Listen to Clients and your Team

One question I am often asked at seminars is “How can I get my team as committed to the firm as I am?”

Now in business coaching we look at a number of ways to increase individual and team commitment. Regular reviews, guidance, respect are all part of the package. However while there are many techniques – there is no doubt in my mind that the word “involvement” covers the most important and useful of them all. .

“Involving your team” in the running of your business will not only increase commitment, it will also make running your business easier because it will give you access to their experience and viewpoints – providing a greater information base.

By working with your people you can create an understanding and commitment to your business strategy and objectives. This clear focus and singular direction will also be a breeding ground for new ideas and continuous improvement.

Your team will like to feel ‘in’ on things and equally really like to help with ideas for improvement and maybe some opportunities for you. They are often your ears to the client’s comments and concerns.

Indeed the philosophy of involvement recognises that in most companies, the team is much closer to the customers than the owners are.

The idea of involvement doesn’t just end with your team. It applies to your clients as well. Your clients will really like to contribute ideas to help you as well.

Their view is important – not just because they are important to the health of the business but also because they will often see things differently about your business. What might seem like a nice informal arrangement to you might seem to be inefficient to them. On the other hand they may see areas in which your business can grow simply because they have the ears of their friends in the business. Involvement can lead to those all important Strategic Alliances we talked about last month.

This is certainly true for my business. That’s why we conduct client focus groups and constantly get feedback from our team on how we can improve.

Having agreed involvement is important, so what are some of the ways we can create meaningful involvement?

One of the best ways is consistently (say a minimum of every 6 months) have short interactive client phone feedback sessions and team focus group meetings.

Some may ask “what are client and team focus groups”?

A Client Focus Group

To serve its customers exceptionally well, a business must learn the act of listening – really listening – to what its customers are saying.

Unquestionably, the most rewarding way to truly listen is to invite a cross section of customers to a “Client Focus Group” phone feedback call. In the search of excellence in the field of customer service they are a necessity.

By organising a client focus group we hope to:

 Grow the business by listening to your customers’ perception of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and give you an opportunity to use them in your strategic planning.

By actually asking for their opinions you will build team of clients that are in part keeping an eye on your business and on your competitors for you.


A Team Focus Group

A Team Focus Group involves inviting a cross section of an organisation’s team members to participate in a formal group discussion. It offers invaluable feedback and advice in improving the overall operations of the company and better meeting our client’s needs.

Remember while it is important to cover problems and key issues – this is also the forum to encourage creative thinking, allowing the team to be involved with the future of the business.

Let me say right now – it is also imperative that the team see that their ideas are appreciated and perhaps the best way to do this is to include them as part of your ongoing plans when appropriate.

Particularly involve young people as they tend to be most creative and innovative by age 30. They will gain in confidence, and, in the team environment, also gain in experience.

A Team Focus Group allows your team to: -

 Discuss their roles in the company and how they assist the company in achieving its goals.


 Express their ideas on improving the company’s performance in areas such as, customer service


 Provide their perception of management and the effectiveness of the organisational structure.

 Openly discuss their effectiveness as a team, how that can be further improved and what performance standards are in place.


Not only does it provide important information but it also builds fierce loyalty and commitment from amongst the team. Then you have a team dedicated to keeping an eye on improving the business whilst looking for opportunities.


So how do we do it?

Let’s start with your clients. Consider asking a good cross section of relatively happy clients, ten or more, questions such as: -

“If a business acquaintance asked you about your experience with (your company) would you give us an unqualified endorsement, yes or no? If not, why not?”

Having reviewed the information it is now time to share it with your team. Suggest improvements or opportunities – get the ball rolling.

At the team meeting ask for their views on improvements, what’s important to them in their jobs, how are we going with our client service and their views on work flow performance.

Armed with all of this great information it is critical to undertake two further steps.

1. Send thank you letters to clients and convey thanks in an appropriate form to your team….and,

2. Take action

As suggested if clients and your team see improvements happening, then loyalty & commitment will become entrenched in your firm as a result.

Client and team focus groups are highly rewarding opportunities to grow your business through improved service and innovation. Of course they are not chargeable hours however, consider this - chargeable hours determine your cash for today – non chargeable hours spent building commitment and loyalty will undoubtedly determine your future.

Leadership - Is it Charisma or a Learnable Skill Set?

There is no doubt that in this media driven age that leadership can sometimes be mixed up with charisma. We tend to judge a politician’s leadership skills by how they appear on TV rather than actual policies or actions. Therefore those who may not feel particularly charismatic can begin to doubt their leadership aspirations.

The truth is of course that the foundation for leadership is based first on real knowledge of the business or profession in which we seek to lead others and secondly a desire to accept the responsibilities of leading others.

As for providing leadership – it is not about charisma but rather a series of learnable skills. Indeed experience with coaching many business leaders and empirical research shows that there five key skills that lead to the development of lasting leadership qualities.

Good leaders exhibit strong characters

Of crucial importance to your team is their individual importance to you and your attitude to developing and testing their skills. In short they are asking you to create challenges and opportunities for them as well as providing useful critiques of their work. Indeed it is all about helping them to perform by improving either the environment, systems or strategies of the team overall.

This is where character rather than charisma becomes very clear. Your team will judge you not on a wonderful speech - but rather on your everyday performance and the example you set for them. If you are transparent, treat others with respect, constantly search for improvement from yourself and your team, are passionate about your clients and your team – then you will be leading by example - delivering what you are asking them to deliver.

Relationship Building

Here you need to work with individuals and your team as a whole. Communication is a must. Issues such as how their team performance contributes to the company overall should be understood by the team as a whole. You should be seeking ideas from the them and when relevant using them. Giving credit to the team or team member who thought up the idea is critical. Be quick to let incompetent people go if you are satisfied that it is their incompetence not that of the team or the company which is at fault. The old saying about bad apples in barrels is quite true. Don’t be seen to reward incompetence. Look for ways to celebrate with your team – rather than with individuals. At the end of the day – it is the team that you want to deliver. Lastly be accessible I know one senior chairman in the communication industry who always tried to answer his own phone. Rather than be inundated by trivia his team appreciated his availability and used it wisely.

Leading Change

If it’s not broke don’t fix it is in many cases a truism of business. However if it is ‘broke’ then it is time to demonstrate your leadership by looking to change the way your company or your team does business. Chances are your team will feel threatened by the difficult operating climate and even more threatened when you set out to make changes. It is therefore critical to set out clearly why changes are required and co-opt the support of the team to implement them. Your relationship with the team will now be critical. Set objectives involve the team in your strategies and keep them abreast of the success resulting from change.

Focus on results

Ultimately good leadership is judged by positive results. And if you are to accept the accolades and rewards for good leadership then you must realise that your individual performance is a key ingredient of leadership. Here are a few questions you should be asking yourself on a regular basis:

 What stretch goals need to be set for my company, my team and for me?
 Do I constantly focus on the goals we set or do I drift off and think only of today’s operational jobs?
 Do I give feedback to my team on their performance?
 Have I provided a clears vision for my team?
 Do I give strong consideration to the needs of my clients with appropriate customer service standards?
 How can I improve?

Personal Skills

Jack Nicklaus once said that many golfers failed because they tried shots that they were not capable of completing successfully. He was saying that we need to understand our level of skill and then if we want to improve – set about improving those skills.

Just as leading sports stars have to constantly set new goals and develop new skills via coaching, applying psychology, constant practise – so too, today’s business leaders need to constantly improve.

You should consider attending professional workshops, reading journals in your industry and associated industries, seek business coaching and mentoring and learn to use technology more effectively.

Seek inspiration from those around you. Talk to your coach about setting personal goals, talk to and copy other leaders or people you respect. Most of all accept that the hardest person to change is ourselves. Many who are happy to change others do not like change being instituted in relation to their own roles. So accept the challenge of change and consider:

 New ways to improve productivity
 New approaches to client service and marketing
 New systems and tools
 New ways to train and develop your team.

In short, step outside your comfort zone. With each step you will grow as a leader.

Be an effective leader

We began by suggesting that charisma is often confused with leadership. It is true that many great leaders have charisma. Some leaders are shaped by circumstances such as a family with a history of leaders in business or the services. However for 95% of current and future leaders the areas we have outlined make up a manual for learning great leadership skills.

This article is really about improving your game. Lifting your skills so that you will be a better leader capable of helping others also improve both as an individuals and team members.

Why not make “being a better leader” your objective for 2007.