The Executive Coach

Did you know that compliments are a powerful communication tool?

As a manager and leader, you need to encourage engagement and build loyalty. Managers and leaders build loyalty when they celebrate their employees' successes with heart felt compliments.

Acknowledgement and public appreciation is the most underutilized management communication tool. Most employees leave their direct supervisors not their organizations. Most employees leave their direct supervisors because they are not acknowledged, not appreciated and not complimented.

Genuine compliments re-energize your employees, suppliers, channel partners and stakeholders. We are programmed to please others. Genuine compliments have the following qualities:
-lack of over the top flattery
-sounds realistic
-specific, not general phrases like 'good job'
-timely, as soon as possible after the successful event
-given in moderation
-never compromised by a qualifier
-public if possible
-reinforced with a token of appreciation

Putting It Into Action

Put together your weekly plan to recognize people for their unique and exemplary contributions. When you offer your compliments, make sure they are genuine, realistic, timely, thoughtful, specific and offer encouragement. Purchase a box of 'thank you' cards and write a quick note of appreciation. Use your weekly planner as a tool to record great achievements and then periodically give praise by quoting those specific achievements. There is no such thing as too much communication when it comes to those that you count on. Use compliments as a key engagement tool.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph

Don't you just love life's little contradictions?

To get more in life, you have to give, give, give. To get more in life, you have to have less. You must have less:
-clutter
-distractions
-demanding, zero added value clients, suppliers, employees or partners
-busy work
-employees dependant on you
-pointless meetings

Simplicity can help provide you with clarity and focus. Describing a situation via a simple metaphor can paint a much more vivid picture than a thousand words. Repeating your main message in a meeting or presentation or speaking slowly in 3-8 second sound bites will help your audience listen and retain the information and understand its importance. Presenting without countless, overly detailed PowerPoint slides, allows your powerful messages to break through the clutter of noise and people fighting for our attention. Think of the most effective leadership speeches, slogans and marketing campaigns -- they communicate a common theme and use one or two strong but uncluttered messages.

Putting It Into Action

Do not stop providing people with the details, facts and figures that they need. Provide details as support or an appendix to your main message. Tell people what you plan on telling them, tell them, then review what you just told them. Paint visual images, use video, use props to help people remember. Purge your work space at least twice per year. During important phone meetings, clear your desk and stand up to add energy to your voice. Get your main hypothesis down to a 30 second radio commercial, where every word used must add value and repetition is key. If you want to be quoted by media or stakeholders, speak in powerful 3-8 second sound bites.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph

When you go vacation or sneak away to the cottage for the weekend, do you bring your laptop and/or blackberry?

When was the last time you truly 'unplugged' yourself from your professional or personal obligations? When was the last time you actually took an extended vacation? Many business professionals I speak to, struggle just to take one or two weeks of their earned vacation per year. It takes most busy professionals a few days to unwind and forget about the office and a few days before the break is over, they begin thinking about returning to work. If you are only taking extended weekends or one week long vacations, you are not resting.

Unplugging from the office, your stakeholders and all of your requests for time delivers the following benefits:
1. Allows you to rest your total mind and body
2. Allows you to reflect, celebrate and learn from your recent past and achievements
3. Provides you with time and solitude to think about where you are heading in the future
4. Connects you to something new to help you grow
5. Develops your ability to delegate
6. Develops your employees who can now take on stretch roles
7. Strengthen lapsed relationships
8. Meet new people
9. Develop your appreciation for different people away from work
10. Expand your knowledge about different people, cultures and places
11. Learn new ways of seeing or doing things
12. Allows you to make a major change or start a new phase of your life

Putting It Into Action

You have no excuses, think of the twelve reasons above. Book your remaining vacation this year. Research your extended break next year. Book your multi week vacation and make sure you get to visit a new area. Working vacations and staying connected to the office are not true, reflective re-energizing vacations. You owe it to yourself and your stakeholders to reinvent and recharge yourself every year.

With you along the path towards success,
Joseph