Usually we focus our topics on the supervisors and managers and today I think we should celebrate the people who make things happen every day. Sometimes we talk about challenging or difficult employees – fortunately most employees are helpful and productive and want to do the best job possible. For all they do, this Bud’s for you!

Q: What is it that makes a great employee?

A: A great employee is someone who adds value to the organization they work for and are focused on creating customer satisfaction. Managers like to know that they have a person that they can count on and who is willing to do what is required to be successful.

Q: Are there a list of attributes that companies are looking for?

A: Yes, companies want dependability – people who show up on time, do what they are expected to do and look out for the best interests of the organization and its customers.

- Companies want employees who look for opportunities for improvement, are supportive of change and new ideas and are willing to work well with others as part of a team.

- Companies want employees who look after company property and take ownership over their work and think like an owner when they spend company money.

Q: How do managers sometimes keep employees from being as good as they can be?

A: Managers sometimes take away the very things they want employees to do – for example they institute overly restrictive policies and procedures that restrict accountability and innovation and then complain that employees aren’t creative enough or think outside the box.

- Managers also forget that employees are people and deserve to be treated with respect and communicated to in a respectful manner. Many employees who have either managers who are bullies or mean, or alternatively too soft – actually go out of their way to hide from their manager and stop doing anything except what their manager has asked – hoping not to do something wrong.

So again – for all those great employees out there – keep up the good work – we need you. If you’re a great employee and you work for a jerk, consider finding a better situation for yourself. If you are a difficult employee – see what you can do to be more positive and helpful – chances are you’ll live longer, make the people around you happier and become a great employee.

Teaser for next week: I want to encourage everyone to listen next Monday as I will be making an announcement about our next public seminar presented by myself and AM800 – We had great feedback and turnout for the Exceptional Leadership Seminar back in March – and based on that success we’ll be running another one with a whole new line up – listen for all the details next Monday morning.

Although I don’t want to rush the end of summer, with Labour Day weekend approaching, kids will be going back to school, and managers can take advantage of this tendency for themselves and their staff.

In fact fall is our busiest season in the training business. For many businesses summer is a slower time and fall is almost like the start of a new year.

Q: How important is it for leaders to get regular training?

A: It is important for leaders to sharpen their skill sets. Just like any profession that has a professional development or continuing education requirement, managers should look for opportunities to take classes to get better as a leader.

Q: How important is training to staff?

A: Given that the days of us working for the same company for our entire lives is being replaced by a series of shorter stints at different companies, one of the things that you can take with you from job to job is your knowledge and skills. So many employees look forward to taking new courses – it becomes a motivator.

Q: What kinds of training do you recommend for managers and staff?

A: I recommend a combination of hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are specific skills for doing your job tasks better – it could be welding training, computer skills, selling skills. Soft skills are usually referred to as communication, problem solving, motivation, team building and conflict managemenr.

As parents we want the best for our children and I thought people would have an interest in grooming their children for future leadership.

Q: Are people born leaders or are they groomed?

A: The answer is a little of both. We are born with certain attributes and personality characteristics which give us a better chance at being a successful leader, and then leadership is groomed in us based on our life experiences.

Q: What are some of the genetic qualities of leadership?

A: Let’s keep in mind first of all that everyone can be inspired to demonstrate leadership skills. That said, it can help your leadership skills if your personality tends towards being decisive, willing to take some risks and being outgoing in your communication. Some stubbornness and tenacity is helpful. I notice these differences in my children. My daughter is more shy than my son and both are willing to take some risks especially in getting up in front of people.

Q: What about providing kids with experiences to get them ready for leadership?

A: We want to give our kids the chance to think through decisions – pros and cons and then decide. We want them to work on their communication skills one-on-one and in front of groups. We want kids to have a chance to be in charge of certain things. We want them to gain an understanding of emotional intelligence – how to read and understand the feelings of others. We want our kids to get comfortable trying something new and sticking with something even if they are struggling with it. We want to give them a chance to teach us or someone else how to do something. We want to coach them not to be too nice or too bossy.

Q: How do the schools impact kids becoming leaders?

A: The schools seem to be doing a better job than ever in getting kids ready with good skill sets. They get kids doing projects and giving speeches. Teachers have to be very aware of the impact they have on the children in their care. I can remember getting comments on my report card – Greg talks too much in class – and here I am a professional speaker and trainer.

Q: Anything to watch out for as we’re grooming kids to be leaders?

A: Yes, its interesting that some of the behaviours that we try to steer our kids away from become strengths as adults. For example, take stubborn kids – it may be annoying when they are little and yet having tenacity helps you achieve success. We sometimes want our kids to not take any risks and yet having a sense of adventure and taking on new challenges is a leadership strength. We may tell our kids to be quiet when instead we want to teach them how to articulate their feelings.

Kids are like sponges – always watching and listening to their parents. This programming will in most cases have a life long impact. So parents have to be conscious of their own behaviours, actions and decisions to see if they are giving kids positive leadership lessons.

No Charge Teleseminar

Yes, I invite all AM800 listeners to join me for a no-charge teleseminar on August 29th – I am going to focus on leadership success habits – so if you are a leader now or aspire to become one, please visit LeadershipWizard.com to register online. Again the teleseminar is August 29th – you attend by phone – it is no charge. Get all the info at LeadershipWizard.com or go directly to: http://www.AskGregSchinkel.com

Things that business owners should not delegate. At the end of the interview I am announcing a no charge teleseminar for AM800 listeners on August 29th at 8 PM.

Most of the time I encourage business owners and managers to delegate as much as possible to the people who report to them. I came across an article written by Eben Pagan of GetAltitude.com about the five things a business owner should never delegate.

Marketing

The owner is responsible for deciding what makes his or her business unique and what the selling proposition is. By all means, you can employ experts in graphic design, just don’t give them complete free reign to substitute their ideas for yours.

Culture

The culture of a business really defines how people are expected to behave towards customers and towards each other. So the owner has to keep a constant hand on the culture of the business to make sure it doesn’t become something that he or she didn’t intend.

Financial

Too many business owners shrug off the financial part of their business entrusting it completely to a bookkeeper or accountant. While its okay to hand over the recording of the numbers to others, it is really important that the owner understands completely how their business is doing financially. The owner should sign every cheque personally until the business is large enough and you have someone you can completely trust. Know how your business makes money and look at each major expense to decide if it is necessary.

Development

The owner needs to take primary responsibility for the development of their team. It is akay to hire people like me to come in and train staff, just make sure you have a hand in selecting what will be taught so that is in sync with your goals for the business. Development means more than training so take an active interest in helping each person to grow and develop.

Coming up on August 29th, I am inviting AM800 listeners to join me for a nocharge one hour leadership teleseminar. The best part is that the listeners get to decide what the content of the seminar will be. If you are listening right now and you or someone you know has a leadership question you want answered, you need to visit LeadershipWIzard.com and follow the link to submit your question. When you submit a question, you get to attend the teleseminar at no fee.

The only cost is the cost of making a long distance telephone call and most people have some pretty cheap ways of making long distance calls. The seminar is Wednesday, August 29th at 8:00 PM eastern time. There are only a limited number of lines available for the teleseminar so I invite you if you are listening to act quickly.

http://www.askgregschinkel.com