Hardening of the Heart OR a Helpful Alternative

A condition that spoils the tone of a business’s culture, hampers its financial growth, and destroys employee retention is the hardened heart of the leader. It is almost impossible to reach someone whose heart is hardened.  They are untouchable.  Not an exciting corporate climate to rally around. 

The hardened heart endangers business.  However… another condition of the heart enhances it.  The Bible, explains about another “hardening”, the hardening of us to difficulties.  Isaiah 41:10 says,

“Fear not for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties…” 

Hardening me to difficulties.  What would that look like? 

·       No fear,

·       No worry,

·       Energy for the positive.

In what ways does hardening us to difficulties enrich our leadership abilities?

Leaders have to weather storms.  “The buck stops here.”  Small business owners, particularly, are impacted by storms in this sluggish economy.  Storms can look like struggling to meet payroll, pay suppliers, and just plain problems keeping the doors open.

 

As leaders, what would your days look like if you were hardened to difficulties?  For me, as I stated:

·       No fear,

·       No worry,

·       Energy for the positive.

Energy to move forward, stay the course, rather than focus on the negative. 

Having the energy to face the day, no matter what it holds, shows passion for your work and rallies the troops. Your excitement will spread to employees and customers alike. 

I encourage you to remember that God is willing to take on our difficulties.  He is also willing to strengthen us and harden us to difficulties. Each day can look like:

·       No fear,

·       No worry,

·       Energy for the positive.

What would your day look like today if you had no fear of risks, no worry about finances, and energy to be positive about your future?  How would your corporate culture change?  How about your retention numbers and your company’s bottom-line? 

Your Best PR

Brenda is an effervescent employee, if I ever met one.  She works at my favorite coffee shop and takes great care to make sure I have the freshest, tastiest java.  “You always make my morning,” I told her. “Your upbeat attitude helps us all.”   “I love this place!” she exclaimed.  Well…   a comment like that has ‘retention’ written all over it so my consulting curiosity kicked in.  “What makes you say that?” I asked while performing my coffee mixology.  Brenda was even more excited to share with me her employment experience: headquarters looking out for employees, management praising workers, and “the big boss” coming in to wash dishes. 

Please note that this coffee shop is not a one-store operation where oversight would be very manageable.  The company has over 650 stores and employs thousands of workers in multi-state locations.  What makes this company continue to grow at a rapid pace and produce loyal employees?  It is my guess that “the big boss” does not have time to wash dishes but he is very smart to make time.  This is a classic example of Servant Leadership: a strong focus on the mission and a caring heart for employees.  Christ demonstrated the supreme example of Servant Leadership.  Every action He took had a strong focus for the mission and a caring heart for His followers.

How would you describe your Servant Leadership?  Like Brenda, are your employees exuberant and your best PR? 

Retention - Why Employees Leave

My devotion this morning suggested I look at circumstances from God’s perspective.  To me, that is a daunting task.  I need to know God so much better in order to “step into His shoes”.

When have you viewed circumstances through the eyes of your employees? Fortunately, that task is not so daunting.

Last year, The Fahr Group launched a new recruitment division: Sales Professionals for Leasing & Finance.  This complements our Executive Search Division well. We are able to speak with the C-Suite for two areas now: top tier search and sales recruitment.  We continue to be privy to how companies are planning growth and, in some cases, reorganization.  Launching our Sales Search Division has also afforded us the opportunity to speak with many sales employees.  Of the hundreds of people my company speaks with, I would guesstimate that 70% are happy or happy enough until something “better” materializes.  Because we do Retention Consulting, we are always curious as to what makes employees satisfied and loyal to their organizations.  We also want to investigate what circumstances make the 30% displeased. 

Retention is not rocket science.  However, I am still surprised when I learn that the basics of achieving high retention numbers are not implemented.  Sadly, often what is expressed to me does not change. Some top management are not satisfied with the employees’ sales production numbers, and the sales staff are disgruntled with management’s treatment, or lack thereof. Companies need sales professionals to produce, and sales professionals need…   

You fill in the blank for your company.  Do you know the answers?    

This is the first step in retaining your employees… look at your organization from their perspective; “step into their shoes”.  Initiate conversations to explore: likes, dislikes, and career goals.    

Now… the retention work begins.   

DEFENDING OUR ACTIONS 

“I will surely defend my ways to His face.” Job 13:15 

Are you able to defend your actions to God?  Job said he could, and in turn be vindicated.

That is extraordinarily impressive. 

I wonder as a leader, could I argue my case to God?  In all that I do: steer my company, develop my employees, and grow the bottom-line, could I stand before God and defend all of my decisions and actions?   

Could you?

Integrity Builds Your Business

I receive countless emails touting yet another way to increase sales and productivity.  Jesus lived his life with integrity, and changed the world.  What method for increasing business ever produced those results? None.   

Like the Stock Market, if you lead a company you know that improvements build on one another over the long haul.  If you choose the foundation that Jesus did, integrity, you have an extremely solid foundation that will grow your share of the marketplace and dramatically escalate the retention of your key employees.   

Definition of Integrity:

adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.  

Does your foundation, both personal and that of your organization, reflect this character?

 

New Year's Resolutions

 On January 1st we generally reflect on our behaviors that are flawed and resolve to change those imperfections during the next 365 days. It’s interesting to me that God’s Word never speaks of “New Year’s Resolutions”. The Bible urges us to have heart changes, not resolutions, which transcend the next 365 days. As leaders, heart changes that reflect Christ impact our employees and companies more than our New Year’s Resolutions.

Ephesians 4: 22-32 communicates what the Lord wants our hearts to reflect, no matter if it is January 1st, or any other day. The Bible conveys 10 heart changes that will transform us into impactful leaders:

1. Put off corruption and deceitful desires.
2. Be holy like God.
3. Speak truthfully.
4. Never stay angry past the day.
5. At work, do things that are useful.
6. Help those in need.
7. Don’t speak negatively, only those things that will build up others.
8. Get rid of bitterness, rage and slander.
9. Be kind and compassionate.
10. Forgive others as Christ forgave you.

Today, where can you start?

Strong Companies have Well-Constructed Foundations

More now than ever with our speculative economy, you want your company to succeed and attract exceptional talent. In order for that to become a reality, its foundation must be well-constructed, able to support growth, and excite your executive team. You can initiate construction on your foundation by taking the following actions:

1.     Define the character of your Leadership Team.

2.     Have each team member state their management theory.

3.     Ascertain each Team member’s philosophy of business, or purpose of business.

4.     Now… Are you on the same page?  

At The Fahr Group, our leadership team has solidly rooted in God’s Word the above topics. Let me share some of our foundational verses:

1.     Leadership Team Characteristics: Leviticus 19:11,

“Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.”

2.     Management Theory: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10,

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.”

3.     Philosophy of business: Matthew 6:33,

            “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” 

Construct a sound foundation.  Your organization will attract exceptional talent, and be prepared for growth.

Sources: NIV Bible, writings of Gerald Chester, W. Edwards Deming