Are YOU looking in the wrong place?

• Productivity - Too Low?
• Costs - Too High?
• Engagement - Not Where You Want It?
• Satisfaction - Not High Enough?
• Quality - Too Many Mistakes?

These are all challenges businesses' are striving to overcome to varying degrees, and often people search for a silver bullet via technology, new roles and even redundancies, however we at Get Knowledge believe these challenges are

"a symptom and not the true challenge that needs addressing to deliver sustainable improvement!"

I am in a really fortunate position, I get to do what I love, I work with amazing people and businesses, I get to develop my own training courses, I have a weekly podcast, I post on Social Media every day, 9 issues ago I started this newsletter and I have a Change group all of these things allow me to learn and get better at what I do. It also means people ask me can I teach them about successful leadership and improvement.

I often refer to Socrates quote:

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think"

BUT, really with this improvement thing, if I was to teach it would only take you so far, when DOING is the real source of learning!

Recently however, I stumbled on a thought, that then led me to create an acronym, as often happens and it spelled out the word TEACH, and I believe that these 5 letters are the actual things we should be tackling to sustainably address our cost challenges, our productivity dips, our quality issues or dissatisfied customers or disengaged employees.

First of all we have to be open to change ourselves first, I often ask a leader, what will you be doing different to today once you have achieved your target productivity? An we must be willing to apply the lessons we’ve learnt.

TEACH stands for Teamwork, Engagement, Accountability, Communication and Humble Leadership.

If you start with these five areas and look to improve them then your productivity, cost challenge or quality challenge might be resolved as a direct result.

But what do I mean by these 5 things:

Teamwork.

Yes, I know I have said this a lot, that's because I mean it lol, You may have a team that works, but you may not have teamwork. What can you do to build trust and have more constructive conflict in your team?

Engagement.

We are dealing with people, but do we engage the WHOLE PERSON, or are they just a bum on a seat? how can you engage the head and the hearts as well as the pair of hands?

Accountability.

We need to have clarity on who is doing what and when they are going to do it. AND, we need to look in the mirror first before we look out of the window to others

Communication.

Ensure people's interpretations of your messages are correct by staying clear and consistent. Equally ensure you understand what is being said to you and it’s intention. This can only be done by speaking to people and spending time with them.

Humble leadership.

Be selfless. Be there to help your people. It’s ok to not know answers!

Do you agree that these 5 things are the real root cause of your challenges?

Can you draw a line between these things and how fixing them will naturally improve your business performance?

Or not?

What do you think?

I have stayed dry for the last fortnight, but that does not mean I have not washed or cancelled the 'At The Tap End' feature..... Fear Not, more are scheduled and on their way soon but with these hiked gas prices I have to be a little more conservative when it comes to running the bath!

Before I share the recent podcast episodes, have you seen our very own Jason 'Tom Hardy' Elliott, doing his Rocky impression whilst launching our Improvement training courses?

NO? Well you are in a for a right treat, have a look at this -> GK POST and if you or your teams are looking for Improvement training OR you are casting for any upcoming Yorkshire based TV Series then please get in touch with Jason!

2 weeks which means 2 podcasts, the one this week, goes into more detail about this TEACH acronym and breaks down in more detail what I mean.

And last week was all about what Leaders can learn from Customer Experience,

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When we analyse a touch point with a customer you should be considering what they see, think, feel, and hear in detail. In this way, you can step away from the process and step into the customer's shoes. This method works for employee experience as well.

Be aware of how perceptions can build through witnessed action. Every interaction creates an impression. Be aware of how your actions as a leader can create the culture of your organisation. Display reliability, credibility and capability.

Every conversation is an opportunity to create a more flourishing and meaningful relationship.

BEST MOMENTS

‘When doing that, when setting the stage, there’s a realisation in people that they have a role to play with other customers. So as a leader, it could be argued that some of their customers are the people that work for them.’

‘We have an opportunity to influence how people feel and think about us and also the organisation, the team or even just their day.’

‘Every single interaction and touch point we have with people, how are we with them? How does that make them feel? What conversations are heard and what can they see?

And that is it, we are into double figures for issues, thank you so much for reading and joing me on this journey!!

Have an amazing fortnight!

Lee