The Importance of Your First Job

The first job a person gets is, in many ways, the most important job you'll ever have.  If - that is - you look upon it as what is should properly be - a learning experience.

Never, ever look down on any work you do thinking it is beneath you or will have no value you to you in life.  Every task and opportunity can be a learning experience if you make sure to look at it that way.

Take a look at me, for example.  During my last year in college (and for a couple of years after), I worked at a restaurant.  I started out busing tables, then waiting on tables and bartending and eventually participating in buying wine for the restaurant.  This was a moderately upscale seafood restaurant.  Twenty five years later, I can tell you it was the greatest learning experience I’ve ever had, with better “real life” training for my career than any college course or seminar I took.

One day, I’ll write an article that will be called, “Everything I Know About Sales I Learned From Waiting Tables.”  Think that’s not true?  I learned about multi-tasking, and customer service, and that different people need to be treated different, with varying levels of urgency.  I learned how to upsell, and look for signs that a patron was looking for something better than the house white wine.  That meant learning about my products and understanding what they mean to people.  The restaurant offered an incentive for additional wine sales, and that was my first experience with commissions.

Working with different types of people in different positions, and treating them the way they prefer to be treated.  Not just clients, but the restaurant management and ownership; chefs and busboys and cocktail waitresses and hostesses.  One of the first great leaders I saw was the owner of the restaurant, who saw something in me and encouraged my development.

It’s only a crappy job if you view it as a crappy job.  Everything is an opportunity to learn.  And in life, learning ultimately is everything.

The Art of Persuasion

It's always a little strange to see your thoughts in writing - especially if they're being written by someone else.

I was recently interviewed by students at the USC Marshall School of Business - they are candidates for Master's degrees in Leadership and Management.  The focus of the interview was how to persuade employees to see your point of view.

Here's the paper (and I didn't edit at all!)

Background:  Eric Swenson has over 20 years of experience in management, sales, training and marketing. He has managed hundreds of employees and interviewed over 2,000 people in his career. RSJ/Swenson LLC is a management and human resources consulting firm with offices in California and Nevada.

Interview Summary: Eric shared his insightful thoughts about the leadership and persuasion. For Eric, persuasion is a natural process and he prefers soft tactics. He is always honest to his superiors and subordinates. Eric believes that effective leaders are very expressive when they come to everybody. They are very candid and direct and these personal traits play a key role for persuasion process. According to Eric, the three most important aspects for managing up and down are communication, openness, and setting a positive tone that focuses on the end result.

Persuasion Strategies:

• Self Persuasion: “If you were in my position, how would you handle my problem?”
• You should let team members identify the solutions on their own. You also remind them why they live in the same organization. This especially helps you deal with some conflicts with your members.
• Logical reasoning: 
• You use facts, figures, and belief that your idea is correct. You also consider the goals, needs, and interests of your subordinates/superiors you’re trying to persuade. The more they see an idea can help them, the more likely they are to help you.
• Persuasion Tactics: 
• Collaboration: You need to work with your subordinates, not at them, in order to get them to enthusiastically support your requests. You collaborate with team members, rather than using authority. You don’t need to overuse that power. The relationship based on the trust is a key for the collaboration.
• Communication/Honesty: You should facilitate communication and be very honest to your people.
• Improving Persuasive Skills: Appeal to the subject’s self-interest: You make it sure that what you need align with their best interests.
• Present strong evidence to support your views/positions: You do intensive research and show the team members an idea that will likely work.
• Establish credibility: You’re more likely to persuade your subordinates when trust and respect you. You promise to take the blame if it does not go well. This leads you to build up the trust and respect you’re your subordinates.
• Make your objectives clear: You should get your team understand what you are doing and why are why you are doing that.

Other key factors:
Decision making is a collective effort: As a leader, you have to be honest to your team members. If you found you made a wrong decision, you would change the decision. There is nothing wrong with admitting a mistake.

Employee Communication is a 2-Way Street

The most frequent criticism of management, in every 360 survey we’ve done (and seen on a national basis) is

“I don’t get enough feedback from my boss.”

- or -

"My boss(es) is/are not good at communicating.”

I believe that communication is the crucial component in managing people.

And I agree that most managers and leaders don’t do a good job at communication.

One of the best bosses I ever had was the Training Manager at a large company. He trained me when I started years before. I eventually became a trainer. Chris spent time watching me train and really left me alone. But I had no idea what he though of my performance.

I finally asked him what he thought, and he said, “You’re the best trainer I have, and one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

That was flattering, but I asked him for his suggestions for improvement, and he gave me a few which really helped me.

Chris told me his attitude was “If you’re doing well, I don’t need to talk to you.”

His mistake, which he corrected after this conversation, was that I didn’t know what he thought of my performance.

Implicit in the failure of managers to properly communicate is the failure of employees to “manage up”. Managers cannot simply divine, through ESP, what an employee wants and needs; it’s equally incumbent upon employees to ask and tell their manager what they’re looking for as well.

A good manager will always welcome the chance to find out what their employees need.

So – if you’re an employee who’s unhappy with the lack of feedback, or feels that communication is poor – make sure to ask your boss! You’ll be surprised that your boss didn’t know that was an issue, and the best bosses will take your information and be able to transform your employment experience.

Management & Leadership Trends 2nd Half 2009

Last week, I gave a presentation in Las Vegas on what I perceive to be the significant trends for managers and leaders during the last half of this year - check it out!

Management Leadership Trends 2nd Half 2009

View more OpenOffice presentations from Eric Swenson.

Even More Questions To Ask Your Boss

The most important component of management is the ability to communicate.

But communication goes both ways. A manager can't inherently know what an employee wants. Good managers ask - and good employees proactively manage up by asking what their boss wants.

In April 2008, we wrote about great questions to ask your boss, and it remains the most visited article in the history of this blog.

Here are some more questions, courtesy of Caroline Ceniza-Levine via CareerBuilder.com:

1. How will we gauge my success in three, six or 12 months?
2. How do you prefer to communicate and how often?
3. What does my career path look like at this company?
4. What areas do I need to develop to advance my career?
5. What's our top priority?
6. Let me see if I understand this correctly ... am I missing anything?
7. What are my strengths?
8. What can I do to help you?
9. I'm working on X, Y and Z -- do you think I can handle this task?

Avoiding EFCA and Leading Better

The EFCA is designed to make it easier for employees to organize into a union. Although the bill has lost some momentum recently, the possibility of your business turning into a union shop is stronger now than at any time since the NRLB was enacted in 1935.

If you don't want your workforce subject to the demands of a union, what do you do?

In 2008, Kenexa Research Institute published a report of a study made of 10,000 U.S. workers. Each participant was asked to agree or disagree with a list of statements about their employers. A significant percentage of those favoring unions responded negatively. Although there were also negative responses from the employees who were not in favor of unions, the number of negative responses was substantially lower. The following are statements for which the “pro-union” employees had a significantly more negative view as compared with employees who did not favor unions:

1. My organization shows a commitment to ethical business decisions and conduct.
2. I have confidence in my company's senior leaders.
3. When my company's senior management says something, you can believe it is true.
4. Where I work, ethical issues and concerns can be discussed without negative consequences.
5. My manager treats me fairly.
6. Senior management is committed to providing high quality products and services to external customers.
7. My company enables people from diverse backgrounds to excel.
8. My manager treats me with respect and dignity.
9. Management shows concern for the well-being and morale of team members.
10. Senior management demonstrates that employees are important to the success of the company.
11. I feel free to try new things on my job, even though my efforts may not succeed.
12. My company supports employees' efforts to balance work and family/personal responsibilities.

How do you know if your employees agree or disagree with those statements? Many employers believe wrongly that their employees are satisfied, but with little evidence to back that up. Remember, employees will tell you what they think you want to hear.

Get an employee assessment/360 degree survey done right away. At a minimum, it will provide a road map to show you how to improve your business.

And at most, it may help you avoid unionization of your workers.

You've Laid Off Staff. Now What?

Perhaps the easiest part of reducing expenses is cutting back on staff. Because the next step - "What Do We Do Now?" is extremely difficult.

What Do We Do Now? You have fewer employees but need to have the same or better performance.

Hopefully, when reducing staff, you took the first important step which is to identify those employees who are capable of doing more and retaining them.

In identifying employees who can do more - look at attitude (desire) and aptitude (ability). Communication (as always) is key - those employees are going to be doing different things and more of them.

The employees who stay need to understand why they're there and what their role is.

Employees who stay after a layoff are even more valuable now. There is some guilt (why did I stay and my friends have to depart?), a lot of trepidation, and no small amount of concern and fear.

It's up to the employer to alleviate those concerns and allow the business to move forward.

You Know You're A Bad Boss When...

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy created a cottage industry when he started saying, "You know you're a redneck when..."

This post talks about a similar awareness: "You Know You're A Bad Boss When..."

And awareness is the key component. Employees will always tell you what they think you want to hear. If you aren't completely aware of what's going on in your workplace, then you're failing as a manager.

The other key component in awareness is to be completely honest with yourself when assessing your strengths and weaknesses. It takes a courageous manager to ask employees what is good and bad about his or her management style. (A 180-degree survey is also helpful, and most managers are rightfully scared to death of them).

Steve Wyrostek, the Chicago Small Business Strategies Examiner (www.examiner.com), wrote a recent article that inspired my post. Among his excellent thoughts:

You just might be a poor boss if ….

• You claim an open door policy and wonder why no one comes through that door.
• Your employee has to ask you why her check increased instead of you telling her prior to payday that you gave her a raise.
• You feel sorry for the Dabney Coleman character in the movie “9 to 5”
• The turnover percentage in your area is the same as the winning percentage of the White Sox.
• Your leadership role models are Machiavelli, General Patton and Atilla the Hun.
• You find a copy of A Survival Guide for Working With Bad Bosses: Dealing With Bullies, Idiots, Back-stabbers, And Other Managers from Hell by Gini Graham Scotton an employee’s desk.
• You have a budget of 30k to spend on employee bonuses and never use it.
• You think it’s good management to come in under the paltry 3.5% budget available for salary increases.
• You think that losing your temper is an indication of management strength.

Remember, being honest with yourself is the first, most important step in improving both your skills and performance - and those who work for you.

What's The Best Way To Communicate In The Workplace?

One of the cornerstones of my management philosophy is:

Without the ability to communicate well, a manager is doomed to failure, no matter how well he or she does in every other required area.

How should you communicate?

Lindsey Pollack, writing at abcnews.com, suggests that how you communicate information is predicated on the person you're communicating to. [By the way, she's right!]

That means you must understand your boss (or your subordinate) well enough to be able to make that correct decision.

How To Avoid Burnout

The economy has moved the overall workforce from an 'entitlement mentality' to a 'I'm just happy I have a job' mentality.

But with layoffs already taking place and more sure to follow, it means fewer workers will have to work harder. This leads to stress and burnout - and this is a realistic theme for 2009.

It's a major decision for an employee to make - do I hate my job? Or, - am I burned out?

If you truly hate your job, you need to quit. Life is too short to be saddled with a miserable existence for one-third (at least) of your life.

But if it's burnout, there are a number of steps you can take to turn it around. It always starts with you. Only you can change your attitude.

Sherri Campbell and Bob Rosner of workplace911 have these tips on turning around workplace burnout.

Courtesy ABC Action News in Tampa Bay.

Common Sense

Most human resource issues can be focused into one area: practicing common sense.

Jessica De Vault, a columnist for the Fayetteville Observer, went to a corporate holiday party as a guest of an employee. She'd never been to such a party before. After attending, she was moved to write this column outlining ways to behave at a company party.

Ms. De Vault is not a human resources professional nor employment attorney (as far as I know). But her advice is absolutely spot on.

Most of the time, common sense (if actually practiced) is the best way to develop and follow guidelines for good professional behavior.

Whoops! They Forgot To Teach Us How To Manage People!

I have several law firms as clients - and if there's one thing I see they all have in common, it's friction between young, new lawyers and their support staff.

It's because law schools forget (or worse, don't care) about teaching law students how to manage people.

The fundamental problem is communication. All managers need to understand the motivations of their 'subordinates' - what makes them come to work and why. A mutual understanding, along with frequent and candid one-on-one communication, goes a long way.

It's not about 'do this' or 'do that'. It's about working cohesively together to attain mutual goals.

If there are law schools that include fundamentals of management courses, I'd like to hear about it.

In the meantime, my validation for this argument comes from Molly Peckman of New York Law Journal, writing in law.com.

When Women Work For Women

A new study by the University of Toronto says women who have to answer to a female supervisor feel more stressed than if their superior is male. They suffer from far more depression, insomnia, headaches and heartburn than if their boss is a man.

But for male workers, the sex of their manager makes no difference.

Scott Flander, writing in HR Executive Online, quotes experts as saying it may have to do with the fact that many women -- bosses and subordinates alike -- feel more vulnerable in their jobs than men do. And they say HR leaders need to work harder to change that.

My advice is generally gender neutral:

• Train your managers in the fundamentals of management and leadership;
• Conduct Employee Satisfaction Assessments;
• As a leader of your company, make sure to drive the concept to all employees of "Managing Up".

And become intimately involved in the relationships all of your managers have with their employees.

Managing Your Boss

I've written frequently over the past few years about the need to Manage Up. In order to succeed and grow as a manager - as well as getting your employees to equally succeed, it's essential to know how to manage your boss.

Susan M. Heathfield, writing for the HR Daily Advisor, shares some tips (you can read the article here) - and I'm taking the liberty of adding my own comments to those tips.

1. Work to develop a positive relationship.
Any successful relationship - whether professional or personal - requires effort. I've worked for people I couldn't find any common ground with. The relationship deterioriated to the point that if he said the sky was blue, I'd disagree, just on principal. Then at a seminar one day, we were asked to name the most ethical person we'd ever worked with. To our mutual surprise, we named the same person. We discussed it and were able to build a positive relationship from there.

2. Work from the boss's viewpoint.
Just as you're in it for you, your boss is in it for him/herself as well. And since they're the boss, what they say ultimately goes. Find out what their goals are and help in attaining those goals.

3. Look for the best in your boss.
You're not going to change your boss (or your partner, for that matter), so stop trying. You need to adapt to their style and behavior, not the other way around.

4. Learn from the boss.
Whether you like or respect your boss, there are things you can learn from them. Some of the most valuable management skills I've learned are from bosses I didn't like or respect. In learning what I didn't like, I was able to avoid those characteristics in my subsequent leadership roles.

5. Ask for feedback.
Don't rely on the possibility that your boss will give you feedback - ask him or her for it frequently. Bosses should like playing the mentor role, and will be able to work better with you once they've communicated their feedback to you.

6. Value your boss's time.
Schedule meetings, don't interrupt.

7. Accept that sometimes you will disagree.
It's business. He or she is the boss. Understand that when you're in a position someday to make decisions, you may do it differently; but for now, get over it.

Insult Your Boss Day

Happy "Insult Your Boss Day". No, I'm not kidding. It must be official - it even has a website: http://www.insultyourbossday.com/.

It better be tongue-in-cheek. I find very few bosses who appreciate being insulted.

There's a difference, though, between insulting your bosses and legitimate criticism.

Think about a major difference you have with your employer. The best managers invite a contrary opinion; just be careful about how and where you express that opinion.

I never object to an employee who has a difference of opinion. But I would strongly prefer to be criticized in my own office than in front of a number of employees; my initial reaction to the latter situation would be hostile.

Don't insult; do express your opinion - but know where and when to do it the right way.

Courtesy Winston-Salem Journal.

Managing Your Boss

I've written frequently about the concept of 'managing up'.

Now, Joe Tokash, writing in Business West Online, offers four steps to Managing Your Boss:

1. Choose Good Timing
2. Understand How Your Boss Prefers Information
3. Align Understanding
4. Follow Up and Live Your Word

All excellent steps. Remember - as a boss, it's up to you to encourage and foster communication with your employees. As an employee - it's equally up to you in order to proactively deliver that same communication.

How To Become A Caring Boss

Maureen Moriarty, a Seattle-based executive coach, offers some excellent tips for becoming a more 'caring' boss in this article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Why would you want to become a more caring boss?

1) Reduced turnover. Studies consistently show that the number one complaint of employees is not pay, but rather that they don't receive enough feedback from their boss. 40% of all employees say a poor boss will likely lead them to leave their employer, and the cost of turnover is prohibitive for any business.

2) Improved business performance. Employees who are happy are better performers, leading to better productivity.

Moriarty's best tip, of course, is for managers to listen more.

But I'll offer my own tip, one that I learned from a colleague who's now the Senior Vice President of Sales for a major insurance company:

You're always on stage.

Whether you realize it or not - you need to understand that as a leader, people are always watching you and feeding off your body language. What you say to employees is magnified in their eyes - even though you may be making what you consider an 'off-the-cuff' remark. People are watching - you are always on stage - so make sure what you do and say always reflects what you expect.

When Its Time To Leave Your Job

I'm often asked by unhappy managers if they should leave their job. It's a somewhat complicated question which boils down to a simple question: "Are you happy?"

Happiness in a job is critical - more critical than the money you earn or the uncertainty of trying to find a new job. We spend at least a third of our lives working; why would you want to spend all that time being unhappy?

Unhappy employees are far less productive and - whether you realize it or not - your unhappiness manifests itself on other employees, even if you don't say anything. People know.

Is the grass greener on 'the other side'? You'll never know until you find out.

People hate losses, say Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, authors of "Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness," And "losing something makes you twice as miserable (than) gaining the same thing makes you happy." They call this being "loss averse."

We often are so focused on holding on to something we forget there are better things out there. The old saw, "the best time to look for a job is when you have a job," maybe true; but it's also a device for procrastination.

Don't spend your life 'stuck' in a job. Ask yourself every morning if your truly excited about going to work. If the answer is no, you have your answer.

Life is too short.

From Andrea Kay via Courier Post Online.

Nine Great Questions To Ask Your Boss

Too many employees are reactive to their boss - they simply respond to orders and direction. This leads to a lack of mutual understanding, and tasks that don't get done the way the boss intends.

Being proactive, however, can mutually benefit both you and your manager.

It's always better to clarify with a boss. Clarify, in this instance, means making sure you and the boss are on the same page when it comes to tasks, goals and team-building.

A major mistake most managers make is they simply assume their team knows exactly what his or her expectations are. This 'top-down' approach does not work in today's modern workplace.

By asking questions, an employee and manager become more mutually joined; tasks get accomplished quicker and more accurately; and the overall organization improves. It's about communication - two-way communication.

This list of questions, from Careerbuilder via CNN.com, is an excellent way to begin the process.

Managing Your Boss - 30 Years Later

In 1980, one of the most significant articles on modern leadership was published in the Harvard Business Review - "Managing Your Boss," by John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter changed conventional wisdom from a didactic ('the boss tells you what to do') into a collaboration between employee and employer.

Nearly 30 years later, those concepts are as important as ever. And 'managing up' is a critical component in my book, "Managing People in the 21st Century".

If you manage people, encourage your employees to manage up. If you have a boss (and it's likely you do), make sure you understand the world he/she operates in - what his or her goals and objectives are.

The key to successful leadership is communication.

A conversation with the authors of that article is posted at forbes.com.