June 2021 Session

A couple of informational points for starters:

• July's session will be delivered in an online ZOOM format as well, with our first session on 7/8/21 and our next on 7/22/21.

This month's session included our brand new module on Trust:  The Leadership Differentiator with Sylvie di Giusto:

• We first discussed the several key relationships that exist as part of the work environment:  The Organization, Peers, Direct/Indirect Reports, Customers & Ourselves.  
• We played BINGO!  Congratulations to Maxwell Sommer from Spud Software for being the first to answer the scenarios correctly.
• Within the Bingo cards, and included on a handout below are the 24 ways that trust can be broken (also see the handout in the class announcement email).
• We then moved on to building trust using the 5 Trust Traits - Control, Respect, Professionalism, Authenticity & Confidence.
• To build trust - your actions should include trusting yourself, extending trust to others, and being trustworthy.
• To rebuild trust - your actions should include reflect, connect & restore
• With the trust cube, we identified examples of people who represent the various trust traits very well.  Use these as a reminder of what we want to be for each trait.
• We also generated a list of positive behaviors in each trust category - things to strive for as a leader.  See that list here.
• See this file for some graphics you can use for handy reference when it comes to this most important topic of building trust within your organization.

Our second module was Captivate Your Customer with Shep Hyken:

• Shep talked about the importance of getting your entire organization focused on customer service - whether those customers are internal or external.
• The Golden Rule:  Treat your employees as well as you treat your customers - maybe even better!
• Your employees will treat each other, and your customers, as they are treated.
• We talked about a customer’s Moment of Truth - the point at which they experience your organization.  For many organizations, there are multiple Moments of Truth - when they look at your website, when they interact with your sales team, when they experience the product or service for the first time, when they deal with your accounting department, or your shipping and warranty departments.  Each one of those interactions is an opportunity to experience one of the following:
  • A Moment of Misery - something doesn’t go right - an employee doesn’t engage or engages poorly.  The product or service doesn’t work as expected.  This is about managing expectations - and you should strive for a very high success rate - perfection is not likely to be obtained.
  • A Moment of Magic - Shep describes this as being a little bit better than average - or what the customer would expect.  A smiling employee, a thorough but quick exchange, the product or service just a little bit better than advertised. 
• Moments of Misery can be converted to Moments of Magic - How does that happen?  You should talk with your employees and figure out a strategy!  What should they do, what can they do, when things don’t go right?  You can anticipate your most common Moments of Misery - because they’ve already happened - you should know what they are!
• There are seven customer service strategies - most companies employ one or two of these to deliver great customer service.
  • 1).  Provide Membership
  • 2).  Have serious F.U.N.
  • 3).  Cultivate Partnership
  • 4).  Hire Right
  • 5).  Create a Memorable After-experience
  • 6).  Build Community
  • 7).  Walk the Talk

Managing Hybrid Teams: Overcoming the Challenges of the New Workplace 

2020 and COVID-19 brought rapid disruption to workplaces around the world. The sudden shift to remote work tested most organizations’ ability to adapt and adjust to the next normal. Now leaders are facing the reality that a flexible workplace is here to stay. As such, leaders will need to re-think their approach to managing successful teams and getting great results. A physical location can no longer serve as the anchor to an organization’s culture and identity. Instead, managers will need to reflect on their approach to leading teams and find effective ways to create a cohesive workplace culture that is not dependent on co-location.

This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, July 29th, at 10:00 am ET.

Next Month's Sessions

VIRTUAL SESSIONS - 

Strategic Thinking for Future Success - Prof. Dr. Leif Erik Wollenweber
Thursday, July 8th, 9 - 11 am

Leadership Influence Through Emotional Intelligence
Thursday, July 22nd, 9 - 11 am 

Looking forward to seeing you next month!

Some Bonus Content

Trust - Trust is at the core of all successful working relationships. More than ever, workers need to believe they can trust their leaders to make decisions that will provide job security and create a safe working environment for everyone.

https://crestcom.com/blog/2021/05/20/3-ways-build-trust-leader/

Customer Service -  5 Customer Service Skills That Make A Real Difference To Customers. Good article from Crestcom on what we all look for when we deal with an individual inside an organization. The first one - active listening. I've recently had some issues with companies that hide behind their automated phone systems - you can't talk to an actual human being until you enter your account number 3 times, punch 27 other options, and eventually scream "customer service" into the phone (that might be a slight exaggeration). What's missing in that entire 5-10 minutes is an opportunity to be heard.  

https://crestcom.com/blog/2017/01/19/5-customer-service-skills-that-make-a-real-difference-to-customers/

About Crestcom International, LLC.
Crestcom International, LLC is an international leadership development organization, training more than one million leaders for 25,000 businesses in over 60 countries across the globe. Crestcom achieves this through a blend of live-facilitated multimedia video, interactive exercises, and shared learning experiences. Crestcom implements action plans and coaching accountability sessions to ensure measured development in key leadership competency areas. For more information, please contact your local Crestcom representative found here.