Author: sage_admin

Firing Employees is a Critical Decision for Leaders

You’ve coached, trained, supported, and fostered an environment that should be conducive for success for anyone at your office. After much conversation, performance planning, and documented discussions, you’ve finally made the decision to release an employee. Most leaders begin to think about how this will affect the employee – will they be ok? Will this cause financial hardship and undue strain on the employee and his or her family? Am I doing the right thing? Many leaders think this way, which is totally understandable. Leaders are human, after all! This critical decision, though difficult for most to make, is made easier when a few key steps are taken.
Are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Job Perfectly Clear?
One of the greatest shortcomings of many leaders of industry is an inability to clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities of the job at hand. An employee should rarely be surprised when they are facing termination. As long as the job requirements are spelled out in a clear manner, there should be little room for confusion on behalf of the employee. By clearly defining the demands of the job, leaders will face a much easier task when they are forced to release an employee.
Document, Document, Document
When faced with the prospect of firing an employee, there are typically two main reasons. The first situation revolves around an employee who has violated a policy of the company. The second correlates to a lack of performance against company established metrics. The first situation is much more cut and dry, and typically requires enough documentation to satisfy the legal requirements for termination. The second situation isn’t as simple. Performance can take on many forms, and an employee who feels that they are performing strongly in one area may be apt to neglect another. Documentation of specific performance issues will allow for little discussion when the time comes to issue disciplinary action – or even terminate. This makes the process of releasing an employee easier, and allows for a more graceful interaction between leader and employee.

Be Respectful, But Don’t Drag it Out

Firing an employee is a situation that any leader will inevitably have to face. That said, it doesn’t make it easier on the person being fired when you begin the conversation with, “I know this is a difficult thing to have to deal with, and I’m sorry it has come to this, but…” Don’t apologize, don’t shift blame, and don’t neglect the fact that this employee has underperformed and has not lived up to the contract between employer and employee that was established during the hiring and onboarding phase. Firing an employee takes a few short minutes, but the method and manner in which it is done can have a lasting impact. In fact, employees will occasionally fight the firing move, but being positive and unapologetic can typically take the interaction from hostile to graceful. As a leader, you’ll have to fire people. Understanding that preparation, documentation, and proper communication are the keys to a successful termination will go a long way to making this unfortunate activity a more graceful interaction.

Learn To Interview Effectively and You’ll Hire Better Team Members!

Becoming an effective interviewer is a learned skill. It is a systematic, step-by-step process that can help decision makers weed out those prospective employees who may appear fit for the job at first glance – but really aren’t. Classes are available that can help train a leader around interviewing best practices, behavioral questioning, and resume analysis. Additionally, peers in your industry who have demonstrated a track record of making good hiring decisions can provide guidance and feedback about interviewing potential candidates.
Ensure Your New Hire Fits in With the Company Culture
Every company has a culture. The culture is the collective philosophies, behaviors, mandates, best practices, and goals that have been established by senior leadership within the organization. While a prospective employee may have a stellar resume and significant experience in your field, it is vital that they will be able to adapt and flourish within the company culture that permeates your business. If they don’t seem a good fit, no matter how solid their resume looks, pass on them.

Behavioral Interviewing Is Key to Making Sound Choices

Behavioral interviewing focuses on asking applicants about behaviors, experiences, and past activities that may correlate to the roles and responsibilities of the job they are applying for. Most authorities on hiring believe that past performance is a significant predictor of future success. With this in mind, questions like “tell me about yourself” or “what is your biggest strength” may be only somewhat impactful. Asking an applicant to “describe a time when you were challenged at work and came up short” may provide a deeper dive into the applicant’s work ethic, ability to overcome obstacles, and aptitude for crisis management.
Questions Around Motivation and Empowerment
When interviewing a potential new employee, it is common to base a hiring decision on the strength of their resume and the skillset that the applicant already possesses. Two often-overlooked factors are motivation and empowerment. Though these attributes are only ever discovered when an interviewer uses behavioral interviewing methods, motivation and empowerment levels can help indicate the potential of a new hire.
Applicants who directly spell out the factors that motivate during an interview are more likely to be open about asking for these motivating elements that are available on the job. If an interviewee mentions that receiving two paid days off for a successful project completion was highly motivating, it may tell more about the applicant than someone who says they are motivated by money. Employees who can open up and let leadership know what they value are more likely to become valued employees down the road.
Effective Interviewing is Crucial to Building a High Performance Team
Interviewing is a science of knowing which critical questions to ask and how to interpret the responses. One question should flow into the next, allowing the applicant to paint a picture of their skills, experiences, and qualifications. As an interviewer, it is critical to ask the right questions to ensure you’re in a position to hire that next high-performance team member.

A question often posed in HR circles and leadership forums is “how do I motivate an employee?” This is a puzzle that most leaders would love to solve. While there is no one size fits all approach to motivating an individual, there are a few key areas to focus on to ensure that your business promotes a culture of motivation and achievement.
Are You Really Motivated By Your Job?
The first thing to consider is that motivation is typically fueled by an external factor. Most employees aren’t inherently motivated – something either at work or at home drives them to succeed. For many, the idea of extra time off is a motivating factor. Spending more time at home with friends and family is a big reward, and can push even the average employee to work harder and deliver better results. Some employees are enamored with the idea of earning more money – motivated by the prospect of raises, merit increases, and promotions. Whatever the specific motivation is, it is vital that leadership within the organization takes the time to directly identify what these factors are.
Motivating the Generations
One consideration to make regarding motivation centers on motivating all generations of employees. What specifically excites a generation X employee (born between 1964 – 1981) may not motivate a Millennial (born between 1982 – 2000). Generation X employees have demonstrated motivation in the workplace when an environment of fun, feedback, and flexibility is apparent. Generation X employees are motivated by flexible work arrangements. While their parents may have gotten used to punching the clock every morning at 9am sharp and grabbing their lunch pail at exactly 5pm, Gen X’ers appreciate and are motivated by flexible work schedules, breaks in the routine, and tangible rewards. Give a Gen X’er a gift card to dinner and an early out – and you’ll see an employee who is motivated to achieve the next day at work.
For the Baby Boomer generation, motivation takes on a different meaning. “Being in charge” can motivate Boomers. Titles, perks of the job, and anything that helps distinguish and accentuate the heights that a Boomer has achieved will go a long way toward motivating the employee. Older employees – say those born before 1945, are motivated by those who recognize the talents and depth of experience that these workers bring to the table. A leader of an older worker should understand that a traditional, “straight path” career model is comfortable for many in this age bracket.
Creating a Culture of Achievement
One of the simplest ways to ensure that employees are motivated is to create a culture of achievement at the workplace. Achievement must be the norm. It isn’t what employees aspire to – it is the day in and day out focus on setting new benchmarks, innovating on the job, and reaching new heights of productivity. These metrics might be different among the various generational groups, so the keen manager will ensure that they know not just what motivates the individual, but what motivates a generation.

Why Enlist the Services of An Executive Coach?

Executive coaching requires a different approach versus traditional leadership or business coaching. The fundamental reason why a company would want to hire a firm to provide executive coaching is to examine their corporate culture, identify gaps in achievement or leadership, and then provide training and pathways to instill a new, more effective corporate culture.
This is more of a revision in terms of corporate culture versus an overhaul of policies and procedures. The idea is to transition leaders and employees alike to more of an “all in” mindset, versus just coming to work each day and punching the clock.

How Does an Executive Coach Help Leaders in Business?

Leaders know that to remain effective and continually increase productivity, one must enlist the services of a coach. Executive teams also understand that corporate culture can set the overall tone and direction of their business, and can prove to be the linchpin for success. For example, the Chick-Fil-A group, led by the Cathy family, has set a corporate tone of being “servant leaders.” This means that the executive leadership truly lives for the opportunity to serve their employees, their shareholders, and the public.
The message to all of their employees is loud and clear – “treat others as you would want to be treated, and take pride in the service that you are providing.” This corporate culture has proven highly successful for the Chick-Fil-A group, and no doubt the efforts of an executive coaching team had some bearing on establishing this tone. Executive coaches do not always look to overhaul an entire business’ tone and direction. Sometimes a simple tweak is all that is needed to enhance the perception of the organization and to improve productivity.

How Does One Find Executive Coaching Help?

Searching online for executive coaching help can turn up hundreds of options. For those seeking executive coaching services in the San Diego, CA area, look to the Sage Executive Group. With more than 45 collective years with CEO peer advisory groups, the Sage group can provide a level of executive coaching that will analyze your business, assess threats and opportunities, and help to formulate a plan that can deliver results and establish the correct “tone” for your organization.
By maintaining a strict confidentiality protocol, leaders can share ideas and help other members to improve their processes, rethink their policies, and gain a clearer picture as to the real levers of their businesses. Regular coaching from a senior member of the Sage group is part of the membership framework, and can provide the level of executive coaching you need as a senior leader in your organization.
Interacting at Sage Executive Group’s peer advisory meetings is a two way street. If you feel you have what it takes to contribute to a Sage peer group please visit the website at www.sageexecutivegroup.com.

Nobody Seeks a Leader When Things Are Going Perfectly

San Diego, CA is a diverse, business-friendly area that has provided growth opportunities for countless individuals and corporations alike. With an educated workforce, better than average business growth rates, and a socio-economically diverse base of customers, San Diego can grow a business quickly. This environment has led to a plethora of new and existing businesses all competing for the same client. Due to this, leaders of businesses must understand the fundamentals behind effective leadership and continual personal development.

Why is Leadership Training Important, and What is The End Goal?

One may be placed in a position of leadership, but to truly master the tenets of effective leadership takes practice, study, and coaching. Everyone knows that being an effective leader is vitally important to the success of a business. But what constitutes the key characteristics of an effective leader? Effective leaders, through leadership training, will be able to deliver a clear and concise vision for the organization, and are not afraid to challenge the status quo. New leaders often find that the previous administration’s policies were less than effective – forcing the shift in leadership at the top. The ability to confidently introduce new ideas and concepts and offer the credibility to support these changes characterizes a strong leader.
Other competencies include the ability to hold people accountable. This is truly only possible if the leader has done a good job at communicating the overall vision and the individual responsibilities of the employee. Creating a culture of continuous improvement is important – including the top leadership group, and provides a foundation for continual employee development. Enhancing the bench strength of the team has to be a key focus for any effective leader. The end goal is to increase the productivity and profitability of the organization, and the only way to do that is to ensure that those holding key leadership positions can deliver on the aforementioned tenets to success.

Peer Advisory and Leadership Coaching

At the president, CEO, or owner level, having the ability to network and learn from other successful leaders in business is invaluable. Those that have achieved this level of success have typically learned along the way that continual leadership development and peer guidance are keys to longevity and success in the workplace.
Peer advisory groups, like Sage Executive Group, in San Diego, CA, offer those that have achieved owner, president, or CEO status with the ability to seek input and advice from other leaders of industry. By maintaining a strict confidentiality protocol, leaders can share ideas and help other members to improve their processes, rethink their policies, and gain a clearer picture as to the real levers of their businesses. The leaders in these groups understand that to be most effective at work, one must take the time to develop those crucial leadership skills.
By communicating on a scheduled basis with performance coaches, mentors, and like-minded peers, one can dramatically improve the decision-making processes on the job and extract even greater performance from their teams.
Interacting at Sage Executive Group’s peer advisory meetings is a two way street. If you feel you have what it takes to contribute to a Sage peer group please visit the website at www.sageexecutivegroup.com.

Coaches Are Critical To Any Organization

Most effective leaders agree – you will limit your leadership potential if you do not accept the support, guidance, and directives of a qualified coach. A coaching relationship in the workplace can motivate an employee to focus on the key drivers of the business, can enlighten a CEO as to the truly important areas to focus on, and can provide insight to the time management skills that need honing. Even those leaders of highly successful enterprises see the need for business coaching, and can most likely attribute a portion of their success to their coaching relationships.

Who Is The Most Effective Coach For You?

Those who can benefit the most from your success are not always the best coaches. Having a working relationship with a coach may drive the coach to have you focus on those things that are most beneficial to them – versus focusing on your own personal development. This is where having an impartial coach – one who gets more from your personal growth and development versus simply moving you to accomplish a measurable metric, is crucial.
When a leader attains a title of president, CEO, or is the owner of the company, it is difficult to engage in those conversations that can lead to true personal growth and development. That is where peer leadership and peer coaching comes into play.

Peer Advisory and Coaching Groups

At the president, CEO, or owner level, having the ability to bounce ideas off of others without undue scrutiny is truly valuable. Leaders at this level are frequently charged with “having all of the answers,” and a questioning leader may add to the perception that they are unfit for their position. Peer advisory groups, like Sage Executive Group, in San Diego, CA, offer those that have achieved owner, president, or CEO status with the ability to seek input and advice from other leaders of industry.
By maintaining a strict confidentiality protocol, leaders can share ideas and help other members to improve their processes, rethink their policies, and gain a clearer picture as to the real levers of their businesses. Regular coaching from a senior member of the Sage group is part of the membership framework.
By communicating on a scheduled basis with performance coaches, mentors, and like-minded peers, one can dramatically improve the decision-making processes on the job and extract even greater performance from their teams. Interacting at Sage Executive Group’s peer advisory meetings is a two way street.
If you feel you have what it takes to contribute to a Sage peer group please visit the website at www.sageexecutivegroup.com.

The Benefits of a Business Networking Group

Joining a business networking group is one of the most impactful ways a business owner can improve the performance of their particular organization. Simply surrounding oneself with business professionals who are likely to become centers of influence is a surefire way to increase the number of pre-screened, high-quality leads for your business.
Beyond the simple aspect of gaining referral business, the benefits of joining a business networking group are profound and can help to create an even more successful business leader in any member.

It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know!

Joining a business networking group can allow a member to interact with those leaders of business who they might never have met. This diverse input of advice, information, and guidance can create a more rounded leader in anyone.
The ability to improve one’s leadership skills, decision making processes, and even attain greater work/life balance are all reasons to join a networking group. The best networking is done when one is interacting with a group of individuals that can provide the most valuable feedback and guidance – not just a lead.

Seek Networking Through Peer Advisory Groups

Peer advisory groups, like Sage Executive Group, in San Diego, CA, offer those that have achieved owner, president, or CEO status with the ability to seek input and advice from other leaders of industry. By maintaining a strict confidentiality protocol, members are free to seek advice on topics ranging from human resources issues, strategy formation, interpersonal issues at work, and a variety of other pertinent topics. The fundamental requisite for the individual member is an expectation around participation and involved, quality conversation with the group.
The job of leader is not an easy one. Decisions must be made, accountability is absolute, and there is little empathy for a leader when issues arise. The ability to seek counsel from those that may be experiencing the same concerns is of paramount importance to a business owner, president, or CEO who is seeking to improve the performance of their particular organization.
By communicating on a scheduled basis with performance coaches, mentors, and like-minded peers, one can dramatically improve the decision-making processes on the job and extract even greater performance from their teams. Interacting at Sage Executive Group’s peer advisory meetings is a two way street.
If you feel you have what it takes to contribute to a Sage peer group please visit the website at www.sageexecutivegroup.com.

The Perfect Climate for Business

San Diego has it all when it comes to an advantageous business climate – strong per capita income, lower than average violent and property crime statistics, and a business growth rate significantly higher than the national average.
For these reasons, and many others, businesses have a better than average chance for success in the San Diego area. This phenomenon has motivated a large number of business owners to seek a competitive advantage over their contemporaries.

Consulting Takes On Many Forms

Business consulting can take the form of management consulting, human resources counseling, IT consulting, and include strategies around marketing, government relations, and legal considerations. For the business owner, president, or CEO, these can be helpful, if not costly options to help improve the health of the business. Human resources consulting is a popular topic, yet the impact of HR consulting may not be felt immediately.
Building strategies around marketing and sales tactics is an important topic of discussion, yet there are typically in-house employees who can manage these important areas. As the business owner, president, or CEO, to whom do you turn to discuss some of the more personal or private aspects of your leadership role? The answer lies in a peer advisory group.

Peer Advisory Groups Provide a Competitive Advantage

Imagine sitting in a room with ten to twelve highly successful business owners, presidents, or CEO’s. You seek their advice on a variety of topics and draw upon the diverse experience that each peer brings to the table. All the while, your personal experiences in the workforce are valued by this peer group and provide a conduit for you to be able to educate and guide others. This is the fundamental benefit to a peer advisory group – the ability to confidentially bring issues to the table that might be difficult given your position as leader of the company.
The role of CEO is a difficult one. Decisions must be made, accountability is absolute, and there is little empathy for a leader when issues arise.

Who is the typical CEO?
Countless studies and articles have tried to pinpoint the CEO personality.
A recent Duke University study found that CEOs are more likely to be optimists and risk-takers than are members of the general population. According to New York Times columnist Adam Bryant, author of The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons From CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, CEOs are curious, confident, fearless team players who prefer simple, concise information. But how do these abstract characteristics translate into action? How do successful CEOs behave?
Here’s one thing studies tell us about those at the top: They are social—very social.
A joint study by professors at Harvard University, the London School of Economics, and the European University Institute found that CEOs spend 85% of their time working with other people – attending meetings, on the phone, or at work events – and only 15% of their time working alone. Of time spent with others, nearly half of that time included people outside of the CEO’s organization.
Whether by nature or nurture, CEOs are collaborative individuals.
As our world becomes increasingly interconnected – spurred on by the ever-expanding social media universe – it is clear that the collaborative nature of business is here to stay. A 2012 IBM study found that more than two-thirds of corporations plan to partner with other corporations this year – up from only slightly more than half in 2008, according to Forbes.
“People used to talk about competition, about protecting industry secrets and shutting out competitors. Now we talk about cooperation and coordination,” explains Jerry Rollins, Co-Founder of Sage Executive Group. “‘Coopetition’ is the new competition. CEOs who learn from other companies gain more knowledge than they ever could if they limited their interaction to their own firm alone,” he says.
So how can a busy CEO ensure his or her company is not functioning in a vacuum?

• Read industry newsletters to keep abreast of industry trends.
• Implement a social media strategy. Take note of other companies’ social media strategies in order to learn from their strengths and weaknesses. Do not underestimate the power of virtual and digital communication.
• Join a CEO peer advisory group to gain the perspective of CEOs outside your organization.

While the personality traits of successful CEOs may vary, evidence suggests collaboration is one behavioral trait successful CEOs have in common.