610-793-6609 michael@achievable.com

Creating Leaders out of Doers.

Feb 4, 2023 | Business Growth, Business Owners, Leadership, Leadership Development, Motivation, Strategic Planning, Success, Uncategorized

Are you up for the Challenge? Creating Leaders out of Doers. 

 

Every day individuals are promoted to supervisory or management positions because of their ability to get the job done. They are the best doer- the best technician, salesperson or worker bee. Great at execution, we promote them to management. If they are lucky, they get a half day workshop on ‘Everything You Need to Know’ about managing and motivating. So many leaders come to the table with their MBA’s – “Management By Accident.”  

 

With very little knowledge or leadership training, they struggle to become successful leaders.  Most of the training is on the job, hopefully learning from success and mistakes. Constantly struggling, ill prepared managers may be doomed to eventually fail or burn out.   

 

Conversely, excellent managers and leaders are made not born. People can be developed to maximize their talents and leverage their strengths. By focusing on strengths, you can apply time, effort and energy to the areas which grow their leadership potential. With intentional training, they can become leaders who inspire others to reach their greatest potential and improve your company’s performance overall.  

 

Ultimately, promoting from within has advantages- leaders understand the company inside out. Knowing that they work for a company that promotes from within is inspiring to the work force. They will work harder and better to distinguish themselves as leaders. And they will be less likely to leave for greener pastures if they know that they could climb the ranks right where they are- which, of course, saves time and money for you. 

 

Let’s look at results for a moment. Do the leaders in your organization get the results that you expected from them based on their potential as doers? Are they struggling to inspire their teams to do great work? Now take a minute to look at how you prepared them for leadership roles? 

    

If you want to improve your results, look carefully at how you are promoting and preparing your management team.  Two ways that you can improve the promoting from within strategy are Mentorship and Assessments.  

 
Mentoring relationships are an important and effective tool for growing leaders. Ideally, a mentor has practical experience as a leader in addition to knowledge of the business. Mentors can teach by example and direct conversations about their experiences as a leader including challenges and successes. They should be a source of meaningful, honest feedback and an inspiration to new or younger employees. 

 

Assessments are valuable tools for evaluating the underlying skills and talents of your leaders or potential leadership candidates. They not only highlight the personality style of your candidate, they will help you to understand their communication style and find the right position with in your company to capitalize on their strengths. 

 

We, at Achievement Unlimited, have the tools to assess your leader’s skills and potential in many areas. Armed with this information, you can tailor the training your team needs to address shortcomings and communication problems. With simple but detailed assessments your team can go from flat to flying in a short time.  In addition, we offer mentoring and accountability groups to grow your team into leaders who win.

Creating a High Performance Culture

Feb 4, 2023 | Business Growth, Business Owners, Goal Setting, Leadership, Productivity, Strategic Planning, Success, Uncategorized

Are you creating a culture of success in your business? 

 

Every organization has a culture. It begins as soon as there are people working together communicating about the day-to-day, vision and purpose of the organization.  Culture can be positive and vibrant with engaged employees, or it can be toxic or apathetic. As a leader, you should be intentional about creating the culture you want, or it will default to whatever happens. Your organization’s core values and purpose should be driving company culture. 

 

Culture is powerful. It helps to create high performance teams that are highly engaged because their work gives meaning to their lives. Human beings are motivated by contributing, using strengths and talents for something that matters. If organizations are to grow, they must be purposeful about creating organizational culture. 

 

Knowing your purpose and what you stand for should be at the front of everything you do.  You want to give your people a compelling reason to work for you beyond simply earning money.  Your core purpose gives meaning to the work that they do. An effective purpose statement reflects people’s idealistic motivations and captures the heart and soul of the organization.  Your core purpose is like your north star on the horizon. 

 

To make the magic happen, though, you must define your core purpose and share it.  If you aren’t sure how to articulate your company’s Core Purpose, your employees probably can’t either. Start with these questions: 

 

  1. Why does your organization exist? 
  2. What are you passionate about? What gets you excited about what you do? 
  3. What difference do you make in the lives of your clients? How are their lives better because of what you do? 

 

It’s not about what you do or how you do it, your core purpose is the why. It defines the difference you want to make in the world. Together with your Core Values and Big Hairy Audacious Goal (Thank you Jim Collins, Good to Great), your Core Purpose is the long-range vision for your organization.  

 

Now more than ever, people are seeking meaningful lives. Studies show that employees who are aligned to your core purpose are three times more likely to stay and report higher job satisfaction. Take time now, at the beginning of the year, to clearly define your Core Purpose and vision. Then look around the office. Honestly evaluate whether the culture of your company reflects your vision and declared purpose. 

 

If it does, give yourself a pat on the back.  

 

But if you are confused by what you see, or it doesn’t align with what you want your company to be, you have a little work to do. Start by clarifying your vision and purpose. Next, work on communicating that mission to your employees and coworkers. Follow up with them and see how they are reflecting your vision to others inside the organization and outside. Really get clear about the vision and how it is being relayed to others.  

 

It may take some time and team building, but it is urgent that you get everyone onboard. Because as John C. Maxwell said in his 2002 book, “teamwork makes the dream work!”