Mandy Schumaker

PERFORMANCE COACH, TRAINER AND SPEAKER

leadership lessons

How Are Your Customers Feeling?

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Keeping customers in painLast week I ended up in the emergency room with acute appendicitis.  I had had a CAT scan in the late afternoon which showed some fluid around the appendix and there was some concern that it  might burst.   My doctor sent me immediately to the emergency room with my CAT scan CD in hand, saying, “We’ll call and let them know you are coming-hopefully that will speed things up.”   Upon arrival I was quickly seen by the triage nurse who then sent me back out in the waiting room, saying, “Have a seat, we’ll be with you in a few minutes”.  There were nearly 20 people in the waiting room and very quickly I overheard someone say outloud, “I’ve been here for over two hours, when can I see a doctor?”.  At that point, I panicked.  My abdomen really hurt at this point, I had a fever and chills.  Sitting was the most uncomfortable position for me and I started to worry that my appendix might rupture, since I had been in pain for over four days.

Over two hours went by.  During that time a couple of nurses came out and took a patient or two back into the emergency room.  But when any hospital personnel came into the large waiting room, they were very careful not to meet anyone’s eye, lest they be asked, “when will a doctor see me?”  No one ever came through the room to ask if we needed anything, blankets, water, pillows-nothing.  Now I know emergency rooms can be filled with people who may  not be having a medical emergency. And often times, doctors send their patients there after hours when waiting until the next morning to see someone, would probably have been okay.  But a patient is a patient.  A customer is a customer.  I know the hospital personnel had the best intentions, but it occurred to me that every doctor, nurse and hospital administrator should have to sit in one of their waiting room chairs for two and half hours with an acute pain in their belly, shivering with chills and a fever, and no information.

This made me wonder, how are we, as leaders and business people,  treating our customers?   Are we giving them the information they need along the way, so they know where we/they are in the process?  Do we have the courage to look them in the eyes when we are clearly at capacity and things aren’t running as smoothly as we’d like?  Or do we shirk around and keep our eyes to the floor so we don’t have to engage in a tough conversation?  Are we proactive in asking them what would be helpful to them at that moment?    Where are the gaps,  from our customer’s perspective,  in our good intentions?

I’m not talking about customer surveys and focus groups to get at this stuff.  I’m talking about meeting our customer eyeball to eyeball and finding out if what they need and communicating with them every step of the way.  What are the questions on their minds?  Where do we drop the ball in the process?  Whether we are a Fortune 500 company or a solopreneur, it’s important that we know how our customers feel-at any given moment.  So, I invite you put yourself in your customer’s shoes and walk through the process in your business.  Where are the gaps?  Where does it feel uncomfortable, unclear or even scary?   Are you making your customers feel more comfortable?  Or are you keeping them in pain?

Is Consistent Feedback Part Of Your Leadership Style? (Part II)

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In Part I of this topic,  I noted how one woman business leader, taking part in a recent panel discussion, described her leadership style as, “Coaching, I coach constantly, giving feedback at every turn, both positive and constructive”. And while coaching is more than just giving feedback, providing feedback — both positive and constructive — on a consistent basis is the most one of the most important competencies of an excellent leader.  Many of the executives I work with tell me they either do not have the time to give feedback or they do not want to deal with the potential conflict or defensiveness that may arise from the conversation.   As I stressed in Part I of this post,  one of the most important responsibilities of your role as a leader — if not THE most important — is developing people.  That requires consistent, constructive feedback at every turn, which does take time.

What are other things a manager can do to improve feedback?

Focus on the outcomes

An excellent starting point when giving feedback is to focus on business results.  When you focus on a business result, increased sales,  increased service, developing talent, it becomes an opportunity to solve a problem rather than to criticize.  This approach also helps lessen a defensive reaction from the recipient because you are hanging your feedback on a business result, not on their character or personal traits.  Focus on your positive intent of the conversation.  “Julie, I’d like to give you some feedback to help mirror for you a behavior I’m seeing that you might not be aware of”.   You’ve set a positive intent for the conversation by telling Julie you want to “help her” see something that you’re not sure she’s aware of.  That’s very different than saying, “Julie,  I need to talk about your behavior at the meeting.  I didn’t like it at all”.  That approach sets a very different tone to your conversation and most likely will illicit a defensive reaction from Julie.

Describe your observations and the impact of the behavior

Describe specifically only what you have observed and the impact of the behavior.  “Julie, I’ve noticed in the past couple of staff meetings,  you haven’t participated or contributed to the conversation.  In fact, your body language and facial expressions have appeared to look angry. It’s off-putting to the other members of the team and I’d like to have a conversation concerning that issue to see if there’s something we need to air between us, or if there’s something else going on that I should k now about.”  In this example, you’ve told Julie specifically what you’ve observed, not attacked her personally, but relayed your positive intent on trying to get to the bottom of the anger.  You even suggested perhaps you are the target of the anger and would like to try and  resolve it if that is the issue.  You’ve also stated the impact of her behavior.  This is crucial step when giving feedback, it provides the connection between the behavior and how it effects the team, another employee, performance etc.  This gives the person on the receiving end of the feedback to understand how their behavior is impacting a situation, person or performance and with that comes a much greater chance of the employee to change or modify that behavior.

Focus the discussion on solution

If the employee  has not responded to your observations and feedback, ask for a response.  There must be a dialogue between the manager and employee for there to be a change in the behavior.  By creating an atmosphere where the two of you can have a discussion on solutions is also vital to impacting change.  While as the manager, you most certainly have some suggestions for solutions, let the employee initiate the list of possible solutions to the issue.  When a possible solution can come from the person who needs it, it is far more likely to get integrated and you will get the desired outcome on a lasting basis.

Reinforcement is most effective form of feedback

While often times an employee is able to integrate your feedback immediately and change happens quickly, many times it takes several feedback sessions of follow-up.  As a leader, it is very important to acknowledge when you observe a positive change with the employee.  Be sure not only to acknowledge it, but do so when immediately upon observation.

So take a few minutes and ask yourself, are you a leader providing consistent, constructive feedback?  Perhaps get some feedback from your direct reports and ask them that question…

If you would like to learn more about improving your feedback and coaching skills, contact me today for a consultation at 207.653.6977 or e-mail me at mandy@mandyschumaker.com.  I would welcome a conversation with you to see how I can help.

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Is Consistent Feedback Part Of Your Leadership Style? (Part I)

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I had the opportunity last week to listen to four very successful women leaders sitting on a panel answer this question:  What is your leadership style?  Their lists were fairly similar:  good listener, collaborative, communicative.  But the one answer I found most satisfying was the leader who said,  “Coaching, I coach constantly, giving feedback at every turn, both positive and constructive”.

And while coaching is more than just giving feedback, providing feedback — both positive and constructive — on a consistent basis is the most one of the most important competencies of an excellent leader.  For managers, it’s an important tool for shaping behaviors and driving better performance; for their direct reports,  its an opportunity for development and career growth.

So why do so many managers have trouble giving feedback?  And why do so many on the receiving end say they don’t get enough feedback they can actually use.  What are the reasons behind this disconnect?  Often times it’s strong emotions on both sides, and a focus on character rather than the behavior. Frequently it’s a lack of clarity around what needs to change and why.   Many of the executives I work with tell me they either do not have the time to give feedback or they do not want to deal with the potential conflict or defensiveness that may arise from the conversation.  But as someone once told me, “withholding feedback is like sending someone out to sea without a compass”.

What can a manager do to improve feedback?

Take the time

One of the most important responsibilities of your role as a leader — if not THE most important — is developing people. That requires consistent, constructive feedback at every turn, which does take time.  Developing the people in your organization through consistent coaching, training and conversation not only  develops a stronger team, but in the long run also brings more innovation, growth and profit to your company.  Find the time, make the time and give the time.  It is well worth it.

In part II, we’ll take a look at what constructive feedback looks like.  In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about improving your feedback and coaching skills, contact me today for a consultation at 207.653.6977 or e-mail me at mandy@mandyschumaker.com.  I would welcome a conversation with you to see how I can help.



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Video: The Force. Are Your Leadership Superpowers Working?

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Like many people, my favorite part of Superbowl Sunday is the commercials.  This year’s Volkswagen commercial, The Force, featuring a six-year old dressed up as Darth Vader working on his superpowers, really grabbed my attention (see video below). I loved this kid’s (Junior Darth Vader) tenacity, working all day trying to get a rise out of everything from the dog, to a doll, to the exercise bike. I can relate.   As a leader, we’re often called upon to use our “superpowers” many times a day-only to find that they don’t always work the way we’d hoped.  We work to motivate John to get him more engaged with his work, we coach Karen on her communication skills, and we work with the sales staff in hopes of getting them to bring in more revenue.  But often times all of this feels in vain, as if we can’t draw on the powers that allegedly got us in our leadership position in the first place.  It can feel exhausting, defeating and wearing on our self-confidence.

And then, out of the blue-BAM-there’s a spark, a jumpstart in our leadership abilities.  Something clicks and POOF-we’re back in the groove.  We’ve got our leadership mojo back.  We all have these times as leaders where it feels we’ve lost our superpowers. But it’s important as Junior Darth Vader teaches us, to keep trying, stay the course, be tenacious and keep looking for new opportunities to use our “superpowers”.  Something good is bound to happen.

It’s also important to remember that it’s the people supporting us, those with the “automatic starters” who are the most influential in helping us get back on track, regaining our self-confidence and helping us refocus on our vision and mission.  So the next time you question the power of your “superpowers” remember, keep trying, be tenacious, let those who want to help, help you… and you just may surprise yourself!!

Leadership Lesson On The Cross-Country Trail

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This weekend was a cold, but beautiful weekend here in New England.  My seven-year-old son Quin and I love to cross country ski together.  He’s really gotten the hang of it this year after two prior years of struggling with an over-achieving mother who wanted him to just “try harder”.  This Saturday we started down a gorgeous trail on a golf course close to our house.  After about 35 minutes of gentle ups and downs, stops for quick conversation, we came to the top of a giant hill.  Quin was so excited to quickly head down the hill.  I was not.  Many years ago, I had suffered a terrible fall (with several broken bones) on a downhill slope.  Although I had returned to downhill skiing several times after the accident, downhill skiing never had the same appeal for me after that.  I took up cross-country knowing I’d have a better chance of controlling the ups and downs!

As I looked down what felt to me like a mountain, my son bounded down the hill with eagerness.  He made it all the way to the bottom, then fell, but turned around to look at me from his prone position and said “that was the funnest thing I’ve ever done, come’on Mom, you have to try it”.   And I thought to myself, how many times had I said that to him.

As he was getting himself back up the hill, he kept asking me if I’d try it.  “Please, Mom, you can feel the wind on your face.  You’ll love it once you do it.  You just need to say to yourself, ‘I think I can, I think I can (from the children’s story, The Little Engine That Could)”.  I gulped and my throat went dry.  How many times had I used that line on him to take first steps alone, to jump into my arms from the side of a pool, to swim across the pool, to skate across the pond…  How many times had I asked a manager, employee or client to do something they weren’t comfortable doing.  Learn a new skill, try something they had failed at in a previous situation or with a previous boss.  Again, as an over-achiever, Type A personality, I know I had pushed my employees, clients, sometimes my friends and certainly my children to do something they were not only uncomfortable doing, but downright scared of doing.

I looked at my son and he looked at me with great hope in his eyes.  He quietly said, “Mom, I know you can do it.  You CAN do it.”  And with that I positioned my skies, bent my knees and sailed down the hill.  I was thrilled, my son was thrilled.  I thought to myself, there’s nothing wrong with pushing an employee, client or child out of their comfort zone, but it is absolutely critical to provide the space, support and confidence in them to help them move.  Oh, and my son was right about another thing as well…I did feel the wind on my face.