Archives For Culture

Being Nosey Makes You A Better Team Member

May 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

Well good morning and welcome to the middle of the week!Barn - Keely's photos

Recently I received some strange advice – if you want to be a better team member, then be nosey! I don’t know about you, but I was taught that being nosey was impolite. However, after it was explained to me it makes perfect sense.

I love our country and our people, but there are some things about our culture that just get in the way sometimes, especially when we take a good trait too far. We value the individual greatly and we are individualistic. There are some benefits to this as shown by our history, however, there are also downsides when it is taken too far. We have developed a mentality that everything is private  and we should not “meddle” in other people’s lives (does that seem odd to you that while we are so private one-on-one,we share too openly online? Weird). In doing so, we have lost touch with one another – we don’t really know each other. To be an effective team, you have to trust one another. To trust someone, you need to know them and them know you.

So, get nosey – find out the birth dates of your teammates, find out about their families, their dreams, their frustrations, and so on. Get nosey and get to know those you work with and get transparent. Lead the way with sharing about who you are and see what happens. You just might see trust starting to build on your team.

What other ideas do you have for building trust on your team?

Have a great Wednesday!
BG

In Culture, Leadership, Teams , ,
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4 Very Powerful Things to Say

May 14, 2013 — 2 Comments

Good morning!garage window 2013

As leaders, there are some things that we just forget to say or that we somehow don’t think we need to or should say. That’s a mistake. In her article on the Inc. site Maria Tabaka lists four statements that she has found to be powerful and necessary.

1. I’m sorry

2. I was wrong

3. I need help

4. I don’t know

These seem pretty simple and obvious right? Yet, somehow they are difficult for us to use sometimes, especially when we are the leader.

If you are not using these simple words on a regular basis, maybe it’s time to find out why and then to start using them. They are powerful.

Blessings,
BG

In Culture, Leadership , , , ,
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Four Weekly Rhythms for a More Effective Life

May 6, 2013

Good morning – it was a beautiful weekend here in northeast Indiana.purple flower - Keely 2013

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to slip into unhealthy habits or rhythms in your life and how hard it is to develop good ones? Well, in today’s post I am “preaching” to myself. We had some very healthy rhythms going, but then we moved which disrupted things for a while and it is a challenge to get back where we were, but we are making progress.

Over time, I have found four major themes of rhythms important to my overall health. (In my next post I will talk about the rhythms you need in your work for an effective and productive week). The four rhythms that work for me are:

- Spiritual: Over time I have found that it is important for me that I read some Scripture each day and meditate on what I have read during the day. Additionally, it is important for me pray daily and to stay in a prayerful mindset throughout the day. It is amazing how that changes your perspective.

 - Relational: It is important that you nurture the key relationships in your life. One way we do that is that Angela (my wife) and I take each Saturday morning as a breakfast date. We make it a leisurely morning that is focused on our relationship. It does come at a cost as Saturday morning is usually the big project time for most people, but this has been important in our relationship. Additionally, for years we have had a family date where one night each week we go as a family to the local Barnes and Noble bookstore, read books, talk about the books and drink coffee. It has been a blessing to our family.

 - Health: Your physical health is important. We all know this, but it seems to be an area where so many of us struggle. Before our move we were working out five days a week and were feeling so much better. We had much more energy. Since the move, once or twice a week has been the best we have done and we can literally feel the difference. So, we have purposed together to get back into a healthier workout routine. I have read many times that if you will at least do three 30-minute workouts a week, you will dramatically improve your health.

 - Learning & Growth: We all need to be nurturing our minds and we need to be strategic in how we do so. We actually need a plan. One way is a reading list with a goal of so many books a month. Read in areas that help you grow spiritually, grow in your vocation, that stretches your boundaries, and finally just for fun. Also, start taking out interesting people for a cup of coffee and let them stretch your boundaries. Watch videos and listen to podcast. The main thing is to be intentional about your growth.

Of course there are many more things you could be doing and different variations. The point is that you identify what rhythms, or habits, work for you to help you to grow in all of these areas. The next thing, and the hardest thing, is to actually integrate them into your life. When you actually do, you will be amazed at the difference.

So, be intentional and begin to really flourish in life.

BG

 

In Culture, Personal Management , , ,
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The Crisis of Complexity

May 2, 2013

Excellent video on The Crisis of Complexity.Alan Siegel

http://on.wsj.com/173racJ

Have a great afternoon!
BG

In Culture, Leadership , , , ,
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Three Things to Consider for Your Formal Communication System

May 1, 2013

Good morning! I am traveling some this week and having the pleasure of being part of a team that is coming alongside an stream Niles 2013organization that is doing good in the inner city helping them to better manage their organization. Great group of folks. I am writing this sitting on the side of a hotel bed – not the best way to write!

Communication among people is an art and a science and one that is so hard for us to master. Within an organization it gets even more complex. I have found that within an organization you can have people who have good relationships and a fairly strong informal communication process, but you still suffer because there is a weak formal system of communication.

As a leader, you need to establish a robust formal system of communication within your organization. Some things to consider are:

1. Frequency and regularity – people need to be communicated with more often that we as leaders often want to do so. They also need to know that the formal communication will be regular and reliable. If you are supposed to have some type of information meeting every Friday – do it and don’t skip a meeting. Especially don’t skip several meetings.

2. Remember that each of us don’t take in information the same way, some prefer to hear it, some read it, and so on. Therefore, you need to ensure that you are taking advantage of the many and varied mediums or channels that are available to us to communicate more effectively.

3. Say it and then repeat it at least seven times in various fashions. Just because you understand it doesn’t mean your team understands. Research shows that you need to repeat something important at least seven times for people to start geting it. So repeat yourself often and do so in various communication channels.

Be intentional and set up robust formal communication processes to keep your team informed. It is critical to the success of your organization.

Have a great Wednesday!
BG

In Culture, Leadership, Relationshps , ,
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What Are Your Mindsets?

March 20, 2013

Good morning. Still cold here in NE Indiana – we are so ready for Spring!!!Lauren - sunlight MAR 2013

What are your mindsets? Or maybe a better question is what are the attitudes with which you approach life?

I am involved in an interesting project here at Ambassador Enterprises where we are working to identify the core 20% of what makes the AE culture unique. One area that we identified was this area of Mindsets / Attitudes and we believe that there are three core attitudes that are important to our culture:

1. Trust – there has to be trust, which is a choice, before you truly have effective relationships, effective community, and high performing teams. It is a choice and it is an attitude in which you approach others. Trust is something that has to be intentionally developed and maintained.

2. Dependency – this is not dependency in the unhealthy sense, this is the realization and living out that fact that we are not truly independent actors in life, but that we are dependent upon God and others in life. We need others and others need us – in a very healthy and real way.

3. Humility – humility and dependency are closely tied together. Humility is the opposite of pride and arrogance. Humility recognizes that we aren’t superior to others, that others have great value in God’s eyes, that we are incomplete and flawed, and that we are in need of God’s grace, His help and the help of others and that we still have much to learn.

I have found these attitudes to be helpful. What are the attitudes or mindsets that guide your life?

BG

In Culture, Leadership , , , ,
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The Importance of Appreciation

February 25, 2013

Good morning from Louisiana. I am here working with one of the plants of a company recently purchased by Ambassador and enjoying my time back in the South!

How do you like to be shown appreciation? Is it important to you to know that others appreciate your work? Especially your supervisor?

Do you show others your appreciation for their work the way you would like to be shown appreciation? What about your assistant or others’ assistants? These are the people that make our organizations go, yet we so often overlook them as they serve in the background.

Checkout this article on appreciating assistants -How to Give a Meaningful “Thank You” from the Harvard Business Review blog about how best to show your appreciation to those assistants in your organization that keep the wheels turning!

Say Thank You to someone today and do it in a special way,
BG

In Culture, Leadership, Management , , ,
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Intimidation and Fear

February 18, 2013

Good morning to you! It’s supposed to be warmer today here in northeast Indiana, but it surely doesn’t feel like it right now.

Intimidation and fear! Not very warm and fuzzy words are they? Words that we obviously don’t want to describe the culture of our organization! But yet, we continue to do certain things that do cause intimidation and fear. One of the most common of these is the annual performance review and I cannot understand why we continue to do this to our people.get rid of the performance review

I have been a part of the US Army, worked at two Fortune 500 companies, worked in state government and in ministry over a 32 year period and I have yet to see annual performance reviews actually do anything about performance. I have seen them cause huge amounts of stress to both the employee and the supervisor, I have seen them manipulated to justify the pay scale that had already been decided for someone before their review, I have seen them continually inflated due to a supervisor’s discomfort with conflict, I have seen them used to justify letting someone go, and I have seen them used to shift the blame for a manager’s poor leadership of his team. I have seen all those things and more, the one thing I haven’t seen is an annual performance review actually help someone to improve their performance.

What I have seen improve a person’s performance is an ongoing dialogue between the person and their leader where expectations are clear, where resources and appropriate authority are provided to accomplish assigned tasks, where coaching for performance is ongoing, and where the leader realizes that their relationship with the employee is critical to the employee’s success. I have seen it work when the leader realizes that they often are the biggest impediment to their team’s success.

So, if you want to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, go online and download one of those checklist type of annual review forms and then sit in judgment of your employee’s performance for the year (when in reality, if you can remember how they did over the last six weeks you are doing well!) and then take no responsibility for your part in their success and failure.

Or, you could start evaluating, on a regular basis, your partnership with your team and how together you can become more effective. Then, maybe you will see less intimidation and fear while seeing more secure and productive team members. Do something radical that will actually make a difference – trash the annual review and go to ongoing coaching and see what happens.

Peace and grace to you today,
BG

In Culture, Good Books, Leadership, Productivity , , ,
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“Embrace Work Life Imbalance” – What do You Think?

February 14, 2013

Here is an interesting take on the work life balance from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic on the Harvard Business Review blog.Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

“Overworking is really only possible if you are not having fun at work. By the same token, any amount of work will be dull if you are not engaged, or if you find your work unfulfilling.

Maybe it’s time to redefine the work-life balance — or at least stop thinking about it. Here are some considerations:

 - Hard work may be your most important career weapon.

 - Engagement is the difference between the bright and the dark side of workaholism.

 - Technology has not ruined your work-life balance, it has simply exposed how boring your work and your life used to be.

 - People who have jobs, rather than careers, worry about work-life balance because they are unable to have fun at work.

 - Complaining about your poor work-life balance is a self-indulgent act.”

I am not sure I am in complete agreement with his conclusions, but they do make you think.

What are your thoughts on his article? What are your thoughts on the whole work-life balance topic?

BG

In Culture, Personal Management ,
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Use Verbs and Not Nouns

February 7, 2013

Good morning!Lauren - snow at the NMC FEB 2013

In reading the book Start With Why, the author makes an excellent point when talking about values or guiding principles. His belief is that instead of nouns lie “integrity”, we should be using phrases with verbs such as “always do the right thing.” Instead of innovation you might use “look at the problem from a different angle.”

This makes sense to me as “integrity” can be a nebulous concept to some people and we might be unsure of just what it means. “Do the right things is a much clearer statement that most of us will readily understand. In fact, here at Ambassador Enterprises, our core values / guiding principles are action or verb oriented: Honor God, Respect Others, and Work Hard.

So, why don’t you look at your core values or guiding principles and if they are nouns, see how you might change them to verbs – make them action oriented.

It would be interesting to see what you come up with, so if you have time share them with me.

Have a great Thursday!

BG

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