Maintaining the Charade

Nothing seems to be working as you’d hoped or planned. The valued employees are hard to find and harder to keep. Marketing to get customers is costly and unpredictable and referrals from clients who had seemingly good experiences are rare. You may be barely covering overhead and not paying yourself a salary as planned. Or did you start out on a steep successful climb only to plateau while the list of tepid or weak outcomes continues to grow daily and you do not know how long you can keep up the charade of success. Have I hit any or all of the pain points that keep you up at night?

You do have two options. You can call it quits and chalk it up as feedback. Or you can get help to turn up the heat. “Who can possibly help us,” you say? Before you decide whom to contact, first consider what aspect of your organization has the greatest impact on success. You can do a mind map or flow chart if you must. But my experience has shown repeatedly that one component is key to any organizations success.

That one tipping point, when pressed, can cause everything to come to a screeching halt or when transformed, can form the basis of growth for everyone and will create the background for further success.

It seems that those individuals that have direct contact with your paying customers are the collective thermostats of your culture. They stoke the energy of the client experience. Whether by phone, or in person these individuals are sharing their unconscious personal mindsets, lack of wellbeing or biased company perspective every time they pick up the phone, or just say hello when a client walks in the door. And the primary influence on their habitual mood is the overall culture of the company.

This may not be a secret to you. But, you may be unaware of what contributes to and shapes the culture of your company.

Spectrum Coaching can assist small organizations to either fine-tune what appears to be currently working or to significantly refine the culture of the organization. Our desire and intent is to increase individual excellence and engagement, leading to increased customer satisfaction, employee retention and vendor support, ultimately increasing profitability.

The process could begin with organization wide training in the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.  The Motivation by Attitude (MBA) Inventory will shed light on how each employee prefers being appreciated. This one strategy can have a huge impact on how employees appreciate and work together. A second option is the Inventory of Workplace Attitude and Motivation (IWAM) to assess the specific  motivations of individuals and teams. We then use this information to provide appropriate talent development and training. This data also can help refine the organization’s culture by providing team-member interaction reports, which provide new perspectives regarding the personality strengths of each member.

When organization-wide assessments are not an option, we can provide exceptional value through providing group talent development, executive coaching, and talent coaching when indicated.

Value in what we offer is found in the refined organizational culture that attracts repeat and strongly referred customers via highly engaged employees and vendors who refer your company to others. Amazingly, it seems that people remember excellent experiences. and when any organization provides this level of experience to everyone, it often leads to long-term tangible results.

So, if the exceptional experience is something you value for customers, employees and vendors, and you recognize that your organization is not there yet, we need to talk.

What, specifically, is holding you back? Are you convinced that doing nothing is a decision you can live with?

A Company is a Culture

The details of a culture are imbedded deep within how the company treats employees, customers and vendors, how respectful each is to the other, and how comfortable the company handles discomforts, such as disagreements, errors, quick adaptations, customer service, and personnel issues, just to name a few. Companies that handle discomfort as a learning experience and feedback and do not lay blame are progressing well. When employees know, up-front, that suggestions are well received and encouraged, they feel more engaged and are willing share ideas as alternatives that might make a contribution and save time and money.

As an owner or leader, what do you value most? Control or Collaboration. That is what success in business boils down to. Today, collaboration is more relevant and effective in working with employees.

Because, the only thing you can potentially control is your mind.

At Spectrum Coaching®, we help small business owners move from floundering to flourishing, by offering strategies focused on ensuring the company culture supports employee and customer development. By closing the gaps in skills, habits and attitudes regarding performance and customer service you impact all aspects of growth and development. And, if you are the least bit interested in HOW we help businesses accelerate and what your path might look and feel like, give us a call and we will ask you to answer just two questions that should illustrate clearly how ready you are to make a significant change. Not everyone is ready, yet.