Doing What Matters
Ever since childhood I remember my mom saying:
“Get a good education. That is something that no one can take away from you.”
In my parent’s house, college was mandatory. There were 5 children in the house, and all of us have some level of post high school learning – whether it be a college degree or specific military training. As a matter of fact, my youngest sibling excelled at maintaining the Army’s Black Hawk and served in Desert Storm. We are all so very proud of him.
When I received my MBA, of course my family was proud of me, but actually it felt quite normal. After all, that’s what we were supposed to do! I went on to be adjunct faculty and career counselor. Eventually, I started my own business – and now it’s going on 25 years!
It seems appropriate then, that my business is about educating and training people on how to become an effective leader. We help our clients find “What Matters to Them” and at the same time, I’m “Doing What Matters” to me.
Additionally, as a mentor for high school high achievers, I have seen so many extremely smart and ambitious youth who want to go to college. The problem is that there are very limited resources to take advantage of – short of their parents having to go into deep debt. It was different when I went to college. Then, there was an abundance of FREE college money. Indeed, I went to the University of Maryland – tuition-free! It appears that those days are long gone. So many kids are side-lined from fulfilling their dreams, realizing their purpose, for lack of money.
And so, I have now entered into my Next Life – Director of Let’s Go! In short, I started Let’s Go! as a non-profit in order to provide resources for ambitious and high achieving youth who just don’t have the means to take advantage of post-high school learning as I did. Let’s Go! – a highly competitive program – will not only provide financial resources for these youth, but it will also provide leadership and life skills. I’ve come full-circle. Once again – Doing What Matters. What matters to YOU?
Recognizing Accomplishments
November has blessed us with some wonderful weather and forceful sunshine! Even if it were not the month that we traditionally give thanks, we might be thankful each time we go out the door. When we really sit down and think about it, we realize that it’s often the littlest things – the things we sometimes take for granted – that we are most thankful for.
I once had a boss who rarely acknowledged accomplishments. He thought accomplishments were expected, and praising an accomplishment might make someone sit back and not work very hard. I’d often shake my head, wondering, what was he thinking! In truth, when we recognize accomplishments, we provide a lift to the person or team we recognize. Instead of sitting back and doing nothing, a little recognition usually makes people work harder! They are grateful – grateful to have a job and grateful that hard work is recognized.
So in this month of November, as the days grow shorter and the year-end approaches, let’s remember the things we can do to celebrate successes. Here’s a list. How many can you practice before December 31st?
- Recognizing success is often about doing what matters. It’s taking your job seriously and performing the work that is important to the mission. Do you have a manager or team leader who has battled through opposition? Or maybe led a team with dignity? Celebrate their success with a hand-written note. A simple Thank You will prove to be a happy diversion for a job well done.
- Celebrating the entire team. Besides the pessimistic boss described above, I also had one that understood how important it was to recognize the team. So he would arrange an event. Something simple. He’d bring in root beer and vanilla ice cream and make root beer floats after lunch! Or he stopped by the donut place and grab a large container of coffee and donuts. Whatever he planned, it came with a public display of recognition. Wow, did that make us feel good!
- Perk up someone’s day with a small card from Starbucks. It might just have $5 on it, but you end up making that person feel good twice – when you give it to them and make note of why he/she deserves it, and when they use the card!
- Set up a Brag Board. This is great if you have a team. Ask them to bring something that can be added to a poster that reminds them of the job they’re working on. Make it known that you want brag on them a little and want visitors to see what’s being accomplished. The board will grow as more contributions come in, making it a topic of interest for a while, and a constant reminder that you wanted to brag!
- Finally, just say it. Say Thank You. Genuinely given, a simple thank you can have as great an impact as any of the other suggestions above.
Need help building a team? Or building a positive culture. Why don’t you give us a call and we’ll get started now so that 2017 becomes the year of achievements for your organization. Give us a call at 301-670-0051.
Planning for the Year Ahead
Your business plan is essential to the success of your organization. Your plan is your map. It not only describes what you are going to do, but also provides a direction on how you and your team will get there. Without this execution strategy, your plan is meaningless.
Having a solid plan for how your department or organization will run is a key component of its smooth and successful operation. Your plan is critical to achieving success. It’s important to you, your managers and equally important for the staff you lead. Everyone needs to understand how your organization should be run on a daily basis. Your thoughts and expectations should be clearly defined.
Obviously, for smaller organizations, the business will be far more streamlined and less complicated than it is for larger ones, but your plan still needs to demonstrate an understanding of the work required and how you’ll handle the work flow.
So let’s discuss how you can put together a plan that is organized and understood. Your plan should contain the following items.
Mission. Your mission should be clearly defined so that everyone knows what your organization or department does and why you do it. You may be part of a broader mission, but your organization should still have its own mission. A clear and thoughtful mission statement creates a connection with the organization and the people you serve.
Keys to Success. Organizations have a few key factors that lead to success. What are the things your organization must do to be successful? List these factors in your plan.
Analysis of your organization’s position. Think about your organization’s position or circumstances. A good tool to use is a SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. What is the present position of your organization and how does it need to grow, or change?
Description of Services. What are the services you offer to the rest of your organization? A clear description of these services, what they do and the benefits they provide are important. You may provide a variety of services, depending on whether your customers are internal, external or both.
Delivery Requirements. You must define the requirements of the services you will deliver. These requirements may be set by your team or defined by an outside source. In either case, deciding the measurements and stating them within your plan is important to tracking success. Your next step is to define the responsibilities around each step and the tactics you will take to accomplish your goals. These requirements will play a key role in helping you analyze the success of your staff and the organization as a whole.
Implementation Plan. How are you going to carry out your plan to provide the services needed by others? Your plan should be strategic. Each task should bring you closer to accomplishing the plan.
Objectives. There is a reason why you are taking certain steps, or actions. These are the objectives – and should be stated in your plan. The objectives also help to define success factors.
Personnel and Expertise Needs. Your managers and staff carry out most of your plan. It’s important that everyone understands his or her responsibilities, as well as the qualifications for doing the job. Our next article provides more detail on roles and responsibilities within the plan.
Leah M. Joppy & Associates would like to be your partner in your strategic plan. We provide training – training for leadership, professional and personal development, and many different types of computer training. Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let us help you achieve faster results with your team.
Utilizing Technology
In this day and age, every organization should leverage technology in the workplace. But it’s one thing to have technology solutions and quite another to make sure the solutions are being used to their full extent. Using technology is not just about having computers and an internet connection in the office. It’s also about having a deep understanding of the various software solutions available to employees. Having a complete working knowledge of various applications will significantly affect employee productivity. The knowledge and understanding of these programs also breaks down barriers to mobility. Work-related documents and information can be accessible on the road, as well as in the office.
Wasted time and energy add up over time. Keeping employees productive and efficient should be an important objective for all managers. Looking at a normal business environment, there are many tools that can help organizations take control of their time and improve efficiencies. Here are some examples.
- Collaboration is key in the workplace. Increased connection in the workplace promotes extended communications among co-workers, clients, and industry professionals. The right technology can eliminate multiple emails flying back and forth between employees. You can also eliminate any “double” work, where 2 or more people may be making corrections on the same document. Try using collaborative tools such as webinar conferences, skype, video chat or an intranet where employees can share files. Applications such as OneNote, Outlook, Office 365 and Project can keep everyone informed more efficiently. Many organizations are adopting SharePoint for even greater project management oversight.
- Document Management. When cloud services became available, document management got a whole lot easier. Employees can work live with collaboration tools like Google Docs. This tool allows multiple people to work on a project together without emailing multiple versions back and forth.
- The collection of data and the retrieval of information is key in today’s workplace. At the very minimum, employees should have a working knowledge of Excel and know what capabilities exist within the application. Other programs, like Sharepoint, are capable of more complex data entry and retrieval.
- Tools that are common to most workplaces – including most Microsoft Office applications – are instrumental in providing an effective solution for organizing the data collected to solve many problems.
Effective Use Of Technology In The Workplace. Technology has afforded most organizations with the opportunity to have a higher level of communication and connectivity than we’ve had before. We have, through these technologies, the ability to connect instantly with others, regardless of where they work or live. Employees have the ability to communicate face to face – even when they reside in different parts of the country – or world!
Technology is a powerful tool that can be used to foster relationships, effectively manage time, improve organization and bridge the gaps of communication. The key to the powers of technology lies in the knowledge and confidence of your employees. The level of knowledge of a particular application depends on the individual and his or her work. Some of us take longer to understand and feel comfortable with programs than others. By providing workshops to reinforce what we know, and open the door to other possibilities, we grow the productivity skills of our organization.
Intelligent Workshops
Our workplaces today have had an eruption in technology. How we work and how we deliver our products and services has shifted. We need to maximize the ability of our employees in order to create efficiencies. The workshops listed below help to break down barriers to productivity.
Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let us help you achieve faster results with your team.
| Word | Excel |
| Access | PowerPoint |
| Outlook | InfoPath |
| OneNote | Project |
| Publisher | WordPerfect |
| Crystal Reports | Adobe Professional |
| SharePoint | SharePoint Designer |
| Office 365/One Drive | Skype for Business |
| Visio |
Connecting With People
In this fast paced world of email and text messaging, we somehow leave out the “connecting” part of our communications. And yet, the connecting part is very important to our own success. How we relate to others, and communicate our desires, makes a huge difference on how the message is received. Have you ever noticed that HOW we are asked to do something, either makes us excited to do it, or makes us roll our eyes and dread the project? It’s all about understanding how human behavior works. We can elevate the performance of those around us if we CONNECT.
In your job, and in your future. Recently I read an article about being a successful entrepreneur. The author mentioned that one of the keys to success revolves around the network of the business owner. Those owners who had a more varied network, with closer ties, were more successful. It wasn’t the NUMBER of contacts that determined the success of the owner, but rather the variety of contacts and the depth of the relationships. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs had close contacts in many different areas – people with whom they could discuss problems, or bounce around some ideas. The sincere advice that was given from this network helped the business owner find answers to various problems.
Not a business owner. Whether you work for the government or have a job in corporate America the concept of keeping close ties with a varied list of contacts is not a bad idea. Even retiring successfully and happily may be influenced by your circle of contacts.
Are you listening? When we truly connect with someone, even if it’s someone we’ve just met, the person we’re talking to feels involved. The connection is subtle. Our body language gives us away. Sometimes I see it at networking events. I’m talking to someone, but I see him or her looking casually around the room. Obviously, we’re just NOT connecting. When we’re not truly paying attention, the person we are talking to reads our body language. And not paying attention is a real hit to the person’s confidence.
Telling stories. I have a friend who always interrupts my conversation with a story about what has happened to them. Admittedly, the stories she tells are always on topic to the discussion we were having, but it’s her story. So my conversation or my discussion gets turned around and is quickly forgotten. The focus is now on her!
Those little words. I notice this mostly when I’m on the phone with someone, but it can happen in person too. The person I’m talking to may use words like, “Uh-huh,” “Really,” “gosh,” or “interesting” – all words that signal to me that they are not really involved in my conversation. Something is distracting them. I’m not connecting.
We all bring value. Can we just agree to that statement? Instead of trying to impress everyone with our knowledge and expertise, it’s so refreshing when someone openly admits that they learned something new for the first time! Such a response makes the person talking feel valued.
Talk about the familiar. In some situations, you may feel out of your element. You walk in a room and don’t recognize anyone, or you see that you are outnumbered – you’re a women and the room is almost entirely men (or vice versa). The situation can be nerve wracking. So rather than try to come up with something clever, just be yourself. Talk about something that interests you – a recent movie, a team that you are following, or an upcoming vacation. People are just trying to connect with you, and even if you never mention your expertise, you’re connecting with them on a more personal level – which is actually better!
Does your organization lack connectivity? Better communication leads to less conflict, decreased ‘silos’, a sense of trust , better collaboration and more fulfilling work. Let us help elevate the performance of your team. Give Leah M. Joppy & Associates a call at 301-670-0051 or email leah@lmja.com and let’s discuss solutions that work!
Success or Significance?
Working hard from day to day, our lives just unfold. Layer after layer, page after page, we strive toward success and financial independence. And we’re certainly not unhappy. Or, at least if someone asks us about our job, we’re probably pretty optimistic. And then one day it hits us – we’re just not as passionate about what we are doing as we expected to be. Is this all there is? Is this what I can expect for the next 5, 10, 15 years?
Somewhere during our years of productivity, we will ask ourselves this question. It’s a scary thought. Have I been alluding myself all these years? Or have I just veered off track? Each of us is different. But before you jump ship and take a drastic turn in your career, consider your options.
Our resumes are full of our skills and virtues. They help reinforce our self-esteem and they provide concrete measurements of success. But what if our success was measured by the value we bring to others? When we focus on significance rather than success our passion reignites. Our jobs become more meaningful as we search for ways to help others. Focusing on significance doesn’t come at the expense of other areas of our life. Instead, it’s a challenge to round out our lives and make them fuller.
What’s significant for you, may even change from time to time. Depending on your position and your responsibilities, we can add significance to the lives of others and have even greater fulfillment in what we are doing.
So how do we do that? Some say that a good way to start is to think about what you want people to say at your funeral. (I know, nice thought). But it’s true. Few of us want the people closest to us to say things about our income level or mention the profit and loss statements. Instead, we would like to think that we affected people’s lives.
Making the change from success to significance starts with goals. Experts tell us that our brain is naturally a goal seeking organism – we want to achieve our goals. So start with how you want to affect the lives of others and list the goals you want to achieve in order to make a difference. Some of these may be short term goals and others will be longer. The short term goals will actually help inspire you and keep you directed in order to reach your long term goals.
Need help putting these goals together? Read our article below on Tips for Becoming Significant. And if you’d like to engage your organization in talks on Professional and/or Personal Development, Leah M. Joppy & Associates can help. Give us a call at (301) 670-0051 and let’s discuss your needs.
Tips for Becoming Significant
Moving from a success oriented career to one focused on significance starts with setting goals. Here are some ideas on how you can get started.
- Create a list of goals that you would like to achieve. For each goal, consider the value of the goal to others.
- There are no boundaries to this list. For example, you may still create a financial goal, as long as the stated goal brings value to others. “I will make a contribution of $5,000 to my favorite charity by the end of the year.”
- There are certain key words that might come in handy as you create your goals. Some ideas: Giving, Mentoring, Showing, Leading, Providing, Helping, etc.
- Write the goals down some place where you can view them every day. For some, that might mean writing them on 3”x5” index cards that you can read through daily. Or you could create a vision board, where each goal is represented by a picture. If you like social media, perhaps you could create several Pinterest boards illustrating your goals. Not only will you have fun with these tasks, but the goals will become more real when you’ve spent time writing them down.
- Check off the goals as you achieve them. Celebrate the fact that you have accomplished something!
What’s the end game here? To find significance in your life. But don’t wait until it’s too late. Starting now gives you time to enjoy even more wonders in your life. If you’re interested in engaging your entire staff or department, consider a one-day workshop on Professional and/or Personal Development. We’d love to discuss the possibilities with you. Give us a call at (301) 670-0051 or send us an email at leadership@lmja.com.
What are the top things that successful people do well?
Successful people tend to think big – looking at the entire picture instead of their particular role. Here’s what they do well.
- They stick to ethics. Whether you are dealing with fellow employees, learning the game of golf or downloading a report, stick to ethical behavior. People will appreciate your professionalism.
- They are social. The most successful people know how to draw out others. They know what questions to ask and what compliments to extend. In the end, they put people at ease. The result is that people want to interact with you.
- They invest in people. Whether it’s someone working for you, or a peer, investing in their future is as important as investing in yourself. Successful people often mentor or coach. They realize that when everyone around them is happier and more successful, they will be too.
More successful employees result in a more productive organization. Does your organization need help with career development? We provide training at all levels. Give us a call at 301-670-0051 and let’s discuss your needs.
Decision-Making Skills of Leaders
The decision-making skills of leaders is often puzzling. And lately, more of these leaders find themselves in the news – and not for good reasons. Perhaps you’ve heard about the CEO who raised a drug price 4,000 percent – now he’s under arrest. Or the Virginia governor who is now pleading his case with the Supreme Court. Obviously, being a leader doesn’t automatically guarantee good decision making.
So how do leaders learn to make better decisions? In this article published by Fast Company, the author points out that good decision making is critical during all stages of your career. Most experts will tell you that good decisions are the result of three factors – knowledge, a gut feeling and careful consideration. Some people seem to have a knack for making good decisions. In this article, Fast Company interviewed some well-known CEOs to find out what their decision-making process entails.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Founders of Google. Setting a realistic timeframe to make major decisions is important for this company. Decisions aren’t stalled and business moves forward.
Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox. The first African-American woman to lead a company the size of Xerox takes into account the customer and innovation in her decision-making process. She asks, “what is the customer’s pain, and how can we use technology to solve the problem?”
Mark Parker, CEO of Nike. The research group at Nike is always looking at hundreds of new ideas. To make the right decision, Mark asks lots of questions so is team has to think thing through.
Dao Nguyen, Publisher of BuzzFeed. The company reaches 79 million people each month. To make decisions, Nguyen says she uses a combination of intuition, creativity and data – each of which are equally important.
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook. Zuckerberg seems to move incrementally. Long term strategy is discussed and then broken up into smaller scale projects. His team credits his inquisitiveness, persistence, devotion and ability to deploy resources.
Malala Yousafzai, Founder of the Malala Fund. Yousafzai understands that she can’t know everything, so she asks questions. She has become an adept listener.
Most jobs come down to two factors: making decisions and executing on decisions. Your ability to make good decisions is key to your success. And sound decision making is a skill that can and should be developed, just like any other skill. In fact, your ability to succeed is dependent on the development of your decision-making skills.
Leah M. Joppy & Associates can help. We have multiple workshops that focus on building decision-making skills for leaders, teams and all employees.