Five Mistakes Made By Salespeople

Like most of us, sales people are no different in the fact that they make mistakes too. When mistakes are made in the selling environment, rarely do they get a second opportunity. These common mistakes made by sales people can be avoided and sales success can be achieved.

Here are some of the mistakes often made by ineffective sales people:

Mistake #1 - Pre-call Preparation

Does little or no research prior to the contact.

Sales people should use all available resources (Internet, Facebook, Google, Linkedin, etc) to research information on the company or specific contact. People appreciate other people who show an interest in their well-being and not just themselves. Don’t fail to educate yourself on your perspective client or contact.

Mistake #2 - Presentation Skills

Uses an inflexible sales process that is robotic in nature.

Sounding like a recording is a real turnoff to prospects. It does not demonstrate an interest in the person and makes them feel like they are treated like everyone else. Customize your presentation and allow for specific questions based on your research to make the customer feel like they and they alone are special and you took extra time and effort to talk to them.

Mistake #3 - The Closer

Lacks an effective close.
Listening throughout the sales presentation is the key factor in enabling the sales person to close the sale. Establishing the need must be completed before a trial close can even be made. Needs satisfaction is the best principle to use when determining the need to close and what close to use. A close can only occur when the need of the customer has been satisfied by the features and benefits of your product.

Mistake #4 - Relationship Building

Does not establish trust.
Trust is the common dominator to establishing a sale. Gaining favorable attention and establishing rapport are the two key ingredients to the start of a presentation. Both enable you to get the customer to elaborate on the specific need for which your solution is appropriate. Rapport building is also a component of understanding the behavioral style of the buyer to insure a better relationship.

Mistake #5 - Post call activity

Does not follow-up with client hn a timely manner.
Most sales people fail to follow-up in a timely manner. Focus your follow-up correspondence (Letter, e-Mail, Text, or Fax) on the benefits that will be demonstrated once the solution is in place. Your product or service is just that solution. Even if the customer doesn’t buy today, make sure you use a CRM system to follow-up periodically. Testimonials and product or service success stories make a great follow-up.

Executive Summary: Sales people must understand their own selling styles and preferences and also recognize and understand Customer Buying Styles. Sales is all about building relationships. Relationship Selling allows you to adapt to your customer’s Buying Style so that a better connection between sales person and customer can be achieved. People who connect better to customers in a shorter period of time close more sales.

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Innovative Leadership helps companies grow, one employee at a time! Can you imagine your customer asking you permission to buy something from you? This program teaches you how behavioral understanding, trust, and emotions can be integrated to produce the desired results. Click to learn more: http://www.innovativeleadershipdv.com/workshops.asp#sales or call 609.390.2830 to see how this series can help your business grow, one employee at a time.

Ten Steps To Goal Getting

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. "One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest." - Mary Crowley.

2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals. Remember, it is right to eat the elephant in small bites.

3. Build your life on a sold foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments. Make small strides to great success.

5. Be prepared to change. You can't control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully--but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your "give-up" goals (i.e., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they're going to encourage you.

7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

8. Visualize the achievement or outcome. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, Weekly Planner, Phone, Blackberry, or iPad.

10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals--what you will become is the winner you were born to be!

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Innovative Leadership helps companies grow, one employee at a time! They integrate business consultation, training and development, and coaching with Leadership and Strategic/Forward Thinking to enhance organizational effectiveness, employee engagement and people development. InnovativeLeadershipDV.com

How to Make Choices as a Team

On a trip to a specific destination, a driver can look for certain landmarks to be sure of taking the correct road. A team also has “landmarks” to evaluate whether or not it is on the path to excellence. Several components determine the success of a winning team. These elements include decision making, creative problem solving, collaboration, and facilitative leadership.

Making choices

• Standards for making decisions - Decisions are always made with reference to certain standards or values. The organizational counterpart to a leader’s strong self-image is a well-defined organizational plan of action that serves as a blueprint for decisions. Identification of priorities among the various organizational goals provides an index to their relative importance to the organization.
  
  Do all you can to help team members make wise decisions. The more competent they become in making decisions, the bigger contribution they make to the achievement of organizational goals.
  
  
• Responsibility - Determining who will make a particular decision is another important consideration. Even the most effective leaders must repeatedly judge whether to make a decision themselves, refer it to someone else, or delegate it. As a general rule, decisions should be made at the lowest organizational level consistent with quality. Appropriate delegation of decision making to team members strengthens them, enhances the quality of decisions, prevents morale problems, and maximizes your time effectiveness.
  
  
• Personal accountability - Although you delegate authority and assign responsibility for a decision, you are still personally accountable to the organization for the outcome.
  
  Good judgment in the type of decisions you delegate makes it unlikely that such action will be necessary very often. In the event that you are ever forced to reverse or modify a decision, be sure to explain fully to everyone involved. Do all you can to help team members make wise decisions. The more competent they become in making decisions, the bigger contribution they make to the achievement of organizational goals.

Next Month: How to Solve Problems as a Team. Sign up here to get Monthly Coaching Emails.

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Innovative Leadership helps companies grow, one employee at a time! They integrate business consultation, training and development, and coaching with Leadership and Strategic/Forward Thinking to enhance organizational effectiveness, employee engagement and people development. InnovativeLeadershipDV.com

The Value of Coaching

I just celebrated my tenth year of Coaching. When I was asked by an executive over ten years ago the following question, “Are you a Coach?” My first response was “in what sport”? I coached almost every sport known to man since I had three very active children so I immediately told him that baseball was my favorite and softball was a close second. He then said that Coaching was now one of the growing professions in business and I should look into it.

I researched the profession and found that there was formal training for Coaching. I ended up choosing an online program called Coach U because the focus of the program was on business application, rather than a life coach, which complimented my business consulting firm. I spent the next 18 months learning the competencies, skill-sets, and practices that would make me a great executive coach and officially became a Certified Business Coach. Later on in my career, I took certification programs in Performance and Small Business Owner Coaching since I was dealing with small business owners and top producers in industries that required immediate results.

I find that Coaching is much more well known today than it was ten years ago, but the term continues to be applied more frequently as a verb and not a noun. Coaching is not the same as mentoring, counseling, or managing. Business Coaching appears to have replaced the term business consulting but I still find the two totally separate. Business Consultation focuses on the effectiveness of the organization and Business Coaching focuses on the individual, whether it be an executive, manager or future leader.

Read: How to Make Choices as a Team

Top Ten Must Do's to Increase Employee Engagement

1. Create Career Pathing – people development
2. Establish Performance Management Benchmarks
3. Create an enthusiastic energetic work environment
4. Demonstrate the value of the role to the overall success of the organization
5. Focus on people’s strengths and not their shortcomings
6. Communicate this point in time and forward think
7. Promote recognition and the use of public praise
8. Achievement is results-orientation
9. Manage and build relationships
10. Integrate the beliefs of your people with the vision of your organization

Innovative Leadership helps companies grow, one employee at a time! They integrate business consultation, training and development, and coaching with Leadership and Strategic/Forward Thinking to enhance organizational effectiveness, employee engagement and people development. InnovativeLeadershipDV.com

How to Use Employee Engagement to Your Business' Advantage

Between the winter and the continued economic struggles, many employers are being lulled into thinking that all is well in the workplace. Turnover is down or non-existent, revenue generation is coming back ever so slowly, and costs have been brought in line. All of this can certainly give companies and organizations the impression that everything is on the upswing and “Life is Good”.

The problem is that when we come out of this economic recession, many people will start looking for other opportunities and in most cases; the good opportunities will be made available to your good people. People are not usually changing jobs for financial differences, but relationship differences. The relationship between the manager and employee is the key to retention of good/great employees.

The main reason for leaving a company is the fact that the manager is either doing something wrong or is just not providing the feedback needed for personal development and advancement. Managers must exhibit an interest in their people; learn to understand what motivates their staff, provide a realistic career path for advancement, and to maximize the talents of their key employees. Leadership and Management Development Programs are designed to teach people the skill sets and competencies that are needed to develop high performing employees in the workplace. Read about these programs here, but let’s get back to engagement….

High performing employees are not always the highly engaged employee. Managers must make sure that all employees are engaged and the key employees must be well aware of how their value contributes to the overall success of the Business Strategy of the company or organization.

Keep in mind, low turnover does not reflect high employee engagement. It doesn’t, but it can! You still need engagement driven by management.


How To Take Action

Most of us don't realize that our behavioral patterns are predictable and how much our personal behavior impacts the people around us. We highly recommend the use of an assessment instrument to guide you in boosting employee engagement.

This assessment enhances the understanding that managers and employees have of each other and helps you learn how to improve your effectiveness and productivity in the workplace. This can help people be truly engaged in the workplace but understanding themselves and how they can relate to the business strategy of the organization. Our DiSC© Workplace Profile/Workshop can help facilitate engagement in your work environment.

Ellen and Richard Hohmann - Contributors in South Jersey Biz Article

Ellen and Richard Hohmann asked to be contributors to an article titled, “No Problems to Report” by Jennifer Nelson (South Jersey Biz, Volume 2, Issue 1).

The article focused on the difficulty facing supervisors and managers today in terms of having to deal with a wide range of personality traits and behavior. Some of the contributors felt that over 30% of an employee’s performance in the workplace is tied to their individual behaviors. In the article, Elizabeth Faircloth, Vice President of Augur, Inc. stated that, “I don’t think many companies realize how important an employee’s personal actually is. Both Ellen and Richard know for a fact that they don’t.

Ellen and Richard Hohmann have specialized in teaching companies and their people to better understand both the differences in personalities and the resulting behavioral tendencies that they will exhibit in the workplace. Individual performance and the productivity of the organization can certainly be linked to this. It is also important that managers or supervisors understand the cultural and generational differences present in the workplace today. After all, the effectiveness of any organization is a direct reflection of people being engaged with the company’s business strategy. This engagement cannot occur without a better understanding of these “people” traits.

Engagement is certainly one barometer that can be used to measure if the personality of the workers is understood. After all, a more engaged workforce is more productive making the company more profitable. Sure makes sense to us. Richard also uses Behavioral Assessment Instruments with every Executive Coaching client. It is important that excellent communication be achieved and assessment help with that immensely.

The uniqueness about the Leadership Courses offered by Innovative Leadership is that they don’t focus on content, they focus on the expected behavioral change needed by the participant to be more productive. Adults learn differently than children and content driven programs have been shown to deliver little of no change. Behavioral-oriented programs do make a change…in the employee and the company. As our slogan says, “We change companies, one employee at a time”.

Read the Full South Jersey Biz Article Here

There's No "ME" in Training, But There is "ROI"

Many people believe that our economic vitality depends on having a skilled and experienced workforce. It is being reported that too many young people are unprepared to succeed in a knowledge-driven global economy. A broad skills gap that already exists in our nation is contributing in one new report calls the “great divide” between what a worker has to offer and what employers expect and demand. The substandard consequences are real and are growing worse.

The real problem is that many of us are asking, “How do we improve the skills of future workers while developing our own talent pipelines?”

Employers must invest in a process that allows them to grow their future leaders organically. Most companies concentrate their efforts on the basic workforce readiness skills of their entry–level, lower skilled employees and, in some cases, prospective employees hoping to secure full time positions. To do such requires considerable time and expense. A recent report titled, “Why Companies Invest in ‘Grow Your Own’ Talent" demonstrably shows employers that embrace workforce-readiness training are finding promising results and an impressive and measurable ROI.

Most of the benefits noted in the report revolve around employee retention, increased workforce diversity, and greater community engagement. The real success lies in the fact that companies are successfully cultivating new generations of talent with new career opportunities, who positively impact organizational effectiveness, better known as corporate profitability.

It is time that we understand, an applicant arrives at a company because they are interested in the roles and responsibilities associated with the position and if they find the compensation package adequate, they take the position, BUT they only stick around if two other things are satisfied; what are they? 1) That their new company demonstrates an interest in them 2) There is a future opportunity for growth. Now, who doesn’t feel that training and development of your people is valuable?

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Article written by Richard J. Hohmann Jr., Senior Business and Management Consultant for Innovative Leadership, a strategic partner with Fitzpatrick, Bongiovanni, & Kelly, PC, and also a member of the Collaboration Team for Leadership Management International. Richard can also speak at your next organization’s meeting, to invite him to speak call 609-390-2830, For your business solutions click here: InnovativeLeadershipDV.com

Management reSOLUTIONS for 2012

Managers - Have you set your reSOLUTIONS for 2012 yet? It's not too late. Here are 15 suggestions for a more productive workplace and higher employee engagement!

1. Be a More Effective Listener and a Better Story Teller
2. Provide Feedback in a Timely Manner
3. Get to Know Your People as More Than Employees
4. Learn to Delegate and Begin to Cross Train
5. Focus on Diversity and Inclusion for Productivity
6. Be More Goal-Oriented
7. Tie Your Corporate Business Strategy in with People's Values
8. Be Consistent with Your Performance Management Process
9. Realize Your Primary Role is to Develop People
10. Prioritize Your Roles and Responsibilities Daily
11. Manage Your Email and Turn Off Message Alerts
12. Be Positive - Learn to have a "Positude"
13. Find Opportunities to "Stretch" Your Skill Set
14. Schedule Time with Yourself, Don't Multi-Task
15. Establish Trust as the Foundation for All You Do!
    

Business Owner reSOLUTIONS for 2012

It's not too late to start your reSOLUTIONS; Here are 15 suggestions for Business Owners.

1. Get employees to Think like Owners
2. Create a Build a Great Workplace
3. Understand that You Can't Do it All
4. Utilize Your Professional Team of Advisors
5. Create an Advisory Board
6. Don't Accept Status Quo
7. Participate in Community Activities
8. Learn to Work "On" Your Business NOT "In" Your Business
9. Open your Mind to Innovation and Creativity
10. Be a Forward Thinker - Focus on the Design of the Outcome
11. When Defining Your Vision of the Future, Set Clear Goals
12. Measure Your Results
13. Set a Budget and Stick to it!
14. Link Your Goals to Your Financial Outcome
15. Practice Continuous Improvement
    

HR reSOLUTIONS for 2012

It's not too late to start implementing reSOLUTIONS into your daily activities as a Human Resources professional. Here are 15 suggestions to get you started on a new and exciting path:

1. Increase Employee Engagement
2. Reduce Stress in the Workplace
3. Get a Grasp on Social Networking
4. Increase the Use of Temporary and Part-Time Employees
5. Be the Point Person for Succession Planning (Be prepared for Those in Retirement Age)
6. Integrate Strategy with People Value
7. Make HR a Strategic Partner
8. Manage Change in Culture and Growth
9. Focus on Employee Relations
10. Provide Legal Updates to Managers and CEO's
    
11. Develop a Performance Management Process
12. Establish Coaching and Mentoring Programs for Employee Retention
13. Develop a Leadership Program
14. Create an Onboarding Process vs. Orientation
15. Tie in Your Recruitment Practices with Strategy, Culture, Mission and Vision
    

How to Show Gratitude in the Workplace

Originally Found on GreatWorkplace.Wordpress.com

Does your organization have a culture of gratitude? Each day there are countless opportunities to show gratitude to others in the workplace. Supervisors, leaders, and coworkers can all help build a culture of gratitude by acknowledging the contributions of those around them in specific and genuine ways. Here are some ways to foster gratitude in the workplace:

1. Formal recognition programs are a common way employers build a culture of gratitude in the workplace. Formal annual, quarterly, monthly, or even weekly awards can help build a culture of recognizing the behaviors and results your organization seeks.
2. Having a method of peer recognition is important in developing appreciation among coworkers. Create a program or initiative that encourages peers to recognize and thank one another for their help.
3. On-the-spot rewards and recognition allow employees to be recognized at any time by supervisors, management, or even peers through some small reward, such as a gift card, ticket to local event, or other valued recognition. Spontaneous rewards and recognition can be welcome surprises for employees.
4. While your organization may have recognition programs in place, if your supervisors and managers are not using them, they likely won’t be effective in helping to drive a culture of gratitude. Many organizations train their management staff on the importance of recognizing employees and how to use the tools and programs provided by the organization.
5. Making celebrations a part of your organization’s activities is another way to build a culture of gratitude – as well as fun and enjoyment. Coordinate a few celebrations throughout the year to show appreciation to your whole staff. Some organizations even go so far as to celebrate personal events like birthdays, weddings, and births.
6. Although it sounds simple, many workplaces forget to say thank you – especially to their most valuable assets: top performers. Saying thank you via email, phone call, voice-message, card, e-card, or in-person, or taking an employee out for coffee or lunch to say “thanks” can be very meaningful.
7. When developing a culture of gratitude, remember that formal programs are only part of the equation. It’s equally as important to create new habits, expectations, and norms throughout the organization to develop a culture of gratitude – and this typically starts at the top. Encourage leaders and managers to lead the way in thanking an employee each time they do something exceptional or of assistance to them, and to post or communicate successes publicly – through newsletters, interoffice mail or email, on bulletin boards, and at department or staff meetings.

A culture of gratitude can change your workplace into a positive, uplifting, and collaborative environment – eliciting more enthusiasm, engagement, and positive relationships. Use the weeks ahead to plan a strategy to make your workplace one in which giving thanks happens year-round.

10 Management Tips from US Airways' Hub

by Ted Reed - Originally found on TheStreet

In a down economy, the US Airways(LCC_) hub in Charlotte has been an oasis of growth as well as a model of efficiency. For that, many credit a station manager who knows how to get the most from her employees.

Terri Pope, Charlotte station manager since 2000 and US Airways vice president for airport customer service, "knows how to get people to buy in," said Cinde Monsam, senior manager for station administration and one of Pope's four direct reports.

"What I learned from her and what she does better than anyone else is that she reads the needs of people, not just her employees but also her managers," said Monsam. "She knows when to push for an idea and when to back off, because she listens to people's voices. The loyalty she inspires by doing that is incredible."

Terri Pope

Recent growth has pushed US Airways' Charlotte departures to about 640 from about 400 in 2004, making Charlotte/Douglas the country's 11th biggest airport as well as the carrier's most profitable hub. US Airways employs 6,500 in Charlotte: Pope directly oversees 2,000 who work in the airport. Additionally, as the airline's highest ranking Charlotte official, she is the face of US Airways in Charlotte.

At a recent meeting, where US Airways Charlotte managers reviewed their 2010 performance, Pope concluded by saying that that a few years ago, she was not so proud of that role. The carrier underwent two bankruptcies and often ranked badly in on-time performance and other operational metrics. "We were looked upon perhaps not as highly as we should have been," Pope said.

But now, "When I walk into chamber meetings or corporate headquarters or any meeting, I just glow when someone asks me what I do," she said. And quickly, she credited her staff. "I can't tell you how much I respect you, for what you bring to this wonderful hub of ours." That's one insight into what makes Terri Pope a unique leader: she puts employees first. Here are her ten guidelines:

1. Listen. "The biggest thing is that you can be honest with her, without feeling that she will be mad, even when she disagrees," said Mike Bryant, director of operations and planning. "She has her vision, she lays it out. I might not agree, but she makes me feel comfortable enough to say it.

Said Pope: "I don't think there's an intimidating bone in my body. Why would you need to intimidate anyone to get what you want?" Pope has fired dozens of people, she acknowledges, for violations including stealing, lack of attendance and disciplinary failings. Each one, she said, "is a failure on my part."

2. Don't Micro-Manage."She has expectations, but she doesn't tell you how to get there," Bryant said. "As long as you meet the goal, you don't have to go Terri's way." As an example, Bryant has had to allocate gate usage in a way that favors gates US Airways leases long-term over gates controlled by the airport, which cost more to use.

Pope "allows us to run our departments like we are running our own businesses," said Rich Ashlin, director of customer service. "She stands at a distance, but she is there as a resource. Said Pope: "It's up to them to sell their ideas to me. If they do that successfully, we go with it."

3. Remember, You Run Into Everybody Again. James McDonald, director of ramp operations, interviewed with Pope four times for four jobs before she finally offered him one. The first time was in West Palm Beach, the second at Washington National, the last two in Charlotte. "Terri and I go back a long way," he said. At each interview, "She was cordial and nice and made me feel comfortable," he said. After the DCA interview, Pope called to explain that he needed more experience. "She made it personal," he said. "She made it seem like it mattered. She is all about results and performance, but she does it with calm, with guidance and support."

4. Take Pleasure in Employees' Achievements. "I'm 53," Pope said. "I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I think it's because, when you first start out, and for many years, you think it's about you. As you get older and wiser, you realize it's not about you at all. It's about how you can help people achieve their goals. "I've got so many leaders here -- I hope I've had a little to do with them achieving their goals. I have extremely high expectations and I'm hard to please, but I'm also very forgiving."

5. Sense of Humor. On Sept. 27, 2005, the day US Airways and America West completed their merger, Rich Ashlin flew from Phoenix to Charlotte to start work as director of customer service. "I got off the plane and there was a cavalcade of baggage carts through the airport," she said. "Terri was in one of them, dressed as Queen Charlotte. It was hysterical."

6. Make Each Person Feel Special. Charlotte spokeswoman Michelle Mohr recalls the day in 2007 when she began work in Charlotte after moving from Phoenix. She barely knew a soul and did not know what to expect. When she arrived at work, Pope had put a vase full of flowers on her desk. "It was one of the nicest, warmest things ever," Mohr said. "It was so unexpected." Said Pope: "I know what it is to be new. "

7. Admit Your Mistakes. In April 2010 US Airways decided to suspend Charlotte-Honolulu service just four months after it began. "I hoped it was going to work," Pope said. "We had an extra aircraft, a 767 - why not utilize it? Besides, if we're successful, it benefits a lot of people. Heart-wise, I wanted to do it, even though brain-wise, I didn't know. So we gave it a shot. But if something is not working, we are not afraid to make a change."

8. Embrace Technology. Airports have benefited immensely and visibly from technology improvements. Since November 2008, US Airways has scanned bags as they are loaded onto planes and as they come off, so the carrier always knows where the bags are. "Before, we made an educated guess," Pope said. US Airways has also redesigned airport kiosks to have more functions and be easier to use, and it has developed, gate readers enabling a single person to board an entire aircraft. "We used to be a manual airline," Pope said. "Now, we have so many great technologies."

9. Learn From Employees. As West Palm Beach station manager in the 1990s, Pope was intimidated by an older man who was a lead ramp agent. "He thought he knew everything, he was crotchety, and he challenged me every step of the way," she said. "He though females had no right to be in this business, much less young females -- I was 35. We had heated discussions. But many times, he was right. I was inexperienced." Today, she said, the now-retired employee sends a Christmas card each year.

10. Be Approachable. "You have to be someone employees can talk to," Pope said. "That's why (CEO Doug Parker) is successful. If employees can't talk to you, then you don't know what's going on." Parker meets regularly with employees, including half a dozen times a year in Charlotte.

Beyond Performance - Leaders Get Results!

I really encourage everyone in a leadership role to read, "Beyond Performance: How Great Organizations Build Ultimate Competitive Advantage" by Colin Price, Scott Keller. Their book focuses on organizational health, which they define as the ability of any organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than your competitors can. According to the authors, as we work more and socialize less, our sense of meaning and identity is increasingly derived from the workplace. More and more people are looking for that sense of “belonging, which was originally defined by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need.

Job satisfaction in the US has dropped from 61% in 1987 to less than 45% in 2009. Productivity during the same period has increased more slowly than in any fifteen year period since 1950.

As our economies emerge from the recession, the ability to lead and manage organizations in a way that motivates employees to be more productive than ever is extremely important. In other words, the health of any organization must encompass all the human elements required to achieve sustainable success.

The process for organizational health is defined by the authors as the Five A’s;
• Aspire – Where do we want to go?
• Assess – How ready are we to go there?
• Architect – What do we need to do to get there?
• Act – How do we manage the journey?
• Advance – How do we keep moving forward?

These five stages should be translated into a specific challenge for performance and organizational health. The authors continue to break down the process into nine key elements that must be implemented to achieve sustained growth and success. The integration of a strong vision and a well-defined business strategy that is meaningful to the employee and supported by the culture and climate of the organization is a must. To be able to execute this process, the organization must have high capabilities, effective management processes, and high employee motivation. The organization’s ability to be adaptable to both situation and the external environment will also fortify the relationship with the customer, vendor and community.

The real key to organizational health appears to be the alignment of personal goals with those of the organization. This alignment produces a highly self-motivated workforce that will demonstrate engagement and productivity improvement. We build this alignment by shifting an employee’s mindset – their attitude. It is well documented that leaders are the catalysts for performance and leadership must be present at every organizational level and not just at the top.

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Our Leadership and Management Development Programs are all based on the philosophy or belief that to improve the health of your organization, you must start improving the health of your workforce, one employee at a time. I believe that the “real” performance model starts with attitude and ends with the desired results

Real Performance Model Attitude Activity Skills and Competencies Results
We teach employees and managers to be better leaders and to get results. Please call 609.390.2830 or contact us here to find out more about the Total Leadership Model®, the only development plan designed for today’s leaders and the development of future leaders.

How to Plan for the Future of Your Business with the Help of Employees

The opportunity to change the structure of the company toward a more versatile or bureaucratic structure can now be determined by your management team. The importance of the way your employees perceive your company and the way they think it should be, cannot be denied. These gaps between the actual and the ideal should be given special attention, and can provide your management team with ideas that can be developed and expanded in strategic planning sessions. Assessments can provide a most valuable tool that puts the management team on notice and causes them to consider change within the organization. These changes may never be apparent without this assessment, because it is unbiased, confidential, and provides a comprehensive diagnosis of an organization.

This is certainly needed in our highly competitive environment. Isn't it about time you got your camera out and took a snapshot of your company?

Organizational Assessment Tools are one of the instruments available to provide any management team with a real photograph of their company today, and it also allows them to let the employees paint the picture of the company that they would like to see in the future. These assessment tools are relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of employee turnover, especially on the management level.

The Organizational Needs Inventory (ONI) is an example of such an assessment tool that provides a comprehensive analysis of an organization from the perspective of its employees with regard to the three areas which management experts regard as critical: Predominant Leadership Style, Organizational Culture, and Structure. These assessments provide a comprehensive diagnosis of the organization today through the eyes and ears of the employees. Any management team worth its salt will welcome a snapshot of their company today so they can properly determine the appropriately plan for the future with a clearer sense of direction and purpose.

This assessment tool will allow the management team to establish training and development programs that will not only produce the skills required, but the attitudes and work habits needed to move the company in the direction they desire relative to its mission and vision. It is not an easy task to change an organization and its people swiftly so please commit your organization to a time investment. The most important factor to remember is that this change is being planned, rather than just randomly happening.

It is also very important to learn the dominant leadership style present within your company. Once your predominant leadership style is acknowledged, the velocity of change will be proportionate to the support and direction offered by the management team of the company. The first step is to establish goal - setting measures with appropriate target dates to insure the proper direction of this change and to increase motivation internally.

The determination of your organization's culture should provide management with a better picture of the organization's effectiveness and allow them to develop an implementation plan that can be achieved in a reasonable time frame, while promoting teamwork at the same time.

The organization's culture today may reflect a low trust level. The results of this assessment will help you work on the cause and develop methods and plans to improve results, enabling the company to succeed in its overall goals and objectives.To see a free sample of an assessment your company would be using please contact us

(Painting by Jennifer Sandquist)

How to Properly Use Performance Appraisals

I was reading an article titled, “Bias Found in Employee Appraisals” on hreonline.com. It elaborated on the fact that new research shows vast discrepancies in employee appraisals by workers who report to two bosses.

Performance Appraisals have always shown bias from one manager to another. Many consulting firms even recommend that companies not spend money on the training and development of their managers regarding the delivery of an employee appraisal by a manager. If we don’t train to develop consistency in delivery, then how can we ever have a Performance Appraisal System without bias?

Small business owners and managers, listen up, it’s time to realize that the Performance Appraisal Process is the best means to communicate workplace expectations with the employee and that employee engagement is key to retention moving forward.

• Managers must utilize a system for monitoring performance on a day to day, month to month basis and not just wait for the annual performance appraisal process for the data to appear. A Performance Log or file must be maintained throughout the year to note successes, learning opportunities, behavioral tendencies, etc. The Performance Appraisal Process must be more objective than subjective and certainly results-oriented. It must be based on the job description or role assigned to the employee as the role is defined today, not five years ago. It must reflect technical skills as well as performance skills that demonstrate an above average performance in that position.

• Clear expectations must be defined. Clarity and good communication are key management skills for this to succeed. We must communicate workplace expectations in a clear, decisive, and definitive manner with the creation of a development plan for the employee. All managers must be willing to coach and mentor the employee to high performance through the use of a solid Developmental Plan of Action. I have always believed that the formulation of a developmental plan for a high achiever is one of the most difficult tasks a manager can undertake. And it certainly shouldn’t be….it should be the opposite.

Both bias and the dreaded “Performance Appraisal” mentality must be eliminated from the equation…discuss expectations, monitor performance daily, and make employee engagement a priority. If you do that, the bias and subjectivity will be removed.

We need to tell people that we are interested in their performance and career direction. We must focus on their performance in respect to the competencies needed to do an above average job in their current role but help them develop a plan of action that will enhance their performance skills to reflect the achievement of a higher position in the future. What competencies will we need from our employees five years from now? That is what we should be focusing on with our people development processes. Isn’t it time to put the “whip” away and start moving people forward by providing the opportunity to succeed with their career objectives…all through the proper use of the Performance Appraisal Process. Don’t make it an event…it is a process.

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Coaching - The Most Overlooked Employee Benefit

Companies are saying that executive coaching has become their secret weapon when it comes to acquiring talent. BMW of Canada recently introduced a program that included the hiring of coaches to incorporate training into a leadership – development program.

Coaching can certainly compliment leadership training in any organization and it can be a needed incentive to elevate performance and provide a competitive edge by providing another perk or reason to join. In my experience, I have found Coaching to be a key component to retaining a good to great manager or leader. Coaches can be the link between personal direction and work/life balance while expanding the communication link between the business strategy and the employee by promoting good leadership skills.

Coaching is one of the most cost effective measures for improving productivity, enhancing performance, elevating morale, and supporting human resources with the hiring and selection process and their retention objectives. Turnover costs amount to approximately 1/3 of the salary for the position that needs to be replaced and goes up to about half when you loose a key employee.

The cost of coaching rarely exceeds 10% of the loss associated with employee turnover. You decide; would you rather expense $5000 to support an above average employee or spend $50,000 on replacing them? Coaching is much more than cost-savings for a company or organization. It is a process that supports the people development portion of any business while improving the organization’s effectiveness. Those are
two major components of any company striving to go as Jim Collins says, from “Good to Great”.

A Coach with Leadership Training experience is an unbeatable combination. Helping people reach their potential is the key ingredient for business success.

Most human resource managers that I have talked to state that they do not have any of the following:
1) Succession Plan
2) Mentor Program
3) an External Coaching Program (Executive or otherwise).

Leadership Training and Coaching are two components that can really change the fhnancial situation of a company but are often put aside because it may draw attention to the real costs of turnover and how reducing such can dramatically affect the bottom line. I just can’t image in this time of economic downturn that most companies aren’t willing to look at innovative ways to attract employees and most importantly, retain good employees. I think most companies should use
the term “talent maintenance” instead of “talent management”. There are very few companies that focus on people potential and their development. Which plan do you have in place, “maintenance or management”? It’s time for YOUR secret weapon. . .
A coach with Leadership Training in his background.

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Our Coaching Services are designed to push you or the team to the next level by engaging in conversations that will provide inspiration and commitment resulting in goal achievement. Learn More

Employee Engagement is Performance and Productivity

Managers have more impact on engagement then their companies.

In Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to be the Best…and Learn from the Worst by Robert Sutton, the author noted that about 75% of today's workforce reports that their immediate supervisor is the most stressful part of their job. It has also noted by several surveys including the initial work by Gallup that immediate supervisors have far more impact on engagement and productivity than whether their companies are rates as great or lousy places to work.


We believe that the immediate supervisor is an integral component to productivity and performance. We also believe that the value of the immediate supervisor is under estimated and their level of competence is over estimated. In a recent survey, we have concluded that the majority of supervisors and/or managers in mid-size and small companies have no formal leadership or management training. Image how a well trained boss can enhance the success of your company.

Our Leadership and Management Development Courses teach people the practical application for the skills and competencies that make great managers. As stated in his book, Robert Sutton says that the two “acid test” for great bosses is 1) whether people want to work for the boss and would they enthusiastically choose to do so again, and 2) is the boss hypersensitive to how others feel about them and the work their people do. They are compassionate, competent, and empathetic.

Leadership is learned and we teach people how to be “Good Bosses” while allowing them to apply the learned material immediately in the workplace using our “adult action-leaning” process. We also measure results with a defined ROI and guarantee. For the development of your future leaders, call 609.390.2830 for more information or click here on our Leadership Courses and Workshops.

I'm a manager, I don't need training. Right?

Training for anyone who is new to managing a team is critical. It can be difficult to transition from exclusively being an individual contributor to driving team performance. This often requires very different skills, which perhaps they may not even know what is required of them.



There is a real need in many organizations to help new managers learn to manage their expectations of time management, so that they continue to contribute as individuals, but also are able to lead their teams successfully.



But your managers have been managing for a while now, they don't need training right? More than likely, they do need it.



Great managers are not born, they learn how to understand different personalities and give their employees opportunities to shine. Like we've said before, the fact that managers need to communicate the business strategy while translating it to define the full value of everyone’s role, responsibility, and actions needed to create a successful company, their plates are full and generally do not focus on their needs as a manager.



It is well documented what skills and competencies are needed for managers to be high achievers; but when I talk to most middle managers, they tell me that they have had little or no formal training. We are entrusting the success of our companies to people who do not know what it takes to provide positive feedback, cascading communication channels, an engaging work environment and everything else it takes to make a successful company. We assume that exemplary performance at a lower level or specific role will automatically make them highly productive managers.



So what is the next step? Training needs analysis, multiple webinars on communication and employee engagement? Here at Innovative Leadership, we believe in human interaction. We recommend a program made for adults with blended learning with real case studies, videos, and class interaction. Plus, learning from facilitators that have walked the walk and talked the talk. They know what you're managers are going through.



Innovative Leadership offers "The Making of An Effective Manager (ELD)" Course quarterly and this Leadership and Management Development Course teaches the participants methods (like identifying an informal leader) and principles of communication, handling the difficult employee and more while providing the vehicles and tools for them to use in the workplace to improve productivity and performance. After this 9 session program, they gain confidence to make the right decisions and know how to motivate and retain employees. Please call 609.390.2830 for more course information and enrollment forms or click here for more information.

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Article written by Richard J. Hohmann Jr., Lead Coach for Innovative Leadership, a strategic partner with Fitzpatrick, Bongiovanni, & Kelly, PC, and also a member of the Collaboration Team for Leadership Management International. Richard can also speak at your next organization’s meeting, to invite him to speak call 609-390-2830. For Management Training Solutions click here: http://www.innovativeleadershipdv.com/training_overview.asp