The Mark David Corporation - Newsletter August

Over the last ten years we have experienced an incredibly bullish economic environment, but we have now entered an economic slowdown. Common strategies for dealing with economic slowdowns include cutting overhead, downsizing and, most importantly, increasing productivity throughout the organization.

As downsizing occurs to keep organizations afloat, the people who remain must do more with less; they must increase productivity with fewer people and resources, tighter deadlines, and sometimes less pay. As a leader, it is important to be a model for handling these challenges and the accompanying stress in a proactive rather than reactive manner. The bottom line to an organization’s survival and success depends on its leaders’ abilities to keep everyone energized and focused on the same goal.

To succeed during an economic slowdown, follow these four strategies taken from Coaching Illustrated:

1.	Broadcast Your Vision to the Team. You must create a “Vision” for your team. You must broadcast your Vision to all team members on a regular basis. Make sure your Vision is defined and presented for everyone to understand.
2.	Tell Your Team What You Expect You must tell your team what is expected from everyone. It is extremely important that you clearly communicate what needs to be done, when it needs to be completed by, what it should look like when it’s done, and how it will affect the organization both vertically and horizontally.

3.	Focus on the Top 20% Responsibilities Maximize the productivity of every employee each day, each hour, and each minute. Make sure they understand what their “Top 20% Responsibilities” are: their main areas of responsibility that will bring the organization the greatest results on a daily basis.
4.	Create a Culture of “No Fear” Innovation and flexibility are integral to achieving greater productivity with fewer resources. To promote productivity and remain competitive, leaders must create a culture of “no fear.” A proactive environment allows people to try varied ways of improving productivity and efficiency.

Organizations that flourish during an economic slowdown are those that develop their employees’ skill sets, thought processes, behaviors, accountability and confidence. As leaders, we must always remember that we can’t realize our destination without our team. Give them the training they need and the opportunity to succeed, and then get out of their way! By doing so your business will skyrocket in any economic environment.

To read the full-length version of “How to Lead during an Economic Slowdown”, see the September 2001 issue of The Journal for Quality and Participation. For a reprint of the article, call The Mark David Corporation at (800) 410-2677

Constructive feedback is more valuable in the long run than positive feedback. Constructive feedback is open and honest communication that lets your people know where they stand and helps them move toward true personal and professional success.

Steps for Effective Feedback:

1.	Start off with a positive comment.
2.	Speak to the individual’s “behavior,” but don’t attack the “person.”
3.	Be honest and specific.
4.	Confirm mutual understanding of the issue.
5.	Develop an effective solution WITH the person.
6.	Confirm agreement of the plan.
7.	End on a positive note

To learn more about groundbreaking techniques for effective coaching, attend a Coaching for Performance Workshop. For more information, please call The Mark David Corporation at (800) 410-2677.

How do I tell my team members on a regular basis what I expect from them without seeming condescending?

It doesn’t matter how experienced or intelligent a person is; everyone needs (and wants!) direction and immediate feedback.

During these economic times, there is no time for mistakes due to miscommunication. An effective leader needs to provide feedback regularly in order to create a high-performance team. Tell your people exactly what you expect so that they know what their role is in the success of the organization.

As the team succeeds, each individual moves closer to his or her personal goals as well. Tap into what makes your team members tick. By helping them see that their level of commitment and productivity is directly related to the success of the team, and that the success of the team contributes to their personal growth and prosperity, your team members will be motivated and energized. They will appreciate your guidance in leading the team to its ultimate success.

The Coach Approach Kit

The Coach Approach Kit includes all the tools you need to increase your organization’s productivity each day, each hour, each minute.

This 12-month coaching system will have an immediate and long-term impact on productivity, job satisfaction and communication throughout your team. By reading the Coach Approach Program Coach Guide for 30 minutes, you will learn how winning coaches lead their teams to victory after victory and how you can lead your team to success after success.

Coach Approach Employee Playbooks are already formatted for your use to leverage your employees’ strengths and develop their weaknesses. By implementing these easy-to-use playbooks during monthly one-on-one employee meetings, you will release the total human potential of your team, enabling yourself, your managers, your team members, and your clients to achieve the ultimate success.

Investment: $249.00

To order management tools created by Mark David, please call The Mark David Corporation at (800) 410-ANSR (2677).