Monday Moments by Monica Wofford

  Whether you believe Santa still shimmies down your chimney with presents or you’ve figured out your parents really stomped on the roof and told you it was reindeer, there’s still that little kid in many of us that wishes we could send a letter to Santa and have him deliver. What if you could send Santa a list of all the things leaders want and he’d just drop it off at your door. Ha! I’d even be willing to pay the shipping charges and bake special reindeer treats for these! What would be on YOUR Leadership List to Santa? Would you add anything to the items listed here? Angelic employees who did all that we ask Vendors who always go above and beyond Paperwork that magically gets done Reports that seem to write themselves Performance problems that disappear with ease Difficult people who do the same Skilled people to promote from within An office that is well organized and always neat Mandatory blackberry breaks in which we CAN’T send or receive emails Days off when we need them Positive people to keep us focused A life that is as fulfilling, or even more so, than our work Come to think of it… when I look over this list, I can safely say that Santa has been very good to me and to us. This year has been filled with many joys and jump starts to growth and we are truly grateful for each contribution from team members, coaches, clients, and vendors. May Santa bring you all that is on your list this holiday season and may you enjoy the discovery of how much you’ve already received and enjoy! I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  So you’ve looked at all the things that went well this year and now you’re looking ahead, right? If not, it’s time to celebrate, reevaluate and move forward. Your fiscal year may not end in December, but the calendar year is about to and like it or not everyone will act as if it’s a fresh start. How will you make the most of that fresh start and be prepared to lead, build and boost the performance of the team in 2013? Here are in fact, 13 ways to do just that: Be Sure to Lead You You have to be able to be you and lead you before you can be really good at leading others. What do you know you need to work on to be a better you? Who will you ask for help to make sure it gets done? Examine Your Auto Pilot Leadership delivered by habit as if every person is the same and needs the same thing, will soon spell disaster. Look at the areas that you do without thinking and well… start thinking about how to do them even more effectively. Take Inventory Some of our corporate clients to this exceptionally well. They look at who’s on the team, who fits and who might not and then make moves at the end of the year to be prepared. Inventory team members, skill gaps, resource needs and the like and get what you need for the coming year taken care of now. Unify the Team For most, the team at work is a second family. If they’re not gelling, no one’s feeling the love or getting much done, so bring them together and build that team into a unified super performing machine. Recognize the Good Everyone likes to have what they’ve done well pointed out in some way. Share private accolades with those who don’t need a show and strike up the band for the more public types. Tell ‘em all how well they’ve done. Consider the Consequences Human beings will do whatever is easiest if they have no rewards and no compelling consequences. If the team is running amuck, build in things they don’t want that will happen if that behavior or those numbers continue. Assess the Skills If your year slows down at the end, this is a perfect time to build skills. Maybe you’ve always wanted two teams to cross train or wanted Suzie to learn how to do more accounting. Assess yours and their needs and get them addressed. Close the Gaps If you’re delivering performance appraisals at year end, you’re shedding light on all the skill gaps that may have gone unaddressed until now. Give them the training they need to close the gap and build more confidence. Determine Job Fit Maybe it isn’t skills or gaps, but just a bad job fit. If Bob just can’t do that job, but has great value elsewhere, make the move and create a fit. Measure Improvement Look at where you were then and where you are now and measure how far you and they have come. For more in depth measurement, the CORE profile measures behavior and training impact and value. Want them to improve, measure how far they’ve come and give them something clear to shoot for in the future. Delegate Development Contrary to popular belief, delegation isn’t about them doing what you don’t like. It’s really the art of giving someone the skills they didn’t already have. We call that development. What skills can you help them develop that will improve performance for the whole team next year?  Be Consistently Confident No matter how many of these steps you implement, remember some will work, others won’t. That applies to these steps and your team members because every situation is different. Succeed or fail, leadership will have good times and bad, great days and those that you’d like to give back. Be confident that you’ll learn what you need and that your role is not to be the favorite one on the playground, but to lead the team from the proverbial playground to success. Stay on Top of It Leadership isn’t a one hit wonder and if you keep up with their needs and yours with little steps each day, you won’t feel so quickly overwhelmed. Now if you put development off and just do it once in a while,

  One click of the channel changer and you can be surrounded by bad news. Apparently we’re all falling off a financial cliff and then of course, the world ends in something like 12 days anyway so what’s everyone so worried about? Seriously, there is some tough stuff predicted, but are you letting the external notion of doom and gloom put a damper on your plan for the coming year? Some of the best successes have come from the toughest times. Personally, we at Contagious Companies have always chosen not to participate in the recession and worry of the future and we’ve been quite fortunate to continue to experience growth, but it has taken leading with an attitude of hope, cheer, optimism, and yes, sometimes even pom-poms. Here are some simple steps to use to fill your figurative stockings at the office this year with cheer instead of fear and plan for an even better next year. Record What Went Well When you move so fast and do so much, you tend to forget how much really gets done. Invite employees to share what has happened that was good and what went well in the last twelve months. Chances are even they will start saying “Oh yeah, remember that?” Sometimes all it takes to change the focus is to well…change your focus. Are you looking at what went well or what COULD go wrong? Be Clear on Corrections At a certain level of success when it comes to leaders, teams or companies, growth is measured in teeny tiny steps of progress. Thus, chances are that to improve next year’s performance or team work, you don’t need to make major corrections, but simply very minor changes in a few areas. What are those changes? What is the one thing that if it were done differently would make a world of difference? Look for the one small thing and be clear on what needs to be corrected, instead of thinking the whole team, country… or I mean company… needs an overhaul. Value Grandma-isms I don’t know that anyone has ever coined the word “grandma-ism” but it seemed to work as so much wisdom seems to come from someone’s grandma or grandpa. In this case, it seems I’ve heard it credited to a grandma somewhere that “fear and worry were like borrowing trouble from the future.” Now that sounds like advice shared over some piping hot biscuits and gravy… but it also sounds true. Are the team members you lead looking ahead and assuming it will all be bad? Are they bracing for impact? Why on earth would you borrow that kind of trouble from the future? Why don’t we all borrow a silver lining or possibilities instead? Often the same scenarios offer both options… grandma would tell you to choose wisely. Stress rises for many during this holiday time of cheer and stress at work is often about fear … for the future. Avoid the temptation to predict what next year will look like for your company or team. All we can control is right here, right now, and shutting down our efforts now (which is what happens when we’re stressed) will only help to guarantee that we have less to work with next year. Stay focused, stay strong, and maybe even whip out the pom-poms to lead that team to keep up the cheer and set aside the fear. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

No one has time for a long meeting and in the time of year when performance appraisals are happening and strategic sessions for the New Year occur, there’s a case to be made for the quick and easy, or portable and powerful route to leadership guidance. Here are three key reasons why it works and why you might want to reconsider how you coach, counsel, guide, develop and direct those you lead. We’ve all gone mobile What you think is their favorite Pandora station being piped into the headset on the crowded gym treadmills could actually be a podcast, an audio book on business or even a conference call! The world has gone mobile and with nearly every American in possession of a phone or electronic device that talks to them, leadership guidance is no exception to what needs to be transmitted over those airwaves. How can you make your message to the team one they can take with them? Maybe you record your words of wisdom and send them a weekly audio file? Maybe you give them guidance on a recorded conference bridge and encourage them to listen to it again? We’ve all developed a short attention span With meaningful messages in as short as a super bowl ad and Twitter as a widely used medium, we’ve grown accustomed to needing to “get it” in under 30 seconds or 140 characters or less. As well, my editors have always reminded me to “take the time to be succinct”. That means that while you may WANT to pontificate for days on how someone could do better, the reality is they want you to get to the point. Nicely, of course. How can you chunk your message into a tweetable size? How can you make it memorable? Do you have an acronym that covers all of your leadership expectations? Hmmmmmm… mine has always been E.F. H…or short for EF Hutton if you remember blast from the past…  but more on that another time. We’re accustomed to “Drive-bys” Okay, so that just doesn’t sound right, but think about it. Combined with the ever increasing speed of information and the reduction of long meetings for meetings’ sake, we’ve all gotten used to information being shot at us out of a verbal cannon at a rapid rate of speed. We’re then expected to take it in, process quickly, and move toward action. How can you implement the concept of “drive by coaching”? Mind you, you want to leave your recipient still standing, but with a meaningful message. Maybe there’s a Monday morning quick huddle that would do the trick. You can share your message, or word of the week, or weekly goal or motivation… once… and then everyone is on the same page. Just make sure your “Drive by” has a more positive spin than the connotation. Take the time this week to enjoy some portable powerful leadership guidance of your own with these new ideas and maybe even downloading the Monday Moments by Monica podcast on iTunes. See, even we’ve gone mobile! I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  The holidays are here! Celebrations, office parties, and higher levels of stress will all be things added to your leadership list of things to do, but wait… which holiday do you celebrate in your office? How do you create a spirit of respect and inclusion for all the team members who may or may not celebrate one holiday or another or who may feel more like a Grinch, than a giddy elf? Here are 7 ways to not only say “Happy Holidays”, but lead happily during the holiday while you’re at the office. Plan Ahead Party planning for the holiday begins as early as late October. Your team members may have commitments that cover every weeknight or weekend from now to New Year’s already on the books. If you’re taking them out, involve them in the date and place that works for all. Consider doing a lunch instead of dinner. You want them to enjoy the occasion, not feel guilty because they can’t go or must cancel something else out of obligation to attend the work event. Make Your Intent Clear Holidays are not necessarily a happy occasion for all. Depending on your team and the holidays they choose to celebrate, simply saying you wish to help make this time special or relieve some of their holiday stress may be more appropriate than a specific holiday wish. Watch What You Wish In my former retail manager career, I remember reminding associates to wish customers “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas, out of respect to those who may not celebrate Christmas. No matter your holiday of choice, pay attention to your expectations and habits. “Happy Holidays!” shares the intent of your sentiment without assuming others share your particular beliefs. Encourage Expression If there are many differing beliefs and celebratory styles in the office, one way to not only include, but educate others on those differences, is to encourage open expression. This might look like a pot luck lunch where everyone brings their favorite holiday dish. Maybe there is a cube decorating contest that allows them to decorate in the way they celebrate the holiday. Be Specific about Gifts Gifts can be tricky at the office and it’s better to be specific about them than risk hurt feelings or embarrassment. If you’re exchanging gifts, consider setting specific guidelines or introducing a white elephant, fun gift giving experience to take the pressure off. Give the Gift of Time Much of what puts a damper on the holiday is the stress it causes as the list of things to do, gifts to buy, and event to attend grows daily. Maybe the best way to say “Happy Holidays” this year is to give everyone a half day off to get some of their goodies done. Simply Say “Thanks” While many are out buying gifts or ordering stuff to give away, maybe your way to celebrate the holiday spirit with the team, is to simply say “thank you” for their contributions, efforts, hard work, and loyalty. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  There’s an old saying that goes “If you’re not learning, you’re dying”. Other adages mention change, growth, and the need for consistent adaptation. Yet, while the mantras may make logical sense, many of us persist in circling a state of stagnation. We can’t find the time to improve yet sneak in moments to make our complaints heard about how nothing ever changes. If you’re making that claim to others, then leadership first must start with you and doing what it takes to consistently improve, or at least beat burnout, from the way we’ve always done it. Take Baby Steps When I facilitate a CORE Profile® assessment for a coaching or training client, what often comes up is homework that sounds like “Take time for yourself”. Fluffy as that might sound, it shows up on a LOT of leader profiles and high performing people often think this means you need a week off. Malarkey! Time for you to grow, recharge, or reenergize could be as simple as a five minute walk to the coffee shop and back or a new way home from work that passes your favorite lake. Baby steps work just as well, and usually better, than trying to eat the elephant all at once and then giving up. Read More Leaders who’ve been where you are right now have recorded their experiences in an abundance of books. Find an author or topic and read what they learned. Experience is gained from your own efforts. Wisdom is learned from the efforts of others. Read more wisdom and stop taking the time to reinvent the wheel. Make the Time Yah, I know. None of us have all the time to do what we say is important: like diet, exercise, and growth. However, as I saw on Facebook (the source of all wisdom, don’t ya know!) not long ago, “We make time for what’ important to us”. It’s that simple. If you find you have the time to tell someone or several someone’s all about how something isn’t working, then you have time to make a change and fix it over time. When it becomes important enough to make the change you’ll find you no longer have time to complain because you’ll be working on a solution. Or said differently, when the pain of staying the same is worse than the perceived pain of changing, you’ll do something about it. I'm Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  Poor leadership is costing you. Keeping poor performing leaders on your team is costing you more than you think. There are the less measurable costs of time, effort, energy drain, and drama that might exist and then there are the cold hard facts. Poor leadership costs into the thousands. Here are a few calculations you want to run to find out just how many it’s costing you. Employee Costs Bad leaders can make good employees leave and mediocre employees perform worse. Here are the potential numbers: Average cost to rehire a new employee: $5,000.00 (not including time)             Average downtime cost to train employee with $30,000 salary: $2,307.00 (30000/52, *4 weeks)                                                                                                 Sub-Total: $7,307.00 Team Costs Let’s say that poor performing leader has a team of ten people and half of them are unhappy. Do you think that unhappiness or discontent and time spent talking about it in the break room is costing you anything? Let’s see with these numbers: Average downtime of 5 stressed employees with $30,000 salary: $23,070.00 (30000/52, *8 weeks *5)             Lost business from employee resentment or sabotage: $8,000.00 ($1K*8 weeks as an example)  Sub-Total: $31,070.00 Future Leader Costs Not only are there current costs with the poor performing leader, but there are future costs when the new leader has to fix what was left behind. That calculation involves about the same amount of time a stressed out employee will be unproductive when led by a poor performer, but the salary is a bit different, so the numbers climb quick: Average downtime cost for new leader ($80,000 salary) to fix old problems former leader left behind: $6,154.00 (80000/52, *4 weeks) Grand Total Potential Cost of Poor Performing Leaders:  $37,224.00 That’s more than enough for you to hire an extra employee! And, that number is simply for one poor performing leader with a team of ten over an 8 week period. If the problem has persisted for months and the team is larger, so will be your numbers. If that bothers you, it might be time to take some serious action. However, let’s be real. No one is suggesting you throw out the baby with the bath water here. Just because a leader is a poor performer or not effectively leading their team in the way that reaps results, doesn’t mean you immediately “free them up for new opportunities”. Instead, there’s likely something good about what they do. Find that and develop it. Give them the training, coaching, self-awareness and development you see they need and be the leader who leads them to succeed, instead of the one who pays if they choose not to play. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  In sales, they’ll tell you the customer always knows what they want, but often not what they “need”. The same exists in employee training. While a leader may want time management training, the real issue might be communication break downs that take time to resolve. Knowing what you want is good. Asking the questions that get you what you need to resolve the real issue, have long term retention, and grow is even better. Here are three questions to ask yourself when looking for that solution that will help employees grow, even if all you want them to do is “grow out of” a few bad habits. Question 1: If everyone were doing exactly what you wanted them to do, what would that look like? When first approached about the need for a training class, I’m most interested in the perceived problem that needs to be addressed. The leader’s view of the problem and the employee view is often different so to design a course that will be well received by employee’s and meet the leader’s objectives, it can be a bit of a delicate dance. This question helps the leader to see that “perfect and ideal” world where everyone did what they wanted. But, it also opens an often very interesting discussion about how that might be as ideal as the leader thinks. What would it look like if everyone at work did exactly what you wanted? How would your customers respond? How would profits and revenue be impacted? Question 2: What would you like for them to do differently, see, say, or believe differently as a result of this training program? This question gets to the heart of the issue pretty quickly and if often a hard one to answer. Instead of looking at a list of topics and picking one that sounds good, a true Training and Consulting firm, focused on meeting your real need will pose a question like this one. It identifies the behaviors and actions that you want to see changed. Plus, once you identify what you want them to do differently, you have then also established a baseline for measurement to use after the training program. Question 3: What would you like for them to Stop, Start, or Continue Doing? This is a popular rephrase of question #2. It gets at similar answers through a different route, but it also gets at something even more important. Not everything the employees are doing is bad or wrong or something you wish to change, normally. Thus, to preserve what they do well, identify what you want them to continue. The question of what to stop is equally important because it’s easier to stop doing something usually than to start. Training those you lead and helping them grow should directly impact the growth of your organizations success. Yet so many training programs are merely One Hit Wonders focused on motivation. If you want to create real growth, ask these real questions and then work with a firm who can truly carry out both your training wants AND needs. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  Not only is the current political landscape of the United States in utter turmoil, but many companies deal daily with an internal political landscape of their own. Regardless of your party or preference, leadership is bigger than politics, locally or nationwide, and in many cases it has nothing to do with politics, and here are three reasons why. Leadership is Personal When you are a leader of people, versus a manager of things, leadership becomes personal. Politics is not. Leadership needs to take into consideration the needs, motivations, and individual value of the people you have the privilege of leading. Politics take into consideration the utility of a person, but not their innate value. If you are seeing those you lead as simply tools of value to you or how their vote counts or how many of them there are to “deal with”, then maybe you should run for office, but leading is likely not for you. Leadership Needs Authenticity In the training program we provide, called Contagious Leadership, we talk about the value of authenticity. We sometimes call it being you and leading you before you have the privilege of leading others. The point is that true effective, and contagious leadership requires that you be you and not fake being someone else. Employees, team members, and even volunteer boards respond well to you being the person you say you are, and not that person that you simply “play on TV” when the cameras, lights, and mics are on. Leadership is Conscious, Not a Performed Habit If you lead on automatic pilot, you risk acting in a way that works well with one person and is confusing or damaging to another. Leadership takes conscious effort and is not effective when it becomes an act or something that is done out of habit or being “on”. Leaders are not trained seals, they are people who guide, motivate, develop, recognize, and coach other people. Thus, staying consciously engaged in the process and answering the questions that come up NOW with the answers that are relevant NOW works far better than using the same answer you used in last week’s debate. While politics are in the minds of all in the United States at the moment, don’t confuse the concept of politics, in your office or your nation, with the act of leadership. One does not have to be a leader to be a politician and one does not have to be a politician to lead. Our nation’s politicians are vying for a position of leadership, but being effective in the first does not guarantee success in the latter. In your own professional and personal leadership, the skills used to keep it personal, authentic and conscious will serve you far better when you want employees to get the job done. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  The days of “Do it because I said so” are long gone. Employees want you to care in the way they want. They want to “have it their way” even when not in line at Burger King and here are three reasons why. Everything is Customized From the music on your iTunes, to the smart phone right for you, to the taste of your favorite Dorito, the world is moving toward customization. Auto dealers customize their mailings. Fast food joints make the burger you want. Even hospitals are starting to perceive the need for a patient experience with Nemours Children’s Hospital allowing you to change the color of light on the balcony of your room. The world has gone customized and people expect it from those they seek service. Employees seek your guidance and development and they’re beginning to expect you to tailor it to their tastes or they’ll find someone who will. Customization is More Motivating While we know there are four kinds of recognition and we know there are four different personalities, we are still biased to deliver to others what we would like to have. If you want employees to listen, learn, and do as you ask, speaking the language they understand will motivate them to do so as they’ll believe you “get them”. This increases respect, loyalty, and their urgent action in response to your request. Leads to More Loyalty If an employee feels as if you “get them” and understand who they are and what they need, they are more likely to be loyal and stay long term. If they feel like they’re just part of another group and one of the crowd, the tendency to slip “out the back” or slow down with no one noticing becomes a factor. When they know you’re engaged, interested, and invested in them and leading them in the way they need, they’ll feel greater loyalty to meeting your needs and to communicating with you if there is a problem that might impede their performance. As much as we’d like to make leadership easy and automatic, it just doesn’t work as well when put on auto-pilot. Thinking through what you’re doing and for whom will pay big dividends in your ability to develop employees who stay longer, produce more, and complain less. Customizing your leadership is one way to keep it a conscious effort that you think about before you deliver and that they regard as a reason to stay even more engaged in their own performance. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

It’s nearly here! Bosses day is October 16th and while you usually have only one boss, they’re responsible for developing all of you and your management colleagues. If you appreciate the job they do, perhaps it’s time to take a day to celebrate all your boss does for you. Here are a few ways, big and small, to just say thanks… even if it’s simply for continuing to pay you for the job. Modern Technology When much of our modern communication is on Facebook feeds, Tweets, Texts, Emails and IMs, consider just sending a quick note electronically to pay respect to the day and your boss in a special way. Not all bosses know there’s a day in their honor so your note may be the first one they get to commemorate the occasion. Say it Small Depending on your boss’s recognition style, a small note or card may be most appropriate, particularly if they are more private in nature and not in need of a big “to do”. Go Big If your boss is more public and tangible in how they like to be recognized, make a fuss. Bring in food and balloons, have everyone sign cards, show up with lunch or treat the boss to a lunch…maybe even without turning in the expense receipt, giving it that personal touch in honor of the personal sacrifices they have made to help you get where you are. Get Grand Maybe you want your boss to remember this day or your gratitude for months to come. Consider a commemorative engraved plaque or pen or frame as a way of being a bit more grandiose in your show of appreciation for their efforts. Being a boss can be incredibly rewarding. It also can have days where the extra mile becomes a marathon and the honest answer to “gotta sec” can sound like “No, I’m already missing a bunch!” So, on this upcoming special day, celebrate your boss, not just because it’s on the calendar, and not because you want to earn points, but because no matter if you always agree or are pleased with how they behave, but because in some way you wish to say thank you for what they do and say. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

Remember that catchy Paul Simon tune: 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover? Well, this is different. Or maybe not, seeing so many have what could be called a love/hate relationship with their boss. Pulling from a course a client asked me to write recently designed to help managers work better with, and even lead, their leaders, here are, yes FIFTY, ways you can do just that. Remember they are people, too Avoid the temptation to be intimidated by them when they’re stressed Do what you say you are going to do, even if they don’t Set a good example Learn how to speak their language Give them the results they request first, ask them to explain why they wanted them later Don’t whine Ask them to clarify priorities Clarify what they expect of you Remember there’s one of them and likely more than one of you Respond immediately when you get their request, even if you just say “on it” or “got it” Figure out their recognition style Understand their personality Determine what stresses them out Ask them to teach you in areas where you struggle Find something about them for which to be grateful Never let them be blindsided Alert them if you even think you’ll miss a deadline Ask them for help Try to anticipate their needs Stay out of their way on stressed out days Make an appointment for important discussions Listen to what they don’t say Acknowledge what they do say Find ways to support what is important to them Learn which things can go to their admin instead Demonstrate that you “have their back” Perfect your timing for difficult conversations Groom your successor Handle problems on the team you lead without having to involve them, when possible Play by the rules Make what keeps them up at night a priority Always be optimistic Be efficient Be effective Get to the point Keep work and friendship separate Thank them for their guidance, help, information, trust Be a contributing team member Understand their communication needs Know what stresses them out and do less of it Demonstrate confidence that doesn’t look cocky Forgive their mistakes Cut them some slack Help them be prepared Keep them in the loop Build trust Earn respect Show respect Be authentically engaged and effectively you. If none of these work out well, then you might consider “Slip out the back jack. Make a new plan Stan, Don’t need a decoy Roy, just get yourself free…” But, before things get drastic and you need to go to all that trouble, and rhyming…leading your leader is really about you being the most effective you that you can be. That, in and of itself, will set you free to devote the energy to what they need. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

We’ve talked a lot throughout September about difficult people and when you let them go and the tool Make Difficult People Disappear. What happens though when you have more than one difficult person and you get in the middle? A lot and nothing positive that I can think of, but let’s take a look. Why is it a bad plan for middle managers to get in the middle of two well meaning, but difficult employees? The answers may surprise you. You Train Them to Run to You Managers need to be available to team members, yes, but they do not need to be the conduit for venting or whining. Listening to the “he said, she said” for prolonged periods of time and then worse, fixing the problem FOR them by transferring someone or mediating, trains them to run to you instead of fixing the problem themselves. You want to develop initiative, not foster dependence. Talking About Drama Doesn’t Make it Go Away The more you talk through and listen to the drama or difficulty between two team members, particularly if its gotten out of hand, the more fuel you put on that “fire”. That’s not to say that you never get involved. What I’m saying is handle it swiftly and if it continues and you find they would prefer to discuss it than fix it, back out of the middle and stop contributing to the number of people with whom they can continue the discussion. You Can’t Pick a Side from the Middle If you dislike drama, that’s a stand. If you want team members to “work it out among themselves”, that’s a stand. Whatever you stand for or expect, you can’t take that stand, so to speak, while standing in the middle. Being in the middle will cloud your judgment, drain your energy, increase your frustration, steal your time away, and quite possibly cause you to feel forced to make a hasty decision. Watch from the sidelines and when the time comes to make a call, you’ll make the one that only the referee can see. Refs don’t stand in the middle of the court or field to make a call, they observe the ball and THEN make the call because they can see the bigger picture. Stay out of the middle, but stay on top of the situation. Don’t get involved, but help them understand how to resolve the problem. Managers transitioning to leadership don’t take a completely hands off approach to team members, they simply know when to put their hand up to interject and when not to put their hand in the middle of problem. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

The end of the third quarter is a time when preparations begin for a phenomenal 4th quarter. One secret weapon for the prevention of poor leadership is a book club at your office. Simple, cost-effective, and able to engage all employees, here’s why this method works like a charm. Book Clubs Create Conversation They may not tell you when there’s a problem on the team, but get them talking about a scenario in a book and you’ll likely learn a lot. It’s easier to talk about the characters in a book than to talk about themselves. Book Clubs Model Accountability If you have regular meetings and reading to be done by the next meeting, you are creating an environment of accountability. The whole group is expecting others to have read the material and this creates peer pressure. This example and behavior can then be applied to other projects. Book Clubs Spark Creativity Using a scenario in a book, to which employees are not emotionally attached (like they are to their jobs) leaders can ask “How would you apply that same type of solution to our office?” Book Clubs Breed Innovation Asking employees to think of different ways to present the information from a chapter, for example, will cause them to think differently. Learning how to think differently is a skill that can then be applied to solving problems in your workplace. Book Clubs Make Efficient Use of Your Time Do you schedule regular meetings of the entire team or a sub-group now? Likely you see them one on one to share structured feedback or criticism. Use this time to meet with them as a team. It provides all the results I’ve mentioned and also gives the team a chance to bond, communicate with those they may not work with daily, and see you in a way that is not directed at what they might not be doing or need to improve. Book Clubs can create teambuilding. The book can relate to work and allow you to use examples for communication, work flow, team work, or a number of issues. Most often, regardless of the book you use, the regularly scheduled meetings and creativity that comes as a result will elevate your team’s results. Is this an idea you’re considering? Look for Make Difficult People Disappear to kick it off. This book will give you and the team benefits AND skills you can use immediately in addition to the benefits of getting the team together. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!

  When conducting training for one of our corporate clients, I share with leaders a concept about letting difficult people go. Sometimes, it’s necessary to “free them up new opportunities to grow elsewhere”. This advice is not meant to be sarcastic, but serves as a reminder that leadership can involve some tough calls. But how do you know when to make that call? How do you know when it’s time to let the difficult people go? Here are five signs. Being Around Them is Exhausting Instead of feeling energized by those you lead and work with, you feel emotionally drained most of the time. They seem to always have something to complain about, or just have a negative outlook on just about everything. The people you surround yourself with at the office, where you spend most of your waking hours, should cause an energy lift, instead of drag you down. You Can’t Be Yourself Think George Carlin in Vegas and George Carlin on PBS. It’s one thing to modify your style for a temporary situation and quite another to change who you are for the duration. George Carlin wouldn’t have specialized in PBS Specials because he couldn’t have been himself, but crowds filled Vegas theatres when he was himself. Those who follow you for you will always be more productive than those who resent your style but force themselves to follow you anyway. There are Constant Misunderstandings Communication is crucial to leadership. In fact, communication is contagious and misunderstandings spread into frustration, fear and a failure to perform. If you find you’re consistently frustrated with the messages you send and receive, this “difficult” person would be well served by a new leader and you well served by someone who understands what you and they need to succeed. You Leave Them Out of the Loop If you find that the difficult employee you work with is someone that it is easier to avoid than include and you continue to leave him or her out of the loop on a project or assign to someone of even lesser skill, to avoid the interaction, this is a clear sign that it’s time to let them go. The Cons Outweigh the Pros Logically, you might create a list of pros and cons to determine your course of action. If the pros outweigh the cons, then “picking your battles” might be appropriate. If the lists are about even, coaching and counseling is certainly in order. If the cons outweigh the pros by a pretty large margin, it’s time to take a different course of action and do something about this problem versus looking at the list and having it, too, add to your frustration. Bottom line? If the energy you spend in “dealing” with this person far outweighs the value of the results they provide, then you are allowing a time drain and energy strain that is reducing productivity faster than you can motivate others to elevate it. Freeing them up will allow you both to be happier and likely more productive. I’m Monica Wofford, and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great Monday, an even better week and of course, stay contagious!