1. The Captain (General Manager/Owner). The Captain oversees, delegates and organizes. Captains are individuals usually known as the General Manager. They see the broader picture and make sure the smaller jobs are done: bills are paid, files are organized, the accounts receivable are up to date, etc. They do not actually do the small task jobs, they make sure the jobs are fulfilled and the company runs smoothly. It is also necessary that they step back to notice and acknowledge the company’s short and long term goals.

2. Deck Support (Office Assistant). Deck Support makes sure the small details are done. This hat is usually worn by employees such as the office assistant, the runner and/or the logistics person. They complete small-detail tasks such as filing, data entry, paying bills and making sure the office is clean and organized. This person will report to the Captain.

3. The Technician (Worker). The Technician makes and installs the windows, installs the computers or cleans the carpets. The Technician gets the product to the consumer so that money can be collected.

4. The Dreamer (Entrepreneur). The Dreamer can’t sleep nights because they are imagining how great things will be. Dreamers are the visionaries of the company and dream about logos, expansion, fulfillment, money, power, fun and energy.

All of these jobs are very important. When a company loses its Captain, it runs into an iceberg and drowns. With no Deck Support, things get lost and the company crashes. Without a Technician, no product is delivered; thus no revenue. If a company loses its Dreamer the company’s vision is lost and the company experiences a slow death.

If hats are worn by employees other than the General Manager, the Captain needs to hold the employee accountable to staying on task and completing the job. The General Manager also needs to hold the Captain accountable to receive appropriate information and complete necessary tasks.

A ship cannot run without a crew. Although the hats and tasks are separate and different, it is imperative to hold a weekly staff meeting to stay on the same page. Nothing hurts a company faster than the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing; having hats sprawled all over the place and getting lost. Staff meetings can be rewarding when they are consistent and will result in your company’s progress.

The human mind can get confused easily. The unconscious can only attend to about five tasks at once so juggling four hats is a skill that needs to be developed. Do this by separating the four hats in your mind. Realize and recognize which hat you are wearing and focus on the job that you are doing. Be clear in your mind what task you are completing and consciously switch your hat when needed.

The Captain needs to assess when each hat needs to be worn and when. Sometimes the Captain’s hat will take all day and the Dreamer’s hat is saved for the weekend. It may be that the Technician hat is not worn for a few weeks until a job needs to be completed. This expertise is valuable and becomes more thorough when the Captain steps back and looks at the whole company from a broader perspective.

Each hat is fulfilling and rewarding in its own way. Take satisfaction in tasks well done, keep your hats in order and enjoy smooth sailing!

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First, figure out what is the specific outcome of the meeting and start with that as the written objective. Give your meeting a name that even states the “objective”. Next, ask yourself who has the greatest information or talent and should be at the meeting. Figure the personnel cost for the meeting. For example, if an employee has an average annual salary of $50,000, the per hour cost for that one person is $96 per hour. (This includes salary plus benefits and general company overhead). You can extrapolate other salary costs from this base. Here are other tips to make this meeting move from average to great:

(1) Put a specific time frame on the meeting and start on time.
If people show up late, create some fun—but telling— response for tardiness. In one organization, the latecomer has to sing to everyone. In another, the latecomer buys cokes for everyone. In another, the latecomer is given a scarlet “L” on a tent card. In Saturn Automotive plant meetings, if the door is closed, you are late and an alarm rings if you try to enter.

(2) Develop good facilitation skills, making sure everyone participates and is heard from

(3) Summarize questions, outcomes, actions. Summarize frequently

(4) Have the names of who should attend on the agenda which is sent out at least 48 hours in advance.

(5) Create a “parking lot” notebook. If an issue is brought up that is not on the agenda but might be addressed at another time, write it down so it can be tackled.

(6) Consider a stand-up meeting. To move people through quickly, have no chairs in the meeting room. It’s amazing how quickly people can get work done when there is no place to sit.

(7) At the end of the meeting, and as a way of staying focused and practicing continuous improvement of meeting management, tell the group the personnel cost of the meeting and if the money could have been spent more wisely in another format?

(8) Make sure a summary of the meeting is sent to the participants along with any action items or next steps, a due date, and the person or group to which they are assigned.

(9) To break a meeting routine, you might consider beginning by asking people to come prepared to tell the group about some person whom they want to acknowledge for outstanding service. Starting off by highlighting positive performance—particularly of unsung employees—is a powerful gesture.

(10) Don’t forget to say thank you. Time is the only true non-renewable, irreplaceable resource. When people give you their time, they gave you a piece of their lives.

For more information on leadership ideas, communication skills, or work life balance practices, click on Leadership and read more by Eileen McDargh, an expert in work/life leadership issues.

Eileen McDargh is a powerful keynote speaker, recognized work/life leadership expert, and award winning author. Discover your organizational and personal resiliency factor with this free online survey http://www.eileenmcdargh.com/res_free_surveys.html Call toll free 877-477-4718

But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Before workers can feel comfortable about sharing ideas and insights with one another and with management, you have to create the right environment. Bosses who have created a culture in which decisions are made at the top, with input from only a few executives behind closed doors, can’t turn on a dime and ask for help from the troops. They don’t have the credibility. To develop it, they first must prove that the experiences and observations and imaginations of people across the company are regarded as corporate assets.

We have found that coaching—for the boss and by the boss—can help change the enviroment and get employees to see themselves as empowered team players. When a business owner learns to communicate in what we call a “We-centric” way (as opposed to an “I-centric” way) the overall IQ of the organization rises.

First, it helps to identify and break down some of the attitudes and behaviors of the typical I-centric leader—patterns that make them less effective than they could be. These individuals refuse to share power or speak candidly, for fear they will appear weak or soft. The domineering I-centric leader, perhaps unintentionally, turns the focus of the organization inward, because everybody wants to know what the all-powerful boss is up to. The company takes its collective eye off the customer—with predictable results.

When it comes to communicating, I-centric leaders often don’t. They assume that voicing their ideas and repeating them will cause employees to embrace them. It doesn’t work that way. Overall, the I-centric leader persists in Alpha behavior—he (or she) has to be the last word on everything. For these people, winning means somebody else has to lose. They never admit mistakes, and the stakes are high for that kind of behavior.

We-centric leaders, by contrast, are less hung up on status and maintaining ultimate authority. They lead by example—showing the organization that it is essential to listen as well as talk, to share information and to learn from mistakes.

WE LEADERSHIP

Share Power. At meetings, give the lead to your employees so they learn how to lead too.

Seek feedback. Ask employees how you are doing as a leader. Listen to what they say and be open to change.

Focus everyone on pleasing the customer. Turn their attention outward, to the market, rather than inward at the boss. This produces better performance.

Share a framework for change. Start by setting down over-arching goals, then ask people for strategies to achieve them. Don’t think of strategy and implementation as separate spheres; engage employees in both.

Behave like a leader, not a dominator. Don’t try to win by intimidation. Define leadership in terms of creating environments for success for everyone—yourself, included.

Break down silos. Identify areas where territoriality is getting in the way, and find strategies to end turf wars and foster cooperation; sponsor leadership challenges in the organization that requires teams of people from different areas to work together on vital business challenges.

Be the change. Asking others to change doesn’t create change. You need to change how you interact with others: Show, don’t tell.

Be human. By admitting when you are wrong and showing that you can turn a mistake into a “learning moment,” you teach employees that they can do it too.
Celebrate We. Share the credit and spread the praise—emphasize that “we are all in this together.”

The Payoff

Once the boss has started creating a We culture, coaching is a proven way to start engaging employees in more meaningful ways. A good place to start is to ask employees to help identify best practices—processes and tactics that can improve company performance. This exercise determines what constitutes excellence in your company and helps to identify what is good and what is working. Sharing ideas and best practices routinely is an essential way of elevating skills, generating enthusiasm and reinforcing the “We” culture. Colleagues who learn from each other are more apt to develop the higher-level skills and institutional wisdom needed to meet ever-higher goals.

Don’t expect overnight results. This is a process that needs to become part of the company routine—not a one-off event. As leaders repeatedly engage employees with questions about how to do the job better (rather than simply dictating marching orders) they create a virtuous cycle of advice, suggestions and feedback. In the process, they create a community of colleagues that looks forward to coming to work every day.

These conversations need to be “dialogues” not “talk-ats.” It is important to establish the ground rules for the group—to determine the scope and objectives. But it is essential that each member plays a role in creating the future.

Organize groups around common experiences to share best practices—a team of sales executives, or a team of marketing executives. Pay attention to group dynamics; don’t let any one person, including the boss, dominate.
Select team members for diversity of viewpoint—it is in the clash of ideas that new insights are formed.

Ask all the members of the team to describe processes they use that are having a positive impact or are creating new business success. They should talk about how they can transfer this knowledge to others and how it can be applied across the organization (if it can).

As a leader, you have a tremendous opportunity to promote mutuality and to counter territoriality and silo thinking, by encouraging everyone to grow along with you. As everyone—including the boss—receives regular feedback on their ideas, on their performance and on their behavior, your organizational IQ (and organizational profitability) grows exponentially. It’s a win-win, which is what WE-centric leadership is all about.

Judith E. Glaser, CEO of Benchmark Communications, Inc. and author of Creating WE: Change I-Thinking to We-Thinking & Build a Healthy Thriving Organization; Platinum Press, 2005. Selected as one of the best business books of 2005. www.creatingwe.com; and The DNA of Leadership, February 2006; 212-307-4386.

Nancy Snell, CEC, is a certified professional business coach with a broadcasting career that spanned 25+ years. She specializes in workplace issues and coaches professionals who are ready to get unblocked, unfrustrated and on track. Nancy served as a Director on the Board of the NYC – ICF in 2005. www.nancysnell.com 212-517-6488