames for improvement? If you have outlined performance expectations and measurements and someone still has not achieved them, it may be time to “release them to industry” and find someone who can get the job done for you.

Another form of business spring cleaning is purging files, shredding, scanning, and perhaps reorganizing work flows. Could your business be more efficient? April is a great time to evaluate processes and procedures and make changes that will help save time and money the rest of the year.

How about planning a fun summer outing for your team? Why not put together a committee, give them a budget, and have them present you with some options for fun group activities. Starting in April will give them time to come up with some great ideas before summer arrives. Perhaps you could take the team to a ballgame, play miniature golf, act out a murder mystery game, conduct a scavenger hunt, have a potluck picnic in the park, or head to the beach for friendly beach competitions and silly games. Finding activities everyone on your team can do will enhance bonding and increase morale. It’s also never too early to start planning the year-end holiday party, so you may want to add that to your April list.

What about building teamwork and camaraderie in a different way? Perhaps you could allow employees time off to serve a local charity. Some ideas include: Preparing and serving meals to the homeless, building a house for Habitat for Humanity, putting food in carts at the local food bank, bathing dogs at the local animal shelter, picking up trash along waterways, providing clothing and toiletries to a domestic violence shelter, or collecting toys and books for a local orphanage or safe house for kids. These activities are often very rewarding for employees as well as for the local charity.

Be creative and get started on that April checklist – you’ll be glad you did!

Gratitude and Appreciationsymphony of love / Foter / CC BY-SA

I’m fortunate to live in Florida, and most days get to drive across a bridge (or several bridges), over Tampa Bay. Sometimes traffic is so bad that I cannot really pay attention to my surroundings. Other times I’ll notice pelicans, seagulls, and even dolphins frolicking in the water occasionally. I can also go out on a pier not far from my home and see manatees in the bay. And I’m thankful that I get to see this beauty on a regular basis.

Those moments make me aware of how frequently I take my surroundings for granted. Do you take your surroundings at work for granted? Do you take the people that work with you or for you for granted? Or do you occasionally come up for air like the dolphins and manatees, and realize the beauty that surrounds you, and let others know that you are thankful they are working with you? Do you regularly acknowledge their presence and contributions?

Similarly, have you ever taken a look at your office as if you were a first time visitor? Even if you don’t have customers coming into your office, what message are you sending to anyone who visits? Your office may be perceived as an extension of you. Does the appearance of your office send a message that you don’t care about yourself or your surroundings? Or is it sending a message that you are aware of your environment and proud and grateful to be a part of it?

Why don’t we make this a week of gratitude and appreciation of our surroundings and for those with whom we work?

The shooting that occurred this week in a movie theater between a man who was texting during movie previews and a retired police officer made national news and has generated a lot of discussion.  For those of you who have not heard about this event, what has been reported so far is this:  A man was texting in the theater before the feature movie began, and an argument ensued between the man and a retired police officer who was seated nearby.  The outcome of the argument was that the man who was texting was fatally shot by the other man.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what is acceptable behavior in a movie theater.  Most people say that talking on cell phones in the theater is distracting and unacceptable.  Some feel that any use of a cell phone, including texting or reading emails, inside a theater is rude.  Others say that until the feature movie begins, texting is fine – who wants to see previews, anyway?  There are dozens of opinions, and while I have seen most theaters include a statement on the movie screen about turning cell phones off, I suspect the policies will become more clearly defined and communicated as a result of this incident.

Apparently this movie theater had a policy of not allowing guns in the theater.  Questions are swirling around that policy.  Does the policy also apply to law enforcement, retired or active?  Was the policy clearly defined and communicated to theatergoers?  How is the policy enforced? 

Those same types of questions could apply in your business.  Do you have written policies and procedures?  Have they been clearly communicated to ALL of your employees?  What about communication to customers and vendors?  How are the policies being enforced?  What’s the protocol for disputes or disagreements?  Let’s learn from this unfortunate event and make positive changes in our businesses. 

Photo by:  fd / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

What Do You Tolerate?

As I meet with people, I sometimes hear, “I love what I do.  If it weren’t for the people I work with, my job would be great!”  Sometimes that comment comes after a frustrating day, and the person is joking or just letting off steam.  If I think the person is serious, I will try to learn more.  If I’m talking to the CEO or business owner or even a high level manager, I’ll ask, “Who’s the boss?    Why are you putting up with behavior you don’t like?”  That usually generates a lot of excuses or explanations.  Typical responses are that good people are hard to find, or that the people are good at what they do, they just aren’t good at interacting with others.  Sometimes I’ll hear something to the effect of, “They’ve been with me a long time, so what can I do?”  Or, “I’m already short-staffed, and a warm body is better than none.”

Really?  Is that really what you believe?  Do you feel that you have to tolerate poor behavior?  If so, you have just lowered the bar for everyone in your company, and effectively granted them permission to perform poorly.  What will happen to your best performers?  Over time, their effectiveness and morale will diminish, or worse:  they will leave for greener pastures.

A good leader will establish clear expectations and then hold people accountable for performing to those standards.  A great leader will establish a culture of accountability so that employees will hold each other accountable for performance and help those who do not meet expectations self-select out of the company.  Take a look around you.  What are you tolerating?  Take action before it’s too late!

Photo by:  John Flinchbaugh / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA