Wednesday, November 28, 2018

3 Questions You Must Answer to Know if You’re Setting Your Employees Up for Success




If you’ve ever had employees work for you then you’ve likely been in the situation where you have to decide whether or not to let them go for poor job performance. How did you get there? What led that employee to perform poorly? If you’re in a leadership role your job is to set your people up to succeed; to give them what they need to do what you hired them to do.

There are legitimate reasons to fire someone little to no notice. For me that would involve willful or gross negligence, or criminal activity. In those cases the answer is fairly simple – termination is warranted right then. There are other factors, as well, that would rightly lead to ending their employment with you.

But, if you have an employee that is struggling to do what you hired them to do and you are considering letting them go, there are three questions that you must answer before you make that decision:

1.      Did the employee know what was expected of him/her? It seems like a simple question but I have worked with a few clients that had let people go without knowing if the person knew what was expected of them. If your employee doesn’t have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, then how could they know what they were supposed to do?

2.      Was the employee properly trained to perform their duties? There have been many times when I have seen people thrown into a job or a task without adequate, or sometimes any, training to do the job. That seems incredulous in this day and age but it happens more often than you would think. If they haven’t been shown the proper way to do the job, how can you expect them to do it properly?

3.      Does the employee have the right tools to do the job? This is the last question I ask. If they know what is expected of them, and have been properly trained to do the job, were they given the appropriate tools? If the employee’s job is to drive nails into the wall, sending them out with a spoon is of little help. Why weren’t they given a hammer?

Our job as leaders is to set our employees up to succeed. The calculation is simple – our success is dependent upon their success. If you can’t honestly answer ‘YES’ to each of these questions, you have set them up to fail. And in that case, you have failed as a leader, too.

Make sure you can answer each of those questions with a resounding ‘YES’.

For more information about employee engagement, or to see how The Cobalt Group can help you with this or any other business or leadership challenges you are facing, Contact us.

We want to hear what you think. Leave a comment and let’s start a discussion.

Copyright © 2018 The Cobalt Group LLC. All rights reserved.

Monday, November 19, 2018

7 Questions Every Leader Must Communicate To Employees


Engaging and mobilizing employees can feel like an overwhelming challenge. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are many simple strategies to engage and mobilize employees. Most cost almost nothing to implement, can be put into place immediately, and have huge impact.

The benefits of an engaged workforce are numerous. Among them are:
  • Committed employees
  • Increased productivity
  • Lower turnover
  • Higher performing workforce

As well, the cost of an unengaged workforce can detrimentally affect your bottom line. Among these disadvantages include:
  • Increased turnover and associated costs
  • Lower morale
  • Decreased loyalty, creativeness, and energy 
  • Reduced productivity


This is a topic that goes well beyond one blog post and I will be addressing it more in future blogs. But for now let’s look at some questions to ask.

There are seven simple questions every leader must answer and communicate to employees. Do it often, it matters. Small, informal conversations about performance go a long way – especially when they include teachable moments about different situations and details.

The questions include:
1.      Do you understand what I expect from you?
2.      What are you doing well?
3.      What, if anything, can you be doing better?
4.      What, if anything, do I want you to do better?
5.      (If appropriate): What will happen if you improve (e.g., more responsibility, more time with leadership, more desirable assignments)?
6.      (If appropriate): What will happen if you don’t improve?
7.      How can I help?
While all of these questions are important, and certainly not the only questions to be asking, the last question is especially important. It shows the employee that the leader cares, and is not merely relinquishing responsibility or shifting blame.

The KEY to successfully engaging employees is getting to know each employee – not engaging a “them”. The truth is, engagement is easy. Committing to improve engagement is where it gets hard. Make employee acknowledgement and recognition part of the fabric of your leadership.

For more information about engaging and mobilizing employees, and to take our free self-assessment about how well you are engaging and mobilizing, or to see how The Cobalt Group can help you with this or any other business or leadership challenges you are facing, Contact us.

We want to hear what you think. Leave a comment and let’s start a discussion.

Copyright © 2018 The Cobalt Group LLC. All rights reserved.