Improving Leadership, Customer Service, and Communication

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Category: Communication/Listening

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Service Savvy & Diversity

Service savvy  means providing outstanding service to internal and external customers, regardless of how different they may be from you. Here are five things you can do to increase your service savvy: Demonstrate Respect—go beyond tolerating differences and strive to appreciate those who are different from you. (Example: remember that kids are customers too!) Avoid Assumptions—be...
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Coaching for Improvement

Nearly everyone enjoys providing positive feedback, and it is a power tool for continuous improvement. While providing not-so-positive feedback isn’t much fun, remember that when provided properly it is a valuable coaching resource.  The purpose of feedback is to help the receiver, not to embarrass him or her or to make judgments. So be kind....
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Providing Effective Feedback

How many of the following effective feedback behaviors do you display on a regular basis? I carefully select the time and place to provide feedback. I respect those who provide me with negative feedback. I ask for clarification when communicating with others. I offer the person an opportunity to evaluate their own behavior. When offering...
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How Do You Boost Confidence in Others?

People will remember not what you say or do, but how you make them feel. I can’t remember when or where I first heard this, but I do remember how true this comment rang deep within me.  And … I know how true it is for me today. The leaders who influenced me most, were those...
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Review and Reinforcement = Retention

Many of you reading this newsletter have  Training and/or HR departments to rely on for the formal training of your team members. These professionals use a well-known training technique that is reduced to four words:  tell, show, do, review.  You first tell participants what you want them to know; you demonstrate or show the behavior...
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What Is Diversity

What words or phrases come to mind when you think of diversity? Typical responses include things like color, ethnicity, people with disabilities, gender, age, family status, religion or sexual orientation. But diversity goes way beyond the typical responses. It also includes things like appearance, communication style, music interests, mobility, job status, national origin, socio/economic status,...
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Top Five Reasons For You To Invest In Recognizing Team Members

# 5—It will increase the productivity of the person who receives the recognition. # 4—It will improve the quality of life—both personal and professional—for that person. # 3—Positive feedback can be contagious.  Others will start looking for things done right. # 2—It will improve your own outlook and quality of life—both personal and professional. #...
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Dos and Don’ts of Active Listening

Do… Face the speaker. Keep comfortable eye contact. Give the speaker your full attention. Be open to the speaker’s message. Display clues that you are listening without agreeing or disagreeing with the message (i.e., “I see”). Don’t… Interrupt. Judge. Think about what you are going to say next. Offer advice or solutions. Be defensive.

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Avoid Criticism

Criticism is an easy behavior to display, especially when you are under pressure yourself and just trying to get a job done, and get it done right. But, before criticizing an employee, remember that it typically produces: Defensive behavior Hostility and/or anger Demotivating behavior Sabotaging behavior

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Identify Both Feelings & Content

When clarifying to ensure understanding, the leader should focus on both what the employee might be feeling and the content of the message.  Example: Employee: “With all the cutbacks around here, I’m expected to do the job of two or three people.” Leader: “I think I hear you saying that you’re feeling frustrated because of...
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Listen Up

One of the greatest challenges for any leader is to help an employee change a behavior. This behavior modification needs to be accomplished without  harming the relationship with or self esteem of the employee.   Active listening is a widely used technique when coaching someone through a behavior change. Active listening is the ability to  tune...
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Employees Aren't Loyal To Companies

Employees are loyal to people, not companies. Just think about your all time favorite job and I’ll bet you loved the people you worked with, including your boss. Now think about how he or she made you feel about yourself and your work. I have posed this very scenario to participants in my workshops for...
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