We Are Better Together

You've undoubtedly heard the comparison that leading a team or an organization is like herding cats. You may have had the experience if you've been in a managerial or leadership position. 

The effort and time to manage "the cats" are costly and frustrating in many ways that can be overwhelming and seem impossible. You know this already, and you feel it every day.

• Low motivation
• Poor communication
• Lack of initiative
• Poor ownership of tasks, projects, and outcomes
• High turn over
• Low morale
• Tardiness
• Missing work
• Poor team relationships
• Missing deadlines and goals
• Blame game

Each day can feel like walking in the mud with no easy way out. 

Imagine coming to work each day where your team members are excited to be there, ready to put their talents and skills to good use to achieve their goals and the organization's objectives.   

Everyone's energy and motivation are high. Your employees come ready to work, not just "ready to get ready."  Team members share ideas freely, listen to each other genuinely, and work together efficiently and effectively.   

Your team's work has a strong sense of mission and joy.   There is a feeling of more than just respect. It is a sense of trust, fun, excitement, and enthusiasm for the opportunity to work together.  

The team is not only getting the work done. They are exceeding expectations, the team's and their own.

Maikel Bailey and the testing have provided direction, mentorship, and clarity to our team to facilitate and influence our growth and momentum. I would highly recommend him for personal development, group and team development, and company enhanced culture. It was one of the best investments we have made in our team.

Dr. Kirk Wersland, Owner/Clinic Director

Do you know your team? Are you sure? You might be surprised.   

I am not talking about gossiping here. I am referring to your team's undervalued, underutilized, and untapped talent.   

Seventy-five percent of employees surveyed feel their talents and skills are not used to their full capacity and to the extent they could be. Many employees think they could contribute much more to their teams and organizations if given the opportunity.   

What holds them back from bringing more of their talent and skills to work? Poor leadership and management. Surveys show that time and again.   

Why is that?  

It's because very few leaders know or have been trained in talent development and career development. The cost to businesses? Hundreds of billions of dollars are lost annually because leaders and managers don't recognize the talent and its usefulness to the organization.  

Result: everyone loses. It's time that ends.

The Six Principles for a Culture of Excellence are listed below.

Many leaders want to believe they know the facts of their organization's culture. These same leaders are often shocked when they get the facts, the actual data based on surveys. 

Overstatement? Not really. 

If you don't know where you are, how do you get to where you want to go? You can't, and anyone who believes they can are kidding themselves and probably hiding something. 

This is why 75% of cultural transformations fail, not for lack of opportunity but lack of an honest appraisal of the situation. Without a fair and scientific assessment, the endeavor is doomed from the beginning. 

How well do you know the people in your organization? Well enough?

Here's another question. Is well enough good enough?

And how well do your employees know you? Would they say, well, or I'm not sure?

Here's another question. What exactly do you do to get to know each of your employees better? Is it a one-time event or ongoing? How comfortable are you conversing with them, from casual to encouraging to candid? 

It sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? 

Maybe you're an elevator leader. An elevator leader is a leader who gets into the elevator only to go to their office and then back down to the parking garage having as little contact with the employees as possible. If that describes you, then you are not a leader. You're place holder. That's the last thing you want. 

You must become the leader your organization needs. There's never a better time to find out how you can do that. Waiting won't cut it. Action is your only answer. 

Great leaders are engaging people. They are easy to connect with and talk to because they make it easy. They also are actively engaging with other people. They recognize that people are the lifeblood of their organization. That blood carries the oxygen (energy) and nutrients (know-how) throughout the organization to make it work. Without the people, people connections, knowledge, processes, commitments, and accountability throughout the organization, you, as a leader, have nothing. 

That's why your connection as a leader is everything.

You might be tempted to say yes. You may want to say yes, but it could be better. Unless you do four things, you will never really know.

• First, you must survey your company with every employee participating, including yourself.

• Second, you must have an expert, someone outside your company, unpack that survey with your top leaders.

• Third, you must create and implement an action plan to address vital areas for improvement that include both quality of your workplace (how people feel) and the quantitative output of your organization (how well the strategic objectives and goals are being met).  

• Fourth, ongoing follow-up, training, education, and coaching must be constant for continuous cutting-edge performance, innovation, and employee staying power. 

Fail in any of these four points, or any combination of them; you will better understand why 75% of cultural transformations fail.  

If you're not getting the necessary and desired results you must have from your organization, consider making an appointment to discuss your options. I'll guarantee you; that it is costing you more than you realize. The initial call and follow-up conversation are free. 

Not knowing is not bliss. Not knowing keeps you awake at night. Let's find out what's going on. There's a good chance we can help.