Wesley Woods - Leadership Transition Specialist

Latest Blog Posts on the ASTD Website

Wesley Woods — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:43:03 +0000

See my latest blog post on the ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) website … Click Here! Also, follow that link to the ASTD website and click on “Wesley Woods” located beneath the title of the blog post to view my other posts on that website.

What to do if you become the “Leadership Villain”

Wesley Woods — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:57:19 +0000

There is no ominous music playing when people enter your office. You don’t have an evil master plan sitting in the middle of your desk. There is no sinister grin frozen to your face signaling your desire to take over the world. So, why does your staff treat you like the world’s worst villain?

If you are in the leadership seat during a period of severe budget cuts, massive restructuring and ultimately layoffs, you will probably get some of the blame (whether it’s fair or not). There is a natural tendency to blame the leadership (administrators, managers, president, ceo, etc.) of the organization when restructuring takes place. What determines whether or not you will be viewed as a villain is how you handle those situations.

Here are some specific steps you can take as a leader to shed your image as an organizational villain:

This isn’t Hollywood – You aren’t a movie star and the rest of your employees aren’t the paparazzi. Stop hiding! Make yourself available for informal discussions about the current state of the company, school district, etc. It’s great to have a policy where people can call you via phone, but it’s better to give the option of meeting with you in person during a select time. To be most effective, you need to frequently reiterate your interest to meet with others and give your office hours more than once to ease employee apprehension about speaking with you (Note: Many people have apprehension about meeting with/voicing concerns with their boss – make it easy for people to meet with you).

Keep people informed – Do you want to know a quick and highly effective method for fueling fear, worry and gossip? The answer…SILENCE! Keeping your staff in the dark about potential layoffs will add stress to your employees and negatively affect their confidence in the organization. Just be honest. Let them know in advance the best-case and worst-case scenarios due to economic conditions so that people can mentally prepare for whatever future decisions need to be made (Note: Let all communication be as positive as possible, but show how the changes will help the organization as a whole stay afloat and become stronger).

Make firm/fair decisions (and live with your decision) – Don’t second-guess yourself. Make a firm/fair decision and speak with confidence (not arrogance) as you are articulating your decisions. People are analyzing you more than what you actually say.

Ask for opinions – Want to know the three ways to reduce waste in the company? Want to know the two key methods for bringing in more customers. Would you like to know the four ways to make your organization more efficient and streamline processes? It’s simple, ASK! People are ready and willing to share multiple ideas to strengthen the organization. The key is that you will have to go to them first. Encourage employees to share ideas but ensure that your motives are pure so the endeavor won’t appear as mere window dressing to pacify the masses.

As a special bonus, you can receive “The 3 Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make and How to Avoid Them” for FREE! Click Here!

What impact are you making in your organization?

Wesley Woods — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:05:54 +0000

I recently took a road trip through parts of the southern U.S. It was a scenic trip filled with lots of relaxation and a whole lot of eating, uh hmm, to support the local economies of course (don’t worry…my doctor doesn’t believe that excuse either).

On one of my “supporting local economies” food excursions, I visited a nondescript restaurant that had amazing food, but that’s not what impressed me. What impressed me most about this restaurant was the impact the waitress had on my dining experience. Now, it’s often said that people in the southern U.S. are hospitable/friendly, but the attitude and actions of the waitress made me think of the overall impact that we can have on our organizations.

No matter what your official title is or your pay grade, you have the ability to make a difference in your organization and with your customers. It doesn’t matter if you are an Administrative Assistant or CEO, each day you are making some kind of impact (whether positive or negative) in the organization. Don’t ever think for a moment that what you do is insignificant or that “doing the right thing” doesn’t matter.

You may be wondering at this point what the waitress did that was so significant. It’s simple, she cared. Not only did she care about each customer, she cared enough to make my experience memorable by treating me like another member of the family. Question – Do you care about your organization? Are you making a positive impact in your organization on a daily basis? What can you do today to make a memorable experience for your customers or end-users? Remember, everything that you do in your organization matters.

What did you think about this post? Please leave your comments below.

Your job or business IS NOT your life!

Wesley Woods — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:43:38 +0000

Simple question – who are you? Think about that for a moment. Do you define yourself as Mr./Ms. Smith who works at ABC Company? Does your job title, position, automobile or home location define who you are? Better yet, think of it this way. If the job, car and home were all gone, who would you be then?

All too often in business there is an unhealthy merging of our personal identity with what we do as a profession (this is not a discussion of branding were you may in fact infuse your identity with your product). The problem with attaching your personal identity to your job is that if you lose your job, what do you do then?

As a result of working in corporate America for 13 years, I’ve seen countless individuals devote all of their heart, mind and soul to their profession at the expense of destroying family/personal relationships. They would be quick to attend the after-work event but never had time to attend their children’s baseball games. They could spend an entire day in a horribly boring meeting but never find the time to listen to their spouse at home.

The purpose of this post isn’t to make you feel guilty, but rather to make you think about what’s really important in life.

This is what I want you to do. Take some time to identify who you are. No, not the corporate “you” that everyone sees each day but the real you. Next, identify what’s really important in your life. Lastly, decide to make one change today that will create greater balance in your life.

What did you think about this post? Please leave your comments below.

Why Teachers Hate Your Staff Meetings

Wesley Woods — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:18:24 +0000

Here’s the typical scenario. You make the announcement that there will be a staff meeting after school and instantly, the atmosphere in the building changes. You can almost feel the teachers cringing at the thought of another wonderful (catch the sarcasm) meeting. Why is your team so resistant? Don’t they want to improve the school and share best practices to engage and inspire students?

Let’s be clear…your teachers support school improvement initiatives and are very interested in new ways to engage students. That’s not the problem. There is a specific reason why your staff is so resistant. I’m forewarning you, this may hurt. The reason teachers hate staff meetings is because most meetings are boring and/or pointless. How many times have you scanned the room during your meeting and observed teachers using their smartphone, having side conversations, or looking as if they would rather have a root canal as opposed to being in the meeting?

Here’s the solution

Let’s start from the beginning. The purpose of a meeting is to inform, align and implement strategy. Oftentimes, too much time is wasted on topics or discussions that have nothing to do with implementing the strategy. So, instead of focusing on enagaging and inspiring students, let’s focus for a moment on how to engage your teachers to get the most out of each staff meeting.

5 tips to breathe life back into your meetings

No surprise meetings! – Do you like unforeseen surprises throughout the course of your workday? Neither do your teachers. When at all possible (I understand that it may be unavoidable sometimes) give your teachers advance notice to prepare for the meeting. You are reducing the effectiveness of the meeting when your teachers find out about it two hours before dismissal and have to cancel or adjust their previous after school plans.
Have a specific start and end time – Your teachers probably dislike the meetings because they feel like they are in prison. Before the meeting begins, give them an agenda and a specific start and end time (then stick to it).
Mix visual and audio elements – Make the meeting exciting by mixing a variety of delivery methods. Don’t just stand in one spot and talk at them for an hour.
Exercises – Use fun (but relevant) exercises to reinforce your core points and to make the subject memorable.
Reduce brainstorming – I know this sounds contrary to what you probably think, but the main purpose of a meeting is alignment for strategy implementation. Have the teachers brainstorm ideas prior to the meeting, then gather those ideas during the meeting. This will ensure that valuable time isn’t wasted discussing one particular agenda topic and will hopefully prevent the conversation from drifting to unrelated topics.

Following these simple steps will help you create more effective meetings. As a special bonus for school administrators, you can receive “The 3 Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make and How to Avoid Them” and “How to Keep Your Sanity as an Administrator” for FREE! Click Here!

Leaders Should Never Forget to Say “Thank You”

Wesley Woods — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:10:23 +0000

I was watching the news recently and saw a report about a science fair being hosted at the Whitehouse for students. As President Barack Obama discussed the event in front of reporters, I was struck by something that he said. He stated that he had given all of the students some homework. Their assignment was to find a teacher who had made an impact on their lives and to thank them. This is a very important principle that managers and supervisors (and quite frankly all people) should observe.

As a leader, when is the last time that you said “thank you” to one of your employees? No, not the standard and polite “thank you” that you issue 20 times a day, but a heartfelt “thank you” to those who work hard and never complain. Who is the person in your building that makes life easier for everyone (front desk receptionist, janitor, temporary employee) but who tends to be the most underappreciated? Today, I issue you homework. I want you to find someone in your organization and give them a heartfelt “thank you” for their dedication and commitment. Showing genuine appreciation to your staff is a simple method that can build loyalty in your organization.

After you complete your assignment, go to our Facebook Page and let us know who you appreciate (you don’t have to list their name) and why. We look forward to your comments.

Sanity for School Administrators

Wesley Woods — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:08:11 +0000

All individuals who work in the field of education have an extremely difficult job. Specifically, school administrators are faced with regulatory issues, personnel problems and budget concerns. How do you stay sane in the midst of all of these pressures? It’s actually pretty simple. You either manufacture the conditions that create stress or you manufacture the conditions that create peace in your life. So, if you don’t like stress, stop operating in the system that is producing the stress. Make a decision in 2012 to only manufacture peace and regain your sanity!

Ok…I know that sounds overly simplified but let me explain. Do you remember your first car? Yes, the one with the loud muffler, dents and rust spots. Despite the defects, you were extremely careful and protective of that contraption…I mean car. If someone wanted to borrow it, you would ask a hundred questions just to make sure they wouldn’t break or damage anything. When they returned, you would carefully inspect the car from every angle to ensure that it was returned with the exact same number of dents (as if one more would suddenly devalue the car).

While this may be a good practice for your first automobile, this is not good practice for a district or school. As an administrator, if you want to regain your peace and sanity you have to practice this one principle – The Art of the Release. Make a decision right now to release everything that you have been trying to fix by yourself and empower your staff, principals or teachers to develop creative solutions to solve those problems. The longer you try to overextend yourself and solve every issue, the more stress you will accumulate. Now, someone is reading this blog and thinking, “I could never turn THAT problem over to my staff.” NEWS FLASH: Your staff, principals or teachers are highly capable and, by the way, THEY WONT BREAK ANYTHING! Don’t treat your school or district like your first car where you were hesitant to turn over the keys (or give authority) because you thought someone would damage something. Empower your team and regain your sanity so you can focus on more important issues such as improving student achievement.

What did you think of this post? Leave your comments on our facebook page. For more information regarding leadership, staff development or customer service training, contact me here.

New Year…Same Workplace Headache

Wesley Woods — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:39:30 +0000

You were excited about the new year. A fresh start, new goals, more vacation days (hey, I don’t blame you), and a chance to leave all of the workplace chaos of 2011 behind. You arrived to work in January only to discover that the same complaining, gossiping and bickering hadn’t changed. Not another year of this!

How do you stay motivated when you have to work with unmotivated people? Follow these three simple tips to bring peace and sanity to your work day.

You are a flashlight
What’s the purpose of a flashlight? To shine light on the areas that are dark. Despite all of the negative conversations, make a decision to be the person who injects positivity into your organization. Yes, there will be some people who will undoubtedly make sarcastic comments about your positive attitude, but you have to decide if you are going to make a difference in your company or join the attitude of everyone else.

Become a bottle of seasoning
While attending a conference in Georgia, I was persuaded to have lunch at a restaurant that served Jamaican food. I ordered a very simple dish but I distinctly remember that everything, including the bread, was spicy (even my beverage was spicy). What does this teach us about the workplace? It only takes a small amount of change to make a massive impact. Be the person in 2012 to resolve the senseless conflicts between employees in your office. Now, you could simply adopt the mindset that their issues don’t involve me. The problem is that their conflict will undoubtedly affect the entire team.

You are not a mixer
If you’ve ever made homemade bread, you know that the dough must go through some form of a mixing process. How does this relate to you? You are not mixer! Don’t blend with the attitudes, conversations, rumors (or anything else negative) that spreads around the organization. It’s better to be the “oddball” focusing on what’s positive than having a bad attitude and being stressed as a result of assimilating with the group.

Following these simple tips will help you maintain your sanity around unmotivated co-workers. Which tip will you implement this week? Leave your answer on our Facebook page.

This Year Is All About ME!

Wesley Woods — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:22:50 +0000

The number twelve (in 2012) is symbolic of wholeness and completion. That should be everyone’s focus for this year. In 2011, you may have had lots of open “doors” (a series of unfinished and incomplete tasks, goals or decisions) in your life. The year of 2012 is the time to bring closure, finalization or completion to all of those open areas. So, instead of making some new grand resolution for the year (which hasn’t worked for you in the past), make a decision to finalize everything from the past and complete everything that is new.

I’m going to give you a gift to help you on your journey in 2012. It’s an imaginary gift, but no less powerful if you act upon it. Let me explain. If you want to sell products as a business owner you typically need to obtain a business license. This license gives you the authority and right to act according to the guidelines of the license. Well, today I issue you a personal license – a license to focus on YOU!

A lot of people live their lives in pursuit of making other people happy and bringing completion to the lives of others. While it’s great to assist others, doing so at the expense of your own goals (or sanity), will leave you exhausted, frustrated and unhappy (is this you?). It’s important that you understand this point. When you are incomplete (or have incompletion in your life), nothing in your life (marriage, job, home etc.) will function properly because YOU (the main character in your life) isn’t functioning properly.

So, make a decision to focus on YOU this year. I’m not implying that you should neglect your family, co-workers or responsibilities. I’m simply saying that YOU are important and you need to make YOU a priority over everything else. At home, schedule (notice I said schedule – this means it’s intentionally planned) some time to work on YOU. Guard this time. Let nothing, including your family, get in the way of that time. What you fill this time with isn’t the point. The purpose is to create space for a steady progression towards whatever needs to be completed in your life. Next, do the same for work. Depending on the type of job you have, make sure you complete your tasks first before being so quick to assist others (a mistake I made for years). It doesn’t make sense to help everyone else complete their job duties then struggle in the end to finish your work. Again, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t help others, but rather meet your needs first before you assist others.

So, this year you have been licensed with the authority to work on YOU. Put your license to use and you will be amazed at the progress you make in a short amount of time.

Remember, until YOU are “right” nothing else in your life will be right!

What will you work toward completing in 2012? Share it on our facebook page for support and accountability.

Your Staff Doesn’t Need Training Wheels

Wesley Woods — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:09:01 +0000

In the summer, it’s typical to see parents teaching their children how to ride their bikes. The parents will make sure their child has all of the proper gear (helmet, elbow/knee pads etc). The parents will also make sure that the child has training wheels until they can balance on their own. Once the child has learned the ability to balance to a moderate degree, the parents will remove the training wheels because they no longer serve a purpose.

Leaders, your employees are not children. They don’t need or want training wheels. In fact, “training wheels” can actually become a hindrance to them being effective in their job. The concept of “training wheels” symbolizes your need to assist/control or interfere with their work because you feel that you need to help them balance and stay on track. Like a parent, yes – it’s scary when you first take the training wheels off, but that’s the only way to encourage your child to be self-sufficient (and not depend on that accessory). Likewise, as leaders, the only way that you will spark an environment of creativity, innovation and growth is to set your employees free and allow them to learn how to ride alone. I’ve stated this before. The job of a leader is to direct the ship, not drive the ship. Learn to master the art of guidance if you want to be a successful leader. Yes, there might be a few scary moments in the beginning as your employees first begin to pedal alone, but the environment you are building as a result of releasing their creative ability will make a major impact on your organization.

What did you think about this post? Please leave your comments below. For more information regarding leadership, staff development or customer service training, contact me here.