5-Steps for a Group Leader to Engage Everyone Build a “Cycle of Engagement� among Associates, Customers, and Partners alike. Involvement with hearts and minds!
Frontline Leadership can be learned! Note: For this .pdf file we have removed any unnecessary pictures or graphics to make the course easier for you to save and/or print.
Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team The ThankingCustomers.com free 5-step frontline leadership course for winning the hearts and minds of associates. Whether your group is educational, religious, civic, community, or workplace related! If you would like to keep everyone in your group involved and selfmotivated you have come to the right place. A career skill and process of 5 action steps you do with (not to) your group members, based on a 'best practice' of over a half-century, for the people-part of daily activities to continue learning, focus, and commitments.
Thank You! How to Get the Most out of your Course and Maximize your new Leadership Skill Our Intentions Please let us demonstrate what we hope for you to learn and then let us know "How are we doing?" Tutorial 1 (includes Introduction): A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts with THANKING Tutorial 2: INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?"
Tutorial 3: ASKING the critical questions for reflection Tutorial 4: Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities Tutorial 5: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogue
Appendix 1: The Leadership Pyramid - a sense of purpose
Appendix 2: Build a "Cycle of Engagement"
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".
Thank You! How to Get the Most out of your Course and Maximize your new Leadership Skill
Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Hi, I'm George Reavis, author of the Frontline Leadership Course. There are a few important points I would like you to know before you begin your course. Please take a moment to read the letter below...... How to Get the Most out of your Course and Maximize your new Leadership Skill First, congratulations for discovering the free frontline leadership course. This course is designed as a career skill for anyone, who wants to, to use the five action steps from a proven practice to keep everyone engaged in daily activities for any group. It does not address activities for implementing the practice into an organization with layers (hierarchy) of delegation. For this we have our Enterprise eHandbook which is a user-centered approach to implement the practice within a chain of command or typical organization. Second, a couple of key points to keep in mind as you use the course: o
This is your career skill and tool for involving and self-motivating members of any group at any time. This course is designed to benefit groups in school, church, communities, clubs, or the workplace regardless of prior experiences.
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The course is about maintaining an all-important dialogue between your group's services and those who benefit from those efforts (customers).
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The process is simply a set of actions you lead with group members and not activities you do to group members.
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The practice is for leading soft skills for the people-part of your group's daily activities. Continuing and complementing, not changing, the hard skills you manage through daily activities.
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The acid test for the practice is to always keep it simple, back-to-basics, with a cost of primarily time and attention.
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As you practice these actions (5-step process) you will create a cycle of engagement which will increase your groups effectiveness geometrically as each associate is engaged (involved with hearts and minds).
Thanks, and Enjoy! George Reavis
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!". Enterprise Edition eHandbook "Propel Frontline Leaders" -http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm
Our Intentions Please let us demonstrate what we hope for you to learn and then let us know "How are we doing?" Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Our intentions are for you to learn, using this practice, a career skill for being able to keep any group of people involved, inspired, and self-motivated through daily activities/operations. Leading the delivery of services/products/benefits towards the same goals, objectives, and customers/beneficiaries. A few questions we want you to be able to answer "yes" to as you use the practice with your group: 1. By thanking customers/ 1 beneficiaries are you recognizing the benefits your group provides everyday and who the beneficiaries are? 2. As you invite customers/beneficiaries to let your group know "How are we doing?" are you demonstrating your intentions to them as well as to each other and partners who provide support to your group? 3. In asking the critical questions for the group's continued success, are you taking the important questions that your administration is asking in determining what actions need to be done and reflecting on how to get the actions done through daily activities? 4. As group members review feedback from customers/beneficiaries does it give them a perspective on their own daily activities as well as the groups? 5. By bulletining the feedback are assessments, or opinions, being discussed among group members about customers, services, benefits, and products? Are assessments shared with partners and customers as well? 6. When you thank customers/beneficiaries again do they feel appreciated along with group members and partners?
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Thank: Builds recognition and leads appreciation.
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Invite: Demonstrates intentions, which leads to commitments.
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Ask critical questions: Creates attention and leads to long-term focus.
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Get feedback from activities: Keeps associates engaged at a high level.
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Share assessments: Develops opinions that foster dialogue.
Note: Once the journey is underway, there is really only one activity to lead the practice and that is inviting customers/beneficiaries to participate. The rest of the process is lead effortlessly. Herein lies the beauty and powerfulness of the practice. I'd love to hear your feedback on your experiences during and after the course, so please drop me a note directly http://thankingcustomers.com/casequestion.htm or email me at george@thankingcustomers.com. As a "Thank you" I would invite you to submit a case and we will provide you a solution to illustrate how Thankingcustomers.com might help you start building long-term focus, commitment, and learning towards customers through daily operations.
There really is nothing more uplifting for me than to hear success stories from course subscribers. (And if you have a criticism, I want to hear that too!)
1 Beneficiaries are those that benefit from a groups purpose and efforts. We make this added distinction because the term customers is not really appropriate outside the workplace. Beneficiaries could well include multiple entities including those members of the group themselves. For example, in an educational group the members themselves would certainly be at least one of the beneficiaries of engagement.
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"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".
Tutorial 1 (includes Introduction): A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts with THANKING
Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Introduction + Tutorial One ______________________________________ The 5-part Course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team" from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.com Welcome + Tutorial One: A five-step process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts with THANKING _______________________________________ http://ThankingCustomers.com An Introduction The next five tutorials will guide you through a five-action process which will start you off on a journey to win the hearts and minds of associates towards long-term focus, learning, and commitments. Importantly, these actions will only complement/continue and not change any programmed or procedural activities you currently execute. http://thankingcustomers.com/cycle6.jpg The five-steps can best be described as a "secondary asking process" and a missing-link in most daily operations. They are activities to lead a group/team in asking (mostly non-verbal) the critical questions for "How are we doing?" from a daily operations perspective. The reason this is so important is that while associates, partners, and even customers receive feedback from colleagues and supervisors/administrators, they also need feedback directly from the activity itself in order to stay fully engaged in the group's efforts. While learning experiences are certainly supported by feedback, it is asking/reflection (often through thought and emotion) which most often initiates and continues the learning experiences. Leading any group/team of people toward a common goal or objective using a practice of appreciation, participation, reflection, involvement, dialogue and recognition. Whether you are leading a group at school, church, club, or workplace this practice will keep everyone involved and everyone committed to the same objectives. - We will use the following terms to define "others" during this course: Associates - members of your team or group, including yourself Partners - people or groups who provide you and your group support. These could be 'internal', within your enterprise, or 'external', from outside your enterprise. Customers - those persons or groups that benefit from the efforts of your group or team. Everyone - is all of the above. Frontline daily activities is where the efforts and influences of all three groups come together for results. This illustrates the importance for frontline leaders to, in addition to their hard skills, also have soft people skills such as this practice. You'll learn how to keep everyone, in any group, on the same page and committed to the same goals or objectives. We call the idea "Frontline Leadership" and basically it is continually striving to lead experiences, foster beliefs, practice actions, and celebrate results through frontline daily activities. Leading situations and moments of truth through daily activities. Please understand this course is not about changing anybody, rather, using activities based on human nature and experiences to lead everyone in the same direction. The five actions which make up the process that continue into the practice are about performing activities with associates and not to associates.
My name is George Reavis and I'll be your guide for these 5 tutorials. However, I can't claim all the credit for this big idea - it's roots are from a best practice over a half century old. Rooted in the " entrepreneurial ethic" which links a valuable idea/service/product with those people that benefit from it (customers). Also building a continuous dialogue between those providing products and services and the customers or beneficiaries of those services and products. I hope you're as excited about this course as we were when we were putting it together. Months of work backed by years of experience as an entrepreneur and practitioner have created what I think is a critical career skill for you to involve and self-motivate associates. The " secondary group asking process" ( http://thankingcustomers.com/process.html ) is five action steps to address six principles ( http://thankingcustomers.com/principles.htm ) we believe are necessary to win and maintain the hearts and minds of associates as well as customers and partners. The practice is a simple, back-to-basics approach with a primary cost of time and attention (like most things that keep working on the frontlines of daily activities) rather than money. Over the next five tutorials you will be shown five actions which when executed in sequence will give you a process you can practice to build a career skill to lead any group or team toward their objectives. If you lead/direct/manage any group of people currently or are considering doing so in the future this course will be invaluable (and it is free!). We offer it because more effective groups and teams are beneficial for society, whether they be in schools, churches, associations, workplaces, social clubs, or special interests. An effective group achieves their objectives and makes a contribution, even when the beneficiaries of their efforts are themselves. Effective groups also nurture the human spirit, innovation, cooperation, learning, a sense of purpose, pride, self-motivation and worth. In short, we view effective groups as a win-win-win for group members, beneficiaries, and supporters (including, hopefully, society). If you are considering taking your new career skill to a business enterprise or organizational level we highly suggest our eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders. The handbook is the "how-to" develop and maintain the practice within any organizational framework. Our coaching tips (CT) throughout this course are references to this handbook for just such a purpose. http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm The course is unique because it is rooted in human nature and is user-centered or designed for use in frontline daily activities It is simple enough that its practice is not dependent on previous managerial or leadership experience. Creating continuous learning, focus, and commitments through involvement and self-motivation! By "self-motivation" we mean the ability to get others to motivate themselves from within which is far more lasting than external forces creating a temporary motivation. So that we are all on the same page during this course it is important to define the following terms as follows: "practice" - repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill. The business of professional person(s). "enterprise" - any undertaking of some scope. An industrious, systematic activity which could be for profit such as a business but not necessarily so. It could be a church, school, club, civic group, association, or other project where people come together to accomplish a specific purpose or objective. From the 'Old French' meaning "to undertake" "organization" - any enterprise (from previous description) that has layers or hierarchy. Requires management and leadership as well as to organize efforts. Most businesses would be organizations whether public/private or for profit/non-profit. "process" - a series of actions or functions bringing about a result. A series of operations performed in the making or treatment of a product/service. Note that a process is simply a set of actions and not to be confused with a program which is a schedule of events and list of instructions. A process could be a part of a program or may exist separately o its own which will be the focus of the course. This course and subsequent practice/process is not a program so we do not suggest any administration such as planning, meetings, budgets, measurements, or schedules--simply do it! We view the process as a career skill that may be implemented at any time by an individual leader to compliment and continue (not change) any existing programs. "managing" - the actions for executing a set program or system. These activities are usually associated with paper, such as procedures, schedules, checklists, policies and even processes are often embedded as well. Often hard skills are required to execute or manage.
"leading" - also actions to achieve the same objectives and results as in managing, even using the same programs and systems. Leading mostly involves soft skills for the people-part of the enterprise. We often lead actions which are not only not on paper but are intangible, non-verbal, and even unconscious! Examples might be intentions, emotions, enjoyment, attention, dialogue, pride, passion, reflection, inspiration, involvement, etc. We also lead many actions to compliment and continue the management, such as recognition, communications and learning. For example, learning is managed through training programs yet we also know that experiences will influence learning profoundly. "frontlines" - where daily activities deliver results to customers or the beneficiaries of the groups efforts. This is where associates, customers, and partners all merge and services, products, ideas, or benefits are delivered. The course is a practice which you as a leader can learn as a career skill and tool for any enterprise. As the name practice implies you learn and get better at it the more you do it. During the course we will define and explain a process consisting of five actions. I have witnessed this practice, first-hand, provide involvement and self-motivation (the lasting kind!) to not only associates of a group/team but also partners and even customers! What follows is a brief introduction, followed by your first Tutorial. Please read from here as there are several important things to do before beginning the course. First though, here's what a couple of our subscribers had to say - I hope it inspires you! -----------------------"QUOTES"--------------------------"I read your course and eHandbook about 4 times since finding it last week. It's so realistic, simple, practical and adaptable that it's brilliant". Thank you, Tom Hanks (unfortunately not the actor) --------------------"Dear George, Your Course and Team Leadership eHandbook have been incredibly helpful to me and I feel that others might benefit also. Having been promoted for working hard I received all my training on systems and almost nothing on leading people. That part of supervision was a complete shock with many sleepless nights. I now look forward to the people part of my job. I used to feel like the "enforcer" of policies and procedures and a slave driver for performance. With your sequence of actions we all support each other. The whole experience of working through the Free Course and the Leadership Handbook has given me a whole new perspective. I feel confident with a tool for giving everyone what they really want--the ability to participate, be appreciated, and involved in "How are we doing?" as a team and enterprise. I no longer have to prod everyone to stay focused on their daily activities. They are coming to me with questions, opinions, and ideas on how to be better themselves and as a team! <Name removed - anonymity requested> -----------------------"END QUOTES"-----------------------The reasons we spent so long putting the course together are: 1) I had used the 'best practice' and was amazed by how it kept everyone focused, learning, and committed toward their common goals but since it wasn't a program no one had ever set it up from scratch! - The practice was so simple and back-to-basics that it was difficult to understand why it worked. - On the "frontlines" of daily activities a team leader must manage and lead simultaneously - Daily activities involve constant attention to group members, partners supporting their efforts, and those that benefit from those efforts at all times. - Soft "people" skills are mostly non-verbal, intangible, invisible, and often even unconscious 2) Another reason is that I wish I'd had access to a course like this when I needed it!
- My training was about managing people and events with programs and systems. Leadership was something you did every once in awhile when it was needed and was more similar to mounting a horse in battle and encouraging everyone to follow you. - Trying to motivate others with outside pressure is hard and when they have different backgrounds and commonalities it is frustrating. We wrote this course to ensure others have a career skill and tool to establish cooperation rather than compliance. 3) In today's fast paced and global society people's attentions and even intentions are bombarded constantly often leaving little time for even reflection. The rewards are incredible when individuals are provided the opportunity to participate in a group that is focused, learning and committed toward the same goals! - Being able to provide that opportunity is even more rewarding!! 4) Most literature about coordinating a group's efforts is about abstract leadership ideas, do's, don'ts, or managing behaviors and not specific actions one can take "with" their group to lead participation, enjoyment, and commitment. You'll find this course powerful in it's simplicity by presenting five actions which when continued with your group will make achieving results easier and more enjoyable. I want you to be able to lead cooperation and enthusiasm and potential without getting 'sidetracked' or duped, and without having to change a single thing you are doing now. --------------------------------------------------------------"Where motivation is concerned, the journey is more important than the destination. It's more important for people to be proud of what they are doing every day than it is for them to be proud of reaching a major goal. That's why it is crucial to celebrate the 'steps' as much as the 'landings'." -- Jon Katzenbach, Why Pride Matters More Than Money --------------------------------------------------------------As you may know, or may soon find out as a team leader, winning the hearts and minds of team members can be really difficult. And you must do it not once in a while but every day! Conversely, when you have a practice for involving them it can become a career skill, with practice, AND enjoyable as well! - Goals become easier to achieve and maintain when, in addition to managing a program, you also can lead the people-part of your group or team. Our objective is for you to learn a career skill that you can call upon anytime in the future you need to move a group of people toward a common goal or result. A five-step action cycle which can be initiated to keep everyone involved and self-motivated for the long-term. - Leading people in daily activities is about the soft skills of relationships and experiences. It is about leading these relationships and experiences towards continuous learning, focus, and commitments from everyone. Everyone being team members, partners and even customers or beneficiaries of your efforts. Sounds like a mammoth task and it can be overwhelming and stressful without taking action to get everyone involved and self-motivated. In fact, in business it has a name--the "caught-in-themiddle syndrome." Frontline managers can learn, focus, and commit to actions for the execution of programs, policies, and procedures to create structure and discipline for their team but often feel it is a constant struggle without the hearts and minds of all their associates. ----------------------------------------------------"Relationship building is a process not an event" ----------------------------------------------------How much more effective would you be if everyone's attention was focused on the job in hand? - If everyone is demonstrating their intentions to make commitments and reflecting to learn more, how much better will your group efforts come across and make a leaders job easier? Allowing a leader to play a servant and support role rather than an enforcer and critic role. -------------------------------------------Welcome to the first Tutorial of your course to motivate-inspire-involve everyone. Over the years here at ThankingCustomers.com, we have helped frontline leaders of enterprises with the people-part of their daily activities. Understanding and taking action on the soft skill issues which are often intangible, non-verbal, and even unconscious.
Leading, through daily activities, enterprise relationships and experiences for everyone. Not taking actions to them but with them. Building and maintaining teamwork, service, and collaboration all simultaneously. The reason we're so pleased with this course is because it lets us share what we have learned with you. Allowing you to accept leadership, not with fear and frustration, but with simplicity, enjoyment, confidence, and rewards. -------------THE COURSE TO MOTIVATE-INSPIRE-INVOLVE EVERYONE (Associates, Customers, and Partners) During the course, you will be asked to do things that might not be a habit or routine. All are simple, back-to-basics, and rooted in human nature. Do not make them a big deal or complicated. If they don't take at first just learn from the experience and try again. We'd like to ask you to JUST TRY IT! Remember that the course and practice is simply for the people-part of your enterprise and does not change a single thing/procedure that you are doing now. One of the things we'll be talking about is that regardless whether you call them managing or leading it is always ACTIONS that get results. Actions create experiences that, in turn, provide valuable learning to grow interests, confidence, challenge, and skills. The sequence of actions: Begin with THANKING, then INVITE customers to let you ASK the critical questions, mostly non-verbally, for FEEDBACK from everyone's daily activities which are then SHARED to create assessments for building a continuous dialog about purpose and results of the groups efforts. The pivotal point in the process becomes THANKING as it is repeated to begin the process again. And, if you are serious about maintaining involvement and self-motivation in others, you do not change a single thing you are doing now (number one rule). Rather use the following actions to look for ways to complement what you are already doing. Provide associates the opportunity to ask themselves (mostly non-verbal) "How are we doing?" We will introduce you to each of the five actions, in sequence, and give you ways to implement them. As this is not a program it should not come with timetables, budgets, meetings, schedules, or even announcements. Simply look for ways to lead (introduce) the steps into your daily activities solely for the benefit of you, your group members, and those who you serve or provide benefit to. Keep in mind the five actions can each foster multiple activities and become greater as they continue to cycle http://thankingcustomers.com/process.html I compare the "human nature" physics here to that of a large stone flywheel which takes practice and effort at first to begin rotating but as it builds momentum it takes very little effort to keep going. Another analogy would be to that of an oldfashioned hand water well pump-- http://thankingcustomers.com/waterpump.htm 15 MINUTES A WEEK for something that could radically change your life for the better. Worth it? We think so. -------------OK, so on to the nitty-gritty! This is the way the course goes together. Tutorial 1 (this one) : A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts with THANKING Tutorial 2: INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" Tutorial 3: ASKING the critical questions for reflection Tutorial 4: Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities Tutorial 5: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogue Now before we start, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you to do. Make a document called 'Motivation course notes' and type at the top http://thankingcustomers.com/motivate.html . Keep it in your personal documents folder. This way, if you lose your emails, or anything goes wrong with your email server, you'll know where to find us. This will be where you keep your course notes as we progress. ________________________CT__________________________ About â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Coaching Tipsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Throughout the course, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll notice boxed-off sections like this one. If you own the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders, these will help you get the most from your Handbook when using it in conjunction with the course. The eHandbook details the specific issues of an organization or business whether profit/non-profit or public/private. It also addresses leader development in organizations. You may view the Table of Contents and read excerpts at http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm This career skill course is designed to introduce the activities or process for a individual to develop the abilities to involve and selfmotivate any group or team either temporarily or for the long-term. Application of this skill to a multi-layered organization with departments, accountability levels, and administrative levels is the purpose of the eHandbook. ____________________________________________________ OK, so let's get going. Before we look at THANKING, our first action in the process, let me give you two important points: Firstly, the 3 biggest challenges for a frontline leader. These are the most common things you must understand about your groups daily experiences in order to lead them. 1) The relationships and experiences created through the daily activities of your group become one on the frontlines for everyone (associates, customers, and partners). - Each one affects the other to the point that they blend together. This emphasizes the role of soft people skills, which need to be led, for continuous results. 2) The actions you take must affect associates, customers, and partners (internal and external) alike. It takes all three areas to sustain results on the frontlines of daily operations. - A service procedure for the customer must include the experiences not only between associates and customers, but between fellow associates and associates and partners as well. 3) You must lead and manage simultaneously. On the frontlines actions get results and you must have processes, sets of actions, to both manage and lead at the same time. View managing as maintaining the structure and discipline of your group and leading as maintaining the entrepreneurial ethic of the group. Entrepreneurial ethic usually refers to a business but it best describes the connection and link a leader has between an idea, product, service or effort and the customer or persons who benefit from those efforts. Continuing this link is key to the purpose, mission, and reason for being of the group, all of which inspire, motivate, and involve everyone-even customers! As a frontline leader you must understand that your perspective of daily activities and the 3 challenges may be unique to your position. A supervisor/administrator above you in operations often understands these 3 challenges but they do not experience them firsthand if they are not on the frontlines daily. ________________________CT__________________________ Refer to seeking support from a "Coordinator" in your eHandbook on the fourth page of the Introduction. View your role as a "Guide" for the practice in working with your supervisor. Remember to keep it simple. All you are doing is leading your group in thanking the customer for their support and asking them "How are we doing?" ____________________________________________________ The challenges may look great when written out all together but the practice helps you get everyone on the same page with the same goals and objectives which makes the challenges melt away. Like making lemonade out of your lemons. Also making your tasks simpler and enjoyable rather than frustrating and stressful. ----------------------------------------------------The tough question that managers need to answer isn't, "How do we build better teams?" The question is 'What kind of conversations and interactions do we want to create?" -- Michael Schrage ----------------------------------------------------Secondly, Three epiphanies (discoveries) that we learned from our research as to why we think the practice is so effective: 1) While feedback supports learning, it is really the process of asking/inquiry/reflection which not only initiates learning but also continues learning! -- http://thankingcustomers.com/ask.htm
- We often deal with a service problem or issue with a group by providing more feedback but, while that may help sort-term, the long-term solution is to initiate and continue learning by involving the group in asking, mostly non-verbally, the critical questions that are needed for the group to be successful. 2) While feedback from colleagues and supervisors is important for maintaining structure and discipline, it is feedback from the activity itself that provides long-term learning, focus, and commitment -- http://thankingcustomers.com/feedback2.htm - You and your group members no doubt get feedback from your colleagues and supervisors which is important for structure and discipline. The critical and often missing feedback for motivation, involvement, focus, and learning for the long-term is feedback from ones own daily activities. All peak performers have this skill but unfortunately that is less than 25% of the population. The practice helps you lead this feedback through daily activities. 3) "95% of all thought, learning, and emotion is unconscious.......most of communication is nonverbal" -- Gerald Zaltman - The practice helps lead this non-verbal portion of thought, emotion, learning, and communication. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Emotion drives Attention and Focus; the Focus drives Learning. You are never going to learn anything that you are not attending to and you are never going to attend to anything that doesn't mean anything to you." -- Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------As we present the five actions to meet these challenges in daily activities it is important to understand each one on its own merits (that's why we separate them) but to also remember that each is an integral part in the overall process and sequence. This is a case where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. The first action of the process is THANKING your customers. While this may seem obvious but the importance of "Thank you " cannot be understated. You probably already "Thank" everyone but please do not skip over this action as we will give you a new perspective to help you lead thanking throughout your enterprise. In most cultures it is almost the foundation of appreciation and recognition. It is one of the few phrases which are used to express such a wide array of situations, from someone holding a door open for you to saving your life! There are no other words that substitute for it. - Thanking does not have to always be verbal. It can easily be written and symbolized by a gesture of appreciation/recognition, such as a gift (but not money). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Exercise 1 - "Who to Thank" The essential first action to motivate-inspire-involve everyone is to decide who customers are. If your group does not have "customers" figure out who benefits from your groups efforts. It is possible in some cases that it may be the members of the group themselves. It is also possible to have multiple customer groups. If you have a director, supervisor, or report to someone ask for their support in helping your group ask customers "How are we doing?" They may be puzzled at first but I assure you they will be impressed by your initiative and think it is a wonderful idea. - Brainstorm with this person to identify a group of customers that you must please in order for your group to be successful in their ongoing efforts. If there are multiple customer groups it would probably be simpler for your first trial to decide on one group to target. As we mentioned before, this practice is a journey and you never want anything laid in stone. Nothing is off limits for review or change. Decide up front that this will be part of the process. It will be very easy to change any decision later as the practice develops. Don't be afraid to act, make a mistake, make a decision. As you decide or write things down it is not like a procedure it is only to organize your thoughts. Your motto should be "Ready, Fire, Aim" In your course notes, List the customer group you and your director decide to target for the trial.
What your group needs to accomplish (products, services or efforts) to be successful in meeting this customer's needs. This may well have already been decided by your administration, simply make sure you and your director are clear on it. Decide how this customer benefits for your group's efforts. Or possibly, how will they deem the relationship and experience with us worthwhile? Discuss some ways with your director that you might "Thank" customers for their patronage and support. You want to let them know you appreciate the opportunity to serve them and intend to be there and get better in the future. We do not suggest doing it verbally or with money. Some ideas might be a card, letter, small gift, discount, bonus service/product, or an event. Use an idea that matches your group or enterprise style, culture, relationship with customers, and sincerity. You don't need to decide now and it can always easily be changed. Your director may seek suggestions from Marketing or their Supervisor. This information will be used in the next exercise "Thank and Invite". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------We will return to thanking in the the final tutorial as the pivotal point of the cycle repeating is thanking. You initiate the process by thanking customers in writing for their support and patronage and inviting them, in the future, to let you know "How are we doing?" We will get into the invitation in the second tutorial. As the practice cycle repeats a number of important things grow http://thankingcustomers.com/practicecycle.htm You are demonstrating your intentions to not only customers but everyone. Intentions lead to commitments. You demonstrate appreciation and recognition to everyone You are beginning to lead enterprise relationships and create learning experiences You are getting everyone's attention. Attention leads to focus. You are beginning to ask/inquire/reflect even though it is non-verbal. Asking leads to learning. ----------------------------------------------------"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated." -- William James ----------------------------------------------------________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" --- We detail "Thanking Customers--Leadership" in Session 4 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders. Here we discuss step 5 of the six practice implementation steps "'Thank' the Customer" ____________________________________________________ Tutorial #2 will be "INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".
Tutorial 2: INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Tutorial Two _________________________________________________________ The 5-Part Course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team" from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.com :: Tutorial Two :: "INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" ________________________________________________________ Hi Subscriber, As a review, the first tutorial "A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts with THANKING" demonstrated the importance of thanking customers then involving associates and partners in the process. Here is your second tutorial and action, "INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" - We will begin INVITE with customers, or those who benefit from our services or efforts. As the process repeats through practice this INVITE will involve associates and partners thus spreading intentions, feedback, and learning to everyone. The action of INVITATION is the second in the process following THANKING. - Invitations are where you demonstrate your intentions to your associates, partners, and customers. This will build as the practice cycle continues and you repeat the process. http://thankingcustomers.com/practicecycle3.htm Intentions are important because: •
They are difficult to manage with procedures and programs but the practice will lead them (soft skills)
http://thankingcustomers.com/intention.htm •
Intentions are key to continued commitments (a result of the practice) http://thankingcustomers.com/commitment.htm
•
Intentions are the flip side of perceptions for customers. Those customers your group serves will, over the long-term, perceive what you intend.
•
Leading the intentions that group members demonstrate among themselves as well as to partners will influence the intentions your group demonstrates to customers.
- Invitations also demonstrate to customers, associates, and partners alike that customers are partners as well. They are the purpose of your group's efforts and the focus of your attentions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Exercise 2 - "Thank and Invite" In Exercise 1 you decided, with the help of your director, who your target customers would be for this practice trial. You also began thinking about a proper "Thank you" for customers who let your group know "How are we doing?" as well as some ways to extend an invitation In this exercise we will use the information from Exercise 1 as we thank customers and extend an invitation to let us know "How are we doing?" We previously suggested some ideas for THANKING customers for their patronage. Our suggestions were a card, letter, small gift, discount, bonus service/product, or an event. We do not suggest doing it verbally or with money. Work with a director or supervisor in developing a "Thank You" that matches your enterprise style. To this let your customers know you plan to even serve them better and extend an invitation for them to let you know, in the future, "How are we doing?' - Provide a method for them to let you know if they would like to participate - Consider using different or multiple methods of invitation to determine which your customers like best. - It is important to understand that only a small percentage of customers who are invited will participate but that 100% will appreciate the "thank you" and be impressed by your intentions demonstrated by the invitation. The small percentage of acceptance is simply human nature as people are busy, prefer not to, or just forget. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" -- Working Backwards to Build Customer Recognition and Appreciation from Provider Teams Up Including the "Turning the Organizational Pyramid Upside Down", "Posturing", "Leadership and Learning", as well as "Leadership and Results" Find in Session One of the Handbook Propel Frontline Leaders _____________________________________________________ Next Tutorial 3 is ASKING the critical questions for reflection
Tutorial 3: ASKING the critical questions for reflection
Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Tutorial Three
Motivation Course Tutorial 3 _________________________________________________________ The 5-Part Course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team" from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.com :: Tutorial Three :: ASKING the critical questions for reflection _________________________________________________________ Hi Subscriber, and welcome to Tutorial #3 of your course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team." Let's get moving right away. The last Tutorial #2 was INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" This Tutorial #3 is ASKING the critical questions for reflection. So far in the process we have THANKED those for whom our group seeks to provide benefits and INVITED them to let us know "How are we doing?" Now we will lead our group in ASKING, mostly non-verbally, the critical questions to determine collectively "How are we doing?" ---------------------------------------------"Experience teaches nothing unless we ask a question for experience to answer." -- W. Edwards Deming ---------------------------------------------Two important points which make "asking" so important are: 1.
Asking/inquiry/reflection is the foundation for learning. From the time we are all infants it is human nature for us to learn, and develop interests through asking/questioning/challenging in our thoughts, emotions, communication and learning. Most of it is non-verbal http://thankingcustomers.com/howcustomersthink.html So, while feedback supports learning, it is asking that initiates and continues learning. http://thankingcustomers.com/reflection.html
2.
Asking/challenging/questioning provides group members with the opportunity to move through the leadership pyramid. http://thankingcustomers.com/purpose.html#pyramid Leading, through daily activities, experiences and beliefs to form the foundation for actions which get results.
In fact, I believe what makes this practice so unique and powerful is that it combines asking and thanking into a single process (set of actions). This combination of THANKING, which is basic in our culture to appreciation and recognition, and ASKING, basic in human nature for learning, provides a incredible leadership skill and tool for any group or team So, you ask, why do we want to ask non-verbally? When you and your team members can or have asked customers verbally "How did we do?" The reasons are: - While verbally asking customers is important whether by procedure or not, the action itself often fails to involve everyone and provide consistent experiences/relationships for customers. The practice leads actions for everyone to experience soft skills such as intentions, reflection, and attention. http://thankingcustomers.com/reflection.html http://thankingcustomers.com/attention.htm - While we use actions to manage the visible, verbal, and tangible situations we can compliment those experiences with actions to lead the soft people-part of situations. These situations are often invisible, nonverbal, and intangible. Even as you ask the previous question (Why do we want to ask non-verbally?) your thoughts and emotions are involved in a non-verbal learning and communication that may even continue unconsciously as you take up another task. Determining the critical questions to ask your customers or those that benefit from your groups activities is where we get the term "secondary group asking process." Here, as with THANKING and INVITING, we suggest you work with your Supervisor/Director in taking the questions your enterprise already asks to determine "what" needs to be done to determine what questions you need to be asking for "how" to get it done or achieve desired results. - Take the approach of re-asking the questions from your seniors but in the specific context of daily activities. Search for those half dozen to one dozen questions that answer for your group "How are we doing?" Focus on "how" we as a group will meet our objectives and be successful/winners. -----------------------------------------REAL RELATIONSHIPS -- The word "relationships" has reached buzzword status. Almost every company has them. But almost every company views customer relationships as something to be managed. What are some new ways to approach the creation, fostering, and leveraging of your organization's connections with colleagues, customers, clients, and partners. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise 3 - "Ask the Critical Questions" Create the questions, with the help of your director, that your group would like to ask your customers proactively as to "How are we doing?" By proactive we mean you want the customer to have the questions before they use your service/product/benefit. The customer will feel more comfortable and be more accurate if they know what to look for and what is important to you. We suggest keeping the questions simple and down to about 6 to 12 in number with a comment area. Keeping it simple will benefit both the customer and your group members. - Remember, the primary purpose of this action of asking is to involve and self-motivate your associates rather than the feedback itself. Your associates will receive their own feedback from their daily activities which will be our next action and tutorial. - You do not need to use the feedback to determine "what" needs to be done that has already been done by your Seniors. You are using feedback to contribute to the "how" to get and keep it done. - Make sure your questions reflect what your group needs to do to be successful and viable. Most often your customers doesn't know or care how your provide them their benefits they just want you to be there for them. - Make your questions are diverse enough so as to include all your team members efforts so they may participate. - The customer may feel more open and comfortable if they remain anonymous on the feedback. Work with your director on the format for presenting your questions to the customer. They can get some help from Marketing or Seniors. You may consider trying different formats. I like the personal touch of a letter format but you may use a form. Here is a link to a form format as an example http://thankingcustomers.com/feedback_form.htm Be sure to get the feedback back to your team ASAP. Work with your Director on trying mail, e-mail, fax, or direct website submissions. Electronic submission can drop submission times from days to minutes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------We believe this "secondary group asking process" is a missing link in your group's daily activities for the creation, fostering, and leveraging of your enterprise's connections with those you serve, those that support you, and your group members themselves. http://thankingcustomers.com/process.html#define - This process allows you as a leader to take the "what" needs to be done or accomplished from your enterprise/director and use actions to determine the "how" to get it done through daily activities/operations.
Our next Tutorial 4 is "Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities"
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".
Tutorial 4: Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Tutorial Four
Motivation Course Tutorial 4 _________________________________________________________ The 5-Part Course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team" from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.com :: Tutorial Four :: Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities _________________________________________________________ Tutorial #3 was ASKING the critical questions for reflection. So to recap, after THANKING customers and INVITING them to let your group know "How Are We Doing?", then ASKING the critical questions which will make your group efforts successful. You now will lead your group in "bulletining" the answers or feedback to everyone providing them the opportunity to participate in getting feedback from their own daily activities. -----------------------------------------------------------"It is difficult for people to stay absorbed in any activity unless they get timely online information about how well they are doing. Feedback may come from colleagues and supervisors but preferably the activity itself will provide the feedback. The ability to give objective feedback to oneself is, in fact, the mark of an expert." Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi -----------------------------------------------------------So Tutorial #4 is "Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities". What makes this action so powerful is that it is a learned skill for individuals involved in group activities such as a workplace. Some members of your group may already have it and do it unconsciously. These are no doubt your peak performers. Gallup's organizational research (below) shows on average 29% of members are engaged. This group would practice getting feedback from their daily activities to some extent. - They are enthused by paying attention in workplace situations to experiences and relationships. They learn from these daily activities in a personal and group effort to get better. They have a need to know and answer the question "How are we doing?"
- This action of the practice not only acquaints and helps those who do not possess this skill to learn it, but just as importantly, provides those that do possess this skill an opportunity to participate and grow in using it! Our research shows this increases retention of peak performers by increasing involvement through challenge to match their skill level (in this graph "flow" is maximum involvement http://thankingcustomers.com/FlowBase.gif ). -----------------------------------------------------------Gallup Organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research on employee engagement finds that approximately 29% of employees are engaged, 55% are not engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged. This data is based on more than 3 million employees in companies around the world. Gallup estimates that just the 16% actively disengaged employees in the United States cost $350 billion in lost productivity in 2002 -- Curt Coffman "Building a Highly Engaged Workforce." Govleaders.org, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------We suggest in most cases to use the simple "Bulletin Board" technique to place and keep feedback (answers to your critical questions) in front of everyone during daily activities. Depending on your groups demographics this could be a physical bulletin board on a wall and/or an electronic bulletin board accessed by computer. The number one rule is keep it in front of everyone so that they can easily come to it rather than you taking it to them. - The practice is based on human nature and maintains momentum on its own (just like the water pump) by group members seeking to belong, make a contribution, desiring recognition/appreciation, wanting to succeed/win, and looking to be better/improve. This is what attracts them to answer the question "How are we doing?" - This "bulletin board" demonstrates the simple, back-to-basics approach of the practice. To reiterate, the practice is not about doing anything to others, rather, doing activities with others. Also not about changing others, rather, using activities to lead others in the same direction. -------------------------------------------------------------------"There are no leaders, only leadership. Leadership is situational, less a personal quality than specific to a situation. -- Richard Farson, Management of the Absurd--Paradoxes in Leadership --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Exercise 4 - "Feedback from Daily Activities" Generally I suggest having the 3 or 4 most recent feedbacks from customers posted on your "Bulletin Board" at one time. This will keep interest up and a dialogue going.
A good target for frequency would be 3 to 5 feedbacks per week in most cases. Remember, you are not paying money for the feedbacks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" -- You can discover how-to get instant customer feedback through the practice for your own organization in Session 2 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders . Find answers to "How do you get the feedback? - Who do you get the feedback from? What should the feedback consist of? - What are criticals? Also how-to execute the first two steps of the six-step practice implementation _____________________________________________________
Our next tutorial "SHARING 'How are we doing?' for assessment and continuous dialogue" will also include a course summary where we will demonstrate what your new career skill will mean to you. Also what kind of tool the course will be for your enterprise.
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".
Tutorial 5: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogue Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team Tutorial Five
Motivation Course Tutorial 5 _________________________________________________________ The 5-Part Motivate-Inspire-Involve Course from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.com :: Tutorial Five :: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogue _________________________________________________________ Tutorial 4 was everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities. We mow look at the next resulting action from the bulletin board which is Tutorial #5: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogue You do not attempt to "push" the feedback or bulletin board to your group members, simply make it accessible and they will come to it. It doesn't happen immediately or even the first time the process is initiated. As the practice cycle repeats, momentum occurs and everyone begins to involve themselves. You will first find that people will make assessments. Assessments are simply opinions. Of course knowledge and experience creates a more valued opinion or recognized assessment. Assessments continue learning, focus, and commitments. - Assessments are healthy for a group because they initiate dialogue. Dialogue is an extremely important type of communication tool due to the fact that it fosters discussion and the exchange of thoughts and ideas--a give and take. This is an example of how a group leader can actually lead something as intangible and often unconscious as thoughts! - Think of assessments as a type of informal measurement. While measurements are important for tangible hard skills in maintaining structure and discipline, assessments are equally important to compliment and continue long-term that structure and discipline. As we have seen, assessments demonstrate intangible soft skills like reflection, attention, and intention. These in turn lead to the goals of our practice and process--learning, focus, and commitments respectively. Our research indicates these three skills not only improve group and enterprise results but sustain them as well.
The following would be an example of how assessments compliment measurements in a basic group activity such as training: â&#x20AC;˘
If you administer a training program to me and then give me a test to see what I have retained then I have feedback from you in the form of a measure/score that lets both you and I know my progress. This is important for structure and discipline within the enterprise but does not foster much if any discussion. If, however, you also follow these five steps and provide me the opportunity to get feedback from my own daily activities which provides an assessment for "How are we doing?" this will foster discussion, inquiry, and initiate an ongoing dialogue. From this continuing feedback and dialogue I will remain attentive, reflective, and demonstrate my intentions for the enterprise, group, and customers. From these daily activities will develop longterm customer focus, learning, and commitments.
------------------------------------------------------------"My 30 years of research and these 12,000 journal entries suggest that when people are doing work that they love and they're allowed to deeply engage in it -and when the work itself is valued and recognized -- then creativity will flourish. Even in tough times" -- Teresa Amabile's creativity study articled in Fast Company, issue 89 ------------------------------------------------------------This concludes our demonstration of the five basic actions for the process which we call "Frontline Leadership" We hope we have accomplished our objective of providing you as a group/team leader or first-line manager with a practice which you can use to lead more effectively the people-part of your daily activities. Complimenting, not changing, the program activities for structure and discipline with an entrepreneurial ethic for longterm customer focus, learning, and commitments from everyone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Exercise 5 - "Assessments for Continuous Dialogue" As feedback is posted on the bulletin board and updated a "natural" interest will grow as group members gain awareness through experiences. Members will develop an understanding and take ownership of the experiences reflected in the feedback. This will form the basis for future actions and results. We do not suggest you have meetings, schedules, or even announce the feedback. In most cases I would not measure/grade the feedback but it is often effective to make an assessment with a range from "Bad" to "Excellent". I like having 3 or 4 "top priority" questions of the dozen or so total which are main determinants. These will help determine future decision-making during daily activities. If you desire a running or overall assessment for "How are we doing?" as a group, I suggest a percentage of acceptability for feedback with the definition of acceptability communicated up front.
Assessments will grow and continue a dialogue which should be customer-centered as the feedback is directly from customers in real-time. A true "customer dialogue" maintains a dialogue focused on customer service between group members and customers, fellow group members, and partners alike. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" ------ Session 3 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders will help you assess and share feedback to involve everyone. You will also find here suggestions for the third step in implementing the practice "Assess Feedback and Develop a Scorecard". Session 3 also provides instructions for the fourth step of the six to implement the practice "Share Feedback to Involve Everyone". _____________________________________________________ After the action of SHARING feedback to create assessments and build dialogue you are ready to repeat the process or five actions. - To do this simply THANK (repeat first action) the customers who provided feedback as well as any other customers, group members for their efforts, and partners (internal and external) for their support. This is a natural activity that will come to occur with spontaneity and demonstrate intentions, attention, and reflection. Leading to continuous commitments, focus, and learning respectively. http://thankingcustomers.com/natural.htm - As the actions are repeated the practice will grow to lead not only the relationships between group members and customers, but also between group members themselves, and partners as well. This is where the true benefits of the practice begin to grow. In the summary that follows we will demonstrate these benefits. -------------------------------If you wish to apply these frontline leadership actions to your organization we suggest using our eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders which is designed to implement the practice in a multi-level enterprise such as a business, government, educational, or association environment. The handbook is a step-by-step instructional to guide the development of the practice. Instant access is available through digital download. http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm -------------------------------________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" Support Membership - 3 months free with eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders . Become a Member and get support: Case Submission, Self-Service Web Portal, Course with Labs and .......... http://thankingcustomers.com/services2.html
_____________________________________________________ Finally we would like to summarize the practice to reflect on the purpose and objectives we expect you to be able to achieve as you continue the journey to build the practice into a career skill for yourself and a tool for your enterprise. One of the most important points to remember is that regardless whether you call them managing or leading it is always ACTIONS that get results. The five actions which form the process will create experiences that, in turn, provide valuable learning to grow interests, confidence, challenge, and skills. As the process, set of actions, is completed and is repeated the practice will develop. As with any practice the more you do it the better you get and the easier it becomes (like the water pump). ________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" ------ To help your organization in getting started on the journey use Session 6 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders. You will find a "Customer Retention Model" we suggest you begin with which targets the saving of customers who have concerns or complaints. This session also helps you with getting that first "quick win". _____________________________________________________ Let's review the sequence of actions and their benefits. As the practice develops, the benefits are felt not only by customers but also group members (associates) and supporters (partners) as well. 1.
Begin with THANKING those that benefit from your group's efforts -- Demonstrate recognition and appreciation.
2.
INVITE customers to let your group know "How are we doing?" -- Demonstrate your group's intentions to serve and strive to be better.
3.
ASK the critical questions, mostly non-verbally, that will ensure successful daily operations -Develop continuous learning, focus, and commitments.
4.
Provide group members FEEDBACK from their daily activities -- The only way to maintain involvement and self-motivation.
5.
SHARE information and feedback to create assessments for building a continuous dialog about the purpose and results of the groups efforts. -- Create assessments for a continuous customer dialogue
Repeat the process by THANKING everyone for their participation and efforts. View the practice as a journey, not a destination. ________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" ------ In Session 5 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders we review the sixth step for implementing the practice "Align Results with Business Strategies".
_____________________________________________________
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".
APPENDIX 1 ( Links in this appendix are available at our website http://thankingcustomers.com/purpose.html )
The Frontline Leadership Pyramid-Working Backwards The practice creates a secondary asking and thanking process at the frontlines which consists of actions rather than words. The primary purpose is not to get additional feedback (although that may happen as well) as much as it is to use the process to lead the activities of long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments for everyone in daily operations. This is accomplished through maintaining everyone's attention, self-motivation, involvement, and appreciation. The pyramid shows the foundations needed to achieve long-term results or continuous improvement. A blueprint for leading accountability and the alignment of culture and results. Keys:
* Working backwards to lead a foundation in daily operations (Experiences, Beliefs, Actions, and Results)
* Relationships or the 'people' part of the enterprise which can be led by frontline activities. Frontline managers building and maintaining relationships for Teamwork, Customer Service, and Collaboration-simultaneously!
Leading the enterprise's alignment of culture and accountability Note: Most managerial programs and systems are oriented above the line with daily operational activities to achieve organizational ends and maintain results. Our practice is a process (set of actions) which gives operational managers leadership activities for below the line. A tool for leading experiences and beliefs to learn and focus on the "how" and create the "means." These operational leadership activities form a base and provide follow-through and continuation for existing programs and systems. Results are maintained through the practice cycle which builds momentum using incremental increases in focus, learning, and commitments to continue leading experiences and relationships. Culture and accountability are aligned through aligning the activities which lead relationships and experiences.
4) Celebrate & Maintain Results
3) Practice Actions
2) Foster Beliefs
1) Lead Experiences Daily (Working Backwards)
1) Lead Workplace Experiences (Working backwards from the bottom of the pyramid or the frontlines of daily operations) Asking & Thanking Processes (95% non-verbal) "Propel Frontline Leaders" - a team leadership practice for building relationships in three areas simultaneously: 1. Between associates and customers (Customer Service) 2. Between associates themselves (Teamwork) 3. Between associates and partners both internal and external to the enterprise (Collaboration) Build Soft Skills - Dialogue, Celebration, Enthusiasm, Pride, Empowerment, Enjoyment, Sharing, Acceptance, Reflection, Trust, Appreciation, Inspiration, Passion and Culture
2) Foster Beliefs Leading Workplace Relationships to compliment and continue the Management of Relationships (CRL for CRM) Create Conditions for 1. Awareness, 2. Understanding, and 3. Ownership
3) Practice Actions Leadership activities for follow-through and continuation with the "people" part of the enterprise. •
Practice Cycle o
"Asking" process, set of actions, for learning
o
"Thanking" process, set of actions, for recognition
•
Customer Retention Model
•
Customer Recruitment Model Self-motivation, Involvement, Intentions, Question, Communications, Cooperation,
Participation, Recognition, Accountability and Attention
4) Celebrate Results •
Increase customer retention and loyalty by: o
a) keeping all associates focused, learning, and committed to customers
o
b) complimenting existing frontline managerial activities with leadership activities
•
Larger customer base increases top-line (sales) to support bottom-line (controls).
•
Aligns leadership by taking the "what" needs to be done, from senior management, and asking "how" to get it done in daily operations.
•
Lead long-term results with a tool for frontline managers to use "ends" as their "means". (i.e. - use an enterprise program for Customer Service to lead Service as an activity and aim it towards customers) Customer Retention & Loyalty through Building Long-term Customer: 1. Focus, 2. Learning, and 3. Commitments
Appendix 2: Build a "Cycle of Engagement"
Frontline Leadership can be learned!
( Links in this appendix are available at our website http://thankingcustomers.com/engagementcycle.html ) Homepage: http://thankingcustomers.com
The Cycle of Engagement - keeping the voice of the customer on the frontlines of daily operations A number of studies indicate that one third of associates are engaged in daily operations. This is crucial for all group leaders because only these associates are high performers and will engage customers--critical for loyalty. But how do group leaders know at any point in time where their associates are on the engagement continuum? Much less keep them moving on the continuum toward full engagement! All associates receive feedback from colleagues and supervisors which can create engagement, at least for the short term. But, to remain engaged, associates must learn to get internal feedback--or that from their own daily activities. It is this "internal" feedback which inspires and self-motivates. Internal feedback allows associates to develop the ability to give themselves objective feedback a prerequisite to sustain peak performance and full engagement. Our practice outlines a proven 5-step process which helps associates learn to get the feedback they need from their own daily activities. Specific actions which any group leader can take with their associates to move everyone towards full engagement on the continuum.
The cycle of engagement is where engaged associates on the frontlines of daily operations engage customers who in turn re-engage those same associates as well as their partners (internal and external). For example, if a service provider is fully engaged they will engage the customer and in turn be reengaged through customer interaction. These activities will bring about more customer and partner engagement through support. The cycle will build its own momentum as it repeats. Part of this momentum is sustaining a customer dialogue between associates and customers as well as fellow associates and partners. This is necessary in keeping the all-important voice of the customer (VOC) on the frontlines of daily operations. We believe the VOC to be the entrepreneurial ethic which is critical for long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments. In fact, the cycle of engagement continues commitments, learning, and focus through everyone demonstrating intentions, reflection, and attention respectively. All entrepreneurs represent the engagement cycle as they begin their venture--their engagement is contagious as they engage customers who reengage the entrepreneur and their supporters. We define engagement on the frontlines of daily operations as "people involved with their hearts and minds." Involvement is the matching of challenges and skills to avoid a person being anxious, apathetic, or bored and can be managed to a large degree. Hearts and minds however, being more intangible, can only be managed with limited success and require leadership activities to continue for any length of time. Characteristics from the heart would be passion, emotion, enjoyment, feelings, and intentions (at least as perceived by others). Those from the mind are thought, attention, reflection, informal learning and communication.
Sustaining a "sense of purpose." Sustain a direction and engagement through a desire to focus our energy on particular activities or goals. We deeply care when our feelings tell us we are doing what matters. Purpose feeds our souls and stimulates our passionate energies. Through a "leadership pyramid" engaged group members can lead experiences to form the basis for beliefs. These beliefs support and complement the actions which are managed through daily operations and the results which are achieved.
So how can group leaders get and keep everyone fully engaged? Associates, Partners, and Customers alike! Everyone not only receiving feedback, but also participating in asking the critical questions, of customers, for "How are we doing?" is key. Individually and collectively maintaining a customer dialogue to keep the voice of the customer on the frontlines of daily operations. Enterprises traditionally provide associates feedback through their colleagues and supervisors but herein lies the uncertainty for team leaders in understanding how engaged their associates are? While important for structure and discipline, leaders never know how much of this feedback is internalized by associates or for how long. Leaders must recognize and address another feedback as well, to complement those from supervisors and colleagues. This is where internal feedback is critical--or feedback from ones own daily activities. The stimulus to sustain engagement must come from within each person by developing the ability to provide oneself with objective feedback. An engaged person has learned to get internal feedback often without even knowing where it came from. After all it is not on anyone's teaching agenda. All the associate knows is that they are inspired and self-motivated by the challenge to excel individually and as a group through interaction with customers, partners and fellow group members.
Group leaders can lead activities for everyone to get customer feedback from their own daily activities. Associates learn the ability to give themselves objective feedback.
Our practice defines a five-step process, set of actions, with which any group leader can lead associates in getting customer feedback from their own daily activities. It complements without changing their existing managerial/administrative activities on the frontlines and works by leading the soft, intangible, people skills which involve the hearts and minds of everyone. These intangibles make the interaction a positive and motivating experience for everyone. By demonstrating intentions, recognition, appreciation, reflection, participation, and attention people become focused, committed, and learn. 1. Thank: Builds recognition and leads appreciation. 2. Invite: Demonstrates intentions, which leads to commitments. 3. Ask critical questions: Creates attention and leads to long-term focus. 4. Get feedback from activities: Keeps associates engaged at a high level. 5. Share assessments: Develops opinions that foster dialogue. These five activities are seamless as part of a single process. After momentum builds there becomes really only one action in that of extending the invitation. The rest of the process happens as a part of human nature seemingly as natural as the physics of a siphon effect displayed by an old-fashioned hand water pump.
Discover the missing-link in daily operations for leading associates' engagement to retain customers (beneficiaries)! A user-centered approach for keeping the voice of the customer in front of everyone with a customer dialogue. We define the five steps as a "secondary group asking process" meaning simply a set of actions that anyone can learn as a career skill to lead associates in re-asking (mostly non-verbally) the critical questions for "How are we doing?" The process represents the entrepreneurial ethic of building momentum for everyone to continue to be engaged through focus, learning, and commitments. Why is the practice missing? Asking, synonymous
with reflection, question, inquiry and challenge, as a practice went to the top of enterprises after WWII when they became hierarchical to more efficiently manage capital. In the last two decades, as enterprises moved to be more horizontal, asking as a practice never fully returned to the frontlines. Only feedback from the asking which is more manageable through programs and systems.
In summary, existing managerial activities provide everyone feedback from supervisors (vertical) and colleagues (horizontal) but it is difficult to manage customer feedback one gets from their own daily activities (internal). Studies suggest that one out of three associates have learned this self-motivating experience although they often do not even realize it as it is not on any group's curriculum (family, school, church, or enterprise). Frontline leaders can, however, lead activities to provide this feedback for this one third to develop it into the ability to give themselves objective feedback--full engagement. The rest can practice getting customer feedback from their own daily activities and learn this engaging experience. Group leaders are often engaged themselves--a key reason for their promotion. They often feel caught-in-the-middle between meeting the needs of supervisors and keeping everyone (associates, customers and partners) fully engaged in daily operations. For two big reasons: 1.
On the enterprise frontlines three critical areas merge together everyday of workplace relationships and experiences which must work with each other for results . Those three groups are Associates, Customers, and Partners who continuously interact among each other within their groups as well as between them. Partners are anyone who supports your group, both internal such as Marketing or external such as suppliers.
2.
People's level of engagement can move on a continuum from fully engaged to actively disengaged. At any point in time it is difficult to know exactly where people are on the continuum or which way they are moving.
The cycle of engagement builds a momentum, much like a flywheel effect, based on human interaction. Focus, learning, and commitments flow from daily experiences and relationships as everyone develops the ability to provide themselves with objective feedback. This is human nature as the same effect is evident in any performing group be it in sports, arts or entertainment. Engaged performers engage fans and audiences who in turn reengage the performers as well as partners. The practice supports continuous learning when group leaders do it with rather than to everyone. Even in classroom situations if the instructor wants to take learners on a journey toward reaching a competency level rather than simply a rote memory exercise the practice will keep everyone on the same page working towards the same goals.. The bonus for learners is they also develop a life skill they can apply in any group situation.
Finally, the cycle of engagement can be seen and felt quite easily from a customer's perspective. The next time you have an opportunity, observe and assess levels of engagement on the continuum in a setting of multiple interactions such as a restaurant. You will be able to readily identify associates who are getting customer feedback from their own activities (engaged) and are engaging customers. In turn, the enjoyment and self-motivation they receive back from their customer interactions is noticeable as well. Others may be following all policies and procedures and be very active but are not receiving the same customer feedback from their own activities. They, in turn, are visibly not, to the same level, engaging customers and being reengaged themselves from similar activities and customer interactions. Enterprise cases or examples of the cycle of engagement: Click here to view the case of Sam Walton Click here to view the case of Starbucks
"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!".