Gal Morale's Blog

Gal Morale: Informant Tells Us to STOP LYING - Article Reprint

This is a reprinted article written by my friend and informant, Dave Timmons. Enjoy! Gal Morale, Private Eye

STOP LYING! 5 Reasons NOT to Withhold Praise.

Brenda was one of the best new phone representatives at SuperCool Wireless.
After only six months, she had multiple customer compliment letters, great
sales and service statistics, and three documented commendations from Pam,
her supervisor. When Pam left the company for a 'better opportunity',
Brenda quickly realized her new boss (Vince) had a very different style.

Vince rarely gave feedback but when he did, it was always critical.
Communication was less frequent and great performance was never praised.
Brenda was occasionally lifted by customer compliments and worked even
harder to produce her best results ever. After only three months working
for Vince, however, her statistics began to slip and compliments
evaporated. After five months, Brenda requested a transfer. On her one-year
anniversary, Brenda resigned from SuperCool Wireless.

Countless research in corporate America has confirmed: People don't leave
companies, they leave bosses! The financial cost alone of turnover in the
first year of employment is painful, not to mention the negative impact on
morale and customer service. (Footnote: Brenda quickly tracked down her
former supervisor, Pam, and within weeks, began her 'better opportunity'.)

If your job or purpose requires you to produce positive outcomes through
your ability to influence others, please read the following very carefully:

"A truth withheld by a leader is a lie!" - Dave Timmons

Vince lied to Brenda. For whatever reason, he withheld clearly deserved
praise and cost his company much time, money, and goodwill. So, here are 5
Reasons NOT to Withhold Praise:

1. You Cheat Your Employee. By denying your employee (or any deserving
person in your sphere of influence) a simple acknowledgement of their
praiseworthy actions, you cheat them out of a reward they've earned. You
also cheat them out of an increase in their confidence, self-esteem, and
possibly their paycheck.

2. You Cheat Your Customers. When employees don't feel loved and
appreciated, your customers (or anyone touched by your employee) will be
negatively impacted. This happens from poor service, poor attitudes, and
missed opportunities to enrich the customer's relationship.

3. You Cheat Yourself. The responsibility of leadership is a big one! You
deny yourself a chance to grow and prosper as a leader of men and women if
you fail to deliver deserved praise. You waste a powerful moment to
influence and send a clear message to others what NOT to expect if they do
a great job for you.

4. You Cheat Your Organization. It is clear in the story above that
undelivered praise cost SuperCool Wireless a lot of time (lost
productivity, etc.), money (turnover, etc.), and goodwill (lost customers,
etc.) It also eliminated the future earnings and goodwill that could have
been created by keeping and grooming Brenda for advancement.

5. You Become a Champion of Mediocrity. When you deny praise, you minimize
the chance that praiseworthy behavior will continue, almost insuring your
mediocrity. People will see no reason to do more than is expected and what
could have been a career is just a job.

Imagine 'Praise' as a $1,000 cashiers check payable to you with a one-day
expiration date. Please don't let it expire - Cash It!

Dave Timmons is a Leadership Artist who helps people acquire and inspire
breakthrough results through the Art of Six String Leadership. For
permission to reprint this article, please write to Dave@DaveTimmons.com
and place ARTICLE REPRINT in the subject line. Thank You!

Gal Morale: Is My Face Red

I'm having a bad day. A day of mistakes. Okay - just two mistakes so far, but I'm trying to decide whether to hide my face in embarrassment or to face the music. For now, I choose to blog.

A blogger friend invited me to join an on-line networking group! Cool! I was excited about the group and took him up on his request. Then, I checked to see who of my email contact list was in the group. There were 3 people. I invited them to join me. Only them. I thought. Except that I didn't invite only them. I invited every single person on my email list (clients - past and present, people I interviewed for my book, passing acquaintances I've corresponded with once 10 years ago....)

Aacck! So, I jumped to fix it. I sent an email to half the list with an OOOPS! message. And what did I do? I forgot to blind carbon copy everyone. So everyone's email was visible to everyone else.

Aaarrgggh! I guess I should just stay off email for the time being and face the music as it begins to play.

First - if you were affected, please forgive me. Chalk it up to a bad day!

Secondly - it reminds me how easy it is to give off the wrong impression via email. Sometimes what we write does not come off the way we want it to. Sometimes the email goes to people we don't mean to send it to.

It's a wonderful communication tool - and one to use carefully.

I know I'll be more careful from now on.

Question: Have you ever sent an email that left your face red??

Gal Morale: Call the CEO

Colin Reed, CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, takes communication with his employees seriously. Once a month he hosts an event called "Call the CEO." Any employee - that's ANY employee - in the company can reserve a time on this specific day to call Colin. They can call for any reason.

To shoot the breeze.

To make a suggestion.

To complain.

To praise.

To find out more about the CEO of the company they work for.

For any reason!

Here's my question to you. What are you PRO-actively doing to get to know your employees. Open Door Policies are soooooooo yesterday. Many employees will never walk through that open door until you invite them.

Make it easy for your staff members to talk to you. Go out and walk the floor. Host a lunch with the boss series. Ask questions. And reward people for their suggestions.

Question: What do you do to pro-actively communicate with your employees?

Gal Morale, Private Eye

Gal Morale: You've Just Got To See This!

Scott Ginsberg is a colleage from the National Speakers Association who talks about Approachability.  How did he get that job?  By wearing a nametag 24/7.  No kidding.  Check out Scott's latest post of a segment NBC news did on him and his business.

Question for you:  What do you do to make yourself approachable to your employees and co-workers?  Think beyond the typical "open door policy" response.

Gal Morale

SHAMELESS PLUG: looking for an innovative, funny, engaging program for your staff training event or conference that will leave the audience with tips for keeping, recognizing and rewarding employees?  Look no further.  Check out my website and give me a call today!

Gal Morale: Be Proactive!

Last year my husband and I (and our dog) started a tradition.  We live on a very busy street so we never get Trick Or Treaters at our door on Halloween.  While some may call that a blessing, Jim and I have always enjoyed seeing the kids in their costumes and rewarding them with treats.

So last year we took matters in our own hands.  We're known by the families on the next block because that is where we walk Snowball, our 5 year old Maltese.  We dressed Snowball up as a clown (last year), filled a bowl with candy and took a walk, giving out "traveling treats!"  It was a hit!

As a matter of fact, we've become famous.  This year, Snowball went as a "Biker Dog" and there were neighbors waiting to see what she'd wear. 

How does this translate to the workplace?  What's the point?

Let me ask you this.  Are you sitting in your office, with a So Called Open Door Policy, waiting for your employees to come to you with feedback or suggestions?

Are you getting many?

Probably not.  Or if you are, not by everyone.  There are people who wouldn't dream of going into the boss's office with a suggestion or a comment....or at all, unless they were summoned.

You've got to go to them.

Forget Open Door.

Try Walk The Floor!

If you want to know how your employees are feeling, go out and ask them!

Take them to lunch in small groups, and start the conversation.

Ask for suggestions, and be sure to give credit to the right people when you act on them.

Having an issue with employee retention?  Go to your current team and ask them for their assessment of the situation.  Listen with an open heart and mind and be willing to risk the fact that YOU may need to make some changes.  You'll be well respected in return.

Want to know how to better welcome new employees. ASK the current ones what you could have done to make them feel more welcome when they first started.

Pick up the phone and call one of your employees.  Ask how their day has been and what would have made it better?

Take a tip from Snowball.  Don't wait in your office for the feedback that will never come.  (And don't just hide behind a Suggestion Box either).

Go out among your troops and give them a treat by asking for their suggestions.

Gal Morale, Private Eye

Gal Morale: How Open Are You With Your Employees?

Check out Branding Expert Ken Bank's post entitled Start Spreading the News.  His take on communicating your brand (and other crucial bits of information) to your employees is right on!

Gal Morale: We've Taken It Too Far!

Email is a fantastic communication tool.  Having said that, it can be misused.  I've seen arguments break out over email that could have been avoided if the original sender had just picked up the phone or gotten off their butt and walked over to the recipients desk to clarify the message in person.

Yes, email is an effective way to deliver quick bites of information, ask questions, get answers.  Unfortunately, it is often used to HIDE because delivering bad news is not EASY.  TOO BAD!!  Some things should just be done in person.  In terms of the use of email, we have taken it too far.

Check out the Chicago Tribune Article: Radio Shack Uses Email to Fire Employees, to see exactly what I mean.

Thanks to the Church of the Customer blog for alerting me to the article.

Question:  In your mind, what are the correct and incorrect uses of the email system?

Gal Morale: The Power of Please

I had a great time this month speaking for the men and women who work for JJ Taylor Distributing Company, first in Tampa and more recently, in Ft. Myers, FL. Thanks to both groups of managers who participated actively and jumped right in with your insights and humor.

In fact, one of the managers in the audience brought up a great point.  During the seminar, I gave the group a list of creative ways they could thank their direct reports.  They were going over the lists with their partner and discussing which items resonated with them and which ones they might try.  A gentleman looked up from his paper during this exercise and said to me, "There is something missing from this list."  "What?" I asked.  "The word PLEASE."

He's right!  At the risk of sounding like "everything I learned about management I learned from Mom," there is tremendous power in the word PLEASE.

For one thing, it's just good manners.  Remember when you were little and Mom reminded you to "say please," "say thank you" or "what do you say?"  Where did all that early training go?

You may be the boss, and yes, your direct reports look to you to set the expectations and hold them accountable.  Please do.  The difference between a respected manager and one who is not is the manner in which those expectations are set.

In one exercise when I asked the JJ Taylor Managers to tell me about their "Worst Boss Ever" (not to include anyone at their company, but at previous jobs), the thing that kept coming up was the "motivate by intimidation" boss.  The boss who barked the orders, never asked for input, never listened, and yelled when things weren't done exactly right.

You may not be that extreme.  However, I know that sometimes when I'm in a leadership position, busy and trying to get things done, I hear myself "asking" those who report to me to complete tasks.  Because I'm so busy, and have my mind on so many things, it strikes me occasionally that I sound like I'm barking orders.

Wonder what a difference it would make if I reminded myself to say "please?"

Not the sarcastic "will you puh-lease"....but the soft, gentle good mannered "please" that Mom taught me to say.

Might sound more like I'm respecting my team.  It's a way of appreciating them WHILE before they even do the work.

Thanks to the insightful JJ Taylor manager who brought the Power of Please back to my attention.

Question: What other manners are "missing" from the workplace?

Gal Morale: 25 Strategies for Better Interpersonal Communication

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview comedy writer and author Gene Peret about his working relationship with comedian Bob Hope.  Gene told me, "Bob Hope was the best boss I ever had." When I asked why, he said:

1. He was Understanding, 2. He was Appreciative, 3. And he knew his business.

Then he said something I will never forget. "When I was in his presence he made ME feel important." Therein lies the key to exceptional interpersonal skills. 

Here are 25 ideas to help you do just that:

1. “Walk the Floor” on a weekly basis, proactively asking your team members for their input, feedback and suggestions.
2. Ask for and listen to the feedback of your employees.  Smile when you speak to them and be kind and courteous.
3. Do offer constructive criticism, but in PRIVATE only.
4. Make a concerted effort to ensure that each person feels BETTER about themselves when they are in your presence.
5. When you communicate a change, be sure to communicate the REASON for the change – the WHY as well as the WHAT and HOW.
6. Choose one day of every week and commit to NOT leaving on that day until you have SINCERELY praised or thanked at least 2 of your employees.  Make the praise specific, sincere, and spontaneous and be creative in your method of delivery.
7. Give thoughtful consideration to all the people that will be affected by a decision you’re making and ask for their input PRIOR to making your final decision.
8. Develop an Appreciation ACTION Plan.  List 20 ways you can personally thank your employees or co-workers and try every item on the list within the next 60 days.  Keep a journal of the reactions you receive.  Repeat.
9. Call a peer who has a great employee retention rate and ask for their advice.  Then follow it.
10. List 10 ways you can communicate your approachability to your employees. Follow through on your plan.
11. Check out the website of Scott Ginsberg, Approachability Expert and “The Guy With The Nametag.” He’s got free articles with great tips for improving your personal approachability.
12. Give your employees a concrete way to let you know when you’ve become a little too crabby.  One brilliant manager I know had a photo of a baby with her tongue sticking out posted on her bulletin board.  Whenever she returned to her office and it was stuck to her chair she knew she needed some cooling down time.
13. Invite your employees to evaluate you.  Not easy, but so worth it.
14. Give credit where it is due.  If it was teamwork that got the job done, be sure to recognize the efforts of your team.
15. Speak to each of your employees with the goal of finding out about their hobbies, favorite charities, favorite ways to be recognized and their career goals. Take small ACTIONS as a result of the information you receive. For instance, give them information and support that will help them with their career aspirations.
16. ASK current employees how welcome they felt when they began working for your organization. ASK them for ideas on how they could have been made to feel more welcome. Then encourage the formation of a RED CARPET COMMITTEE that will generate and implement at least 5 specific strategies to make new employees feel more welcome.
17. Train yourself to STOP what you are doing and focus on the person speaking to you. Clarify that you’ve heard what they said. Give your feedback, and when appropriate, take ACTION and FOLLOW UP.
18. Sit down together so you are eye to eye. (Thanks for the tip Dave Timmons.)
19. Realize that some people have apprehension about having a conversation with the boss and make it easy on them by being friendly and interested.
20. Refrain from criticizing in front of other people, even if you’re “only joking.”
21. When you are criticized, think about what was said before reacting. Consider if there is any truth to the criticism, be open to change, and let the rest go.  Try not to take it personally.
22. Go out of your way to have lunch with someone you don’t know very well.
23. Enlist a peer or mentor to help you evaluate your own interpersonal skills.
24. Develop a list of creative questions to ask the next time you are in a social situation with your employees or co-workers.
25. Be different. Communicate with confidence, in person, by phone and with handwritten notes rather than strictly through email.  Never, EVER fire someone or criticize them via email.

Question:  In terms of interpersonal communication, what is some of the good behavior you've observed.  What about "bad" behavior?

Gal Morale: Creative Communication Part II

More thoughts on workplace communication:

Ask For Input:  Prior to making a decision, consider EVERYONE that will be affected by the decision and ask for their input.  You'll get plenty of different viewpoints, and eventually a decision will have to be made that may not please everyone.  However, by involving others in the process you will:

1. Have a better understanding of all the ramifications and avoid pitfalls prior to implementing the change.

2. Get people to buy into the change, because they were part of the decision-making process.

3. Gather creative solutions that you may not have thought on your own.

Listen:  On the same note, have what my friend Dave Timmons calls a "listening policy."  Know specifically how you are going collect input from your employees, co-workers and customers.  Be proactive by walking the floor and ASKING for feedback, using a suggestion box, or even taking employees to lunch and have some one on one time listening to their thoughts about your organization and their job.

Listen Again:  The next time an employee or co-worker comes into your office, or stops you in the hallway, pay attention to how well you listen.  Do you stop what you're doing, focus only on them and really hear what they are saying?  Or are you rifling through papers while they talk to you?

One friend of mine told me she scheduled conference call with her boss to discuss her future with the company, and in the middle of the call she heard her boss conversing with a McDonald's drive-through clerk!!

Focus on each person in front of you, put your work down, listen to what they say, and clarify that you understood before you respond.  When someone is sharing an opinion that is contrary to yours, take a moment to consider their side before reacting. 

Many of the workplace communication issues come from RE-ACTING.  If we could only react less and consider the feelings of others more, I'm convinced that would solve most workplace communication problems.

Communicate Your Values - Take a look at your Value Statement.  What does it say you care about?  Respect? Fun? Quality Services?

Next, ask yourself, how do we communicate these values to our employees, our customers, and our vendors?  Come up with creative NEW ways to communicate each value.

For instance, Southwest Airlines values FUN at work. They communicate this by encouraging their flight attendants to joke around, wear casual clothes, and celebrate milestones with their passengers.

How are you communicating your company values?

As we discussed in an earlier post, there are two forms of workplace communication - Dissemination of Information and Interpersonal Communication.  Tomorrow's post will address Interpersonal Communication. 

Today's Question:  What's your listening policy?