Colleen Speaks Blog

Words of Wisdom on Effective Leadership

This week in beautiful Wyoming, I had the privilege of speaking on becoming a more powerful leader. And, nothing is more important (besides honesty!) than being a good role model. Here is some leadership advice I shared which was particularly popular with the audience:

The better you are as a person, the better you will be as a leader. Have your life squared away. And, what areas aren’t squared away, don’t bring them to work. Leave your work at work, and your home life at home. – Colleen Kettenhofen, Speaker and Author

“Bringing your personal life to work” is a situation I hear about frequently as I speak around the country on effective leadership and managing people. Beyond reason, people don’t want to hear every detail of a person’s life, whether it’s a manager or a co-worker. Too much information combined with mood swings can upset the morale of the workplace and adversely affect productivity. And when all is said and done, people have a right to come to work and enjoy it.

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A Definition of Leadership

"Leadership is not magnetic personality - that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people - that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations." --Peter Drucker

Colleen's Quick Sales Tip for Today

Look at each customer as a person. Explain how your
product or service adds value to them based on what they
want. Have the attitude that you are helping people get
what they want. If you truly believe what you are selling
will help them (and you should!) explain how it will make
them feel. In other words, how are you making their
life easier? How are you adding value? As a salesperson,
you are first and foremost a problem solver.

Managing Your Employees: What Your Employees Aren’t Telling You

“In managing your employees, you really are managing their emotions.”

Colleen Kettenhofen

In conducting management and leadership programs for almost 13 years now, there are certain traits participants have consistently told me they want to see in their managers, supervisors, and team leaders. And in this difficult economy,  it’s especially important to practice these characteristics to keep morale high when managing your employees. Here they are:

1. Honesty. Do you possess personal integrity? Do you do what you say you are going to do? You can be intelligent and educated, but if your employees don’t trust you, they won’t want to follow you. Remember, if anything, under-promise and over-deliver. The one thing you promise and can’t deliver on will be one thing they’ll remember. As the saying goes, they remember your last act.


2. Good communicator. It’s imperative that in managing your employees, you have a clear understanding of what their jobs entail. Also, have you clearly communicated the roles and responsibilities of each team member and where they fit in with the organizations goals? Do they know their role relative to the rest of the team? If there are changes, do you clearly communicate those changes in priorities? I ask this because I often hear my participants say about the organization they work for that, “The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Our priorities are constantly shifting but we’re not notified until it’s too late.”


3. Compatible personality with the team. Employees want a manager who is consistent and not blowing hot and cold. They don’t want a manager who is moody and unpredictable. In managing your employees, put yourself in their shoes. You, too, probably want a manager who is stable and consistent. Especially in an economy that is anything but stable and consistent.


4. Fair-minded and objective. In managing your employees, make sure you’re objective. Don’t play favorites. Don’t socialize only with a good friend you’re managing. Employees pick up on that. And I hear about it a lot from managers themselves about their own managers.



In managing your employees be inspiring and future-oriented. This is one of the top five traits people tell me they want to see in their managers. They’ll often say, “I want someone inspiring who has vision.” Communicate clearly so your team can work toward shared goals. Have an action plan in writing.

5. Be intelligent and aware of what’s really going on in and around your workplace. Be educated and up-to-date on what your employees actually do on a day-to-day basis.

And most importantly, be prepared to answer any questions if they’re concerned about the future of their jobs. Employees want to be informed and kept in the loop. In these uncertain times, some employees require more communication and self-assurance. In managing your employees, you really are managing their emotions.

Colleen Kettenhofen is a dynamic speaker and author. She is available for seminars, keynotes and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690.

Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm

Watch speaker Colleen Kettenhofen’s video clips at http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm

For Colleen Kettenhofen’s articles on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills, team building, meetings and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm

Managing People: How to Measure the Strength of Your Workplace

As a leader, manager or supervisor, how do you attract and keep the most talented employees? In this struggling economy, hiring and retaining the best most productive employees is more important than ever.

In Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s book, “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently,” they’ve discovered there are 12 questions that measure the strength of a workplace. This is research by the Gallup organization based on in-depth interviews of over 80,000 managers/supervisors in over 400 organizations. The largest study of its kind undertaken. These 12 questions won’t tell you everything about the strength of your workplace, but they’ll provide insight into some of the most important information. They measure the main elements necessary to attract and retain the most talented, productive employees. Here they are:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

In conducting Leadership and Managing People seminars worldwide, I often quote this study and the above questions to my audiences. I ask them if their employees could answer positively, or “Strongly Agree” to all twelve questions. It’s important to know that on a scale of 1 to 5, “Strongly Agree” is 5. And if your employees can answer “Strongly Agree,” which is more extreme, it distinguishes the most productive companies and their departments from all the rest.

Colleen Kettenhofen is available for keynotes, seminars and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690.

Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm

Watch speaker Colleen Kettenhofen’s video clips at http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm

For Colleen Kettenhofen’s articles on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm

3 Secrets for Dealing with Difficult People!

“The person who constantly angers you or frustrates you…controls you.”

Colleen Kettenhofen

Do you know any difficult people? Have you ever worked or lived with a difficult person? Are you a difficult person?! It’s amazing how many participants come up to me at the end of one of my programs and confide, ‘Colleen, I think sometimes I’m a difficult person and just realized it today!’ We can all be difficult at times. But what do you do with the person who is chronically difficult?

A key to getting through the upcoming holidays is learning to live with difficult people. Because there will always be difficult people. Here are three points to remember:

1)    All behavior has a positive intention.
2)    Low self-esteem is often the culprit.
3)    You won’t always please everyone.

All behavior has a positive intention. Take for example the gossip. When someone is always gossiping about everyone else, who are they trying to make look better? Themselves. That’s their positive intention. They frequently have low self-esteem. They don’t realize that when they’re gossiping about others, that people are thinking, “I wonder what they say about me when I’m not around?!”

Lastly, you can’t please everyone. Sometimes for whatever reason, someone won’t like you. Be careful with your words. I often have my participants take the following pledge. It adds humor but gets the point across: “On my honor, I promise, when dealing with a difficult person, that I will bite my tongue and count to ten, because if I don’t, I may say something that I will live to regret!”

Colleen Kettenhofen is a dynamic speaker and author who has appeared on television talk shows as well as conducted over 1,000 programs worldwide for top corporations and associations since 1995.

Colleen Kettenhofen is available for seminars, keynotes and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690.

Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm

Watch speaker Colleen Kettenhofen’s video clips at http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm

For Colleen Kettenhofen’s articles on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Taking Response-Ability

As a speaker, the reading below is something my audiences greatly enjoy.  When I conduct a keynote speech on achieving personal and professional success,  it’s an excellent example of the importance of taking responsibility and holding ourselves accountable for our actions.  Or, as I like to say…”response-ability!”  Let go the mistake but never lose the lesson.  That in itself builds self-confidence and character. Here it is:

Chapter 1.  I  walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault! It takes forever to find a way out!

Chapter 2: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place, but it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5: I walk down another street.
By Portia Nelson

Colleen Kettenhofen is available for seminars, keynotes and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690.

Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm

Watch speaker Colleen Kettenhofen’s video clips instantly at http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm

For Colleen Kettenhofen’s articles on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm

Effective Leadership, Managing People, and the Delegation Dilemma

“Successful people form the habit of doing what failures don’t like to do. They like the results they get by doing what they don’t necessarily enjoy.” –Earl Nightengale

Do you know the number one job of every manager and supervisor? To make sure their employees are doing the jobs they were hired to do. And in managing people this can be challenging because it’s easy to think, “Well, if I want it done right, I might as well do it myself.” Or, “In the time it’s going to take me to train someone, I might as well do it myself!”

Don’t do everything for them. Otherwise, you’re training them to wash their hands of important assignments. Taking work away from the underperformer becomes an unintentional positive consequence for poor performance. And I guarantee, your employees will notice! It will have a huge negative impact on your team’s morale. As a speaker on leadership and managing people, I hear about it all the time.

I realize sometimes you have tight deadlines, and either you have to do the work yourself, or delegate it to a star performer. But don’t keep taking the work away from the underperformer. It becomes a habit. I even hear of superstars who have quit in disgust because of what someone’s been allowed to get away with. It’s important for employees to know that sometimes we have to do things we’d rather not.

To sign up for Colleen Kettenhofen’s free e-newsletter on topics such as managing people, dealing with difficult people, effective leadership and life balance, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm
Watch Colleen Kettenhofen’s live speaking engagements at:
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen.video.htm

As a motivational business speaker and author, Colleen Kettenhofen is available for seminars, keynotes, training, and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690 locally in Phoenix, Arizona. Or, toll free (800)323-0683.

11 Common Mistakes Managers Make

As a leadership speaker and trainer, I often ask my participants, who are all managers themselves, to describe their worst manager ever. I always say, “No names, no company names – just describe the traits, qualities and characteristics of your worst manager or supervisor, and what kind of environment they created.”

After 12 ½ years of conducting leadership seminars, it always ends up being a very lively discussion! Sure it’s important to talk about effective leadership, and the keys to managing people. But it can be equally beneficial to hear about the most common mistakes managers make. After all, in having a difficult supervisor many of us learned the kind of manager we never wanted to be.

Here are the most common mistakes managers make:

1. Micromanaging. Distrustful of employees.

2. Demonstrates unethical behavior such as stealing.

3. Moodiness or mental health issues where behavior is too unpredictable and the employees are walking on eggshells. Hot tempered and so on.

4. Gossiping and backstabbing about the employees you’re managing, or about other managers and supervisors.

5. Shows blatant favoritism.

6. False promises. Over-promising and under-delivering.

7. No real open door policy. For example, in managing people, the manager acts as if they have an open door policy. But when employees go to them with a question, they’re intimidating and unapproachable.

8. Disorganized and inexperienced on the job.

9. Takes the credit for your ideas. Doesn’t give credit where credit is due.

10. Maintains “do as I say not as I do” behavior. Doesn’t model or practice what they preach.

11. Bad communicator. Either non-confrontational or overly confrontational and critical.

None of us are perfect at managing people. It’s progress not perfection. Most of us know what to do. But we don’t always know what not to do. That’s where this list comes in. Is there any area you need to work on? Becoming a better listener with your employees? Better communicator? Maintaining more of an open door policy? In establishing more trust and credibility, remember your employees are watching you. Good luck!

“Recognition is important, challenging, and easily forgotten—so pay attention and don’t forget to say ‘thanks.’” Mary Le, Intel Corporation

Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm

For Colleen Kettenhofen’s leadership and managing people articles, visit http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm

Watch Colleen Kettenhofen’s live speaking engagements at:
http:// www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm

Managing People and Motivating Employees

As I write this, I’m sitting outside Starbucks at sunset in Sedona, Arizona, looking at the majestic red rock scenery. It’s great motivation for me to be able to write leadership articles and post on my blog from anywhere! As a motivational speaker and trainer, I love writing and conducting seminars. But my favorite way to work is when I can write outdoors with a gorgeous backdrop.

This got me thinking… if you’re a manager, supervisor, or team leader, do you know what motivates your employees? They have to be intrinsically motivated. But for extrinsic motivation, do you have good reward programs in place?

As a trainer conducting leadership seminars, here are 24 tips I hear most often in terms of what works when managing people and motivating employees:

1. Show genuine appreciation.

2. Offer money for milestones if you have the budget.

3. Flextime or flexible hours.

4. Get input from your employees, and implement their ideas whenever you can.

5. If you don’t have any budget, have a potluck with a theme such as Valentine’s Day, or near 4th of July or Thanksgiving. Set the ground rules such as no peanuts, chips or pretzels, and tell everyone to really make a presentation out of whatever they bring.

6. Bonuses, stock options.

7. Acknowledge someone publicly when they go above and beyond either at a meeting, in a memo that goes out to everyone, or both.

8. Casual Fridays.

9. Have free, great tasting food at meetings, trainings, and other gatherings. This is almost guaranteed to get everyone there on time and feeling happy.

10. Letting an employee leave early or have a day off. In my leadership and managing people seminars, time off seems to be the biggest motivator of all for employees.

11. Offering an employee their birthday off.

12. Gift certificates that are personalized. For example, a gift certificate to a special restaurant or store.

13. Movie tickets or tickets to sporting events of employee’s choice.

14. Management serving the employees once a year at a breakfast or picnic.

15. Raffle contests.

16. Taking everyone to a movie and lunch once a quarter.

17. Flowers/plants given to new hires.

18. “Motivational Monday” praises.

19. Field trips.

20. Annual gift cards with a memo from the Director or President.

21. Gym and other vendor discounts

22. Special parking spaces.

23. Parking costs paid for the month in cities where parking is expensive.

24. Gas cards.

Most importantly, show sincere and immediate appreciation and recognition to employees who have gone above and beyond. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. No one ever looked at their budget at the end of the year and said, “Oh my gosh! We forgot to include praise!” The best part is…praise is free. So consider incorporating some of these ideas to boost morale and build team spirit.

Sign up for Colleen’s free e-newsletter on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/newsletter.htm

Watch speaker Colleen Kettenhofen’s video clips instantly at http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/kettenhofen_video.htm

For Colleen Kettenhofen’s articles on leadership, life balance, dealing with difficult people, managing people, presentation skills and more: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com/freearticles.htm

Colleen Kettenhofen is available for seminars, keynotes and breakout sessions by calling (623)340-7690.