Tag: soft skills training

S5E39: Mastering Authentic Leadership: The Art of Monotasking and Being Present (Part 1)

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

“Internal dialogue derails us from truly listening and understanding what the other person is trying to convey.” Peter Margaritis

In today’s episode, Peter Margaritis breaks down what it means to master authentic leadership, the art of mono-tasking, and being present. The more we do things at once, the more poorly we do multiple things. A lack of presence means one is not listening with your ears and eyes.

They drew examples from one’s life and the effects of carrying around your past. Work and personal balance of the mind and body are important. Peter gives us a glimpse of how an Improv Leader needs to be.

Plan to Keep Your Job

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

As with most good things, keeping a job you like takes planning. The economy is growing and the job outlook for accountants looks strong for 2015. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should assume your job is secure. As you evaluate your current job and plan your career, you may want to keep these thoughts in mind:

• Develop a Plan – Don’t wait for your annual review to tell you the direction your career is heading. Pay attention to all the levels within your own company…network internally to learn more about the what opportunities exist. Then set goals for yourself and a game plan to achieve those goals.

• Grow Your Skills – Pay attention to growing professional competency and interpersonal skills. How you work with others, your ability to present in front of groups and the manner in which you represent your firm all enhance your value to the company.

• Manage Up – Develop a relationship with your boss and firm partners. Let them know that you are committed to your clients and the firm, and that you want a career not just a job. If that isn’t how you feel about your current position, maybe it’s time to reconsider where you work.

Each of us owns our own career, so take charge of your future!

 

 

Worth A Second Look

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

Ringing-doorbellThere are so many good books out there that I haven’t read yet that it’s a difficult decision for me to re-read a book. The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley is definitely worth a first and even a second read!  Kelley runs IDEO, a design and innovation consulting firm that does remarkable work. One chapter in the book resonated with me: “The Doorbell Effect” talks about waiting…the pain, disappointment and confusion created when a service business forces customers to wait.

Kelley’s analogy is when you walk up to a door and ring the bell you have no idea what is happening on the other side.  Are they home? Are they hiding from you? You just wait until someone else makes a move. How does that apply to your business?

To me, communication – both internal and external – is the virtual Doorbell that either allows a firm to move forward or holds them back. Within your company, poor communication can create confusion, poor business practices and high staff turnover. Unless the firm’s leadership takes control of communication, the staff works according to their own priorities, manages clients as they choose and fails to support the mission of the firm.

Take that further and develop a standard for communicating with clients. How your staff treats clients is part of your company’s culture. Let me tell you a story that makes my point.

Recently a friend told me about her accountant, rather her former accountant. They didn’t return calls on a timely basis, ever. She asked for their thoughts on her business accounting processes, but didn’t get a response. She asked again, leaving a very specific message…nothing. She “rang the doorbell” four times, and nothing. So she took her business elsewhere.  She fired her old accounting firm by email (because they didn’t return her calls), telling them that they clearly didn’t value her business or her time.  Guess what. They never reached out see if they could save the relationship.

Eliminate “The Doorbell Effect” by creating best practices focused on client communication. Keep clients aware of the process for their project upfront. Will it take days, weeks, months…how many? How frequently will  you update them on progress?  Is it okay for them to call you with questions?  Never leave clients in the dark.  Set up a standard, develop the process and hold everyone in the firm to it.

Firms that commit to excellent communication are more likely to retain clients and improve referrals. It takes effort and a commitment to communicating with staff and clients

Poor Soft Skills = Poor Executive Advancement

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

exec_communication_picRecently I was reviewing a 2013 survey published by Robert Half that clearly highlighted the disconnect between the investment in soft skill training and the demand for those skills in management.  CFOs reported that poor interpersonal skills, those are soft skills, were the top reason for lack of advancement from within their firm.  Here are some outstanding results from this survey:

“In your opinion, which one of the following is the most common reason for an employee’s failure to advance at your company?”

30% – Poor interpersonal skills

25% – Poor work ethic

23% – Not developing new skills

15% – Failure to enhance his/her visibility within the organization

5% – Failure to proactively see promotions and career advancement

2% – Other

Yet of these same CFOs only 19% say they would invest in soft skills training. The very reasons their staff is not ready for executive promotion, the communication and interpersonal skills that hold an employee back, are not being trained in a vast majority of firms.

To be fair, soft skills training has increased in the last 5 or so years, but that isn’t enough. Firms that want to promote from within must look at helping their staff develop both accounting/finance skills and interpersonal skills. Churning through employees and hiring top executives from the outside are demoralizing and expensive. Invest in training now or invest in recruiting new staff later. It’s that simple.

 

CFOs were asked, “In your opinion, which one of the following is the most common reason for an employee’s failure to advance at your company?” Their responses:

Poor interpersonal skills

30%

Poor work ethic

25%

Not developing new skills

23%

Failure to enhance his or her visibility within the organization

15%

Failure to proactively seek promotions and career advancement

5%

None of these

1%

Don’t know/no answer

2%

– See more at: http://accountemps.rhi.mediaroom.com/2013-06-19-Survey-Few-CFOs-Plan-to-Invest-in-Interpersonal-Skills-Development-for-Their-Teams#sthash.Fe1ROGx0.dpuf

CFOs were asked, “In your opinion, which one of the following is the most common reason for an employee’s failure to advance at your company?” Their responses:

Poor interpersonal skills

30%

Poor work ethic

25%

Not developing new skills

23%

Failure to enhance his or her visibility within the organization

15%

Failure to proactively seek promotions and career advancement

5%

None of these

1%

Don’t know/no answer

2%

– See more at: http://accountemps.rhi.mediaroom.com/2013-06-19-Survey-Few-CFOs-Plan-to-Invest-in-Interpersonal-Skills-Development-for-Their-Teams#sthash.Fe1ROGx0.dpuf

Customer Service Extraordinaire: Ciao Bella

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

ciaobella_logoHow many of you are tired of poor customer service?  Ever feel the phrase “good customer service” is an oxymoron? My pet peeve (to be fair, one of my pet peeves) is when I am seated in a restaurant and somehow become invisible to the wait staff. So frustrating. But then I came across an Italian restaurant named Ciao Bella in Bloomington, MN, a town outside of Minneapolis, and my faith in customer service was renewed.

I was in Minnesota presenting two full-day courses at the Minnesota Society of CPAs and Ciao Bella’s was very close to the hotel I was staying.  So, despite the late-March snowfall, I decided to walk over to Ciao Bella for dinner.  I walk in at 6 PM on a Tuesday evening to find a completely packed bar. I make my way through the crowd and find an empty bar stool at the corner of the bar which is directly behind the beer taps, virtually invisible to the bartender.

Within seconds the bartender, Brittany, came over and asked how my day was and would I like a cocktail.  I was in shock! I didn’t have to send up a flare, smoke signals, or fake a heart attack to get her attention.  Get this, I ordered my cocktail and within two minutes (not three, not four, not five) Brittany delivered my cocktail and with a great big smile asked me if I was going to stay for dinner. Crazy, right?  I must be in the Seinfeld episode, Bizarro World.

As I was reviewing the menu, Damien came over and asked if everything was okay and would I like to place an order (remember I am sitting behind the beer taps). As I was enjoying my dinner, both Damien and Brittany checked to see if everything was okay. During my meal, I noticed the bartenders interacting with other patrons, and it became very obvious that there were many, many regulars that night.

After dinner I ordered another drink and asked for the check. When I examined the check I noticed that my second drink order was missing. When I told Britney that she forgot to charge me for the second drink, she replied ”we take care of our newbies.” I was speechless. I had a look on my face of ultimate confusion, and felt like I was in the Twilight Zone!  Wow, this was incredible: they made me feel like I had been coming to this restaurant for years.  As I left, I was thinking that they couldn’t do this again tomorrow. Could they?

Next day I arrive Ciao Bella at 5:15 PM and again the bar was packed plus the dining room was about 90% full. Again I found a barstool at the other end of the bar behind those bar taps, and was immediately greeted by Brittany who remembered me AND my flavor of an adult beverage. This was really intriguing, and I wanted to learn more. I started a conversation with the man sitting next to me only to find out that this guy is the “Mayor of Ciao Bella’s.” (Norm from Cheers is a better analogy but I threw everyone a curve with the Twilight Zone reference). The “mayor” frequently travels to this part of Minnesota, and every time he’s in town he has dinner here. Guess what, he’s been doing this for over five years and he knows all the employees by name because, as he states, “nobody leaves.”  He even knows their spouses. I asked him why he thought nobody leaves, to which he replied, “they take care of their people very well.”

About that time the manager of the bar, Sue, comes over to me and says, “you here last night, right?” Sooo (Minnesota accent) I engaged her into a long conversation about why Ciao Bella’s treats their people so well while many others in the business do not.  Sue reiterated that the restaurant’s mission statement is all about treating people with the utmost respect, their own Golden Rule, that applies to both the internal customer and the external customer. This is amazing – very low turnover in the restaurant business is extremely rare. I should know because I am Greek and was raised in the restaurant business.

I was so amazed by this conversation that Sue introduced me to the general manager, Scott Schoeing, The story that Scott told me mirrored the conversation that I had with Sue. Treat people well and you’ll be amazed what they will do for you. A simple concept that can be applied to all businesses, divisions, departments, customers, and clients.  Sometimes we make things way too complicated when simple is powerful.

Bottom line, if you ever find yourself anywhere near Bloomington, MN, take the time to stop in to Ciao Bella’s for dinner and experience for yourself their customer service extraordinaire.  Be sure to say hello to Britney, Damien, Thea, Scott, Sue, Naomi and Michael, and please tell them I said hello and I will be back again.