Blog
You Can’t Supervise What You Don’t See (WT644)
Many years ago, when I was working with Kip McGrath and new to management, I proudly announced that I was going to engage a cleaner. Kip thought that was a great decision. What he didn’t think was so great, was my expectation that I was going to be able to supervise the cleaner to do things the way I wanted them done. “Shirley, you can’t supervise what you don’t see”, he said. “What do you mean?” I asked. “If you’re going to supervise someone, you have to be able to see what they’re doing. You have to be able to monitor their work.” It was many years later before I fully understood this. It...
I Like The Way You Think (WT643)
Finally, after months of renovating, it was moving day. I’m always a little anxious when it comes to moving. In the past, and we’ve had many moves, we were often still packing as the removalists arrived. This time wasn’t any different. Scrambling to get office stuff put into boxes so the removalists could take the filing cabinets and credenza, we eventually got there and they were able to complete packing the truck. Always an avid observer of people, I was impressed with how the head guy operated. Upon arrival he did a walk through with Ross to assess the job. What was going? Where were the...
When You Have The Right Tools (WT642)
This week’s thought might seem a little simple and mundane and yet there is a deeper message here. We engaged a repair man to fix the windows in our new house. With some brute force from Ross to get them open and a large screwdriver or pole to hold them open, I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed to clean, what I estimate was 40 years of gunk and grime. Yuk. Double yuk. I didn’t want the repairer to spread all that debris over the floor. It took me weeks to systematically get them all cleaned and it was only last weekend that I figured out a better method for cleaning them. Now you might ask,...
Some Will. Some Won’t. Next. (WT641)
“Some will. Some won’t. Next” was a saying I learnt from Bob Johnston, international sales trainer. Bob’s intention was to help salespeople to not take it personally when potential customers said “No”. When you think about it, it’s actually quite logical. Some will want your service or product and some people won’t want it. Some won’t want it now and some won’t want it ever. For those who don’t want it ever, move on to the Next potential customer. This affirmation not only helps with mindset, it also helps with productivity because the salesperson doesn’t waste time or energy following up...
I’m Not Trying To Get Another Job Out Of You (WT640)
Here’s a perfect example of two different perceptions: We were running out of time to get the painting done in the house before the carpet was to be laid and we move in. We asked around and got a recommendation for a painter. We engaged the painter to paint all the internal walls and ceilings for us. As we drove up to the house one morning, I realised we also needed to get the “very high and very steep” sides of the external walls painted as well. As it happened, the painter was just setting up outside when we arrived, so we asked him about the external walls. “Yes, no problem”, he...
Freak Yourself Out (WT639)
This week I’ve been totally perturbated, causing me to procrastinate. Another way of describing perturbation is to freak yourself out. Perturbation occurs when you are challenged and feel uncomfortable just before a breakthrough. Vocabulary.com refers to perturbation as a “state of agitation”. So what caused my freak out? I decided to create a new online training program called The Loyal Lieutenant Masterclass Series, to support Seconds-in-Command to step up and create systems and processes in their businesses and/or departments. No big deal. I’m very comfortable “teaching”. I’m very...
It’s All About Networking (WT638)
Since we’ve been back in Newcastle (after selling the motorhome), I’ve attended a number of networking events and have even been a guest speaker at some. When I first started my business, I used to get teased by my colleagues. They would say that I would go to the opening of an envelope. Hahahaha, although I did attend a lot of networking events. Networking is a great way to meet people and promote your business, however it helps if you know the etiquette for networking. It’s not polite to thrust your business card in someone’s face. It’s not polite to harass guests to work with you. What...
If You Want Me To Listen To You (WT636)
If you’re like most people, you don’t enjoy conflict. In fact, many people will go out of their way to actively avoid conflict. In our Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience, participants learn skills for dealing with conflict. The first skill they learn is how to actively listen. When confronted, our first reaction is to defend ourselves. We need to put ourselves aside and listen to what the other is saying, actively listen and then assert ourselves. If we’re the ones who are confronting we use a Confronting I Message. This is a statement that follows a formula, “When...
Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah (WT635)
About 16 or 17 years ago I read Jack Canfield’s book, “The Success Principles: How To Get From Where You Are Now To Where You Want To Be”. Every morning I would read a chapter before going to work. In the book, Jack gave many examples of activities the participants experienced in his week long course, “Breakthrough to Success”. As I read about the activities, I wanted to experience them for myself, which we did in 2007 when we headed to Scottsdale, Arizona to join 400 other attendees. At first I thought Jack was a bit silly sharing his activities in the book, until one of my mentors...
Dance With Their Energy (WT634)
In today’s Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience I ended up doing an impromptu Aikido demonstration with one of the participants. Aikido is a martial art and one of its principles is to dance with the energy of your opponent. How is this relevant to leadership? As I explained in the session, when we are confronted by an angry team member or customer, often our first reaction is to push back and resist. This doesn’t help to resolve the situation. Rather it either keeps us stuck resisting each other or inflames the situation. With the principle of Aikido, you actually welcome the...