Is Your Open Door Policy the Real Deal or just a CLICHE?

How many of you have been hired on with an organization that seems too good to be true, only to find out that in fact....it was too good to be true.  Far too often the distance between who we (the organization) say we are and who we really are is deep and wide.  Take for example the ol' "open door policy" promise that many people are told upon being hired.  The Real Deal or just a CLICHE?

In my experiences, one of the most common complaints from the people I work with is the lack of two way traffic between themselves and those who sit at the top of the totem pole.  Color me uncomfortable, for example, when in a workshop on how to have better and more productive conversations, I see my workshop participants exchanging knowing glances.  Being that I am a teacher, I don't usually let these knowing glances go without asking.  "Hey is something interesting, confusing, funny or what?  You guys have a funny look on your faces" to which I hear "We are just all wondering if our bosses have to come to this workshop".

As the outsider who is inside the organization to create teaching moments with team members, this is never a great experience for me as I the answer is almost always "No your boss is not going through this workshop".

I know what everyone is thinking in their head when I tell them this: "Then why are we here" and "This doesn't really matter then does it" and "Typical, they think we need to be fixed but our bosses have it all figured out".

Does your organization boast an open door policy?  Do you tell new hires that when they join the organization they will have easy access to their boss to share their thoughts, ideas, opinions and ask questions?  Now, go up and down the hall of your organization's decision makers and ask them how many real, authentic, conversations they have had today, this week, this month, this year--with their employees.

CONVERSATION is the heart beat of any organization.  Without it, you don't know what is going on.  The rule of thumb is that the higher you climb in an organization, the less easy access you have to what is actually going on in the organization. That means then that if you are a decision maker in the organization, you will have to work that much harder to make sure you are having conversations with your team members.

So, commit yourself to real, authentic conversations with your people today.  How?  Take a look at "Honoring the Open Door Policy"for some GREAT ideas on why conversation is important and how to have better conversations: Click Here

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Conversation is an art form.  It takes practice, commitment and COURAGE to have authentic conversations with your team members.  Now, go out there and get to talking....

Don't RED LINE Your T&D program for 2012. PUHHHHLEASEEE!

2012 is right around the corner and many organizations are preparing their budgets for the coming year.  No matter when your budget year begins and ends please hear my passionate plea:

DON'T FORGET THE T AND THE D--

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Great organizations know that their levels of employee performance and satisfaction with their job is not 100% tied to their paycheck.  In fact....many employees report that their paycheck is not top of mind when considering the degree to which they are happy in their job. So what does get factored into deciding if one likes/loves or just tolerates their job and in turn makes them give that ol' 110% or just 10% to their job and organization?

Here is what we know.  We know (the we being that group of academics like myself who love to research and study human behavior) that people who report they LOVE + HEART + GIVE THEIR ALL to their job are those who feel they contribute to the greater good of their organization's mission (and in order for that to happen there needs to actually be a mission that has been communicated by the leadership of the organization).

In order to contribute, employees also report that they want and need HIGH QUALITY training and development opportunities so that they can continue to grow and contribute.  When an organization is willing to invest the time + resources + money toward developing their team it shows up in the organization's success. Ask any organization where T&D are a strong cultural value in the organization how they SEE the difference and they will tell you about changed behaviors, better team experiences, happier customers, and stronger leadership at all levels of the organization.

Measuring the ROI of T&D does not have to be just anecdotal either.  You can measure the ROI with high quality feedback in the form of coaching, surveys and annual performance reviews if you want to quantify the outcomes of your efforts.

Now, take a look at some of the most COMMON T&D Fails that I come across working with clients.
Click Here for the full presentation

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Too often, T&D is the first thing to get red lined in the budget.  That is a wrong, wrong, wrong move for any organization to cut out essential training for employees at ALL levels of the organization.

Remember--when your employees feel challenged, a part of the organization's higher mission, and feel like their organization is investing in their professional success they will work harder, faster and better!

Best Wishes for a GREAT 2012 budget!

Power Point is a Back Up Dancer.

What is the most you have ever paid for a concert ticket?  $100, $200, $1000 or perhaps even more?  Well chances are no matter what you paid, the cost of the tickets was not justified in your mind because the back up dancers were going to be so amazing. No!  We pay the money to see Tina Turner (or Britney Spears, or Lady Gaga, or Taylor Swift, or dare I say Barry Manilow) shake her tail feathers and sing her heart out.  And the back up dancers?  Well they are there to make TINA look good.

YOU are Tina Turner.

For far too long we have allowed Power Point to BE the presentation while the presenter simply stands to the side (often with back turned to the audience) reading the dull, lifeless and cluttered Power Point slides that were prepared as nothing more than giant notecards.

Look familiar?  SO BAD! SO PAINFUL! Blech

It is time to put Power Point in it's place--backing you up in the presentation.  It's job is to make you look good; to visually accentuate your message, not be the message itself.  I often get resistance from the "business as usual"professional who simply cannot think about doing a presentation with their good old safety net the Power Point.

Imagine for a moment that Martin Luther King is alive and well in 2011 and is preparing to deliver for the first time his (what will be history making) speech "I have a dream".  Do you imagine he would use a Power Point for the Presentation? I can just see it now--a slide with ten bullet points in 14 point font with a terrible stock image of kids holding hands.  NO!

MLK would not use a Power Point.  Neither would Lincoln to deliver the Gettysburg Address.  Or Maya Angelou to recite why the caged bird sings.  The greatest speakers know that the power to move an audience lies in their words, conviction, passion and ability to connect to the audience.  

So do you abandon Power Point all together?  Not always (but in some circumstances I say yes!  get rid of the Power Point and YOU be the presentation).  If you are going to use Power Point then use it wisely--quit making slides that are nothing more than giant notecards.  Challenge yourself to create a presentation that has ZERO bullet points in the entire presentation.  AND use this rule as your guide: Slides should VISUALLY reinforce the ideas you are communicating.  If your slides don't do that then start over.

To get some GREAT ideas on how to use Power Point more effectively, click on the presentation below and you will get a new appreciation for the POTENTIAL of a KICK AWESOME slide presentation.  Please share this presentation on facebook, leave a comment on slideshare and follow Bravo CC for future presentations.

Power Point is a Back Up Dancer click here

http://www.slideshare.net/BravoCC/power-point-is-a-back-up-dancer

The lesson is clear--when a Power Point doesn't know it's place you get a Kevin Federline type situation.  Too big for his britches, Kevin thought he was on par with his boss Britney Spears.  And shame on her--she allowed it.  Don't let your Power Point act like it's the star.  It isn't. YOU are the Star!

Here's to your next presentation!