Success Connections

Boss Bashing Is Hazardous To Your Career

Last week Marshall Goldsmith and Patricia Wheeler held a teleconference on “Effectively Influencing Up”.  As with all of Marshall’s work, the class was loaded with timeless principles, but there was one little statistic at the beginning of the call that kept nagging at me the entire hour.

A study by DDI (Development Dimensions International) shows that a majority of employees spend 10 or more hours per month complaining or listening to others complain about bad bosses – and almost one third spend 20 hours or more per month.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  In fact, Marshall said he needed to validate those numbers for himself so he did a quick mailing to his list of clients.  The feedback he received showed the same thing!

Let’s see what happens when we put some numbers to this finding.

• Assume for a moment an average employee makes $20 per hour.
• Now add 25% to that to account for insurance and other benefits.  That’s $25 per hour.
• Multiply $25 by 15 hours and you get $375 per month per person.
• Let’s say there are 5 people doing the bashing.  That’s $2500 per month boss bashers are costing the company.

It doesn’t take long to figure out why companies can’t afford to put up with this kind of behavior.

In Marshall’s article titled “Bashing The Boss”, he gives you a list of 7 reasons to stop.  Briefly, they are:

• You waste time
• You demean yourself
• You hurt your company
• You come across as a hypocrite
• You communicate a lack of courage
• You depress yourself and others
• You don’t enhance your career

Go read the full article published in the December issue of Workforce Performance Solutions.

If you’re in the habit of bashing your boss, do whatever it takes to change the habit now.  Get someone to support you.  You’ll never regret it.

How does it make you feel when you hear someone bashing his or her boss?

Find Your Bliss

Nick Smith over at the Life 2.0 blog published and excellent post titled “Finding Our Niche”. 

If you work for another company (rather than yourself), you may find it easier to think of it in terms of “finding your bliss”, or even “what floats your boat”.  In other words, it’s that one thing that just makes you come alive when you’re doing it.

Have you thought about it lately? 

Nick’s post goes on to suggest that perhaps we should stop searching for that one magical thing and just focus on enjoying the present moment. 

I believe we can do both.  You see, blissful moments can be thought of as little clues to finding that one magical thing.  Think of them like a scavenger hunt.  Each clue leads to the next, but first you have to find the clues and then you need to decipher them.  Each time you’re successful you get closer to finding the reward at the end.  If you give up too early, it’s likely you’ll never find it. 

Just like a scavenger hunt, you get to decide whether the experience of finding your bliss will be joyful or frustrating.  Which will you choose?

Please share your thoughts!

Your Customers Matter...Don't They?

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I've been busy branching out a bit!  Many of the posts related to customers, customer service, customer experience and CRM have been moved to my new blog Your Customers Matter...Don't They?

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Get An Accountability Partner

I’m a very big fan of Marshall Goldsmith.  There’s something about his gentle, common sense approach that reminds me that great performance doesn’t need to be complicated and difficult. 

I wanted to share with you a little bit about one of his latest articles, “Questions That Make A Difference Every Day”.  It was published in Workforce Performance Magazine and can be read online here.

Take a minute to read his article and see if you think his process might be worth a try.  If so, here is a quick overview of the process to get you going:

Get an accountability partner and set the parameters for your relationship.  Some things to consider:

Write your list of questions – Craft them so they can be answered with a “yes”, “no” or number.

Decide if you will hold each other accountable or will s/he simply hold you accountable?

Determine how often you will meet? 

Agree upon “what” and “how” will feedback be given.

Develop an easy method for tracking your results.

And maybe most importantly, determine how you’ll celebrate your successes!

Would you add to or change anything about this process?  Talk to me!

Admit Mistakes

Who do you trust beyond a shadow of a doubt? Stop what you’re doing and make a list.  I’ll wait.  Now, How many people are on your list?  10 or more?  5 or less?  2?  0?

What does “admitting mistakes” have to do with trust? Everything!

Do you know how it feels when a little thought in the back of your mind tells you, “Something just doesn’t add up here.” You can’t exactly put your finger on it, but something feels like it’s not quite right.

The reality is, people (colleagues, customers, employees, family) are constantly deciding whether or not they should trust you.  In other words, people subconsciously filter what you do (or don’t do), what you say (or don’t say) to determine if you have earned their trust.

We all make mistakes, but some people prefer to take the easy way out by ignoring responsibility or placing the blame anywhere they can find. 

Admitting mistakes is part of the trust building process.  It shows other people that you’re willing to take responsibility for your behavior.  It opens the door so you have a chance to make things right.  And perhaps most important of all, it shows that you care enough to acknowledge and validate the other person’s feelings.

Take a look at this process and see if it might work for you:

Accept – Taking responsibility starts in your heart.  Decide for yourself that it’s important to YOU to take ownership.

Ask – Open the door.  Ask the person for the opportunity to discuss it.

Allow – Create the space for the other person to share everything s/he’s feeling.

Listen – Listen with your heart.  Listen so intently that you can feel what it’s like to be in the other person’s shoes.

Apologize – Say you’re sorry.  Say it like you mean it and mean what you say.  Acknowledge what you did and why it matters.

Amend – Make things right.  Let the other person decide what you can do to make amends.

Resolve – Learn the lesson.  Decide what you’re going to do differently to prevent the same mistake from re-occurring.  Tell the other person too.

Move On – Pick yourself back up and get going.  Be aware though that you’re starting over in the trust building cycle.

Take special notice of ALLOW (above).  This is the part that most people ignore or gloss over.  It’s the critical step that makes the most difference.  Allowing a person to be heard is the first step in the process of “clearing the air.”  Do it…even if it’s painful.  It’s worth it.

Admitting mistakes takes courage, and sometimes, sheer guts.  So remember, success is all about relationships.  Every relationship matters.  And just think of the guilt you no longer have to carry around! 

Related Article:

Let Go Of The Need To Be Right