Ask any number of truly successful leaders of today and they will tell you, their success does not come from marking time. They are always in motion – thinking, doing, and leading change for their organizations, their teams and themselves. At the forefront of a successful business leader’s efforts are their company’s vision and acute awareness of how their actions affect that vision.

If you are looking to improve your change leadership skills, perhaps it’s time to get your act together!

Begin by making a regular habit of assessing your own act(ions); take a close look at a day/week/month in the life of you!  Make a list of specific actions you have taken that support the vision. Then, bring it into focus – analyze your list to determine:

- What gaps are evident?

- What actions have I taken (will I take) to close those gaps?

- What areas warrant more focus?

- Who can I turn to?  – What actions do I perform/oversee regularly can be delegated and to whom can they be assigned?

-Which actions prove strongest in moving our vision forward?

-Where is the proof that these actions have impact?

-What benefits (or setbacks) have been (will be) realized as a result of these actions?

-How will I hold myself accountable?

Be agile, use this exercise to stay ahead of the flow – adapt the plans and strategies that keep you and your team moving toward the vision.

Lynda Fleming – Director of Learning & Development, Frontline Performance Group

Remember last time we talked about kids playing football on a playground? Well now it’s time to put even more “explicit” detail to how those basic principles apply to organizational success. Sometimes with the fast pace of our modern business climate, it’s not always easy for managers to find time to do the things they really should be doing – getting results with and through the organizational team. Instead of always worrying about “fires” or seemingly endless “crisis” that occur, a focus on these things will create both more time and more productivity for company leaders. Here are five tips to take your organization to a new level of success…

1)    Define the playing field within your organization. What are people expected to do on a daily basis? Make sure you explicitly define –

Conditions of Employment (Things that people are expected to abide by like no stealing company property, having the ability to get to and from work, possibility of working overtime etc.) Conditions of Employment are those “no-brainer” kinds of things that many times get ignored because the assumption is that “intelligent people are just supposed to know that already.”

Minimum Standards of Performance (The exact expectation of productivity and results that must be consistently achieved in order to maintain employment)

Operational Boundaries (Not being late, getting reports done on time, being responsive to communication such as calls, e-mails and texts etc.)

2)    Define what high performance looks like for every specific job within the company. In order to create more buy-in from your team, do this as an exercise where you have everyone write their definition of high performance and then collaboratively put them together in order come up with a succinct statement. This creates lots of energy within the group and people are excited to be a part of defining their role and what the expectations are for them to succeed. This really defines what needs to be done and how it needs to be done every day. These definitions of high performance for every job need to be posted on the wall. Again, they should be clear statements that everyone understands – not amorphous “academic speak” that nobody gets or even cares about.

3)    Once the definition of high performance has been laid out, then accountability needs to be created AND communicated. Everyone needs to understand what the consequences will be for “exceeding the boundaries” or for poor performance. They also need to understand what the possible rewards and recognition will be for achieving high performance and/or going above and beyond the call of duty. Explicitly communicate both the consequences and the rewards so everyone knows exactly what to expect.

4)    Define the goals for the company as a whole and for each department and then communicate these goals with passion. Don’t imply what the goals are because that creates ambiguity. Be explicitly clear what the goals are and talk about them daily in short, five to ten minute “huddles” within each department. These “huddles” should talk about the company vision, mission, values and goals. Pick a value each day to discuss and talk about wins, misses and solutions on the road to achieving the goals.

5)    Make sure that, as a manager, you are consistent with your message. This consistency will make or break your “personal power” within the organization. Personal power is the level of respect and credibility that you earn from employees. Remember that when someone exceeds the boundaries or is performing poorly, they have to be accountable. The number one de-motivator for people in every industry is having to pick up the slack for a poor performer. Be consistent and passionate about communicating the goals, working on the playing field for success and making sure you are “explicit” and not just “implicit”.

So the next time you see some kids playing football in a park, think about the organizational lessons they already know at such a young age. Many times we learn things when we’re young and just forget the basic principles for success. The good news is, we can always re-learn what we’ve lost and, in many cases, the principles are still there. We just have to decide to slow down, think about what works and then actually do it.

Michael Stahl – Senior Performance Manager, Frontline Performance Group

As it is with many firms, ours is made-up of individuals from diverse backgrounds with exceptional talents.  We have a singular goal, that is to guide organizations to creating, and sustaining profitable service based sales cultures.  However, as we grow our practice in types of industries, number of clients and staff, so grows our diversities.  In fact, one of the few constants in our organization is a principle practice model we call the KPE (Khoury Performance Equation); it is our business blueprint designed to optimize sales and service performance through three primary areas of actionable focus:

- Creating The Right Environment

- Ensuring The Right Personnel Fit

- Executing The Right Action

A few years ago, I embarked on a mission to aid our team in developing more synergy in the area of application of that blueprint. The mantra for this initiative … Synergetic Diversity.  This tenet, Synergetic Diversity, can be defined as being a system of “pooling” differences (i.e. cultures, economies, industries, experiences, etc) to act as a whole toward one common goal.  When well practiced, it creates cohesive movement – it becomes a structured yet fluid dance.

Regardless of your industry, products, staff experiences or customer base, a synergistic approach to key tasks and initiatives brings a unified fluidity to your team’s efforts, maximizies performance and bottom-line results.

Below is a quick exercise to ensure your business initiatives remain on task. 

• Make a list of a few critical principles or practices that should exist across all verticals.
• What are some of the diversities that are affecting your objective, “total installation” of those principles or practices in our organization and/or with your clients? 
• What synergies in behavior (performance) among your team and/or your clients must exist to ensure success of the objective?  
• If there are critical synergies that do not currently exist, what is you action plan to address them?

Diversity is a component of success in today’s global business community. Use this exercise to gauge the synergy of your team’s efforts toward sustainable profit and growth. 

Lynda Fleming – Director of Learning & Development, Frontline Performance Group

“This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything.” – Scott Reed

I’m going to lose 10 pounds…I’m going to work out 5 days a week…I’m going to eat healthy.  Does that sound like something you said to yourself or told everyone around you when you were enjoying the holidays - that it was all going to change after the New Year?

I’m going to improve my numbers…I’m going to turn my store numbers around…I’m going to be your new top performer.  Does that sound like something you said (only to yourself of course) when you were looking at your internal peer ranking or company sales report?

Both are two glaring examples, from our personal life and workplace, of things that are 100% in our control.  That’s right; I said it…100%. So you may wonder, if it’s totally up to me, why is it that I start with good intentions but end with the “oh well, I tried” attitude for the remainder of the year? Below are some of the things that keep us from hitting those targets or making it a breakout year.

I don’t see the change - You’re eating right…you’re going to the gym…you have a positive attitude at work…you’re trying to offer your products or services differently but you don’t seem to be seeing any of the fruits of you labor. Change in behavior takes time – you need patience. Just as it takes a while for your body to react to your new lifestyle, it takes your brain a while to ingrain the new sales techniques at work. Fight through the voices in your head that are telling you that your effort is wasted…you’re on your way!

Lack of planning- Whether it’s your lifestyle or taking your career to another level, the fact is, the individuals who will succeed are those who have a plan. Making permanent changes will call for a bullet proof game plan that provides you with a clear idea of what to do. Find out who your resources are and seek assistance. Call on your friends or family members; ask your manager or direct supervisor for guidance.  Make and work your plan.

The Grind – It takes time to build strength or endurance to take on more weight or add time to the treadmill. It also takes time to get comfortable with your new sales presentation. It’s different than what you’re used to but after you say it over and over again with clients on a daily basis, you begin to build strength in your presentation. As you gain more confidence in your presentation you begin to believe in yourself…when you believe in yourself you start to make a difference. You lose 2 pounds…you improve your sales performance. Stick with it, you’ve just begun.

Unrealistic goals- Your goals in your personal and work life need to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. If your current goals don’t meet those criteria, you need to go back to the drawing board until they do. Too often people set unrealistic goals that end up leading them down the road of failure even before they start. I want to be the top performing person in my store or area…although you can certainly get there, it may take longer than you anticipated. Set smaller goals that lead up to your end goal. The sense of achievement along the way is a powerful motivator in your journey to success! 

I’m just not feeling it - Losing weight and grinding it out in the gym doesn’t sound all that fun…Doing an overhaul of your sales presentation seems dreadful. Don’t be so serious – make it fun! Play “challenge” games to motivate yourself; pick a workout partner or colleague to hold you accountable throughout the day. How you feel about working out and how you feel about selling will determine how well you work out and how well you sell…Go for it!

Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution or a personal challenge to start the year off on the right foot, it is 100% in your control. The thrill wears off over time. Resolutions and vows to improve your sales performance sound good when you’re looking at achieving the end result. It’s along the difficult road from A to B where most people throw in the towel, but if you stay the course you’ll see…success is right around the corner!

Daniel Park - Director of Consulting Services, Frontline Performance Group 

Next to the sports world, no one can beat a cliché or “buzzword” to death better than the world of business. At the end of the day, it’s not about me, it’s about the team and I’m just taking it one game at a time and believe we need to take a proactive approach and close the file on these over-used terms.  

One of the most meaningless words is “focus”. The word is frequently used as an excuse for when there is no formal plan or strategy in place to address an issue. “Focus” is too often used as part of the “marching orders” given to frontline management from above, as in “I need you to focus your team on customer service.” Sadly, that is the extent of many organizations customer service strategy; “we’re focused on it.”

“Focusing” on customer service is not enough. Your strategy needs to be meaningful, sustainable and simple. It should be treated as a company “mantra” where every member of the organization knows what it is – lives and breathes it.

I recently had the opportunity to utilize the services of Safelite Auto Glass and noticed this sticker on the window of their repair truck:    

 I thought this was quite powerful; a 12-point “pledge” for their technicians beginning with the words “I will perform the following for every customer …” Here are the highlights of what they “pledge” to do for their customers:

• Perform a safe installation as outlined in our installation policies, procedures, and SafeTech Installation manual. In other words, they promise to do the job according to the rules of the organization.
• Complete the technician call-aheads. They actually take the time each morning to call every customer on their daily schedule to confirm the appointment and let them know the approximate time they will arrive at their home or business for repair.
• Arrive within the time frame agreed upon with the customer. A service company that promises to be on time; wow! 
• Have a professional appearance, be in clean uniform and arrive in a clean vehicle. Another promise, to make a good impression on the customer.
• Communicate the minimum drive away time to every customer. In other words, tell every customer how long the job will take to complete.
• Protect the vehicle by using all recommended covers and mats. Be respectful of the customer’s property.
• Communicate with the customer and always thank them for giving us the opportunity to repair or replace their vehicle glass.
• Wash all exterior glass and vacuum the interior of the vehicle after each replacement or repair. Do a little something extra for the customer that they don’t expect.  
• Fix the problem if something goes wrong and take ownership for delighting the customer. In writing on every vehicle, “you are empowered to delight (not ‘satisfy’) the customer.”

Safelite Auto Glass is doing more than “focusing” on customer service. They have obviously woven it into the fabric of their company.

If you were to put up a similar sticker, sign or badge what would it say?

Lee Silverstein - Managing Partner, Frontline Performance Group