Empower Your Employees More Effectively!

Do you ever empower someone, only to later realize you put them in the wrong position or role?

The art of employee empowerment is something that must be done very specifically and strategically. If we use a "shot-gun" approach when giving employees new tasks and putting employees into new roles, we are setting them, ourselves and the team up to fail. While occasionally the situation will call for it, most of the time we can't blindly empower others just because the new task matches what other people with the same job title are good at or simply just because we "have a feeling" they will like it or do well - more thought and decision making must go into the process.

The first step in the process actually has nothing to do with the employee - we FIRST need to fully understand the role we are putting them in, and pick it apart as much as we can - an activity called RTR (role/task/responsibility) Evaluation. We should look at the RTR we are considering them for, and ask ourselves questions such as: What specific skills are needed, what level of experience must they already have prior to moving forward, what strengths are helpful for them to have, what resources might they need, and who has successfully done this in the past?

When we are able to gather all of the answers to the above questions, we can then take the next step which is to evaluate our team and decide who the best person for the job might be. When we are effectively (and consistently) evaluating all of the competencies, roles, tasks, and responsibilities that our employees might be empowered with, it will give us a much better chance of putting the right person into the right position - resulting in their (and our) success!


**This week's tip was taken from "Empowering Others for Success" which is the July session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

A Great Way to Improve Workplace Communication!

First, ask yourself...
Do you ever get the feeling that you don't really understand the meaning behind someone's message?

True, effective communication only takes place when the message that the "listener" interprets is a true reflection of exactly what the "speaker" not only said, but meant as well. If the listener does not fully understand the meaning, feeling and thoughts behind the speaker's words, then true communication did not really take place. Words might have been exchanged, but the real message was not understood by the listener.

A common problem many people have is that in an attempt to interpret what someone tells us, we filter it through our OWN paradigm. We reference OUR past experiences, OUR feelings, and OUR perceptions, but the person sending the message usually doesn't share any of these same things with us. It is this typical reaction on the part of the listener that most often causes miscommunication.

The next time you find yourself doing it, make it a point to ask clarifying questions and draw out as much information from the other person as you can. Do everything you can do in order to get to know how THEY feel, and what THEY really mean. Doing this will help you see things from their paradigm, thus allowing message sent to truly equal message received!


**This week's tip was taken from "Promoting Open & Healthy Dialogue" which is the October session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Help Your Team Become More Innovative!

First, ask yourself...
Do you feel that the environment at work prohibits your employees from being innovative?

As leaders, we definitely want our employees to be innovative and proactive. We want them to always be thinking about how they can do something better, or help to make some kind of improvement for the organization. The problem is that having a natural innovative and proactive mindset is not how the majority of our employees are wired. To compensate, we must do a great job of creating and promoting the type of environment that gives our employees as much opportunity as possible to choose the right mindset.

When it comes to leading change and innovation, there are two important terms to consider: Driving Forces and Restraining Forces. Driving Forces can be anything within the environment that helps individuals choose to be proactive and implement needed change, while Restraining Forces are just the opposite - they prevent employees from doing so. Some general examples of these forces are the attitudes of the leaders, the resources employees have at their disposal, the availability of training and learning opportunities, and the frequency that employees are put into positions to collaborate with each other and work as teams. These examples can go either way...when done right, they can act as a Driving Force for innovation, but when gone about in the wrong way, they can act as a Restraining Force.

As leaders, if we desire more innovation and proactive thinking from our employees, sometimes all it takes is us evaluating the current environment so that we may begin to eliminate the Restraining Forces, and build on the Driving Forces. By being honest with ourselves and evaluating these different elements, we are likely to find many opportunities to make small and subtle changes that can have a huge impact on the motivation and attitudes of the people on our team!

**This week's tip was taken from "Leading & Embracing Change" which is the February session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Raise the Commitment Level of Your Employees!

First, ask yourself...
As a leader, are you setting the right example that will encourage commitment from your employees?

Contrary to what some people might tell you, employees today DO want to be loyal and committed to the organization. They take pride in going above and beyond. They desire to feel like they are really making a difference and contributing to the success of the company. But 99 times out of 100, they will not feel this way simply out of the blue; it begins with the actions of the leader or manager. Ensuring our employees are fully committed to the organization starts with the leader. A great leader shows the employees that they are fully committed to doing the same things that are expected out of the employees.

For instance, do you "live" the mission and vision of the company that you so often preach? Are you willing to roll up your sleeves and help out to get the "not so glamorous" work done when you know it will benefit the team? Are you proactively looking for ways to improve your performance? Do you have a positive attitude towards the company? Are you willing to do whatever you have to do in order to satisfy a customer?

Employees can't be told, tricked, forced, manipulated or "managed" into committing to the organization. They must make that choice on their own, but it is up to the leaders to help them make the right choice! As leaders, our actions ALWAYS speak MUCH louder than words. When those around us see that we "practice what we preach," they will be much quicker and more eager to fall in line and be led!


**This week's tip was taken from "Committing to a Common Vision" which is the November session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Completely Prevent Nasty Conflict!

First, ask yourself...
Do you find that some of your past conflicts should and could have been avoided in the first place?

When working in a team environment, we as human beings are guaranteed to disagree, have differences of opinion, and not see eye-to-eye with others - this is what we call "normal differences." Due to our unique personalities and unique past experiences, these normal differences are absolutely avoidable. These situations do not have to result in heated or disruptive conflicts or arguments, but when we don't handle them correctly, that's exactly what happens!

There are many ways to help resolve normal differences in a healthy way without allowing them to result in disruptive conflict. One of the first and easiest steps to take is for both parties to agree to take time to sit down and share their opinions, what they know about the situation, their feelings, and what they feel the issues are. Remember, each party will undoubtedly have their own opinions and experiences that they are drawing their conclusions from, and sharing those thoughts with each other is the ONLY way to ensure both parties are on the same page.

All it takes is the effort to open up with each other. When this simple act of casual dialogue occurs, the parties will often find that the "normal difference" is not as big or meaningful as they thought and that there is a logical solution available- therefore avoiding a full-blown conflict, and at the same time, setting the stage for another successful interaction when the next normal difference occurs in the future!


**This week's tip was taken from "Resolving Conflict Successfully" which is the September session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Getting Your Employees Committed!

First, ask yourself...
Could every single employee of yours accurately recite the company's goals for this year?


When everyone within an organization is working towards achieving one common goal, it significantly helps to develop things such as communication, teamwork, and overall employee motivation and commitment. When this is the case, a strong competitive advantage is created, and a much stronger level of employee engagement throughout the organization will build.

There are many ways to align your employees' thinking so that they are focused on doing whatever they can to help the team accomplish its goals, but the VERY FIRST thing the organization can and should do is simple: Share the goals with employees! If the employees are going to play a role in helping the company accomplish the goals, how can you expect them to do so when EVERYONE is not crystal clear on what they are trying to achieve?

Take a moment to consider how clear your communication has been with employees in regards to overall goals. If you believe there is an opportunity for management to be more open with employees about exact goals and how the organization plans to achieve them, take a moment to re-evaluate your communication approach. Just consider this: If the company has an overall goal of expanding operations into a new state, there is no possible way for an employee to approach her manager with a great idea about how to help the company do that, if she didn't know what the goal was in the first place!


**This week's tip was taken from "Committing to a Common Vision" which is the November session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Helping Your Employees to Stay Positive!

First, ask yourself...Would you like your employees to stay positive during tough times?


When things are tough and success is harder to achieve, often times the first things to be affected is our confidence, self-esteem, encouragement and motivation. We have all been there before where our attitude might be affected by external factors. Sometimes when we are going through a rough patch, all of a sudden we begin to expect things to go wrong, and we lack the confidence that we can successfully right the ship. Having these feelings doesn't make you a weak person - just normal!

When things are tough and you feel your employees might begin to feel this way, one of the best things any manager or leader can do is make sure your employees are aware of their Proof Points, which are small victories that they have already achieved that prove to them they are doing the right things, heading down the right path. A few things you can do to make sure your employees are keeping aware of their Proof Points is to try holding weekly meetings to openly reward and encourage victories, keep providing positive feedback, and post accomplishments around the office so that they are visible to them and others.

When you can help remind others of the things they have already accomplished, it helps to build the confidence that they can accomplish much more. Plus, openly communicating Proof Points helps to show them that they might be closer to achieving their goals than they originally thought, which will have a significant impact on their motivation and attitude!


**This week's tip was taken from "Being Positive & Resilient" which is the December session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Help Your Employees Provide Better INTERNAL Service!

First, ask yourself...
Would you like employees within your company to make the effort to go above and beyond, for each other?



Focusing on providing an outstanding level of service to internal customers can do wonders for teamwork, conflict resolution and communication - but unless everyone is on the exact same page with what "outstanding service" truly is, we are setting people up to fail in terms of meeting our expectations as well as those of the organization.

The first thing that must be done to develop an effective and consistent internal customer focus is to clearly define exactly what you expect. All companies have visions, but very few have what is called a service vision. A service vision is not much different than an overall company vision - it is realistic, easy to interpret, commonly understood by all, inspiring, and meaningful. Its purpose is to describe the type of service the organization expects, and provide a road map for individuals as to how to act with, and treat others.

Remember, it is one thing to expect individual employees to provide above and beyond service for each other, and it's another thing for them to FIRST clearly understand what "above and beyond service" really is. When this is true and the vision is effectively communicated through the organization, employees will be
motivated to live it, they will be confident that that same level of service will be reciprocated for them, relationships with strengthen, attitudes will become much better, and even the service provided to the external customer will be enhanced as well!

**This week's tip was taken from "Internal & External Customer Focus" which is the August session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Encourage Your Employees to Embrace Accountability!

First, ask yourself...
Would you like for more of your employees to take ownership in achieving their goals?


Everyone has goals they are working towards. Obviously, your employees are no different. But spending time trying to "hold them accountable" to achieving those goals can be time-consuming, frustrating, and give you the feeling that all you do is go around putting out fires. What we, as leaders, need to do is to help others make the choice to take ownership in achieving their goals...so you don't have to!

For this to happen, there are many critical steps that leaders should follow. One of the easiest is to involve your employees in the goal-setting process. If they are involved in determining the goals, and are given the chance to provide their input, they will be much more likely to do whatever is necessary to ensure success. Plus, involving them in the goal-setting process helps to ensure that the goal is emotionally meaningful to them (which will have an impact on their motivation to achieve it) and in the situations where the goal might NOT be meaningful, or possibly too unrealistic (which will deter them from putting in max effort) they will have the chance to tell you so it can be adjusted!

When you are successful in this practice, you will spend less time trying to hold others accountable because you have successfully created a culture of accountability!

Motivate Your Employees Through The Change Process!

First, ask yourself...
Do your employees ever "lose steam" at some point of the process during a big change?


Going through change is difficult for many reasons. Change requires people to take a chance, step out of their comfort zone, and possibly do things they have never been asked to do before. We as leaders must do all that we can to ensure we get the best possible result from the changes we decide to implement.

To achieve the best possible outcomes from change, we will need the commitment, motivation, and effort from each and every one of our employees throughout the entire change process. To help make sure this happens, we should try to "create victories" for them as much as possible. They desire to know that their efforts are working, and that they are making progress or accomplishing something with all of their hard work. Creating victories can come in many different forms- anything from sharing a weekly progress report, to e-mailing an update, to giving periodic awards to people for accomplishing specific goals related to the change.

Showing our employees that they are doing a great job, the changes they are trying to make are working, and that they are on the right path, will help to keep them properly motivated and their minds focused on the end goal.

Do a Better Job Resolving Conflicts!

First, ask yourself...
Would you like to have better success resolving conflicts with your colleagues?

Contrary to what most people think, successful conflict resolution does NOT begin with the actual realization that there is a conflict at hand. So, where does it start? It starts with the relationship you have with the other party! This means that your ability to resolve a conflict in October might have begun in January when you first started working with that person.

Having a track record of working with the other party to resolve conflicts, having an open line of communication already established, and trusting that the other party has integrity and a mutual best interest at heart are all things that will come into play when trying to resolve the conflict at hand.

Without a solid relationship already in place, when a conflict does arise, both parties will be much more likely to only care about their own interests and not be willing to have an open dialogue - which will significantly hinder your ability to find a quick and positive resolution to the issue. The stronger and more trusting your relationship is with the other party, the greater the chances are that you will be able to find common ground on your issue, ensuring BOTH parties leave feeling satisfied.

**This week's tip was taken from "Resolving Conflict Successfully" which is the September session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Motivate Your Employees to Commit to a Common Vision

Is each member of your team moving in the exact same direction, pursuing the same objectives?


As leaders, it is critical that we create a culture where everyone is working to achieve one common goal, pursuing one common vision. If there is NOT a common vision for the team to work towards, there is no way we can expect the individuals to put the team first, to go above and beyond for the good of the team, and to ultimately put in maximum effort to help ensure that the team goals and objectives are accomplished.

If you don't currently have a vision (one that is communicated throughout your entire team or company), create one! When getting started on your vision, keep in mind that effective visions have 5 main characteristics: Realistic, Easy to Understand, Commonly Understood, Inspiring, and Meaningful.

Creating a vision, and helping others to become motivated to work towards it is the only way to create an environment where employees are willing to put in the absolute highest level of commitment. An organizational vision is something larger than each person's job title or duties. It is something each employee can rally around, something they can be proud of, something that motivates them to be the best they can be day in and day out, even when nobody is looking!

Tip for Coaching Employees

First, ask yourself...
Would you like to be a more effective coach for EACH and EVERY employee of yours?


Today, more and more companies are trying to build an "environment of learning" by attempting to coach employees, rather than simply manage them. For this to be effective, leaders must first understand that coaching everyone in the exact same way, with a broad brush, is not effective or acceptable. A successful coach/coachee relationship is completely reliant on the coach first knowing as much about the individual coachee as possible.

To successfully coach an employee (which will ultimately help them to learn and produce better results) there are many questions about the coachee you should be able to answer. A few of them are: What are THEIR strengths and weaknesses? How do THEY prefer feedback, and how often do they prefer it? What motivates THEM? What are THEIR personal and professional goals? Do THEY desire to be promoted? What skills would THEY like to learn and develop for themselves?

Knowing the answers to these questions will not only strengthen your relationship, but will set the foundation for you to lead/coach them as an individual. Doing so will also help you to align their goals to your goals and the goals of the organization- creating a strong level of synergy and commitment between all parties.

Providing Better Service

First, ask yourself...Would you like to provide better service to each and every unique customer that you have?


Regardless if we are referring to external customers or internal customers (internal customers being our employees, co-workers, superiors, business partners, etc.), the only way to build strong, loyal relationships in today's extremely competitive environment is to provide the absolute best, most above-and-beyond service possible. But here is the problem: each and every customer is different, which means that what one customer might consider to be excellent service might simply be average to the next.

The only way to provide the absolute best service to ALL of our customers is to service them through what's called The Customer Paradigm. This means that instead of worrying about what you feel to be good service, you are only concerned with their opinion. We can begin to operate under The Customer Paradigm by asking ourselves specific questions, such as: How do THEY feel about my service? What do THEY really want? What do THEY consider to be excellent service? What do I know about THEIR preferences? How can I improve on our past interaction to make it better, according to THEM?

The key is remembering that just because YOU feel you did a great job doesn't mean they feel the same way, and their opinion is the only one that really counts. In order to make sure your customers have an A+ experience every time, you should evaluate every aspect of your service (through their eyes) which will also help you to decide if there are any parts that could be fixed, changed, eliminated or improved to enhance their experience.

Achieve Better Outcomes While Empowering Employees

First, ask yourself...
Are your employees ever unsuccessful when they are empowered with brand new tasks for the first time?

Empowering someone is an excellent way to develop their skills, and increase their commitment to the goals of the team/organization. However, if the proper steps are not followed, the act of empowerment can backfire - often resulting in conflict, mutual lack of confidence, and a regression in that particular employee's performance AND desire to be empowered again in the future.

The 1st step (out of many) to successfully empower someone is to provide them with an extremely clarified description of the role or responsibility that you would like them to perform. Seems like common sense, right? Unfortunately, this easy but important step is often overlooked due to our tendency to assume that since WE know exactly what to do and how to do it, that means the OTHER PERSON does as well.

Clearly communicating exactly what the task is will ensure the employee fully understands what to do. Going into specific detail will also proactively uncover questions they might have - usually ones that you would have never thought to address!

Develop More Trust Within Your Relationships

First, ask yourself...
Would you like to see your relationships continue to strengthen over time?

Strong, trusting relationships are not simply created out of thin air. They take time, and they take work. If we desire to have the type of relationships where a strong, mutual level of trust is shared, then conscious effort must be made on our end to "build" the relationship in order to get it to that point.

Affirming is a technique that we (especially as leaders) can use to help strengthen our relationships. To affirm our relationship with someone means to consciously and proactively communicate to them any of the following: what they do well, what we like about them, why we respect them, the good work they do, etc.

When we affirm, we do it with sincere purpose and intent. It is much more than simply giving a compliment. It is indicating that we believe in them and truly value their relationship, and at the same time, indicating they should also do the same for us. The more we affirm our relationships with others, the stronger the relationship will get, which will allow for more trust to be built over time.

Leading Others Through Change

First, ask yourself...Do you ever feel like you don't get a full "buy-in" from your employees when you implement a change?

When change takes place, it is human nature to have concerns about it. The level of accuracy with which those concerns are addressed will significantly impact the type of reaction (either positive or negative) we have towards the change. If our employees' concerns are not addressed, fear and resistance will overcome other emotions, and they will have little motivation to "buy-in" to whatever the change happens to be.

Often the most overlooked concerns that must be addressed are the personal concerns our employees have. They will always have questions such as "how will this change effect me?," "what's in it for me?" and "what must I do to be successful in relation to this change?"

If these questions/concerns are not addressed and we leave employees wondering or guessing, there is a strong likelihood of immediate resistance to the change and an even stronger likelihood that fear will take over. Luckily for us, the best, easiest, and most effective way to ensure our employees DO NOT fear the change is to simply answer questions proactively, and be open and honest about information.

Enhancing Your Productivity

First, ask yourself...
Do you ever go home at the end of the day, feeling like you didn't get enough accomplished?

Have you ever worked a 12-hour day or a 60 hour week, and then looked back and felt like "nothing got done?" I'm sure we can all recall times when this has happened. One of the main reasons for this is because we're not always efficient AND effective with our time.

To be efficient with our time means to get things done right. To be effective with our time means to get the right things done. With those definitions in mind, its easy to see how we might work "hard" all day and get a bunch of "tasks" accomplished (we are efficient), but if those tasks are not the ones we should even be working on in the first place, then we are NOT being effective- which leads to stress, frustration, and the feeling that we didn't get much done.

So how can we ensure this does not happen? Simple! Make sure our tasks are directly related to our ultimate goals. When the work that gets accomplished is meaningful and is moving us closer towards accomplishing a desired outcome or goal, we will feel much better about the time that was invested.

**This week's tip was taken from "Maximizing Productivity" which is the March session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.

Increasing Employee Commitment

Would you like your employees to be more committed to the team and/or organization?

Employees today can't be told, tricked, forced, manipulated or "managed" into committing to the team. They must make that choice on their own, and it is up to us, as the leaders, to help them make the right choice! It is our actions, and the environment that we create/promote that plays a significant role in the level of commitment our employees choose to have.

To help our employees become excited about the team, and consequently raise their level of commitment, one of the most important things we can do is to actually help them feel like a bigger, more important part of the team. Some examples are things like: encouraging and soliciting their input and opinions, reminding them of the importance of their role to the team's success, and openly sharing information with them (such as info about the company, team goals, future opportunities, etc).

When our employees truly feel that they are integral to the long-term success of the team, they will be much more likely to increase the level of effort they put into their job, and ultimately care much more about contributing to the team's success!

Providing Feedback to Employees

First, ask yourself...
Would you like to get better outcomes from the feedback you provide to others?

Providing constructive feedback to someone at work can help facilitate important change, and have a tremendous impact on their future performance. But if certain steps in the feedback process are not correctly followed, we run the risk of providing ineffective feedback, which will prevent us from experiencing the outcome we desire.

The first step for providing effective feedback is to share your desire to provide the feedback. This step is quite simple to perform, yet often overlooked. An example of this is, "Dan, I would like to talk to you about your presentation yesterday. Do you have a couple of minutes right now?"

When you let the other party know that feedback is coming, it will prepare them (possibly for some constructive comments) and they will be less likely to be defensive. It's also important to understand that "right this second" is not always the best time for someone to hear the feedback you are about to provide to them. They might be busy, angry, tired, upset, or distracted at that given moment - all things that could cause your words to go in one ear and out the other. Prefacing your comments by asking if this is a good time allows them to let you know if there might be a better time to talk - a time when they will be in a better place to listen, give you their full attention, and truly understand your message and intent.