Friday, February 24, 2012

Do you #FollowFriday on Twitter?



When Twitter was just a babe in the social media woods, one of its frequent happenings was something called “Follow Friday.” When a hashtag symbol (#) was added to those words or the abbreviated version, FF, Twitter users would recommend others to follow. In the beginning, this was probably more of a way to get more followers, but it became a way to share experts and others who provided great content. But has #FollowFriday outlived its purpose?

As one who has always appreciated recommended people to follow on Twitter, I continue to #FollowFriday on Fridays and share recommendations as well as follow new tweeps (Twitter people) in the Twitterverse. Here are some of my favorites – and don’t forget to add the #FF at the beginning of the lines if you share as a tweet on Twitter – and also make sure that your tweets are only 140 characters in length:

#leadership @JohnBaldoni @MikeMyatt @ScottEblin @WallyBock @LeadershipNow @LeadershipFreak @LeadrshpAdvisor @CarmineGallo @KevinEikenberry @managemntmoment @strategicsense

#leadership #quotes @LeadToday @FocusLeadership @EntreLeadeship @LeadershipTips @Leadership501 @ptarkkonen @coachingleaders @LeaderQuote

#socialmedia #marketing @socialmediatoday @smexaminer @ThisIsSethsBlog @SusanGunelius @PamMktgNut @smmguide @heidicohen @heidithorne @connectyou

#SocialMedia (#socialMM) @ideagirlmedia @YSMMogul @SmartBoyDesigns @JessKupferman @gotweetsgo @jkcallas @TheIndigoGirl @jess_dewell @PhilGerb @AbsoluteAlicia @TheResumeSmith @newraycom @MoreInMedia @snouraini @gingerconsult @richmac @KlaudiaJurewicz @AnneMarieCoach @JocelynWilhelm @LaurindaShaver @DaveRGallant @MattGron @Yogizilla

#sales @iannarino @Mike_Kunkle @TomHopkinsSales @SalesDuJour @eWeb2Sales @B2BSalesExpert @salespowertips @makingthenumber

#advertising #PR @adage @WiedenKennedy @ConnellyAgency @TBWA @GolinHarris @EdelmanPR @PRNewser @InterpublicIPG @Ketchum

#HR @ronald_thomas @HRBartender @CyndyTrivella @Hire_Friday @BrazenCareerist @MeghanMBiro @KevinWGrossman @ReEngageBook

#custexp @marilynsuttle @Hyken @KnowledgeBishop @ValaAfshar @DisneyInstitute @ImpactLearning @KateNasser @rbacal @Michael_Lytle @sernovitz

#tech #infosecurity @Tips4Tech @PrivacyProf @RobertSiciliano @ShaunDakin @InfosecIsland @JohnSileo @FortaliceLLC @EUdiscovery

#online #safety @CyberSafety808 @suescheff @marykayhoal @LindaCriddle @DigitalWorld101 @ShapingYouth @OneDotNancy

#beinspired @persdevquotes @motivatquotes @GreatestQuotes @WomenofHistory @Quotes4UrSoul @Lyrics4YourSoul @JohnCMaxwell

Who are your favorites to #FollowFriday? Chime in and share.

Monday, February 20, 2012

An Example of Impressive Leadership




A recent episode of Undercover Boss was incredibly memorable. The featured company was fast food chain Checkers & Rally's, and the executive who went undercover was CEO Rick Silva. If you're not familiar with the TV show's premise, a top executive changes his or her appearance and name for a week and goes undercover in his or her company. The executive tries out several positions, and in the process, gains a better understanding of the company's strengths, weaknesses, employee experience, and customer experience.

More often than not, the executive experiences a great deal of trouble in accomplishing the frontline jobs. In this particular episode, despite a lengthy history in the fast food industry, CEO Rick Silva had trouble making hamburgers, hot dogs, placing orders, etc. Bottom line, he was not the ideal employee. But measuring his skills was not the objective – either of the show or his reason for going undercover.

Silva was able to learn about his employees, the talented and dedicated employees as well as those who needed an attitude adjustment and a return to Basic Training. But he was the right person at the right place at the right time to make a difference. He even made an on-the-spot decision to close a restaurant to improve the customer experience – by re-training all the employees.

This episode stood out from many of the other episodes because the top executive demonstrated leadership in a unique and inspiring manner. He did not intimidate his employees, he did not belittle his employees, and despite inappropriate behavior, he did not fire people. He genuinely wanted to make improvements to benefit both the employees as well as existing and future customers. And based on his actions, he definitely did.

While Checkers & Rally's was started in 1986 in Mobile, Alabama, and today, there are more than 800 Checkers and Rally's drive-in restaurants throughout the USA, by the end of the show, the viewer wished that there was a Checkers or Rally's nearby.

Click here to watch the full episode.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

“Keep Your Hands Off the Wheel”



The concept of keeping your hands off the wheel cannot be applied when driving a vehicle, but when it’s applied to leadership, it can actually be a positive concept. It’s positive because it enables a leader to do his or her job and lead, and it empowers an employee to do his or her job and produce. When a leader gives instructions, answers questions, provides whatever coaching is necessary, and then steps back, or “keeps his or her hands off the wheel,” the employee is able to drive and do his or her job.

This important leadership rule is just one highlight in a useful leadership book entitled, “42 Rules For Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager” by Pam Fox Rollin.

In the words of Judy Gilbert, the Director of People Operations at YouTube: “When making the transition to a new role, even a top performer needs to exercise a different group of muscles. Pam has distilled extensive leadership lessons into simple and actionable guidelines. With the insights from this book, you can make your next start your best ever.”

Pam’s book is full of leadership tips, but here are some of my favorites:
  • Draft your own strategic one-pager, a coherent summary of the state and trends of your industry, company, division, function, and team.
  • Create your own onboarding plan – this is so much more than just setting up a phone, smartphone, laptop, and reading the Employee Procedures manual.
  • Set realistic milestones – include the big rocks as well as the small pebbles.
  • Surround yourself with all types of people, not just those who think like you do –  your weaknesses may be their strengths, and the result will be a better functioning team.
  • Make it easy for people to work with you – tell them how often you want to be updated, how you want to be contacted, any triggers that may cause you angst, etc.
  • Determine how you will measure your own metrics – and help your team to measure their performance.
  • Make the most of screw-ups and take ownership of mistakes.
  • Organize your priorities – and deflect early requests to go off-mission.
  • Grow more leaders: champion your people and be their advocate.

While there are countless leadership books on the market, “42 Rules” is a must-read. But be warned, you will pick up the book again and again because revisiting the rules will make you a better leader. 

More details: http://ideashape.com