Authority according to the dictionary is the ability to exercise (administrative) control over others. It is granted to a manager by the company or organization in keeping with the position that position holds.

It is a right to settle disputes, to control operations, to make and implement decisions and to administer or manage.

Power is the measure of your personal effectiveness. It is a skill that you develop in the everyday use of your authority. You earn your power; it is granted to you by those over whom you have exercised your personal ability and capacity to influence their behavior. Power places few limits on your available lines of action and implies a flexibility of behavior suitable to a variety of situations. It is a form of individual freedom to be creative, innovative, and responsive to the needs of others who will assist you in reaching your goals.

Authority, on the other hand, defines limits and action that you have the contractual right to take or use. It is granted to you by the organization as part of the organization’s attempt to control.

Managers who frequently have to resort to using authority diminish their personal power and ultimately their ability to influence and lead others.

They often find themselves having to use coercion to get things done. As a manager, if you possess power, you need only use authority as a last resort to accomplish your ends.

Managers, who create a climate of trust and cooperation, help their subordinates maintain their dignity, pride, and autonomy. Employees working under such conditions have been found to be happier, highly productive, and personally motivated.

Therefore, it should be the goal of an effective manager, to create conditions wherein individuals can set and achieve personal goals while achieving the goals of the organization.

In the words of Dwight David Eisenhower: “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”

For more information on this and other leadership issues contact Hank Sullivan at Strategic Solutions 510-432-7596 or email:hsullivan@stratsolutions.net

So how can you become organized? First thing is to make a commitment to yourself that you will become organized. If you are a person who says I would like to be more organized but I don’t know how, you need to stop and change today. It is a lot easier than you think. It involves the 3-D’s. No, that is not special glasses to watch a movie. It is Do it, Dump it or Delegate it.

Step 1 in the process is to set a minimum 2 hour appointment with yourself. Put it on your calendar. Turn off your phone , cell phone and computer. Put a do not disturb sign on your door.  During this appointment you are going to handle every piece of paper and other things in your office once.  You need to determine if it needs to be done, dumped or delegated. If you say that you have no one to delegate to, that is wrong. You can always outsource an activity. This is especially true if someone else can do it faster and better allowing you time to do what is more productive.

It is obvious that the dumped items are going away and uncluttering your office and life. Remember if you have not done anything with it in the past 6 months, you either need to throw it away or put it in storage. Even the IRS does not require you to keep things forever.

The delegated things are also going away where they will be properly handled and processed.

Finally you have the Do It group. Put them in 4 groups. Today, this week, Next week, When I have time. It is amazing how few things need to be done today. The problem is when we postpone doing them until tomorrow. The problem with tomorrow is that it never comes.  ” Today is yesterday’s tomorrow”.

So set yourself a goal to become a person who is determined to unclutter and begin doing today. You will amaze yourself on how much more relaxed and productive you will become.

The goals you set for accomplishing the company’s/department’s mission must be in line with the vision and what your company wants you to do. If what you plan to achieve for your job, department, or team isn’t coordinated with the goals of your organization, you’ll waste your time and energy.

Goals are the foundation of motivational programs. By reaching toward your goals, you become motivated, and by knowing the goals of your team members and helping them reach those goals, you help to motivate them.

The process of setting goals takes time, energy, and effort. Goals aren’t something you scribble on a napkin during a coffee break-you must plan what you truly want to accomplish, establish timetables, determine who will do each action step, brainstorm all the possible obstacles, create a solution for the obstacles, review all of the rewards and consequences of achieving or not achieving the goal, and implement the goal.

Criteria for setting goals.

To ensure that goals can be accomplished, follow these guidelines for setting your goals. Your goals must be SMART.

S - SpecificM- MeasurableA - AttainableR - Realistically HighT - Target Date or Time Bound

Example: Your goal is to save money. This is a hazy goal. You could put one dollar in a jar and that hazy goal would have been accomplished. It does not conform to the above criteria.

Instead your goal could be - Save $100 per month for the next 12 months starting (today’s date) to be complete by (target date). This goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistically high, and has a target date. Happy Goal Setting!

1. Reliability- can the customer depend on the organization to accurately and dependably provide service to them?
   

2. Assurance- does the service provider convey confidence about their product or service and do the customers trust that service provider?
   

3. Tangibles- this deals specifically with the appearance of the service area, the store, the lobby etc., and the appearance of the customer service provider. Is the environment pleasing and appropriate and is the service provider dressed appropriately, smiling, warm and genuinely open? If you are interacting with the customer via the phone obviously your smile, your tone of voice and listening intently will create positive points of connection with your customers.
   

4. Empathy- this is the strongest skill that demonstrates that the service provider genuinely cares.
   

5. Responsiveness- this involves the ability to provide prompt or timely service and measures the willingness of the service provider to help customers.
   

Stephen Covey refers to a concept of emotional bank accounts. An emotional bank account works like a financial bank account where there are deposits and withdrawals. Points of connection Points of connection, whether positive or negative, have a direct correlation to the customer’s emotional bank account. If the connection is a positive experience there is a direct deposit. A negative experience leads to an immediate withdrawal from the account. Often times, it takes numerous positive points of connection to create a deposit; however, it often only takes one negative point of connection to deplete an account.

How did you react to the last negative experience you had with a service provider? Was you last stay at a hotel positive or negative? What point of connection formed your decision? Is every point of connection in you business a positive one? Will your clients be adding to their emotional bank account for your business or are they planning to close the account. How can you know? Start now to find out! Create a process within your organization that provides the ability to monitor and measure every point of connection in your service cycle. By creating that process you will be focusing on making every customer experience valuable and hopefully positive.

If you want to know more about how to increase you Customer Loyalty contact Hank Sullivan at Strategic Solutions (510) 432-7596

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1. Allow employees to actively participate in team and company goals.
Look for every opportunity to include employees at every level of the organization, in being active participants. Employees often report getting one-way directives instead.
2. Allow employees to suggest better ways of getting their jobs done.
Ask for employee suggestions for other ways of getting the task or project accomplished. Listen and be willing to really hear the employees’ comments. Employees often report that they have no input and are told exactly how to perform their jobs, leaving no creativity.
3. Provide positive reinforcement.
Always listen and acknowledge your employees. Employees often report that their decisions and actions are second-guessed and that most, if not all, feedback given is negative.
4. Clearly delegate responsibility and give the employees authority along with the responsibility.
Do you give inconsistent messages? Do you ask the employee to handle a problem or project and then give them negative feedback or give them an assignment and then say, “never-mind?” Employees often report that they are given tasks and then told they did it wrong.
5. Be clear in your communication.
When you express goals or explain projects, be sure the employees really understand what you are asking for. Employees often report that the goals are unclear and that they are not sure what they are being asked to do.
6. Show you have trust in your employees.
Allow them to make mistakes as a form of learning. Show that it is really OK to make mistakes. Let them know you really support their decisions. Employees often report that someone is always looking over their shoulder to make sure they do things right.
7. Listen. Listen. Listen.
Do you do most of the talking? Employees often report that conversations are one way, comprised mostly of their ideas being criticized. They don’t feel they are heard.
8. Be interested in the employees’ career development.
Meet with employees and discover their goals and their wants. Employees often report that their goals are not viewed as important in the organization.
9. Let the employees help you achieve success.
Are you doing it all yourself? Employees often report that their managers do all the tasks and that they have no way to make contributions outside their job descriptions. Look for opportunities to delegate and enhance the employees’ career development at the same time.
10. Be a coach.
The best way to empower employees is not to manage them. Coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Employees often report feeling like children rather than being on the same team with their bosses. Be their coach and lead the team to success!

For more information visit Strategic Solutions website at www.stratsolutions.net.