How To Build Workplace Trust
By Razelle Janice Drescher
Some people start a relationship with full trust. Others have to build a foundation of trust over time based on evidence. It requires 2-way communication. Common goals help by creating an environment in which people can move together with intention. It’s helpful if common values are the foundation of a relationship based on trust.
The Power of the Performance Review Done Right
By Razelle Janice Drescher
The Performance Review is often misused and can inspire fear in the employee on the receiving end. This is often because of the context or lack thereof for that review. Here are examples of what can happen when a Performance Review is out of context:
1. The employee doesn’t know what to expect. She hasn’t heard much from her manager since the last review. She doesn’t really know where she stands or how she is doing.
2. She thinks that little contact with her manager must be better than a lot of contact since contact usually happens in this company when something has gone wrong.
3. She feels very stressed on the job but hasn’t mentioned this to her manager, thinking that the manager will blame her for not handling her job well.
4. She thinks that if she keeps a low profile, she will get by but there are things she needs help with and worries that if her manager knows this, it will reflect badly on her.
5. She doesn’t feel comfortable going to her manager for help. She just doesn’t feel safe being vulnerable with her manager about the challenges she has on the job.
How To Build A Business That Works
By Razelle Janice Drescher
A healthy business needs a strong foundation. To get the value you want from your business, you have to know what you want from it in the first place. Building your business vision is how to establish picture of your business that brings clarity to everyone involved, including employees, customers, stakeholders and vendors. It includes the products and/or services you offer, the inspiration that got you started, what sets your business apart from other businesses like yours, your growth plan, the culture you wish to establish for your internal customers (i.e., employees) and your external customers. Then you have to do what it takes to make that happen in a way that sets you apart from your competition. Why should customers choose your business rather than a business that offers similar products and services? What is your uniqueness? What kind of experience do you want your customers to have? How do you accomplish that with consistency that wows your customers?
Life at Liberty: What Horses Know
By Razelle Janice Drescher
In 2004, I was having dinner in a restaurant in Petaluma, California and was reading the local entertainment paper when I noticed a very small ad that said “Harmony with Horses.” It announced a 3-hour introductory workshop starting at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. I called the number in the ad and found there was a spot available for me. When I showed up at the ranch the next morning, the horses were in the pasture next to my parked car and I was the only one there. I felt something in that moment that was a combination of anticipation, excitement and something else that wasn’t as familiar to me. It was a feeling of connection to the horses in the pasture, the pasture, the surrounding land and a feeling of ‘possibility.’ It seemed as if I were on the brink of something wonderful.
That day started me on a journey that continues to this day. I have been a Business Coach for many decades. The experience I had that day at that ranch opened the door to my journey with horses that started when I was 7 years old and led me to this moment and beyond.
I immediately saw that horses have a lot to teach us about relationships in general, who’s in charge and what leadership is all about. Because of the wisdom that horses offer us, I incorporated Team Building with Horses into my service offerings as a Business Coach. Horses survive on strong leadership. The leader of a horse herd is responsible for the herd’s survival, but each horse has an important role to play as well. The same is true in the workplace. The leadership model that horses teach has valuable lessons for workplace leadership.
In this post, I am sharing a very personal experience I had early on in my journey that reconnected me with these amazing animals that I have loved since I was very young. The following account was published in the Summer 2009 issue of the Sonoma County Horse Journal.
The Foundation for Business Success
By Razelle Janice Drescher
What Does It Take to Build a Successful Business?
A common dilemma many businesses face is the recurrence of frustrations that impede smooth-running business operations day-to-day. This often results in a fire fighting mentality focused on putting out those fires. This approach to doing business is reactive rather than proactive and contributes to a stressful business culture instead of one that supports the fulfillment of the business vision in an organized, clear and deliberate way.
In a fire fighting environment, when frustrations occur, it's not uncommon to blame a person for falling short. But that mindset isn't sustainable for building a sucessful business that works to serve people's lives. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber lays out another possibility that points to a business run by systems that is not "people dependent." Find out why this perspective is so helpful...