Happy New Year!!
Welcome to the January 2007 issue of Rise & Shine –
Your Leadership Solutions and Resource Newsletter!
Bright Lights (Tips/Solutions) For the next six months, Rise & Shine will continue to highlight tips and suggestions from
The 10 Keys of Effective Supervision™:
- Support Growth
- Unite With Your Team
- Praise Others
- Expect Excellence
- Require Accountability
- Verify Potential
- Instill Independence
- Share Continuously
- Optimize Ownership
- Reinforce Relationships
This month’s focus on the fifth Key – Require Accountability:
According to the Rising Sun model, “Require Accountability” is defined as: “Upholding/reinforcing each individual employee’s responsibility to the organization.”
At Rising Sun Consultants, we believe strongly that it is critical that employees are provided with meaningful and ongoing feedback regarding their performance. In addition to area-specific requirements, all staff should be appraised in terms of their understanding of and commitment to the organizations “core beliefs,” “guiding principles,” or “shared values.” It is essential for staff, as well as supervisors, to have a clear understanding of what results are expected of them in their performance appraisal system in order to “meet standards” and what results are expected in order to “exceed standards.”
Each staff member must fully understand what it means for someone to meet and/or exceed standards. A rating of “meets standards” is a very good rating - this means an employee is consistently doing a good, solid job of performing at a level expected for the individual’s position. On the other hand, it must be understood by all concerned that an employee needs to consistently exceed job requirements, as well as do an exemplary job, to receive a rating of “exceeds standards” and whatever financial or other rewards this might bring.
An organization must also be clear on what a rating of “does not meet standards” means and what the consequence of such a rating might be. If such a rating requires that an employee be reevaluated within 90 days, this should be stated up front. If unsatisfactory ratings can result in the administration asking the staff member to seek other employment, this too should be stated up front.
Shining Stars (Best Practices)
This month's Organization of Excellence is HVAC Distributors in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. This company is approaching its 20th year of providing high quality HVAC distribution services throughout Central and Northern Pennsylvania. In the past nineteen years, they have grown from three employees to over 70. Their focus on building customer loyalty has shaped how they do business. What precedes customer loyalty, though, is a team of committed, well-trained and motivated employees. Here are just a few of the strategies that this organization has in place to build up their team:
- There is a concerted effort to keep a “hierarchy of worth” from infusing the reporting hierarchy.
- Employees are paid to attend a monthly team meeting (held in the evening) to discuss the month’s progress and results compared to key metrics.
- Supervisors (who are seen as coaches rather than bosses) are required to meet with their direct reports quarterly, and there are incentives in place to meet with them monthly.
- They have an orientation program for new employees that gives them the opportunity to spend time in every department to understand the workings of the company and to build relationships.
- Employees can earn a percentage of their salary in a bonus every month if they hit their productivity goals.
The leadership of HVAC Distributors understands the importance of relationships and open communication. By creating systems that promote collaboration and coaching, they have strengthened the link between the organization’s culture and its success. In fact, this company was recognized for its positive culture by winning the Best Places to Work in PA award in 2005. We thank David McIlwaine, President, for meeting with us to talk about their organization. More information about HVAC Distributors can be found at their website, www.hvacdist.com.
World Views (In the News)
Trends in Executive/Leadership Development
In 2004, Executive Development Associates, Inc. surveyed 100 chief learning officers, and heads of executive and leadership development departments, in terms of trends in executive/leadership development and learned that the top three learning methods they would use the most over the next few years (other than traditional academic faculty), would be 1) their own executives, 2) Action Learning, and 3) executive coaches. Late in 2005 they checked again to see how things had changed and this is what they learned:
Leader-Led (using our own executives to teach)
- 43% - Increased in importance
- 52% - Stayed the same
Action Learning
- 41% - Increased in importance
- 55% - Stayed the same
Executive Coaching
- 51% - Increased in importance
- 38% - Stayed the same
Line executives, human resource executives, and participants were disenchanted by passive learning methods, usually based in classrooms, which too often had little clear connection to the pressing business issues facing them and their organization. By contrast, executive coaching and action learning seemed to close the gap between theory and practice. More specifically, both executive coaching and action learning can provide participants the opportunity to immediately apply what they are learning to relevant business problems or opportunities rather than academic cases.
For most line executives the idea of having a group of their brightest people work on a real business issue that they really want addressed, and to do so in a way that provides a great development experience for the participants, well, that just makes sense.
(Adapted from Jim Bolt, FastCompany.com, 2006)
Rays of Hope (Stories/Parables)
Proverbs
27: 23-27
Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure for all generations.
When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,
And the herds of the mountain are gathered in,
The lambs will provide your clothing,
And the goats the price of a field;
You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And the nourishment of your maidservants. |
New Horizons (Meetings/Events)
Rising Sun Launches New Program:
“Training Support Services”
The newest set of services to be offered by Rising Sun Consultants is our Training Support Services. For any of these services, one of our senior consultants (typically Lynn Lehman) will be assigned to a client for up to 30 hours a week for an agreed upon period of time based on the needs of the client. During this time, our consultants will assist the client in one or more of the following areas:
- In-House Training Program Development
- Orientation programs, supervisor training programs, ongoing professional development programs, etc.
- General Training & Development Assistance
- When a training department is feeling overextended and needs extra assistance, but doesn’t want to hire a full-time training specialist. Or, when an organization doesn’t have a training department and wants professional guidance in regards to training employees.
- Development of Seminar Material and Instructor Guides
- Client has the content, but needs or wants outside assistance to prepare professional learner and instructor materials.
- Training Coach (Train-the-Trainer)
- An ideal situation when employees who are not experienced as trainers are asked to do training within the organization.
- Objective, Third Party Assessments
- When an organization wants to gather feedback from employees on any upcoming change, new program, or just to test the waters of the company culture.
While the benefits of this program are many and will vary with the particular client and/or project, the following five benefits should be realized by all clients using the program:
- Increases Productivity (more projects can be completed in the same time frame)
- Enhanced Quality (learning materials are developed by an individual with an expertise in the design effective presentations for employees)
- Saves Time (speeds up project delivery, allows full time employees to focus their time on other pertinent projects.)
- Saves Money (acquires professional workforce learning & performance assistance without having to pay for benefits or other extra expenses related to bringing on a full time employee)
- Increased Morale (with additional assistance, employees don’t feel as overwhelmed)
Thank You
On behalf of all of us at Rising Sun Consultants, we want to thank you for reviewing the January edition of our Rise & Shine Newsletter and we want to wish you all …
Great Success, Health and Prosperity in the New Year!!
As always, we invite you to visit our website (www.risingsunconsultants.com) and to enjoy our latest book review and white paper.
Until next month: Always Keep Your Eyes on the New Horizon! |
