By Joe McGee
December 11, 2015
http://cthdi.org
Over 15 years’ experience in the IT industry for leading corporate, financial and educational
organizations. I have held various positions as Technical Trainer, IT Analyst, Website
Developer, Manager and Desktop support.
Joe is a Manager for Konica Minolta Business Solutions with focus on employee training and
development.
Joe has earned his Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Abbott Associates, Inc.
By the end of this meeting you will have learned new methods to
increase productivity and creativity among your direct reports along
with embracing challenges as an employee.
Facts About Retaining Top Talent
Reflections around the room…
How to challenge your team(Learn it – Teach it- Apply it
Philosophy). Building confidence.
 How to determine what inspires your team…
 Selling your point through exercises
 Leading through Authenticity…
 Branding…
 Pre-Huddle
 Team Knowledge Exercises
 Questions
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Here’s the thing – employees who are challenged, engaged,
valued, and rewarded (emotionally, intellectually & financially)
rarely leave, and more importantly, they perform at very high
levels. However if you miss any of these critical areas, it’s only a
matter of time until they head for the elevator.
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1. You Failed To Unleash Their Passions: Smart companies align
employee passions with corporate pursuits. Human nature makes
it very difficult to walk away from areas of passion. Fail to
understand this and you’ll unknowingly be encouraging
employees to seek their passions elsewhere.
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2. You Failed To Challenge Their Intellect: Smart people don’t like
to live in a dimly lit world of boredom. If you don’t challenge
people’s minds, they’ll leave you for someone/someplace that will.
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3. You Failed To Engage Their Creativity: Great talent is
wired to improve, enhance, and add value. They are built to
change and innovate. They NEED to contribute by putting
their fingerprints on design. Smart leaders don’t place
people in boxes – they free them from boxes. What’s the use
in having a racehorse if you don’t let them run?
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/12/13/10-reasons-your-top-talent-willleave-you/
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Richard Chaifetz, a neuropsychologist and the CEO of
ComPsych..Boredom may be commonly understood as not having
enough to do, but Chaifetz says it’s really about not being challenged
enough. So while employees may be busier than ever, they’re not
necessarily doing more interesting work
According research by management-consulting firm Gallup, 71% of
American workers are either not engaged or actively disengaged from
their jobs, with highly educated and middle-aged workers the least likely
to feel involved in and enthusiastic about their work.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/05/31/bored-in-the-office-is-it-thenew-productivity-killer/
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Think about what is your mission statement when you arrive at work.
How do you stick out among your peers?
Do you feel like you’re doing your best work now? If not, why not?
Are you tackling challenges currently in your existing role?
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We must push our direct reports outside of their comfort zone and not just
once but every day.
Example: A good method that works is to provide your direct report’s with
assignments. Find something they are not familiar with and provide them offphone time to work on the project. They would then learn it – apply the
knowledge by teaching and doing a demo in front of your team.
This is something I am
currently doing now.
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The Key is to assign a project they are weak
on and apply the learn it – apply it – teach it
philosophy.
Post project assignments for your team
along with due dates.
Task time will be assigned for them to
present their topic (build a powerpoint and
demo their topic) in front of others.
Phase II – Record a live demo of their project
and present it to the group. Then Brand your
project series.
Benefits of this philosophy………
 Building confidence
 Learning/Development
 Sense of Challenge outside of their normal
activities.
 Employee Retention
 Sense of Accomplishment
.
Brand your project series a title and meaning.
Have fun and be proud of the success from your
direct reports.
 By the end of this they should feel more confident
with the subject content.
 Example of what I branded my series..
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The video’s will be part of a series named below. The name is on the principle
that you are walking on thin ice and are cautious as you cross the body of water
encapsulated by ice. You may fall in but that’s how we learn. “Learn It – Apply It
– Teach It philosophy”
“Walking on Thin Ice, A CSC Breakthrough Series”
1. Do you know what inspires your
team? You see the same faces
. everyday but do you really
know your direct reports?
2. Challenge them to ask the RAW
questions in my example and
write an essay about them. This
is harder then it seems….
3. The outcome is a nice crafted
paper that allows you to gather
more information about their
state of mind and focus.
The paper gives clear direction
on the controlled questions you
are looking for input on.
(Right) Exert from
my leadership essay
shared with my
staff,
 As we gather information from our staff it’s equally
important to be open and honest with your staff.
 Share something with your team so they understand
what inspires you as their leader.
 Write an essay on what inspires you as a leader and
share it with your staff.
“Leadership is much like an unfinished art project. It is
defined to a degree but always a work in progress. In
order to obtain one's attention, lines need to be
drawn by using Abstract colors “ – Joe McGee
Delivering your point can
be done by using an
object to drive the point
home.
Delivering your point can be
done by using objects (Value
exercise)
The 20 Dollar Bill…
 Poll your team…Do they know what their
company logo means? The history of the
company they work for?
 Recently in a meeting I asked these same
questions and 80% of my team did not know
what the logo means.
 Wearing the brand and working for your
company is very important and we should all
know the meaning of this…
. Action Items:
• In the next meeting give a briefing of what
your logo means and the history of the
company.
• Assign a brand ambassador to spread
awareness to your team.
Recently I went to Greenville, SC for Six Sigma
training. We went to a restaurant at 5pm one
night in Greenville. The hostess showed us to
our seats and mentioned the waiter would be
with us in a few moments. He is in a meeting…
A meeting we asked?
The hostess mentioned that every night before dinner the staff is called in for a huddle
meeting to provide the direction for the night. To memorize the specials and to acquire
direction from the management staff at the restaurant.
Something clicked….
 Since eating at the restaurant we implemented a
pre-huddle concept with our respected teams each
morning.
 Every morning establish a 15 minute pre-huddle on
the floor of your department with your staff prior to
shift start.
 This informal meeting will allow you to give your
team direction each morning. You can inform them
of hot issues that are arising today, etc.
 After the huddle – you must have a round table to
get what’s on the employee’s mind.
 The Exercise “Learn One Thing” asks the employee
to list “One Thing” that saves them throughout the
day.
 Have the employee present his/her topic in next prehuddle or team meeting.
 You will find others may not know this topic and will
gain knowledge by sharing with others.
Empower your team to
share idea’s
When Winston Churchill heard about the
attack on Pearl Harbor, he broke out a
bottle of champagne and said, "We've won
the war." His generals looked at him like
he'd lost his mind. America's pacific fleet
was wiped out, France was overrun, and
the Luftwaffe was bombing London.
Churchill said America is like a giant boiler.
Light a fire under it, and there's no limit to
the amount of heat it can generate. If you
start a fire, you better be prepared to deal
with the flames.
 What he meant was America can sustain… America is a giant sponge. One
must think logically and overcome adversity with a well thought reaction.
Timing is everything…
 Contact is [email protected]