Investing in Others Always Pays Off
William Glasser, the psychiatrist who founded Reality Therapy, said that the best way to retain anything is to teach it. His research showed that the highest memory of material occurred when someone had to teach that material to others. Teaching and sharing is a growth experience.
What I find about those who grow in their own lives is that they are also always investing in the growth of others. They not only subject themselves to mentors and people further down the road than they are, but they are also the ones further down the road for someone else. They give away what they possess and invest in others becoming more.
I have a partner who was part of the management group that bought Coldwell Banker Residential. At the time he first went there, it was owned by Sears and was losing a lot of money. His task was to turn it around. One of the first things that he surmised was that it needed to grow its people and its leaders. That is where he put his focus, even more than on the “nuts and bolts of the business.” It began to turn around. Then, Sears decided to get rid of it, and so confident that he could grow it, he and four managers partnered and bought it with outside investment and debt totaling $ 150 million. Being oriented toward growth himself, one of his primary focuses continued to be to grow the leaders. They invested in helping others develop. They had established Coldwell Banker University for leadership training, seeing the development of their people as the best thing that they could do to grow the company.
Now here is the magic. One year later, they paid the $100 million back that they had borrowed and, three years later, sold the company for $650 million. It was a great turnaround story, but one in large part fueled by the investment in the growth and development of their people. Where did this come from? From a business-strategy book?
It came from the character of the principals. The one who drove it was just executing the pattern that he has always executed as part of his makeup. Beginning as a mentor of youth in high school and college, he continued to see helping others develop as just another part of being alive. Along the way, it turned into hundreds of millions in profit, but that was not the reason it was there. It was there as an aspect of his character.
Now, ten years later, you can find him doing the same thing. He gathers young businesspeople under his wing who he thinks are doing interesting and helpful things that have social value and mentors them in how to do whatever they are doing better. His two guiding questions are always “Why are you doing what you are doing?” and “How can you do it better?” Growth is motivated by the right “whys” and by growing into someone who can do that better. But, for him, business strategy was not what led him into growth. Growth led his business strategy. It was an expression of character. He must build into other people growing as well as himself. It is just a part of who he is.
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Vision and Engaging Talent with SUCCESS Magazine – #002 Lead U
Vision and engaging talent are intrinsically connected to one another.
They’re almost the same because without vision, you don’t get full engagement, and engagement really means that someone is all in with their heart, mind, soul and strength. It’s the essence of how they feel, how they think and how they communicate.
To keep talent engaged, you need to clarify your vision. And when your vision is communicated well, your team will be committed to giving themselves to a higher purpose, because everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves.
In this episode, Shelby Skrhak and Josh Ellis of SUCCESS Magazine talk to us about how a well-defined vision contributes to thriving digital marketing strategies.
Guest Links
Links Mentioned in This Episode
Takeaways from this Episode
- Produce good social media is content. The worst thing you want to see is someone trying to promote themselves or sell something. People want to connect with others and get information.
- Be yourself on social media. Something that brands tend to do, especially leaders, is that they rely on their brand or company to run their social media accounts. People can tell when it’s a brand versus you contributing to it. Be transparent and offer authenticity.
- Understand the power of your brand. When we identify our biggest fans and learn how we can serve them and what they want, we can deliver our best.
Quotes from Josh and Shelby
Vision is the navigation of where you’re going, and when you’re going somewhere new, you’re going to need driving directions. You need that navigation to get there.
– Shelby Skrhak
Successful people exhibit genuine interest in helping people, and improving communities and the world around them. They really care about a product because they believe it’s going to help people. Adding value to people is something that will make you successful over and over again.
– Josh Ellis
The most successful people are avid readers. They’re definitely constantly learning. They want to study new things. They want to challenge themselves to new skills and concepts they can open their minds to and get their hands on.
– Shelby Skrhak
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3 Problems You Might Have at Work (and How to Fix Them)
A lack of boundaries creates problems in the workplace. In consulting for major corporations, I have seen a lack of boundaries as the major problem in many management squabbles If people took responsibility for their own work and set clear limits, most of the problems for which I get consulted would not exist.
Here are three ways applying boundaries can solve some common problems in the workplace.
Problem #1: Getting Saddled with Another Person’s Responsibilities.
Problem #2: Working Too Much Overtime
Problem #3: Misplaced Priorities
Effective workers do two things: they strive to do excellent work, and they spend their time on the most important things.
Work will grow to fill the time you have set aside for it. If a meeting does not have an agenda with time limits, discussion could be endless. Allot time for certain things, and then keep your limits. You will work smarter and like your work more.
Listen to Henry talk about boundaries in the workplace and much more on his brand-new podcast, The Leadership University Podcast. Listen now!
3 Powerful Ways to Prevent Conflict at Work
If you’re like most people, you spend a lot of your life at work. Work is a place with many possibilities for stress, conflict, risk, and loss.
It is a place where you put in the best of who you are. You are serving, and at times sacrificing, trying to please, and also establishing friendships on the teams with whom you work. So it naturally follows that you can experience some emotionally trying times there.
In addition, you have a job to do. Sometimes, in the course of doing your job, conflict arises. They may be between your colleagues or people you manage and supervise or your supervisors and bosses. Much rides on your ability to handle confrontation well. It may make a difference not only in how you feel on the job, but also whether your company or department performs well.
One of the best ways for a leader to manage conflict is to stop it before it turns into something big. Conflict will still happen, but the following three tips will help you lay the groundwork to prevent it.
1. Find Out What the Reality Is
Find out what the reality is regarding talking about things that come up. Once you find that out, you know better where you stand and have more freedom to proceed.
Usually these realities fall into a few categories. The first one is formal structure. Some things fall out of the realm of talking to your co-worker; they require a formal procedure. Your HR department or supervisor will be able to help you there. The second is a less formal structure is to ask your supervisor or co-worker how they would like to address issues together. Simply say, “I want to have the best working relationship that we can. How do you want us to talk about things when issues arise between us?”
Finding out what the rules are and how issues are faced give you more freedom within which to operate.
2. If You Supervise, Do It Along the Way
One of the toughest things a manager or supervisor has to do is bring up issues about someone’s performance. But this can also be one of the best parts about working together. People improve with feedback. Yet, sadly, managers often do not bring things up as they happen and then they have to confront in a big way later.
3. Share Your Feelings
To get a job done, we have to solve problems and “face” things. To get along well, we have to work out relational issues with each other through facing things as well. So the entire arena of work requires good confrontation skills to work well. Confront well, and you will work better also.
This article was adapted from Dr. Henry Cloud's How to Have the Difficult Conversations You’ve Been Avoiding. Find the book that's right for you now.