Responsibility and Reward (WT797)

Responsibility and Reward (WT797)

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WT 797 Responsibility and reward

Many many years ago, Ross and I went to the bank with my father to help him consolidate his accounts.

He had been dealing with the same bank manager for years and to our surprise, the bank manager had left and been replaced by a young woman.

Listening to the way she spoke to the staff and the way she confidently advised us that she would get the team to do the tasks because she was a “manager”, led me to think she hadn’t had a lot of leadership training.

Sadly, this situation is quite common.

Many people aspire to leadership and management positions but it’s not until they get into the roles that they realise that there is a lot more responsibility required before they reap the rewards.

As the leader you now have to step up. Your team are watching. They want a role model.

You can be friendly, you can’t be their friend. Why not? Because it’s challenging to go out and socialise over the weekend and then have to come in and hold your friend accountable for poor performance on Monday.

The rewards are there, however they are not free.  There is a cost and that cost is responsibility.

Your team need your support. They want your attention. They want feedback. They want training. They want smooth operations.

Leadership is about doing the right things and management is about doing things right. Leadership and management are not mutually exclusive.

Whilst beginning leaders and managers often perceive they are going to have the freedom and autonomy to come and go as they please, in reality, they end up working longer to make sure everything and everyone is working well.

And let’s not forget the increase in pay.  This too is appealing to new leaders and managers. I remember when I was promoted to COO at Kip McGrath Education Centres and became the most senior non family executive, Kip said to me, “That’s why you get paid the big bucks. If it was easy, everyone would do it.”

Being a leader and a manager is not easy.

It requires different skills to technical skills.  You are reliant on your people to do the work and they may have different values and beliefs to you.  They get sick. They go on holidays. You need to know how to deal with the “people issues”.

You need to know how to have those conversations – to hold people accountable, to give them feedback, to encourage when they lose confidence, to listen when they need to be heard.

These are known as “soft skills” but there is nothing soft about these skills.  Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO since 2014 says that “the soft skills are the hardest skills to master”.

If you’re a leader or manager, I expect you’ve experienced most, if not all of the above.

If you’re new to leading and managing, take heart, you’re on a journey of self-discovery and personal and professional development.

Know that it is possible to take on the responsibility and enjoy the rewards. It might just be a bit bumpy at the start.

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Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Business is Problem Solving (WT795)

Business is Problem Solving (WT795)

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WT 795 Problem solved

The other morning, I heard a huge bang, then a thud and then again and again.

As I looked out the window, I could see my neighbour’s house being demolished.

A fence around the perimeter proudly displayed the name of the contractor and the services they provided.

That same afternoon we had to call our plumber because the handle broke off our tap in the sink in the ensuite.

I also received a call from a prospective client asking if I could help them with their systems.

I started to contemplate these seemingly random events, as I do.

I shared my findings with Ross, “Business is Problem Solving”, I said.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Well, a lot of the time I feel awkward when it comes to having a sales conversation, but when you look around, business is actually problem solving.”

He looked at me quizzically.

“The neighbours want to rebuild. They need someone to come and demolish the old house. We needed our tap fixed. We called the plumber. My clients need systems and processes, they call me. It’s just problem solving. It’s just helping people to solve their problems.”

We started listing off all the businesses we use on a regular basis.

The list was very long.

When you think about it, it’s amazing how many problems we have and how many businesses have been created to solve problems for people.

I just love thinking about and talking about business.

I’m so impressed and in awe of the many different business ideas that people come up with and often, it’s to help others who are having the same problem that they solved for themselves.

Take a look at your business. It doesn’t matter whether you own it or work in it or both.

Think about the consequences for your customers if your business did not exist.  I’m talking about your industry, not just your business and leaving it to your competitors.

Imagine if there were no real estate agencies. How would we buy and sell our homes.

What if there were no grocery stores?  How would we feed ourselves?

Where would we get our clothes from if there were no fashion designers, fabric manufacturers, clothing manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers or the web.

I just marvel at how things work.

I’m grateful for all the businesses that help Ross and I solve our problems.  Thank you!

Your job this week is to come up with your own list.

Think about all the products and services you use to help you solve your problems.

At the end of the day, that’s what business is for.  Business is Problem Solving.

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Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Play With It – The 30 Minute AI Test (WT792)

Play With It – The 30 Minute AI Test (WT792)

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WT 792 Play with it, the 30minute AI test

I was showing a client what can be done with AI.

I showed him how easy it is now, compared to 20 years ago when I first started my business helping business owners streamline their operations.

Twenty years ago, it would take me 3-4 hours offsite to draft procedures for every hour I spent onsite.

These days with the help of AI, I can get a draft procedure is less than 15 minutes.

That saves me and the client.

A few days later he came back to me and asked if “that thing” I showed him could analyse data.

“Let’s find out.”

We trialled a pdf which didn’t work so well.

We trialled a single tab from an excel spreadsheet and gave it specific instructions for what we wanted analysed, including suggestions for categories of expenses plus a total for the number of items and the amount spent.

Amazingly, we had all the information we wanted within about 30 minutes of trial and error.

What we found in 30 minutes could save hours and hours of painstaking data analysis, not to mention eye strain.

We were both amazed and thrilled and excited at what we could do.

He almost skipped out the door as he headed home.

If you’re not using AI you’re going to get left behind.

If you’re not using AI, your competitors are—and they’re delivering better outcomes, faster, at a sharper price. And no, AI won’t make you dumber. It makes you more strategic and creative because it rewards better questions.

We didn’t know if what we wanted could be done. We took the attitude of playing with it.

Here’s your challenge for this week:

Identify one thing you could potentially get AI to do for you and play with it. Have fun.

  • It could be data analysis.
  • It could be writing copy for a Facebook ad.
  • It could be creating a procedure.
  • It could be as simple as using a recording and transcription service such as Otter.ai or screen capture your procedures using Loom.com

You might be surprised at how much help you can get and how much smarter you can become.

Let me know what you find.

P.S.  Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

A Coffee Isn’t A Consulting Fee (WT791)

A Coffee Isn’t A Consulting Fee (WT791)

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WT 791 A coffee isn't a consulting fee

This week a past client messaged, “Got time to pick your brain over coffee?” I felt the familiar tug — I love helping. But I also know unpriced advice often lacks context, commitment, and outcomes. So I tried a new reply and offered for him to book in a professional consultation.

I didn’t hear back.

I love this quote, from an unknown source, “Boundaries aren’t walls; they’re doors with handles.”

Pricing is a promise — when we value our expertise, we show up at our best and invite clients to do the same.

Saying “yes” with structure is kinder than a vague “sure” that breeds frustration.

A similar thing happened when Ross and I had The Family Foto Man. When we offered additional prints for free, the clients didn’t value them as much as the ones they paid for.

Ben Harvey says that “Buying Begins Their Breakthrough”. What this means is that once a person commits to paying for the service, they show up differently. They take it more seriously, they do the work and they get better results.

And from another angle, I have a colleague whom I like to get advice from and I always preface my enquiry with, “this is a paid consultation” because if she doesn’t invoice me, I feel like I can’t ask her and I would prefer to ask her because:

  1. she has a brain the size of a planet and has the best advice, and
  2. I want to support her, and if I can’t pay her, I would feel like I’m taking advantage of her, which means, I’d have to take my business elsewhere.

As much as I love to help, I’ve had to learn to put boundaries in place, because consulting is what I do for a living. It’s how I earn my money. A coffee isn’t a consulting fee.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love catching up with my friends and colleagues over a coffee, breakfast or lunch, but that’s different. It’s a different dynamic.

Your mission this week is to look at your own boundaries. Have you got any? If not, now might be the time to set some. Boundaries make it easier to say “Yes” when you want to.

P.S.  Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Stay In Your Lane (WT789)

Stay In Your Lane (WT789)

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WT 789 Stay in your lane

The past few weeks I’ve been working onsite with a client on a major project.

Parking is tricky, so Ross has been driving me to and from the premises.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I found myself clinging to the seat.

“God! Look out! They’re coming over.”

“I know!” replied Ross.

This didn’t happen on just one occasion.

It seems to be a daily occurrence.

What happened to people’s ability to drive and stay in their lanes?

Are they on the phone?

Are they reading a text message?

Hopefully, they’re not trying to watch a youtube training, like the guy in Melbourne this week who got fined for “driving whilst distracted”.

Anyway, as we navigated our way to work, I reflected on the metaphor.

At work, it’s also important to stay in your lane.

The clearer your role descriptions are, the easier it is for people to stick to their lane.

Unless, of course, they happen to be people who can’t help themselves and have to do everyone else’s job except their own.

You know the ones. They exist in every business.

In our leadership experience participants complete an activity where they work with a team member to build a business.  This activity requires them to separate their roles, stick in their lanes and trust their team member to do their job.

It’s amazing to see the reaction when participants realise how much they CAN actually trust their team mate to do the work and that in fact, they MUST TRUST them because they can’t win if they try and do everything themselves.

Your mission this week is to reflect on your role.

Are you staying in your lane, or are you veering off into someone else’s lane?

If you don’t trust others to do their job, ask yourself how come?

If they’re really not capable, are they unable or unwilling? If unable, do they need more training?

And if they are capable, then maybe you need to look at yourself and get out of the way and let them do their job.

P.S.  Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

Make A Procedure (WT782)

Make A Procedure (WT782)

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WT 782 Make a Procedure

Before we get into this week’s thought, Ross and I were debating about the correct way to write the title.

Should it be “Write a Procedure” or “Make a Procedure”?

Before screen-capture tools like Loom.com or transcription services like Otter.ai or AI in general, the only way to capture a procedure was to write it, hence “Write a Procedure”.

Today though, there are many ways to capture a procedure, hence “Make a Procedure”.

So, whichever one you think is correct, use that.

To get us started, I have a question for you.

Have you ever been employed in a role and been asked to complete a task but there were no instructions for how to do it?

I thought so!

Here’s the thing. When we write procedures, we aren’t writing for ourselves, because we know how to do the work.  We are writing for the people who come after us.

And if you answered “Yes” to the question above, then you know how much we appreciate the thoughtfulness of those who created procedures for us to follow.

As a general rule, if you’re going to do something more than once, make a procedure.

If you only do something once a year, make a procedure because the odds are you will forget between now and next year.

With today’s technology, it’s not hard to make a procedure.

Here’s a tip. You might even call it a procedure.

  1. Name the procedure. For example, How to Make a Procedure.

2. Subscribe to Otter.ai or similar transcription service and download it to your phone or desktop.

3. Press Record.

4. Verbally describe the steps and any important information.

5. Use the format – Why, What, How and What If.

a. Why is this important? (Give the person a reason to follow the procedure.)

b. What is it?  (Give a bit of context or history or definition.)

c. How (List the steps and always start with a verb because people want to know what they have to DO.)

d. What if?  (These are questions people may have, “What if this happens? What if that happens?” Answer the questions.)

6. Stop the recording.

7. Upload the transcription to ChatGPT or other similar AI.

8. Prompt AI to create a procedure using verbs and numbers for each step and sub-step.

9. Review and edit the procedure.

10. Copy or download the procedure.

11. Update the version history (version number and date).

12. File the procedure in your document management system.

13. Inform those who use the procedure of the new version.

14. Request acknowledgement from users that they have Read and Understood the procedure.

15. Follow the procedure.

If you’re looking for a good document management system, I recommend TKO Docs (https://tkodocs.com).  It’s built on wordpress, has search availability and soon to have voice activated conversations like, “What’s our procedure for writing a procedure?”

There are many more features, like version control, being able to select who sees what, ability to create personalised manuals for different roles and the list goes on.

I trust I have encouraged you to think about your procedures and motivated you to start making them, if you haven’t already.

More information can be found in my book, The Loyal Lieutenant: How The Second-in-Command Brings The CEO’s Vision To Life.

P.S.  Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

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