The Teller Line

Coaching is a powerful approach to developing tellers.  Coaching focuses on improving job skills and knowledge. Through routine coaching you can help the teller explore and evaluate what will be the best choices in order to maintain an attitude that compliments how they interact with others.  One-on-one coaching says to the teller “what you do and how you do it matter”.  It creates visible, concrete evidence of your commitment to helping the teller line excel.

Tune in today or buy the download for my webinar, Start Coaching & Stop Hovering Over the Teller Line.

Make time to coach.  You will find coaching a powerful tool for teaching others how to go about building meaningful relationships and choosing empowering behaviors that improve job performance. 

Coaching is when you reinforce what is expected and review performance outcomes.  What have you conveyed to the teller about expectations?  Be certain your teller line knows what is expected of them in these categories.  Be certain you inspect what you expect.

1.     Accuracy

2.     Balancing

3.     Procedures

4.     Managing Change

5.     Dependability

6.     Exceptional Service

7.     Salesmanship

8.     Knowledgeable

9.     Resourcefulness

10. Accountability

Email me I have a great free tool for you called the Coaching Session Form.  You will want to use this form in preparing for and conducting your coaching sessions as well as documenting what transpired.

Still learning,

Honey

Performance Booster Series - Your Reputation

Building a good reputation is an excellent investment. A good reputation can take you much further in life than you can go with a poor one.  Be who you are but be the best you can be while you’re doing it.  The pay-offs are worth every challenge you meet on the road to a good reputation.  Your happiness, success and quality of life increases when you have a good reputation.  Social networking sites have shown all of us that your reputation can be influenced and altered in a second.

Your online reputation begins with content posted and made available to the public.  It's not acceptable to talk badly about others, display or post questionable photos on Facebook or other social networking sites. It will come back to haunt you. Questionable photos include any photos that make you or others look bad; any photos you wouldn't want to share in a job interview. Don't create a false sense of security about who can and who can't see what you post.  All your posts are a click away for all to see; copy and paste and your post just went viral.

Nothing can tarnish a person’s reputation more than being viewed as professionally immature, untrustworthy or dishonest. Hold yourself to a high personal code of conduct so that any day or night of your life could end up in the media and not be an embarrassment.

Remember that how you treat others on the job or at home is likely revealed later in a conversation where you're not present. Do your best to resolve sticky issues without being triggered by your anger and self-centered interests. Disrespectfulness, like rudeness, is long remembered and not easily forgiven. Your actions build your character; your character builds your reputation.

In every role in life you play, whether that is as a family member, spouse, employee, community leader, member of a religious faith, friend, public servant or business leader you represent that partner, group or company to others. So your words and actions, or even the lack thereof, can build up, reinforce or tear down your reputation along with those you represent.

Boost your performance in every role you play.  Build a reputation you can be proud of for yourself, your family and every key connection you have!

Still learning,

Honey

Performance Booster Series - Hear How to Improve Your Listening

When you focus only on yourself it creates all kinds of problems for you, especially when you are attempting to communicate with another person or them with you.  Many of us are busy thinking about what we want to say or have other issues on our mind that distract us.  

You might even be guilty of asking a question and not paying any attention to the other person's answer.  My children have accused me of that. At times, I have had to plead the Fifth Amendment on those charges; a few times I courageously owned up to it and sometimes I got defensive.  When you get caught red-handed on not listening it's embarrassing!

Learning to be "present" and becoming an attentive listener will change the quality of your communication skills and the success of your interpersonal relationships.  A skill worth developing, listening will boost your performance on the job and increase harmony at home!

Think about the last time you noticed someone obviously not paying attention when you were trying to communicate with them. What specific behaviors did the person exhibit that led you to believe that he or she was tuning you out?  What did you read into that?  Did you feel discounted or ignored?

Often when we think the listener isn't paying attention we choose to frustrate or become offended.  Next time you get tuned out and turned off by being ignored, consider it a wake-up call and take note to pay attention and respect when it’s your turn to listen.  Keep the focus on your listening skills; learn from others’ behaviors that you want to mirror and those you want to avoid.

If you want to discover more about listening behavior email me, honey@interaction-training.com  and request a complimentary copy of The Listening Self-Assessment.  It’s yours for the asking.

Still learning,

Honey

Performance Booster Series - Communication Skills

Do people say you're talkative or do they say you're quiet?  Do you frequently feel misunderstood or ignored?  Are you routinely trying to get over your feelings being hurt? Do you get triggered when people give you feedback and end up acting defensive?

Take a long hard look at your style of communication and become acutely aware of what you could improve upon.  Is it your speaking ability, your reputation as a listener?  What about soliciting and providing feedback?  Do a double take on your tone of voice and your body language. 

Do you need to be more sensitive to others and reduce your bluntness or frankness?  Do you need to be less sensitive and not take everything so personal?  Self-evaluation is the place to start when it comes to elevating your ability to communicate. For all of us it’s very easy to take communicating for granted since we do it all the time.  

Remember whether you are sending a text, talking, emailing, nodding, frowning or rolling your eyes a message has been sent.  Be sure it’s the one you wanted to send. 

Are you aware that research makes these claims?

75% of all communication is non-verbal.

Writing only represents nine percent of the time we spend communicating.

The average worker spends 55% of his or her time communicating.

Check this out - a whopping 85% of business success is dependent on effective communication and interpersonal skills.

It is most common to focus entirely on what you want to relay to the point you are a slacker when it comes to listening.  Have you acquired that invaluable habit of confirming that others understood your message? Become a communication standout and hone in on confirmation you were understood by the listener or the reader.  Beef up your clear understanding of what others tell you by restating what they told you.  

There are times the tone you intended to convey whether in writing or even speaking was neutral while the receiver may interpret it entirely differently.   Solicit two-way confirmation and be on the lookout for how you can improve as a skillful communicator. Evaluate your gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and body language to be certain you are in sync with your message.  Learn to give others to whom you are listening your full attention, if you aren't sure what they meant or said ask for more information.  If you don’t have time to listen, ask if you could suggest a different time for the conversation.  Pay attention to how long you talk and give the other party floor time.

Powerful communication skills are a must for people that want to excel in relationships and climb the ladder of success. 

Still learning, 

Honey

Performance Booster Series - Garner Support at Every Level

Garner means to build and store; to succeed at being an exceptional supervisor you will need to build and store support at every level professionally.

Team

Successful supervisors create an atmosphere where team members can fully use their skills, knowledge and creativity to work toward the goals of the department and the company. You will want to encourage the team as well as organize the ongoing work, provide direction and articulate the goals.

Your responsibility will be to use the strengths of each team member and challenge them to build a plan and execute it.  Help them to see the value of what they do and how that value relates to the success of the team.

Peers

Work at building lines of communication and support with fellow managers will be keys to your success.  Give what you want to get.  An exceptional supervisor learns to listen to others and also considers opposing points of view.  Manage your confidence and sense of respect with your peers.  It’s no secret you won’t like everyone you work with but practice caution spewing your opinions and showing your distain for others, especially your peers. Watch out for sharing your negative thoughts and feelings about others at work with anyone you work with.  It’s a practice that will bite you back. 

Management

Make your manager look good; feel pride that you are on his or her team.  Always look and act professional.  Self evaluate where you are with accomplishing the look and actions of a pro.  Use a mirror to check the outside and an internal exam of your thinking and behaving.  Don’t be known for making excuses and being a chronic complainer.  Keep your manager well-informed.

Act the way you want others to treat you, give support to others and you can count on the boomerang theory coming true for you.  You get what you give.


Still learning,


Honey

Performance Booster Series - Become a Role Model

A role model is a person who others look up to, admire and want to emulate.  A role model provides inspiration and sparks motivation to seek out accomplishments. Role models send messages about their beliefs by what they do and say.  They refrain from boasting and are quick to say “I messed up.”

Role Models Are Trustworthy

Trustworthiness is another quality of a good role model. A role model is honest and works at not exaggerating.   Treasure your integrity and do the right thing even if no one is looking; even if you don’t credit for it.

Self-Esteem

A role model works to be self-assured and happy with themselves. As you display self-esteem others will look up to you positively. Hang on to your independence show you don’t need to follow current trends you don’t subscribe to. Be proud of who you are, but not cocky.

Handle Stress Positively

Being human means having to constantly deal with stress and overcome obstacles. A role model sets a good example on how to handle pressure.  Become a pro at handling stress and managing yourself when the pressure is on.  When you mess up, be quick to forgive and make note of what you would do differently next time.

Do What You Say You Will

A good role model also does what they say and perseveres. A good role model delivers on promises and can always be counted on even when overwhelmed and wants to quit. Perseverance is a key trait. Role models demonstrate key success factors like working hard for something worthwhile pays off.  You can be that someone that inspires dreams and goals in others.

Respect for Others

How you treat others speaks volumes about who you are.  He treats others how he would want to be treated and is considerate of others. When making mistakes, a role model does not place the blame on others; he owns up to his own shortcomings.

Enthusiasm

It works like magic.  As a role model you can spread enthusiasm faster than the common cold.  It creates energy. It makes hard work easier and more enjoyable. Enthusiasm is an antidote for discouragement. There is no better tonic for whatever happens to be wrong than enthusiasm.  Conversely, when there is a lack of enthusiasm, negative emotions rise to fill the vacuum: cynicism, depression, despair.  

Here is the important point: enthusiasm is more than a feeling or a character trait; it is a decision and a choice. We can all choose to be enthusiastic.

Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, "Nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm." He was right.

Still learning,

Honey

Performance Boosters Series - Communicate Expectations

In the workplace expectations have a powerful impact on our performance. Expectations have a direct link to behavior and outcomes. One of the most common reasons for low employee morale and performance is poor communication of work expectations. Expectations are the basis for developing a written, negotiated employee performance plan. Expectations are consistently a part of training and coaching.
Expectations need to be conveyed in writing. When the leader fails to provide a written list of expectations because the assumption is the employee knows what is expected, we cannot be surprised when those expectations are not met.

It is best if everyone in the company is clear about the overall strategic plan and company goals. Employees need to see how their responsibilities and expectations contribute to the company’s goals. The leader’s job is to communicate expectations clearly and not allow assumptions room to grow.

Still learning,

Honey