Accountability from Ken

How Do You and Your Team plan to stay on top of your game?

Great preforming teams are unique, their accomplishments are high.  So how do you know if you and your team are focusing your time and energy in the right areas? The focus should be on changes that will propel you to Greatness and take your team to the next level.

Great teams aren’t smarter, stronger, better workers than your team.  However they may do things differently than your team does them.

There will always be teams that are stronger, faster, or smarter than you team.  Therefore you need to focus on discipline to adapt to the constant changing market around you and your strategies for success you and your team are using.  Focusing on changes that will propel you to even more successes.  Lastly once achieving some level of success you can’t be satisfied with that place you need to be asking “What’s next?”

          -Don Yaeger- 

Ken Lundin | Regional Director of Operations 

Accountability from Ken: Tough Conversations

Are you avoiding the tough conversations with you team members?

An industrial psychologist in our firm has an interesting take on this issue: He says there are two kinds of people: Those who know they may be avoiding difficult conversations and those that don't know.  In not addressing an issue that you find critical, we know you're endorsing the very behavior that's frustrating you. We call this 'Passive Endorsement'. Think of your silence as an invitation for continuing the very behaviors or processes which you find counterproductive or irritating.

Sometimes we avoid these discussions because we expect an unpleasant negative reaction.  In many cases avoidance is used with good intentions, such as: "She already has too much on her plate. I don't want to add to her burdens"; or "He's having some trouble at home. This just isn't the right time"; or "My team is already stressed about this issue. Why add fuel to the fire?"

Whether kindly-meant or fear-based, the results can be deadly. They can limit your organization's flexibility, diminishing your competitive position in the marketplace, and ultimately putting people's jobs in jeopardy. Maybe even yours.

The organization that engages in and resolves the most difficult discussions the quickest, has, and maintains a huge competitive advantage. Consider this: The higher you are on the organizational chart, the more dangerous your silence becomes.

Here are three emotionally intelligent ways to engage in potentially challenging discussions:

Use a permissive approach: Say something like "I have an observation which I think might be difficult for you to hear. Could you suggest a good time and place to share it with you?"

Use a contrasting statement: "Overall I think our relationship is good, but that's a topic for another time. Right now I'd like to discuss my impression that you've been interrupting me in meetings."

Be vulnerable: "I need to discuss something with you, but I don't know how to approach it. Will you help me get started?" Remember that vulnerability is the conduit to trust, and trust is the foundation of all successful relationships.

Remember: Silence is your enemy when there is a need to resolve conflicts. Finding a way to address these issues is your best way to effect change.

Dynamic Results

Accountability from Ken: What are you doing to build the bench strength in your account?

What are you doing to build the bench strength in your account? Who is the next Sous Chef, Dining Room Manager, Exec Chef, DDS, or General Mgr. in your account?

Building leadership bench strength is also important to you and your organization, it helps to know what to look for among your exceptional hourly team members that will help make their transition to management effective. So here’s my short list of behaviors to identify and consider when you’re evaluating team members for promotion from hourly to supervisory ranks.

1. They can manage themselves. The ability to effectively manage others begins with the ability to first manage oneself.
2. They routinely demonstrate ABCD (Above & Beyond the Call of Duty) behavior. One sure sign of manager-ready associates is a commitment to master and excel at the tasks at hand.
3. They have the respect of their fellow employees. All of them. Strong character is a critical cornerstone of strong leadership. If you have integrity, nothing else matters. And if you don’t have integrity? Nothing else matters.
4. They model the way. Whenever you cite the model employee in meetings with your fellow managers, you use her or him as an example of patience, performance and productivity.
5. They’re already managers (without titles). Other team members tend to ask this associate the kinds of questions they’re afraid to ask real managers for fear of looking dumb or forgetful. And they patiently explain and demonstrate the right way every time.
6. They build their own replacement. The promotion-worthy hourly employee shares expertise and insight, and successfully trains, develops and motivates the next generation team member to the role they once had. And they do it with fun and focus.
7. They challenge the process, calmly. Manager-worthy associates master their role and actively search for (and often find) better solutions to common obstacles.
8. They spend time with other outstanding performers. It’s been said that you are the cumulative sum of the five people you spend the most time with. Outstanding team members tend to hang with people who like them and are like them.
9. They like to learn and be given targets. The best future leaders are learners and goal-oriented. They examine how the job they do might be done even better and then share what they’ve learned with others.
10. They always seem to be working during the most profitable/productive shifts. Look at your spreadsheets. Compare the best days—and the worst ones—with the labor schedule. Which team members–and which managers–are consistently on staff on the best and most profitable days? And which are most often present on the worst ones?

If you’re hiring someone from the outside to be a new manager, be certain you assess their capacity for learning as well as their resume. In today’s world, resumes are somewhat irrelevant in that managers should not be hired based solely on what they’ve done, but rather for what they can do. Bank on the future more than the past. No one comes as close to perfection as they do on a resume. The ability to self-direct and self-instruct are critical skills rarely found on a resume, but worth searching for in your hourly talent pool.

Having an entrepreneurial outlook and an innate ability to be a lifetime learner are platinum skills for the next generation of foodservice leaders.

Jim Sullivan

Accountability from Ken Lundin

Holding People Accountable the Best Way Possible

There are three basic guidelines to follow if you are going to hold your team’s associates accountable to anything.

#1 Clearly define the desired results:

You can’t score a goal if you can’t see the goal line.  People easily confuse work with results. Clearly define desired outcomes by specifically stating goals

                        #2 Determine a Mutually Agreeable Time for Progress Reports:

When we follow up on people we lift some responsibility form their shoulders.  As a leader you need to encourage people to suggest timing of progress reports.  These reports can be used to influence their progress towards results.  When they succeed everyone wins.

                        #3 Deliver Praise or Coaching:

This step is the perfect opportunity to praise people for progress made and results achieved.  It is also the moment for coaching when results are falling below expectations. 

-The OZ Principle

Accountability from Ken Lundin

Success in your operation often boils down to one characteristic.  People on your team taking accountability of the results achieved. 

Unfortunately, too many employees still relate to their jobs with an antiquated frame of reference – a place to go for a specified amount of time to get paid for performing a set of tasks. This mindset was sufficient when jobs consisted of “pick this up, take it over there and put it in that box.” But today, nearly every job requires employees to interact with internal or external customers and make choices that have financial or reputation impact, and being oriented around merely fulfilling tasks is wholly inadequate.

Consider the example of a neighborhood service station I recently visited. After filling my tank, I went to use the restroom. To my pleasant surprise, the facilities were spotless, well-stocked and crisp smelling.

“I take pride in my washrooms as they represent us,” said the attendant, after I complimented him on their clean state.

“How long have you owned the gas station?” I asked.

“I just work here – I’m not the owner,” he said. “But I like it when customers are very satisfied.”

Needless to say, I have returned several times to that service station – even though the prices are a little higher than others nearby.

This interaction made me think about what drives that employee. I imagine the owner asked him to be friendly to customers and keep the area clean. But he has taken ownership in ways that go beyond merely following instructions. He has added that magical ingredient, which provides a differential level of service and customer experience.

Accountability is a phenomenon that cannot be mandated – even saying “You are accountable for this…” doesn't ensure someone feels ownership. Incentives, while helpful, can backfire; people may stop chasing the objective when they have reached their success threshold, or unproductive competition between employees can fester.

So while accountability cannot be mandated, it can be cultivated. It begins by hiring people who identify with your mission and desired team culture.

Secondly, you need to ensure people understand that you are asking them to own outcomes, not activities. You want the person who sweeps the floors at your hair salon to take ownership for the floor being clean, not for the activity of sweeping. If he finds a better way to ensure the floors are clean – and does so in ways that improve client satisfaction and increase your bottom line – that’s the real prize. You want people to stop paying attention to the amount of time they spend doing things, and pay attention to the ultimate outcome desired.

When people are accountable, they stop watching the clock; they seek ways to make improvements and take initiative to change what doesn't work. They ask for opportunities to do and learn more so they can be successful at fulfilling their purpose, which in the end gives a boost to yours.

--Josh Leibner--

Accountability from Ken: Change

Change to bring out your teams creativity

Organizations don’t change until their people change.  We’ve all heard that before but the ability to change is a core competency required today in the business we work in.  Moments for you to lead present themselves when people around you are stuck in old ways of thinking or behaving.  In order for you to drive this change you must be comfortable with change yourself.  So a good leader should be questioning their perceptions and bias throughout their day.  Do you question yourself?  If not start and see what creative change your team comes up with.

Accountability from Ken

Your biggest controllable cost is turnover, so how do you reinvigorate your work teams?

1. You hire only people with an affinity for learning. Then you teach them something new each and every shift. Then you share your company’s progress and goals every quarter to the team
2. Hire outstanding supervisors who have skills of inspiration, discipline, and accountability
3. Prune the deadwood on you team on a regular basis 

In my experience, “carrots” don’t work. They reinforce only the employees who are already the most engaged and productive in your restaurant or store. Plus most operators create programs that reward individual accomplishment while they preach the importance of teamwork. You’re better off creating a stronger culture in which low performance is simply not an option. To paraphrase Paul Marciano: “Recognition and reward programs fail because they are programs.” These programs rarely lead to long-term sustainable behavioral change because they don’t impact organizational culture. Reward programs are little more than camouflage for ineffective management. If you want to truly motivate your performers to do better, hold those who are not doing their job accountable. Do you want to know what “Quality” is? Conformance to requirements.

                    Jim Sullivan

Accountability from Ken

Have you ever said any of the following:

“That’s the way we’ve always done it”

“It’s not my job.”

“I didn’t know you needed it right away.”

“It wasn’t my fault that it’s late.”

“That’s not my department.”

“No one told me what to do.”

“I’m waiting for approval.”

“Don’t blame me. It was the boss’s Idea.”

“Someone should have told me not to do that.”

“My people dropped the ball.”

“I thought I told you.”

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

This list sounds pretty silly doesn’t it?  Yet we all at some point have used these statements.  These are blame oriented excuses that we must recognize in ourselves and others on our team.  In order to build a culture of Accountability we need to stop the use of statements like those above.  We all share ownership for our teams circumstances and results.  It’s not them, it’s US.  Without acceptance of the results no matter where you are on the team there is no accountability and it must start with YOU every day.  It is a journey so don’t feel bad when you say something like the statements above.  

Recognize it as an opportunity to build your accountability to your team and make a change by saying to yourself “How did I let that Happen?” as a replacement for those above.

Accountability from Ken Lundin

Tips on Driving Employee Engagement

The habits of engaged employees can be seen by the following;

·       They tend to choose activities that advance their goals

·       They act opportunistically in seeking new work.

·       They tend to learn fast and adapt accordingly.

·       They seek challenges beyond their stated areas of expertise

·       They revel in the intrinsic rewards of achievement.

·       They help others on the team improve and create organizational value as a result

What? That doesn’t sound like you team? What can you do?

1.     Walk around!- It’s an old practice that dates back decades but it has timeless benefits.  You’ll know more about your operations.  You’ll see firsthand what’s working and what’s not.  And you’ll quickly find the engaged staff on your team.

2.     Organize off-work activities-Create occasional opportunity for families and employees to gather and enjoy a company sponsored event.  It can be a half day at the local bowling alley or a meal together.  Getting to know your employees through some unguarded opportunities will help you find out what’s really working and what’s not.

3.     Embrace regular experimentation- Workers need to benefit from actions that remove obstacles to getting work done.  There is no greater motivator.

4.     Reward the behavior you want- Embrace modeling, show employees what you need by rewarding those who exhibit behaviors that lead to higher engagement and thus performance.

Accountability from Ken: Attitudes make all the difference

As managers our attitudes make all the difference in the day and to the people we work with and serve.  Here are just seven rules that can help all of us ensure our attitudes reflect positively on those around us, even at home.

#1      Wait to Worry

                    Did you know that only 8% of what we worry about ever comes true? 

          “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.”

                                                  Charles Spurgeon

#2      Keep an Attitude of Gratitude

                    Count your blessings and jot them down 

          “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

                                                  William Arthur Ward

#3      Your Health is Your Wealth

                    If you lose your health, you lose everything… Take time to exercise, catch up on your sleep and eat right. 

          “One of the main qualities it takes to be successful in energy… it may be the only thing.” Katharine Hepburn

#4      Joy Boomerangs

                    Do something for someone else… the good you do boomerangs back to you! 

          “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”

                              Booker T. Washington

#5      Learn to Say “No”

                    We all have limits to our time, energy, and interests.  Don’t overload your ability to deliver on the agreement. 

          “If we always say “yes” we run a greater danger of severing relationships than if we refuse right away now and then.”

                                                  Vicki Hitzges

#6      Understand the Power of Self Discipline

                    If you discipline yourself today; you’ll enjoy your life more tomorrow 

          “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you.”

                                                  Henry Ward Beecher

#7      Surround Yourself with Positive People

                    Find people who will challenge you, believe in you, and inspire you to improve.

Accountability from Ken Lundin

Six questions to ask yourself to ensure you are committed to the Accountability Principle of “Solving IT”

Do you stay engaged in solving a problem even when things get difficult?

Do you persistently ask yourself what else you can do to achieve the desired results?

Do you take the initiative to explore, search, and question when solutions aren't readily available?

Do you challenge your own assumptions and beliefs about how to do something?

Do you build new teams to arrive at innovative solutions?

Are you open to discover new ways of thinking about problems?

If you can answer YES to all six you have mastered the Accountability principle of “Solving IT”.   If not, you now know where to focus your efforts to improve your accountability and reach more goals going forward. 

Accountability from Ken

Are you accountable for Leadership of your Team?

The number one trait of great leaders: the ability to change the behavior of others.

Think about it: If people were going to give us their absolute best safety, quality, sales, production, and customer service automatically, then most managers would be out of a job.

Your success as a leader depends on one thing more than any other: your ability to change the behavior and improve the performance of your followers.

The true test of every leader is what their employees do “in the moment of choice, when nobody is watching.”

Remember the story about the lawyer who quit her job to become a waitress? Her boss was always pointing to her mistakes but never complimenting her extra efforts. It was the boss, not the company that caused her to walk away.

Ken Blanchard coined the term, “Leave Alone/Zap” for this management style. This may help explain why research showed that 68 percent of employees had never heard the words “Thank you” from their bosses, even though they consistently rank the need for positive feedback as #1 or #2 in job satisfaction.

We all instinctively know that we feel good when we are given sincere, specific, positive feedback. 

Why then, are fewer than 30 percent of our leaders using it?

Would any company be happy producing a product that worked properly only 30 percent of the time? 

Why are we willing to tolerate a management that manages people properly only 30 percent of the time? The sad truth is that without even knowing it, the majority of leaders today are using Leave Alone/Zap management tactics.

Accountability from Ken

Clearly communicate it and empower everybody to do a better job

Think about an upcoming project on your calendar. Look at what kind of requests might come to you, or what kind of requests you’re going to have to make of others, Use the following tips and see if you don’t get  the results you were looking for!!!

#1- Create a visual association for every outcome your team is expected to have.

Don’t just tell team members to get you a report—tell them you want a four-page PowerPoint deck that has a graphic meant to illustrate all the data, and no more than six words per slide, or tell them you want a twelve-point one page Microsoft Xcel spreadsheet. Something that helps you both creates that visual association. Don’t tell team members to do just a better job; tell them what a better job looks like and how you are going to measure it.

#2- Get reflection.

People come from different countries, they come from parents, and they come from different places of understanding. So, what you said isn’t going to drive the action on your team; what people heard will. You need to have them reflect back to you what they’ve heard. When you state and request your commitments with a visual association, and you get reflection, you’re going to get better outcomes.

By Henry Evans

Accountability from Ken

Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions By Ken Blanchard

In my travels, I've seen a lot of unmotivated people at work, but I've never seen an unmotivated person after work. When five o'clock rolls around, people race from the office to play golf or tennis, coach Little League, and pursue other pastimes. People are motivated to do things that provide them with feedback on results. Feedback is important to people. We all want to know how well we're doing. That's why it is essential for an effective performance review system to provide ongoing feedback. Too often managers save up negative information and unload it all at once after a minor incident or during the annual performance review session. Others "whitewash" performance reviews and act like everything is OK when it really isn't. When people are attacked or not dealt with truthfully, they lose respect for their organization and pride in their work. I firmly believe that providing feedback is the most cost-effective strategy for improving performance and instilling satisfaction. It can be done quickly, it costs nothing, and it can turn people around fast.

Accountability from Ken: Great Service is a Choice

An excerpt from The Simple Truths of Service by Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz

Great Service is a Choice

No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice. Years ago, my friend, Harvey Mackay, told me a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point. He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey. He handed my friend a laminated card and said: "I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk, I'd like you to read my mission statement." Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said:

Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, "Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf." My friend said jokingly, "No, I'd prefer a soft drink." Wally smiled and said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice." Almost stuttering, Harvey said, "I'll take a Diet Coke." Handing him his drink, Wally said, "If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today." As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. "These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio." As if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of the day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights, or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts. "Tell me, Wally," my amazed friend asked the driver, "have you always served customers like this?" Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.' "That hit me right between the eyes," said Wally. "Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more." "I take it this has paid off for you," Harvey said. "It sure had," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action." Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting. Johnny the Bagger and Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. They decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. How about you?

Accountability from Ken

Tips to help boost your accountability for taking healthy and refreshing vacations:

• A few weeks before leaving, review the status of your key projects. Decide what you will complete before leaving and what and to whom you will delegate remaining tasks.
• Consult with all your team members and communicate to each one what you want them to handle while you’re away. Make sure to have them state their understanding of what you require to guard against mixed signals or other miscommunications.
• Notify everyone concerned in your projects who will be responsible while you’re away; how to reach them, and when you’ll return.
• Set your voice mail and email accounts to inform everyone you are out of the office on vacation.

·        Leave the day before and the day after your trip unscheduled. This will allow you to leave with confidence knowing that you have not only a manageable situation to return to, but time do deal with any unforeseen problems when you get back. 

Enjoy your time off!!!!

Accountability in planning your next Team Meeting

As leaders we all need to be accountable to ourselves and our teams when we are planning a team meeting.  Here are Five basic tips to help you and your teams have a successful meeting and / or planning session as well as outcomes 

#1        Envision the Outcome you want from the meeting

                        *What are the take-aways you want for your team

                        *How does it solve a core business goal or issue

*What does everyone need to be accountable for accomplishing?

#2        Plan the Agenda

*You can’t do it all and do it well so decide ahead of time which topics are most relevant, as well as how much time to devote to each one.

*Tie the topics to your goals and develop an implementation plan.

#3        Have everyone come prepared

*Provide all the data and reading requirements relevant to the topics

*Check the team for engagement at least three days ahead of the meeting.  Be prepared to cancel the meeting and move the date if your team is not engaged in the information.

#4        Choose a Great Location for the meeting

*Choose a venue this is conducive for you team’s focus and interests.

                        *Choose locations with the least possible travel time for the team

#5        Ensure Follow-Through & Accountability

*95% of all meet plans fail not because of poor planning but because of lack of follow-through. 

* Build a check-in meeting or sessions into your plan and then make yourself accountable to keeping that schedule and follow-up.

 

Accountability from Ken: The Power of One Choice

The Power of One Choice to be Accountable

One... One tree can start a forest, One smile can begin a friendship, One hand can lift a soul, One word can frame the goal, One candle can wipe out darkness, One laugh can conquer gloom, One hope can raise our spirits, And...one choice can change a life. Think about that. One choice, just one, can change a life forever. Simply put, your life today is what your choices have made it, but with new choices, you can change directions this very moment.

Accountability from Ken

Accountability starts with YOU!

If you would dream it
BEGIN it.

If you have an idea
OPEN it.

If there is longing
ACKNOWLEDGE it.

If there is mission
COMMIT it.

If there is daring
DO it.

If there is love
SPEAK it.

If there is resource
USE it.

If there is abundance
SHARE it.

-Mary Anne Radmacher-