Don’t Skip These Four Rungs on the Corporate Ladder

Are you climbing the corporate ladder?  When asked, a common response from many professionals is a desire to progress and grow their career – whether within one company or spanning across several.

Career growth goals are good.  But how often do we really make a plan for how to develop both our technical and leadership skills in the process?

Here’s the invaluable truth:  The higher up you go in an organization’s hierarchy, the value of your technical job skill declines while the value of your interpersonal skills increase. 

What does that mean?

The “lower” in the organizational chart you are, the more granular detail and control you have of your job responsibilities.  Your knowledge is deep within specific tasks in that job function.  For example, a payroll clerk knows the ins and outs of the process involved in running payroll for a company.  The input of hours into the system and actual check cutting follows a specific process that is the required expertise of the clerk.

However, the inverse is true of the payroll manager.  While he must understand the overall process of cutting payroll checks, he must also oversee the larger functions of the accounting department such as payables, receivable, tax, etc.  A higher level of coordination must exist among each departmental function while depending on individual members of the department to their individual jobs.  Detailed job knowledge is less while the broader leadership skills increase.

Why pause on this concept?

Sadly, employees are often promoted through the ranks in an organization because they do the tactical elements of the job well.  “He is great widget maker, so let’s promote him to manage everyone who makes widgets.”  Unfortunately, the skills that make him a good widget maker are not necessarily the skills that make a good manager and leader.

If you find yourself in a leadership position of any type (and titles are irrevelant), it is important to recognize (for your own success) the importance of developing your interpersonal leadership skills.

Here are four areas successful leaders continually develop:

1.    Their antennae are always up.
These leaders force themselves to be aware of their messaging to others which means they watch body language (which means they slow down and possible re-cue some messages), they ask clarifying questions (they recognize communication is always two-way), and they don’t assume the other person has a shared meaning of their intended message.

2.    They ask two questions of themselves each week.
Q1: What did I learn from my team this week?  – This means I’m listening to the people who understand and perform the detailed tasks that create the team’s total performance.  My payroll clerk is closest to the payrolls system and knows better than anyone if it’s working correctly.

Q2: What did my team learn from me this week? – This means I’m coaching and teaching the people I lead every day.  How am I helping them in their development?  Where are the opportunities to offer praise?  This is where the relationship is created.

3.    They continually seek an extra “piece” of feedback.
Leaders seeking real growth are not satisfied with a simple “good job” from a customer, employee or leader.  Improvement requires feedback on specific behaviors so they intentionally ask for suggestions for improvement even when the shareholder seems pleased.  How can I listen more closely to my customers?  What are ways to anticipate my team’s needs?  What one additional task could I perform even better?

4.    They are accountable to someone.
Growth is a process and let’s face it, when done right it is painful.  Changing habits or acquiring new skills is a gradual process which means we must involve someone else in the process.  The key for accountability is someone who asks you the tough questions you won’t ask yourself.  They encourage your progress too.

Aspirations for career growth and advancement are admirable.  In fact, the movement keeps organizations alive.  The challenge for us as leaders is to remember that the skills that got us here won’t get us there.  So, where is your “there”?  And what is your development plan that will take you to that next step?  Happy climbing.

There really is more to a name: employee classifications matter

Full time.  Part time.  Contract.  Companies spend dollars on each of these workers.  And while a dollar is a dollar to a budget, the distinction between these employment classifications may soon prove costly for employers who do not abide by the rules.

In its proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year, the Department of Labor is allocating $25 million for a joint initiative with the Department of the Treasury to hire investigators to target employers who misclassify labor definitions.

The opportunity to hire contract labor versus adding internal headcount can be financially attractive to employers.  Companies are not responsible for withholding income taxes, paying Social Security, or contributing to workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance for independent contractors. Those expenses are the responsibility of the freelance worker.

If you classify an employee as an independent contractor and have no reasonable basis for doing so, you may be held liable for employment taxes for that worker in addition to potentially sizable fines.

Surprisingly, there is not a universal definition of an “employee”. The standards vary across state including federal statutes affecting taxes, discrimination, pay and benefits.

But generally speaking, the determination of whether someone is an employee hinges on how much control he or she has over required tasks and the extent to which the person is exposed to financial costs and risk.

IRS Guidelines
The IRS shares the following six tips for employers which clarify the contractor versus employee definition:

  1. Three characteristics are used by the IRS to determine the relationship between businesses and workers: Behavioral Control, Financial Control, and the Type of Relationship.
  2. Behavioral Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control how the work is done through instructions, training or other means.
  3. Financial Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control the financial and business aspects of the worker’s job.
  4. The Type of Relationship factor relates to how the workers and the business owner perceive their relationship.
  5. If you have the right to control or direct not only what is to be done, but also how it is to be done, then your workers are most likely employees.
  6. If you can direct or control only the result of the work done — and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result — then your workers are probably independent contractors.

Recommended Steps
Don’t just assume your employee classifications are in good shape.  Some possible action steps include:

  • Periodically review your employee roster by job category and check it against the recommended IRS guidelines.
  • Conduct a financial audit of monies paid to independent contractors.  Determine if the amount could raise a possible red flag to an third party’s review.
  • If you have independent contractors engaged, review their tasks against the IRS guidelines.  Ensure there is no potential that the tasks could easily be performed in-house.
  • Review independent contractor contracts to ensure consistency and clarity of terms.

This issue may not apply to your organzation today.  Perhaps you do not currently employ independent workers.  If and when that need arises, ensure you proceed correctly.

The additional focus from the Department of Labor won’t take effect until next year which gives employers time to reach compliance.  An investigation avoided is always your best course of action.

Some Helpful Resources
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/taxinfo/a/contractor1.htm
http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/27/00/43.php

Do you know the pulse of your team?

We’ve all been there.   The setting?  Your doctor’s office.   The purpose?  Your annual physical.  Your excitement?  You would rather be ANYWHERE else.

During that one hour exam, we are poked and prodded as the physician captures the information that tells him or her how your health measures up.  Our heart rate, blood pressure, and other physical tests become a measuring stick to our future.

And although it isn’t the appointment we necessarily look forward to, it is essential to our health.  During those checkpoints of vital signs and other important measurements, we are assured that all is well or alerted to issues worthy of a deeper look.

Hmmm….isn’t that also our concern in our workplace?  How healthy is your team and when is the last time you gave it a check up?

Now, we may be quick to respond that our monthly financials really communicate the viability of our company or even that employee evaluations provide performance feedback to individuals.

And while these are metrics of the business, it is important to remember that those metrics are created daily by individual members of our team.  The check up we speak of here is at that personal level so that, when healthy, those monthly and annual goals can become even more successful.

So, how do you take the pulse of your team?

It requires multiple avenues of feedback from your team every 3-4 months.  These various touch points allow you to identify issues and drill to a deeper level with solutions.  A practical three-avenue approach includes the following:

Avenue #1:  Begin with an anonymous survey that asks the following questions:

  1. Do you understand where the company is going and what you need to do every morning?
  2. Do you see how you fit in?
  3. Do you receive effective and timely feedback on your performance?
  4. What is the most irritating thing our company does to its customers?
  5. Why do you work here?

The answers to these questions will reveal these invaluable aspects of your success (or lack thereof):

  1. Where the company is going?  Vision and strategic future of my team, department or company
  2. How I fit in?  I understand the importance of what I do – it has value and therefore I do too
  3. Receive feedback?  Are leaders interacting with the team as they should be.
  4. Customer irritants?  Your team knows the customer much more intimately than leadership will.  We need to listen to them because they listen to your customers.
  5. Why work here?  You will discover the intangibles of your workplace that engage the team.  Those are strengths to build from.

Avenue #2:  Take it a step further

What you learn from those five questions will give you the information to drill deeper for answers that positively impact the team.  Consider focus groups with a cross section of the team.  Share what you have learned from the surveys and ask their involvement to improve a specific issue.  Some quick tips:

  • Provide breakfast or lunch for the focus group.  Refreshments always lighten the mood and encourage interaction.
  • Thank participants in advance for what they do.  Do your homework and personalize those thank you’s.
  • Share something new or exciting happening in the business.  Help them feel like real “insiders” to the business.
  • Capture the ideas shared in the focus group.  That means you need a scribe who listens “between the lines” for the messages behind the messages.
  • Look for easy wins.  Be open minded to the suggestions that mean a great deal to your team.  If there isn’t a viable reason to say no, why not say yes?  You can even try suggestions on a pilot approach as well.  Your yes tells your team you are listening.
  • Promise and deliver action.  For those suggestions you consider, be honest with the group on how/when next steps can be expected.  Then communicate to the group and larger organization the outcomes.

Avenue #3:  Personal follow up

Surveys and small group interaction are two reliable feedback loops.  This final avenue is where the relationship will occur.  Personal leadership requires interaction and the more we interact, the greater engagement  (healthiness) occurs.  Where possible, reach out to the individual members of your team and initiate conversation.  Talk about the issues that are important to them and keep them posted on the team’s progress.

Now, back to that doctor’s office.  We ensure the check up and anxiously wait for the physician to tell us, “Everything looks good.”  We breathe a sigh of relief and are ready to go about our life again.

I encourage you to try these three feedback avenues with your team. Start those check-ups now so you can not only hear those “everything looks good” words, but be healthy and thrive.

The doctor is in.

Three Essential Steps of Process Improvement

Improving performance. It’s the name of the game for business of all types. We focus on improving how we do what we do in the hopes of achieving greater reward.

But sadly, working faster or even smarter doesn’t always hit the mark we aim for. Process improvement is not an equation that works as predictably as 2=2=4. There are many variables; however there is a process that if followed, will create positive results.

1.  Measure where you currently are
Too often, we jump right in to trying to “fix things” without really knowing what needs to be fixed. Before you can successfully improve any process or task, you must first take an honest and accurate assessment of where you currently are. What about your process isn’t working? A poor hand-off of tasks among your team requires a very different solution than a lack of skill or knowledge with tasks being completed.

In addition, it’s important to do more than simply identify the problem. You must also measure it. This is Goal Setting 101, but until we place metrics to our current condition, how will we ever know we’ve made any significant improvement.

Stabilize the current process
Think about a patient on the operating table. He may have many internal injuries that need attention, but until you stop the bleeding, your efforts are futile to save him. That’s the concept of stabilization. Once you have confronted the brutal facts of specifically what needs to improve, you must get it to a point that is no longer detrimental – stop the bleeding, so to speak. If skill deficiencies are the issue, then rearrange resources – on a temporary basis – to successfully complete the tasks that need attention. Whatever the need, move into emergency mode and address it.

During this process, it is essential that you communicate clearly to all involved what is happening. In any emergency mode, roles change and urgency is key so be sure to keep people informed on the why’s and status of your improvement plan.

Improve identified targets
Now, this is usually where we jump in to fix everything. However, this is step #3 in our plan not step #1. Because you have been thorough in identifying where/what needs improvement and have implemented a temporary solution, you can spend the time, energy and resources required to make the necessary improvements. There are several benefits to this approach. For skill deficiencies, your team will appreciate gaining the needed resources to do the job. While gaining competency (and confidence) take time, you will know the job is being done correctly. Your pace may be slower than desired at first, but the performance will be correct. 

For the people issues that cause problems (and let’s face it, they can be many), you have the opportunity to “reset” the team so to speak. What is your team’s purpose? What are the client’s expectations? How do we measure success? The answers to each of these questions allow your team members to make a choice of being involved and committed.

If that cannot occur, you have the opportunity to make the changes necessary so those goals can be achieved (and those team members have actually made that choice as well). This part of the process also takes time and let’s be honest, is the most dreaded. But again, you have the benefit of working toward very specific targets that have been identified along the way.

Now, for those of you who are really determined to take your team and organization to the next level of performance, you really have one more step: Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Successful organizations don’t stop with one improved process. They recognize the journey and reality that this process must be reiterated in every area of the business – including the process you just improved. You are never “done”.

So, is there any encouragement in this task? Is it time-consuming? Yes. Is it difficult? Often, yes. Will some players complain? You can count on it. But take heart. You don’t have to worry about the organizations that don’t do this. They won’t be around. Bu you will.

Not deciding IS deciding

Have you been there?  You are a part of management team but you don’t seem to be making progress.  Your meetings feel like a scene from the movie, The Groundhog Day.  You discuss issues over and over but a solution is never implemented.  It is a frustration that will take even the most laid back professional to the edge.

How does this happen?  Leaders…this issue is yours.  A delay in making a decision on important issues is actually making a decision.  Have you ever thought about it this way?

Now, it’s easy to blame our indecisiveness on our personality type, others, or a “but our situation is different” excuse.  But instead, let’s talk about the role a leader has in moving the organization forward and the danger he or she creates when this doesn’t happen.

Some Considerations
Accountability to outcomes
As the leader of your organization (or department), the responsibility for outcomes is yours.  Your outcomes may include financials, client relationships, reduced turnover or innovation; but those can only result when you make the decisions to either pursue or abandon a course of action.

Risk adverse?
Your personality may instill in you an opposition to taking risks and as such, you may be pensive on decisions because you feel you never have enough pertinent data.  One remedy for this mindset is to clearly outline the potential benefits and risks to your issue.  Secondly, create a contingency plan if the decision to move forward is not successful.

The Consequences of “No” Decision
Missed opportunities
The dynamic of never having enough information to pull the trigger on a decision or the tendency to keep revisiting a similar issue over and over may cause you to miss key opportunities.  Your competitors are willing to at least try.  And even if they miss the mark a bit, they may be ahead of you in the market.  In today’s competitive landscape, organizations sometimes cannot afford to wait until every condition is perfect before moving forward.  That’s why contingency planning is so important.

An injured team
Your team “dies” a little bit every time they see you cycle into your delay mode.   Several things occur.  When they believe they have completed due diligence and explored every possible what if scenario, they question your trust in them.  When they see the group “going down the same road again” mindset, they worry about the wasted time, energy and resources spent on an idea that may never come to pass.  The question your understanding of what they do.

Let’s face it.  As the leader, you have an enormous responsibility.  And while no one can have a strength in every skill, the ability to make decisions is one every leader must focus on.

How can we get better?
Not sure if you are decisive?  Start asking those who know you best to give you some honest and direct feedback.  They’ve seen how you think and your process when making decisions.  However, if you are willing to ask the questions, you must be willing to listen to the feedback.

You  may also consider these resources.  They are good starting point for self-awareness and improvement.

Where do you go from here?  Hmmm…sounds like a decision.  What will you do?