Making It Personal
I was having dinner at
a restaurant in Kota Kinabalu recently.
The table had a slight wobble to it.
For some people, this can be annoying, bit for me it wasn’t so
noticeable that it was ruining my dining experience. When the waiter came to clear the dishes, he
noticed that the table was wobbling and, without any prompting from me, fixed
the wobble and apologised!
This is the kind of situation where noticing the little
things counts. For the waiter, it was
clearly a matter of personal pride that one of “his” tables wasn’t working
properly. He could have ignored it, or
decided that if I didn't complain, he wouldn’t do anything. I’m sure that most of us have encountered the
latter attitude…
I wrote before that
it’s
the little things that count.
That
was a “negative experience” story and I was delighted to find a “positive” one to
talk about this time.
I also told the
restaurant manager about the employee’s actions as I think that positive feedback
is as much use as (the more usual) negative.
We all want to encourage more good behaviour, so let’s make sure it’s
recognised when we spot it!
People always remember you when you praise them, so you may
be surprised at the different level of service you receive in future if you
take the time to find the “good”.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial
services around the world running
different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide
solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email
. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be
asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Teamwork
Getting Them “On Board”
I often hear business
owners commenting that their employees aren’t “committed” to the business. What they mean by this is that they don't see
the same level of commitment that they (the owner) put in.
This is common. Most
employees see a job as “just a pay cheque” – a means to an end. They come in in the morning, do what they’re
supposed to/asked to and leave at the end of the day. A small group see the job as a calling and
give everything they’ve got.
So how do we get “more”?
The answer: engage
them. The trick is to find out what “speaks”
to everyone. Even more, we need to know
who’s capable of what, otherwise there’s potential for a group of “loose
cannons”.
The various means of engagement can be (but are not limited
to):
Talk to them: we’re all guilty of simply not talking with
people and finding out their interests, hopes, desires and ambitions. How can we use these to help them enjoy
working and to develop their abilities (see Explore
and use their talent below)?
Explore and use their talent: There’s nothing more discouraging
than having a skill that we know will benefit the business, but which the owner
doesn’t (or won’t) use. There may be any
number of reasons for this, but someone who sees their talent being wasted
will, eventually, go where they’re appreciated.
We may need to gain confidence in their exercise of this talent, so we
give them incrementally larger jobs until we can delegate.
Give responsibility/delegate: Some people want the chance to show that they can do something from A-Z. Before allowing them to rush off, we
need to make sure that they have the knowledge,
experience, and authority to do
the job. Equally, we need to be available (particularly the first few
times) to provide additional advice when asked.
The payback comes when we can let people run with tasks that free us up
to do other things whilst also providing the opportunity for them to develop
their skills.
Ask their opinion (and listen to it): I’m just as guilty of the
“my way or the highway” mentality as anyone else. Often, though, I find that someone else’s
perspective results in a new way of seeing a problem and perhaps a better
solution than I would have generated on my own.
Yes, the final decision is still mine, but as I’ve found, there’s more
than one way of skinning the proverbial cat.
If we want to work with a set of uncommitted drones, we can
carry on as now. Or we can change the
way we look at others (harder, but more rewarding).
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial
services around the world running
different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide
solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Leadership, Social, Strategy, Teamwork
