How do you look at the people who work for you? I hope it is with respect and appreciation. A recent Oprah show featured Larry O’Donnell, CEO of Waste Management, Inc. He said what he learned about his company was startling when he went undercover. He went undercover because he truly wanted to understand what was going on in the jobs and lives of his hourly workers.

As a result he was able to make some very positive changes that would affect folks on the job and in their personal lives. It is important that you are willing to look beyond your own walls and meeting rooms. Reach out and get to know the people that make your business run; those that see your customer every day. When the front line is happy, your customers will see it on their faces and hear it in their voices. Your staff with hold you in high respect and will work their hearts out for you. If you are loyal to them, they will return that loyalty three-fold. Your employees with feel appreciated and validated.

As a leader you must always remember to stay connected with your employees at deeper levels than your immediate staff. You need to know what is driving your people. Don’t insulate yourself from the reality of your entire area of responsibility.

You need to be visible, let people in your organization see you personally walk around the office. Take the opportunity to stop and say “hello” and ask questions periodically. You are the leader in your company, however, it is the people you surround yourself with at all levels that support your mission, vision and sales!

The old saying, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” need to be taken seriously. Show yourself as a genuine person, one who does care about the opinions of others. It will go a long way toward developing and nurturing employee respect, loyalty, and retention.

How would you judge yourself? Do you connect with your employees at all levels?

Leaders draw people to themselves and as a leader you must build strong people skills. This skill is important no matter what you do in life. When people are comfortable being around you and when they feel good being in your space you can be effective. I was talking with some staff nurses at a local hospital recently. They remarked that one of the surgeons on staff makes everyone feel special and important whether they are a staff person, a patient or a visitor. They felt people would follow this particular doctor without blinking an eye because he makes things happen at the hospital and in the community. He is a true leader and is appreciated by many.

Good people skills will make you. Bad people skills will break you. Celebrate and enjoy people. Make everyone you meet feel very important. It’s that small things that count. Smile, and take the time to say hello. Ask people about themselves, their families, and their business.

You will soon differentiate yourself from others because most people are so wrapped up in themselves they don’t consider the other person first. Have direct eye contact, a firm handshake, and a respectfully clear voice. When looking at others, look in their right eye to maintain contact and a genuine sense of interest.

Provide a space for people to succeed. This is truly a leadership skill. Finding this space for people to win is so important and will secure your own success at the same time. Remember, you are a leader of leaders — successful leaders.

Think big! Provide yourself with huge goals and support these goals with measurable action plans and strategies. Hold yourself accountable to your plans and continually measure and tweak them as necessary. Never let go of the original goal — just make it bigger. The timeline may need to be adjusted and the work plan may need to be adjusted, but the bottom line should remain solid. Share these goals with others and as you come to completion of each goal, celebrate your achievements. When others see you establish goals, commit to and work your action plan and celebrate milestones, they will know you have what it takes to lead and to achieve. “Seeing is believing” as they say, and your personal demonstration of following a success plan will gain you another rung on the leadership ladder. Share your passion, share your goals and share your success. People want to participate on winning teams. When they win, you win. What a concept!

Pick your associates carefully. Who are you sharing your time with? You must really think about who we want to be and with whom we are sharing our time. We know the saying that “we become like the five people that we spend the most time with.” The question is: “are you spending your time with leaders and winners?” People are watching you and as a leader, you must watch yourself.

Think about your circle of influence. Believe me this is an important area in your life to look at. Are your present circle of friends and associates building you up or dragging you down? What are their goals and aspirations? Are they tracking in the same manner as yours? When you have casual time, do you get the opportunity to share and discuss issues with them that will enhance your life? Are the conversations meaningful and fun for you?

You may want to think about creating another circle of friends; people who are not negative or exhaust you. What a joy it is to spend time with people who love what they do and have much to share for the benefit of both of you.

Continually examine what’s working and what isn’t working in your life and business.

You must use good analytical skills in order to quickly tweak your plan or your product before you go too far down a disastrous road. You must keep data, and use this data to monitor what is working and not working. Don’t be afraid of the numbers. The numbers are the source of the success or failure in your business. Numbers allow you the freedom to be flexible. Keep good records. If you are not a numbers person solicit support in this area.

For example, you need to know what is selling well what isn’t. Who is visiting your website, how often? Are they signing on for more information? Do your customers appreciate your newsletter? There are some great survey and analytical resources available to you; use them!

Distribute surveys. Short surveys to help you get the feedback you need to quickly turn things around.

When we rely on customers, as we all do, remember, their feedback is invaluable to our success. Your success level once again raises your leadership profile. I firmly believe that we don’t become successful leaders in a vacuum. We all need constant feedback from others to succeed. However, you must never totally equate success with strong leadership skills. They are really two different things. Business Success is a result of activity and market share. Leadership is a skills based trait and requires us to sincerely respect others as largest aspect of this skill.

Continually work to perfect your skills. Always strive to learn more and become better at whatever it is that you do. Someone once said that “a laurel rested on, soon wilts.” Leaders are always working to improve their skills and in doing so they put themselves in a position to share with others. Practice, practice, practice. Especially practice what you preach. It’s Integrity.

A leader has strong integrity. That is the key!

When you are in a position to care enough about other people; to care about their success; to offer others the space to win, and the skills to win, and the attitude of sharing your knowledge with others to help create their wins, then you are in the enviable position of being a Leader of Leaders!!!

So what do Valentine’s Day and the Olympics have in common? Easy answer – Passion, desire, commitment; and, while the sentiment may be directed differently, they both draw on our emotional and physical senses . Last night , my husband and I were watching the speed skating, luge and woman’s mogul skiing. While, I am far from an Olympic athlete, my emotions were running high, as a former skater and skier I was racing the track and coming down the mountain, in my mind. I was feeling the gliding of my skates and my knees bouncing as I navigated the track, feeling the pressure of the moguls beneath my skis.

So what are you feeling passionate about on this day? Think about the passion you have for a loved one, a family member, a child, and try to relate that passion to something else in you life that you have desire and commitment around. Is it you business? Is it a sport, a hobby? Find that feeling and absorb it all . Breathe it in, let it live in you, embrace it and when you feel solid in your emotions and the feeeeling of it all; write down what you feel and develop and action plan to make that passion a reality. Let me know if you need help!

Have an amazing, fun and passion filled Valentine’s Day!

This week the country is buzzing about the Superbowl. It is day that culminates the hard work of the teams over the season. It’s a day when the best of the best come together to show the country and the world, their  team skills. Well, I am here to tell you that this day is so much more than football, beer, chips, buffalo wings and all the  great munchies, half time food and cheering.

The men on these teams are a perfect display of teamwork. The head coach being the leader; and he, along with his assistants coaches and the team members are working together like a well choreographed  dance routine to get the job done.The team led by the quarterback has listened to the plans of the day, they are ready to execute. They are ready to give it their all…. Some folks feel it’s magical to watch the dance on the field one dance after another until they reach the TOUCHDOWN!!!

As leaders we have to have a play book, we need to know what action plan each member of the team is ready and capable of completing and we must know  that our teams are in it for the wins.

My corporate coaching business is all about turning leaders and managers into coaches. Creating a team playing  in an environment very similar to what these teams have been practicing all year to get to the big game.  How’s your team looking. Are you the “coach” they need?

How do you look at the people who work for you?  I hope it is with respect and appreciation.  Today, Oprah’s show featured Larry O’Donnell, CEO of Waste Management, Inc. It was startling what he learned about his company when her went undercover. He did this, because he truly wanted to understand what was going on in the jobs and lives of the hourly workers. As a result he was able to make some very positive changes that would effect folks on the job and in their personal lives. It is  important that you are willing to look beyond your own walls and meeting rooms, reach out and get to know the people that make your business run; those that see your customer every day.  When the front line is happy your customers will see it on their faces and hear it in their voices. Your staff with hold you in high respect and will work their hearts out for you.  You be loyal to them and they will return the loyalty three fold. Your employees with feel appreciated and validated