Sample Newsletter
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Take ACTION!
Beam Business Services' Weekly Newsletter
Monday 02.01.10
Good morning!
Today we are exploring what we call “Positive Accountability” as part four of our series on effective delegation. This is an excellent topic for anyone who is in a management role. There is often a negative stigma surrounding the topic of accountability in a work environment, but when rightly applied and executed, accountability truly can be a positive experience for both you and your team. Understanding and using this concept could truly change the dynamics of your workplace!
I. Upcoming Events:
-- Training Survey
If you haven’t had a chance yet to take our short 4-question survey on training, please take the time to do so now. This will help us know what topics you are interested in and what days/times are best for scheduling. To take the survey, follow this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XXXXX
-- “Six Steps to a Better Business”
WHAT: WV Small Business Development Center Workshop
WHEN: Tuesday, February 9th from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
WHERE: SBDC Offices, 348 15th St, Huntington, WV
COST: $25/person
REGISTER: Call Kathleen Thornton at 304-399-1040
-- “AAA Customer Service Training”
WHAT: WV Small Business Development Center Workshop
WHEN: Tuesday, March 23rd from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
WHEN: Tuesday, March 23rd from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
WHERE: SBDC Offices, 348 15th St, Huntington, WV
COST: $25/person
REGISTER: Call Kathleen Thornton at 304-399-1040
REGISTER: Call Kathleen Thornton at 304-399-1040
II. Article for the Week:
Positive Accountability – Effective Delegation Part IV
By Action Coach Dave Beam
When you hear the word “accountability”, what comes to mind? Does it produce a positive, upbeat, exciting feeling, or a negative, uncomfortable, unpleasant feeling?
When I first start coaching with a person, they almost always have negative emotions and ideas associated with accountability. They carry bad memories of annual evaluations with supervisors or bosses that were disconnected or on a power trip. They have visions of tense meetings ending in probation and employee discipline. They certainly don’t seek out “constructive criticism” and “performance feedback evaluation” with delight.
I would like to challenge you to take another view. Think about top performing athletes. How do you think they view accountability, feedback, and constructive criticism? Most of them welcome and even pay high dollars to get it. They realize to be the best at what they do, they need to have a clear picture of where they are, how they are doing, and what needs to change and improve.
Positive accountability is a key to effective delegation. To make it positive, positioning and purpose is the key. Ken Blanchard in his classic “One Minute Manager” shares that feedback is the breakfast of champions. People love to play and win games, and to know that they are a winner, they need to have a score. Accountability is all about providing your team with regular measurable feedback on their performance. Most jobs have three to five critical responsibilities that can be measured. If the team member consistently fulfills those key duties, then they are effective and doing well. As their leader, it is your responsibility to create a measurable system of feedback based on those key responsibilities. I use the term “Key Performance Indicators” (KPIs). Once you have established KPIs for each team position, you can provide regular consistent feedback and measure improvement. This creates an environment where you can catch each member doing it right, recognize and celebrate improvement, and respond to the specific areas that need attention and help. Forget the annual evaluation! This approach to evaluation is frequent and on-going.
Employees love to know that they are doing a good job. They also appreciate recognition and communication so they can be the best they can be. Once you identify the most important desired performance and outcome for each team position, you are ready to communicate those outcomes and create some amazing agreements with each team member. If you do this right, it is a positive and rewarding process that employees appreciate and even anticipate with open arms.
If you need some help creating a positive system of accountability in your business, give us a call and request a complimentary coaching session. I would be glad to help you get started.
III. This Week's Featured Business Resource:
This is an excellent article I came across on Ken Blanchard's website. It is entitled, “Don’t Skimp When it Comes to Reward and Recognition.” If you are a fan of the One Minute Manager you will enjoy this article which talks about the “why and how” of positively motivating your team. I thoroughly enjoyed this short read and couldn’t recommend it enough for anyone in a management role.
III. This Week's Featured Business Resource:
This is an excellent article I came across on Ken Blanchard's website. It is entitled, “Don’t Skimp When it Comes to Reward and Recognition.” If you are a fan of the One Minute Manager you will enjoy this article which talks about the “why and how” of positively motivating your team. I thoroughly enjoyed this short read and couldn’t recommend it enough for anyone in a management role.
IV. This Week’s Archived Article:
“You Just Can’t Find Good Employees”
Excerpt: “…Describe the ideal employee. Dream and wish – really idealize, and then ask this question: Why would that person want to work in your organization?”
Get The Rest At:
http://actioncoachohio.blogspot.com/
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s edition of Take ACTION. Please take note of our events section as we have some low cost training opportunities available with the SBDC starting next week. I have also placed a link in the events section for a Training Survey I am conducting to help us better serve you, the business community. If you have questions or comments regarding the newsletter or this week’s topic, feel free to email or call me!
Thanks for Reading!
Nathan Beam Business Development Manager ActionCOACH The World's #1 Business Coaching Firm 22 Jason Lane Wheelersburg OH 45694 USA Main: 740-444-4164 Email: nathanbeam@actioncoach.com Website: http://www.actioncoach.com/davidbeam/ |
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