Character: An Important Lesson From Peyton Manning

Yesterday’s Super Bowl was, arguably, anti-climatic—given all the pre-game hype.  Yet there’s a wonderful post-script to the game—the post-game reaction of Peyton Manning.

No doubt Manning was crushed (emotionally) after he and his team failed to match the skill and intensity of the Seahawks on football’s biggest stage.  Yet, he took the high road.

Manning has a well- deserved reputation of being a class act—win or lose. Yesterday was no exception.

Said another way, Manning is a real ‘pro’—defined primarily by how he conducts himself, not because of his skill on the football field. He’s a professional worth emulating.

Here’s an article that gives an insightful first-hand account of Peyton’s post-game activities.

How many mind-sets do you see in action?

A Better Me

Many of you are aware that the West Coast Ultrasound Institute has immersed their students in ‘professional values’ and the mind-sets associated with those values. See my post from Jan 28, 2013.

As part of the student’s learning they were asked to write a 1,800 word essay about professionalism and its impact—current and future. I’m told over 200 papers were produced. I have read over 50 of them, they were fascinating. Several students mentioned how the mind-sets had not only impacted their work-life, but their personal life as well.

Many students at West Coast are transitioning from their current vocation to another (e.g. medical imaging) —they work at their ‘day job’ and attend school at night and on the weekends. Jennifer Fruin is one such student. She’s currently a hair stylist. In her words, Jennifer was hired to, ‘wash, cut, style, repeat’. I was impressed with her paper and thought you would be too.

Jennifer has gone through some remarkable changes, the type that one would reasonably be called transformational. Here are a few snippets from Jennifer’s paper:

Catalyst For Self-Improvement: “…I sure didn’t feel the fulfillment. I felt as though I was just clocking in and cutting hair [as my] complacent role dragged on. I let it seep into my personal life and I did not notice a problem until I read The Power of Professionalism. Cover to cover, the book spoke to me. I made myself a cheat sheet, to show me what I learned in each chapter and how I would apply it to my own life.”

About Mind-Set #7: “This mind-set did away with my secret stash of anxiety, distrust and negativity. It gave me the comfort I so desperately sought out, and helped me lend my trust to other employees and helped me place trust in my family.”

Transformation: “Today my world is different. I’m listening to my clients like they require me to. I am spending quality time with my kids. I’ve released the anger I was holding on to …”

The Book: “The Power of Professionalism to me was more than a book teaching me how to act ‘professional’. This book showed me how to be a better me. It showed me how to succeed in any given area…..Bill Wiersma really broke the mold when he wrote this book.”

It was really gratifying to learn of Jennifer’s growth and how she became a ‘better me’. Gratefully, Jennifer has student colleagues who experienced similar outcomes.

To read Jennifer’s full paper, click here.

Enjoy.

The Professional Mindset

Inspired by “The Power Of Professionalism” by Bill Wiersma

by Jennifer Fruin WCUI 2013

We as society don’t often seize the “dare to be great” moment. The moment that separates the “boys from the men”, the chance to challenge the norm, to go against the grain to prove there is more than one answer or path. We complain of this monotonous, uninventive routine where one person or group of people separate us into groups of white and blue collars. They decide who is a professional, and who is not. They decide who makes millions and who makes minimum wage. All the while, we are never stepping up and out of the box, not only to help ourselves, but others as well. At least that is what I used to think. Cecil Castle once said, “Professionalism is a frame of mind, not a paycheck.” This means that anyone could potentially be a professional. I never gave myself a chance at a self-label of “professional”. I figured some higher up in Regis (or even higher up than that) had already decided I was a guppy instead of a shark (or a whale, or some other big fish in the small pond I found myself swimming in). I was only doing the job I was hired to do; wash, cut, style, repeat. I was not a maintenance person, nor a janitor. I was neither a manager, nor a receptionist. I definitely was not a therapist, and I sure didn’t feel the fulfillment. I felt as though I was just clocking in and cutting hair and when the day was over, this complacent role dragged on. I let it seep into my personal life and I did not notice a problem until I read “The Power of Professionalism”. It made me realize that this “menial” job I attached to the word “stylist” meant more than just being a service provider. Cover to cover, the book spoke to me. Page after page, vital information was written on how to improve every aspect of life. I made myself a cheat sheet, to show me what I learned in each chapter, and how I would apply it to my own life. The rest of this paper is what I came up with.

Mindset 2: Professionals Realize (and Act Like) They’re Part of Something Bigger Than Themselves

Mindset Two really was great for me to see, and I figured this is where I needed to start my changes. This mindset explains that professionals “Commit to the success of the firm, organization, or client, realize that success transcends their own parochial interests and collaborate as an effective team member.” Although I could see the bigger picture, albeit sometimes different than the one actually painted, something was off. I was identifying areas where others were lacking, and I’d put my extra effort in. To me, it didn’t matter who did the work, as long as it was done. However, I was failing. I was so eager to pick up another task and make sure not only that it was done, but done right. I was being taken advantage of because other people around me knew I’d do the task they didn’t feel was important enough for them to do. In all reality, every task, every assignment, every decision is important. While I thought helping out was being an effective team member, the fact that others were not participating meant I was a team of one, unless I could get the others on board.

So there I was, back at square one, and I asked myself, “What can I do to get us all working together, and broadening the scope of our professionalism?” We were all there together for work, but we weren’t working together. At one point, another stylist actually posted a note that read: “I am not your mother, clean up your own damn mess.” Well wait a minute, what if that stylist was exceptionally busy and needed a hand to catch up? I took down the note.

The next shop meeting started out like any other, where no one vocalized their opinions. They were just anxiously staring at the clock waiting to be dismissed. I then took the opportunity to bring up the note and explained that while the mess was not the other stylist’s, I was sure that the mess maker would have appreciated the extra hand. I explained further that, “maybe the clients would be more appreciative of our team work as well.” Having kids at home, I understand after a long day, it’s exhausting to come home and clean up another mess, but as an adult and role model, I want to teach my children the right thing to do in that situation. The same applies to work. If one stylist would step up to help another stylist, or another customer, we would be part of something bigger. We would be enhancing someone else’s experience, by putting their needs and comfort above our own. Once the morale and support was lifted in the shop, other things started to change as well.

Mindset 4: Professionals Have Personal Standards That Often Transcend Organizational Ones

Mindset Four refers to the core values of the individual. A person who follows Mindset Four does what is right, over what is fast. They avoid the needless drama, leaving “high school” behavior behind, and they stay focused. This mindset was easy to read, but difficult to implement.

The hard part about being a stylist is typically the drama and gossip. Stylists tend to bash other stylist’s work and they share private information about their clients. They sometimes even spend the whole appointment talking about the woes of their own lives. I’ll admit I have been guilty of this in the past to some degree as well. The best solution I found to that problem is having a list of things to talk about and I repeat these “scripted” conversations to every client. I make notes on their client cards of what we discussed in the appointment, so when they return, we can pick up on a topic that they are comfortable with. In my personal life, I have simply eliminated the people who aren’t propelling me forward. The only way to become enlightened by this mindset is to diminish the back scatter, those who only bring bad news, and the general “ugly” of negativity. In turn, this brings the focus back to what is important.

Growing up, my mother (and grandmother) did a few things that were annoying at the time, but are appreciated now. She instilled some knowledge-based core values, like an extensive vocabulary and the desire for as much education as I am privy to. She also told me at the “end of the day”; my word is all I have. My honesty, integrity and commitment to improve my quality of life, are the things that will take me places. They will help me to earn the trust of my clients.

The next step was to uphold the letter of the law. I wanted to show that I was dependable to my clients, my staff, and my family. If that meant staying a few minutes late to help a coworker finish cleaning up the shop, or taking a few extra minutes to help with the kids’ homework, that’s what I did. Not only did that keep the morning chaos at work to a minimum, it also showed my kids that whatever they were doing was important to me.

Mindset 7: Professionals Aspire to Reveal Value in Others

The true professional has a bias for results, is part of something bigger, is always prepared, has core values, delivers on their commitments, and doesn’t seek immediate gratification. All of these things are encompassed by the most important mindset. This mindset aspires to lift others up, appreciate what other professionals contribute, and places trust with those who need it.

I have always been a person who needs control. I used to get anxious if I was watching someone complete a task I assigned. I wasn’t open enough to trust them to do the task the right way (my way). I was only concerned about my opinion and my needs. Some people in my circle have said I deserve to be selfish after the things I have been through. Being selfish however, is not only exhausting, it is not me. Some people might think because I like things done my way, I’m being selfish. In all reality, I have been tad “tight-leashed” when I find successful routes. I am becoming a person who puts people first, while showing them (not expecting) how I understand, retain, or complete things. This has made me a little more relaxed when I see people struggling “their way” because I feel comfortable enough to demonstrate other options. “Peter pays for Paul”, in that we only succeed as a team if we are truly all succeeding.

This mindset went in and diminished my secret stash of anxiety, distrust, and negativity. It gave me the comfort I so desperately sought out, and helped me to lend my trust to the other employees (trusting they would perform salon duties to the best of their abilities) and helped me to place trust in my family. While in my head, no one was a better professional than I, and no one was a more suited mother than I, I learned to trust those around me. I felt the weight of a thousand commitments fall off my shoulders.

Today my world is different. I’m listening to my clients like they require me to. I am spending quality time with my kids. I’ve released the anger I was holding on to when I moved to Phoenix. I have completely changed my idea of how things are supposed to be.

What makes me a professional? I’ll do the bottom work, I make sure my coworkers are set and I will make sure my clients are comfortable. If they need anything, I’ll take care of it (within normal limits, allowing others to shine as well). My demeanor has become more successful, thus I am more successful. My clients are happier, my family is happier I am happier. While following Mindset Seven to bring out the value of others, when it is combined with Mindsets Two and Four, a group succession is more than possible, it is guaranteed.

The Power of Professionalism to me, was more than a book teaching me how to act professional. This book showed me how to be a better me. It showed me how to succeed in any given area. It proved to me that I am not professional because of my clothes, or my job title. According to the book, I’m a professional because I’m caring and understanding, I’m a problem solver not a problem maker. I can ease my clients and will go the extra mile to make them happy and my kids as well. Bill Wiersma really broke the mold, when he wrote this book and I plan to continue to implement it in every aspect of life. Julius Irving said it best, “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.”

Honoring An Amazing Men’s Room Attendant

I love hearing of stories about people in non-tradition jobs or situations that really put an  exclamation point on what it means to be a professional.  Lorenzo Robinson, a men’s room attendant at the posh 21 restaurant in Manhattan, is one such person.

To most, his work wasn’t glamorous.  In fact, some might consider his work demeaning. Not Lorenzo.  He glorified his work. Those he served loved him.

Lorenzo’s story reinforces that it isn’t what we do but how we do it that determines whether we are a professional or not. There should be no doubt, Lorenzo was a professional.

Lorenzo Robinson passed away prematurely in late October.  Even though we never met, I’m honored to share his inspiring story.  Here’s a nice article from the New York Times about him.

   

Four Ways to Make Performance Reviews More Professional and Encourage Greater Professionalism in Our Employees

Sean Conrad is our guest blogger today. He is a senior product analyst and Certified Human Capital Strategist at Halogen Software in Ottawa, Canada. Sean is great at sharing his unique blend of technology expertise and understanding of HR-specific challenges.

Employee performance reviews are a much maligned, but important management process that, when done well, can provide significant benefits to the employee, the manager and the organization.

The problems come in when we fail to conduct them professionally. Here’s a look at how four of the seven mind-sets can help improve the quality, impact, value and professionalism of your employee performance reviews.

1.     Focus on Results (Mind-Set #1)

Both when setting goals, and when evaluating accomplishments and performance, managers and employees need to focus on results. What is the employee accountable for? What are the standards by which success will be measured? What is expected, and what would be considered going beyond expectation?

Recorded goals should clearly lay out all these expectations and form a kind of “performance agreement” between the manager and the employee. Then, when it’s time to review performance and accomplishments, you have clear guidelines for measuring success.

Any performance ratings should be based on the results accomplished, not on a general impression of the employee’s performance, or the manager’s relationship with them. If we want our employees to have a bias for results, we need to start by making sure they understand what results we’re looking for.

2.     Cultivate Core Values  (Mind-Set #4)

As important as focusing on the results accomplished, employee performance reviews also need to consider “how” these results were accomplished. This is where core and job specific competencies come in.

Competencies describe “how” work is done, and describe the qualities of exemplary performance. Every company should carefully select core, leadership and job-specific competencies that reflect its mission and values. Then, actively cultivate these competencies in their employees.

You should include a description of each competency and the different levels of performance on your performance review forms so managers and employees have a clear and shared understanding of expectations.

If we want our staff to have personal standards that transcend organizational ones, we need to lead the way by actively communicating and cultivating organizational values.

3.     Give a Larger Context (Mind-Set #2)

You can foster a more collaborative and accountable workforce by always giving employees a larger context for their work. With goals, it’s important to directly link the employee’s individual goals to the higher level organizational goals they are designed to support.

Likewise, the competencies they will be evaluated on should be linked to their role and to the organization’s mission, culture and values. And any time you assign an employee a development plan, you should also clearly link it to the competency it’s designed to develop, or to the goal it’s designed to support.

This context setting helps employees know they’re part of something bigger and drives accountability and engagement.

4.     Support Development (Mind-Set #7)

Continuous development is another hallmark of professionalism that you can and should foster through your employee performance review process.

One of the chief goals of giving feedback and coaching, evaluating demonstration of competencies, reviewing performance of goals and assigning goals for the coming period should be to encourage the employee’s development, performance and career progression.

If we’re not trying to help employees get better at what they do, what are we really doing? Development and career progression discussions should be part of every performance review. And feedback, coaching and recognition need to be ongoing, year-round activities that continually help the employee to learn and advance.

Driving High Performance and Professionalism

When done professionally, performance reviews help to drive employee engagement, accountability and high performance. Their goal should be to foster continuous development and career advancement and encourage the 7 mind-sets so necessary to professionalism. When they fail to do that, it’s often because of the way we design and conduct our processes.

Sean Conrad is senior product analyst and Certified Human Capital Strategist at Halogen Software and writes regularly about the importance and impact of performance management best-practices.

Professionalism To The Rescue

Customers were frustrated by ‘it’, employees were embarrassed by ‘it’, the owners were uncomfortable by ‘it’. What, you ask, is ‘it’?

‘It’ was an archaic (think: 19th century) tracking system for repairs of customers’ mission-critical equipment.  This value-added service has been provided by a well-respected Walnut Creek, CA based company for years.  Trouble is, few people now were seeing the repair service as ‘value added’.  The company did a great job fixing the equipment; it was the process that was the problem.  It certainly was a good thing that the repair service wasn’t ‘core’ to the business.

Consider these ‘equipment repair’ experiences:

***A customer calls in to ask for an estimate (time and money) of getting their equipment repaired.

***A customer asks their representative for a status report on their equipment repair order.

***Employees (of all stripes) would ask the foreman of the repair facility for workload reports and backlog estimates.

In each and every case (regardless of who was asking) people consistently got untimely and inaccurate information from well-intended, but less-than-confident, employees. “Amateur hour” was how one person described it.   It was no wonder that representatives from the company cringed when having to give their customers updates on their repairs.

I first met the owner about six months ago after an address I had given on professional values to business leaders.  My core message that evening:  make professional values your north arrow.  After the address the owner reached out to thank me, indicating that the message had really resonated with him. My address had reinforced something in him that he had always believed….but he had never been taught before that evening.

Little did I know how much the message had resonated with him until I reconnected with him weeks later.  Since our first encounter, he had committed to making every aspect of his business as professional as possible.  He had made a laundry list of things he wanted to change: first and foremost was that antiquated tracking system for equipment repairs.

He smiled as he recounted with me how much fun it had been for him creating the new tracking system.  As a professional, he noted, the new tracking system was something that he always knew he should do. Having made the commitment to himself to center his company around professional values proved to be impetus he needed to get started right away.

Almost from the onset of implementing the new tracking system the company gained 30% additional business in equipment repairs.  And that 30% increase has held steady over these many months.  In other words, it wasn’t a fluke.  Interestingly, the owner says that handling 30% more volume with the new system ‘feels like’ their previous volume with the old system.  In other words, the greater work load hasn’t been a problem at all—even though it’s 30% higher than before. For the benefit of those who desire quantification, that’s a 30% increase in productivity!

His employees love the new system as it really helps their ability to satisfy customers.  And it avoids them looking stupid and feeling embarrassed as they had before with the old system.  It’s proven to be a winner in every way.  The owner can’t wait to make even more changes!  Said another way, he can’t wait to make his operation that much more professional.

Professional upgrades can take a lot of forms—this one happened to involve a system.   All this owner needed was to be reminded that he was a professional and how important that was for his company.  The experience has reignited his commitment to the high standards (e.g. mind-set # 4) he’s always believed in.  His business, his employees and his customers have all benefited.  I can’t wait to see what he’ll undertake next.

 

Lessons From The Debates

The vice presidential debate is tonight here in the US.  Reports are that one of the participants has been sequestered for the past week—preparing. That’s a lot….but of course there’s a great deal on the line with the presidential election less than four weeks away.

The candidates are preparing so as to not get caught flat-footed.  That’s good thinking.  After all, when you know something threatening is likely headed your way…ducking doesn’t seem like such a great strategy.

Preparation is integral to Mind-Set #3—Professionals Know Things Get Better When They Get Better. Make no mistake, preparation isn’t sexy.  It’s rarely fun.  It requires discipline.  It’s subservient to high standards (mind-set #4) and a commitment to results (mind-Set #1).   Preparation usually extracts a personal sacrifice of some sort.  Yet, in the end, sacrifice makes people better.  And when important things are on the line, you want your people at their best.

Take, for example, what Starbucks does for their people.  Starbucks is in the people business serving coffee (think: exceptional customer service). Customers are demanding, sometimes even rude.  Anticipating this (and recognizing how inexperienced some of their newly-hired baristas are in dealing with sensitive people issues) Starbucks trains its people on the very situations that they’ll ultimately face when dealing with the ever-fickle public. The approach has proven to build confidence and develop greater self-discipline in their baristas. As importantly, it has enhanced Starbuck’s customer service.

Starbucks (like the vice presidential debate candidates) doesn’t want to get caught flat-footed.  For Starbucks, there’s a lot on the line—namely great customer service.  Starbucks is all-too-familiar with the types of situations that could really test their baristas patience, good will and people skills.  They’re doing something about it…they get prepared.  Starbucks is one amongst many that do this….it’s a really prudent approach.

People are at their best when they’re prepared—it’s just as important at Starbucks as it is in a vice presidential debate.

Professionalism To The Rescue–Right Out Of The Box

Two short days after participating in a teleconference on The Power of Professionalism, Amber Peebles— President of the Athena Construction Group— experienced first-hand its impact in handling a thorny issue that had generated a lot of negative energy in her organization.

The issue wasn’t their company’s most important but was typical in the way it sapped valuable time and energy.  The question was: should hourly employee David (or at least let’s call him that)  be allowed to use a company-issued lap-top while on an out-of-state family bereavement visit?  The circumstances involving the visit were nuanced, but—bottom-line—David was offering to keep up with his work while away.

Amber’s colleagues (business partners in an affiliate company whom David was supporting) said no. It was their computer (loaded with everything David would need) that was in question.

The frustrating decision prompted a number of semi-contentious meetings and a stream of frustrating phone calls before the issue finally got to Amber.  Relying on the principles in The Power of Professionalism, Amber cut to the quick.  She made it clear to her affiliate colleagues that David was a professional and should be treated as such.  Her expectations were clear.

With that, the issue had been resolved without additional drama.  What made the difference?  Amber’s re-framing! She not only helped facilitate a solution but educated at the same time.

The big idea upon which The Power of Professionalism is based is that is that the central role of professionalism has not been fully appreciated, let alone understood well, in the quest to perfect organizations.  Amber got it…big time!

Amber had raised everyone’s sights (mind-set #7) and also held to her high standards (mind-set #4). But most critically, she reinforced the importance of putting professional values as the centerpiece of her organization’s culture. Amber’s approach quickly shifted the energy from negative to positive.

Sure, this was arguably a small issue.  But the principle behind it can just as easily be applied to ‘the big stuff’ too…as we’ll see in subsequent posts.

Congratulations Amber!