Joyce Weiss

I work with organizations and individuals who want to kick conflict and chaos to the curb - Queen of Conflict Resolution and Communication Coach

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Toolbox Alert #2: A Code of Conduct Improves the Team

Last week was the first in a 3 part series on the importance of creating a Code of Conduct.  Read last week’s article on How a Code of Conduct Reinforces Accountability HERE.  The main concepts are that everyone in the organization needs to create the Code of Conduct and adhere to each agreed rule.  If someone breaks the code the entire team is responsible to address this issue with the person who breaks the Code of Conduct.

This week’s article will cover the following topics:

  • Knowing the priorities of the Code of Conduct
  • The Code of Conduct is the police officer
  • What to do when YOU break the Code of Conduct?

Knowing the priorities of the Code of Conduct

1.  The code and mission come first code of conduct
2.  The needs of the team come second
3.  The needs of the individual come third –
it’s not all about you!

It takes a while to get everyone on the page about these 3 priorities.  This is where the pedal meets the metal by making sure that everyone feels empowered to have the tough conversation with those who break the Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct is the police officer

The conversation below is one that a client used with a colleague.
“This is not about me attacking you.  This is about following the code.  We all agreed upon the code.  I’m uncomfortable doing this, yet I need to speak to you since it will benefit all of us.  It’s not about being mean or blaming you.  It’s about sticking to what we decided to do.”

How do you think this conversation went for my client?  The good news is that it went very well.  Both parties did not judge or criticize in a negative way.  If your Code of Conduct is done right, the results will be extremely beneficial.  If people start arguing, you know that you need to have more discussions with the entire team.

Discuss what the benefit will be for the person and the team.  Thank the person for listening.  Give a compliment when the person improves his or her behavior.

What to do when YOU break the Code of Conduct?

  • Take a deep breathcode of conduct
  • Don’t take it personally
  • Acknowledge the person
  • Listen without interrupting
  • If you made a mistake admit it
  • Ask the person how to make it right

Owning our mistakes could even be part of your Code of Conduct! 🙂

Let’s get real about the Code of Conduct

Please listen to me on this one!  It takes time to make the Code of Conduct work.  There will be naysayers on your team.  There may be bullies who feel they can ignore the code.  This is where leadership matters.  Everyone on the team needs to feel free to communicate with anyone who breaks the Code of Conduct –  not just leadership.

Next week I will include what my clients have included in their Code of Conduct.

I want to hear from you

Add a comment to my blog on how you have made a Code of Conduct work in your company.  How did you address team members when they broke the Code of Conduct?  You will receive a response from me because I enjoy connecting with my readers! 🙂  You are always welcome to send me a private email HERE with concerns that you are experiencing at work.

I will send a copy of my 2nd book – Full Speed Ahead:  Become Driven by Change to the first 3 readers who send me a comment or email.

Please share this and any article that speaks to you or your company

Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts. Help us help them reduce conflict and improve leadership skills and quality of life.

Read the first article in the series on The Importance of a Code of Conduct HERE.

 

This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

Have a great week.

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

 

 

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Toolbox Alert! A Code of Conduct Reinforces Accountability

Lately, I have been asked to help clients create a code of conduct for their companies.  It’s easy to do during a 1 1/2 hour training.  The results are impressive because people discuss expectations and ideas from everyone on the team.  People feel heard after the code of conduct is created – unless the code is not followed by everyone and lack of trust exists in the company.

This article will cover the following topics:

  • Why the code of conduct is an important tool
  • Challenges while you create the code of conduct
  • A reality check about the code of conduct

Why is the Code of Conduct Important?

code of conductThe code is an important tool to use because accountability becomes a reality.  You probably have created a mission, values that represent your company, and a vision.  The code is a valuable addition because it is how your colleagues communicate and act.

  • The code of conduct is a powerful set of rules that govern the internal behavior of any team.
  • The code is created by everyone on the team – from top to bottom.
  • Each team member is personally responsible and accountable for his or her behavior.

Challenges Creating the Code of Conduct

code of conductThe following questions need to be answered by the entire team:

  • How should we handle this behavior when there is a breach in the code?
  • How do we have the conversation when others break the code?
  • What words do we use when others break the code?

The main idea is to align everyone’s behavior to the company’s values, mission, and vision.

An Important Reality Check About the Code of Conduct

  • The team will not be happy all of the time.
  • Confrontation is part of the code.
  • At times team members will be put on the spot.
  • The code will protect everyone from abuse if bold honesty, accountability, and support exist.

You will receive more information on how you can set up a Code of Conduct next week in part 2.  Part 3 will have examples of Codes of Conduct from my clients.

I want to hear from you

Add a comment to my blog on how a code of conduct works in your company. What benefits have you seen?  You will receive a response from me because I enjoy connecting with my readers! 🙂  You are always welcome to send me a private email HERE with concerns that you are experiencing at work.

Please share this and any article that speaks to you or your company

Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts. Help us help them reduce conflict and improve leadership skills and quality of life.

Learn how I can leverage my 30+ years of leadership consulting and coaching experience to help your organization build a positive culture HERE.

 

This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

Have a great week.

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

 

 

 

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Team Building Strategies to Improve Morale

Leaders constantly ask me the following question:  What are team building strategies to improve morale?

Have you ever had a great idea for your company and got everyone excited about doing it, but then no one took       action and the great idea died? Such is a common occurrence in organizations across the country. In fact, in most companies generating great ideas isn’t the problem – it’s turning those ideas into action that stalls a company’s growth.

In order to help your team take action on new ideas, use the following team building strategies to get from idea to final delivery.

Team Building Strategies #1:  Generate at least 50 ideas for your current dilemma Team Building Strategies

How do you know if an idea is truly great unless you challenge it with new ideas? That’s why you need to generate a lot of ideas to get the idea process started.

Have people write one idea per “sticky note.” During this phase, temporarily ignore rules and budgets. Anything goes. Don’t self-edit and don’t think anything is “stupid.”

Encourage wild ideas from everyone; be playful. And since this is a group effort, feel free to expand on other people’s ideas. Remember, it’s not a competition.

Team Building Strategies #2:  Move the most exciting ideas forward

Take all your sticky notes and group similar ideas together. Decide on a category heading for each group. Then, rather than decide on a single idea to pursue, begin by deciding on an idea-group what is most attractive given the current situation. Use past experience and the current need to help with the decision process.

Team Building Strategies #3:  Remove hurdles and identify holes Team Building Strategies

Analyze the selected group and come up with reasons why the ideas may not work using the following questions to refine the idea to implementation:

  • What are the consequences if we do these ideas as presented?
  • What could potential challenges arise in the workplace?
  • How will these ideas work within the available resources of time, money, and people?

If you don’t like your answers, refine the ideas – don’t kill them.

Team Building Strategies #4:  Create a specific step-by-step action plan

Create a plan to ensure that the idea can be implemented successfully. Consider such things as:

  • Training and resources: Does the timeline and task schedule require training or resources not currently at hand? If so, how do you get them?
  • Budget: Do you have the financial resources to see the idea through to completion? If not, what creative things can you do to offset costs (trade out products or services, use contract labor, etc.)?
  • Timelines: What is the chronological order for doing each step?
  • Celebration points: At what point will you celebrate milestones, and what celebration activities will be most appropriate?

Let’s Get Real

When people have a thought-out plan for carrying out an idea, they are better equipped and better able to turn that idea into reality. So use these team building strategies for every dilemma, whether large or small. You’ll get the most creative solution for your current challenge, as well as the ability to turn that idea into action. This will reduce conflict in the workplace to move your team to the next level.

I want to hear from you

Send me an email with your most pressing issue that you are experiencing with your team. Please share your team building strategies in the comment section.

Please share this and any article that speaks to you or your company

Loyal readers like you help us find more people who could benefit from these posts. Help us help them reduce

Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

PS  Learn how I can leverage my 30+ years of communication and leadership consulting and coaching experience to help your organization address team building strategies here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Team Building Strategies to Create Open Communication

Team building is successful when employees feel safe to share ideas on how company policies can be improved. Communication issues are uncovered when I interview both leaders and their direct reports on what is working and not working with the team.  I take this information and create a personalized training for the company.  This only works with companies whose leaders are open to constructive feedback.  Team Building training will backfire when employees feel it’s the program of the month for appearance sake only.  Morale and trust are deflated when employees “know” that nothing will change after these sessions.

  • Are you a leader who wants to hear what your employees are talking about at the water cooler and use this information constructively?
  • Are you an emerging leader who wants to know how to create successful team building strategies during meetings?
  • Are you tired of the status quo and want to see positive change and results at work?

This article contains  3 team building strategies to help you create some interesting and productive conversations with your team.  All of these ideas are team building strategies that my clients use successfully during staff meetings.

Team Building Strategy #1:  Make the meeting safe

Everyone in the room is told that the feedback that I share is anonymous since all departments and job functions were interviewed.  Only patterns are shared.  There are usually negative or cynical employees who don’t trust this system. They have attended other training and nothing seems to change. This elephant in the room is addressed immediately.  All I ask is for everyone to give the training a chance before they judge the process.  If you decide to take these ideas and use them for your own training be prepared for these necessary and tough discussions!

team building

Team Building Strategy #2:  Share patterns from the interviews

The patterns are revealed.  The most important part of the training happens when employees and leaders answer the following questions in small groups:

  • What do we need to be talking about?
  • Let’s now beat around the bush.
  • What issues haven’t we been talking about?
  • How is this currently impacting you and how will this impact our future?

Another important “rule” is to make sure names are not used and blaming is not the purpose of the team building program.  It’s all about change, openness, trust, and results.  

Team Building Strategy #3:  Be specific when giving feedback

Take time to choose your words wisely so that you convey exactly what you mean – you can’t assume that people know what you want.

When giving feedback use the following 2 strategies:

  • Don’t use vague communication such as, “We need to sell more products.”
    Suggest that, “We need to create at least 2 new products in order to keep up with the competition.”
  • Don’t use hazy messages by saying, “Everyone needs to be to work on time.”
    Tell others, “We begin working with members at 8:00 am each day.”

This one team building strategy will improve communication within the entire company.  Hopefully, people will stop mind reading what others need from each other.

Team Building Strategies #3:  Ask important questions to change the status quo

The results from the phone interviews are shared after employees are face to face in the training and discuss their important feedback.
The following questions are asked during the phone interviews:

What if you were the CEO or President and had your own set of rules to keep your customers/clients?

  • What would you do differently?
  • What restrictions would you remove?
  • How would you treat your star employees?
  • How would you handle poor behavior?

So Joyce, what are your thoughts about creating successful team building training?

There are a couple of ways to conduct the important training sessions.  You can have both management and employees together depending on the trust level in your company.  You can also divide the training so management and employees work separately.  Once the training is complete the results are given to both management and employees.  I conduct an executive debriefing to discuss what changes will be made as a result of the research and employee input.  The real magic comes when employees are included in the last part so they feel that they were heard.  Of course, some of the ideas will not be used but being listened to is the #1 factor to improve your morale.  These team building strategies work!

I want to hear from you

Send me your questions or comments on what team building strategies you use.  What works and what challenges do you still experience with your team.  I will answer all comments.  Feel free to email your questions or concerns that you don’t want to share with others. 

Learn how Joyce Weiss can leverage her 30+ years of communication and leadership consulting and coaching experience to help your organization address team building strategies here.

 

This is Joyce Weiss, Communications Strategist and Coach
Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

PS Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Team Building Strategies Knowledge Base 

 

 

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5 Team Building Strategies to Keep Your Star Employees Motivated

Team building strategies are a very important part of any leader’s tool box.  The challenge comes when star employees leave the company.  Many of my clients have told me that they left jobs because they didn’t feel part of the team.  They couldn’t make decisions without having to go through many layers in the company.  They didn’t get support when they made smart mistakes and poor performance was not addressed.

Do these questions sound familiar?

How can I encourage people to make decisions when management is absent?
How can I encourage calculated risks so our company stays current?
How can we act as a team, instead of individuals striving for separate goals?

The answer is in one word…MOTIVATION. Motivation gives confidence, strength, and trust in your own decisions. Successful businesses know the impact of a motivated team.

Learn the 5 P’s of motivation to support dedicated people who’ll bring long-lasting results:

Team Building Strategies #1:  Permission…to make decisions and take risks.

Help people see how they’re setting up roadblocks to their success. You may hear people saying “I’m not ready yet”, or “I don’t know enough”. If I waited until I was ready to make that perfect keynote speech, I’d still be waiting!  Encourage calculated risks! These positive statements need to become standard in your workplace:

“Everyone fears new things when they are in unfamiliar territory.”
“The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.”
“There are three kinds of people – those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened!”

Team Building Strategies #2:  Protection…even if they make a mistake.

Make sure the penalty for failure is not greater than the penalty for doing nothing. Professional growth is all about learning from our mistakes.  Make sure you stand by your team, even when they fail. If they make a mistake, ask this very important question, “What did you learn, and how would you handle it differently if this situation came up again?”  Share mistakes that you made in order to be transparent and let them know what you learned about the mistake.  

Team Building Strategies #3:  Purpose… Know the company’s goals and answers to the typical conflicts that arise.

Challenge your team by asking why and why not. This forces constant improvement.  Recognize market changes. Encourage problem-solving and brainstorming. Technology is expanding at an amazing rate, making some present techniques obsolete. Look at trends and then be ready.  Listen when your team speaks about products or processes that are not working anymore.  This seems so obvious.  My clients have left companies when leadership was stuck in the status quo and their egos.  They knew the company was sinking before leadership saw it coming.

Team Building Strategies #4:  Proficiency… Know the difference between complacency and excellence.

Encourage people to think of themselves as the owners of their own careers. Help them learn features and benefits of every product and service in the company.  Train people to listen to the client’s needs. Role play with common objections, so staff is prepared when they’re rejected. This way, everyone will be more prepared.  Make sure to be consistent and discipline or train team members who are not doing their job.  Your star employees are watching when leaders let complacency and mediocrity rule the culture.

Team Building Strategies # 5:  Pay-off… Appreciate and recognize superior work.

All people have a basic need for appreciation. Let your team know the success of the business is partly due to their efforts and achievements.  Star employees need to know that their opinion and efforts are making a difference.  Make sure to concentrate on them or else they will leave and find a company with a better culture.

When you use the 5 P’s of motivation you’ll see an increase in morale, productivity, retention, and success. These are my tried and true methods – experiment with your own, then sit back and enjoy the fabulous results!

I want to hear from you!
CLICK HERE to send me your questions about how you motivate your team.  What is your experience keeping star employees from leaving?

Do You Want to See How Your Communication Impacts Your Success at Work?
CLICK HERE to take the easy and fun Communicate with Impact Quiz. I will send your results immediately and you will learn more about setting boundaries to be more effective at work and in your life. Sound good?
Here’s the LINK

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Communication Strategist and Coach

You can learn how to improve your leadership skills by communicating your important message to both star employees and those who keep you up at night! 🙂  I will do whatever it takes to help you improve your quality of life.

VISIT our Team Building Consultant Services page to see how we can help your team become even more successful.

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, and on-line professional growth coaching.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

P.S.  Do you want more information about keeping your star employees motivated?
CLICK HERE to read my article on How to Deal with Mediocrity at work

VISIT our Knowledge Base on Team Building for more articles and podcasts

 

Contact Joyce

Email: joyce@joyceweiss.com
Phone: 248-681-5831