Shirley Sherrod and Poor Management

By Lois Moncrief

The Shirley Sherrod case is an example of  unfortunate mismanagement.  It could easily have been avoided.

For those of you who are not familiar with the situation.  Here is the information as reported in USA Today on Friday, July 23, 2010.

The Story

Shirley Sherrod was “forced to resign as Georgia’s director of rural development for the US Agriculture Department on Monday after a conservative blogger posted a video of her telling a crowd at a local NAACP meeting about her initial reluctance 24 years ago to help a poor white farmer. The blog portrayed her as a racist.  The entire video and speech (which were not posted) showed that she was really advocating “racial reconciliation” not “racism”. The farmer, in question, says Ms. Sherrod helped him.

The Fall Out

Since then Shirley has received numerous apologies including those from NAACP; Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary;  Robert Gibbs, White House Spokesman; and President Obama, himself.  She has also been offered another position at the Agriculture Department and has been on numerous talk shows including “The View” to tell her side of the issue.

Poor Management

What is disturbing about this entire situation is the incredibly poor mismanagement that had to occur for Shirley to even have been fired and anyone of us to know about any of these events.

Shirley’s manager, upon first being informed of the video, should have launched an investigation to determine all the facts surrounding this situation before taking any action.  That investigation would have included an interview with Shirley, herself, to hear her side of the story.  The investigation if done properly would have revealed that the video posted was not the entire video and that Shirley instead of advocating “racism” was really advocating “racial reconciliation”.

Lost Opportunity for Praise and Recognition and Good Public Relations

Shirley should have received recognition and praise for taking such a positive position that was good public relations for her department (Agriculture) and the Obama government itself.  Instead she lost her job for reasons that were false.

Lessons Learned

In addition, it could have been pointed out that the conservative blogger had misrepresented her views by showing only part of the entire speech.

Instead of thoroughly investigating to determine the facts and waiting to act until that fact gathering was  done, some manager (Shirley’s?) made assumptions based on a partial picture of what happened and fired Shirley based on incomplete and inaccurate information.

That manager needs training into the appropriate way to handle these investigations and/or a reprimand depending upon the circumstances.

Instead of Shirley receiving the praise and recognition in her department for her advocating “racial reconciliation” the government has lost an employee and the government  has received “bad press” for firing an employee based on inaccurate information. The government has made itself vulnerable to adverse legal action for this situation also.

The conservative blogger won in that many more people will read his column now.  The conservatives who oppose President Obama won in that the government bungled this situation by firing Shirley in the first place.

The Moral of the Story

Managers in companies would do well to avoid these “knee jerk” reactions and follow time tested procedures for investigating situations like this to determine all the facts before taking any actions.  No company wants or needs the “bad press” associated with bungling this type of situation. No company needs the “ill will” and possible legal consequences of mishandling a situation like this.

For more on employee management, performance, and motivation information, please see my websites:

http://www.HowtoMotivateEmployeesNow.com and http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

Managers and HR Managers – FREE Ecourse on How to Engage and Motivate Employees Without Using Money

By Lois Moncrief

I have some very EXCITING news to tell you.  I have been working very hard on an FREE Ecourse on How to Engage and Motivate Employees Without Using Money.

The course answers the following:

Are Your Employees Already Engaged and Motivated?   Course gives you facts and ways to tell if you have a problem.

Do Disengaged Employees Cost Your Company Money?   The course presents the facts so you can see the affect on your company’s profits.

Does Employee Engagement Improve the Company’s Profits?  Facts and studies are presented that show how engaged employees dramatically increase a company’s profits.

Can You, the Manager, Really Engage Employees Without Using Money?  Real life examples are given to show you.

Next- the Foundation for Building an Effective Employee Engagement Program.  Once you understand this, employee engagement becomes much easier.

In each sequential ecourse installment, you will get GREAT ideas for engaging AND motivating your employees that will Maximize their performance and your company’s profits.

Course includes: employee management, leadership, empowerment, and more.

Here are some topics from the first part of the course:

The Solutions AND Your Chance to be the Star in Your Company

The Problems with Money in Engaging and Motivating Your Employees (Why Money is not the Perpetual Motivation Machine).

An Insider’s Secret to Motivating Employees

A Myth About Employee Engagement and Motivation

The Critical Foundation for Engaging and Motivating Employees

A Check List on Your Foundation

From Dissatisfied to Disengaged Employee

Master This for Success

If you would like to sign up for this FREE Ecourse go to  http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

Leadership Lessons for Managers – Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch – The Win-Win Team

By Lois Moncrief

I, like many others, am very dissatisfied with the partisan politics in Congress.  It seems to be a problem on both sides of the aisle.

Instead of great statesmen working together for the good of America, we seem to have individuals who are determined to keep creating win-lose situations.  Each side wants to win and wants the other side to lose.  There seems to be very little effort to work together for the good of our country. Each side wants to demonize the other side.  I am not a Tea Party person, I am not a conservative. I  am not even a liberal.

I am someone who is very tired of:

• having a Congress that is determined to be bipartisan to the point of engaging in very petty behavior.

• two political parties that are determined to each have all the power by creating win-lose situations for each other.

• two political parties who are each determined to represent only their share of the population and their concerns and interests over the rest of the population and their concerns and interests.

• a Congress that is not putting the country first over their own questionable agendas.

I know the only way our country can move forward is if everyone is represented and if both sides of the aisle in congress will work together to create legislature that gives the best solution for all.  That will frequently mean compromise and collaboration.

I have felt hopeless as I have watched month after month our Congress fail to show they can work together in the best interests of the country. I like, many others,  would like to throw them all out.

When I think that starting over would be good, I have to remind myself that we would just have the same thing again with new Congress members as it is the” system” to blame.

Senator Orrin Hatch and the Late Senator Ted Kennedy- the Senate’s “Odd Couple”

AND then I think about Senator Orrin Hatch and the late Senator Ted Kennedy.  They broke the mold.  They broke “the rules”.  They were the “odd couple” if ever there was one and yet they worked together for the good of the country and accomplished great legislation. I have deep admiration for both these gentlemen and for what they accomplished by working together for the good of the country.

They Had Little in Common to Bond With

The late Senator Ted Kennedy was about as liberal as they come and from a rich family.  He was Catholic.  He was from the Northeast.  He was Democrat.

Senator Orrin Hatch is about as conservative as they come.  He is from Utah (a western state).  He is Mormon. He is Republican. He grew up in a relatively poor family compared to the Kennedys.

Catholics and Mormons don’t mix well.  Democrats and Republicans don’t mix well .  Rich and Poor don’t mix well. Liberals and Conservatives don’t mix well. Northeast and West don’t mix well.

And yet Senator Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy, not only worked together to create some great legislation, but also became good friends.

A Testament to True Leadership

It is a testament to those two men that they set a tremendous example of what is possible if two Senators with such diametrically opposed views could find common ground, work toward compromise, and do what is best for the country to produce great legislation.

It is unfortunate the rest of Congress did not learn from their example.

For almost 20 years they alternated being Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Labor Committee which is now known as the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee.

The Legislation They Sponsored

Here is some of the legislation they were able to get passed by working together ( source : http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index August 26, 2009 Press Release):

• Americans with Disabilities Act – provided individual protections from discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

• Mammography Standards in 1992

• State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provided health insurance to thousands of the working poor.

• PDUFA – a program that created drug user fees to help expedite the approval of new drugs.

• Ryan White Aids Act – which established a federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS, with an emphasis on providing funding to improve availability of care for low-income, uninsured, and under-insured victims of AIDS and their families.

• FDAMA – FDA Modernization Act of 1997 – regulated prescription drug advertising, food safety, and codified the requirements for access to life saving medicines.

• Bioshield Legislation – increased federal, state, and local infrastructure for bioterrorism preparedness.

• Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007 – reauthorized the health center program for five more years and provided people with essential health care services.

• FDA Revitalization Act of 2007 – addressed many critical issues including the need to provide proper incentives and support for the development and review of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and the need for heightened efforts to assure the safety of medications.

• Serve America Act – renewing the call for volunteer service to meet some of the country’s most challenging needs.

• Orphan Drug Act – provided tax credits for encouraging the development of medicines for rare diseases.

The Win -Win Team

Despite all their many differences, Senator Orrin Hatch and the late Senator Ted Kennedy  created a win-win team that fostered many great Legislative Acts that helped many Americans.  These two great men were able to rise above bipartisanship and reach across the aisle for the good of the country.

Win-win solutions always have better outcomes than creating win-lose situations.  Many managers would do well to learn from their collaboration.

Copyright (c) 2010 Lois Moncrief  Globebic All Rights Reserved

For more information on management issues especially those pertaining to employee motivation, employee management, and employee performance please visit http://www.SmartManagementNow.com and http://www.HowtoMotivateEmployeesNow.com

A Sad Farewell to My Father-in-Law

It has been a difficult several weeks.

My father-in-law died a week ago.  It had been a long struggle for him. He had been in hospice for 4 months. He held on much longer than anyone expected.

Basically, his body slowly shut down after a long and full life. 

He had worked very hard and made major contributions.  He was still working hard in construction in his mid 70′s – at a time when many have been retired for many years.  His final project was a beautiful sky park where many private pilots bought his homes and hangars and enjoyed flying in and out with their airplanes to outdoor adventures in Idaho.

He also played very hard and enjoyed many outdoor activities including hunting and fishing.  He was a private pilot and took his family on many trips in the lower 48 states of the USA and also Mexico and up into Alaska. He loved to scuba dive and had had many adventures doing that.

In the end it was good to see him freed from his suffering. He has moved on to his next adventure leaving the family many fond memories.

Why Is It So Difficult to Motivate Some Employees?

by Lois Moncrief

Let’s face it. It can be hard to motivate employees.   Admittedly, some are easy to motivate.  They seem to be born motivated.  Some it is easy to motivate short term with quickie awards. It lasts for a short while but then the problem is back.

Sometimes managers have to be mind readers, sometimes human pyschologists, and sometimes parents in order to figure out the best motivators for each person.

Motivating Employees is Not Easy

First of all, all employees are different.  Different people respond to different motivators.   The same person at different points in his/her life will respond to different motivators.

Motivators that work for your top 29% (your engaged employees) are not appropriate and usually do not work to motivate your majority of employees (your 56% of your employees who are non-engaged). Also, using those as motivators on your non-engaged employees is generally not the best use of your resources for your organization. Knowing what motivators are best for each group is very important to get the maximum employee performance and the best utilization of your organization’s resources.

To Get the Best Performance out of Each Person it can be a Complex Combination of Factors that Work for the Long Term

Knowing when to use money to motivate, when to have successful motivation without money, when to use training, when to  use the “sink or swim” methods for your bottom performers and the correct procedure for doing that to solve the problem one way or the other without legal consequences are all important for your success.  The list goes on and on.

Throw in all the factors that affect motivation such as all the possible de-motivators that can interfere with motivation. and the problem becomes even more complex.

It wouldn’t be so bad if employee motivation wasn’t so important. BUT it truly is that important.  It can have a big impact on the organization’s success of failure.

What is a Manager to Do?

Arm yourself with all the tools you can to maximize your success. Find experts who have a lot of practical experience and learn from them.

Copyright ©2009 – 2010  Lois Moncrief   Globebic LLC  All Rights Reserved

Motivational Quote
“A smart business person is one

who makes a mistake, learns from it,

and never makes it again.

A wise business person is one

who finds a smart business person

and learns from him how to avoid

the mistakes he made.”

Jim Abrams

“You must learn from the mistakes of others.

You can’t possibly live long enough

to make them all yourself.”   Sam Levenson

Management Success Tip

“Before you hire an expert,

determine that the person’s

expert status comes from

experience not theory.

I suggest you hire experts

with real world experience:

someone with bruises and battle scars.”

Dan S. Kennedy

My Recommendations

Check out one of my ebooks that is loaded with “tools” from my over 29 years of management experience

60 Quick, Easy, Free or Low Cost Ways to Motivate Employees Now!

see the bottom section of the home page of

http://www.HowtoMotivateEmployeesNow.com

for more information

Coming:

How to Motivate Employees Without Using Money

Dealing with De-Motivators

Employee Recognition and Motivation for Your
Non-Engaged Employees  – the Majority of Your Employees

This Powerful De-Motivator Can Kill One of the Strongest Employee Motivators

by Lois Moncrief

One of the strongest motivators for employees (especially your engaged employees) is the hope for career advancement opportunities.  If employees see the chance to build a better future for themselves with a company, that hope is highly motivating for them. They will work hard and well if they can see chances for promotions and more money.

In some organizations those chances are greatly decreased by organizational politics (one of the strongest de-motivators) where a select group of “chosen ones” get those opportunities.  These are frequently chosen because they enjoy a unique relationship with upper management.  This relationship is usually not based on talent but shared interests – drinking buddies, golfing buddies, went to the same college, etc.

When the other employees see that these chosen ones are getting all the opportunities and that they are being locked out, one of the strongest motivators (their hope for career advancement opportunities)  has disappeared.

Impact

The group most strongly affected by this is your engaged employees – your rock stars, your movers and shakers.  They will probably leave for other jobs.

The non-engaged employees (your middle group) who could have become your worker bees are disenchanted and will usually have lowered morale and their performance will decrease.

De-motivators can cause an organization a lot of harm. As long as de-motivators are allowed to exist in an organization, any motivation that is used has much less impact.

Copyright ©2009 – 2010  Lois Moncrief   Globebic LLC  All Rights Reserved

For information on employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognitions, employee performance, and employee productivity visit my website:

http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

On my website, sign up to download my FREE Special Report on Learn How to Engage and Motivate Your Employees to Greater Performance and Watch Your Profits Go Up! and also get FREE complimentary copies of my weekly ezine on  employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognition, employee productivity, and employee performance.  We will never sell, rent, trade, give your name and email address to any third party and you may unsubscribe at any time. You can also check out my articles section.

Motivational Quotes

“Recognize your best talent by giving them

the career advancement opportunities and

you will motivate all of your employees with hope.”

Lois Moncrief

Management Success Tip

“Values ground an organization…
providing direction for people
who find themselves in ambiguous situations,
they are critical guides for making decisions.”

Bud Bilanich

Avoid this BIG Employee De-Motivator!

by Lois Moncrief

I can think of about two dozen employee de-motivators. Some are strong de-motivators. Others are weaker but they can all de-motivate employees.
This one is near the top in it’s power to de-motivate your employees.

What is it?

Managers tolerating poor performance and not correcting or eliminating the problem.

A lot of managers have good intentions and, yes, a lot of managers are busy. Some will also optimistically believe the problem is temporary and/or if they ignore it or tolerate it short term it will go away.  Sometimes it does. More often than not it does not improve or go away. Frequently, it gets worse without management intervention.

Consequences

If allowed to continue very long, the manager is setting a precedence of what is now acceptable.

If allowed to continue very long, the manager is sending the additional following messages:

To the non-performer - we are not serious about performance standards around here and we will not only tolerate your non-performance but also pay you the same and give you the same benefits as we do for employees who are performing.

To other employees who are performing – your performance is not valued and appreciated and to prove that point you will receive the same pay and same benefits as the non-performing employee(s).

You will be needed to take up the slack of the non-performers and work harder with no additional pay.

For the Manager

Employees will start seeing you as weak and ineffective and unable to solve problems. They will start questioning your ability to lead. They will lose respect for you.

And Finally…

Eventually, some employees will get fed up and stop or slow down working. Others will leave for other jobs.

Employee morale and productivity will go down.

Once the problem is allowed to fester, it is difficult to turn around.

Copyright ©2009 – 2010  Lois Moncrief   Globebic LLC  All Rights Reserved

For information on employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognitions, employee performance, and employee productivity visit my website:

http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

On my website, sign up to download my FREE Special Report on Learn How to Engage and Motivate Your Employees to Greater Performance and Watch Your Profits Go Up! and also get FREE complimentary copies of my weekly ezine on  employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognition, employee productivity, and employee performance.  We will never sell, rent, trade, give your name and email address to any third party and you may unsubscribe at any time. You can also check out my articles section.

Motivational Quotes

“Pull the Weeds (The De-Motivators – Lois)

Otherwise the Team

Just Like the Garden Cannot Grow”

John Murphy

Management Success Tip

“Wisdom is Knowing
the Right Path to Take.
Integrity is Taking It.

Mac Anderson

A Key to Success to Increase Overall Employee Performance and Productivity

by Lois Moncrief

Some managers think they can use the same motivators on all their employees with the same success. For best results a manager should use the correct motivators for each type of employee.

Engaged Employee

For the engaged employee who is already motivated, it is not appropriate or the best use of your resources to use the same motivational tools as you would to motivate the ‘non-engaged” employee. With your engaged employee, it is better to “develop” and “challenge” them to keep their interest and their motivation high. These are your thinkers and future leaders.

Non-Engaged Employee

Your non-engaged employee is not currently motivated and sometimes has priorities outside of work that keep him from putting forth more effort on the job.

Sometimes there are other factors that are interfering with his motivation. These need to be addressed successfully before you will be able to motivate this type of employee. In the average organization, the non-engaged employees make up 56% of the workforce. Any improvement in this group’s efforts is likely to have the largest impact on employee performance and productivity since they are the majority of the workforce. Since this group is not working efficiently and effectively, it should be fairly easy to get them to put forth more effort – going from 70-80% up to 90-100% would be an improvement in your overall employee productivity.

The Actively Disengaged Employee

You probably wish you had never hired them or inherited them. These employees can take up to 80% of your available time to deal with employees and give you very little back. It is difficult to motivate this group so be careful how much time you want to invest in them. They also need a different type of motivation. It may be better to cut your losses.

Conclusion

You will most likely achieve the greatest increase in overall employee productivity and employee performance by concentrating your efforts on your middle group of employees – your non-engaged employees – the majority who are not applying themselves.

Motivational Quote:

“People tell me that motivation doesn’t last,

and I tell them that bathing doesn’t either.

That’s why I recommend it daily.”

Zig Ziglar

Management Success Tip

“The difference between

success and failure

is often about 5% more effort”

S. Truett Cathy

Copyright ©2009 – 2010 Lois Moncrief Globebic LLC All Rights Reserved

For information on employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognitions, employee performance, and employee productivity visit my website:

http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

On my website, sign up to download my FREE Special Report on Learn How to Engage and Motivate Your Employees to Greater Performance and Watch Your Profits Go Up! and also get FREE complimentary copies of my weekly ezine on  employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognition, employee productivity, and employee performance.  We will never sell, rent, trade, give your name and email address to any third party and you may unsubscribe at any time. You can also check out my articles section.

11 Misconceptions About Employee Motivation

by Lois Moncrief

It is easy to “buy into” some misconceptions about employee motivation. However, misconceptions can mislead us so we do not reach our goals. Here are some important misconceptions about employee motivation:

1. Employees are either naturally motivated or they are not.

2. It is the manager’s fault if employees are not motivated.

3. It is the employee’s fault if the employee is not motivated.

4. Every employee can be motivated.

5. Every manager naturally knows how to motivate every employee.

6. It is a one size fits all in employee motivation. All employees can be motivated the same way.

7. Money is required to motivate all employees.

8. Fear is the best workplace motivator.

9. The desire to see the company be successful is the biggest factor driving employee motivation.

10. Feeling valued and appreciated have nothing to do with an employee’s motivation to work.

11. Efforts to increase each employee’s motivation can only last for a short time at best.

Copyright ©2009 – 2010 Lois Moncrief Globebic LLC All Rights Reserved

For information on employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognitions, employee performance, and employee productivity visit my website:

http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

On my website, sign up to download my FREE Special Report on Learn How to Engage and Motivate Your Employees to Greater Performance and Watch Your Profits Go Up! and also get FREE complimentary copies of my weekly ezine on  employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognition, employee productivity, and employee performance.  We will never sell, rent, trade, give your name and email address to any third party and you may unsubscribe at any time. You can also check out my articles section.

Customer Service Woes – Medical Doctors’ “Bedside Manner”

By Lois Moncrief

Here are 3 separate instances of what I call less than satisfactory customer service “bedside manner” from medical doctors.

Situation # 1 – I had been going through an early menopause for nearly a year when I went for my annual check up with my OBGYN doctor.  I was telling him about all the changes I was experiencing and asking him for some possible options to deal with those changes.  His response was, “my dear, your species does not need you anymore.”  Ouch! I was speechless after that – soaking in his obvious but blunt and tasteless response to my concerns.  I decided I needed to change doctors. He decided to stop being an OBGYN and closed up shop – probably for other reasons  but the timing was interesting to me.

Situation # 2 – My husband and  I had been in a bad car accident where we were rear ended while on vacation.  Over the next few years, I would frequently have a very bad experience where I would start going numb across my chest and down through both arms and the feeling would last for several minutes.  The first few times this happened I was afraid I was having a heart attack and dying.  I would stop whatever I was doing and “freeze” until this passed.  After a few years I mentioned this to my husband who said he had the same experience quite a few times and it would drop him to his knees and he was afraid he was having a heart attack and dying.

I mentioned this to my Internal Medicine Doctor during a yearly physical exam and asked if he could recommend a specialist or someone I could see that could help.  His response was, “I don’t know why that is happening to you but I can tell you that after you die you won’t have that experience anymore.”  Wow! That was helpful!  This was actually a pretty tame response from him.  Usually whenever I had a problem he couldn’t fix he would just tell me, “You’re s_____d” and laugh. I knew I was moving soon and put up with him rather than finding a new doctor.

Situation # 3 -  As part of getting older, I developed problems in my hip joint and my back.  It seemed like all this was about 20-25 years too soon but that is life.  It had become difficult to walk very far even with a cane so I decided to seek a handicapped parking permit.  I took my X-rays from my Chiropractor to my Internal Medical Doctor (a different doctor than in situation # 2)   during an annual exam.  I asked him to approve me for the permit.  He looked at my X-rays and laughed and laughed and said, ” This is incredible.  I have never seen anything like this.  Yes, I will approve the permit.“  I could have done without the boisterous laughing and the lack of empathy. I really didn’t think my X-Rays were “funny”.

What stories do you have to tell about Medical Doctors’ “Bedside Manner”?   Share them with us by making a comment to this blog telling us about a situation you have had.

Copyright (c) 2010  Lois Moncrief   Globebic LLC   All Rights Reserved

For information on employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognitions, employee performance, and employee productivity visit my website:

http://www.SmartManagementNow.com

On my website, sign up to download my FREE Special Report on Learn How to Engage and Motivate Your Employees to Greater Performance and Watch Your Profits Go Up! and also get FREE complimentary copies of my weekly ezine on  employee motivation, employee engagement, employee morale, employee awards, employee recognition, employee productivity, and employee performance.  We will never sell, rent, trade, give your name and email address to any third party and you may unsubscribe at any time. You can also check out my articles section.