Biz Coach Steve

Category: Leadership

  • Vacation Liberator

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Steve Feld

    Some people have called me the “vacation liberator.” I am not a travel agent, nor do I represent a vacation destination, or am on any city travel destination organization. I am an executive coach. The reason some people have called me this is that I get business owners and leaders to take a vacation.

    How many of us have heard a business owner/leader state, “Have haven’t taken a vacation in BLANK.” Fill in the blank with a number that is greater than 2 years. They say it with pride. Like it’s a badge of honor. They imply that without them in their business – it will fall apart and burn down.

    Do you think their staff or family feels the same way as this person? I bet not. After speaking to numerous staff members and the families of these vacation phobia individuals, they have a different
    point of view.

    The staff is frustrated that the owner/leader is proud they haven’t taken a vacation because they don’t trust the staff to run the business while they are gone. The staff maybe has not been coached or empowered fully to do the job they were hired to do and feel the owner has taken some of that power away from them.

    Their family is upset with them because they want to take a family vacation, but this person is “too busy” to take the time off and recharge their batteries. For those of you that have children, understand they grow up very fast and we must MAKE the time to be with them during this time. For those that are married, you know how your spouse views you by not going on a vacation with them. It does not support a positive healthy relationship at home.

    According to an article in Forbes (Feb. 2014) by Tanya Mohn stated, “Not taking vacation time is a bad idea, as it harms productivity and the economy.” There is countless research on this topic. The general gist is that not taking a vacation harms your business, your family life, impacts the economy, and demoralizes your staff.

    So, how does one liberate these anti-vacation individuals? Simple. BOOK A VACATION NOW! When proud business owners inform me about their last vacation 9 years ago, I had them call their spouse at that moment so I may speak with them. Then, just asked the spouse if you went on a vacation, where would you go and what would you do? The owner/leader hears this conversation and usually confirms what their spouse states. After that very brief call, I sit with the owner/leader and have them book that vacation at that moment. Once the vacation is booked, I have them call their spouse and let them know when and where they are going on vacation. You will not believe the positive response the spouse has and it makes the owner/leader feel good about their decision.

    The next step, is to have them round up their staff and inform them of their vacation and to put it on all the calendars. We must now get the owner to assign some of his duties and functions to his staff so they cover for him/her. One of the main goals is to make sure the owner/leader does not log in to their emails, call the office or be able to check on the business while they are gone. This is usually done by having their right-hand person be in charge and only to contact the owner/leader if something is really bad. Since every business does have a different dynamic, it depends on how deep we go with making sure the owner/leader enjoys themselves on their vacation and not to think about work.

    So, now are you one of those proud “I haven’t had a vacation in…?” If you are, stop everything and book your vacation now. Get your spouse/significant other involved in that decision. Inform your staff- empower them to cover for you. Go and enjoy yourself and re-charge your batteries. When you return, your business will still be there, all is going to be OK, and you, your spouse, and your staff will like you much better.

     

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  • 8 Mistakes Managers Make (According to their employees)

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Recently I was speaking with a group of business owners from a variety of industries. Many of them believed they were the greatest manager ever. After asking them some basic questions, their analysis of themselves could be questioned.

    A few years ago, I read an article by Marcel Schwantes, who conducted a workplace survey on LinkedIn, by asking only one question – “What is the ONE mistake leaders make, more frequently than others?” I am highlighting the top eight most common mistakes according to the survey. Or in other words, the eight biggest mistakes managers/leaders make to irk their staff.

    1. Micromanaging.
    You all probably guessed this one, so no surprise here. Leaders who dominate people, decisions, and processes, lead by fear, and lack vision. Micromanaging is a killer to your teams moral, motivation, creativity, enjoyment, and much more. You hired good people to do a job for you – let them do that job.

    2. Leading from a position of power or ego.
    These are those leaders that know everything and make sure we all know it as well. They don’t take any responsibility for their own actions. They are never wrong and will always take credit for the good things-even if they had nothing to do with it. Another destroyer of morale, no humility, and will use anyone around them to help themselves.

    3. Not listening.
    What we are talking about here is true authentic listening. Not, I hear what you are saying, remember hearing and listening are two different things. Great managers/leaders know authentic listening is an underutilized and underdeveloped leadership skill.

    4. Not valuing followers.
    Any manager/leader that believe anyone within their organization (except themselves) is indispensable and just a cog in the machine that can be replaced at any moment, really and truly does not care about anyone but themselves. Great leaders invest in developing their staff to not only improve their productivity, but their personal lives as well. Making sure to identify each person’s own unique skills and strengths, and use them to grow the business as a whole.

    5. Failing to grow themselves as leaders.
    All leaders, no matter what level they are on in the organization but always proactive in developing themselves. Many of them have some self-entitlement issues about growing and developing themselves. Maybe it’s due to the fact they have a low self-awareness of themselves. Or, they have some communication issues. Or, they have an ego issue by having all the answers and refuting any input.

    6. Lacking boundaries.
    What about that leader that tried to be a buddy with subordinates? This can lead to many leaders compromising their own integrity by becoming too friendly with superiors and subordinates. Everyone sees when the boundary becomes blurred and the results of this lack of professionalism. As a leader you can be personable, and close to your staff, while at the same time being professional, fair, and respectful.

    7. Not providing or receiving feedback.
    It’s crazy that leaders do not solicit the feedback and ideas from those on the front line and in the trenches with the customers, processes, etc. Leaders need to gain their staffs trust by asking for their input, buy-ins, advise, suggestions, feedback heard from the clients. Great leaders support this input and foster a culture of trust, openness, providing their staff the ability to contribute ideas and share concerns in a safe environment to assist all stakeholders.

    These leaders get defensive when they are receiving any type of feedback, and if they do receive feedback, they are not asking clarifying or deep questions to grow. Many of them just have a negative reaction to any feedback and provide great answers and excuses to any question or issue that arises. These leaders believe they know what everyone wants and needs without asking them.

    8. Not sharing leadership.
    Leaders that “hoard” all the leadership knowledge are not doing their organization any service, but in turn harming the company on all levels. A great example of sharing leadership can be found in the book by David Marquet in Turn the Ship Around. He proved how leaders can empower those around them to make great decisions because those folks have more knowledge of the subject matter than leaders do

    Closing thoughts.
    “In the end, we don’t need to demonize the leaders who are the subject of many of these responses; they are humans too, and not out to deliberately destroy the lives of their followers. They should be treated with grace, and empowered to succeed with the proper development.”

     

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