2 NonNegotiable Fundamentals of Business Building You Absolutely Can't Avoid

There is so much noise in the world of leadership and management today. Go on LinkedIn and just see the breath of information in your feed - kinda makes my head hurt. There's so much discussion about what leaders should be doing, what makes a great leader, etc. Do a search on Amazon or Google about leadership and management and millions of results are revealed.

One thing for sure, if you are a senior leader or one that owns a business, there are certain fundamentals you must have in place - above all others. And yet, so many other things are discussed - I call them shiny objects - don't actively advocate and address these fundamentals.

Two in particular are these:
1. If you want to grow a business, you must have a reliable, effective management team.
2. You are the cornerstone of your business, business unit or department.

What's A Cornerstone
My husband is in construction. He has built many a building in his career from a small home to a skyscraper. One building essential every one of them needed was a cornerstone. What is it?

Go here for full text: http://www.joanncorleyspeaks.com/2020/03/2-nonnegotiable-fundamentals-of.html

6 Reasons Why Your Managers Are Failing

I'm gonna cut to the chase.

I've observed for many years a cyclical epidemic. Managers who don't know how and are not managing ...and are not helped in any useful, sustainable way.

And so...it continues.

As a business owner, senior leader or HR professional, if you've experienced this on any level I want to help you diagnose why.

Now, I don't want to insult your intelligence. Perhaps to you the 6 items below are obvious and you've sought help and just haven't found the right resources to fully fulfill your needs. I'll address that in a minute.

You can read the full text here: https://www.joanncorleyspeaks.com/2019/10/6-reasons-why-your-managers-are-failing.html

A Management Tip You'll Absolutely Want to Use!

I was having a conversation with my step-son a few months back - getting an update on how his business was doing. He's part of a family owned business and was next in line to take over when his in-laws retired. He's very motivated and has grand plans for growth.

He realized that in order to execute his vision, he needed to develop a solid next tier management team, so he could be free to focus on strategic growth activities. Listen to the advice I gave. You won't want to miss it!

Of Note: We've worked to help managing your business, operations and people become much easier with our Smart Management Blueprint - it's a 9 building block roadmap, tested in some of the most challenging environments to substantially improve operational results while developing competent managers. 

It's highly successful because it's strategically infused with human behavior science. When you may not be able to trust the skills of novice managers, you will be able to trust the science they'll implement with the blueprint! check it out!

Best Hiring Advice Ever - Hire Beyond the Job Description

Listen here:

Hiring...talent acquisition is in a perpetual state of handicap.

If you were new to recruiting-hiring and took a moment to scan the breath of recourses available, it's likely you'd be completely overwhelmed. Getting a grasp on effective hiring can turn into a continual game of chasing a rabbit down a rabbit hole...not quite knowing where you'll end up...just crossing your fingers the route you're taking will get somewhere close to where you'd like to end up.

As someone who's been in the space of talent management for over 20 years, spending my early days as a recruiter at a INC 500 boutique recruiting firm in Chicago, I've seen the evolution in the hiring industry to the point where I think it's become complicated and excessive. Hiring just does not have to be that involved and complicated. I know it can be done quicker and better.

Here's Why - Breaking it Down
Let's consider a different approach. Let's look at recruiting through the lens of human behavior - doing so provides needed clarity and refreshing simplicity. Here's what I mean.

When looking to hire, what you are ultimately looking for is a behavior that achieves a desired result. You're looking for behaviors that are driven and shaped by a knowledge base, thinking, emotions, attitudes, capacity, aptitude and experience (which we assume develops skills. By the way this is not always true - experience does not necessarily equal competence).

When you adopt this point of view, you'll begin to first of all read a resume very differently and hopefully draw the same conclusion I have over the years. Many people can do many jobs, with the exception of very distinct technical knowledge and/or capabilities (and even some of those can be acquired over time).

What does this mean? Many recruiters and hiring managers have overlooked many people they could have hired and done certain jobs perfectly well...saving tremendous amounts of recruiting time, money and aggravation.

This principle is another reason why some hiring managers use pre-hire behavioral assessments utilizing a great foundational principle - hire the best behavioral fit.

What does this mean? Another way I like to term it is - natural vs needed. If you can match the needed behaviors (skills, capabilities etc. reflected in the job description) with what is most natural - (or preferred behaviors) the newly hired employee would quickly and easily contribute at a high level with little ramp-up time. (I like to use contribute vs. perform).

Natural implies easy, less effort (effort-less), automatic. The added bonus?... in many cases when something is natural and easy,  it's more enjoyable.

A couple of good interview questions to flush this out might go like this:

>  "Looking at your resume, what activity do you do with the least amount of effort (or feels effortless)... or enjoy most (and/or) to the point you'd do it whether paid or not?"

> Is there anything beyond your resume that you truly enjoy doing?

Pay attention to 2 key hiring elements here - natural and most enjoy. This is way beyond just "can you do the job". Keep in mind the fact that some folks have been doing jobs for years they don't necessarily enjoy. Do you want to hire someone like that? They could be very skilled at being miserable.

If someone naturally enjoys doing something, they will be naturally motivated to do so and will require less external management to do it. This is key!

Motivation is an incredibly valuable "human resource" and one that is most challenging with managers. In almost every management training I've ever conducted, motivating employees was the most popular frustration point expressed. This frustration could be greatly minimized with a more sophisticated approach to hiring.

The natural vs. needed point of view comes not just from my expertise related to human behavior in business, but also the many years spent as a career coach - particularly helping folks through a career change.

My friend Sue is a perfect example - frustrated with teaching, she was ready to do something different. One of the self-assessment exercises I took her through was looking at areas of her life for which she was known for something - aka - did naturally.

Something dramatically stood out. In our group of friends, she was known as the go to person for getting sound advice. She was a great listener and regularly shared sage wisdom and being with her was like snuggling up with a warm blanket - you felt safe, secure and loved.

Knowing Sue, she has that kind of natural personality. She loves helping people by way of listening, enabling them to feel safe so they can open up to levels needed to sort through their thinking as they address life concerns.

What does this sound like - counseling! Yep, Sue is by nature a natural counselor. Throughout here adults life, she's been doing it exceptionally well and not getting paid for it. She made the transition and now has a thriving practice in the Chicago area.

In summary, her natural met what was needed and she is now highly successful, she thoroughly enjoys what she's doing and her clients just love her!

You know, everyday better hiring matches could be made simply by using a refined hiring lens. I've decided to teach folks how to do this by creating a course entitled: Hiring Beyond the Job Description. It's in the works and will be released this fall. Drop me an email if you'd like to be notified when it's released: joann@jcsbusinessadvisors.com. It's part of my main business and management development offering The Executive Advantage Blueprint for Smart Management.

One final note: If equal emphasis and commitment (financially and otherwise) was placed on developing competent managers and management, there would be less need to obsess over hiring "the perfect person". Both can sabotage a great hire!

Final financial and operational advice - match natural to needed and support that hire with great management!

// JoAnn is the founder of JCS Business Advisors - a strategic business management consultancy. Through her expertise in human behavior, she helps develop high functioning leadership teams and organizations as she partners with forward-thinking senior leaders, entrepreneurs and their HR counterparts, bridging the knowledge & execution gap of connecting human behavior to improving operational results.

// Email: joann@jcsbusinessadvisors.com // Ph: 888.388.0565 // Schedule a 30 min. complimentary advisory call and receive a copy of our latest executive briefing.

//Learn more about our "all-in-one" blueprint that develops competent leaders and managers, effectively manages operations, people, talent and time - The Executive Advantage Blueprint for Smart Management.

Is This Your #1 Business Challenge Too?

This Your #1 Business Challenge Too?

Tip: Business management is developing managers. You've got to grow them...so you can grow!

          Duration: 6 mins. 25 secs.

I had a great family get together in Indiana this weekend after speaking at the Energetic Women's Leadership Conference in Indianapolis. (The conference was a gathering of women from all over the US who are in the Energy industry - primarily gas & electric).

One of the many highlights was getting the latest updates from my stepson Chris regarding the state of their business in 2019 (we have 4 business owners in our immediate family!). They are exceeding goals! I was so happy to hear!

"So, what are your current challenges, what do you want to be different?", I asked. His answer, "Building middle management." Their business is family owned and operated with very aggressive growth goals. They need an effective, competent second tier leadership/management team if they want that to happen.

So we talked through some of his efforts and in several aspects he has some great things in place. For example, they have scorecards to keep everyone focused on the metrics that matter. They are very sensitive about company culture. They certainly do a lot of fun things together.

The one thing he really was stalled on was building a management team that could replace him so he could be free to develop the best, most market responsive strategies to grow the business overall.

So I shared with him my newly formed Executive Advantage Blueprint for Smart Management. I walked through each "smart management" building block - some of which, to varying degrees, he had in place.

What was missing is what most leaders miss...see if any of this applies to you:

View full text here: http://www.joanncorleyspeaks.com/2019/06/is-this-your-1-business-challenge-too.html




Notes: 
// JCS Business Advisors is a strategic business management consultancy. Through our expertise in human behavior, we develop high-performance leadership teams and organizations as we partner with forward-thinking senior leaders, entrepreneurs and their HR counterparts, bridging the knowledge & execution gap of connecting people, performance, and profits.

// Email: joann@jcsbusinessadvisors.com // Ph: 888.388.0565 // Schedule a complimentary advisory call and receive a copy of our latest executive briefing.

//Learn more about our "all-in-one" blueprint that develops competent leaders and managers, effectively manages operations, people, talent and time.

Special Note: I want to make a bold statement. Every business owner and/or senior leadership team needs an advisor who has expertise in human behavior. It is the #1 driving element of their business they do not recognize (as well as many business coaches), yet directly impacts every area.  Take advantage of our complimentary 30 min. Q&A (ask us anything) and see how that translates to your business. Contact

Manager as Developer

Manager As Developer - Enhancing the Role of Manager in the 21st Century Workplace

Focus: Management Success, Management effectiveness

Audio duration: 3 mins. 01 secs.

-Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later.

-Right click the MP3 FILE link MP3 File download and "save as" to your hard drive to access off-line for continuous listening or to transfer to your mobile device for portable learning.

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Manager as Developer

Enhancing the Role of Manager in the 21^st Century Workplace 

WC: 436

Transcript - print now

Have you ever thought about the connection between management and photography? I love photography.  I actually developed that love from a friend who had a dark room in his apartment.  I particularly love black and whites and I had the opportunity to acquire a cool camera to express that new found love. 

The bonus to knowing this friend?...I got to be in the dark room and watch the pictures I took develop.  I loved the process of watching what I had seen and captured through the lens slowly come into full view in the chemical wash. 

I see management in the 21^st century workplace in a similar way.  These days, just supervising the activities of employees doesn’t seem enough to meet ever changing business needs and to maintain our company’s competitive edge.  The need to retain talent, the different generations and levels of maturity that comprise our teams members call for a kind of management that can make the most of everyone’s capabilities. 

That’s where the role of developer comes into play. My old trusty friend Webster defines develop as follows: to make visible or manifest, to work out the possibilities, to cause to unfold gradually.  My favorite from that list is “to work out the possibilities.”  

As we exercise the role of developer, how satisfying would it be to nurture and facilitate in an employee what’s possible; perhaps a needed characteristic that, up until our involvement, was weak or nonexistent? 

And there in lies the connection between photography and managers who develop.  We get to look for and identify what’s possible, then take a snapshot of what we see and help that characteristic, talent, or skill come into existence. 

What a great opportunity to exert leadership.  I just bet there will be many times in which we’ll be able to see what’s possible when a team member does not.  That, by the way, is having vision, seeing for them, seeing when they cannot.  We can move from manager to mentor and what a meaningful and satisfying place to be. 

I recommend that time be taken to assess what’s possible and needed to develop for each team member.  Next, sit down and talk with each of them about what you see in them; share your vision. Then, ask them what they see and together begin to create a plan to realize that vision. 

A final note: there is an additional benefit to this experience. Besides going from manager to mentor, you’ll also enhance your relationship by adding the qualities of collaboration and partnership.

Learn more about  The 1% Edge Portable Coach - App or go right to the website: http://www.the1percentedgecoach.com/

To bring a management training or related topics to your organization - click here: 

Going Beyond the Job Description

Focus: Competencies, plus the job description = success

Going Beyond the Job Description – Competencies are Essential

Wc: 425 – Audio duration: 3 mins. 34 secs.

“profits and growth are about performance and performance is about people – performance is behavior.”

Focus: Management Success, Professional Success

Audio Lesson - Duration: 3 mins. 21 secs.  

1.  Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW or download mp3 link for later

2.  Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later

Transcript

Business is really about two things: knowledge and behavior. This may sound strange, but when you think about it, a business cannot exist without pertinent knowledge and behaviors that generate desired results.

So what’s essential to the success of any company?... a conscious determination of what knowledge and behaviors are absolutely necessary (critical success factors) from each contributor for that particular business to be successful.  The behavior piece can be defined in two parts:  skills and competencies.

A skill (the capability to do something well) is usually framed and needed in the context of a job description. Example: someone who has the technical knowledge to create a blueprint of a house.

A competency relates to qualities and capabilities beyond the job description…the make-up of the person in the job (e.g. characteristics/traits, attitudes, beliefs, values, motives, character, emotional maturity, relational effectiveness) and how those elements influence how a job is done.  Example: a customer service employee who is has the emotional maturity to be self-controlled when dealing with a challenging service call.

The examples above are representative of a skill and a competency.  As an effective manager you need to know both, how to distinguish between the two and how to determine them for your role and the roles you are responsible for managing.

Also two additional items of note:

1. Each element (skill and competency) both contribute to the profitability of a company.

2. You’ll rarely find competencies, such as emotional maturity, on a job description.

One can see that in order for a business to stay competitive and profitable three critical assessments need to be made:

1.  A determination of those behaviors needed for the success of the business.

2. A determination of where contributors are in possessing those needed behaviors.

3. A plan to close the gap where needed -

            a. via training and coaching

            b. replacing a contributor with someone who is a better fit.

So the question would be what are the competencies needed in your particular role and that of each of your team members?

Remember, a competency is the way in which the job is done…the qualities of the person who is doing the job.

Action: Make a list of competencies or qualities that are needed for you to do your job successfully.

Then do so for the roles of those you manage.

Next, determine the gaps and incorporate those in your coaching and performance management plan.

This will go a long way in helping to increase the performance of your team and thereby increasing the profitability of you company.