A client recently asked me to speak to their company about "the new normal." It reminded me of an interview I conducted with Sir Richard Branson on the same topic a couple of years ago. As you know, Sir Richard is an expert on operating in the new normal. His international investment group, the Virgin Group, is one of the world’s most recognized and respected brands and runs successful businesses in several different sectors. During our interview, I asked Sir Richard how he chooses the different sectors he invests in. His reply was that he looks for sectors where the current competitors are not as customer focused as they could be. If they are not taking care of their customers, he’ll go into that industry. But that was just the beginning. In addition to being customer focused, he shared that you have to be fast and flexible, you have to be cost effective, and you have to be continuously improving. I couldn’t agree more. Customer service and a focus on meeting customer needs are a given in today’s competitive work environment. First, you’ve got to have Raving Fan customers—people who find their experience so exceptional that they brag about you to others. Second, you have to be fast and flexible. That means you’ve got to empower the people closest to the customer by providing skill training and giving them the authority to do their jobs well. Third, you have to do it in a cost-effective manner. Put it all together and you have a plan for success that I often depict as a sturdy three-legged stool with customers, employees, and financial success as the three legs—and the seat that holds it all together is continuous improvement. So how do you succeed in the new normal? If your organization is like most, you have many different areas of focus. In a situation like that it’s easy for people to become stressed, unclear about priorities, or even drag their feet. Don’t let that happen. Keep moving forward—because if you don’t move forward and adjust, your organization risks becoming obsolete. As you look at the challenges and changes of the new normal, the advice I’ve been giving for years applies more than ever: Keep your eye on the customer. Create a motivating environment for your people and empower them to meet customer needs.  And remember, never stop learning. Adopting a culture of continuous improvement will keep your company moving forward and help it adjust to whatever the business environment brings.

People often ask me how they can be more effective as a manager. One approach I recommend is to meet one-on-one with each of your direct reports for 15 to 30 minutes at least once every two weeks. Having one-on-one meetings is a simple strategy and just plain common sense—but it’s not common practice, according to polling we conducted together with Training magazine earlier this year. When we asked people what they wanted out of their one-on-ones with their immediate supervisor, we discovered managers aren’t making time to meet with their direct reports on a regular basis—and when they do meet, they aren’t using the time effectively. (See infographic.) Ready to get started? Before you start ramping up your one-on-one meeting schedule, make sure you’ve established a firm foundation, which begins with clear goals and objectives. All good performance begins with clear goals. Goal setting has two parts: Identify what the responsibility is. Identify what good behavior looks like. When it comes to goal setting, strive for focus. Less is more. We often see people with eight, ten, or twelve goals—that’s too many. We’ve found that having three to five observable and measurable goals works best. Remember this 80/20 rule: Eighty percent of your most significant results will come from twenty percent of your goals—your key areas of responsibility. Direct reports set the agenda One important distinction that separates a true one-on-one meeting from other manager/direct report meetings is that the manager sets the time but the direct report sets the agenda. A manager’s role is to listen, ask clarifying questions, and look for ways they can help. One-on-ones are a wonderful way for managers to learn how to best coach people. As people discuss how they are doing in relation to their goals, they will share with their manager what they need and what might be holding them back. Make time to meet Managing is about your people—because when people accomplish their goals, the organization wins. Set some time aside to meet with each of your people today. You’ll be surprised at the impact even 15 to 30 minutes every other week can make!

HarperCollins just released our revised edition of Leadership and the One Minute Manager. Much has changed since the original book was published nearly 30 years ago—workforces are more diverse, workplaces are less centralized, and technology has revolutionized business communications.  Surprisingly, much has remained the same, especially when it comes to managing people.  Today more than ever leaders have to do three important things. First, they have to help people set clear goals. Second, they have to diagnose people’s development level on each task. Third, they have to match their leadership style to the development level of the person they’re leading, to provide that person with what they need to succeed. Notice I said "diagnose people’s development level on each task." Even among experienced managers, it’s easy to fall into a trap of seeing people as beginners, or moderately competent, or highly experienced.  When we paint people with a broad brush—for example, assuming that because a person is an expert in one aspect of their job, they’re an expert in all aspects of their job—our assumptions often lead to misunderstandings and poor performance. If you’re anything like me, there are parts of your job you’re good at, but there are also aspects of your job where you’re still learning—especially in today’s constantly changing business environment.  Mastering a new technology is the one example most people can relate to. Just about all of us know what it feels like to be a beginner when confronted with a new technological advance. For any particular task, people can be at one of four development levels, depending on their experience and commitment.  Your job as a leader is to identify and understand those different levels and adjust your level of direction and support accordingly.  Here’s a brief overview:  Development Level One - Enthusiastic Beginner. Appropriate Leadership Style: Directing An enthusiastic beginner is eager to get started on a task, even though they do not have any demonstrated expertise. For this task, regardless of the overall tenure of the employee, the leader needs to provide specific direction about goals, show and tell how, and closely monitor the individual’s performance in order to provide frequent feedback on results. Development Level Two - Disillusioned Learner. Appropriate Leadership Style: Coaching This development level usually sets in after an employee has been unsuccessful on a new task. The leader needs to direct goal or task accomplishment but also explain why, solicit suggestions, and begin to encourage involvement in decision making. Development Level Three - Capable But Cautious Performer. Appropriate Leadership Style: Supporting Once a person has demonstrated skill with a task, the leader and the individual make decisions together. The role of the leader is to facilitate, listen, draw out, encourage, and support. Development Level Four - Self Reliant Achiever. Appropriate Leadership Style: Delegating Once an individual becomes an expert at a task, the leader allows the individual to make most of the decisions about what, how, and when. The role of the leader is to value the individual’s contributions and support his or her growth. It’s easy for us to stereotype people as beginners, moderates, or seasoned veterans in all of their tasks, despite knowing from our own experience that we’re often at very different levels of competence and commitment on our own tasks. Even seasoned managers can fall into this broad brush approach.  Take an extra minute with your people to diagnose their development level on each of their goal-related tasks.  A little extra time up front will pay dividends and save time down the road.

Why don’t New Year’s resolutions work? When I ask people how many have made a New Year’s resolution they haven’t kept, everyone raises their hand. The reason for this is, after you announce your New Year’s resolution, everyone who is important in your life laughs, says, "We’ll believe it when we see it," and goes to a delegating leadership style where they leave you alone to accomplish your goal. But if you could handle a delegating leadership style, it wouldn’t be a New Year’s resolution—you would just do it. Therefore, it’s the wrong leadership style. A Situational Approach For years, I had been up and down on my fitness regime.  I was frustrated about not keeping my commitment to my commitment. Then one day it dawned on me.  Why wasn’t I using what I knew from Situational Leadership® II (SLII®)—the well-known leadership concept we teach to thousands of leaders each year through our company? SLII® asserts there’s no such thing as one best leadership style. The style used must be based on a person’s development level on a particular task or goal. With SLII®, you first determine your development level in a particular area and then determine the specific leadership style you need. So it’s not only about "different strokes for different folks," it’s about different strokes for the same folks on different tasks or goals. The goal in SLII® is to move people gradually from the dependence of a D1—Enthusiastic Beginner, through the stages of D2—Disillusioned Learner and D3—Capable but Cautious Performer, all the way to independence as a D4—Self-Reliant Achiever. The respective leadership styles for these four development levels progress from directing, to supporting, to coaching, and finally to delegating. My Personal Experience Armed with this insight, I went to my friend Tim Kearin, a fitness expert, and told him I was ready to get myself fit and healthy once and for all. Using SLII®, we analyzed my development level in six areas of fitness: Aerobics Strength training Balance Flexibility Weight control/Nutrition Sleep/rest The only aspect of fitness where I was a D4 was rest and sleep—I can sleep anywhere! So that wasn’t an issue for me. When it came to strength training and balance, I was a D1—Enthusiastic Beginner. I was excited about the idea of getting stronger, and I had never realized the importance of balance until I learned it was a major issue for people in my age group—poor balance can lead to falls. Because I had never done any work on either of these areas, I needed a directing leadership style. In terms of aerobics, flexibility, and nutrition/weight control, Tim and I determined I was a D2—Disillusioned Learner. I had started programs in these areas at various times over the previous thirty years but hadn’t kept up with them, so I was frustrated. According to SLII®, I needed a coaching leadership style—which means I needed direction and also caring support. So after Tim and I determined what kind of leadership style I needed in each of the six fitness areas, we started the journey—and together wrote about my experience—in a brand new book just out this month, entitled Fit At Last. I’m excited about Fit at Last because it’s not an ordinary fitness book. It doesn’t promote a particular diet or exercise program. It’s all about managing your journey to health and fitness—and committing to your commitment—with a little help from others depending on where you are in each area of fitness you are working on. You can learn more about my journey and the book in general at the Fit At Last book page. I think this book is really going to help people stay committed to their commitment—whatever it may be. My friend Art Turock taught me the difference between being committed to something and just being interested in it. For example, if you’re interested in exercising and it’s raining in the morning, you say, "I think I’ll exercise tomorrow." But if you’re committed to exercising and it’s raining, you say, "I think I’ll exercise inside today." So the big question is: Can you keep your commitment to your commitment, once and for all? With Fit at Last and Situational Leadership® II, you can. To learn more about my fitness journey with trainer Tim Kearin visit his blog Fit At Last By Design .

I was on the phone with my friend Phil Hodges the other day talking about contentment. Phil believes that contentment can only happen in the present, and I think he is right. Contentment doesn’t happen in the past by remembering the good old days.  Having nice memories is pleasant but doesn’t necessarily offer contentment in the present. Also, contentment is not in the future because we don’t know what that will bring. Real contentment, enjoyment, satisfaction, and happiness happen when we are fully present and living in the now. If you have a positive feeling that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, doing what you are supposed to be doing, then you experience true happiness. Spencer Johnson, my coauthor of The One Minute Manager, also discusses this in his brilliant parable The Precious Present. In this story, an older man’s wisdom launches a young boy on a lifelong search for the precious present. Eventually the young man discovers what the old man was trying to teach him all along: what you have and what you do in the present is a gift. Living in the past can be destructive or demotivating and can hinder your journey to happiness. Likewise, planning for the future is good but it is impossible to live there. And if you focus only on the future, you miss opportunities right in front of you. Living in the present allows you to focus on the important and to cherish the moment. I encourage you to consider moments when you were at your best. I’ll bet you’ll recall that you were right there in the moment, fully committed and fully present. If you dwell on what was—the past—or what will be—the future—you’ll miss the power of contentment, happiness, and success in the present.

Think of a time when you experienced really excellent service. Now compare that to a time when the service you received was just acceptable—okay, but nothing special. Which organization do you want to do business with again? I’ll bet it’s the one where someone made you feel valued and cared for—someone who understood the true importance of Legendary Service. That’s the central message of my latest book, Legendary Service: The Key Is to Care. It’s a story that I think will change the way people look at service. I wrote it with my colleagues Kathy Cuff and Vicki Halsey, two experts on customer service. As coauthors of our Legendary Service customer service training program, Kathy and Vicki have spent years teaching the concepts of Legendary Service to clients in every industry. What we know from working with companies of all sizes is that most organizations recognize the necessity of offering great customer service, but few really get it right. They zero in on specific tactics or trendy catchphrases, or they provide training to just a small number of people in customer service roles. They don’t understand that the best companies work to create a true service culture—where taking care of customers is everyone’s responsibility, not just the job of the people in the customer service department. These companies look at service from three equally important perspectives: Frontline service providers, who play a critical role because they are the ones who have direct contact with the customer. Managers, who not only empower their frontline people to provide exemplary service, but also act as role models for both internal and external service excellence. Senior leaders, who fully embrace the service initiative and communicate desired behaviors to the entire organization. Their goal is to create an environment where associates feel that they are valued internal customers of the organization so that they, in turn, want to take care of external customers and make them feel valued. Legendary Service is really an inside-out issue—in two ways. At an organizational level, creating loyal external customers begins by taking care of your internal customers—your people.  At a personal level, providing great service begins when you realize that, as an individual, you have control over the service experience each of your customers receives. You can create a loyal customer by the service you provide. To get at this dual focus, we use a model we call ICARE. We believe that there are five steps to becoming a Legendary Service provider: Ideal Service: Meet the customer’s needs on a day-to-day basis by acting on the belief that service is important Culture of Service: Foster an environment that focuses on serving the customer Attentiveness: Know your customers and their preferences Responsiveness: Demonstrate a genuine willingness to serve others as you fulfill their individual needs Empowerment: Take the initiative to implement the service vision We’ve found that the lessons of this simple model, when applied, will have a profound impact on the service experience your customers—both internal and external—will receive. You can find out more by joining my coauthor Kathy Cuff on April 16 for a free webinar called Creating A Customer Focused Organization, where she will be sharing some of the book’s key concepts. We have also created a special web page where you can take an online quiz about your company’s service mentality and read an excerpt from the book. I hope you’ll check out both of these resources and discover the value of creating a Legendary Service culture in your organization.

On May 6, I turned 75 years old. In today’s society, most people would be retired at 75—or at least thinking about it. But did you know that the very practice of retirement was designed for the industrial world? During that era, people were physically tired by the time they reached 65 and needed to rest. Things are different now—we have more options. My goal in life is to be a loving teacher of simple truths. I’ve always searched for methods to improve the skills of leaders and to communicate those methods in a way that makes it easy for people to understand and practice. That doesn’t make me tired—it refuels me. So, I’m adopting a different approach. I’m focusing on an attitude of refirement instead of retirement. I first heard this word from Zig Ziglar, the great American author and motivator. When he would run into friends who hadn’t seen him for a while, they would ask if he had retired. He always answered this question the same way.  "There’s no mention of retirement in the Bible. Except for Jesus, Mary and Joseph, David, and a few others, nobody under 80 made an impact. I’m not retiring, I’m refiring! I’m not gonna ease up, let up, shut up or give up until I’m taken up. As a matter of fact, I’m just getting warmed up!" Zig lived his life that way until his death in the fall of 2012. Norman Vincent Peale was another of my mentors who helped shape this idea. When I first met Norman, he was eighty-six years old. What most amazed me about him was that he was excited about every single day. Why? He couldn’t wait to find out what he might learn. He often said, "When I stop learning, I might as well lie down because I will be dead." He was learning right up until he passed away at age ninety-five. Learning is more important today than it’s ever been. In the past, if people were loyal to their company and worked hard, their job was secure. Today, the skills you bring to the party constitute the only available form of job security. People who are continually learning and upgrading their skills increase their value—not only in their organization, but also in the overall job market. So don’t count the days until you retire. Start refiring now and look for new ways to rekindle, reinvigorate, and recharge your relationship with others. I guarantee you’ll have plenty to celebrate each and every day.

Sometimes when I’m leading a session for a big group of managers, I’ll ask, "How many of you think of yourself as a leader?" Usually only about one-third of them raise their hands. Somehow they think the word leader is reserved for high-level positions like President or CEO. But each of us has the ability to influence someone else, whether it be a coworker, a child at home, a spouse, or a friend. Anytime you are trying to influence the thinking, beliefs, or development of another person, you are engaging in leadership. Of course there are traditional organizational leadership responsibilities that involve goals and objectives, but if you think beyond those confines, you’ll realize that everyone is a leader—you are a leader—unless you’re stranded on an island by yourself! I’m always reminded of this when I ask people to tell me about someone who has influenced them and had a positive impact on their life. They very seldom mention traditional leaders at work. They usually talk about parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, coaches, or teachers.  The one characteristic common among all of these influencers?  Their interest in helping another person develop. The truth is that we are all trying to influence people, whether it is in the office, at home, or with friends.  But we need to pay attention to how we do it. Are we there to serve or to be served? The most effective leaders know that true leadership is about serving and impacting people in a positive way. It’s about letting people know that you want to help them be the best they can be and that you truly care about them. Even if you don’t have a traditional leadership role right now, chances are you are playing a significant role in the life of another person.  Identify it, claim it, and recognize the impact you can have in someone else’s life.

I’ve worked with thousands of leaders over the years and the most successful ones achieve results while acting with respect, care, and fairness for the well-being of everyone involved. Many companies put pressure on leaders to reach or surpass goals at any cost. But wise companies realize that leaders who can achieve results by creating a motivating work environment are the leaders who will sustain future success. What’s the secret behind this kind of leader? I think truly effective leadership begins on the inside—with your heart. Leading from your heart is about leadership character and intention, which form the backbone of servant leadership. As a leader, you must ask yourself why you lead. Is it to serve or to be served? Answering this question in a truthful way is so important. You can’t fake being a servant leader. I believe that if leaders don’t get the heart right, they simply won’t ever become servant leaders. The most persistent barrier to being a servant leader is a heart motivated by self-interest that looks at the world as a "give a little, take a lot" proposition. Leaders with hearts motivated by self-interest put their own agenda, safety, status, and gratification ahead of those who are affected by their thoughts and actions. Leaders with a servant heart believe their role is to bring out the best in others. They thrive on developing people and helping them achieve their goals. They constantly try to find out what their people need to perform well. Being a servant leader is not just another management technique. It is a way of life for those with servant hearts.

On July 31 we lost one of the eminent scholars and authors in the field of leadership, Warren Bennis. Some people have said that Peter Drucker was the father of management and Warren Bennis was the father of leadership. To me, he was a trusted mentor and personal friend. I first came in contact with Warren’s work when I was working on my doctorate degree at Cornell in the 1960s. I got to know him personally in the 1970s when Pat and Drea Zigarmi, two of my doctoral students who later became founding associates of The Ken Blanchard Companies, chose Warren as the subject of their doctoral dissertations. At that time he was the president of the University of Cincinnati. Pat studied Warren as an internal change agent and Drea studied him as an external change agent. Warren wasn’t just a writer and teacher of leadership—he was also a practitioner. More importantly, he was a fabulous human being. In the last several years I was fortunate enough to be able to have lunch with Warren in Los Angeles every few months. He always pushed the envelope and thought more creatively about leadership than anyone else. At age eighty-nine he was still teaching a course called "The Art and the Adventure of Leadership" at the University of Southern California alongside former USC President Steven B. Sample. Not only am I going to miss Warren’s inquisitive mind and his challenging thinking, I will miss him as a human being. We’ve lost a great one.

One of our favorite publishers, Berrett-Koehler, just released the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do—the first book I coauthored with Mark Miller. The message in The Secret is as powerful in today’s increasingly complex world as it was when it was published ten years ago: You can serve without leading, but you can’t lead without serving. I’ll be blogging a few times over the next several weeks about each element of the SERVE model we present in the book. To begin, the S in SERVE stands for See the Future. As leaders of a group, department, or organization, we must have a compelling vision of the future.  This compelling vision stirs the passion not only within us but also within the people we serve. It tells everyone who we are, where we are going, and what will drive our behaviors. Sheldon Bowles, a friend and coauthor, provides one of my favorite examples of a man with a clear vision for his company. Sheldon is one of the founders of Canada’s DOMO Gasoline company. Many years ago when gasoline companies were all shifting to self service gas stations, Sheldon decided that it would be the perfect time to go into the full service business. He loved to venture where there was no competition—and full service would be DOMO’s market differentiator. He knew people didn’t go to gas stations for enjoyment; they went for a specific reason and wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible. Sheldon decided to create an experience for the customer when they pulled into a DOMO station, and the pit stop of the Indianapolis 500 race served as his inspiration. He hired mothers, retirees, and others who were interested in working part-time and dressed them in red jumpsuits. When a customer drove in to one of the stations, attendants would race toward the car, pump the gas, look under the hood, clean the windows, and take the payment. The values that drove everyone’s behavior were safety, speed, and fun. As the customer drove away, they were handed a card that said "P.S.—We also sell gas." As a leader, Sheldon had a clear picture of the future and communicated it effectively to his people. What’s your vision of the future?  Is it compelling?  Have you shared it with your team? I look forward to sharing more about the SERVE model in future blogs. If you’d like to learn more, join Mark Miller and me on Monday, September 29 at 11:00 a.m. PDT/2:00 p.m. EDT when we will host a free webinar on the key concepts of The Secret.

In my last blog I introduced the SERVE model from The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do—the first book I coauthored with Mark Miller that was just released in a 10th Anniversary Edition. In case you missed it, last time I talked about how the S in the model stands for See the Future and points out the importance of having a compelling vision of the future. Now I want to focus on the first E in the SERVE model, which stands for Engage and Develop Others. As a leader, you must be able to put the right people in the right roles. This involves making the best decisions when recruiting people for your team. Of course you need to look for specific business skills required by the role—but you should also consider the character of the person. Will they fit in with other colleagues and share common values with the rest of the team? Once the right people are in place, the best leaders invest in the development of those people. Build an environment where people are so engaged that they dedicate themselves to helping achieve the vision. Create an expectation for learning and growing. Give people opportunities to develop their skills and leverage their strengths by providing ongoing training, mentoring, and other types of growth. We know from research on employee engagement that as much as three-quarters of employees are either totally disengaged or somewhat disengaged at work—so there is a real opportunity for leaders to make a difference by engaging and developing their staff. Even moving that score a little in the right direction will have a huge positive impact, not only on individuals but on the entire organization. So ask yourself these important questions: Do I have the right people on board? Am I continuing to help them develop? Have I created an engaging work environment? The answers you come up with are the first steps to ensuring your effectiveness as a leader—and the ultimate success of your organization.

My last couple of blogs were dedicated to the first two elements of the SERVE model from The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, the first book Mark Miller and I coauthored, which was just released as a 10th Anniversary Edition. For a quick review, the S in the model stands for See the Future and points out the importance of having a compelling vision for the future. The first E in the SERVE model stands for Engage and Develop Others. As a leader, you must be able to put the right people in the right roles, and you must invest in their development. Now I want to tell you about the R in the SERVE model, which stands for Reinvent Continuously. This is a very big concept so I’ve broken it down into three components: Personal reinvention, systems and processes reinvention, and structural reinvention. First, if you want to be a great leader, you must reinvent continuously on a personal level. Simply knowing how to do your job today doesn’t secure your success tomorrow. Read, watch videos, listen to audio books or podcasts, talk to colleagues, work with a mentor, or join associations or special interest groups. It’s important to keep up with this ever-changing world so that you can be innovative and bring new ideas that will respond to future challenges. In fact, Mark and I believe if you stop learning, you stop leading. The second component applies to reinventing systems and processes. It’s critical to keep looking for ways to improve how your business is conducted. A key point to always remember, whether you are looking for ways to cut costs, reduce errors, increase speed to market, or simplify processes, is to talk to your people. Because they are in the trenches with your products, services, and customers, they often generate ideas executive leaders wouldn’t come up with. Getting input from people at all levels in your workplace also increases buy-in. The third part is all about structural reinvention. Sometimes the way an organization is structured just doesn’t make sense for future growth. The best leaders recognize this and are willing to be flexible when it comes to restructuring teams, departments, and sometimes entire functions. Continuous reinvention is a long-term quest. To get started on your reinvention journey, ask yourself these questions: Who are my mentors? What am I learning? What systems or processes need to be changed to improve how we do business? Do any teams, departments, or functions need restructuring to enhance future performance? I’d love to hear from you. In what ways have you reinvented yourself, your workplace systems and processes, or your organization?

The pop star opens up to Vanity Fair in a new cover story.

The faceoff between 'Empire' stars Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard will air Aug. 20.

I’m excited to share the fourth element of the SERVE model from the first book I wrote with Mark Miller, The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. But I can’t start without a quick review of the first three elements. The S in the SERVE model stands for See the Future and points out the importance of having a compelling vision for the future. The first E in the model stands for Engage and Develop Others and focuses on hiring the right people for the right roles and investing in their development. The R stands for Reinvent Continuously and refers to personal reinvention, systems and processes reinvention, and structural reinvention. The V in the SERVE model stands for Value Results and Relationships. For many years, leaders thought they had to choose between people and results, but in fact both elements are critical for long-term success. It’s not an either/or proposition—it’s a both/and approach. Leaders who focus only on results will lose their people—but leaders also can’t run a company as if it were a social club. People have to be held accountable for achieving goals. Successful leaders are able to create an environment where morale is high and people work diligently to achieve results. Leaders must set high expectations while maintaining respectful relationships that will inspire optimal performance. Think about a time when you had a great leader. I’ll bet that leader challenged you to perform at a high level, but also provided support to help you reach your goals. Leaders who set clear goals with their people, listen to their needs, provide authentic feedback and coaching, and celebrate successes along the way will reap the benefits of working with a consistently high performing team. The typical ups and downs of our economy require leaders to stay aware of business results, but smart leaders realize those results are achieved by people. I’ve always said that if you take care of your customers and create a motivating work environment for your people, profits and financial strength are the applause you’ll get for a job well done. As you can see, great leaders must balance both critical elements—results and relationships. Measure your ability to do this by asking yourself these questions: How much emphasis do I place on getting results? How many of my people would say I make a significant investment in helping them succeed? How have I expressed appreciation for a job well done in the past thirty days? Answer honestly, and remember: mastering the art of leadership is a journey. There will always be room for improvement, so enjoy the trip.

The actor talks about his new movie and the current state of his career.

I’ve enjoyed telling you about the elements of the SERVE model from the first book I wrote with Mark Miller, The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. Before I explain the final element, let’s review the first four, which I’ve shared over the past several weeks. The S in the SERVE model stands for See the Future and points out the importance of having a compelling vision for the future. The first E in the model stands for Engage and Develop Others and focuses on hiring the right people for the right roles and investing in their development. The R stands for Reinvent Continuously and refers to personal reinvention, system and process reinvention, and structural reinvention. And the V in the SERVE model stands for Value Results and Relationships. For many years, leaders thought they had to choose between people and results, but in fact both elements are critical for long-term success. The final E in the SERVE model stands for Embody the Values. Effective leadership is built on trust. Although there are many ways to build trust, I believe the easiest way is to live consistently by your values. Leaders must establish, articulate, and enforce the core values of their organization. More important, they must model the behaviors that support the values. For example, let’s say being customer focused is your number one value. If you make decisions and take actions that negatively impact the customer experience, you are not embodying that value. This gives people a reason not to trust you, which negatively impacts your effectiveness as a leader. If your decisions and actions always place the customer experience first, you’ll not only honor the values but also build trust with your team. Remember to walk your talk to build and maintain the trust of your people. When you embody the values, you help shape the organization’s culture. When you don’t, you can damage your own leadership—and the organization. Are you ready to start working on ways to Embody the Values? Ask yourself these questions: How can I integrate our core organizational values into the way my team operates? What are some ways I can communicate our values to my team over the next thirty days? How can I create greater personal alignment with our values on a daily basis?  How can I recognize and reward people who actively embody the values? Establishing a leadership culture in an organization takes time and involves continuous, focused work. It starts by establishing an agreed upon leadership point of view. The elements of the SERVE model are a great place for that conversation to begin. Teach the common point of view to all current and emerging leaders. Practice it. Measure it. And model it. And remember—a servant leadership culture begins with you. Good luck on your journey, and let me hear about your progress!  

Last week I had the chance to spend time with my old friend John Calipari, coach of the University of Kentucky basketball team. I met "Coach Cal" more than 35 years ago at the University of Massachusetts when he was on the coaching staff and I was a faculty member. Through the years, our careers have both been focused on leadership skills—mine emphasizing the development of business leaders and Cal’s concentrating on leading young athletes. I believe that people want to grow and develop, and that the job of a great leader is to bring out the magnificence in people. I can’t think of a better example of this than Cal. As I watched Cal working with his team, I asked him about his vision for them. He said, "We’re in the life skills business. We just happen to play basketball." What a wonderful perspective. As a true servant leader, he wants to prepare these kids for life and help them accomplish their dreams. He realizes that leadership isn’t about him; it’s about the team he serves. In his book Players First: Coaching from the Inside Out, he challenges players to be the best they can be and to help bring out the best in their teammates. Calipari has led his team to the elusive Final Four tournament three times in the past four years. They won it all in 2012. When asked about that NCAA Championship, he replied, "It isn’t about me. It’s about these 13 players." He truly trusts that each player has a special skill, talent, or strength and that his job is to help each individual develop to his highest level. Although Coach Cal starts out with a new team every season and works within a specific time frame, he uses the same skills to build team after successful team. Business leaders can learn a lot from Calipari’s leadership style. All leaders should spend time with their direct reports to understand their individual strengths, help each of them realize their brilliance, and bring out their magnificence. It’s an investment that serves the individual, the leader, and the organization.

This is the season when many companies begin to prioritize strategies for the coming year. Those strategic plans usually involve setting goals for departments as well as individuals. But how much time do you really spend defining clear, measurable goals? Most leaders agree with the importance of setting goals, but many don’t take the time to work with their people to clearly develop goals and write them down. As a result, people tend to get caught in what I call an "activity trap" where they are busy working on projects—but not necessarily the most important projects. We’ve all heard the term SMART goals. Let’s take a closer look at each of the elements in the SMART acronym, which we define as: S = specific M = motivating A = attainable R = relevant T = trackable Here’s the twist: I’m going to ask you to think of this familiar acronym in a new way—as STRAM. Why STRAM? Because the most effective way to write a goal statement is to start with the Specific and Trackable elements first. The leader should describe the Specific goal and when or how often it needs to be accomplished. Now the leader needs to make sure the goal is Trackable.  How will progress or performance be tracked or measured? To give you an example, take a look at these two similar goal statements. Produce monthly financial reports. Submit accurate and timely financial reports on a bimonthly basis for the next 12 months as measured by end user feedback. Which of these is the SMART goal? The second one. Why? The first is a goal statement, but it isn’t specific or trackable. The second goal statement provides precise outcomes for accurate and timely financials on a bimonthly basis. And the results will be measured by end user reports. So the second goal is specific and trackable. Once the S and T are in place, the leader and team member can review the other three elements—Relevant, Attainable and Motivating—to check if the goal is truly SMART. The leader has the responsibility for making the goal Relevant by ensuring the goal is important and that accomplishing the goal will make a difference to the organization. The leader and team member work together to make sure the goal is Attainable. It must be realistic and achievable. When a goal is too difficult to accomplish, people may give up—but when it is too easy, people tend to procrastinate. Ultimately, each team member determines for themselves if the goal is Motivating by considering if it is exciting and meaningful. Will it drain energy from their work experience or add enjoyment? Will the goal help build competence, relationships, or autonomy? If you take some time up front to write SMART goals, your team will be able to focus on the most important projects that will support not only organizational goals but also each team member’s personal needs. This will create an energized and motivating work environment that supports both great results and human satisfaction—a winning combination for success.

I believe the key to developing employees and building a great organization is to wander around and catch people doing things right. This is a powerful management concept that isn’t used as often as it should be. Unfortunately, most leaders tend to focus on the things that are being done wrong so they can fix them. The best way to start this habit is to take an hour out of your week to just walk around and observe what goes on in your organization. I know you’ll see several examples of people who are doing the right thing: conducting business with corporate values in mind. When you see this happening, praise the individual. Remember, though—effective praising has to be specific. Just walking around saying "thanks for everything" is meaningless. If you say "great job" to a poor performer and the same thing to a good performer, you’ll sound ridiculous to the poor performer and you’ll demotivate the good performer. For example, in a retail environment you might see an employee walk with a customer to a different location in the store in order to show the customer where to find a certain item. An effective praising would sound like this: "Mary, I noticed just now how you put the customer first by taking her to the merchandise she was looking for instead of just pointing in the general direction. That is an excellent example of living by our values. Keep it up." This principle can also help relationships flourish at home. If your school-aged child makes his bed or does his homework without being asked, let him know right away that you notice and appreciate his efforts. Be timely and specific with your praise. Catching people doing things right provides satisfaction and motivates good performance. So remember: give praise immediately, make it specific, and encourage the person to keep up the good work. It’s a great way to interact with and affirm the people in your life—and it will make you feel good about yourself too.

Many of you are finishing up year-end performance reviews and working with your team members to set goals for the coming year. But have you thought about how you’re going to help your staff keep working on target toward those goals? The key is to provide consistent feedback on their performance along the way. I first heard the phrase feedback is the breakfast of champions from a former colleague, Rick Tate. He explained it in sports terms. Can you imagine training for the Olympics with no one telling you how fast you ran or how high you jumped? That idea seems ludicrous, yet many people operate in a vacuum in organizations, not knowing how well they are doing on any given task. Too often managers save up negative feedback and unload it all at once over a minor incident or during a performance review. Even worse, others misrepresent the performance review and act as if everything is okay when it really isn’t. Both situations are dangerous. When people are attacked or not dealt with truthfully, they lose respect for their manager and their organization as well as pride in their own work. Truthful, timely feedback is important to people. We all want to know how well we are doing whether that comes in the form of praise for a job well done, coaching to improve performance, or even redirection if necessary. I firmly believe that providing clear feedback on a regular basis is the most cost-effective strategy for improving performance and instilling satisfaction. It can be done quickly, it costs nothing, and it can turn performance around fast.

I’m so excited about the release of my latest book written with my friend Morton Shaevitz, Refire! Don’t Retire: Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life. When Morton and I started this book, we focused on the fact that people who embrace life with gusto enjoy better health, more happiness, and greater fulfillment. Then we realized the same principles can be applied at work. When people see their workplace as a space to enhance relationships, stimulate their mind, revitalize physically, and grow spiritually, it brings passion to their work. Most senior leaders are aware of the statistics about disengaged employees in the workplace and how important it is to create opportunities for meaningful connection at work. I know many of you are reading this right now and saying to yourself, "Oh, great, one more thing I need to do at work to help my employees love their job." Let me be clear that the full responsibility isn’t on you—but you can play a part by utilizing the four keys to refiring. The first key is Refiring Emotionally. Everyone needs emotional nourishment. Our research shows that people who have friends at work are happier, more loyal, and more productive. As a leader you can help people make emotional connections by encouraging teamwork, offering workshops or retreats, and holding celebrations. Everything from acknowledging birthdays and work anniversaries to companywide parties can support emotional refiring. Creating an emotionally connected culture not only gives people a morale boost, it also increases innovation and collaboration. Morton and I defined the code of conduct for refiring emotionally to remind you how simple it can be to make a difference. Be playful—Laugh and kid Be friendly—Smile and be happy Be joyful—Embrace the moment Be loving—Approach and welcome others Be spontaneous—Get out of your comfort zone Be enthusiastic—Give it your all I’m not saying you have to turn your work environment into a playground, but adding a little humor, warmth, and caring interaction will enhance emotional health and improve relationships. Just try one or two of the items on the list and I’m sure you’ll start to see a positive difference in yourself—and in your engaged workforce.  

In my last blog I explained the overall concept of my newest book, Refire! Don’t Retire: Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, coauthored by Morton Shaevitz. Although it is written from a general perspective about life, it also applies very strategically to the working environment. The first key is Refiring Emotionally and relates to the idea of creating a work environment where people can be engaged and emotionally connected to others. Now I want to talk about the second key—Refiring Intellectually. This seems like a no-brainer, right? We all need to keep learning to help ourselves and our companies thrive. But how many of us have a plan for learning and exploring new ideas? These days there are so many ways to learn new skills. You don’t have to rely on taking a course or attending a workshop when you can watch a YouTube video, listen to a podcast, or ask a friend to help you learn something new. I’ve been doing that for years—when writing books, I always work with a coauthor. I love the experience of collaborating with a colleague. My philosophy is simple: I already know what I know—what interests me is what I can learn from others. Think how easy it could be to collaborate with colleagues at work: Start a book club to discuss the key points of the latest business bestseller. Share links to online articles and videos that will inspire team members with new thinking. Have occasional brown bag workshops at lunchtime where someone teaches a craft or a computer skill to coworkers. I think the code of conduct Morton and I created for refiring intellectually will stimulate you to think about learning from a new perspective. Be open to learn—Look for learning in every situation Be a reader—Constantly search for new information Be teachable—Let others mentor you Be courageous—Venture into new areas Be persistent—Stay with it even when it’s difficult I’ve often said when you stop learning, you might as well lie down and let them throw the dirt over you. So get outside your comfort zone and learn something new! Who knows where the next adventure might lead you? ___________________________________________ To learn more about Refire! Don’t Retire: Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, visit the book homepage where you can download a free chapter.