Introduction

What is the purpose of the practice?

This is a practice which is intended to guide a journey for frontline leaders to build self-motivation and engagement among all the associates in their group/team.  We define engagement simply as "involvement with heart and mind."  This is a process, or set of actions, which frontline leaders can learn as a career skill and tool to initiate anytime to build and maintain focus, learning, and commitments toward customers. 

The practice is intended to help any frontline leader, whether in management or not, to compliment their existing procedural activities, guiding structure and discipline, by giving them activities for winning hearts and minds--the people part!  Above all, it is essential for everyone who understands the increasing pressures placed on frontline leaders to manage and lead simultaneously multiple workplace experiences and relationships everyday.  This practice should provide a simple, back-to-basics solution for the caught-in-the-middle syndrome where frontline leaders are seldom quite prepared to juggle both "paper" and "people" simultaneously.

The practice is a how-to for all leaders, getting everyone on the same page.  We do this by introducing the missing link in daily operations--a secondary 'asking' process (mostly non-verbal).  Complimenting and continuing, not changing, a single thing you are currently doing.  Daily aligning the "what" senior leaders need to get done with the "how" to get it done for leaders on the frontlines--just may be the Holy Grail of Leadership.  Furthermore, as a process, set of actions, and not a program, the practice can easily be initiated by frontline leaders, like any other skill, without changing a single thing they are currently doing.

 

Why do we think a practice like this is important?

As our global economy becomes increasingly customer-centric, enterprises take on more partners through outsourcing and collaborations, and workforces become increasingly diverse in almost every imaginable way, we view the frontlines of daily operations as the new battleground for customer retention and loyalties.  This places increasing pressures on frontline leaders to not only address the needs of customers, associates, and partners but to do so simultaneously all while managing daily operations.

Why is participating in the asking process so important?  Human nature and experience!  While feedback supports learning, it is asking/inquiry that both initiates and continues learning not only at the workplace but throughout ones lifetime.  Most asking/inquiry/questioning is non-verbal and even done unconsciously just as most communications as well as most learning is non-verbal and unconscious.  This is a significant reason that studies indicate that by far the greatest part of learning in enterprises is "informal."  In fact, we believe the missing-link in daily operations is a practice of involving associates in 'asking' which initiates and continues "experience learning."  

The reason?  The practice not only is based in human experience but develops a third and most often missing feedback for associates.  Associates get feedback from colleagues and supervisors but most have not learned the skill of getting feedback from their own daily activities.  With this practice, frontline leaders can develop this skill which is basic to "star performers" in virtually every industry! 

Enterprises have programs for frontline leaders to use in managing workplace relationships and experiences.  We believe they also need activities to lead those same workplace relationships and experiences.  Notice we use the word activities.  Leadership is situational and actions get results, especially on the frontlines, whether managing, leading, or both.  We need to give team leaders processes, sets of actions, which they can initiate as a skill and tool, to compliment and continue what they are already doing by leading the soft areas which are often invisible and intangible.  Areas, often non-verbal and even unconscious, such as emotions, thought, learning and communications.  

 

How the practice works

A "Guide", or frontline leader, executes the practice (set of activities) for the 'people-side' of daily operations.  This would be a team leader or first line manager who has the desire to create involvement and self-motivation among their associates.  They may be a member of Management but it is not necessary.  They will seek support from a "Coordinator" , or supervisor (member of Management) who can work as a partner for the development of correspondence and feedback through a secondary "asking" process.  Together they determine which customer group to build with the practice.  The group could be chosen by market, product, service or tier.  

As the practice is simply a process or set of actions, as opposed to a program, there need not be planning, meetings, budgets, and schedules.  Rather, view it as a career skill and enterprise tool for the frontline leader to develop with practice.  A journey rather than a destination to maintain long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments through the self-motivation and involvement of associates.

With support the Guide can delegate group activities and use the practice cycle to begin proactively asking, non-verbally, selected customers "How are we doing?"  Feedback is frequent and quickly shared with the group as well as partners to interest and challenge.  Because this is something the group is doing together, as the practice continues it builds:

Demonstrating Intentions Feedback from daily activities Shared experiences Ownership of beliefs Dialog

Pride Involvement Enjoyment Continuous learning

No formal training or communications needed as with a program.  Asking/inquiry through soft skills is a part of the human experience so it develops through workplace relationships (customers, associates, and partners) informally and naturally.  

For a free course on the basics of "Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team" click here

For implementation of the practice within an organization  Download George's how-to Enterprise eHandbook "Propel Frontline Leaders" (instant access)  Special Introductory Offer

For specific steps in getting started see "How-To" grow and maintain the practice

Additional lessons as to how the practice works can be found at the following links from our "Frontline Leadership eChannel for Customer Loyalty" along with the most recent lessons.

How to lead workplace experiences - http://www.quikonnex.com/channel/item/2992

What makes the practice work? - http://www.quikonnex.com/channel/item/5483