Our Holiday Wish

This year we have two wishes:

First, we hope that each and every one of you has a fantastic holiday and springs into the new year with great energy,
conviction and a positive outlook for success.

Second, we hope that this newsletter gets to you with our messages
and does not get lost in the wasteland of spam blockers.

Happy Holidays
Deb, Bill & Shari

What's all this Fuss about Leadership?

In my reference file on leadership, I came across an article that I had saved a couple years ago that is applicable today. I think it points out why we need more leadership in our businesses. We are facing greater challenges in the economy, more technology than we know what to do with and a dwindling skilled workforce that has their own ideas of what is important. Somehow we need to make the most of what we have. I think this idea from John Mariotti in Industry Week magazine covers it. John said, "Leadership is the ability to convince people to follow a path they have never taken to a place they have never been - and upon finding it to be successful, to do it over and over again."

The old way of managing isn't working any more. You cannot realize the full potential of a business by using the old command and control techniques. The new buzzwords of business are integration, consensus, collaboration and teamwork. Those are only accomplished through well developed leaders.

The same folder contained another article which discussed the elements of the process that FedEx uses to evaluate their potential leaders. FedEx examines existing managers for the presence and intensity of the following characteristics as a requirement for advancement:

Leaders need followers. Real leaders help their followers decide where they are going and how they will get there. Leaders keep their followers on course when unexpected problems are encountered. When leaders do their job and take their responsibilities seriously, followers will not only respond, they will respond successfully.

Your leadership skills determine whether your employees choose you and your organization as the place where they will deliver their best efforts. How do you measure up against these characteristics of leadership? Are you lining up potential leaders?

Risk more than others think is safe.
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.

- West Point Cadet Maxim

Truth or Consequences
Reference Checking is Not a Game

In all of my conversations and writings about hiring, I consistently alert people about the need to be wary of information on resumes and applications. In a recent article in HR magazine (Spotting Lies, Oct 2003) there was some updated information about the need for reference and background checks.

ADP Screening and Selection Services reported that they have found that 30 percent of all job applicants make material misrepresentations on resumes. They performed 2.6 million background checks in 2001 and found that:

• 44 percent of applicants lied about their work histories
  
• 41 percent lied about their education
  
• 23 percent falsified credentials or licenses

Not every applicant lies and most do provide their information in good faith. However, hiring officials need to be alert. The important thing to remember is that the high cost of making a bad hire includes not only the need to redo it all when you seek a replacement, but the other costs of lost business due to the bad employee, the morale impacts on good employees and the potential for lawsuits due to negligent hiring. As stated by Wendy Bliss in her book Legal, Effective References, "Employers have the right to hire the best-qualified individuals, (but) they also have a legal duty not to hire unfit individuals who pose a threat of harm to others."

Gall & Gall Company in their newsletter, covered this issue also: "The torts of liability contend that an employer has the unspoken duty to protect not only other employees, but also customers, visitors and clients from injury or damage caused by an employee. That duty is considered to have been breached when the employer has failed to properly screen applicants to guarantee against hiring a person with a questionable background."

As part of our Employee Placement Services, we complete reference checks as a matter of course and I will not recommend an applicant if I am unable to verify the information on their resume or application. It does not take a major investment of time to do a reference check and the information can be invaluable in the hiring decision.

For help in reference checking, either call us to do it for you or you may want to get our reference checking form for $5.95

One More Thing about Prescreening Candidates

There is another reason why it is important to examine resumes carefully, to be very thorough in screening applicants for positions, and diligent in doing reference checks and background checks. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Report to the Nation 2002, embezzlement and theft has now reached $6 billion annually or $4,500 for every full-time worker in the United States.

So, examine resumes carefully. Look for red flags; particularly look for unexplained gaps in work history. They could represent past employment that the applicant doesn't want to talk about or they could even represent time in jail for a prior crime. A background check can disclose prior convictions. But many times companies just terminate employees caught stealing and don't try to convict because of the expense of such actions. Reference checks will help disclose that possibility. Even a simple, "Would you rehire this person?" may get enough information from those companies that tend to be restrictive on disclosing their past employee information.

I highly recommend that you do a personality profile on potential hires, because a good profile will disclose stress on the part of the candidate and that may be attributable to their hiding something. One of my clients had a candidate use our DISC - based profile. When I evaluated it, I told the client there is something wrong and they should check into it. Unfortunately they had already completed the hire and brought the person into the company without doing any reference or background checks. Two days later the client called me and said, "You were right. There was something wrong. The police just came in today and arrested the employee for embezzlement at his former job."

So, as an owner or a hiring manager, remember that there are ways to protect yourself. Negligent hiring can hurt you, your business and your good employees. Take the time to do hiring right.

Back to Top

Recommended Reading:
Authentic Leadership
By Bill George

Bill George was CEO of Medtronic for 12 years. During that time his company's market capitalization soared from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35 percent growth per year. What he experienced and learned during that time he has captured in this book about leadership. As he states in the introduction, "…we need authentic leaders to run our organizations, leaders committed to stewardship of their assets and to making a difference in the people they serve."

I personally value books that address the real effort involved in becoming a leader and this book clearly defines it. Developing yourself to be a leader is not easy. It takes a commitment to a lifetime of personal growth. It also takes the same effort to lead a balanced life. So much of this book echoes my own views about being a leader, but to hear if coming from a major corporate executive gives it special value. I recommend this book for anyone who aspires to become a great leader.

Buy this book at Amazon.com!

Note: Our Recommended Reading list is available online and now has links to Amazon.com to allow you easy access to purchasing them for your own use.

Remember Your Employees

One of the most overlooked marketing strategies is internal communications with employees, particularly in times of skimpy budgets. Brand strategists view employees as a critical tier. According to John Grace, president of Brand Tax in Connecticut, "Companies need to think of employees as "brand ambassadors" these days. They're the frontline of how brands actually communicate values to their consumers." We always try to convince clients to include internal communication components with marketing programs. Even the simple act of including employees and sales reps on mailing and media lists can pay immediate dividends in boosted morale. It'll also keep everyone in sync with brand messaging.

Thanks to Craig Baise of Sutter Printing, Sacramento, CA,
who sent us this message from brandchannel.com

Leadership Development Through Coaching

I have been working with people to develop their leadership skills for quite awhile now, but recently I decided to take a more proactive role in this arena. I combined my own knowledge and strong beliefs on the importance of leadership with my experience gained in consulting and have developed a leadership coaching program. I now offer coaching on the principles of leadership and tailor individual programs for people who want to become better leaders. I then work with them to reach their goals.

If you have a need to improve your own leadership/management skills, or know of someone else who may need coaching, contact me at my toll free number 877-842-7762 or email debra@tgassociates.com and together we will build a program that will make it possible to become a great leader.

Debra's Calendar