“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” —Warren Buffett

A principal of the architectural firm that I work with recently retired. As I listened to his colleagues speak and watched the video interviews with employees, managers, clients, and fellow principals I started to wonder, “What will people say when I retire?” Have you ever given it any thought? Here are a few of the things that contribute to your reputation and what others will have to say at your retirement party.

What did they see?

Actions speak louder than words. Were your actions authentic? Were you willing to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty? Did you set a good example for others to follow? People are always watching; your behaviors have a great impact on others and their perception of you. What did they see?

What did they hear?

Were you true to your word? How did you speak of others? Were your words encouraging or were they biting? Was your communication style open and honest? Was it consistent regardless of who you were speaking with? What did they hear?

How did they feel?

Did they know you cared? Was there a sense of mutual trust and respect? Were you willing to invest your time and resources into helping them become the best they could be? How did you make them feel?

What Will They Say?

When that day finally comes and people gather together to acknowledge the contributions you have made to their work lives, what will they say? What did they see? Were your actions authentic? What did they hear? Were your words encouraging or biting? How did they feel? Did they know you cared? Your legacy lasts far longer than the years you put into any position. What will you leave behind in the hearts and minds of those you worked with?

© 2017 Elizabeth Stincelli

Liz Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the Founder of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations change attitudes, change communication dynamics, improve collaboration and problem-solving, engage employees, and strengthen organizational culture. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Liz by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

Focusing on our own strengths is what, in fact, makes us strong. – Simon Sinek

A recent story in the Gallup Business Journal revealed that only twenty percent of U.S. Workers think that their jobs use their strengths. It said, “Identifying strengths and fulfilling natural potential has never been more important for students and employees. In the United States alone, just 13% of workers say they find their work meaningful, and a mere 20% think they’re in jobs that use their talents”.

The fact that so many companies are failing to tap into the strengths of their employees is troubling. How can these companies expect to compete when the best that their employees have to offer is going unutilized? Is it any wonder then that only 13% of workers say that their work is not meaningful?

Bridging the gap between unsatisfied employees and those who actually do play to their strengths is a leadership challenge that must be tackled. Here are a few things that we, as leaders, need to do:

Know strengths before you hire

Knowing a potential employee’s strengths before hiring is just common sense. Why would you even consider someone for a position if that person does not possess the skill sets needed or without knowing whether or not that person would be playing to their strengths? Why set someone up to be unfulfilled, miserable, and ultimately fail? When hiring, don’t drop the ball; find out what strengths the candidate possesses and place them accordingly.

Reevaluate strengths on a regular basis

Our hope is that our employees are continually growing and improving. It is important that you reevaluate employees’ strengths on a regular basis. Are they ready for more responsibility? Would they benefit from gaining experience in a new area? Is the position where they serve still a good fit? Make sure your knowledge on where employees’ strength lie is always up-to-date. Make ongoing training a part of their empowering process.

Don’t allow the position to define the person, let the person define the position

A cookie-cutter approach to filling positions within your organization typically centers around the “duties” of the job. While that is important to understand, the position must not define the person. In the final analysis, you are hiring a person, not a position. A person will only be fulfilled when he or she plays to their strengths. This is what matters most. Hire qualified employees, put them in positions where they can best utilize their strengths, and then get out of the way and allow them to make the position their own.

People will thrive when they play to their strengths

People find their work meaningful when they are playing to their strengths. When they feel they are contributing in meaningful ways they will produce at higher levels and everyone wins. The right people in wrong positions will only lead to low morale and poor performance. Make sure you know where your employees’ strengths lie and then give them the opportunity to utilize those strengths in defining their position and contribution to the organization.

The fact that only 20% of employees are in jobs where they believe that their talents are being used is a sign of deficient leadership. This trend can be reversed but it has to start with a fresh approach to your leadership and recognition and respect for what employee strengths can contribute to the organization.

Employee engagement can be a challenge on good days. Don’t complicate things from an organizational standpoint by not allowing people to play to their strengths. Unleash their potential to be their best.

© 2017 Doug Dickerson & Liz Stincelli

You can find out more about Doug Dickerson by visiting https://dougdickerson.wordpress.com. Or follow him on Twitter @DougDickersonSC.

“Employee loyalty begins with employer loyalty. Your employees should know that if they do the job they were hired to do with a reasonable amount of competence and efficiency, you will support them.” —Harvey Mackay

Mistakes happen. As a leader, it is your response to mistakes that has the greatest impact. Your response will either set your employees up to succeed or set them up for failure. Whether intentional or unintentional, are you setting your employees up to fail?

Training

As leaders, we get busy and it is easy to think that good enough is good enough when it comes to employee training. This is a quick way to set an employee up for failure. First off, employees should have ongoing access to training. Second, determination of what type and how much training is needed should be a two-way conversation between you and the employee. And, this is not a one-time conversation. Checking in with your employees to see how they feel they are doing and in what areas they think they would benefit from additional training is a great way to help your employees succeed.

Autonomy

No one thrives in a micromanagement environment. If you do not want to set your employees up for failure, stand back and give them some autonomy. If you have provided them with the best training and they know they have your support, they should be ready to tackle tasks and challenges on their own. They are not children and they do not need you to babysit them every step of the way.

Trust

When you give employees autonomy they start to feel trusted by you to do their jobs and make decisions on their own. Trust is a two-way street. As you demonstrate that you trust your employees enough to give them autonomy and that you are willing to invest in their success by giving them the training they need, they will start to trust you as a leader. If you want them to succeed, show them that you have their backs. When you trust and support each other, everyone wins.

Opportunity

If you want your employees to succeed, you must give them the opportunity to learn and grow. No one thrives when they are stagnant. Your employees want to know that not only are there ample opportunities for them in your organization, but that you will support and encourage them to pursue these opportunities.

Set Them Up for Success

Glen Mazzara, the American television writer and producer, explained, “It’s better to grow your employees, steer them into a place that they can learn and succeed, and want to work hard and be loyal, than to have a revolving door of employees. That’s demoralizing.” No one wins when employees fail. Give them all the training they need and want. Give them autonomy over their own work. Show them that not only are you worthy of their trust, but that you trust them in return. Make sure they have ample opportunity to learn and grow within your organization. Start setting your employees up for success instead of failure.

© 2017 Elizabeth Stincelli

Liz Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the Founder of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations change attitudes, change communication dynamics, improve collaboration and problem-solving, engage employees, and strengthen organizational culture. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Liz by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

“Silence is as deep as eternity, speech as shallow as time.” —Thomas Carlyle

We’re always being taught the importance of listening to what others have to say. Well, I have another suggestion to add; listen to the silence. There can be as much gleaned from what is not being said as in what is being said. Can you listen and learn?

Eliminate distractions

We run into distractions at every turn. There is no way to even experience the silence unless we can eliminate these distractions temporarily. When we are able to focus on the present moment, we might notice silence where we would hope to hear communication, we might see avoidance where we should see engagement.

What are you missing?

With all the noise surrounding us on a daily basis, what are we missing? Noise, in and of its self, can be a distraction. Who are we not seeing or hearing from? What information is being withheld? Recognizing what we are missing can be far more important than what we know.

See clearly

Listening to the silence helps us to see clearly. Are things running as smoothly as we think they are when we are preoccupied with all the noise? We know what we can hear being said, but what is missing? One of the most important skills in leadership is the ability to see clearly; we cannot address what we do not see.

Listen

When it is quiet, we can be present in the moment, and in that moment we can recognize what we are missing. Take time to eliminate the distractions. Become aware of what are you missing. Listen in order to see what is happening in your organization more clearly, with your people, and to your culture. Embrace the silence and learn.

© 2017 Elizabeth Stincelli

Liz Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the Founder of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations change attitudes, change communication dynamics, improve collaboration and problem-solving, engage employees, and strengthen organizational culture. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Liz by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” —Mattie Stepanek

Gone are the days of the lone hero; great things are now achieved through the combined efforts of a group of individuals working together to reach a goal. The diversity and combined strength of collaboration infinitely expands our capabilities. We either learn to swim together or we will be left to sink alone.

No one knows it all

The power of a group comes from the combined knowledge and experiences of its members. No one person has all the answers; no one person even knows all the questions to ask. When we put our heads together we become greater than the sum of our individual abilities.

No one can do it all

Sometimes success takes brute force. No one person has the time and energy to do it all themselves. When we can divide tasks among teammates whom we trust and respect, we can conquer the tallest mountain and swim the greatest sea.

Success takes diversity

In a world where ideas are commodities and change direction as fast as a gust of wind, diversity is essential. If we all think the same we can only achieve one outcome. Success takes diversity of thought, diversity of experiences, and diversity of personality.

Swim Together

It is a vast ocean out there. In order to succeed we must learn to put our heads together because no one person can know it all. We must stand shoulder to shoulder and work together because no one person can do it all. We must embrace our differences and use our diversity to reach higher. So the question is, are you going to swim together or are you going to sink alone?

© 2017 Elizabeth Stincelli

Liz Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the Founder of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations change attitudes, change communication dynamics, improve collaboration and problem-solving, engage employees, and strengthen organizational culture. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Liz by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.