Happy 2012

Just for you... the new year is here.  Looking forward to spending more time learning to live with leaders who need a hand - this year we will focus on the small things leaders need some help with to get ahead.
Share your issues, challenges and stories here....and let's get everyone moving toward new leadership goals.

Happy New Year!  May it be your best year yet!

Benefits and Employee Morale

So here is the story.  Just had surgery - unexpected -  and I let my boss know this.  They said "Don't worry about it"....meaning, that my pay would stay in place as my salary would just continue.  OK.  I'm good with that!  I can work from my laptop at home while I recover, not as many hours, but still able to contribute - great!  I'll stay in the loop and it won't be so hard to get back into the swing of things when I am fully recovered. Heck, I even sent the weekly report from my hospital bed.

Two days later, by UPS, an envelope arrives. Inside the envelope are application documents for Short Term Disability - meaning that, my pay will be 70%.  After communicating with my boss and our HR Manager, I was told that for sure, that would be the case.  I made sure at this point that my boss understood that I would not be responding to any emails and focusing instead on recovery.  She agreed with that.

Working with the Benefits Team in the Home Office was quite laughable. (In fact, I am still waiting for a return phone call from a voicemail that I left 2 weeks ago - the message stated that they would return my call 'at their convenience'. I guess it has not yet been convenient to call  - we'll talk about this more in another post.)  Needless to say, the stress involved with dealing with this office would be enough to cause a nervous breakdown or set back my recovery.  I finally got all the paperwork - 2 sets of forms - filled out, signed by the doctor, faxed over (because they don't take emails!!!! (even hospitals have WI-FI)) and found someone to tell me they received everything. Whew! 

Now, just because I like to understand everything - especially how and when I will be paid because my family likes to eat dinner everyday, I contacted the Payroll Department.  They pulled up my information quite quickly and immediately told me that I was covered for 100% pay for 13 weeks!!!!  I was surprised - to say the least. Now, she did tell me that it would show up on the pay stub as 70% + a 30% top up. When asked why, she stated it was because I was senior management.

NO ON KNEW THIS!

Can you imagine that?  After all the stress and worry.  After going back and forth with HR and my boss, no one took the time to find out the exact details and relay the information to me.  You would have thought they would know their own benefits package...if simply for the sake of recruiting top talent. 

Lesson:  if you are the leader, know the benefits or at least find out as you go along and make the life of your team members easier when going through hardships.

Lesson:  if you are the HR Manager, know the benefits and differences at every level. Period. That is your JOB!

Your Health at Work

What does your health mean to your leader?
Is your health an extension of your work?
Or is your health what it is because of your work?

Most leaders should understand that a healthy employee can actually focus and concentrate better, can be more productive and creative in problem-solving and even spend more time working than when they are ill. Makes sense right?

Well, not to this leader. They would prefer that you take a 2 hour conference call from your sick bed even if you feel so ill that you do not remember the call later. Or even worse, host a meeting that makes you miss your long-awaited specialist appointment without any regard for the ongoing health issue you are facing.


Talk about eliminating positive morale, and making you want to work only the hours that are stated on the paycheque.

What to do? Let the leader know about your appointments as soon as they are made and book the time off. This way, the leader will have the note on their calendar as well, and hopefully they will not book a meeting at the same time.


Also,when you are ill, delegate calls and appointments (if needed) to someone on your team to take care of them. This will provide your team members with an opportunity to grow and your leader with someone to take that conference call.

The Babysitter

So here is the leader who has been re-allocated to another role...and has to come back because of another exit from a key employee. Now, in his words, he is just ‘baby-sitting’ until a new replacement can be found. Questions abound:


• What happened to the other guy?

• Why, if this guy was removed, is he coming back, with a worsening attitude?

• Why are we not good enough to continue with the company mission and need a ‘babysitter’?

What to do? This is an opportunity to remind the babysitter of the good work the team did together. Thank them for the support and let them know that you are capable of executing your role as in the past, and you will let them know if they are needed for anything. Keep the conversation light, not confrontational, ignoring the cheap shot of ‘babysitter’. It’s the high road – it always works, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.

YOU are the New Leader

You are starting in a new high level leadership role in a new company. You have industry knowledge and know the top leadership from your previous company. How do you get started? I have been watching your organization’s attempt to work through restructuring, redeveloping itself to be more competitive in the marketplace.


Here is what I see - The new leader will bring in their own team. It has already started from the top level, that’s why you are here.

• My question about this is why, if you left a company are you bringing them all with you? Hopefully you have prepared new challenges for this team in the new organization to develop their talent as well as the talent within the organization.

• My next question is how did you evaluate and eliminate current team members to bring in your own replacements? Did you look at performance on paper, in the field, hear from colleagues, peers and their reports, or was it simply from the last leader’s notes and information?

• My last question is how are you going to replace the cultural/tribal knowledge that has now left your organization? Or does it even matter to you? Are you trying to be seen as the new, innovative, sharp-shooter who is ‘laying down the law’, ‘shaking things up’, setting an example for everyone? Good try.

The way I see it, you have a lot of work ahead of you. You need to win over the current team or whoever is left. You are making a great case for a mass exodus of talent and knowledge. You are setting up your clients for disappointment with ineffective follow up and service when everyone is replaced and time is required to get processes back in place.

Chin up Buddy! You were brought in for a reason – perhaps you should get the chip off your shoulder and step back, getting a good view of the whole picture before you get cracking.

Excuses in Business

Excuses do not make good business sense. There is a difference between a reason and an excuse.  Many poor leaders use excuses to get out of tough situations.  Even worse, they accept excuses because they have set the example of giving them out.  They do not understand the difference between reason and excuse.


A reason is....the why with facts and a follow up plan.

An excuse is....the why with emotions and lacks confidence.

How do you fix this?

1-build action plans with specific measurable steps that are assigned to specific people
2-Admission of mistakes...they happen, people are people, not perfect. Admitting the mistake and moving on creates a more open and creative environment.
3- take time to Revise strategy, it may be what is needed to create a better product.
4-focus on Moving forward by bringing everyone along, ensuring that it all make sense to everyone involved. Take time asking and answering questions to obtain understanding.

In a nutshell, a good leader can build accomplishment by keeping focused on the vision that is grounded in culture-based values. If everyone is on the same page, with the same principles for guidance, the excuses go away quickly.

Worry or Stifle

It often happens that leaders get caught up in the worry and start to stifle the ideas that flow around them.

Worry can cause leaders to refuse to open their eyes (or their mind) and see around or over roadblocks, consider other perspectives or even alternative solutions....their worry leads back in a circle to themselves.

They are concerned more with how they will look by taking a new path, they worry about how they will be perceived by their peers if they take the advice or draw on the perspective of others.  They worry what the consequences will be if they take an alternative route to a solution.

What to do?  Help the leader see that they can spend a few minutes sorting out all the 'what ifs ' of the worry?  What if exercises can be both in positive or negative voice.
What if the project fails?
What if the alternative solution makes us more profitable?
What if my peers see me taking the advice of the team?


This helps guide the leader to understand -what's the worst that could happen but also what's the best that could happen, while at the same time taking time to learn along the way.