15 Small things that will Kill Company Morale

February 27th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Leadership Rules. 5 Comments

As leaders, we always are trying our best to create momentum, good morale, team spirit, vision and an overall spirit of enthusiasm on our teams and in our offices.

Here are a few small things that have the potential to kill the company morale quickly:

1. bad tissue in the bathrooms- no one wants the equivalent of sandpaper at the office. invest in the good stuff.

2. charging for coffee- seriously. a bad decision all the way around. and while I’m at it, most companies should quit charging for snacks. Spend a couple hundred bucks to create a free snack bin.

3. standardized approach to your office or cube. let your team add some flare to their area. please.

4. a faulty copier- I think there is an international conspiracy to make all copiers bad.

5. Bad furniture- especially uncomfortable chairs. or desks that belong in a junkyard. And please get rid of the fake trees!!

6. technology issues- computer issues, incompetent IT people, and slow responses will cripple your team. Invest here or else.

7. public recognition that is incorrect. make sure you know who actually did a great job before handing out the kudos at the company picnic or staff meeting to the wrong person. this is a total demotivator.

8. a new policy every week. whether it is expense reports, insurance, office furniture, parking, kitchen etiquette, IT, pets, pranks, profits, spouses, travel, meals, hiring, firing, vacation, talking, sleeping, phones, dating, child care, meetings, conference rooms, dish policy, management, health care, reporting, new forms, recycling, etc., etc. etc. Change is good, but can quickly overwhelm the system. Constant change can be incredibly draining.

9. fun Police. there is one in every company, and their entire reason for living is to make you feel guilty for any kind of fun in the office. Punch them directly in the throat. Just kidding, sort of. And of course the IT/Tech guy who blocks every helpful internet download or interesting website is a real joy to have around.

10. too many meetings- if you are an executive or team leader, this is usually your fault, because you feel like you need to schedule meetings in order to seem busy. Stop it. When in doubt, don’t meet. Just execute. Don’t talk more about it. Just get it done. No one needs more meetings. No one.

11. unmet promises- i’m guilty of this one. I admit it. and it is a morale killer. Leaders- don’t throw out promises you can’t keep because you feel like the leadership moment demands it. Hold your tongue, or be prepared to deliver.

12. Unnecessary Dress codes. This one creates more water cooler talk than maybe anything else. If you can be casual, then just be casual.

13. Punishing all for the sake of one- another one I’ve been guilty of before. Instead of confronting one person regarding an issue, a whole new company policy or nasty email is created or sent geared towards the whole team but everyone on the team knows its meant for only one person.

14. Catering to the Brown nosers- this happens all the time. And usually everyone is aware of who the brown nosers are except the boss. This drives get it done type leaders crazy.

15. A reward that doesn’t fit the accomplishment. You just brought in a $100,000 client… here’s a $50 gift card to Applebees. Or you save the company $75,000 in expenses… thanks for the new mousepad and 2 free movie tickets.

Bonus: Sending an official “memo” as a reprimand. Really?

What would you add to the list?

A “Don’t Do” List as a Young and Aspiring Leader

February 24th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Leadership Rules,Next Generation Leadership. 8 Comments

For young leaders who are “up and comers,” here are a few things to NOT DO as you continue to gain influence, responsibility and authority.

DON’T DO THESE:

1. Believe that you are “the answer.”

2. Stop honoring those who’ve laid the groundwork before you.

3. Write off all the folks who finally helped you “arrive,” who might suddenly seem insignificant or unimportant.

4. Remove yourself from reality by surrounding yourself with “handlers” and those only interested in being “yes” men and women.

5. Believe the hype and regard yourself as crucial, and ultimately more important than all others, in connection to the success of the organization or project.

6. Adopt a scarcity mindset, believing that everything is a zero sum game.

7. Lose the passion for collaboration and partnership, whether in your community, or industry, or network.

8. Become cynical and pessimistic at every turn.

9. Stop “dating” your spouse and intentionally building into your closest friendships.

10. No longer see learning as a priority since you now know everything.

DON”T DO THESE.

Leadership Lessons from playing Point Guard

February 20th, 2012 by bradlomenick in leadership,Leadership Rules. 8 Comments

I played point guard on my high school basketball team. We were pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. And I was average as a point guard….. yeah, football and golf were my real sports!

But I learned some solid leadership lessons playing the point, and when I watch great point guards play basketball still today there are lessons that emerge. Here are a few that we can apply to our own leadership paradigms:

1. Making a great pass is as important as making a great shot. Helping someone else on your team succeed is in many ways more important than you being the star.

2. Know the team better than anyone else. Point guards have to be aware of the strengths of each member of the team and understand how best to motivate them and bring out their best.

3. Preparation, knowledge and awareness. As a point guard, you have to be a coach on the court. An extension of your head coach. Part of your responsibility is to read defenses, set up your own defense, and adapt. Being prepared means being knowledgable and smart.

4. Keep your offense in rhythm and on task. Point guards distribute the ball to the playmakers. You have to understand who’s hot and make sure they get the ball, while keeping everyone still involved in the rhythm of the game. This is a tough skill to master.

5. Call the play, and execute the game plan. Point guards must be prepared, but also must make it happen and execute. Ultimately, the point guard has to be a Catalyst and get things done.

6. If needed, take over the game and make a play. Great leaders and great point guards can do this on command. Spread the offense out and take the game winning shot. Steal the ball. Start a fast break. Get the crowd involved. Put the team on your shoulders if needed.

For you basketball experts, what other lessons have you noticed from the great point guards?

Write it Down

February 2nd, 2012 by bradlomenick in Leadership Rules. 4 Comments

Young leaders consistently ask me: “what’s one practical piece of advice for becoming/being a leader who gets things done?” A leader that is trustworthy and reliable. The kind of leader when you ask them to get something done, you have complete confidence that it will happen.

My answer is always the same: Write It Down. Always. What do I mean?

1. never show up to a meeting without a pen and a notebook. My preference is a sharpie and a moleskine notebook. But doesn’t matter whether it’s a legal pad or a Red Big Chief pencil, Or your iphone or laptop. ALWAYS show up to a meeting ready to record thoughts, ideas, takeaways, and action items. I tell my team this all the time, whether we are having a group meeting or individual meetings.

2. carry a pen and notebook with you wherever you go. If you have a thought, write it down. Remember a task that needs to be completed while in your office, capture it in an email or in a running to do list on your desktop or in Evernote. In the car?…. capture it on your iphone audio memo or on a dictation machine. Great ideas seem to always hit us at random times. But always make sure it is captured somewhere. Always.

3. create a system for organizing your ideas and thoughts. I did a blog post a while back about this entitled The Way I Get Things Done. Highlighting how and where I capture ideas and the way I organize them on my computer and in different email folders and notebooks.

BONUS thought: One of the most important, if not THE most important person in the room during a brainstorming or creative session is the notetaker. And if you don’t have a notetaker for these meetings, find one. Don’t have another meeting without one. It has to be someone who is really good at listening, filtering, and capturing. It CAN’T be someone who is actively engaged in the creative or brainstorming elements.

By doing these things, it frees you up to have energy to be creative, think outside the box, dream, and ultimately have a list that works and a way to keep a running account of what items are on your list to get done.

How to Honor your Leaders

January 30th, 2012 by bradlomenick in leadership,Leadership Rules. 5 Comments

Leading is not easy. And it’s even more difficult if those on your team aren’t equipped well to follow.

We all have leaders that we work with, for and around. And every leader I know values being honored and respected. Honor is a really big thing. And incredibly important as it relates to being part of a team.

Here are some ways to honor your leaders:

1. Pray – a huge one. Pray for wisdom, for clarity, for compassion and for a clear vision for your leaders.

2. Encourage- lift your leaders up in public, and critique them in private. Tell them how you appreciate them. Consistently. Write them a note. Pour into them.

3. Confront- if you see something out of whack, tell them. Most leaders crave input and feedback, so give it to them. Push back on their ideas and convictions when appropriate. Confrontation works best though when encouragement and service and trust have been given freely for a long time. Confront in moderation.

4. Serve- be willing to carry the load. Get things done. Deliver more than you were asked to do. Be action oriented.

5. Trust- incredibly important. Follow them. Put stock in the fact that they have your best interests in mind. Fight against sarcasm and cynicism.

6. Understand- know what drives them, what motivates them, and also what frustrates them. Lean into the things that motivate them, and avoid the things that frustrate them.

7. Protect- always have their back. Stand up for them. If you hear something negative, fight it.

8. Release- give your leader permission to lead you. Lean in. Have a posture of humility, respect, and openness to follow them. Open hearts and open minds, vs closed thoughts, arms crossed, and a made up mind.

End of Week Leadership thoughts

January 20th, 2012 by bradlomenick in leadership,Leadership Rules. 2 Comments

It’s cold and rainy in Atlanta on this Friday in January… I wish I was playing golf on the coast! But in the meantime, here are some Random Leadership Thoughts as we wrap up the week:

- The Global Church is vibrant, colorful and alive. As a leader, you need to see it up close outside of the US to gain a proper perspective.

- Collaboration is on the rise. Especially in Churches and non-profit ministries. More and more leaders working together, sharing buildings, merging their services, sharing creative ideas, video sharing, pastors teaching in other churches, etc.

- Don’t spend a $1 worth of time on a 10 cent decision. Leaders have to invest their time, energy and resources where it’s most needed and valued in the organization.

- Without vision, people perish. So true in our country and around the world. Leaders need to step up and provide hope and a vision that is inspiring.

- When it comes to leaders I admire, the most common trait among them is courage. And a close runner-up is humility.

- Seasons of calling are just as important as life-long callings. And maybe more. Not everyone will necessarily have a true and specific life calling. You might have seasons of calling. That is okay.

- As a leader, you have to scale your vision appropriately. And especially those of us who are idea creators. We think every idea we have has a global reach. Not true. Your vision may be only for a city, or for a neighborhood. Scale it appropriately.

- Choose one or two ideas and execute on them fearlessly. If you try to execute on all of your ideas, you’ll probably not accomplish much. We each have to be focused on the execution of ideas, not just the creation of ideas.

- Finish meetings on time. Especially when you are meeting with someone one on one. Actually finish early.

- Every great organization has a few areas where they are incredibly picky and their standards are so high it becomes annoying. This is a good thing. Know the areas you are so passionate about that you are willing to be obnoxious and annoying on.

- Being remarkable and doing things with excellence is about being intentional. Being remarkable isn’t about being big. Or about things that are expensive. It’s about a mindset and a standard. It’s not about lots of money and a huge staff. In fact, many times as you grow, you lose the intensity required to be remarkable.

- Growth requires trimming. To go up we may have to give up. The things that were important 2-3 years ago may need to be changed or dropped within your organization. Leaders have to be able to make these kinds of decisions and push forward while cutting the fat.

- Ask twice as many questions as you give answers. Always. Listen way more than you talk. Being “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (from James ch 1) is a good rule to live by.

- With influence and leadership comes power. And power can easily corrupt. Beware of it. Watch out for it. Have people in your life who will tell you what you don’t want to hear, but need to as a leader. Stay humble and hungry.

Get the MOJO Back

January 12th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Leadership Rules. 4 Comments

The Big Mo. Momentum. Mojo. You’ve either got it or you don’t. Most of the time you can’t really see it, but you can definitely feel it. Hard to explain, but easy to identify the teams or organizations that have it on their side.

In sports, momentum or lack of momentum is easy to spot. Green Bay and Denver – have it. Cowboys and Falcons- lost it. Alabama- feeling it. Baylor athletics in general- got it.

But organizations and business teams also thrive on momentum. Many times it can be the difference between a good year and a great year.

So as we all start 2012, here are a few thoughts on how to get the Big MO back:

1. Fearlessly go after ONE big thing this year. Don’t get lost trying to be all things to all people. One Big Idea. And be better at it than anyone else.

2. Keep your mission as a team crystal clear. It shouldn’t change. But try sharing it with the team differently. Mix up how you communicate.

3. Shift. Even if it means moving where people sit in the office, or when meetings are “usually” held, or shaking up the typical dress code. Start fresh this year with a cultural change. It’s amazing what small things like this can do to build momentum.

4. Build energy with small wins. Literally set daily goals, weekly goals, and monthly goals. Incentivize your team with small victories. Crossing the finish line and hitting a goal always is a good thing, even if it’s just a small victory. Don’t just rely on the one big year end goal that everyone seems to think is unreachable.

5. Celebrate early and often. Even if it’s just a quick gathering in the hall to cheer for someone who hit a goal, this is incredibly important to re-establishing momentum.

6. Dream. Have a brainstorming meeting. Think outside the box.

7. Tell stories that paint a picture. Remind your team of why you do what you do through stories, pictures, video, customer feedback, emails, and customer visits. Make the impact that you’re having on your customers tangible by hearing and seeing it up close.

8. Go back to the Basics. Sharpen up on your foundational skills. Make sure the core of who you are and what you do individually and organizationally is being done well. Focus.

Why I Follow You on Twitter

January 10th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Leadership Rules. 2 Comments

If you haven’t joined Twitter yet, you should. It’s the best way to get the most information in a timely manner that I’ve found. Everyone is on Twitter these days.

If you are wondering who to follow, or wondering why I follow who I follow, here are several reasons why I follow some on Twitter and not others:

1. You give me value. Maybe a great link, a quote, a stat, new website, etc.

2. You don’t constantly pimp yourself. Remain humble.

3. You are generous. I see lots of retweets from you and notice you seem to care about otherss and are willing to talk about others and want to help them.

4. You make me think.

5. You make me laugh.

6. You keep me informed. I want to be ahead of the crowd when it comes to news and pertinent info.

7. You tweet in moderation. No overtweeting. A nice steady stream of tweets.

8. You provide a personal connection, and because of that, I actually want to meet you in person. Whether as an individual or organization.

9. You have a picture. Without out, no follow. Your account looks fake.

10. You are a friend. I still follow many friends who are terrible at Twitter. But I still follow them. That’s what friends are for!