Employee Engagement:
A Leadership Series
The Grand Finale!
Approximate reading time: 2 minutes
In This issue:
- Managing Involvement - The Time Factor
- Lessons from Sales, II
- More FSTD Content: Blog Posts
- Upcoming Public Workshops
Over the past 11 weeks we looked at involvement in a fair amount of detail.
Let’s tie everything together. Below is Vroom & Yetton’s “Involvement Scale”.
Click for a larger image
When we look at the 7 guidelines, we can rule out the leadership behaviors
that do not make sense.
| Guideline |
Rules Out |
| Information |
If you lack the information to make a quality choice, avoid AI. Ask at least
one team member at least one good question. |
| Speedy Analysis |
If you do not know what information is missing and / or how to get it, avoid
AI, AII & CI. Consult the team as a whole. |
| Commitment without Participation |
If the team will not commit to your solution without being involved, avoid
AI & AII. Get at least one team member’s opinion (analysis of the situation). |
| Conflict within the Team |
If there is likely to be conflict within the team about the solution, avoid
AI, AII & CI. Have the team resolve the conflict before implementation |
| Equal Solutions |
If there are many equal solutions, any behavior is acceptable. Use these
situations to develop your team. |
| Goal Agreement |
If there is lack of Goal Agreement between the team and the organization
relative to this issue, avoid GII. The team may select a solution which the
organization can not or will not implement. |
| Commitment as THE Most Important Consideration |
If the team’s commitment to the solution is critical and the team will not
commit without being actively involved, avoid AI, AII, CI & CII, assuming there
is Goal Agreement. If Goal Agreement is lacking, use CII. |
|
Last week we looked at time as the “third” variable. Because time is so
important, it is critical that your team has the skill and knowledge it needs to
adequately perform in the CII & GII modes. When the Equal Solutions guideline
applies, you can use it to develop your team’s ability to function in the GII
mode. Learning to do GII well also improves your team’s CII capabilities. Our
Reality Based workshop Choice Analysis is “perfect” CII, GII training.
If you follow these guidelines, you WILL become a better
leader.
Lead On!
 George
George posts regularly to the blog at TroubleShootingLogic.com. |
|
Lessons in Sales, III:
It Begins with You
Why Change?
Let’s face it: we are creatures of habit. We like what we like,
we’ve built our routines, we know what to expect. Why change?
You took our advice last week and looked at your “sales problem.”
You’ve concluded that now is the time to re-examine your approach
and get everyone on board around sales.
Real change begins with you. Start by doing some soul searching and
clarify your motive(s) for change. If you’re like many businesses
emerging from the recession, you’re now running a leaner ship than you
were. Your people are running as fast as they think they can, just to
manage day-to-day operations. Now you’re going to ask them to assume new
responsibilities around a company-wide sales effort. How on earth can
you expect them to listen to you?
- For many companies still working to regain business, it’s a
necessity. With continued soft demand, they will be looking at more
layoffs.
- For others, there are significant business opportunities that
they are simply not capturing. They become aware of opportunities
only when a formal bid is announced, and then it is too late in the
curve for them to compete on any basis other than price.
- For some, it’s about the exit strategy. They know that if they
leave, there is no business to sell or pass on.
Be Honest. Clarify the need for change. Determine how your people
will benefit and be ready to communicate this message.
Finally, are you ready to lead by example? Are you personally willing
to change? Are you willing to assume a more active role in the sales
process? Are you willing to be transparent to the rest of your (now
larger) sales team about your efforts? Will you allow your people to
hold you accountable?
Through the good graces of Elizabeth Allen, CODE's creator, we adopted
the CODE Sales process in mid-2009 because the recession
dealt our sales a severe hit. We had a burning platform, and we knew
it. We realized that we would have to take an “All Hands on Deck”
approach. That meant that each of us, individually, would have to
assume new roles. One year later, we’re much better for it. Business
is growing again.
Real change requires everyone to move beyond their comfort zone. We
understood our real reasons, communicated them, and knew that we
each had to change.
How about you?
All the Best,
Rob
PS. I will be presenting two workshops on the CODE sales process at the upcoming National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Conference in Louisville, KY on September 2, 2010. If you are in the area, please consider joining us at that event. Email me if you'd like further details. |
- Trouble Shooting Logic
- August 24-26, 2010, Atlanta, GA
- September 20-22, 2010, Atlanta, GA
- October 25-27, 2010, Atlanta, G
- The Sales CODE, September 14-15, 2010, Atlanta, GA
- Performance Coaching, September 23-24, 2010, Atlanta, GA
- Mastering Involvement, October 28, 2010, Atlanta, GA
- Trouble Shooting Logic Train-the-Trainer (T3), November 8-19, 2010, Atlanta, GA
- Experiential Expertise Train-the-Trainer (T3) - Openers, Initiatives and Low Elements - November 30-December 1, 2010, Utica, MS
- Experiential Expertise Train-the-Trainer (T3) - Trust, Low Ropes, High Ropes and AlpineTower - December 2-3, 2010, Utica, MS
|
