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Never Mind The ” X Factor “, Does your business have the “E” Factor?

  By Christina Lattimer • November 8, 2012 - 8:40 pm
x factor What is the mysterious X Factor ingredient which makes your business great?

That mysterious elusive quality of “the X Factor” existed before the popular shows.  The Oxford Dictionary describes the “X Factor” as ” a special quality, especially one that is essential for success and is difficult to describe”.  In the past I’ve asked the question “Does your business have the X Factor?”  Of course we all want to be in the category of having the “X Factor”, but if your business is going to be successful, then that intangible essence must be identified.

Having seen and heard about successful leadership and businesses.  I now believe that the “X Factor” for business, and indeed for most people or organisations or situation is actually the “E” Factor.

There are many “E” elements which can make a business successful.  Think about Engagement, Excellence, Extra mile, Extraordinary, Empowerment… and I’m sure you can think of a lot more.  But what I think is the biggest factor, the one which sets a business out from the rest is something which the majority of people relate to.

A few months ago, I read a blog post; entitled “101 Short Stories that Will Leave You Smiling, Crying and Thinking” you can find them here.   It is a post from  Marc and Angel Hack Life, a great blog.  Of course I enjoyed the stories  enormously, and mostly they brought tears to my eyes.  (Go on read them and see how long it takes you!). It is one of the few blogs I subscribe to, and one when I share,  attracts by far the most readers, shares and re-tweets across social media.

A few weeks ago I was at a seminar where a guy called Steve Trister of   entertained by teaching delegates how to  engage with an audience using this factor when presenting.  Delegates  found his presentation  funny and enlightening, he had a throng of people around him when he’d finished wanting to know more.

Last week in the UK, we were entertained with  “The Pride of Britain Awards”.  If you haven’t come across this now national event, the programme celebrates stories of heroic acts of bravery and contribution.  On the awards site the introduction states “Selfless, courageous, caring . . . our amazing winners make the world a better place”

Indeed I have recognised that what makes an “X Factor”  contestant successful, is in fact this magic ingredient.  (A TV singing competition for those uninitiated)

Yes, you have of course realised the magic ingredient I am talking about it is…

 Emotion!

Putting all of those fairly recent experiences into context made me realise sharply that the things in life we really like, and really want more of engage us emotionally.  So what?  you might be saying… we’ve always known that successful businesses engage their customers emotionally.  After all we are surrounded by a raft of advertising and marketing, which is intended to do just that, isn’t it?

I know it’s obvious, but then I got to thinking about what I spend my money on, and how emotionally engaged to the products or services I receive I am.   And I realised it was very little.  Of course we all have different personality types and because of that, we buy through different paradigms.  Some organisations sell to people because “It’s all about you”, or others sell because, the target customers “will have no less than the best”.  And some sell because they “like the tried and tested”, for example.

But what is the intangible emotional element which we all seem to share at some level?   When we see the young people on X Factor doing well, despite the odds; when we see the young girl who saved her mum; or the soldier who risked his life, we feel something about it.   When we read the stories about caring about one another, or significant people in our lives, we feel something about it.  When we receive praise for something we’ve done brilliantly, or we are forgiven for a big mistake we’ve made.  We recognise that at the core of  who we are, we care about each other and we will sometimes move heaven and earth to demonstrate it.

I am a big Oprah Winfrey fan.  If any of you watched her daily show, you know what I mean. If you don’t watch her, you might label her 25 year run  as a female dominated magazine show.  But actually it is much more than that.  The majority of her employees at Harpo, her production company, were at the time the show was running,  some of the most enthused, committed people I have seen.  They told stories of working long hours, dedication and going the extra mile.  They truly believed they were part of something much bigger than themselves.   They were emotionally engaged.  According to CNN in September 2011, Oprah was the 8th richest woman in the world. Undoubtedly, her employees’ dedication and commitment have helped her reach that enviable status. Not only that, her audience were hugely emotionally engaged with what Oprah had to offer.  What Oprah had to offer was the “E” Factor.  She helped people see the good inside of themselves.  She helped them touch positive emotions which made people want more.  She came from the paradigm that people cared about each other and recognised this was who they were at their core.

So how does this affect all of us “ordinary” people, going to our desks, maybe nipping out for a sandwich, and thinking about the routine tasks we might have to get through, or when we are facing the tough realities of our world of work right now?  Well you can happily be a spectator, celebrate other people’s success, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Or alternatively, you  could show the world you have the “E” Factor.

Businesses who have the “E” Factor have the following qualities about them.

  • They have a vision, or a dream and they are passionate about it
  • They make sure that what they do, they do extraordinarily well
  • They are purposeful and they believe in what they do
  • They want to make a sincere difference and have stories to tell about how they do.
  • They realise that they are part of something bigger than themselves
  • Their people are emotionally engaged, they have attached real meaning to what they do
  • Whatever it is they do, they help people get in touch with the very best of who they are at their core.

What about you?  Does your business have the “E” Factor, if so I would love to hear from you.

 

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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7 Ways to Get It Right And Give Management The Credit They Deserve

  By christinapd • May 17, 2012 - 7:55 pm

A Management role is a multi-talented one!

manager I have read so many negative reports about management over the last few months that I felt I had to stand up and hurl in a different perspective.   In the past few months, I’ve read quotes such as:

  • “three quarters of employers report a lack of leadership and management skills and too many managers have an inflated opinion of their ability to manage people”
  • “More than six out of ten people employed in customer facing sales and service roles say that their managers’ behaviour towards them [Negatively] affects the level of customer service they deliver.”
  • “Poor people management is at the root of much of the evil in our economy”
  • “Estimated cost of poor management in the UK is £19 Billion a year!”

What on earth is going on?  If I were still a manager I think I’d be feeling pretty battered by now.  So ok we have a problem Houston.  But what is the real problem?

For me, problem number one, is that although we all know the difference between leadership and management (Don’t we?)   We employ managers and complain they don’t lead and then we define leadership with models which talk about competencies such as leading from the front, vision and courage and integrity… to name but a few.  Attributes most managers can’t actually use because they have to deliver an already created and articulated vision, where the trail has already been blazed, and the values already decided.

We want managers to be people managers, but actually none of our outcomes or targets or values is about our people, so where do we expect them to focus?  Ok, so I’m stretching a point, or two, but I do think that those points illustrate that at times, just sometimes, managers can’t win.

I’m not going to get into the leadership debate in this blog; I’ll save that for another day.  Today, I am going to concentrate on the sometimes thankless task of being a manager and why I think our good managers need a big and hearty pat on the back.

And just a final observation about the bad press managers get.  With all the “poor” managers out there, I just have three questions.  Who is recruiting them?  Who is managing them? And who is letting poor managers get away with it to the extent that they have such a “negative” impact?  Well, someone is!

There was an advert a few years ago that featured a mother wearing different hats.  When her little girl cut her knee, she had the nurse cap on.  When she was helping her son with his homework, she donned the mortarboard, and finally when cooking dinner she wore her chef’s hat. (I know, I’m probably showing my age) Well for me, managers are like mothers, to the extent that they have many roles and have to wear many hats.

In most organisations, managers are multi-faceted.  They have to manage their people, their budget, their results locally and globally, the environment they work in, change management, training needs, absence, performance, initiatives, projects, the business plan, the people plan, stakeholders, partners, customers, reward, reviews, income, communications, processes, media, social responsibility, diversity,…….oh and of course the work. Need I go on?

I know that there are some great qualifications for managers and also managers pay is probably not too bad.  But what I do think is that managers are not given the actual credit for the demanding, time-consuming, multi-talented role they have to play in an organisations’ success.  It may have simply slipped my attention,  but I have honestly never heard an organisation come out and say things like “we owe our success to our multi-talented managers”  Or “the real backbone of the organisation is held together by our highly skilled managers”  High profile leaders tend to get the credit for great successes.

So how do we go about changing the image of our managers, and giving those good ones the credit that they are due?  Well here are my thoughts:

  1. Be clear about the limit of the leadership role the manager.  If a manager is an executor of an organisational vision, then specify that they have to have a team vision, which derives from the main vision.   They don’t have to be able to change the world.
  2. At recruitment stage, be clear about why you need the manager.  If their prime focus is people management, then make sure they have people management skills.  If you want a people manager and the successful candidate has written a great thesis on your range of products and the best way to sell them, then you are on the wrong tack.
  3. Develop potential within the organisation, with brilliant role models and clear demonstrations of the skills, behaviours and standards expected.
  4. If your organisation only has aims and targets based on product or service, then that’s where your managers will place their attention.  If you want them to manage your people, then set targets about your people.
  5. Make sure management is  clear about the expectations of them. More importantly be clear you know what you expect of them.  If you shift the goalposts, involve them in the decision.
  6. If you employ specialists or professionals, value your managers as much as, if not more than your specialist or professional contribution.  (Yes really)
  7. Give your manager’s credit for the difficult and dedicated job they do.  Their jobs are highly skilled professional roles, and you should acknowledge that.

In life there are people who work well and people who don’t do so well, and this is reflected at all roles in an organisation, there are poor CEO’s, all the way down the hierarchal chain to poor Administrators;  as well as poor managers.

I believe that the reason for the focus on underperforming management is because they are such a pivotal and impactful force in an organisation.  So let’s raise the standards of our managers and have better businesses, but also give credit when managers are doing a great job and value them.

I hope you enjoyed my small but heartfelt accolade to the manager.  What do you think?  Do you agree?  Why do you think management are getting such a poor press?  I’d love to have your views.

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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The Steps to Organisational Change

  By Guest Post • March 22, 2012 - 9:58 am

Welcome to this weeks Guest Blogger.  Paul Myers is the HR Manager for a local transport company.  He has initiated significant change in his organisation and has managed to keep his staff on board.  He is a people centric manager who has considered how to increase and harness employee engagement at every opportunity.  Below he charts just one of the organisational changes he has led to transform the organisation. 

The Steps to great organisational change

I moved into my current post as HR Manager 4 years ago.  The company had at that time transferred from a deep cultured public sector organisation to the private sector.  Invoking TUPE had meant the process had already involved a painstaking consultation period with trade unions.   .

The organisation is complex.  After the transfer, one of my objectives was the harmonisation of 28 shift patterns across 3 distinct teams, with varied terms and conditions linked to them.

The issues and reasons for harmonisation included.

  1. Varying and different shift patterns being operated between three operational areas.
  2. Not all shift patterns supported 24/7 working
  3. New equipment meant a reduction of workforce and also a requirement for new skills.
  4. Possible further reduction in workforce due to a new project.
  5. Company commitment to minimising compulsory redundancies

Starting Consultation

The objective of the consultation was to mutually agree the harmonisation of the shift patterns, to agree one pattern for all.  The consultation process was a time for all parties to gather and discuss the need for change as well as place suggestions for consideration, counter proposals and refinement.  The objective was to mutually agree the way forward.  The range of the consultation reflected the number of employees affected and the extent of change need to be implemented.

The outline of the consultation process was to:

  1. Undertake consultation period with affected employees and their representatives.
  2. Outline the need for change and timescales.
  3. Set a period of time for suggestions of ideas, proposals and counter proposals
  4. Reviewing and giving consideration to the proposals
  5. Answering and addressing concerns and questions.
  6. Agreeing the way forward.
  7. Getting ready for change such as training and agreeing terms
  8. Implementing change
  9. Monitoring  and reviewing the change.

 

Change Issues

Often with consultation and change programmes, it is difficult to get all parties and employees to agree to the changes in the working practices and terms of employment.  If the changes had not been mutually agreed, an impasse may have resulted between the employees, their representatives and the company.  If an impasse had resulted, then the organisation may have had to take the decision to invoke and enforce change.  Whilst it is was hoped that an impasse was not reached, as long as the organisation had endeavoured to consult before enforcing change, this is likely to be valid with any employment tribunal.

The organisation launched the proposal for change for Economical, Technical, Operational (ETO) reasons. In these circumstances, when it can be proven that consideration has been given to all alternatives, or there has been refusal and objection to mutually agree the way forward, then the change is enforced by giving the contractual notice under the old terms of employment, advising and offering new terms of employment from a set date.

If reaching an impasse and enforcing change, the company may be at risk of breach of contract claims.  This is as a result of the change and terminating the terms of employment, which exist.  To defend such claims the organisation needed to prove the ETO reasons for change; that it had tried to implement due change on reasonable grounds;  and that should the change not occur the business would suffer a severe detriment.

The organisation knew that at that time there was an increased risk of industrial action. This was to be avoided as well as was the leaking of any changes to the local press and media.

Achieving the Goal

Transparency with the Trade Union

I met with the union explained the plan we wished to peruse and set out our reasons. Also suggesting measures we could implement to effect the changes

Full staff Engagement

We stated our commitment to full staff engagement: Involving them fully in the decisions about their jobs to make it work

Accepted the need for disagreement

We used disagreement as a stepping stone to initiate full discussions to reach mutual agreement

The process for change

We started with staff meetings, which was a logistical nightmare due to 24/7 shifts patterns and getting the staff to participate in the meetings.

We worked in partnership with the union.  We held meetings which were quite heated at times, although we were committed to coming to agreement.

Initially we reduced the 28 shift patterns down to 15, covering 24/7/365.  A great deal of work then took place, evaluating salaries, allowances and leave entitlements.  This information together with the advantages and disadvantages of each shift pattern were verified with the unions. .

We then conducted further meetings to discuss the various shift patterns to reduce the 15 to smaller number, to where we could then go into more detailed negotiations.

In the next stage we considered 3 different working patterns.  We carried out further meetings to discuss the issues.  The staff were asked to vote.  One team was reluctant to agree and at that stage refused to reach agreement.

We initiated further discussions which revealed that the team identified a problem which meant that any of the patterns could result in a perceived detriment to their work/life balance.  We suggested some slightly different terms and conditions which had a small cost but in the overall scheme was worth the investment.

Initially they refused to agree this renewed offer.  We recognised however that we had been fair, transparent and given fair alternatives, so we advised them we had no option but to invoke an impasse and force change although we had been clear we had tried to avoid this throughout the process.   We also suggested that we would remove the additional terms and conditions offered.  At the eleventh hour the team agreed the newly offered terms and conditions.

Conclusion

We have now been working the shift patterns for 2 years, and they have been a great success.  This is largely because we have continued with an open door policy with the staff and unions.  As a result of the process we have successfully changed the culture in line with the current needs of the organisation.

The transparency of the process and the good employee relations built in that time helped in a subsequent change when the workforce was reduced by 52%, We had followed the same principles and feel we added the human factor into our HR practice, when dealing with those selected.  During this time, we have also reduced sick absence from pre-transfer from 16% to a remarkable 0.8%.

I firmly believe to be effective in organisational change you must be open transparent and honest with employees and the trade unions to gain maximum effect.

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Paul began his career in the Infantry in the Army, He served 20 years in various locations and was discharged in 1992 at the rank of Warrant OfficerOrganisational change

He commenced employment with his present employer in 1992. With no previous civilian experience, he started on the shop floor. He learned about the company and operations, and using his previous skills gained in the military and took the company through ISO 18001, 14001 and EMAS, gained all accreditations finally producing a integrated management system.

Prior to TUPE transfer on PFI he took the role on as HR Manager, responsible for delivering on the organisational change which involved reducing numbers and the reorganisation of the structure of the operational sections.

In 2 years staff numbers were reduced by 55% and all operational staff where on a one shift system. This was only achieved by being transparent with the unions and achieving maximum engagement with all staff.

He remains active in the ex military community he is trained as a welfare advice officer for SSAFA and The Royal British Legion

To achieve in HR he believes in putting the Human touch back into Human Resources, primarily effecting maximum engagement, transparency and fairness with all employees.  He has dyslexia and this has never been a barrier to his success in life

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Make your Innovative Idea come to Life

  By Christina Lattimer • March 5, 2012 - 6:36 am
The innovative process is available to everyone!innovative

You either own or run a business, and so you know what it takes to make a concept work.  You must be providing a product or a service which is or has been in demand.  If your business is thriving then congratulations, if not doing so well, then take heart.   You have the means within yourself to expand and create new and innovative products or service.  You just have to believe you have and that you can.

You may be in the position where you aren’t sure about how you expand and accelerate growth in your business, or you may have a great idea, but are not sure how to make it a reality.  Either way, the first thing you have to do is get clear.

The innovative process is not going to begin until your mind formulates a clear outcome. The problem is, is that we get fixated on the details, and the “how’s” and this actually inhibits the creative process.  All you need to do, to start is have an outcome.

I remember coaching a young entrepreneur in her 20’s.  She had paralysed herself into inaction because she wasn’t sure which career path to take.  She had got to a crossroads in her life, and wasn’t sure what she wanted.  After some exploration, she realised that she didn’t need to be specific about exactly what her career looked like, but she did need to be specific about how she would feel about what she did.

Thus her success criteria and outcome became.  “She would feel enthused and love what she did.  She would feel motivated and grateful that she was doing work which made a huge difference”.  Ok, so she still had to make choices, but outlining an outcome that meant something to her gave her a standard or a benchmark to work towards.   As she tried different things, if her outcome didn’t materialise, then she knew she had to try something else.

You may have an innovative idea, and a clear outcome for a product or a service which is going to make a difference, but are not sure how to make it happen.   Alternatively, you may just want to make your business profitable, more profitable or make a bigger impact, but at this stage you may have no idea about how that is going to happen.  In both situations simply set out the outcomes that you want, and that process will give you a massive head start.

The next step in the innovative process is to believe it can happen.  Doubt is the biggest prohibitive force in the innovative process.  Doubt shuts off your mind to the possibilities out there.   If you think you can’t then – guess what – you can’t.  If you doubt you can, then it either shuts off the mind, or delays the realisation of your innovative idea.

I’ll give you an example.  A number of years ago, a team I worked with wanted to be great at customer service.  To change the mind-set, the only way was to access some in-depth customer service training.  After some research, across the board of all the providers who could help, the cost came to some £25k for all of the staff to be trained (It was a large team, and the training stretched over  a number of  months).

There was no way that sort of budget was available.  There was a resignation across the management team that it wasn’t going to happen.  But I asked the team to keep open to possibilities.  That if we kept out doubt then a solution would appear.  And it did.  About 3 weeks later we received a call from a company who had heard we were looking for customer service training, could they come and talk to us?  Because we hadn’t dismissed the possibility, we agreed.   It turned out the training company had access to grant funding for just what we were looking for.  Altogether, a team of 30 people were trained for 9 months, with a City and Guilds qualification for under £2k.

I could relate many stories like that which show the power of trusting that you can make things happen is key to the innovative process.  The vital message here is that you simply need to get started with an outcome and then believe it can happen.

Here at People Discovery, we help clients formulate their success criteria, and then find a way to make things happen, which works to each owners individual style, to realise their outcome.

If you have any questions, or have a great innovative story to tell, then let us know.  We would love to hear from you.

This coming week, I have a brilliant guest blogger who is a writer and entrepreneur, who will talk about sparking creativity.  Look out for her blogspot in the next few days!

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Thinking – What People Managers Need To Know – Part 2

  By Christina Lattimer • February 29, 2012 - 5:06 pm
People Managers need to know about thinking! Thinking

This is my second blog in a series of 3, where I take a look at 3 basic psychological components which great people leaders and managers know and work with to create great teams. In Part One, I outlined the importance of the power of belief and understanding how your employee’s beliefs can influence your business.

In this part I explore thinking skills.

Wikipedia describes thinking as “Thought generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual’s subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas”

Actually despite what some people think (pardon the pun), the way we think is a learned skill.  Decisive thinking around interpretation of information you take in creates beliefs.  The most startling and powerful effects of thinking are that firstly:  thinking creates your reality and secondly:  the way you think creates your energy.  We can also use different ways of thinking as a skill to get things done.

Thinking creates your reality in a number of ways.  What you focus on is what you experience.  If you think constantly about positive things, ideas and concepts then you will feel positive, and you will perceive good and helpful people, events and situations in your life.   Conversely, negative thinking can create discontent, unhappiness and even depression.

We all have experienced positive and negative thinkers haven’t we?  We have people with “can do or can’t do” attitudes.  We have people who see the bright side or the bleak side.   In the workplace, we tend to be grateful to positive thinkers and tear our hair about negative thinkers.   But how does our own thinking influence a team?

A friend of mine has an 8 year old son, he was getting into trouble at school for irritating but fairly low key behaviour, for example, shouting out in the class, digging a hole in the school garden.  He was brought to task for these misdemeanours but then an insidious pattern began to emerge.  As he was “punished” i.e. sent out of the class, taken to the heads office, things began to get worse.  My friend suddenly began to dread picking her son up from school, as she would often be ushered into the classroom for another update about what her son had done that day.

Things came to a head when her son, told her he didn’t want to go on any longer, that he hated school and broke into tears.  At a meeting with the head teacher, she found that a report was being kept, passed around teachers where any poor behaviour was being recorded, and reported to the head at the end of the week.   After all the school had a strict behaviour policy.  The head would then relate the misdemeanours to the young boy and wrangle a promise out of him that next week he would behave better.  He never did.

My friend was horrified that the focus was on her son’s poor behaviour.  After a lengthy, frank and difficult meeting with the head teacher, my friend managed to persuade him that focusing on her son’s positive behaviour would generate different results.  Reluctantly and with some professional advice, the head changed tack.  My friend’s son never looked back and the label and thinking around him being a “naughty boy” dropped and he became happier and brighter.

Whether you are a teacher in a class of young children or a manager of a team of adults. What you think about them is what you get.  If you concentrate on what your team doesn’t do well and how they perform badly.  Guess what.  You are creating and strengthening that reality in your team.

I used to tell my kids off for speaking and thinking negatively.  I was always aware of the energy or vibration about a person when they thought positively or not.  They used to think I was weird.  But now in their adult years they know that the way they think creates the energy they give out into the world.

If you think positively, openly, truthfully and generously; that energy will vibrate to everyone you meet.  In the words of Buddha:  “What you think you become” Mostly commonly coined “You are what you think”.  Good leaders and managers know that their thinking creates their energy and that energy is what impacts their team.

We can use thinking skills to increase efficiency and improve performance too.  Understanding different ways of thinking and how these can be used effectively in different situations is critical to becoming sharp, focussed and clear.  When solving problems and creating new ideas, different thinking approaches broaden out and give depth to concepts and ideas.

Eduard De Bono wrote about 6 thinking hats.  In summary these are:

White Hat:  Focus on data, information and analysis

Red Hat:  Using your Intuition focusing on how others react emotionally

Black Hat: Focus on negative aspects

Yellow Hat: Focus on positive optimistic thoughts

Green Hat:  Creative thinking

Blue Hat: Process or procedural thinking

Using different thinking hats to approach a problem from all angles is a powerful way to provide breadth and depth.   The trick is to be able to use and switch between types of thinking at will and that takes some skill.

When I was a middle manager, I went through a stage of being overwhelmed at times by the number of tasks, projects and problems I had to think about.  I had high energy and got through a lot.  But the turning point for me came when I read De Bono’s book “Teach yourself how to think”.  At that point, I wasn’t terribly good at structured thinking,   but I learned and my working life changed significantly for the better.

What do you think?  Do you use thinking skills in the workplace?  Do you and your team understand the power of focussed and positive thinking?   We’d love to hear from you.

If you would like to know more, or want to claim your free consultation.  Contact us by visiting peoplediscovery.co.uk .

Watch out for Part 3 in the next few days.

This blog is available in audio.  If you don’t see the audio button below visit

To find out more click here

thinking

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Sales People, Can They be 100% Honest?

  By Guest Post • February 22, 2012 - 8:06 am

Sales and Integrity?

Welcome to my second guest blogspot – I am really pleased to introduce Richard Lane of durhamlane, Sales Consultancy.  Richard has a fresh and honest approach to his expertise which helped me when I was first starting up.    Much gratitude to Richard for his blog post.  You can find more about Richard and durhamlane below.  Enjoy!

“Can a sales person be 100% honest? That would make for an interesting blog post” a good friend said to me a while ago.  The question has been playing on my mind ever since. I suppose a similar question would be is something Black or White. To me, being a sales professional relies on being able to see the colours in-between – or ‘grayscale’ to use the language of my HP printer.

If we relate “100% honesty” to having integrity, being the consummate professional and always trying to do the right thing by your clients and prospects then it is essential.  Success in Sales means being able to navigate around a customer’s organisation – listening here, offering advice and providing feedback there. It is not our place to make controversial statements or to disenfranchise. Rather we must challenge – where and when appropriate – and build rapport and relationships that make someone want to buy from us. Offering value, becoming a trusted advisor and delivering products and services that have a positive impact.

There are times when it is better to stay quiet rather than speak up, others when we focus on one feature at the expense of another. Does this mean you are being dishonest? Only if you do so in the knowledge that you are not offering your prospect or customer the best solution possible.

The Sales Profession has built itself a reputation that not many envy. Perhaps this is because of a tendency to focus on short-term success. Worse, Management has pushed a culture of short-termism. This type of self-preservation is not long-lasting. Trust rapidly disintegrates. The most important sale is not the first to a new customer but the second – when you have successfully delivered so that they want to come back for more.

I know lots of great sales people who are focused on developing win-win relationships built on trust, reliability and professionalism. The word cloud above comes from a survey we ran a year or so ago where we asked sales people what first words came to mind when they thought of Sales. We intend to run it again soon and will share the results.

The Sales Profession knows it has to do better and it is rising to the challenge. I could point you to many sites both here in the UK, the US and around the rest of the world where sales individuals and organisations are helping others to make a lasting difference. Just four examples of sales pro’s I respect include:

Dave Stein at
Paul Castain at Sales Playbook
Neil Warren at Modern Selling
Donal Daly at

2012 will see all of us here at continuing do our bit to put a positive dent in the sales universe. What can you do to put Pride back into Sales?

 

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Before becoming a recognised sales trainer and coach, Richard spent his career in sales, management and sales leadership positions for learning and software/technology companies.  Having won numerous global blue-chip customers, Richard successfully managed global client teams to service and grow these accounts.  His passion is in crafting solutions designed to solve complex business challenges, always with the goal of creating win-win and long-term value.

Business fit, business value and long-term relationships are at the heart of everything Richard does.  He is driven by a desire to raise the bar of the sales profession in the UK.  Having worked every sales role, he has an instinctive ability to relate to both business owners and their individual sales staff, motivating, increasing confidence and providing inspiration.  No matter the title, Richard has always kept selling; leading by example.

He is a blogger, a runner, a blues guitar player, a self-confessed “non-techie-techie” and a member of the Institute of Sales & Sales Management. To find out more about Richard and durhamlane, visit:. To sign up to durhamlane’s newsletter, visit:    You can also follow Richard on twitter @richardmlane and @durhamlane [/message]

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Values – an Important Way of Working

  By christinapd • February 20, 2012 - 9:22 am

Values Values  –  A Question of Integrity

I have always been a values driven person.  During my early years I wanted to make a difference and to help people become happier and more satisfied.  As a result I went down the path of people management.   Although I found I had a gift of business acumen and creating successful teams, it was the people underneath who inspired me and where my focus lay.

I remember also a time when my intrinsic values were challenged.  A lady who I was assigned to deliver a project with had somewhat different values to me.  At that time I believed in equal opportunities for all.  I believed that fairness, openness and transparency were paramount. I realised the potential to indirectly discriminate, and also about the power of our minds to subconsciously discriminate on appearances.  I believed in being honest, doing the right thing and respecting everyone.

I also at that time thought that everyone shared some if not all of these fundamental values.  I was mistaken.  The project manager who was leading a programme I had been appointed to work on was very different from me.

Working along side this person, I recalled a story my friend had told me about a boy at her son’s school.  When caught cheating by copying some exam questions from another, his response was “its not cheating, it’s simply getting the answers by an easier route” Or words to that effect.  We laughed at his audacity.  But in my naivety I didn’t think this expedient approach would appear in my world of work.  Again I was mistaken.

The project manager I discovered was tough, ruthless and had the same principles as the boy at school.  Her philosophy was that the end justified the means.  That you sometimes had to make tough decisions which overrode any values you might have cherished upon the way.  You eye had to be on the end result and all that mattered was the result.  What’s more I found that senior managers and people of influence bowed down, respected and encouraged this approach.

For some of you reading, I guess you might think that my own values were soft and unrealistic in what can be a ruthless world.  And as I came upon this stark contrast to my own way of doing things, I spent 6 torturous months, re-evaluating my approach and what this new information meant.  It was a steep but necessary learning curve for me.  I began to doubt my own values and began to feel ineffective in the wake of someone who steam rollered over all my suggestions about how things should be done.

This period of self doubt and discomfort is often a necessary stage of learning and growth, and one which I had often sidestepped.  After all it’s much easier to make the other person wrong rather than admit you might well be.

What I learned in this time was this:

  • Examining others values and incorporating their philosophy into your own values can actually help you grow.  I am glad I didn’t reject the values I was being faced with; I learned a lot about myself and others through this process.  I would urge you to look at this in this light.
  • I always had a :  So for example, I would respect that sometimes the boundaries between my employee’s personal life and work sometimes encroached, particularly during stressful life events, but that the business could only bend so far to accommodate.  We had a business to run.  I learned that other people had a much shorter bottom line, and that was their prerogative.
  • That organisational values and ideals could and would erode when faced with crisis or major change, and that senior managers could and would often support this.  This can arise quite often when faced with a financial crisis, or a battle for survival.
  • I realised that I could respect other people’s values even when they weren’t my own.  I might not agree with them, but there were occasions when I had no choice but to accept them.

Even in times of crisis or change, your values don’t need to actually change, indeed to maintain the credibility and trust of your customers and employees; this is the time you need to demonstrate your commitment to fundamental values even more strongly.  But you must also be diligent and articulate your bottom line.  So for example, you might have a policy around family friendly policies, but that if your business is on the verge of bankruptcy, you might have to review these and ask people to do more.

The lady in question wasn’t a cheat.  She just valued outcomes more and the way people came along with the change came second.  She wasn’t dishonest, just didn’t value the input of others because it would slow the process down.   She got the job done, but she didn’t make many friends upon the way.   Did it make financial sense?  Yes in the short term.  Did it earn the respect of the employees affected?  No, not in the long or short term.

In the process of my learning, did I change my values?   A big resounding no.  I realised that a values driven approach can be seen as slow and soft.  It isn’t.  What I learned is that having a commitment to values, with a clear and transparent bottom line is essential to gaining credibility and commitment.

What I don’t do, is dismiss other people’s values because they are not the same as mine, or indeed judge them.   I consider them in the context they are being applied.  If I am working with people whose values don’t coincide with mine, I try to put myself in their shoes.  If I am standing in their shoes and still feel so uncomfortable I can’t walk, then I simply walk away, in my own shoes with my own values intact.

What do you think?  Are you able to respect others values when yours are in question?  Do you think its imperative for employers to maintain their values even in times of great change?  How important is it to have a values driven philosophy?

 

 

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.