27
aug
1

Fast Track Your Leadership Career Book

Posted by Leadership5 Comments

 

While American women hold 52 percent of all professional-level jobs, only 20 percent hold executive, senior leadership, and management positions in U.S. high-tech industries. As a woman of color, I know the frustration and devastation of being passed over for a leadership position. And I realized that just exceeding my performance goals would not land me a leadership role. So I created an integrated strategy for career advancement. Fast Track Your Leadership Career provides a template for creating that integrated strategy. You’ll get concrete examples on how to identify your superpower, build your brand, invest in yourself, navigate work politics, and build a support system that will propel you along the road to your success.

This book is an attempt to share that template with you so you can fast-track your own leadership career. The template is the culmination of more than fifteen years of cumulative experiences, my own and those of many other women leaders who have successfully navigated the corporate environment. I have tweaked, updated, and modified this template over the years to make sure it is lean and current. While this book is written from a woman’s perspective, almost everything I talk about in this book can also be used by men to fast-track their careers.

This template comprises of:

  • Identifying Your Superpower
  • Building Your Brand
  • Investing In Yourself
  • Finding a Sponsor
  • Practicing Mindful Leadership
  • Building Resilience
  • Making Sure You Are Heard
  • Navigating Through Work Politics
  • Learning to Network
  • Building Your Support System
  • Your Next Steps

Click here for updates on the book and a promo code for purchasing copies of the book for yourself and your dear ones who aspire to be leaders!

HRDQ-U and Rashim Mogha are are hosting a free webinar on November 7th at 2pm ET. Save your seat here! 

24
aug
0

Glitter is Always an Option

Posted by Customer Service Training GamesNo Comments

It was a local bakery I had heard neighbors talk about but never visited. My usual great bakery had sold out of banana nut bread muffins and I was planning on taking a dozen to a business meeting I was chairing. When the clerk at the new bakery rang up my muffins, she asked me, “Which one of these awesome muffins are you planning on eating?” I told her I had no idea. “Well then,” she continued with an impish tone in her voice, “What is your favorite color?” “Purple,” I told her.

She reached in a drawer, took out a small purple candle and placed it in the middle of one of the muffins. “That one will be yours,” she said with a big smile. I was stunned.

“Did you think it was my birthday” I asked? “Nope,” she replied, “that would be a freaky coincidence. But, it is still your day and there is no reason not to make it a glorious one!” Guess where I bought my next batch of muffins?

Every morning when we wake up, we get to choose what kind of day it will be. Even if you are sick or hurt, you elect how you will deal with misfortune.  Likewise, every time you serve a customer, you get to pick the kind of day you will help that customer have. She had decided that my day would be glorious and she added a simply touch—a tiny bit of glitter–to jump start me into making it that kind of day.

University of Rhode Island students for years enjoyed going to the CVS/pharmacy nearby in the Kingston Emporium to buy a snack and to see “The Excellence Lady.” Many would stand in line with other cash registers open just get her special farewell. CVS head cashier Helen “Nonni” Plummer bid farewell to every customer with the phrase, “Have an excellent!”  Should someone inquire “excellent what?” she quickly would add, “Whatever you want it to be.” Her infectious spirit spread to a Facebook group titled, “You Have an Excellent” with almost two thousand members.

Your attitude when serving customers provides a peephole into the values and qualities most revered by your unit or organization. Find a special way to add “glorious” as a feature of the day your customers are going to have.

The post was written by Chip Bell. 

HRDQ-U and Chip Bell are hosting a free webinar on September 5th at 2pm ET. Save your seat here! 

22
aug
0

Do you Have What it Takes to be a Leader?

Posted by Leadership, Leadership Style AssessmentNo Comments

Read almost any job description and you will find references to leadership skills, whether the role has management responsibilities or not. But what are leadership skills, and how can you develop them?

The original theories of leadership centered on traits – things like intelligence, height, and charisma. At the time, researchers were studying people who were already in leadership roles to see what they had in common. Today we think about leadership quite differently. In both research and in the real world, we’ve seen that leadership ability not just something people are born having, but more of a skill and a practice that anyone can learn.

There are a variety of behaviors that are associated with leaders in the world of work. Some of the most commonly cited skills are these:

  • Have and share a vision
  • Pursue excellence
  • Communicate effectively
  • Be trustworthy
  • Build confidence in your employees
  • Be enthusiastic
  • Serve others

You might read this list and think “that doesn’t sound so hard”, but the truth is that most leaders, especially people who are new to the role, struggle to find ways to do all of these things effectively. It takes practice and a commitment to working hard on these skills to become excellent at all of them.

Learning leadership skills is similar to learning any other new ability such as a language or a musical instrument or a sport. It involves three different elements:

 

  1. Classroom or Formal Learning – When you first set out to learn something new, the first place you might turn is to a class or a book. This is a great way to learn the fundamentals, and the theories. But no matter how much time you spend in the classroom, you won’t be able to master a new skill through theory alone.
  2. Observation or Social Learning – Throughout our careers we’ve had a variety of managers. One of the best ways to learn how to be a leader is by observing others. That doesn’t mean you should try to copy exactly what another person is doing, but by taking a look at what works and what doesn’t and matching what you learned in the classroom with what you see in the real world, you can start to see how theory and practice fit together.
  3. Practice – We learn the most when we do something ourselves. When you take on a leadership role, such as managing a project or leading a team, and you begin to practice what you have learned, you will see where things go well, and where you still have room to grow.

Becoming a leader is a process, not an event. If you get a promotion into a management role tomorrow, you won’t go to bed with one set of skills and wake up with a new set, just because you have a new title. But if you approach the process with a growth mindset, are willing to seek out feedback, and are committed to the learning process then you have what it takes to be a leader!

This post was written by Katy Tynan

HRDQ-U and Katy Tynan are hosting a free webinar on September 12th at 2pm ET. Save your seat here! 

10
aug
2

Do Your Customer Experiences Have Flourishes?

Posted by Customer Service Training GamesNo Comments

The Southern National restaurant in Mobile is a new restaurant that serves flourishes. That is not a culinary term; it is a design expression. It is those curly-cues that decorate the end of a book chapter. It is the manner a signature adds stylistic swirls and drawings at the end. It is an ornamental addition.

Flourishes embellish and decorate. Pay the bill with the wait staff and your receipt and credit card are returned in a small jelly jar with a piece of twine still present at the top like its paper cover has gone missing and all the marmalade eaten. Ask for a scotch on the rocks and the waiter is likely to present you the bottle just like a fine wine bottle. Flourishes charm and delight.

A flourish is defined as a bold or extravagant gesture or action made to attract the attention of others. And, customers love bold service, especially when lavished with features that attract and compel.

The Hyatt at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona, not only burns lots of mesquite wood in their many fire pits and outdoor fireplaces, they create a romantic mood by also lighting giant candles around the property. The hotel housekeepers sometimes place an aromatic flourish on your pillow—a spring of rosemary, honeysuckle, or a piece of sandalwood. Butler Lexus in Macon, Georgia includes a customer’s favorite flavored coffee in the customer’s profile. When a customer brings in a vehicle for service, the Keurig coffee machine in the waiting area is guaranteed to have K-cups preferred by the customer.

There are an unlimited number of opportunities for customer experience flourishes. Flourishes leave experiences enriched as they make moments memorable. And, they create a stories customers are eager to share. Stories are the highest form of customer advocacy. Look for flourishes you can add to your customers’ experiences and watch them swoon and your bottom line swell.

The post was written by Chip Bell. 

HRDQ-U and Chip Bell are hosting a free webinar on September 5th at 2pm ET. Save your seat here! 

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