Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
Leadership styles can be as diverse as the leaders themselves, but a president who understands the value of transparency will have a more engaged, motivated and dedicated team. As the leader of an organization with offices around the globe, I have learned the importance of creating an environment where staff at all levels not only understand the company vision and values but also see them in action each and every day.
I wholeheartedly believe that trust is a critical element in becoming an effective leader, and that trust starts with a willingness to be vulnerable, and aligning our words with our actions. Whether we like it or not, our employees are watching, judging and emulating the way we talk, encourage others, take action, celebrate and handle stress. We need to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk to develop trust within our team.
With 120 employees in multiple offices around the world, as well as an already full calendar, my immediate reaction was, “How do I add this to my to-do list?” He reminded me that our employees are our greatest asset, and they need to feel valued on all levels.
He was right and what a difference it has made. I meet with each employee for a scheduled 30 minutes once a year, which often stretches to 90 minutes. The meeting isn’t about job performance – it’s all about them. And to be quite honest, it has become one of the highlights of my job. It is so easy to think that your employees feel valued or to tell them during an informal conversation or e-mail that you care.
However, making a commitment, and putting a plan in place to make it happen, has enabled me to personally engage with each employee and has led to development opportunities, innovations, process improvement and more.
While it would be much easier to only share the highlights and sweep the not-so-great stuff under the rug, with that approach what kind of leader would I be?
As leaders, we need to be willing to demonstrate vulnerability. Complete transparency and honesty sets the foundation for successful relationships built on trust. No one likes to publicly admit mistakes or endure scrutiny but team members as well as clients trust leaders who don’t hold back their ideas, hide their mistakes, or edit themselves to save face.
One of the best barometers to measure employee engagement is to provide them a platform for open, honest and confidential feedback. Our survey gauges thoughts about the company, the employee’s managers and the employee’s position.
Companies that use this type of tool must be willing to listen and take the good feedback with the bad. In addition to processing the comments, they also need to be willing to take action. Employees who take the time to be honest and frank with their feedback need to know that they are being heard and that change will occur. Organizations that fail to act on their findings undermine the process of gathering the information, which can have a negative effect on morale.
Over the past several years of conducting the survey, we have found the responses and feedback to be priceless. Not only have we uncovered issues, but we also have illustrated to our employees that we value their opinion and that we will take action when appropriate.
The economic downturn a few years ago was particularly challenging for our industry and resulted in a downturn in business for our organization, however layoffs weren’t an option we wanted to consider.
Instead of discussing the future direction behind closed doors and dictating it to our staff, we shared the issues with our employees and let them know that we didn’t want to lose any of their valuable talents. We also knew that we needed a strategy for the future.
I was touched but not completely surprised when every employee – including the executive team – took pay cuts and unpaid leave to illustrate their support and belief in the long-term vision. Our efforts paid off and while some in our industry faltered, we had set the stage for consecutive years of record growth.
In the end, true leadership isn’t based on a title, it’s about serving others – giving the best of yourself, assuming the best of others and having the desire to see everyone succeed.
