Make Me Feel Welcome (WT500)

Make Me Feel Welcome (WT500)

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by Shirley Dalton | 24 Jan, 2020 | Blog, Business

WT500 Make Me Feel Welcome

Last week I joined Lee Woodward, Creative Director and CEO at Real Estate Academy, for an interview to discuss onboarding new employees.

I thought I would share the highlights with you because this is such a critical task for every organisation.

Here are the top 5 things you need to manage, according to me:

1,Make them feel welcome.

Most new employees don’t know anyone when they first start apart from the people who interviewed them. It’s a daunting thing to walk into a new workplace where the other employees have established friendships and ways of doing things. It’s critical to make them feel welcome and that you are happy for them to be there. 

2. Have their “stuff” organised.

This fits in with point number 1. It’s not a good look and doesn’t feel good for the employee if their email address isn’t organised; they don’t have a place to sit; they don’t have stationery, etc.  or uniforms, etc.   I’m astounded at how many organisations miss this point. Make it someone’s role to make sure everything is organised BEFORE they start. 

3. Tell them what they are there to do.

I remember receiving a list of about 70 items when I started in the franchise organisation and rather than feeling daunted, I was excited. I had to somewhere to start and I knew what I was meant to be doing. I felt important and needed.  Make sure you give them a job description and more importantly give them something to start with (and that doesn’t include sitting in the corner reading the company manuals). It could also require a little training, however the sooner you train them and get them started, the sooner they will be productive and confident and comfortable. 

4. Show them where they can find things.

Remember they don’t know where you keep the stationery or the cups and tea and coffee and what the rules are for the fridge and the washing up and garbage.  Give them a little tour and show them around; show them the things they will most likely need. 

5. Introduce them to their immediate and higher level supervisors and managers.

This is important because it shows the boss is interested and cares. It also helps them to know who to go to if they need any assistance.  It’s a security and comfort thing, relating back to step number 1 – Make them feel welcome. 

Here’s your task this week. Rate yourself on the above 5 points.  If it’s not 5/5, identify what you can improve and work on that.

Show Them the Big Picture (WT493)

Show Them the Big Picture (WT493)

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by Shirley Dalton | 6 Dec, 2019 | Blog, Leadership

WT493 Show Them the Big Picture

This week, I’ve been focussing on leadership. I’ve been creating training videos for the next launch of our membership site as well as the quiz I invited you to take.

It’s amazing to me how things show up at exactly the right time.

Leadership is about knowing yourself and knowing your people. It also requires you to develop great people skills so you can communicate well and influence your team so that they can cooperate and achieve the outcomes.

As I was talking with one of my colleagues recently, I mentioned how important it is to share the big picture with the team.  Some will call this “vision”, however that’s not exactly what I’m referring to.

What I mean by this is to help your team understand how what they do is important to the success of the business. Show them where they fit in to the workflow. Point out the critical tasks and measures they need to achieve for the overall outcome. 

It occurred to me that often the team are taught to focus on the tasks they have to do and they may not understand why the tasks are important. 

If we don’t show them, how can we expect them to think and to problem solve if they can’t see the big picture. 

So, something to think about this week.

Have you shown your team the big picture?

Have you taught them how to think?

You Can’t Make Your Team Compete (WT475)

You Can’t Make Your Team Compete (WT475)

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by Shirley Dalton | 2 Aug, 2019 | Blog, Leadership

WT 475 You can't make your team compete

As a leader, it’s your job to get the best out of your team. This doesn’t mean you are a slave driver and that you crack the whip to milk every last minute of productivity. 

Rather it means that you help your team to reach their full potential. When they are actively engaged and enjoying themselves, productivity will naturally be high.

This week one of my coaching clients was sharing how she and her sister have been enjoying an exercise challenge.  She was miffed when her sister pipped her at the post before the deadline. She was also miffed when she had finished a workout yet didn’t receive the credit because the recording device had run out of battery. 

This story and experience opened up an entire discussion about how to engage your team. 

When I suggested creating a competition between team members, her initial reaction was, “You can’t make your team compete”.

Maybe the word “challenge” is more appealing as you set up a challenge to get a certain amount of work finished by the end of the month or attain a certain target. 

As we discussed it further, we both had examples where we had been engaged in friendly competitions at work. Winning a prize wasn’t always the motivator. At times it was simply knowing you had put in the effort and “won” that was most satisfying. 

When my clients used to meet me in my office, the first thing they often did was to share their success stories and get to “Ring the Gong”.   It was our favourite thing to do – to celebrate the wins. 

This week I’m challenging you (ha ha) to come up with some fun and interesting ways that you can engage your team. What friendly challenge can you give them that will have them run toward the finish line? 

Not only can you “make your team compete”, in many cases they will thank you for it because it just might be the thing that spices up the week or the month.

He Was So Proud of What He Had Done (WT466)

He Was So Proud of What He Had Done (WT466)

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by Shirley Dalton | 31 May, 2019 | Blog, Leadership

WT 466 He was so proud of what he had done

This week we were late travelling to our intended destination so we ended up staying at a different location. Originally booking in for one night, we’ve ended up staying 5 nights. It’s so peaceful and beautiful.

We were talking to the caretaker/manager who shared that the owners of the caravan park call in each week to collect the money and how he wanted to show them some of the improvements he had initiated.

“Come down the back and see what I’ve done,” he suggested to the owner.

The owner looked at his watch and grimaced.

“No. I can’t. I have some other places to be, so I’ll have to get going.”

The caretaker shared with us, “I was so proud of what I had done and he didn’t even bother to have a look.”

After he left, Ross and I discussed the ramifications of such poor leadership.

When you have someone who is showing initiative and is proud of what they’ve done, take the time to be interested and have a look. They are looking for your approval and your praise and appreciation.

Not giving them the recognition is one of the quickest ways to lower engagement, productivity and work satisfaction.

I felt really sad for the caretaker and annoyed at the owner.

I wonder how long it will be before the park starts to look shabby and goes downhill because the manager has lost motivation.

Like training your pets, you reward the behaviours you want to see.

When someone is proud of what they have done, be sure to notice and acknowledge it.

What sort of leader are you? Do you notice and acknowledge and encourage?

This Is How It Is For Me (WT441)

This Is How It Is For Me (WT441)

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by Shirley Dalton | 7 Dec, 2018 | Blog, Business

WT 441 This is how it is for me

It’s so interesting how each week seems to have its own theme. 

Generally, I find that more than one person appears to be dealing with the same issue, albeit in slightly different ways. 

This week’s theme relates to expressing how we feel. “This is how it is for me …” 

On a number of occasions this week I’ve listened as clients, colleagues and friends have expressed their frustration at situations in their lives and yet they have avoided having the one conversation they need to have. 

The following example was expressed by no less than five people this week, so I am not sharing one person’s dilemma, rather a sample. See if you can relate. 

Employees not wanting to do certain tasks that are in their job description, instead preferring to do the tasks they want to do. Employees not seeing the bigger picture and the ground work that needs to be done and the teamwork that needs to happen before the rewards can be shared. The boss feeling frightened that if they mention anything, the employee will leave. (Feeling like you are being held to ransom.) 

Here’s the thing; when asked if they had shared how they were feeling about the employees’ behaviour, the answer was “No”. 

Nothing can change if we are not willing to express how it is for us. 

I don’t know the statistics but in comparison to the general population, there are very few psychics. I’m being sarcastic. Your employees cannot read your mind. If you don’t tell them, they don’t know. 

They may be able to guess something is wrong, especially when you are barking orders at them or walking off in a huff. They will experience the energy, and yet most will not understand what’s causing your reaction. 

If you are not having the conversation, you are not being honest with yourself or your employees or colleagues or family members. 

A simple way to start is to ask for some time to discuss the situation and introduce the topic by saying, “I’d like to share how it is for me”.  Most people are open to listening to what is going on. 

From there, be open to how things can be resolved, rather than wanting to direct the conversation to the outcome you’ve already decided.  

Your mission this week is to be honest with yourself. Are you avoiding expressing how you are really feeling? If so, I encourage you to initiate the conversation. Even if it brings out defence from the other person (and it probably will), at least you will both know the truth of what is going on and you can both work towards resolving it. 

“This is how it is for me …..”

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