Welcome to the Team!

No matter how strong, or how long your team has worked together, you will eventually need to introduce a new team member into the group.  The circumstances vary, from someone obtaining a better position, a retirement, an unfortunate departure or an expansion of the business.  Sometimes that departure is simply inevitable – the individual has the talent and desire to grow beyond the current experience that is available to them. If you have challenged them with all the opportunities you can - Congratulations!  And help them to reach that next level – it’s your role as a leader. 

Sometimes the departure is overdue. Someone who all enjoyed (or not!) but had ceased to make a real contribution to the growth of the organization, or to grow themselves.  You may be surprised to hear a small sigh of relief from everyone involved once the change has occurred. And yes, that is your role as a leader as well, although certainly not an easy one.

And when we have an opportunity to expand the team, stretching our muscles on a new project or taking advantage of an opportunity in the marketplace, the addition of a new team member can be welcome and exciting!  They can bring fresh ideas and perspective, with extra hands to help achieve the work of the team.

No matter what the situation, there is one thing for certain. The dynamics of the group are going to change. They simply will.  The skill mix and personality of the individuals in the room suddenly tilt, perhaps exposing some gaps, but ideally bringing new life and energy to the team.

Assuming that every hire is a key hire, one would expect that the individual we have selected will be the “perfect” person for the role within the team.  If we have clearly identified and qualified for skills on the front end – great!  The chances go up considerably that the individual can perform the role.  But the question of “fit” is a different dynamic entirely, and will be shaped by the preparation, and integration of the new team member into the group.  Here are a few things to consider:

Clarity of Roles – Now would be a great time to talk openly about the roles and work load of each of the existing team members. Has it become imbalanced?  Is there someone on the team who is ready to take on added responsibilities? Are there untapped talents in the room – or within other areas of your company? It’s a perfect opportunity to maximize the talents and potential of your existing team – before you finalize the role of the open position so you can hire accordingly.

Welcome Aboard! – How do you introduce that individual into the team?  Do you have a plan of orientation beyond the HR manual!? Do you personally welcome them aboard, and take them to meet other staff members? I like to get the entire group together for an informal lunch or dinner within the first week as well. Breaking bread can be a great way to get personality on the table early, and eliminate a bit of the discomfort for the new team member.  

Assign a Peer Mentor - Is there a key team member that they will need to have an extra strong connection with?  Establish their relationship by having one help the other in learning the ropes of the company.  Building that critical working relationship right out the gate can help to identify minor challenges and resolve them early, leading to lead to quick success. 

Be available.   It is critical to build rapport and provide guidance for them as their new boss in order to establish trust as early in the relationship as possible. So be sure to be there for them, but with enough space to let them know you hired them for a reason, and have confidence in that decision. 

Team dynamics will effect the total performance, and as the leader, you have a great deal to do in guiding and directing how those dynamics may form.  Eventually the team norms will reestablish with the new team member in the mix, and can do so at a higher level than they may have been prior with a thoughtful approach on your part.

Excellence in Execution

In today’s rapidly changing media landscape, we must adapt to the environment faster than ever before in order to keep up with the competition and grow the value of our business within the local marketplace.  It’s critical to identify and successfully implement new strategies for serving our audiences and advertisers, the way they want to be served.

A new strategy without a clear plan of execution, however, can quickly become wishful thinking, “just another idea”, or an opportunity lost.  A recent survey of CEO’s by the American Management Association found that strategy execution was either their #1 or #2 concern in successfully moving their business forward. Excellence in execution is a process, a series of decisions and actions over time.

So how can you ensure that the new strategy your team has so diligently explored is acted upon and in a manner that achieves the highest level of success possible?  It revolves around three things:  People, Plan, and the Process.

1. Clearly establish responsibilities with the key leaders from each area of your company who will be involved in the implementation and, ultimately, the results of the endeavor.  Team engagement and shared accountability for the outcomes is critical for follow through toward accomplishing the strategic goal.

2. The goals must be attainable and progressive.  Carefully lay out the tactics, timelines and options with the team.  Explore best case scenarios and possible obstacles in advance in order to build confidence toward the teams’ success.  Then provide them the right amount of time and resources - setting the team up to win!

3. Communicate deeply and clearly within the organization as to the “Why” and the “How” of the strategy.  Everyone from the receptionist to the morning team should understand and embrace the opportunity, know how it will help your customers and audience, and ultimately grow the business.

4. Establish metrics, and report back frequently and publicly on the progress against the strategic goals to the entire company.  Be sure to celebrate the successful completion of milestones along the way, recognizing and encouraging the team members involved.

5. Solicit Feedback – from within, from your customers, from the community at large. Monitor the progress and adapt to any changes in the environment. Once potential adjustments to the plan are validated, work with the team to adjust tactics swiftly in order to take advantage of those ideas to create an even greater outcome.

Your key role as the leader is to ensure that the vision for the strategy is a known priority from the top to the bottom.  The team and staff will be taking their cue from you as to the true commitment to moving the strategic opportunity forward.  You must consistently and persistently relay the message. And remember, if everything is a priority, then nothing is.

Hero on a White Horse

The story books paint the picture of the lovely maiden looking for a hero to come riding in on a white horse to save her from the evils of the day.  While I have never had that kind of hero show up in my back yard, I have a handful of individuals who have been my version thereof.  Broadcast Engineers.  Yes.  That’s right. The team members in the back room of your radio or television operation who baffle the majority of us in the front room as to what they actually do. My love of the art and science of engineering began in my college days, but that will be a story for another day. 

Today, April 5th, 2014, marks the 50th anniversary of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. There will be thousands of engineers in attendance at NAB this year, working the massive halls displaying the latest engineering technology and sharing innovative concepts for the future of an integrated media world.  Here is my story about one such hero.

In 1999, I was charged with launching a start-up television station in Peoria, Illinois. I had hit the ground running with all of the roles familiar to me – locate potential studio space, line up a CPA, start interviewing for sales and staff positions, plan and acquire the program content. And then my phone rang.  It was a call from the president of the company expressing his concern that the build-out at the transmitter site had stalled and he needed me to go out there and get a report back to him immediately.  I had barely been in town a week, so navigating to the remote location took a bit of time. To my shock, the only road in was an insanely steep incline to the bottom of a dry riverbed, and back up again to the transmitter location.  My report was as follows: “There’s no one here. The building is locked. There is an antenna on the tower, but I don’t see any transmission line. There is no evidence of air conditioning units on or around the building, and the big crate sitting outside in the mud reads Acrodyne.  I think it’s your transmitter.” Fortunately my love of engineering had provided me enough knowledge to be reasonably intelligent in the assessment.

His directive was very clear. You need to get it built. The construction permit expires in 3 weeks, and the FCC won’t give an extension again. Millions of dollars are at stake. Find a consulting engineer.

I sat on the hood of my car, pondering the situation. How in the world was this going to be possible? I knew no one in the region, and really good transmitter engineers don’t just drop from the sky. I had been starring at that sky for 10 minutes or so - just in case - when it happened. A hero on a white horse came to my rescue. Ok, make that in a shiny white pickup truck.  He stepped out of the vehicle, asked who I was, and then responded with “I came down from Iowa City today just in case. I’ve been waiting for someone to show up.”  And the pact was made. He had the ability to get the job done.  I had the gold card.

Sometimes the Leader's job is to provide the support, and then get out of the way.

As a leader, we can often be most valuable by removing any and all obstacles in order for our team to accelerate their performance and to rise up to overcome challenges, and make them as comfortable and encouraged as possible during the situation. Upon driving the president to his first inspection, he declared he would only walk into the sight from that point forward. In meeting with the road commissioner, he indicated that the grade would not have passed code, except that it was a private road so he could do nothing about the situation.  At a certain point, the site became virtually inaccessible due to weather conditions, losing a vehicle over the cliff.  Suppliers refused to drive into the site, leaving our team to transport or physically carry equipment and supplies.  Torrential rains stranded an electrical installation team on the opposite side of the river with no way out of the site overnight. 

The  project was fraught with issues, from an insufficient power supply resulting in less than desirable outcome, parking a remote production truck at the site to provide a temporary control room to commence operations, to figuring out how to get a truckload of glycol, considered hazardous material, on site.   Every step of the way, my engineering hero was there with his trusty sidekick to ensure solutions so that we would make the deadline come hell or - literally -high water.  

It was a crazy, stressful, exhilarating time for everyone involved. I learned more about transmitters than I ever imagined from my engineer. But there are two things that have really stuck with me.  Number one: the moment when my engineer showed me a television monitor with a test pattern on it, and with great pride on his face, pointed to the tower, simply stating “It’s coming from up there”. We’d made the 3 week deadline…with about 18 hours to spare.  And number two: the importance of ensuring a well fed crew, especially my heroes Cap & Coke with a special order of Bimini Shrimp at the Outback Bar.

Unsung engineering heroes are all around us. Make sure you recognize who they are and appreciate the heck out of them. Today, and every day.

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 Throughout her career, Julie Brinks has naturally migrated toward challenging and complex senior leadership positions in the broadcast industry, successfully bridging technology , content, marketing and business roles.  Regarded as a turn around specialist, she serves as a business consultant and executive coach with a focus on helping leaders overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. 

Teach a Girl to Fish

I cannot recall a time when I did not know how to fish.  Apparently my grandparents and Dad taught me as soon as I could hold a pole.  When we would arrive at our cottage in northern Michigan, I would head straight for the dock to see if I could land a blue gill before the car was even unpacked. As a pre-teen, I would spend hours of peaceful isolation out on the lake in the small boat my Dad custom outfitted for me.  Fondly named "Slow Poke II", it was not designed for speed - it was for fishing.

Decades later I found myself back in northern Michigan running a television station. My sales team was having a tough second quarter, and as an incentive I promised them a "Grand" adventure if we hit our number.  They hit it.  They exceeded it.  I was thrilled to makegood on that promise.

I invited them to meet at a particular spot on Grand Traverse Bay on Friday at 11am and dress for a day in the sun.  When they began to arrive, some responded with glee at the unexpected prospect of spending an afternoon on a luxury fishing charter stocked with gourmet food and enough libations to get us through an afternoon on the bay. Others....not so much.  Particularily the girls.  In fact, I quickly learned that only one other female member of the staff  had ever fished before.  Thinking on my feet, I designated one of the charters as the "fishing" group, and the other charter as the "sun bathing" group. The later also had a very nice looking young man as the 1st mate who would help set the downriggers, which was rather well received by the sun bathing group. For the propect of fishing, of course.  

We were launched on one of the most amazing fishing excursions ever, for many reasons.  Comfortable early July temps, clear blue skies with just a wisp of clouds, calm navigation on one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the world, and a great group of people enjoying it together. At one point we were wowed by the practice run of the entire Blue Angels Air Show directly overhead. And the fish were biting, at least for us with the "fishing" group.

This is where the story really gets awesome.  About an hour and a half into the trip, we heard a few faint squeals from the "sun bathing" charter, which was located several hundred yards away.  Shortly thereafter, my cell phone rang.  A soft voice on the other end of the phone said sheepishly, "Julie...we caught a fish. Have you guys caught any?".   

One Small Success can ignite the fire of desire for more.

And so it began.  Each time a line was set, and a fish reeled in, the decibel of the squeals from across the lake grew.  My cell phone rang.  The tally was updated.  The squeals were louder. The cell phone rang.  The tally was larger. Louder...larger...louder...larger. You can't throw down a challenge like that and not expect a response, especially from a fired up group of sales people.  Everyone on the lake that day went home with their own personally caught fresh Lake Michigan White Fish, fully filleted by our charter captains and crew. Everyone except me.  

As a leader, we should be all about creating opportunities for success for our team. Inspiring them. Challenging them.  Celebrating with them.  Take time to figure out how to bring new ideas and experiences their way.  By doing that, you will end up creating your own success as well.  What kind of desire for success can you ignite with your team today??? 

P.S.  I was the last to reel in a catch that afternoon...and it was the only King Salmon. The End.

A Rock in the Hand

As a freshman entering high school, auditions for the marching band started with band camp in the heat of August.  As an oboe player, I was a leader. The entire orchestra tuned their instruments to me.  In the marching band, however, double reeds were relegated to flag duty or to the percussion section. A flag girl I was not, so I agreed to wield a big sideways piano played with a mallet called a glockenspiel.  On the first day of camp, all of the freshmen were gathered into a group to begin to learn the marching maneuvers.  That was when the terrible reality came out.  I....the queen of the music world....was direction-ally challenged.  I literally didn't know my right from my left.  A glockenspiel colliding with a slide trombone on the field was a surefire disaster.

Mr. Scheidel, our music director, had apparently dealt with this particular challenge before.  He came over and placed a rock in my left hand.  He then said, "Every time you hear the drum major say flank left, turn toward the rock."   It worked.  Not only did it work, but by my senior year, I was the drum major and was also writing charts for the field formations that the band would perform each week.  The secret to my success was that I still carried that rock in my left pocket during every performance.

Challenges can often be overcome by a slight shift in perspective. 

But was it my perspective that shifted, or was it that of my music director?  You see, he recognized that I was not going to respond correctly to the instructions by purely an aural cue.   In my case, I needed to connect the verbal command to something physical in order to perform. As leaders, a significant part of our role is to effectively guide indivduals on our team to overcome challenges. By recognizing which types of cues they respond to best - pictures, words, experiences - then adapting our teaching moments to their learning style, we can help accelerate them toward great performance.

Is someone on your team having a performance challenge? Do they struggle with something that seems easy and natural to everyone else?  Are you??  

During many live newscasts I have heard the control room director tell the camera operator to "pan left", and then heard them relay the command again as "your other left". Listen closely….observe fully. Perhaps they just need you to give them a rock in the hand. 

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Throughout her career, Julie Brinks has naturally migrated toward challenging and complex senior leadership positions in the broadcast industry, successfully bridging technology , content, marketing and business roles.  Regarded as a turn around specialist, she serves as a business consultant and executive coach with a focus on helping leaders overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.