MGW #24 - How To Fire People
Mighty Good Work
MGW #24 - How To Fire People Welcome back to the newly relaunched Mighty Good Work with your hosts Aaron Schmookler, Co-founder and Trainer of The Yes Works and Kristin Adams, Co-director of Startup Grind and first time founder of ALL2. Last episode we discussed shifting both the thought process surrounding, dialogue about and facilitation of people quitting their jobs and this episode we are focused on the other side of that equation - how to fire people compassionately. While one might think that goes without saying, you’d be surprised what still occurs in the...
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MGW #23 - How to Retain Talent
Mighty Good Work
MGW #23 - How to Retain Talent Welcome to the Mighty Good Work relaunch. The focus hasn’t changed – this is still a podcast for people who want to make work a place worthy of the time we dedicate to it and for leaders and aspiring leaders who are committed to inspiring the same. We’ve tweaked the format, including a permanent new co-host, in the hopes of adding diversity of viewpoints, experience and topics for the benefit of our listeners. We are excited to share version 2.0 with you and on that note, let’s get started! In this episode we focus on shifting both the thought...
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MGW #22 - Putting Core Values to Work
Mighty Good Work
Here are some action items taken from the episode to help you put your company's core values to work: Step 1: To get your company values off the wall, and actually working in your organization from top to bottom, make sure INTEGRITY tops the list. Without integrity, your other values are just suggestions. Step 2: Define integrity. Don’t take for granted that everyone knows what it means. Many companies define integrity as, “do the right thing.” The problem with that is... people can and do argue all day about what the right thing is. A more practical definition for integrity is...
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MGW #21 - “Anxiety Free Workplace” with Bud Torcom
Mighty Good Work
GUEST: Bud Torcom https://mazamamedia.com/ Twitter: HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR CONVERSATION: Bud Torcom’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal is an anxiety free workplace. I’ve wanted to treat people the way I want to be treated and work in the kind of workplace I’d want to be working in. As a digital marketing company, being in the office for normal business hours isn’t necessary. We’re on a constant, steady drip of the stress hormone, cortisol. OUr bodies did not evolve for a constant cortisol drip. Anxiety is making us sick. Bud’s not sure an...
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MGW #20 - “Dream Big. Perform Big” with Dan Ralphs_01
Mighty Good Work
GUEST: Dan Ralphs www.thedreamblog.com Twitter: @dreamtolead HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR CONVERSATION: You can’t teach another person anything they don’t want to learn. They have to choose to learn it. If you can’t motivate people to choose to learn and grow, you won’t be very successful as a teacher… or as a leader. There’s a magic lever you can use to awaken that intrinsic motivation. It’s the question, “What’s the future for you? I’m an advocate for you.” Give them ownership of their future. We’re afraid of letting our people define success for...
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MGW #19 - You’re Doing Conflict Wrong
Mighty Good Work
There’s a lot out there about how to reduce conflict at work. A lot of the stuff out there is very good. This episode is about transforming conflict, and using it to your advantage. If conflict seems like something to avoid… If it seems like something you can win… Then, you’re doing it wrong. We’ve got a you can read. For those of you who don’t have time for well thought out articles, here’s your Mighty Good Work ADEPTability Skills Checklist: Slow Down Your primitive brain, and the fight or flight response is powerful, but it’s not the only game in...
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MGW #18 - Culture for Recruiting
Mighty Good Work
From THE YES WORKS, this is MIGHTY GOOD WORK. A podcast built on the stories of people and companies who are making good work happen. Whether it’s work as a place to be, work as a product or service, or work as a way to spend your life, we will be talking to those who are committed to excellence and who are succeeding in bringing Mighty Good Work into existence.
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MGW #17 - “Happy Side-Effects of Channel Partnership” with Jen Spencer
Mighty Good Work
GUEST: Jen Spencer Twitter: @JenSpencer HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR CONVERSATION: Your partners are a natural extension of your sales, marketing, and customer success teams. And they should be treated as such. These relationships and their health starts at the top. Fear, uncertainty, and a lack of trust can erode the health of those partner relationships. What would help your partners be successful in the partnership. Give them access to all information and control that will help them succeed. Expose more to your partners than you may be inclined to. Alignment...
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MGW #16 - “Drive Learning and Growth” with Elaine Lin Hering
Mighty Good Work
GUEST: Elaine Lin Hering Across industries, people say that feedback conversations are their most difficult conversations -- both giving and receiving. ONe the receiving end, it’s triggering. On the giving end, you may cause a trigger in the receiver, and you don’t know how it’s being received. Three kinds of feedback: Positive feedback: appreciation Coaching: guidance for improved effectiveness Evaluation: Tracking against expectations In order to learn and thrive and do good work, we need all three kinds of feedback.Feedback is: solicited and...
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MGW #14 - “Thriving Business/ Product, Process, and People” with Eric Johnson
Mighty Good Work
GUEST: Eric Johnson -- CFO of Nintex Nintex is a leader in workflow and content automation. Making more time in workflow for what really matters. The Eric Johnson approach: When I make a commitment, I deliver on that commitment. That builds respect and trust. Caring about people, and hold a mark of high integrity. And look for creating benefit for everyone. If you’re great to work with, and you do great work, life goes pretty well. We’ve never taken venture capital to fund operations. How are we achieving excellence, growth and recognition? It’s a...
info_outlineGUEST: Bud Torcom
https://mazamamedia.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/budtorcom/
Twitter: @BudTorcom
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR CONVERSATION:
Bud Torcom’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal is an anxiety free workplace.
I’ve wanted to treat people the way I want to be treated and work in the kind of workplace I’d want to be working in.
As a digital marketing company, being in the office for normal business hours isn’t necessary.
We’re on a constant, steady drip of the stress hormone, cortisol. OUr bodies did not evolve for a constant cortisol drip. Anxiety is making us sick.
Bud’s not sure an anxiety free workplace is possible. Even so, he’s on a mission to try… to see if it’s possible.
The people of Mazama Media are the face of the company -- and the interface of the customers. Happy team members create happy clients.
Human Prairie dog -- When each member of the team looks out for the interests of the others, then all individuals feel they can afford to look out for collective interests.
“It’s my responsibility [to take on the stress].”
The message to the team… “The thing that just happened is not going to mean you don’t eat tonight.” You’re not going to lose your job. We’re going to learn from the way things went down.
We’re anticipating dips on the path of growth. Setting expectations of inevitable setbacks helps to smooth out the experience people have of the ups and downs of any business.
“Blame the process, not the person.”
Where did the problem hit? What can we learn about our processes and procedures from each setback, failure, or bump in the road.
People want to have purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.
Checklists help insure success. Set people up for success.
When you work together as a team, and with the support of technology, much fewer errors are missed and less slips through the cracks. Both team redundancy and technology backup makes for effective performance.
Processes and systems get refined over time. Learn from the data and refine as you go.
The message to the team, “These processes and checklists are here to support you.”
Limit the number of things on your list of to dos. A huge list is a stresser. Focus on the few that will have the greatest impact.
Your team is going to be right about their priorities 90% of the time. Go with their gut.
The presence of ping-pong and other games in the modern workplace does have a work relevant role to play -- to give the mind a break during which breakthrough can happen.
Bud fires paying clients when they treat his team in ways that he doesn’t want people to be treated.
Prospects who will create anxiety in the organization are disqualified as clients.
Where are the places to relieve stress and anxiety from the whole system -- the team, leadership, and clients. Stress is cumulative and contagious.
Prevent burnout by defining limits. Setting limits can enhance performance because results will have to come from effective behaviors over hustle.
Delegation is a leader’s force magnifier.
Richard Branson says that your team comes first, not clients. This is because people who know that someone’s got their back are freed up to care for the clients.
Enough high-level thinking. Here are seven specific actions you can take to reduce anxiety in your organization.
- Blame the process, not the person.
- Build a got your back culture.
- You can get people to do more through praise than through condemning. So praise people.
- Thank people frequently.
- Give people the ability to create. Give them agency to affect the work they do and the way they do it.
- Put relationships first. “It’s never about the thing. It’s always about the relationship.” Build relationships that will deliver results.
- Let the people go surfing.
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Your host on Mighty Good Work is Aaron Schmookler.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmookler/
And, we’re The Yes Works -- Helping to make work good for people, and make people good for work.
Resources mentioned in today’s show:
Simon Sinek’s book, Leaders Eat Last
And his website: https://startwithwhy.com/
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia