2. Objectives
• Review important elements of
leadership.
• Discuss each other’s best ways
of leading, engaging, and
motivating employees.
• Commit to using one new
technique.
3. Important Elements of Leadership
1.WALK THE TALK model the way
2.COMMUNICATE to encourage the heart
3.EMPOWER others to act
4.CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE
build the better bread box
4. #1 Walk the Talk -- Retention Doesn’t Just
Happen
You are the MASTER influencer
of retention.
You need to create an
environment where employees
see the difference they make.
Your employees need to be
enabled to make that difference
to the fullness of their potential.
5. Demonstrate Respect and Appreciation
Suggestion on how to do this:
Write down one professional quality that
you respect and appreciate about each of
your employees.
Keep the list handy and read it before
you see a staff member or enter a meeting.
Use these examples to express gratitude
for their contributions.
Tell them the difference they make.
You have to tell them – they are not
mind-readers.
6. Happiness and Success for You and Your Staff
Which comes first, the
chicken or the egg?
Success or happiness?
When you are happy, your body dumps
chemicals that dial up the learning center of the
brain which results in thinking more clearly,
quickly, and creatively. Same with your
employees!
7. Corporations Know About the Happiness Advantage
Google keeps scooters in the hallway
and video games in the break room,
They also encourages their engineers to
bring their dogs to work
Patagonia – “Let my people go surfing”
policy
Yahoo – in-house massage
Software company – foosball tables in
employee lounge
Not just PR gimmicks – small bursts of happiness
produce creativity and innovation.
8. Personal Happiness Exercises
Do happiness exercises for yourself every
day. (some suggestions will follow)
You’ll start to feel better
And you’ll start to notice how your changed
attitude makes you more efficient, motivated,
productive, and opens up opportunities for
greater achievement.
Your employees will pick this
up. Positivity is contagious!
9. Meditation/Mindfulness
Just take five minutes a day
to watch your breath and
clear your mind.
More, of course, is better.
So simple but one of the
most powerful stress
management interventions.
10. Find Something to Look Forward to
Just anticipating future
rewards can actually
light up the pleasure
centers of the brain
much as the actual
reward would.
11. Commit Conscious Acts of Kindness
Acts of kindness
Giving to friends
and strangers
alike
Decreases stress
and strongly
contributes to
enhanced mental
health
12. Enhance Your Surroundings with Positivity
Pictures of loved
ones aren’t just
decorating.
They’re ensuring a
hit of positive
emotion each time
you glance in that
direction
13. From Thich Nhat Hanh
“Breathing in, I calm my body.”
“Breathing out, I smile.”
(Thich Nhat Hanh and Oprah)
14. #2 Communication -- Power of Positive
Feedback
I am on top of the world. My
boss just told me I did a great
job on the Hopkins case.
15. Power of Negative Feedback
I’m just destroyed. My boss
completely picked apart the
Hopkins brief. I feel like such
a failure.
16. Power of Positive Feedback
Hurray! My boss just
recognized my work in our
staff meeting.
17. Power of No Feedback
I’m really tired of this job. I
never get recognition.
18. Be Generous With Positive Feedback
It takes so little time and can
mean so much!
19. In Addition to Feedback, Over-Communicate
Communicate everything you
can, as often as you can, with
everyone you can.
Make this the top priority.
Eliminate the guessing,
erroneous and often debilitating
street talk and the angst.
If asked about something you
can’t share, say that you can’t.
Promise to keep everyone in
the loop to the extent you are
allowed.
20. #3 – Empowering -- How Do You Do This?
Use Powerful Open-ended Questions
Generates curiosity and possibilities
Stimulates reflection
Provokes thought
Brings underlying
assumptions forward
Creates excitement and moves to action
Creates deeper meaning and retention
Generates more questions
What and How questions
21. Secret Rule for Powerful Conversations
No advice or declarative statements
Questions only – what and how
questions
or
“Tell me more.”
22. Top Seven Powerful Questions
1. What do you want?
2. What does that look like?
3. What about that is important to you?
4. What else?
5. What’s next?
6. What will you do and when will
you do it?
7. What did you learn?
Don’t ask a question that has a “yes”
or “no” answer – a conversation stopper!
23. Negative Feedback – Still Use Powerful
Questions!
Instead of listing the egregious
offences in a negative accusatory
manner, use powerful questions
to elicit both the problem and the
solution
“So what happened here? Tell me about it.”
“What can be done?”
“How did this happen?”
“How can the problem be fixed?”
Remember, to use WHAT and HOW questions.
24. Knee to Knee Exercise – Everyone Pairs Up
Person #1: for 3 minutes – Present an issue that is of
concern to you … work or non-work
Person #2: Use powerful questions only.
Reverse roles -- Person #2 speaks, Person #1 asks
powerful questions.
25. #4 Continuously Improve -- Performance
Plan – Excellent Tool
• Cycle beginning -- discuss elements
and expectations with every
employee.
• Middle cycle -- discuss progress on
elements and expectations
• End of the year -- evaluate
performance in writing and discuss
performance accomplishments.
LD-2 in handPerformance
plan in hand
26. Mary Pat’s Best Practices
Nordstrom’s metaphor
Performance management system – high expectations
Semi-annual one-on-ones
Power walks
Listen and learn
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Questions
Appraisal write-up
Mistakes -- opportunities
Lunch-time Catch Phrase
All invited lunches out/Celebrations
Development field trips
Employees leave supervisors
Supervisor’s actions → either
↑ or ↓ productivity
Communication and lots of
feedback essential
27. Exercise - Pair Up With Someone Different
Person #1: for 3 minutes -- Give examples of your best
leadership practices
Person #2: Listen only, give no verbal response
Reverse roles -- Person #2 speaks, Person #1 listens
-------------------------
Pairs report in to the table. Reporter takes notes on best
practices to share with larger group and hand in.
28. Summary
1.WALK THE TALK respect,
appreciation, positivity
2.COMMUNICATE frequently and lots
of feedback
3.EMPOWER powerful questions
4.CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE
use performance management
29. Final Commitment
I commit to use the following (at least one) new
performance enhancing technique(s) this year with my
employees.
• ________________________________________
• ________________________________________
• ________________________________________
Editor's Notes
PAM
Questions can reframe the problem/task so that correct and most critical task is systemically examined
Generate open, productive dialogue
Enable creative, systems-thinking
Assures working on the right problem and not symptom
Questions allow for understanding the context as well as the content of the problem is critical in problem-solving
Generate actionable strategies and commitments
Usefulness of information we gather and the actions we take depends on the quality of questions we ask.
Questions allow dialogue and discover. Invite creativity and breakthrough thinking. They lead to action on key issues and can ignite change.
Example – Tylenol crisis in 1980s, Johnson & Johnson was able to restore consumer trust and become a leader in corporate responsibility by asking the question –
“What is the most ethical action we might take?”
What are some situations or issues in Government where asking powerful questions might lead to action on important issues and affect change? (GSA – conference scandal, Secret Service scandal)?
