Past Five

Top Performers Uncover Mediocrity in Peers

As companies grow, mediocrity begins to infiltrate staff…it’s inevitable…with more employees and various office locations, it’s difficult to ensure everyone is producing at their highest potential.

Inevitably, there are employees who skate by, carried along by their high performing peers.

I’ve found that if a company retains top employees, and maintains an open door policy, those performers are likely to identify their sub-par peers.

Rock star employees who consistently go above and beyond don’t want to work alongside a slacker. They want to be challenged, pushed and stimulated.

Top performers are usually deeply invested in the company culture and care about their professional development. They expect their colleagues to share these sentiments.

If a company is growing and has concerns over the work product of certain staff members, they need to look to their top performers for insight. Listen to employees talk or ask employees their thoughts. If the company has fostered a collaborative, open door environment, employees won’t hesitate to speak the truth.

Work-Life Balance Doesn’t Exist: Aim for Work-Life Happiness

Work–life balance. Everyone talks about it; everyone wants it….but it doesn’t exist. Realistically, it’s impossible to achieve the perfect balance. Think about it; even if you only work eight hours a day, there’s not time for eight hours of socializing and eight hours of sleep.

Consequently, searching for a career that allows for a work-life balance is fruitless. Why not focus on something attainable….like work-life happiness.

Work-life happiness can be achieved by anyone. It’s not about separating personal life from professional life, or designating certain hours of the day for work. It’s about blending the two.

Here are a few ways to achieve work-life happiness:

Do What You Love: It seems simple, but too many people are working in careers they don’t enjoy. They use the tough job market as an excuse for staying put, but the market is picking up and hiring is increasing. If you’re unhappy, make a change. Pursue your passions and dreams. As the idiom goes, if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life.

Value Weeknights: Instead of heading home after work to put on pajamas and catch a t.v. show, make it a point to do something outside of the box. Go see a local play, have a casual dinner party or find a place to volunteer at least once a week. You would be amazed what it can do for personal morale.

Create Friendships with Colleagues: Separating friendships and co-workers is an excuse to separate yourself from your career. Take the time to get to know your colleagues on a personal level, attend happy hours and invest in these relationships. It will make your time at work much more enjoyable.

Be Yourself: Let your true colors shine at work. Francesca Gino, an associate professor at Harvard Business School says it best, “authentic self-expression at work leads to reduced turnover and increased performance and job satisfaction.”

What other suggestions do you have to achieve work-life happiness?

Advice for Working Mothers: How to Balance Your Career and Family

For Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice to have one of LaSalle's successful working mothers share her advice on how to balance a career and family. The post below is from Jayme Schrieffer, one of our Manager of Major Accounts who has been with LaSalle for over eleven years. Jayme oversees more than $4 million per year in revenue and is also the mother of an active two-year-old son.

Balancing a career and family is difficult, and doing it successfully is truly a skill. I've found that in order to juggle both responsibilities, it's crucial to be realistic about what can be accomplished in a day or a week at work. It's important not to take on too much that a deadline or goal will be missed. It's all about time management. Making a list of priorities every morning helps me manage my day to ensure that I get everything accomplished and still leave the office at a decent time so that I can spend time with my son before bed.

Communication with your manager is also key when trying to balance home life and a career. Communicating my goals, ambitions and concerns of trying to do it all have helped me take my career to the next level, and at the same time, has strengthened my relationship with my manager. Maintaining open lines of communication, continually checking in and asking for one-on-one meetings demonstrates a commitment to professional development and proves that your career has not taken a back seat because you are a working mom.

Being a working mom is rewarding both personally and professionally. If the skill is mastered, it can
make a woman to do more in less time, produce more and exceed goals.

-Jayme Schrieffer

Advice for the Class of 2012: Do What You Love

So many blog posts and articles I’ve read recently have spouted endless advice for 2012 graduates. Forbes contributor Mike Myatt advised graduates to cultivate and maintain relationships, continue learning throughout their lives and live below their means.

A Wall Street Journal blog post was less coddling….basically deflating the egos of this generation and saying they are less intelligent, charming and invaluable than their professors made them believe.

While all this advice is beneficial, albeit somewhat harsh, one piece was missing. Do what you love. It’s that simple.

Too many recent graduates accept offers for positions they know they won’t enjoy merely to have a job. They are nervous to be unemployed with a degree and college loans, so they jump at the first opportunity.

I recently interviewed a candidate who was considering accepting a job in sales…but they hated sales and knew it wasn’t what they wanted to do. Why even consider the offer?

Why not take a temporary position to earn money, gain experience and augment a skill set until a dream job is determined or secured? In the long run, I believe this will make millennials happier and more successful.

Advance Your Career: It’s Simple….Work Harder Than Your Colleagues

I had dinner the other night with the CEO of a $25M corporation that is rapidly expanding into new markets. He’s bright, motivated and extremely successful…and he’s only 31. After dinner, he was deciding whether to return to the office. It was after 6 p.m., and he conceded that most of his employees had probably left. Then, musing to himself, he said, “Where do they go?” I asked, “What do you mean, where do they go? They probably go home.”

He replied, “If they aren’t out with friends, are they just at home watching TV? Wouldn’t they rather be working?”

Wouldn’t they rather be working? In his mind, the answer was obvious…of course. In the minds of millions of workers, the response is probably a resounding no. This is the difference between great, successful employees and mediocre ones. Great employees are constantly working, thinking of new ideas, reading new literature and determining how events and lessons in their everyday life can transfer to their career. These are the employees that are getting promoted and receiving raises.

So if you’re wondering why your career hasn’t taken off, evaluate whether you have put in the time and effort necessary to advance your career. Would you rather be working?

Entrepreneurs: What to Know When Starting a Business

According to a report conducted by the Harvard Business School, first-time entrepreneurs have only an 18 percent chance of succeeding. Why? Because many entrepreneurs today are naïve to the struggles and triumphs that accompany owning their own business. They underestimate the amount of time, energy, devotion and care it takes to develop a meaningful, successful organization.

Here’s what entrepreneurs need to know before they open up shop.

Pinch pennies: This seems obvious, but frugality is essential for entrepreneurs. The biggest area people spend foolishly on is technology. People buy huge servers for potential, yet technology changes so fast, that they bought too much, too soon and could have grown in to it. Companies can also save money when investing in an executive team. Entrepreneurs forget that they don't need to build the executive team of a $100 million company when they’re just starting out. The people they hire to start and build the company probably won't be the same ones they’ll need when they achieve certain milestones.

Go all in: Entrepreneurs need to be able to commit to working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, to being on call all the time and to taking a substantial pay cut (hopefully only initially). They need to be able to put their business first and themselves second.

Be resilient: Building a business is like having a child. You love your child unconditionally and are proud of all their accomplishments, but you know along the way there will be hardships. You don’t stop loving your child because of their mistakes or faults, instead you help them to grow and support them no matter what. This is how entrepreneurs should run a business. If something goes wrong, they need to do something about it. If their number one client leaves, they need to cold call and door knock to compensate for the lost business.

Build and leverage relationships:When an entrepreneur is just starting out, everyone should know about it, family, friends, former colleagues and acquaintances. Everyone is a potential investor or client. At the same time, entrepreneurs need to develop new relationships. They need to be transparent and honest with prospects, recognize the big events in their lives and show appreciation for their time and consideration.

Increase Employee Moral: Move Their Desks!

Did you ever consider that your teachers were onto something when they had you change desk locations and seat partners every few months?

They knew that sometimes who you sit next to can be as important as the topic at hand. It’s as true in business as it is in education.

Think about it. If an employee sits next to a “chatty Kathy,” they get less work done because they are distracted. If they share space with a colleague who hates their job, that negativity rubs off.

Having staff rotate desks can bring a new spark to the workplace, boost energy and increase moral.

I’ve seen it happen. Employees who were underperforming improved substantially once they were removed from the distractions of their neighbor. Workers who appeared burnt out were revitalized after relocating next to a staff member with seemingly inexhaustible energy.

I’m not saying this will work every time, but it’s a simple concept that’s easy to implement and carries measurable results.

Solid Relationships: The Keys to Business Success

My business has grown as a direct result of the strong relationships we have with our clients. I believe that many young professionals today overlook the importance of building relationships and don’t take the time to nurture and develop them properly.

Professional relationships, like personal relationships, develop overtime and grow as a result of honest and open communication. Transparency is crucial in professional relationships. If a mistake happens, own up to it. If something doesn’t goes as planned, admit it. Clients will appreciate the candor, even if they don’t like the outcome.

Client relationships should also be multi-dimensional;meaning both professional and personal. While understanding the business, desires and goals of a client is important, so is knowing the client’s interests, hobbies, significant other’s names and weekend plans. Demonstrating a genuine interest in the life of a client shows that they are more than just another account.

Finally, appreciate clients. Thank them for their business, no matter how small it may seem. While big events like a holiday party express gratitude, small gestures can be just as meaningful. Mail a handwritten thank you note, send a cookie cake or take a client out to lunch.

Keys to Being a Successful Manager

I’ve always said that people join companies but they quit managers. If a company has ineffective or incompetent management, they threaten losing valuable employees. LaSalle Network’s most successful managers share a few traits.

First and foremost, they know their team on a personal level and enjoy spending time with them. Our manager’s invest a great deal of time getting to know their employees and understanding their strengths, weaknesses, passions and desires. This allows them to delegate tasks according to the team member’s abilities.

LaSalle’s most successful managers are also always available. I believe this “on-call” mentality originates from the top down, as I would never ask my managers to do what I wouldn’t. I’ve made it a staple of my career to always be available to my staff beyond working hours. This helps permeate the
organization as intelligent staff can differentiate genuineness from a hyperbole.

At LaSalle, we stress the art of over communicating. Our managers are constantly talking with their teams, troubleshooting problems and answering questions. Each business unit meets with their manager formally twice a day and informally multiple times.

LaSalle’s managers also set ambitious goals for themselves and their team. They have a vision of the product they want to achieve and a plan for how they are going to accomplish it. At LaSalle, we use metric-driven goals to constantly evaluate our performance. Our managers are continually pushing their teams to achieve these goals, while challenging their objections and engaging them in new ways of thinking.

I strongly believe that a great manager can be crafted, and that all of these skills can be honed to perfection. It just takes time, persistence and a strong work ethic.

Ditch the Corporate "Don'ts" this Holiday Party Season

Why do people always focus on what not to do at holiday parties? Concentrating on the taboo makes us forget what holiday parties are all about- an opportunity to have fun while networking and generating business.

In order to make the most of a corporate gathering, toss the restrictions out the window and utilize some commonsense.

It all begins by dressing for the occasion. Whether a company hosts an ugly sweater party or maintains business professional apparel, it's important to follow the dress code. Showing up under or overdressed causes people to focus on their wardrobe instead of the party at hand.

Once the party is underway, many people worry about when to eat, what to say to clients and how to break the ice. But these are unnecessary concerns that distract us from the party. There's no need to turn away the mouthwatering mini burgers in order to maintain a "professional" façade. Eating throughout the party allows people to maintain high energy levels necessary for socializing.

Although it seems obvious, people should be continuously mingling the entire length of the party, and not just with colleagues and clients. A corporate shindig is the perfect opportunity to meet new people and network.

While it's tempting to stay on safe conversation topics when talking with acquaintances and clients, a holiday party is the ideal occasion to get to know business partners on a personal level. Asking questions about hobbies, spouses, children, pets, etc., demonstrates an invested interest in the relationship.

Holiday parties shouldn't be a source of stress to employees. It's one of the many joys
of the season, so relax and have fun!