Tag Archive for challenges

| April 11, 2013
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Building Trust

Copyright (c) <a href='http://www.123rf.com'>123RF Stock Photos</a>I have written many times on trust. Two post give more details - Working Trusting Relationships and New Leadership Position – You’re Up! As employees we all want a trusting working environment. As managers it is one of our responsibilities to insure that we develop a trusting environment.  Then why is it that 82% of people don’t trust their boss? When I was working with an organization recently, it became very apparent that one area that needed focus was developing a better, more trusting work environment.  If you spent some reflection time on the working environment you work at – is it a trusting environment?  Are people worried about what others are saying? Decisions taking forever to get made? Back stabbing happening? There is no shortage of examples of what we don’t want…

What does it take for you to do to make your work environment be more trusting?

  • Assume best intent (until proven otherwise). You want to build that culture of trust, then no one, especially the manager, should not assume the worst in a person or situation. Remember that jumping to conclusion kills trust.
  • Remove barriers. One of my favorite items that help to bring trust back is to spend time working on removing barriers, like removing bureaucracy. Jumping through hoops to get work done, erodes trust very quickly. Make work easy, remove the red tape and watch things change quickly.
  • Act as an example of trust. If you want to improve the culture of trust, you have to trust your team to do their work and make decisions. That means even if that decision that was made did not go well. You still have to trust the decision and tell your employees so. After a decision has gone wrong, I usually sit down and we revisit the situation and possible decisions – and then let the employee learn from it… This should make the next decision point better.
  • There is no “I” in team. Other words like “we” and “they” should never describe the teams. Listen to how the team talks. If you hear those words or the “us against them,” time to step in and course correct. For the English majors, take out those pronouns and insist that names are used.

Building a trusting culture is difficult. As the manager, you are the key to much of the success of building that environment. People inherently don’t trust the boss… If you can demonstrate and live up to being a trusting manager, you can get your team to follow along. It starts with you!

Image courtesy of:Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

 

Category: Leadership, New To Management | Tags: , , , , ,
| April 4, 2013
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Identity Theft – A Real Life Example

identityMany people have seen the movie Identity Thief. I was one of the many! I truly enjoyed it and laughed. Identity theft in reality is not a joking subject. This post is about the experiences that I have had to share with my mom. She was a victim of tax identity theft. When filing her, 2011 federal tax return, she was sent a letter that her taxes were on hold. She came to visit me and we got on this right away. Below is just some of the steps and some of the happens that she has encountered along the way. Safe to say, that no one wants this to happen to them…

Once she showed me the letter. I called with her on the line, to our IRS hotline number to get a clearer picture of what has happened. The shared with us that this her return has already been sent. That they now have a second return (which was her’s), which they have flagged as possible tax identity theft. The agent on the phone gave me some basic information on next steps. I asked the all important question of how long will it take to get her the money that she is owed? He led us to believe that 30 days from when the id theft process has been done. From June 2012 till today – nothing! I guess 30 days depends on what closed or done means.

Steps that had to be taken – letter from the CPA stating that the taxes in question are in fact “her” taxes. (makes me wonder if you do them yourself – do you write your own letter?). File a report on what happened with your home fraud agency. Which she did. After some time – she received confirmation that she was a victim of tax id theft. She was given some report that definitely showed that these folks are good. They filed her taxes quickly. They had an address in Chicago (my mom has lived 2000 miles away for quite some time). They received $10K in return in a card! News to me that you would want that you can get your return in a card. Second shock – $10K in return. My mom has never received $10K from taxes in her life. The other red flag was the big deduction of continued education. All simple red flags that our IRS should have seen before they process the tax return. I guess it just is processed and looked at later.

Next was a follow up with the IRS office again (45 days had passed!). The answer to that call, was the time to process is running a lot longer than you were quoted back in June 2012. The throughput time is now more like 6 months. Nothing like adding 5 months on… That deadline came up – still no check! She calls again (as 2012 taxes are due now – which she will wait to insure that her name is cleared). They said that go ahead and submit your 2012 taxes that a note will be put in the file so they can process. Guess what? My moms 2012 taxes are held up! Because of the tax identity theft (of 2011).

My mom’s frustration level is at a boiling point. I guess just about everyone else would be just as bad. Me, I try to keep a calming approach to this. I recommend she can again and get an answer to why has this taken so long, what is needed to close this properly and express that you now have 2 years of tax returns that you are not getting that you need. Well, that call only got us to the point of the theft agency has to close the case before they can process. I guess going back to the done part – that was not clearly communicated as the done. Months go by and nothing happens and the answers you get just lead you to believe soon. The next phone call was to the identity theft agency that needs to close the case. That call was not good. They did not have an answer for when the case will close. They hinted to an additional 30 days. Mom was now passed boiling. For maybe the first time that I can remember she hung up on someone. Ouch!

She calls me… Fills me in! I can really sense the frustration. I am getting frustrated. After a few minutes of venting.. I ask her to maybe go to the local theft agency (my mom works in local law enforcement office) and see what maybe they can do from their end. What is the worst that can happen – nothing! Also, I think this one would be an awesome one to hit up the local news “on your side” folks. Maybe they can shake a tree and get the money freed up.

Morale of the story – make sure that you are taking the necessary steps to insure that identity theft is not going to happen to you..

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Category: Observations | Tags: , ,
| April 3, 2013
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Long-term Volunteering 411

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my volunteering and how to make sure that I get the most out of my opportunities. I shared, in my last post, about making sure that you do your homework about getting into a volunteer opportunity. That post was for the more event-driven volunteering. Those items that are really short-term. I got a call from a friend that was asking me more about the longer term volunteering. I really did not have an answer to the question off the top of my head. In the spirit of getting to learn more and sharing those experiences with my readers.. Here we go – long-term volunteering!

Long term volunteering is really those opportunities that you get to work with an organization to help out beyond an event activity. Some people volunteer on boards of organizations, others help out with training or just want to come into the organizations workplace and help out doing whatever is needed. The fact is, these opportunities are always available, but organizations are seeing that those volunteer numbers are going down, significantly. I asked those folks that I volunteer with and they said recruiting long-term volunteers is harder than ever before. I guess it does not take too much to see that in olden days, back in the 50′s and 60′s, many adults dedicated their lives to volunteering. They were able to be home with the family, but had time to spend helping out. Today, most families are two incomes and there is little time to volunteer for a longer period of time. I definitely can use my example here. I was working full-time, helping raise my family, involved in my kids sports and just could not spare any time left to volunteer differently from the occasional event. Now that I have semi-retired, I have more time and have been working with 2 different organizations for almost two years. Simple fact, the baby boomers (and the everyone else) is getting older. The baby boomers have over represented themselves in volunteer opportunities for 30 years. Long term volunteering has suffered lower enrollment for quite some time, it may never get back to the good old days.

What can be done to help organizations improve longer term volunteering?

  • Organizations can definitely improve their overall recruiting, training and use of volunteers. My experiences with this subject, highlight that many organizations are not setting up these engagements for success. They do a great job of communicating the passion and what is needed, just don’t show that same level of passion for making (it) happen. I was asked to help develop training material for one organization to improve the productivity of their employee base. I was excited! Jumped in and started working on it. Developed and ready to go. Six months later, I am still ready to go. Start, stop, pause and start again is frustrating. Making the experience positive for the volunteer is no different from what the organization should do for their paid employees.
  • Organizations should break the long-term volunteer opportunity into shorter engagements. It maybe easier for someone to sign up to six months than forever. I did an engagement based project for one organization that was supposed to be two months (was four months ). Any long-term volunteer opportunity could be looked at and broken down into more manageable pieces. Looking at some of the stuff that I am working on now – I have a sales cycle, relationship building cycle, and admin throughout. Breaking that up, could add additional volunteers that can focus on each cycle. Potentially  improving their number of volunteers and the overall effectiveness.
  • Organizations need to take advantage of the 24×7 mindset. If you want volunteers, you may have to be open to having them on “their” time. Having them work within “your” business hours, maybe too difficult for most working adults. Technology has improved accessibility to information. Make your information accessible to your volunteers. Set those volunteers up with the necessary access.
  • Organizations are going to have to get creative with their volunteers. Baby boomers are getting older – they are the ones with the overall experiences of being there, done that. Those entering the workplace today, are demonstrating that volunteering is going to be something that they want to do. They only lack the experience. So, setting up volunteer opportunities in a team will help everyone. For me, I really enjoy teaching and sharing my knowledge with others. So, if I get to work with someone who is new and has a passion for what we are doing… I can get an extra dose of fulfillment – getting the job done, helping the organization and helping someone learn.
  • Organizations need to insure that they are staffing properly. The org needs to insure that they are not burning out their volunteers. Insuring that they have enough volunteers to cover the task(s) at hand.
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Category: Volunteering | Tags: , , , , ,
| February 8, 2013
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Remember Back, Way Back!

English: Morristown, New York, USA, as seen ac...

English: Morristown, New York, USA, as seen across the Saint Lawrence River from Brockville, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Did you move away from your home town after high school? Chase a dream that took you to places away from home? I did… I come from a very small town in upstate New York, Morristown. Morristown is located on the St. Lawrence River. It was a town of one main drag and no stop lights!  I spent my high school years growing up there. For me, the small town atmosphere was good to grow up, but it was lacking. When I went off to college and got to see other places, I pretty much decided that the outside world needs exploring.

I feel, my life is pretty much made for a movie (with the exception of being rich and famous). I came from that very small town, Morristown, NY. Off to military school and received my commission as a 2LT. Continued my education and found my soul mate. Got married and helped raise two wonderful adults now. Worked hard to provide for my family and retired. I am in the middle of my second career of helping to make a difference with non-profits, volunteering and just helping out others. Not bad for a documentary on living the American dream. When you thing back to what helped shape your dreams, I go back to my high school days. Maybe it was my teachers, coaches or just the fact that I was old enough to really think critically about stuff.

Thanks to social media and the internet it is so much easier to get back in touch with those days. Facebook has helped me connect with those “good old days” and the people that I grew up with. We have a Morristown group on Facebook, where we really share our experiences. Some of those folks are still there and raising their families there. Thanks to them, we get to hear about what all is happening with the school. This all got me thinking, “what is happening with my old high school?” Some are asking how do we save our old high school?

I think everyone would like things to stay the same forever. Change is difficult.  I have read that the school is in trouble and the students are not getting the same experiences that we had when we were there. Since, I don’t return and visit to see with my own eyes what is happening, I get to look at it a bit differently. Maybe the high school part is in trouble. When I graduated, I think my class size was 19. Really small school and town to have a high school. Cost effectiveness and offering the best possible education and experiences may not be happening.  I read issues about the high school not being able to offer sports in a Morristown High only fashion. Losing out on prom or a senior class trip. I remember all of those activities with fond and not so fond memories. I for one, would hope that the students would be able to experience those as well. Maybe not the same way as back in the old days, but at least get an opportunity.

When I take out my emotional baggage and think about what could be done… It clear to most that the overall direction of the school and it’s future is missing. Leadership is critical to making changes that will have a huge impact on the community, the students and the staff. Right now, I bet it is lacking big time. Is it the individual school that needs to step up? How about the NYS education department? I would answer – yes in all cases. It is time for a radical change in how rural schools are handled. The days of having your own community school are pretty much hard to sustain. Time for some real forward thinking. How best to serve the communities and students without breaking the bank. The most important aspect of the future is making sure that the students are getting the necessary education and experiences for their success. Setting them up to drive toward their dreams. Giving them the experiences to help shape their path. Nothing else matters…

You can pull up statistics and see that New York as a well is rated third in the US for public education. I bet if you were to ask the rural communities if they feel they are getting the third best education in the US – they would beg to differ. Small towns all over the US are facing this problem. Time for the little guy to make a lot of noise! It all starts with students, parents, alumni,  community leaders and the schools administration. Make the noise, put some proposals together with all of the minds that are around you. Stand up! Write up! Tweet up!

The one thing I can I feel strongly about is, “those good old days are gone. Time for a new and better future.” I want to help!

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Category: Leadership, Observations | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
| November 7, 2012
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Leadership Lessons Coaching 3/4 yr old Soccer

I know what people are probably thinking. How can you get leadership lessons from coaching 3/4 year olds? I believe you can learn from every situation that you are in. You just have to be willing to look at the complete experience. Or maybe you are thinking, are you going to compare adults to 3/4 years olds? Not really. There are some basics that do apply in every situation. First let me set the stage… I have been coaching youth sports most of my adult life. I love coaching! I have not done any coaching for a few years (hip replacement surgeries). Most of my coaching career has followed the ages of my children. Those children are now adults over 25. Most of the coaching that I had done for the past 10 years has been with high school age hockey players. My daughter sends me a text that she has signed up my grand daughter for soccer and the league is short coaches (she volunteered me if they don’t get another parent volunteer). I was excited to coach my grand daughter’s team. Six full of energy three and four year olds that have never played soccer before. Of course, if you have seen 3/4 year old soccer – you would call it bee hive soccer (everyone going after the ball (honey) together). With mixed emotions, our season is coming to a close. We have two games left…

What are the leadership lessons?

  • Plan with flexibility: Since I had not coached that age group in a very long time, I had to spend sometime learning what I should do. With all of my other coaching gigs, I had practice plans that were designed to help teach players how to become better at their craft. Since the players were older, some of the basics were already there. With this age group, you have to definitely have patience and keep a positive outlook when things don’t go well. Planning with flexibility means keep some extra stuff in your pocket for when the item you wanted to work on, is not working. You have to react quickly and in a positive manner.
  • Teach, demonstrate, watch and follow-up: When coaching a drill, you have to not only descript what you want them to do, you show them as well. Let them try it… Make the slight modifications to get them close to what you wanted. Praise them! I know that maybe you don’t have to spend much time in the teach and demonstrate side when you are dealing with adults. You do have to monitor and follow-up!
  • Patience: Remember why you are there. You are there to have fun and teach them some of the skills to help them with soccer in the future. Mistakes are going to happen, probably more than you think. You just have to be patient and keep encouraging them to success. With my team’s players – they want to please me and their parents. They look for the smiles, thumbs up and high fives – to them that is great stuff. I had to learn that the first practice. Soccer is a game of not using your hands. We talked about it! We corrected the situation when it happened. After the 20th time, I was losing my patience. Next practice, we put something in their hands to keep away from using their hands with the soccer ball.
  • Have fun: For me, having fun is in everything that I do. With the 3/4 year olds – they only know to have fun. Being competitive is just starting to happen with some of them. So, you have to watch out for how they react to success and disappointment. Keeping them focused on the fun aspect! The one thing I can count on, is after the game – they move onto the next part – getting their snacks and coming home. No one player is sad. They are all happy! To me, that is some good stuff.

As you can see many of the lessons learned can be applied to every coaching/leadership situation. I have to say it was fun coaching those kids. They are a handful, but it is a fun handful.

Category: Leadership | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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