Managing to Make a Difference: Recent Episodes
Larry Sternberg, J.D. and Kim Turnage, Ph.D.
As a manager, do you want to make a significant, positive difference in your employees’ lives? If so, this program is for you. Based on their upcoming book, Managing to Make a Difference, Larry Sternberg, J.D. and Kim Turnage, Ph.D., discuss principles and practices supported by both research and experience, providing you with practical ways to apply the lessons and learn from your own experience. Join Larry and Kim every week for dynamic and thought-provoking conversation that will help you take action to grow as a manager and leader.
Have you taken the time to tell someone you care for them? What about your employees? The whole purpose in writing “Managing to Make a Difference” was to help managers discover and develop strategies, tactics and techniques that empower you to change the lives of you employees. And many of the ideas we have provided you will help you change people’s lives. In our final episode, we bring these concepts full circle by sitting down with Dr. Maribel Cruz to discuss the importance of expressing gratitude to the people who have made a significant, positive difference in your life.
Managing to Make a Difference takes time, effort and talent from each manager. Over the past several months, the team has explored the seven keys ways to achieve just that – Making a Difference in the lives of their employees each day. Topics included Cultivating Positive Relationships, Accelerating People’s Growth, Maximizing Engagement and Motivation, Building Extraordinary Teams, Shaping Your Culture, Embracing Change and Investing in Your Own Growth. So how do these all tie together? Join Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage for “Managing to Make a Difference” as they look back at the past year and tie all the lessons you learned into one final action step.
How do you find a mentor? Finding a mentor is a lot like developing a friendship. Before beginning the search, you need to know what type of relationship you are seeking and the type of person who would be a good fit as your mentor. That is why it is important to participate in different professional and community organizations, as it greatly increases your chance of meeting the perfect mentor. But you also need to know that you might have to make the first move in initiating a partnership. Once you have a mentor, how do you become a better mentee? To begin, you should clarify the expectations of the relationship, listen to your mentor and take their advice, and most importantly, express appreciation by honoring their value and the time they give you. Join Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage for “Managing to Make a Difference” as they explore the important world of mentorships and answer these key questions.
Investing time and energy in your own development will most certainly help accelerate your personal career growth. And as you grow and move up within your organization, there will be new people who take your place. It is much easier to move on and up within your career if you have someone on your team who can make a smooth transition into your previous role. That is why it is so important to select people to your team who have the potential to be in your current role someday. There is nothing wrong with selecting someone who does not necessarily have the desire or potential to one day be promoted, but it is important that you hire and invest in a few individuals who truly have potential for management.
“Organizations and managers should be intentional and aggressive about creating a culture in which people feel valued, significant and fulfilled, a culture in which people truly look forward to going to work.” But what happens if you feel trapped in your job rather than happy to be there? The best thing you can do is to change something. Change aspects of your current role or start looking outside of your organization. If neither of those are an option, change your thinking. In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry Sternberg explores actions you can take today to become your own change agent, whether that be in your current job or perhaps a new job.
Have you just recently been promoted to a managerial role? We are certain that you are excited to finally see your professional growth explode, but you are also likely anxious and unsure of what comes next. After all, managing former peers presents a unique challenge. A good manager can improve day-to-day lives for their team members, and if you manage with excellence, any doubters will join the rest of the team and support you in your new role. In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” we will be discussing key ways – acting with confidence, holding people accountable, keeping an open door and open mind, helping people grow – you can maximize your success in your new role.
Leadership coach and author, Bryan Williams, joins Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage to discuss his insights from the book, “Managing to Make a Difference” as well as his upcoming BW Leadership Academy. The academy itself offers an unique experience for mid-level managers and individuals moving toward senior management to come together and focus solely on themselves as leader and their own development. As a partner of Talent Plus, each participant in the BW Leadership Academy will receive a Talent Plus Inventory, identifying their top five talents, a customized leadership action plan, and will be assigned a certified leadership coach who will partner with them before, during and after the event. Learn more about the management techniques imperative to deliver world-class service and manage great teams thorough the eyes of guest Brian Williams alongside Larry and Kim this week on “Managing to Make a Difference.”
In this week’s episode of Managing to Make a Difference, Larry Sternberg and Dr. Kim Turnage discuss why you should spend more time on your 20%. This idea comes from the 80/20 rule, which essentially states that 20% of your efforts account for 80% of your results. Time management is not necessarily about doing several things at once, but rather spending your time on the things that make the biggest impact. As discussed before, playing to one’s strengths will provide you the biggest return on your investment. Therefore, if you spend 20% of your effort doing things you are good at and enjoy, you will have the biggest potential for growth. This can be applied not only to yourself, but to your team members. Make sure to tune in to learn more!
In this week's episode of Managing to Make a Difference, co-hosts Larry Sternberg and Dr, Kim Turnage will discuss the importance of all individuals investing in their own growth. Join us to explore defining what success means to you and strategies behind the why of investing in your own personal growth and the importance of establishing relationships that will help you to grow and accomplish your own goals.
Legacy employees have been loyal, hardworking and ambassadors of your company for a long time, but your business is changing in ways that are not always favorable for them. They have truly helped your organization succeed, but they are simply no longer a fit for your organization. What do you do? The same could be said for employees who are simply not interested in changing with the times. You do not have time to coach individuals resistant to change when a situation requires rapid determination; therefore, difficult decisions need to be made and jobs possibly eliminated. How do you handle these situations? In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage discuss legacy employees and employees who are actively blocking change.
Over communicate and listen. These are key traits for any manager to have, but they are especially important during a time of transition; transitions such as re-organization, layoffs, new management, etc. Ultimately, it can be the difference between your employees feeling good about the impending change or breeding negativity. Part of that comes in preparing for the unknown. After all, many of tomorrow’s most important opportunities and threats are unpredictable. Something you may not have yet thought of or currently does not exist could change your entire organization in ways you cannot imagine. In this week’s episode of Managing to Make a Difference, Kim Turnage and Larry Sternberg discuss the importance of being tolerant during times of great change and offer insights into how best to navigate tough transitions in the workplace.
In this day and age, the pace of change is accelerating, and major disruptions are commonplace. There are some management principles, however, that have not changed. From Millennials to Baby Boomers, employees of all generations want to know you genuinely care about them, that they are making a difference in the world, that you seek their greatest good and that they are significant as human beings. We have spent the first half of this year discussing techniques to empower managers to do a review on what really matters – Making a Difference in the Lives of Your Employees.
Change is a constant and it is inevitable. It will always involve risk and there will be people who fear the unknown. It is your job as a manager to encourage your employees to be courageous in moving forward regardless of fear because the reality is that the future is always unknown. That’s why it is key that you instill hope in times of great change. It is also just as important that when employees who approach you with a new idea, you see it as a learning moment and that you sit down with them and have a discussion, rather than simply shutting them down. Finally, accept the fact that you will never gain 100% buy in from your team or the company. Accept that big change brings about a sense of loss, acknowledge that there will be questions you cannot answer and be willing to discuss fears and concerns publicly. In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry and Kim discuss the best ways to navigate change in your organization and how best to drive innovation.
Here’s a straight to the point fact of life: rumors, hearsay and gossip damage your culture. Everyone knows this is true, and yet the cycle perpetuates. That is why it is important that as a manger you do not condone or participate in this behavior. Stirring the rumor mill is a lot like the telephone game; by the time the story gets to you, it has been completely distorted and has lost any basis of truth that it may have had. So, what are you going to do about it? After all, rumors and gossip are inevitable and impossible to eliminate. The best way to have it end with you is to stop the cycle: DON'T SHARE IT! Another key piece of advice to keep in mind is to always speak positively about those note present. It’s quite simple really, “if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.” This will enhance your moral authority, build trust and improve your culture. Learn more on rumors and gossip, and how you can help put an end to it in this week's episode.
Every organization has politics, but every organization is different, so politics may play a greater or lesser role in your company. However, it is inevitable that, due to politics, some people will be favored with power, influence and rewards they did not earn. That is how it is. Politics are a fact of life, so it’s time to accept it and deal with it. There are two options around how best to deal with workplace politics. Option one, you can make the choice to devote your time to politics to gain power. Option two, you can rise above the politics and devote your time to creating value for yourself, your employees and your organization. In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage will offer you seven principles to ensure you can rise above the politics. After all, it is not wise to ignore the political implication of your decisions, but you don’t have to let company politics dictate those decisions.
As a manager, you are responsible for building a culture in which people are encouraged to become the best versions of themselves, and there are a number of ways to accomplish this feat. You can recognize and reward exemplary behavior or punish unacceptable behavior, as we addressed in recent episodes, but the most impactful strategy is though moral authority. But what is moral authority? Moral authority is a lot of things that all boil down to becoming the kind of person, the kind of manager, people want to emulate. In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage explore moral authority and how to exert it in the workplace to transform your culture.
You want your employees to have fun at work, but they also have a job to do, and as a manager, it your responsibility balance workplace fun with a focus on performance. Top-performing employees thrive in a culture that have set expectations and an environment in which employees are held accountable. Therefore, the more clarity you can bring to the expectation you set the easier it is for all your employees. Ideally there are specific metrics attached to the expectation so you can hold your employees accountable for meeting them and provide recognition when they do. Recognize that top performers expect you to both reward your employees who meet and exceed your standards, and address poor performance with people who fail to meet those same expectations. This week’s episode is focused on addressing those employees who fail to meet your expectations, do not meet their goals and/or exhibit bad behavior.
Emotionally rehiring your employees is as simple but powerful way to provide positive feedback. It can be as easy as telling someone why you are thankful to have them on your team. And if you make this simple practice a common part of your culture, you will increase appreciation, build loyalty and enhance engagement. It can be done verbally or in writing, and at most will take just a few minutes of your time. Most importantly, it will create a tangible, permanent token of your appreciation. In addition to one-on-one recognition it is equally as importantly to incorporate recognition into group celebrations. Building a celebratory culture increases motivation and engagement, enhances relationships and translates directly into improved productivity. Celebrations should occur as chronologically close to the events as possible. In this week’s episode of Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage discuss why a tiny investment of effort can deliver enormous returns over time.
Why is it that in an effort to improve performance, instances of criticism are more prevalent than instances of positive feedback? Providing constructive, positive feedback is truly what brings about the greatest change, not just of individuals, but for the organization as a whole. Therefore, as managers, you have to do more than criticize. You have to actually help. If you cannot offer any coaching, ideas, resources or other forms of meaningful help to those in whom you are disappointed, then you should quit criticizing them for not improving. In this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage will offer you insights into the importance of positive recognition. After all, due to the wiring in our brains, we have to be more intentional in helping our people acknowledge and celebrating successes.
As a manager, you play a key role in onboarding your new employees. It’s important that you welcome and integrate your new employees in a thoughtful and intentional way, while maintaining the importance of cultivating relationships as your number one priority. Having a formal onboarding process can also serve a fun and welcoming team-building activity for the new employee as well as your existing staff members. That is what today’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference” is all about. How do you create a memorable experience for your employees on their first day? Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage offer their insights along with Talent Plus’ Talent Acquisition Lead, Kyle Bruss.
Have you ever led or attended an offsite team-building event? They can be expensive, but as a manager, you must ensure these events create enough value to justify the investment of time, effort and money. Team-building events are important because they help individuals grow and the team become stronger as a whole. Team members who enjoy close relationships truly care about each other. They go the extra mile to support each other, and this caring and commitment contributes to an extraordinary team. So, as a manager, how do you ensure a successful team-building out? Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage give you the how and why in this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference.”
There are only 24 hours in a day, so the question becomes how are you going to use the limited time you have at work each day to help grow yourself, your employees and the organization? As a manager, you are a developer of people and investing in your employees is the key to the growth of your organization. That is why it is important to have a strong team. We believe that “a team is only as strong as its weakest player” is a myth, but because so many people believe it to be true the majority of a manager’s time is often spent with the poor performers. In this week’s episode of Managing to Make a Difference, we challenge you to flip that around. What if you spent the majority of your time further developing your top performers? What would happen to that individual? Your overall team? Your organization? Tune in to learn the answers.
Many people struggle with delegation, including supervisors and managers. Why is this? Because individuals who are promoted into leadership were once outstanding individual performers, so they know they can perform with excellence. However, to be an effective leader, you also need to trust your employees to perform at that same level. We recognize that delegation always involves risk, but that is why it is key to select the right person to take on specific tasks to ensure excellence. Part of delegation involves trusting an individual to complete a task, which is why it is also important to ask for a commitment from that employee. After all, to achieve greatness, people must be willing to make sacrifices. Hear from Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage this week on delegation and commitments in the workplace on this episode of “Managing to Make a Difference.”
Recognized as #2 by Leadership 500 Awards for exceptional Leadership Development Programs, Talent Plus offers this award-winning, global Leadership Toolbox program on its Lincoln campus. Join Larry Sternberg, Kim Turnage and fellow Talent Plus associate, Abby Christensen to learn more about this day-long session that equips leaders with tools to instantly engage employees and their teams. Leaders will discover best practices for Development Strategies, Career Investment Discussions, Individual and Team Recognition, Appreciative Inquiry and Strengths Development. You won’t want to miss this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference.” You may even walk away with a couple of extra tools to add into your managerial toolbox.
At Talent Plus, we believe when it comes to selection, you should be using the GIFT Formula: (Talent + Fit) x Investment = Growth ®. If the goal is to build extraordinary teams and see a great return on your investment, you have to focus on talent and fit in the selection process and then invest in each individual accordingly. In this episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage will focus on the “Fit” portion of the GIFT formula. After all, just because someone has great talent doesn’t always mean they are the right fit for the role, the team or the organization.
Just as important as recruiting is recruiting for top talent, but how do you define talent and what is the payoff in holding out? If you are striving to build an extraordinary team the most important decisions involve who you select to join the team. How important are degrees and requirements in your selection decision? Selecting based upon requirements can weed out top talent, so it’s important to establish your priorities before you start a selection process. Learn from Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage how to build a diverse, high-performance workforce that does not know race, ethnicity, gender, age or any other category in this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference.”
Do you want to build an extraordinary team of people? One of the key facets in doing so is recruitment. And though most people believe this responsibility lies solely with the HR department, you as the manager have a key role in selecting your team members. How do you this? By building a talent bench. A talent bench is a group of candidates who have the right talent and fit for your team, but there aren’t any current openings. You should constantly be on the lookout for talented people to join your team, so you are prepared for when a position becomes available. Learn the key strategies to recruiting and building your talent bench this week when you tune into “Managing to Make a Difference” with Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage.
S.M.A.R.T. goals are important. Setting any kind of goal is important. However, simply setting reasonable goals for your employees does not benefit them or the organization. Instead, you need to ensure they are somewhat challenging. Top performers want audacious goals and they want a manager who will inspire them to achieve those goals. So be a manager who sets high goals for your high-potential employees, but also be optimistic. You can’t just think positively, you need to be unreasonably optimistic, especially when setting goals that may at first seem unattainable. Optimism can be empowering and will inspire creativity, resourcefulness and persistence in your employees so they can be successful, which in turn, makes your organization successful. Tune in this week for Managing to Make a Difference with Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage to learn how to set goals and remain optimistic.
Discretionary effort is now a new concept; but today it may be more commonly seen as “going the extra mile.” Discretionary effort is the level of effort you are capable of giving to a task beyond minimum requirements, and its impact on the end result can be fairly impressive. Everyone has a reservoir of discretionary effort at their disposal each and every day, and tapping into it improves quality, productivity and job satisfaction. So, how do you as a manager tap into your employee’s discretionary effort? Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage have the answers in this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference.” They will also explore creating a sense of urgency in your employees. After all, once you tap into someone’s reservoir of energy, how do you inspire them to take immediate action? Most individuals are already working with a sense of urgency, it is simply your job as a manager to point that urgency in the direction you want them to take.
How many times a week, maybe even in a day, do you have to check with your supervisor in order to make a decision? Let’s say a customer approaches you with a question that escalates and you find yourself in need of your supervisor in order to make a decision and resolve the issue, but your supervisor has to bring it to their manager and so on. As the customer, you are feeling neglected and irritated. Lack of empowerment leads to poor customer service and has a negative impact on employee engagement. Wouldn’t it be much simpler to cut through the red tape and allow your employees to have the authority to make decisions without seeking your approval? Tune in this week to “Managing to Make a Difference” to learn the power behind empowerment.
As a manager, you are responsible for your biggest controllable cost – your employees. That is why creating a work schedule is so important. You need enough people on staff to ensure top quality, but not too high that your payroll rises. Kim and Larry have seen this happen time and time again, and the resulting solution is often the same – micromanagement. Managers think that by exercising more control will ensure accuracy across the board, but instead it results in your employees and fellow managers having feelings of distrust toward you, and will ensure that you become overwhelmed, which will lead to mistakes anyway. That’s the topic for this week; why micromanagement simply does not work and alternatives to doing so. Tune in Thursday to learn more.
When you find a highly talented associate to join your organization, you want them to flourish. Retention is a strategy that starts on day one and when you spend time developing your people it’s an easy task. But one of the quickest way to reverse retention of good people is to sit on them. I don’t mean literally, but not allowing them to move forward is a recipe for them walking out the door. Whether you have a hierarchical governing structure in your organization or a flat structure this can be accomplished. In fact we’ve done this at Talent Plus where we’re rather flat by utilizing a tool called the Leadership Lattice. Tune in this week to think through lessons of how not to Sit On Good People so you can be a stronger team with Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage.
As individual’s we are all different. We all have varying personalities, diverse talents and depending on a multitude of factors, our needs are different and can be met in different ways. So how as a manager of a diverse team are you supposed to meet people’s needs and should you? People do their best work when their needs are being met, so this week we’ve discussed the importance of meeting people’s needs to encourage meaningful work and engagement. Coupled with strategies to determine whether or not you can or want to fulfill these wishes, this episode promises to be full of insight for you as a manager. Tune in this week and learn how to best Meet People’s Needs so you can be a stronger team with Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage.
We have discussed the importance of cultivating positive relationships and accelerating people’s growth, and now we are moving on to how best you can maximize engagement and motivation in the workplace. To begin this series, we are going to focus on emphasizing the why. In most any situation we tend to focus on the what – what are you working on? What are the expectations? What is the plan? However, the why is also just as important. By understanding the why, you can discover how employees think and feel about their work, which can ultimately drive improved performance and increased engagement. As a manager of people, it is important to remind people about the why behind their job to ensure they know they are significant. Learn more about emphasizing the why this week on Managing to Make a Difference with Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage.
We don’t often talk about it, but sometimes managers need to kick butt. When employees may not be holding up their end of a task or not performing well, it is important to outline specific expectations so both parties are clear on the goals. One way of doing so is kicking butt. But how do you do this well? To begin, the way you react to someone’s performance will set the tone for the future, so make sure you are in the right mindset. In addition, it is important to note that you cannot use the same technique with every employee; people are different and should be treated as such. Tune in this week and learn how to kick butt for the right reasons in the right ways with Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage.
You have selected the right employee for the role, but what are the next steps in unleashing outstanding performance from your top employees? It’s all about setting high expectations and ensuring you are communicating them in the right way. Ultimately, this will drive individual growth and development, which will only further grow your organization. And while setting expectations is important to grow your organization and your employees, it is also just as important to ask the right questions. Asking the right questions often leads to the not only finding the answer you seek but could result in substantial growth. Therefore, the kind of questions you ask determine the answer you will get and the growth you will see. But how do you know you are asking the right questions? Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage have the answers you seek in this week’s episode of Managing to Make a Difference.
This week we continue discussing how best to accelerate people’s growth with a focus on optimizing fit. What is fit? It is a strategy that involves aligning people’s talents with the expectations of a specific role. It is important to note that there are things a person cannot do, thing a person can do, thing a person will do and things a person cannot not do. Therefore, it is your responsibility as a manager to ensure your expectations of your employees match their natural talents. By optimizing fit you are ensuring the growth of that individual and the organization. So if you are having problems with an employee, perhaps it’s not their fault as much as it is your fault. Perhaps it’s time to quit trying to fix people and instead change your expectations to meet people where they are at. Listen in to Managing to Make a Difference to learn more from Kim and Larry’s colleague and expert on employee selection and development, Taylor McMaster.
Have you ever had a great coach? Someone who pushed you beyond what you thought you could attain? Part of being a great manager means being a great coach. Many managers believe they are good coaches simply because they have done their employee’s job previously, and based on their past success believe they know how to coach the employee to attain at the same level. In fact, most training programs are based upon this belief. However, this is a limited approach as it does not occur to the coach they the individual they are coaching may not be capable of demonstrating those same behaviors. That’s why it’s important to remember that just because you are capable of doing something, does not mean the person you are coaching has those same capabilities. Learn more from Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage as they discuss their all-time best coaches and what set them apart from other managers and mentors in their lives.
The definition of self-actualization is simple – it is to realize or to fulfill your talent and potential. While the definition is simple, achieving it is much more difficult. As a manager, you are given the opportunity to help your employees achieve this feat, so how do you make the most of this opportunity? According to Kim and Larry, to help a person self-actualize, you must begin by understanding their talents. However, it often goes beyond that. That is why in this week’s episode of “Managing to Make a Difference,” Larry and Kim will dive into the Talent Plus ® Growth Formula – (Talent + Fit) x Investment = Growth ®. To learn more about self-actualization and the growth formula, tune in to “Managing to Make a Difference.”
Know that you are aware of the importance of relationships in the workplace and the impact they have on an employee’s success and performance; it is now time to move on how to best accelerate people’s growth. To kick off this segment, we are going to start at the beginning – an employee’s first day on the job. More specifically, who are you choosing to put in place to best coach and train your new employee? Most managers choose their top performer to be the trainer, but that that doesn’t mean they are the best person to train a new employee. Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage offer you insights into choosing the best teacher and coach to help your new employees start off on a high point.
Many people believe that relationships between two people should be 50/50. Ideally, this is true – burdens and rewards should be equally shared. However, that is not reality. On any given day, one person gives more and carries more of the burden, even if the rewards are shared equally. Relationships have an ebb and flow. Some days are 70/30 and others are 40/60. And it’s important to note that this may not even out over time. Is that fair and equitable? Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage have the answers!
Managing up is a very important part of people’s lives, so it is important to devote time to the question, “How do I cultivate a great relationship with my boss?” Rember, your boss is a person and genuine caring will make a big difference in his or her life as well as your life. But how do you manage up? In this week’s episode, we will sit down with a leader, Libby Farmen, and one of her direct reports, Mark Bertsche, to answer this exact question.
Many managers cannot bring themselves to admit they made a mistake. Have you ever reported to someone like this? If you have, you simply have to adjust to it. What kind of manager are you? It is important to own when you are wrong and apologize. Quite simply, being right is highly overrated. It’s important to apologize because it gains respects and add moral authority. What happens when you are on the other side of an apology, in the position to forgive someone who has wrong you in some way? Are you able to forgive others for their mistakes? Forgiveness does not necessarily require you to forget. As a manager, when you forgive you increase loyalty and improve your relationships. In this week’s episode, we will discuss the importance of apologizing for the mistakes you make as a leader and granting forgiveness to those who you lead.
Relationship problems exist anywhere you go, including the workplace. Having positive relationships does not eliminate conflict, but it can reduce it. Most people go to their manager to discuss problems with co-workers, however that fuels negativity and ultimately undermines positive relationships. So what do you do as a manager if an employee approaches you about a problem they are having with a fellow employee? In this week’s episode we will offer you strategies to put in place to address this exact problem, so you can create win-win solutions for your team members.
We believe that the most important meetings a manager has with their direct reports are one on one. Individual meetings with your direct reports lead to better and faster results. Do you currently have one-on-one meetings with your employees? If so, how are they conducted? How frequently should you meet and for how long? What should be discussed and who plans the agenda? We will provide you the answers to these questions and more to ensure that your meetings are not only productive but leave your employees feeling engaged and significant. We will also introduce you to the Career Investment Discussion, which is a unique one-on-one meeting specifically designed to help you develop and invest in your direct reports.
People want to know they feel significant. It is a basic human desire to know someone truly care about them and that they matter. It is your role as a manager to help your employees to know they are significant to you and that they are making a noticeable difference in your organization and in the world. If your direct reports to you knows you think they are significant, you will dramatically increase their engagement. How do you demonstrate someone is significant to you? Genuine caring is not merely a feeling you have; it means extending yourself to that person and taking action.
If you are committed to cultivating positive relationships with people through accepting them as they are, you will inevitably run into conflicts between how people really are and how you wish they could be. In this week’s episode, Larry Sternberg and Kim Turnage talk about the aces and spaces that exist in every individual and the importance of having tolerance of other people’s shortcomings. In both business and your personal life, you need to exhibit tolerance of others in order to cultivate close positive relationship. Plus, they will sit down with Kyle Bruss, Talent Plus Director of Talent Acquisition, to discuss the nice-to-have attributes in an employee and the need-to-have attributes.
Accepting people as they are and not asking them to change is the most important piece to cultivating positive, healthy relationships with your employees. At Talent Plus we believe that people cannot change who they innately are as people. Dr. William E. Hall, Talent Plus Co-Founder, shared the belief with us that a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors are a part of who they are and cannot be changed. We call these themes. Theme persist over time and are resistant to change. However, despite the fact that people do not change, we are quite open about asking people to change anyway. In this episode we will explore the thoughts of strengths investment and why it is key to focus on what is right about a person rather than what is wrong.
Many managers are taught not to get too close to your employees. Managers are expected to be friendly with their employees, but they also “know where to draw the line.” However, by not getting close to your employees you could be diminishing your ability to motivate and retain your top performers. In this week’s episode we will be interviewing Kesha Harris, an associate at Talent Plus, as she tells us about her manager and the relationship they have with one another as we explore the importance of building relationships with your people. It is our belief that when you have close, positive relationships with your people, they will do things for you, not because there is some reward for them, but simply because they care about you…and because they know you care about them. Furthermore, your proactive efforts to strengthen the relationships with the people you manage will increase motivation, engagement and loyalty.
The first step in cultivating positive relationships is getting to know your people. So how do you go about doing that? To kick off our show, Managing to Make a Difference, we are giving you a simple, practical tool that will help you rapidly build positive relationships with people you have just met. It will also help you improve relationships with people you already know. The purpose of the activity – Focus On You, is so everyone can learn a few things about one another that you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to do.
Donna Cutting, Founder and CEO of Red-Carpet Learning Systems, Inc., a consulting firm that provides tools and training to help leaders engage their teams to deliver world-class customer service, is Larry Sternberg’s guest this week. Cutting is a dynamic and in-demand keynote speaker and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), as well as a highly acclaimed author. Her most recent book, “501 Ways to Roll Out the Red Carpet For Your Customers” was named one of the best business books of 2016 by Forbes. Learn more about Cutting and her thoughts on the mentoring relationship in this week’s episode of “Mentoring with Larry Sternberg.”
City Impact’s non-tax supported vision is to see urban youth, families, and neighborhoods transformed from the inside out. In 2007 City Impact received a $1.7 Million grant to develop Strengths Based Leadership for urban youth in partnership with the Hope Center for Kids in Omaha, NE. Since then the organization has grown where City Impact has a full-time staff of 8, part-time staff of 20+, and an annual budget of $1.0 Million. Brad led the charge to recently build 14 affordable rent-to-own townhomes adjacent to their new City Impact Center. The recent capital campaign for City Impact has seen $4.5 Million raised toward the $5.0 M goal. In 2015, over 1400 volunteers invested over 20,000 hours in Lincoln’s urban neighborhoods through various City Impact programs. Learn more about City Impact and the mentoring program Brad has built in this week’s Mentoring with Larry Sternberg. For more information please see www.cityimpact.org.
Dr. Cal Garbin has been nominated for Outstanding Educator of the Year Award three times and awarded Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2001 by the students at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln -UNL-. Cal is not only a gifted teacher and researcher, but he’s also a highly successful martial arts competitor. His life experience puts him in a unique position to share his insights on mentoring in the diverse worlds of academia, business and martial arts. We are pleased to have him as our first guest.
A world-renowned ceramic artist, Gail Kendall has served as a resident artist, has had work on display at many galleries worldwide, and has been featured in a number of publications. Most notably, Kendall is the recipient of the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching from the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts. In addition, Kendall was recently featured in the exhibition, Lineage, which focused on “The Art of Mentors.” Kendall shared that “the very nature of mentorship assumes many and diverse forms. At the center lies the character and personality of both mentor and mentored.” Learn more about Kendall’s take on mentoring and art in this week’s “Mentoring with Larry Sternberg.”
Jay Wilkinson is a lifelong entrepreneur and current Chief Executive Officer at Firespring. In 1996, Jay and his team launched a website design division, which spun-off as a separate company – Firespring. Today, Firespring has more than 250 team members and thousands of clients all over the world. It was the 1st Certified B Corp in Nebraska and was named by Inc. Magazine in 2016 as one of America's 50 Best Workplaces. Jay is considered a leading authority on the impact of the web on nonprofits, and is passionate about the role culture plays in business. Learn his insights around mentoring and the role it plays in a business’ culture and development.
Dr. Lindsay Hastings serves as the Clifton Professor in Mentoring Research and the Director of Nebraska Human Resources Institute -NHRI-, a leadership development organization at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln focused on one-to-one leadership mentoring relationships. Her research interests include generative leadership and social responsibility, examining what factors influence a leader's ability to promote and establish the well-being of future generations. Hastings' most recent research examined generativity in college student leaders as a result of engaging in mentoring relationships.
Co-Founder and CEO of Hudl, David Graff, is a Nebraska-based entrepreneur and business owner. Hudl combines his two greatest passions, sports and technology, and has grown to more than 130,000 active teams, and employs over 450 individuals in thirteen different countries. As a successful CEO and business owner, Graff shares his insights on the important role mentors played in his life. He also offers tips on how to find a mentor and how to be a good mentee.
Kerrey served as a U.S. Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War. For his service, he received the Medal of Honor. While in Vietnam, he was wounded, permanently disabled and received from this injury a great gift: sympathy for those who are suffering and an appreciation for the capacity of government to save your life. Following his time in the military, Kerrey joined the United States Senate, where he was passionate about changing American lives for the better through education. This passion led him to lead The New School as President from 2001 to 2011 where he led unprecedented growth in education. Kerrey’s experiences in the military, government and education offer a multifaceted view into the world of mentoring.
Author of three books and former women’s volleyball coach, Terry Pettit is known for being a mentor coach. Currently, Pettit serves as the Director of Leadership Academies at the University of Denver and Colorado State University, and has served as a mentor coach to over one hundred coaches, team captains and emerging leaders. As the Nebraska Volleyball coach, Pettit earned forty-three NCAA tournament victories and was named National Coach of the Year in 1986, 1994 and 1996. Pettit explores his “unique perspective on championship coaching, team building and leadership training.”
Having studied mentoring relationships in the workplace, Dr. Lisa Finkelstein is a professor and expert in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Northern Illinois University. Dr. Finkelstein has also published several books and papers, including “Designing Workplace Mentoring Programs: An Evidence-Based Approach.” Dr. Finkelstein is joined by Dr. Kurt Kraiger, former President of SIOP and current Professor at Colorado State University. Dr. Kraiger serves as an expert on training and ill-structured learning environments. Together, Dr. Finkelstein and Dr. Kraiger explore the power of training and mentoring relationships in the workplace with Larry Sternberg.
Judge Steadman was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1955, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After several years in private practice, he took a position in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice. Thereafter, he served as Deputy Undersecretary of the Army, International Affairs, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. Upon leaving government service, Judge Steadman became a visiting Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He was also Associate Academic Dean at Georgetown from 1978 to 1984. Judge Steadman was appointed to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan. He assumed Senior Judge status in October 2004. We’re anxious to learn about his experiences and perspective on mentoring.
Horst Schulze is legendary in the hospitality industry across the globe. Schulze is perhaps most noted for co-founding The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and fulfilling several roles culminating as President at The Ritz-Carlton Company, L.L.C. He has continued to build his legacy by presiding over and now serving as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capella Hotels. An oft requested speaker, Schulze stands by a motto of impeccable service to guests around the world and proclaims to this day, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” Timeliness, cleanliness and defect-free service has become a mantra of each of his luxury brand hotels understanding that a happy guest is a repeat guest. His vast experience in hospitality and unique management style lend him a unique perspective on mentoring.
Lieutenant General Roger Lempke is a retired United States Air Force Officer and served as The Nebraska Adjutant General, during which time he was responsible for all state military services and directed the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, and managed 4,000 soldiers. He currently serves as the Director of Military and Veterans Affairs for Senator Deb Fischer. Throughout his time in the military, Lieutenant General Lempke has received many acknowledgments and awards, and has risen among the ranks to Lieutenant General. He is not only a respected United States Airmen, he is a gifted leader and role model for his community, his country and his soldiers. Having mentored thousands of soldiers throughout his career gives him a unique perspective on mentoring.
Dr. Cal Garbin has been nominated for Outstanding Educator of the Year Award three times and awarded Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2001 by the students at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln -UNL-. Cal is not only a gifted teacher and researcher, but he’s also a highly successful martial arts competitor. His life experience puts him in a unique position to share his insights on mentoring in the diverse worlds of academia, business and martial arts. We are pleased to have him as our first guest.