It has been my experience that people make a huge difference in business. Their attitude, their understanding of where you want to go, and their willingness to help you get there can be your greatest assets. As a manager and leader, building strong relationships with your team is critical.
I recently was asked to share my thoughts on deepening relationships with the Building Champions team. Here are the principles I passed along to them:
At the recent Building Champion’s Experience, I had the opportunity to share ideas on how to build productive, high performing teams. In this blog’s limited space, I can’t get into the same level of detail that I did during my presentation to this energetic group, so I welcome your questions and comments.
There are two key ingredients that are needed before you can begin to build a high performance team:
It seems intuitive and also smart that we should hire the best possible people for every position in our company or on our team. But in reality, this happens less often than we may care to believe.
The hiring process is critically important, and it needs to be well executed. If you are truly looking to hire the best talent, then you will be competing against other companies. Putting your best foot forward may make all the difference.
So, if it’s so important, what keeps us from hiring the best people?
Fully informed employees make a huge difference in your company’s performance. They are your competitive edge. Engage them as a vital part of the team, using every tool at your disposal to communicate what’s working and what can be improved.
This is especially true during challenging times that test the organization. The more managers and employees know, the better they can respond to customers and confront competitor challenges. Frequent and straightforward communication — whether through e-mail, town hall meetings, or face-to-face meetings – will help you attract and retain the right people.
I don’t believe people come to work hoping to be mediocre. Most employees want to do well and to be recognized and rewarded for their contributions.
In order to excel, your employees must be engaged, encouraged, and empowered to make a difference. Employees see the good and the dumb ideas passed down from management. They know firsthand what doesn’t work, or hinders their effectiveness. That is why you should involve employees in improving your business.
There may be a business whose product, process, or market hasn’t changed in twenty years. It’s possible, but for the vast majority of businesses these things evolve regularly. What worked ten years ago (or even five) would probably yield different results today.
If you want to improve productivity, listen carefully to what you hear from the trenches, from the people doing the work every day.
Without clear standards and regular measurement, performance suffers. Even the self-motivated achiever will produce disappointing results when they lack direction.
Every manager and employee must have a clear understanding of what’s expected of them, and they must be measured against those expectations daily. Inspect often to ensure the results you expect are achieved, and let everyone know where his or her performance ranks.
The key building blocks for success are people — the right people — who are committed to executing a business strategy that wins customers and sets your company or team apart. Exceptional performance should be standard operating procedure.
If you want to be the best, you don’t just hire anyone to fill a position. You must select the best people to execute your vision. Don’t lower your standards because you have an immediate opening or a chance to hire an experienced “headline” person who may not fit into your culture or enhance your business model.
Hiring the right person every time can make all the difference. Top performers want to work with the best, so set and keep your standards high.
Any degree of success or achievement requires hard work. Working hard is crucial, especially in an increasingly competitive business environment. There is no need to apologize for it.
At the same time, every job or position fits within a context where teamwork is the essential glue. The entire team must work hard, and they must work together.
Without teamwork, organizations become dysfunctional and lose their competitive advantage.
The guiding principle for hard work and teamwork is always to do right by your customers and employees. There is no compromise for integrity or for doing what you say you will do, every time.
No matter what business advantages you may have, it’s your employees that make a lasting difference. Being profitable, rewarding stakeholders or shareholders, and meeting or exceeding the expectations of customers are all essential components for long-term business survivability. Your people are the ones who make all that happen.
In order to perform at their best, your team must be empowered, encouraged, coached, given clear direction, rewarded appropriately and always treated with respect. At the same time, putting people first doesn’t mean that you should ignore performance issues. Employees are not automatically entitled to their employment, and you should expect them to aim for a high standard. Just remember that your employees are your best competitive advantage.
This leadership blog is dedicated to sharing specific ideas and actions to help lead and manage people more effectively. I believe that continuous learning from the ideas of others and reflecting upon your own experiences are critically important to your success as a leader.
This is not intended to be an academic exercise, although such books and studies can be highly useful. Don’t expect lofty prose or eloquent reports on management or leadership theory here. What you should expect is common sense wisdom gathered from experience and my own share of mistakes. What you will find is a practical review of management and leadership strategies and actions that have been proven to work over time.
I have seen extraordinary results come from ordinary people who were well led. Leadership is not a one-person, only from the top effort. The real leader knows the difference between “I” and “we.” He or she builds a team that moves together in a common and well-understood direction. Results and success come from many leaders throughout the team who work together to get the job done.
Jerry Baker began his career in the management development program at Ford Motor Company, later became a manager of budgets and analysis for Northrop Corporation, then furthered his management development as Deputy Director for the California Department of Commerce when Ronald Reagan was Governor.
He advanced through senior management ranks at Countrywide Financial, becoming Managing Director. He then became Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fleet Mortgage Group, a public company. Jerry joined First Horizon in 1998, holding several senior executive positions before becoming President and CEO of First Horizon National Corporation and First Tennessee Bank.
As a member of the Board of Directors Jerry helped to refocus, develop, recruit and lead the company through a tumultuous period. Under his leadership the company had nearly 10 years of double digit growth in returns.