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Genuine Interest in Developing Others – a "Sound of Music" to my Heart

11/25/2013

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I was sitting in our family room when I heard the announcement – Carrie Underwood would be doing a live performance of the Sound of Music this holiday season.  My mind immediately flashed back to 5th grade.  My heart rate and blood pressure both shot up.  Silly as it seems, hearing this musical triggered a significant personal development in my life.  

It was the late 60’s and I was getting ready to give my oral report in music class on Marie, Captain Von Trapp, his children, and their exploits to ultimately escape the German Army.  I was well prepared but extremely nervous of speaking in front of my class.  That is a huge understatement – I was petrified! When my turn came, I had worked myself up so much that I ultimately broke down and cried in front of my classmates and teacher.  It was traumatic – especially for an eleven year old in a small, rural school.  

That same evening I received a call from my pastor – Rev. Clark.  She explained she had been to the doctor that day and had been diagnosed with a severe throat problem.  She would need to limit her speaking during Sunday services.  She needed my help.  Without hesitation I said “sure, I am happy to help.” – it was my pastor right? Three days later I got back up on that ‘horse’. Each Sunday morning, for the next several months, I got up and addressed our full congregation. I was still nervous when it was my turn to present, but I continually improved and gained confidence.  Years later, I found out my 5th grade homeroom teacher had called Rev. Clark about my embarrassing situation.

Taking a genuine interest in a person’s development is a global driver of employee engagement.  My story reinforces four key principles in personal development:
  • Be creative.  My homeroom teacher found a ‘safer’ place for me to practice public speaking and someone who also had a genuine interest in me.  Employees do not appreciate leaders who only give out ‘cookie cutter’ advice and ‘one size fits all’ personal development solutions.  
  • Step-by-Step.  I was given small amounts of speaking at church and had more responsibilities added as I improved.  Change took time.  Leaders should avoid getting impatient and rely on a ‘one and done’ development activity for their employees.       
  • Take prudent risks.  Rev. Clark allowed me to become a significant contributor in her service for 80-100 parishioners.  She took a risk.  Leaders need to take some risks – empower employees - and reinforce they believe in their employees’ skills, abilities, and potential.   
  • Provide timely, specific feedback.  After each Sunday service, I received specific feedback on things I did well and things I needed to improve on.  This fueled my confidence and a desire to do even better next time. Leaders must complement their formal performance feedback process with timely informal assessment, recommendations and comments.      
   
When employees see someone investing time and energy into their personal development, the relationship strengthens, trust grows, and extra commitment as well as effort follows.  Because of two ladies’ commitment to my personal development over 40 years ago, public speaking has become a major component in my successful career.  How can you personally invest in your employees’ development and help them be more successful?
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Are Your Employees Talking About You?

11/4/2013

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An interesting advertisement in an October edition of Bloomberg Businessweek caught my eye.  It involved a concept whose origin dates back over 1200 years, Word-of- Mouth (WOM).  The ad focused on different ways to measure one critical WOM- that of the customer.  

Customer word-of-mouth has a powerful influence on business results.  Consider the following:
  • According to McKinsey & Company, it (WOM) is the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions.
  • RetailCustomerExperience.com reports “twice as many people tell others about ‘bad’ service than good.”
  • London School of Business says, “Strong customary advocacy on behalf of a company is one of the best predictors of top line growth.”
  • According to a study by Forrester Research, the Nielsen Company, and Vizu Corporation, approximately 80 percent of customers trust word of mouth more than any other kind of information when evaluating potential purchases

What lessons can we learn and apply from customer word-of-mouth to engage high performance? How can we apply these important principles to our human capital? Here are some key questions to consider: 
  1. Critical Listening.  Organizations need robust formal and informal ways to listen to what employees are talking about?  Processes like entrance and exit interviews, employee opinion surveys, hot-lines, and social media activity should complement traditional methods like town hall meetings, employee Q&A sessions, and roundtable discussions.  Does your organization actively practice ‘critical listening’ of employee opinions?  
  2. Storytelling.  It is a powerful form of WOM communication.  The stories your current and past employees share transmit the organization’s values and beliefs.  Now add the use of social media and an employee can reach and influence large numbers of people with their feelings about your company, good or bad.  What stories are current ‘and’ past employees sharing and passing on to others?
  3. Promoters or Distractors.  Promoters are advocates for your brand and ‘encourage’ others to do business with you – buy your products and services.  Distractors ‘discourage’ these actions?  Are your current and past employees acting more like ‘promoters’ or ‘distractors’?
  4. Listening is not enough.  It is only step #1.  Analyzing, investigating, and taking action must also be done to improve performance and demonstrate we care.  It works with customers and it works with employees too.

Word-of- mouth influences decision-making. It tends to focus on opportunities for improvement and can impact both current and future performance. Marketing has learned this – some HR groups have too. What are your employees talking about?

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    Brian Gareau is a Speaker, Author and Consultant.

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