The Little Voice In Your Head
Filed under: Engagement, Leadership, Management, People, Relational Leadership
I heard a speaker today talk about how to lead a productive and happy life. He talked about the need to keep a positive and focused attitude. The angle for his speech was to ask, “what music is playing in your head. Is it a positive song with expectations for positive outcomes or is it a song of negative thoughts?”
I had a friend tell me recently that the “little voice in his head” was nagging him to do something new with his life. Now if you knew my friend you would probably ask the same thing I did – are you sure that it is one voice or many? Because if “you are hearing voices in your head you may have a different problem.” So let me ask you this – what is the little voice in your head telling you? Are you one of those people that starts the day with a positive spin on life or do you tend to look at the negative possibilities.
I watched recently as a supervisor in a call center stood in the middle of the room as people arrived for the morning shift. She greeted each one with a positive comment and a great smile. I heard her say things like “this is gonna be your best day of the week….” and “are you ready for a great day?” The power of this simple act was reflected in the attitudes of the people who sat down to talk with customers and potential customers. I bet if you could look inside her head there is great music playing – maybe some U2 or Creed. It was obvious that she chooses to start each day with positive thoughts.
I have been on a mission lately to help supervisors, managers and leaders narrow their focus for success to three things. I love to ask, “What are the top three things you want agents to do when they talk with a customer?” or “What are the top three things you want employees to do when they greet a customer?” Defining these three things clearly allows the employee to understand your expectations.
So with that in mind – here are the three things about that little voice in your head:
- Be a moti-vator not a moti-sucker. Have you ever been around one of those people that are so negative that they just suck the air at out of the room? Don’t be that person. Start today trying to find the positive spin on things. Do the “Tony Robbins” thing and start out telling yourself that you WILL be more POSITIVE today!
- Compliment someone as the first task of the morning. Create a 10-before-10 rule with yourself. Spend 10 minutes before 10:00 am walking around the office with the express purpose of telling someone that you appreciate their work.
- Read something positive. Make time for yourself. I told a new supervisor last week that they should learn something every day that no one can ever take away. Reading is like that. My recent Amazon.com search showed that there are 2016 items about leadership and 530 about positive thinking. Pick one, buy it, read it and invest in yourself.
And the next time that little voice in your head starts to go negative - tell them you are not listening any more.
Are you showing favoritism as a leader?
Filed under: Engagement, Leadership, People, Relational Leadership
I went to dinner the other night with friends that have several young kids. The conversation moved to their new school and how they are adapting to the change. The 10 year old son said something funny that stuck with me. He said, “I don’t think my Spanish teacher likes me… because she does not spend as much time with me as with the other kids.” Interesting that at the young age he has already figured out the code - CARING = TIME.
So here is the question of the day. Who are you not spending time with on your team or in your organization? Who is feeling a little under-loved because they notice that they do not get as much time as others. As a leader we are sometimes guilty of spending a lot of time hanging out with the “successful” people on the team because it is easy. We then spend a lot of time with the “problem” people because they need the time. Guess who gets left out? The middle kid. The employee who is doing good work but not winning the awards.
Schedule some time today or tomorrow to spend some time with the ones you have neglected. Don’t them them feel like “I don’t think she/he likes me…..”
Networking Ideas - How to work a room…
Filed under: Engagement, Leadership, Management, Relational Leadership
Over the past year I have had the opportunity to speak at the local chamber in my city - the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce. The lunch-time program is always packed but they give me eight minutes each week and asked me to share some networking ideas for the members. It has been a great place to network for me and sharing the tips each month has opened some new doors for my business. I decided that it might be helpful to share the ideas here. Hope you find some value.
How to Work a Room:
- Enter the room with the goal of meeting three people that you can help by:
- Networking them to someone you know
- Mentoring through a tough decision that you made before (Internet service, website, hiring, firing, etc.)
- Ask open-ended questions:
- The more you know about their business the better chance you have of know if you can help them or they can help you!
- Ask questions that that include: who, what, where, when, and how and not those that can be answered with a simple yes or no.
- You want to start a discussion and show listeners that you are interested in them.
- Become known as a “person who knows everyone.”
- When you are known as a strong resource, people will turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. Now you are visible to them and have a reason to continue the conversation.
- Be able to clearly articulate what you do, who your customer is, and what makes you special and/or different from others doing the same thing.
- Try the 3, 30, 3, 30 concept. Can you tell someone what you do in 3 seconds or 30 seconds? If the conversation continues can you tell them what you need in and how they can help you in 3 minutes and/or 30 minutes?
- Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you.
- Too often in a networking situation, a person will ask, “How may I help you?” and no immediate answer comes to mind.
- Have a clear plan to follow-up immediately with referrals you are given.
- When people give you referrals, your actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honor that and your referrals will grow.
- If you promise to help someone, follow-through immediately.
- Follow-up with those that you meet who may benefit from your services:
- Express that you enjoyed meeting them, and ask if you could get together and share ideas.
All of these concepts are pretty simple and not anything new. But, perhaps the list will help you refocus on the goals and concepts of networking.
I plan to use the concepts when I “work the room” at the event later today.
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Bob Furniss
As founder and President of Touchpoint Associates, Inc., Bob Furniss has more than 25 years of experience in the customer service field - assisting organizations to increase productivity and profits by bringing out the best in their people. He has shared his experience in the areas of leadership and service with some of the top companies in America - companies like FedEx, Corporate Express, DePaul University, Delta Airlines, Hanley Wood and more.
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