Leadership Magazine: The paradox of Leadership, December 2016

Leadership, December 2016 pg 112 and 113

Whether you are revered or reviled as a leader the basics of leadership are clearly the same. The myriad of business books, workshops, courses and advisors go on about the importance of a vision, determination and consistency of message. It wasn’t until the recent presidential election in the United States of America, that these ideals were proved beyond any doubt.

In one week, two significant events occurred in America. The country’s politics were turned on its head with the election of Donald Trump as its 45th president, while in the business sphere Mark Zuckerberg was nominated Fortune’s Businessperson of the year. These are two very different individuals in leadership positions who have made history in unique ways. Their approach to achieving their success was, however, quite similar.

Both set audacious goals, the one to run America, the other to socially connect the world through technology. Once they knew what it was that they wanted to achieve, they had a laser focus on reaching that goal; everything that they said and did edged them closer to achieving their objectives and no distractions deterred them from their mission.

An organisation’s reputation starts with its leaders setting the right tone for the rest of the business. This can only be done when there is a very clear strategic intent and understanding of what the business’ core purpose is, as well as what the underlying values are in achieving those goals. This is the golden thread that will need to be communicated to all the different stakeholders internally and externally to the organisation.

It is not just about communication, it is about walking the talk; and delivering on promises made, i.e. consistency of messages and actions. Even though the message presented by both the president-elect and Zuckerberg were completely different, they both communicated their ideals consistently.

Another important aspect that impacts an organisation’s reputation is its strategic alliances; who you associate yourself with impacts your reputation. A shared vision and core values are important for any organisation as it allows people to understand where you are going, encouraging continuous support and help in achieving your end result.

South Africans can draw many valuable lessons from the recent leadership examples in America. I think it is safe to say that our own leadership has impacted our country’s reputation. I find it sad when talented individuals emigrate due to the crime and corruption rife within South Africa. What annoys me is when these individuals comment on various social media platforms from abroad on how the country should be ruled. Leaving the country does not solve anything. 

We all need to become the leaders of our own lives. What are the lessons that we can take heed of? 

Setting audacious goals: what would happen if we all, as South African citizens, had the daring goal of focussing on being the best possible citizen / business owner / employee that we could be?

Consistent actions and messages: every day we need to tenaciously work towards achieving our goals, not allowing ourselves to be distracted for one moment from the end goal of being the best possible version of ourselves that we can be. What would that do for our society, country and own reputation?

We need to be the leaders of our own destiny. So, as we wrap up this year and strategize for next year, let us not be complacent, let us be bold in our actions and set the examples we wish that our leaders had set for us.

Keen to continue the reputation conversation? Join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook
www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.

Midweek wisdom

BizConnect: Why your human resources influences your business’ credibility

My latest BizConnect contribution.

Employees are an important component when it comes to building and managing your business’ reputation. 

When taking the plunge to start your own business, it’s tempting to try and do everything for everyone by yourself. How often do you say to yourself: “I’ll save money if I just quickly do this myself” or, “No one will do it as well as I can”

It may seem that you’ve saved money by doing it yourself, however, in many instances, the reality is that you are doing yourself and your company a great disservice by trying to cut corners.

Here are a few reasons why it’s important to build a solid team around you, instead of fighting battles on your own:

The time that you spend doing that activity is not ‘free’ at all

As the owner of a company, your hourly rate value is on par with your elevated position. Would you pay someone, for example, R1000 an hour to staple together a few documents? It doesn’t make sense does it? Why then are you spending your precious time doing it? One of the key habits to get into, and learn early on, in your entrepreneurial journey is to delegate tasks accordingly.

You need to remember that you are now a business owner, and your main focus needs to be on steering the ship. You can’t do that if you are slowed down by day-to-day admin and operations. This doesn’t mean that you ignore it totally, but you have to have someone skilled on board who can focus on day-to-day activities. This enables you to focus on your core business.

There are some great virtual support options out there that you could invest in on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis to help manage the administrative side of your business. In this way, you don’t have to invest in a full-time employee right away, if budgets won’t permit.

The sooner you start documenting your processes the better

Write down every activity in a step-by-step format. Record it exactly how you perform the task and in as much detail as possible.

By doing this, should that task need to be repeated, you can hand the step-by-step document to someone who can then perform the task exactly the way that you would have.

“I was always rather reluctant to relinquish control when sending out media releases. Subsequently, I wrote down the process I took and included all the possible steps I could think of. The next time we had to send out a media release, I had to take a leap of faith and hand the media release and step-by-step guide over to a team member. All the steps were followed and I had a lot more time on my hands to focus on other key business areas. My only annoyance was that I had not handed over the reins (and step-by-step document) sooner!”

Documenting the process identifies gaps; when things are not done correctly, we go back to the operating manual, working through the steps to see whether it is a gap in the document (which we then update) or identify team member training to prevent similar future mistakes.

The following core team should be on your side when first starting out in your business:

Bear in mind that all of these services can be outsourced before you invest in full-time employees, in order for you to focus on your core business:

• Accountants should be up-to-date on the latest SARS and VAT requirements, and guide you accordingly. They will also be able to assist you with payroll when the need arises.

• Labour consultants will give you advice about the latest labour laws, and provide guidance when you need employment contracts and employment management best practices.

• Administrators who help with the day-to-day admin activities by confirming meetings, filing documents and creating general order is invaluable. They allow you to focus on building your business.

You may feel that you are able to juggle all of your organisational tasks and requirements, unfortunately, there are only so many which you can realistically manage before they all come crashing down. Just remember that your reputation, and the business’s credibility, is at stake if you try to do everything yourself.

Midweek Wisdom

Leadership Magazine: Fixing a reputation is simple, not easy November 2016

Here's the link to the article, it's on page 142.

Everyone has a reputation, albeit a good or bad one. The question in business is, what percentage of your own leadership style is contributing to the overall reputation of your organisation?

Before we answer that, let’s take a step back and look at the ‘so what?’ of reputation management. Why is reputation important? A research study conducted by the World Economic Forum found that 25% of an organisation’s bottom line is linked to its reputation. A quarter of the value of your organisation boils down to how you are perceived. With this in mind it’s worth getting a thorough understanding of what is building or breaking down your reputation.

People want to be associated with companies with a positive reputation, because by association they also look good. Companies with a good reputation are incredibly focussed on what it is they want to do, and how they are going to get there. They are clear on the values that drive their decision making. This central message is echoed through all the different channels of communication to their various stakeholder groups. When everyone has a very clear understanding of where they are going, it is a lot easier to be innovative and look for ways to achieve the desired end point, without being distracted by the unimportant.

Organisations perceived to have strong, stable brands, attract top employees; they can pick and choose from the talent pool and decide who they want on their team. They will opt for strong candidates that resonate with the company’s values, people who can perform at a certain level to ensure expected outcomes. Having the top recruits on board and giving them the freedom to be innovative, encourages growth within the organisation. Customers can then invest their hard earned cash into a particular product or service that they really want. Profits earned by the company can be used to re-invest into the teams and technology as well as making socially responsible commitments to uplift the communities within which they operate. All of this contributes to the overall reputation of the organisation.

The same goes for an organisation that does not have a positive reputation; it will be difficult to recruit a team as low morale impacts productivity. Service delivery will be affected and ultimately the investments that customers are willing to make will be compromised; leaving the crux of what keeps the business afloat in serious doubt.

Returning to the question posed earlier, what impact does your personal reputation have on the business? In my opinion, most people in senior positions think that they can separate their personal life from business. As much as you may want to keep your personal life just that, personal; your work and personal life will embody the same values. You can’t have a different set of values when you are at work and then chop and change it around when you head back home. When it comes to reputation management, three key words pertinent for any leader, are authenticity, integrity and consistency.

Your core values and the way that you conduct yourself on a daily basis filter down through the organisation. You are steering the ship and leading by example. I do sometimes wonder what example the leaders of our country are setting for our nation. With that said it’s not only a question for South Africa, take a look at the current USA election race. What example is this ‘first world’ country setting for the rest of the world? People in high places seem to get away with making ridiculous statements to get attention; they rant and rave on public forums, but at what cost to their reputation?

On a recent flight to Johannesburg I had a conversation about this specific topic with a gentleman who hit the nail on the head when he said, “It is the arrogance of power that lets people think that they can get away with the things that they say and do in the public domain.”

Is that perhaps why we have so many young people making ludicrous statements where, to the rest of us, they are clearly losing sight of reality by thinking that rules are no longer applicable to them? The recent #sciencemustfall farce is one example. In times like this I return to the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln who said, 

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.”

With that said, it is about knowing what to say and when. Once you’ve uttered a word, it cannot be unsaid. When we present media training workshops, we always warn participants against “going off record,” if you don’t want it in the public space, don’t mention it. I think people often say and do things without thinking about the consequences; the thrill of the attention is blinding and leads to over inflated egos that need continuous feeding. When the attention dwindles, they think of more absurd ways to feed the ego monster.

Can a reputation be rectified if you’ve done something dodgy or said something incredibly stupid? Fixing a reputation is simple, but not easy, and some situations can’t just be “PR’d” away. If you’ve messed up, take responsibility, own up to it, be empathetic to those that are affected and indicate what you plan on doing to prevent this from happening again. It boils down to the three pillars of reputation that I mentioned earlier; being authentic, having integrity and showing consistency. The key is to apply these words to every aspect of your personal and business life.

Keen to continue the reputation conversation? Join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.

Beeld: Belê in die beste mense vir jou maatskappy, en bou 'n goeie reputasie, 26 Oktober 2016

Here's the English version:

Selecting the cream of the crop for your organisation

“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur”, wise words from Red Adair, an American oil well fire fighter.

When managing the reputation of any organisation, investing in the right people to do the job means that you are investing in the quality of your output.

Regine le Roux, Managing Director at Reputation Matters, mentions that human capital is a vital element when establishing and building on a positive reputation for your organisation: “Identifying the right calibre of people during the recruitment phase is directly aligned to the strategic intent of the organisation; knowing exactly where you are going with your business and who you need on your team to get you there. Getting this right at the onset will save you a lot of time, frustration and money in the future.”

How do you select the cream of the crop for different positions? Here are some tips:

1.     Set up strategic alliances: In order for you to build your reputation, you would need to employ individuals who can do the job and be an ambassador for your organisation. “At Reputation Matters we have really good strategic alliances that helps feed the recruitment funnel. We have a great relationship with the University of Pretoria’s Communication Management Department and offer their top BCom Communication Management honours students internship opportunities with us,” mentions le Roux.

2.     Implement a rigorous recruitment programme: Having a set recruitment programme for all applicants, in both small and larger organisations, is essential. “By having an in-depth online application form or process, you will be able to determine whether the person is serious about wanting the position; if they are, they will complete the form in full. It also demonstrates their basic use of spelling, grammar and industry knowledge,” says le Roux.

3.     Test their communication skills and contact references: The next round should always involve a phone call to determine how the candidates handle themselves telephonically. If they pass with flying colours, the first face-to-face interview is set up. “Should the interview go well, check references and then do personality profiling to get an idea of how they will fit in with the rest of the team. Culture fit is extremely important in any organisation and this needs to be determined from the get go,” adds le Roux.

4.     Presentation of a case study: “As the final step of our recruitment process, the candidate is given a case study to prepare and present to our team. By implementing this, we are able to pick the best candidates for different positions as it often highlights their strengths and shows their way of thinking,” mentions le Roux.

Le Roux explains that once you have selected the ideal candidate, a thorough induction is necessary to help them get to grips with ‘how things are done around here’. “During this session the vision, core values and culture are discussed. This instils a level of respect and understanding for the organisation and leaves very little room for misinterpretation; it helps the candidate grasp exactly what the expectations are. This important step links back to strategic intent and operational governance, with the message and vision being reiterated right from the top,” says le Roux.

Building a reputation is about getting the right team in place from the onset, ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding the business goals and vision.

For more information on managing and investing in your reputation, visit www.reputationmatters.co.za or call +27 (0)11 317 3861. Reputation Matters is also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters) and Twitter (@ReputationIsKey).

Motivation through storytelling

It really is all about how you make others feel. Great video on the effectiveness of getting your team to share stories and motivating each other:

BizConnect: Clear the clutter you normally overlook in business

Here's my latest BizConnect contribution:

Make time to clear out the clutter and remember to clean up your databases too. Engaging with the wrong people will waste a lot of your precious time, and we know that time it money.

Spring Cleaning

Isn’t it interesting how quickly spaces can get cluttered with non-essential items, not to mention how paperwork can pile up on your desk?

Spring is in the air and it is time to clear the clutter.  Something to consider adding to your ‘to-do’ list of things that need to be up to date and cleaned out is your database of contacts.

Would I be right in assuming that you have a massive database of contacts?

As entrepreneurs, we feel that we want to reach out to as many people as possible and we often believe that our product or service is something that anybody or any business can use. If your answer is “everybody” when you get asked who your clients are, then the next part is specifically for you.

Not everybody is right for you. Let’s face it, there are clients and projects that you enjoy a lot more than others.

Have a look at your client list, current and past, and do a quick analysis of who you really enjoyed working with. Determine which projects were most profitable, which the energy drainers were, and which took way too long and was least cost effective.  The aim is to find those projects and people that you resonate with the most. This is definitely one of the things that I should’ve, could’ve done a lot sooner on my own entrepreneurial journey. I’ve spent way too many hours on projects that were not quite aligned to our core service, which took away a lot of valuable time from pursuing the ones we really enjoy working on. Once we identified who exactly our target was and as we continue to refine it, it is as if those puzzle pieces fall so much quicker and easier into place.

Work through your contacts on LinkedIn and see whether all of those connections are truly beneficial.

If you don’t use a Customer Relationship Management System, invest in one. Business is about forming relationships, and keeping track of these relationships are key to building your business. Personally, I like a programme called OnePage, which enables us to keep track of all our engagements with leads and clients. Make sure that the names and surnames are spelled correctly, their position, contact numbers are correct and that you have their correct email address.

This is important for when you share marketing material; if you are going to personally address them and you don’t spell their name correctly it won’t be the greatest first impression that you are making.

Having an updated contact database is also crucial from a crisis communication and management perspective. Let’s say there is a crisis; are you in a position to contact emergency services, employees, suppliers, partners, and the media at the drop of a hat? What if it is over the weekend? Does everyone know who to contact?  Not communicating quickly enough, especially during a crisis, to the right people can have a massive reputational risk for you and your business.

Keen to continue the reputation management conversation? Join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.

Do you have a reputation management question? Send your query through to Regine on: regine@reputationmatters.co.za

Leadership Magazine: Keep them interested from start to finish

Here's my latest Leadership Magazine contribution:

At a recent conference, I sat in a session where I was (unpleasantly) surprised by a key speaker who read to us; I had looked forward to the session and really wanted to hear what the person had to share, alas my attention and interest levels dwindled when the monotonous tone of her reading droned on.

For the love of all things that matter, when you are asked to speak at a conference, please don’t address the audience by reading your speech or presentation to them.

When you are a speaker, you would have been asked to address the audience because you are an expert and / or leader in a certain field. I totally appreciate that public speaking is not everybody’s cup of tea. In that case, if you are in a leadership position, or get asked to speak to a group of people on a regular basis, invest in an expert’s help to overcome your fear of public speaking; the investment is well worth it. My recommendation is to consider investing your time and money in an organisation such as Toastmasters. It’s a great way to practice speaking in front of a crowd and to build confidence, helping you realise that the earth won’t swallow you up when you open your mouth. They will also teach you all the different public speaking protocols and etiquette nuances that you need to make a lasting impression with your speech.

If, however, you’ve just been asked to deliver a presentation and you need a few immediate tricks, these are my eight favourite tips to get you through your speech:

1.     Write it, don’t read it: By all means, write out your speech if this will help you to structure it and to see where best to bring in your key points and messages.  However, please don’t be inclined to take all the folios of paper with you to the podium. This will pose an unnecessary temptation for you to read it. If you’re not quite ready to address the audience without your ‘paper crutch’, then consider writing down keywords onto cue cards that you can use as prompts throughout.

2.    Text is boring: You can use PowerPoint very effectively as a prompt as well. Don’t be tempted to present slides and slides of text to your audience. Being presented with a lot of text is boring and you will lose your audience’s attention. People are generally visual beings. Instead of a slide with a lot of text on it, consider using an interesting image or cartoon with a couple of keywords and then speak around each image. People are there to listen to you, not to read your slides.

3.    Tell a story: you’ll have a more engaged audience if you share a story or something personal with them. Not only will your audience be keen to hear more, they are a lot more likely to listen to you and remember what you said.

4.     Don’t forget the eyes: When you read your presentation, your eyes are cast down and you immediately cut off your connection with the audience. Make eye contact with different members of the crowd throughout your speech in order to make them feel involved. Be warned, this could be a bit difficult if everyone has their faces buried in their phones (hopefully) tweeting away about your amazing talk. Cast your eyes, then, to the non-tweeters.

5.     Don’t worry if you forget: the audience are there to listen to you and your insights; they don’t know what you were or were not going to say. You are the expert, so if you’ve forgotten something during the talk, don’t worry about it. You can always swing back to a point if you remember it later on.

6.     Practice practice practice, the more familiar you are with the content and what you want to say, the easier it will be and the less you will be tempted to look at your notes! There is an old adage, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. We are often quite surprised as to what our voices sound like, so practise out loud; don’t just practise your speech in your head. Record yourself in order to pick up any unnecessary repetition or any ‘crutch words’ which you may tend to rely on, as these could potentially detract from what you are saying. Practising in front of the mirror will also help make you aware of any gestures that could distract the audience.

Earlier this year I had to present at a conference. There was a technology glitch with the system, which basically meant that I had to start presenting while they pressed buttons to try and get my presentation onto the screen. If I had not known my presentation backwards and had practised it many many times, it could have been absolutely disastrous. As murphy would have it, the presentation worked the minute I finished answering the last question.

7.     Mic up: personally, I don’t like microphones; however, you really do want the person at the back of the room to hear you too. If there isn’t a microphone, practice projecting your voice, you’ll lose your audience if you are too quiet. Also, practise using pauses throughout (note them in your cue cards if need be), it can make quite an impact to get a point across… if used correctly.

8.   Time yourself: Ensure that you know how long you are talking for and that there is enough time for questions. Regardless of how interesting your talk is, keep to the time allocation, in this way you are respecting the time of your audience.

Make sure that your speech is remembered for all the right reasons.

Keen to continue the reputation conversation? Join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.

CNBC Africa interview: 03 October 2016

Reputation does matter, arrogance of power leads to reputations being ruined. Can reputations be fixed? Only if leaders take accountability for their actions. Watch the full interview: CNBC Africa interview

Leadership Magazine: The Master's Voice

Leadership Magazine, page 118

Jack of all trades, master of none; is your communication expert a good fit?

If you were to handle a lawsuit without the necessary legal advice and council, or audit your own books without the needed skills of a professional, you know that you are setting yourself up for failure. Not investing in professional help in either of these could have a dire impact on your business on so many levels. Communication, if not managed professionally, will also negatively impact your business and you could run the risk of ruining your reputation.

Fortunately, more companies are seeing the benefit of investing in their reputations compared to ten years ago. Unfortunately, there are many charlatans out there that have jumped on the ‘reputation’ band wagon and have taken many organisations for a Public Relations (PR) ride. I honestly can’t blame some companies for being wary about investing in communication / PR agencies; I’ve heard some shocking revelations of what some agencies get away with, with high retainer fees to boot!

Whether or not you are sceptical about engaging in the services of a communication manager, have been dabbling with the thought of getting someone on board, or just wondering whether you are getting the most out of your current service provider, use the pointers below to help find or confirm that you have the right communication fit in your organisation. This will essentially help you to manage and maximise your communication initiatives to ultimately take your reputation to the next level.

What should you look for when selecting a communication consultancy?

Firstly, have an agreed road map:

• Does the agency make an effort to understand your organisation? They need to live the brand to effectively communicate about the organisation. If they are not integrally involved in what you do, how can they successfully communicate to others what you do?
• Do they ask about the business’ goals and is this incorporated into the overall communication goals?
• Is there a clear agreed upon communication vision? Does this feed into the overall business vision?
• How do they bill?  This is quite a grey area, especially as there are no set industry fees and rates. Some agencies bill per hour and allocate a set number of hours to each client. Other prefer to bill per project, while others opt for a retainer fee. Personally I recommend a monthly retainer fee with very clear deliverables that need to be reported on. Building a reputation takes time, and it is quite tricky to do this if the focus is only on an ad hoc project basis. With a retainer you can have a much longer term view and build a stronger relationship if both parties know where you are heading to and what it is going to take to get there. I do understand that investing in a retainer could be quite daunting especially if you have not had a good experience in the past. Consider negotiating a shorter term engagement and take stock after a couple of months to see what is working, what is not working and readjust where necessary.

Secondly, find out about range of expertise of the agency.

• Are they able to cater for your specific needs? What is tremendously helpful is to give a comprehensive brief of what you require. This will make your life considerably easier when it comes to evaluating the proposals received.
• Find out what their area of expertise is. Many agencies offer a full integrated communication service. - be wary of this. Ultimately there will be one area that they are far better at and that they will focus on more. You want a specialist to help you, not a jack of all trades. Collaboration is the name of game; consider a couple of experts in different areas.
• It’s good to find out what experience they have in your particular market and particular disciplines. With that said, if an agency has not worked in a specific industry, don’t let that put you off. A fresh pair of eyes could just be what is needed on a new approach to get your message out there.  

Thirdly, who will be working on the account: resourcing?

There are pros and cons when it comes to investing in a ‘one-man-show’ versus a dedicated team (agency).

When you invest in a consultant, you are investing in receiving their personalised service, unfortunately when they are ill or go on holiday there isn’t a backup team that can help out.

Investing in an agency gives you team support, and you have a group of experts to tap into as opposed to just one person. The snag is that when the proposal gets sent to you, you are promised the highest calibre resources and then once the contract is signed, you are assigned the newest intern to manage your account. You can and need to be quite clear who you would like to work on your account from the beginning.

Regardless of who you select to work with, the most important thing is that there is a good rapport between you and them.

The fourth area to look at is measuring the results.

•  Find out what the measurement / return on investment of the service will be. Having clearly defined goals in place helps immensely to make sure that all parties are on the same page and knows what need to be done. You could consider linking a deliverable to a business goal.
•  How and when will progress be discussed; a monthly report is highly recommended to keep track of progress, as well as quarterly or annual review.

Finally, the agency’s reputation matters. Make sure that their values resonate with those of your company. Ask for references, and speak to their current and previous clients. Find out whether they belong to the industry body, as there would be a code of ethics that members would agree to. How do well-informed people judge the consultancy? Lastly, do they practice what they preach? Read their work, and also see how they represent themselves in the media.

To recap when it comes to investing in a communication agency:

• Have an agreed road map; align the communication strategy to the business;
• Confirm the range of expertise that the agency has to offer. Would a specialist or jack of all trades work best for you?
• Find out who you will be working with. Make sure that you resonate with the person or team that you end up working with;
• Have clear measurable goals in place to track progress and to measure your return on investment and finally;
• Reputations matter, investigate the agency thoroughly and get feedback from current and previous clients before investing in a long term engagement.

To continue the reputation management conversation, join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.

Book: Scaling Up, Verne Harnish

I received this book from a business coaching organisation, which I am very grateful for. For my own personal reasons I have a slightly dim view when it comes to coaches; I do however totally agree with the concept of it. I'll leave my thoughts about the subject for another time. 

I really enjoyed this book, it focuses on People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. You don't have to read it in that order. I read the strategy part first; personally I feel that you should first have your business' strategy in place, know where you are heading to, before you can put the other pieces of the business together. I really liked the templates that they provided, and I look forward to working through it with my team during our next strategy session as well. There are wonderful lessons and examples for each of the focus areas. I've really enjoyed working through the book every morning before work. 

Verne Harnish also has a really good newsletter, which is worth subscribing to. 

Highly recommendable.

Are you making time for the big rocks in your life?

Sometimes it is good to be reminded of some life lessons, especially when we feel that life becomes all-consuming with emails / social media / unimportant little things.

This video clip of Stephen Covey is worth investing 12:30 minutes of your time (it’s an oldie, so enjoy the fashion).

The Happiness Advantage

Worth investing 12:29 minutes of your time to watch this video. Whose up for the 21 day challenge?

For those who don't want to watch the video, here's the 'cheat sheet':
Create lasting positive change by incorporating the following into your day:

1. Three gratitudes
2. Journaling, write about one positive experience in the last 24 hours
3. Excercise
4. Meditation
5. Random Acts of kindness

BizConnect: Manners Matter

Here's my latest BizConnect contribution.

‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ are in most people’s vocabulary; yet tend to be the most under used words on a daily basis. Manners, using them are just common decency; not using it may tarnish how you are perceived and ultimately contribute to your reputation (bad or good!).

As an entrepreneur, it is about building relationships; people want to do business with people that they respect and trust. Four basic manners to keep in your artillery:

Say ‘please’: the other day I attended a meeting, the convenor of the meeting was all over the show darting off orders here and delegating there to help get the meeting room set up. During all the requests for assistance something struck me, not once during this time did they say please. Yes, you may say they were under pressure to get everything set up, however too busy to remember to say please? Personally I think they would have had a greater and quicker response rate from everyone if a ‘please’ was thrown into all of their requests.

Be grateful; a ‘thank you’ can mean a lot. Show gratitude when someone has done something for you; they have spent their valuable time doing something for you. I recently received a call from someone thanking me for a connection that I had made for them. This was totally out of the blue; I actually totally forgot that I had made the business introduction for them. For them to pick up the phone and to say thank you, means a lot. Now I know that it was appreciated, and will look for even more opportunities to link that person up with. There is a great quote by Zig Ziglar: 'The more you are grateful for what you have the more you will have to be grateful for’.

RSVP for events. We’ve all done it; we’re all guilty of it! We RSVP for an event and totally forget to go; or forget to RSVP and still go; I call this the law of events. After a hiatus, we recently hosted one of our information sessions; I was again reminded of this (frustrating) ‘law’. I am more irked by those that don’t show up than those who do. As a host you invest your time and money into a venue, refreshments and putting a presentation together for a specific group of people. I think what frustrates me the most is often the waste of food when people don’t pitch.

Answering the phone: you recon a basic “hello?” will do, right? Afraid not.  It is incredibly frustrating when you phone someone or a company and you just get a “hello?”. This is especially important as an Entrepreneur; you are depended on those phone calls coming through to you, who knows it could be your next big sale. Make sure that the person that is calling you knows exactly who they are speaking to when you answer. Ideally, say the company’s name then your name; at a minimum, say your name. Make it easy for the person who took time to dial your number to know that they are through to the right company and person.

Manners are not difficult, it is about forming positive daily habits, which, with enough practice will become second nature to you, and contribute towards a positive way of how you are perceived.  

Which manners do you think people miss the mark on the most? 

To continue the reputation management conversation, join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.

Do you have a reputation management question? Send your query through to Regine on: regine@reputationmatters.co.za

Leadership Magazine: Women in business, authenticity through balance

August 2016 edition: I recently attended an interesting information sharing session about community upliftment programmes and the priority areas different organisations focussed on.  The facilitator of the session mentioned something incredibly important that stuck with me; it’s all good and well that there are so many social projects helping girls and young women, and everyone knows we need these projects. However, the question is what will happen to the boys and young men in the long term if they aren’t also equally prioritised?

The important lesson here is that there needs to be balance in everything. If you are going to be focussing too much on one area, then inevitably another area is going to be neglected. This is also so true for when you invest and build your organisation’s reputation.

With it being Women’s Month, there is a lot of focus on women and their role in the workplace. However, when it comes to building reputations, it is something which both men and women contribute to, positively or negatively.  

It’s important to keep things real in the workplace, regardless of your gender. The truth is, a reputation is built on authenticity.

Stereotyping stereotypes: It’s unfortunate that in this day and age, and depending on the industry, some women do still feel that they need to think and behave in a certain way to move up the corporate ladder. But by doing so, they ignore their true feminine selves and often downplay feminine traits, which also have a key place in the business.

There is this terrible catch 22 situation: women who display typical male traits (like assertiveness, independence and competitiveness) are considered bossy, cold and aggressive, while their male counterparts are respected for these traits (which, interestingly, are also generally accepted leadership traits).

Conversely, women who display typical female traits like compassion, inclusiveness and warmth, are often overlooked as leaders, while men in business who are warm and empathetic are lauded for these characteristics.

It reminds me of an interesting experiment that was conducted by Stanford Graduate Business School professor Frank Flynn, who tested perceptions of gender with his class. He adapted a case study about an entrepreneur named Heidi Roizen. Half his class was given the original case study, while the case study given to the other half was simply tweaked so that the name of the subject was Howard Roizen. Professor Flynn asked his students to rate their impressions of Heidi/Howard, with fascinating results. Howard was generally very well perceived by the students, while Heidi was considered aggressive, selfish and unlikeable; many students said they wouldn’t hire her or work for her.

Everyone has something to bring to the table:  For me, the case study above raises the question of female authenticity in the workplace; how do we remain true to ourselves as women, while at the same time being persuasive and powerful leaders? I do realise that the best way to succeed is not to try and do it on your own, or try to be someone that you are not; it’s about working together as a team and leveraging off each other’s strengths. Regardless of your gender, race or creed; you will have core skills, behaviours and attributes that make you unique, and that will complement the skills, behaviours and attributes of your colleagues. It’s all about seeing how best to make it work together.

Embrace your own strengths: As women, we need to embrace our own strengths and recognise that the different genders bring very different attributes, both positive and negative, to the workplace. These differences need to be honoured and leveraged for the overall success of the business. We should not try to emulate what we are not.

Ultimately it’s all about balance: As mentioned earlier, when it comes to building a reputation, it’s all about balance. Too much focus on one area will cause you to neglect another key area, which will impact the overall perception and resultant reputation of your business. Strong teams know how to utilise their members’ strongest and best qualities to the benefit of the entire team. Reputation is built on a solid foundation and this can only be achieved if all the building blocks are in place and everyone works together in harmony.

To continue the reputation management conversation, join Regine on Twitter @ReputationIsKey or Facebook www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters.