Leadership

The Five Worst Body Language Mistakes to Make at Work

Poor body language gives a bad impression to others and can easily lead to misunderstandings in the workplace, especially if you’re a leader. To encourage a better work environment and happier employees, pay attention to your body language.

In particular, pay attention to these five worst body language mistakes you can make at work and how you can fix them.

Keeping Your Cell Phone in Sight

A common body language mistake people unknowingly make is keeping their cell phones in sight during meetings. Even just leaving it on the table in front of you or solely using it to check the time sends the wrong message to the people around you.

Keeping your phone in sight subconsciously makes them think they’re not important to you and that you’re more interested in your cell phone. They will think that if it buzzes or rings or gives some other notification, you will check it rather than focusing on the meeting at hand. Even if you don’t, it’s hard for people to see that and not think that you will. It makes it harder for people to focus and believe that what they’re doing is important to you.

Therefore, you should always keep your cell phone out of sight during meetings. If you need something to keep track of time, wear a watch.

Never Smiling

People feel far more at ease when you’re smiling during communication. This isn’t to say you have to smile the entire time. In fact, smiling the whole time would most likely make someone feel extremely uncomfortable.

Instead, just allow yourself to smile if the other person smiles, or smile at another appropriate time, such as when the person makes a joke. You don’t have to give big, toothy grins either. A slightly upward curve of the lips is fine as long as it looks genuine.

When you’re talking on the phone with someone, don’t forget to smile, too! Even though they can’t see you, your body language transfers to your voice. If you never smile during a phone conversation, it’s likely the other person will feel that as it usually causes your voice to be more monotone.

Contradicting Your Words with Inappropriate Body Language

Your body language should match your words. For example, if you’re praising someone for doing a good job, don’t sound monotone about it or have a scowl on your face. Your body language should indicate that you’re happy with their work, so keep your arms uncrossed, smile, and let your voice be more enthusiastic.

“Crossing your arms, which many of us do out of habit, can indicate defensiveness and self-protection. Instead, try to adopt an open stance with your arms by your side, slightly out from your body. This shows openness and confidence. Try holding something such as a notebook during important face-to-face conversations to keep your hands occupied.” – Vault

People usually believe your body language over your words because body language tends to be more subconscious while words are easy to fake. So, even if you’re not intending to send the wrong message, others might subconsciously receive it that way.

Failing to Mirror the Person You’re Talking To

Another important body language mistake people make is failing to mirror the person they’re talking to. Throughout the conversation, you should match the other person’s body language so that they feel like you understand them.

Aspects of the other person to notice and mirror are tone of voice, posture, tempo, and movements. For example, if someone is talking excitedly about a new project, match that excitement with a higher tone of voice, faster speech, and more movements depending on how the individual is expressing their excitement. You certainly don’t want to remain monotone and calm or else it makes it look like you don’t care. Is that really a message you want to spread, even unintentionally?

Lack of Facial Expressions

The fifth body language mistake to avoid is a lack of facial expressions. If your face is blank all the time, people will think that you’re not interested in what they’re saying.

Some body language tips for showing interest including raising your eyebrows, leaning forward, and nodding your head. It’s also important to make eye contact during conversation. When you need to glance away, look either left or right. Never look down because it signifies a lack of confidence.

Changing your body language can make a positive difference in the workplace. A small smile at the right moment and a nod of the head sometimes makes the difference in making someone feel like you’re interested in what they’re saying. Avoiding the above body language mistakes at work will make you and your employees happier and more productive.

If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please send an email, and my team will get in touch with you!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been edited for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

World Class Culture & Leadership at 100MPH

Building a World Class Culture and Leadership at 100MPH.

Have you ever observed an athlete just before a competition? Perhaps you should look at the high jumpers during the Olympics next time, you’ll see many of them standing very still before they start running towards the bar, and then they’ll close their eyes and you’ll see their head bobbing up and down as they imagine running up to the bar- but they haven’t even moved!

They then open their eyes with their eyes fixed on the bar, and begin to recreate in real time whatever they just visualized, even downhill skiers do this too by using their gloved hands by responding to physically imagined objects on the snowy hills.

Whatever the sport, these athletes are using visualization to achieve their desired results, and because they imagined these obstacles that they may face on the track or field; they prepare themselves mentally and physically for the challenge.

I’ve had enormous success with the process after learning about it from an Olympic coach and sports psychologist who worked with several high performance athletes to help them better visualize their task beforehand. He then showed us a variety of examples where athletes were using this process of visualization that would deeply ingrain the success and actual performance of the event into their mind, and when completed; they’ll simply recreate the vision they had burrowed in their memory.

Imagine your company running itself smoothly and growing at 100 mph. Learn more on cameronherold.com.

Leadership’s Role Is…

The role of leadership is to align, support and enable teams to do the work they were hired to do.

Leadership’s role is not to follow up or “hold people accountable.”  When the right people are hired and the right plans are in place, people can execute and leadership can support them.

 

Leadership ensures that people are working on projects and tasks that are aligned with the rest of the goals of the company.

They ensure that team members have the commitment or emotional support to do their part in the process.  Leadership can assess if skill development is necessary on any of the individual sub-steps, in any of the projects, well in advance because they know what everyone is working on.

In addition, leadership can ensure that the proper bandwidth and resources—money, people, time, supplies and more–are available to complete the outlined projects. They can focus on alignment and ensuring that all the projects being worked on are the right ones to drive the overall company goals.

Dr. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, authors of One Minute Manager, developed a model in the 1960s that’s still used today in the best-run companies on the planet, and it’s called “Situational Leadership.”  When companies have tightly reverse-engineered their plans, they can spend time effectively leading their people.  Situational leadership involves the leader giving the correct balance of either skill development or emotional support to help their subordinates perform at optimal levels.  Being able to slow down and give the proper amount of skill development to their team on an ongoing basis is critical.

For information on this topic, check out: Leadership at 100MPH.

Entrepreneurs Start Asking The Right Questions

A few years ago one of my mentors was telling me about a story at Starbucks.  He was a Senior VP at Starbucks reporting into Howard Schultz.

Years earlier, Howard had called my mentor on his cell phone and asked ‘Why is the letter B not working on the signage at the 50th & Wallingford location’ in Seattle.

My mentor laughed out loud and responded ‘Really?, Howard is that really the question you should be asking me when you’re CEO?’

Howard frustrated replied ‘Yes, why isn’t the sign working?’  And my mentor replied ‘I don’t know. I’ll check. And I’ll get it fixed. However, if we’re really going to grow this brand our leadership team needs to ask leadership questions.’

‘Howard, instead of asking why isn’t the letter B working we need to be asking questions like this instead…’

‘I noticed the letter B on a sign at 50th & Wallingford isn’t working.  What systems do we have in place to ensure that all letters, on all signs, at all locations, in all countries, are always working?’

My mentor was right.

Entrepreneurs all too often ‘Major in the Minors’ and get stuck asking questions about the details.  And yes, the details matter.  And the details will always get fixed.  However, instead of just asking the question about something specific like a letter on a sign not working, try using the details as specific examples to ask larger more systemic questions. People don’t fail, systems do.  Look deeper in the systems that need to be fixed or created.

As a business coach and mentor, I suggest that you start asking the right questions and you’ll grow your company too.

For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture and Leadership at 100MPH.

Monkeys Looking Sideways

If Monkeys could be Business Mentors
If Monkeys could be Business Mentors

I threw out the corporate 360 Reviews years ago in favor of something I made up that I call ‘Monkeys Looking Sideways’.

Years ago at a seminar I heard a story about monkeys in a tree.  When the monkey at the top looked down all he saw was smiling monkeys looking up.  However, the monkeys below had an entirely different view.

It was at this seminar that I thought about doing 360 Reviews live and in front of the rest of the team.  I always try to build teams that embrace healthy conflict and that want to build more trust.  Well open communication like this takes trust up to an awesome level.  I built this exercise so everyone on a team would know what everyone else thought and they’d hear it in person so they could grow together.

The Monkeys Looking Sideways exercise works like this.

Essentially it is a verbal, in person, group 360 feedback. Ideally get everyone out of the office for a half to a full day.  It’s a great exercise to do on company or team retreats too.

1) Give everyone 1 pad of Post It Notes and a pen.
2) Do the review of the groups leader or CEO first.
3) Have each person write down the TOP 5 things that the person being reviewed:

a) Should continue
b) Should improve on

4) Then with the person being review staying in their seats, have one person at a time stand up and read out each post it note.  Start with all the positives first and then they read the stuff to work on second.
5) The person being reviewed can only say thank you or ask a clarifying question.  There is no debate.
6) Have all of the Post It Notes put up on a flip chart and give them to the person being reviewed so they can type them up and refer to them in their one-on-one coaching meetings with their supervisor over the year to keep working on improving.
7) Repeat the process for each person in the room.

This exercise done properly takes about 45 min per person but will be way more effective than the garbage that comes out of any online or 3rd party 360 Review Process.

In addition to using it in your company try it with an EO, YPO Forum or TEC/Vistage group on a retreat too.  It’d be awesome…

Tips to Creating a High-Performance Board

Many CEOs miss out by not implementing a board for their company. As a CEO coach, here are some keys that i can share in creating a high-performing board:

1. Know what a board does: The board advises and helps hold accountable the CEO and leadership of a company. The Board of Advisors can be comprised of any mix of internal and external members the CEO wants.

2. Recognize difference between Board of Advisors and Board of Directors:  This hit me while I was speaking to a group of EO members before a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha.  A Board of Advisors cannot fire the CEO while a Board of Directors can.  This difference calls for different people on each type of board, and it’s important to scout for them differently.

3. Have a clear Vivid Vision: The more clearly a CEO paints the picture for the board, the better advice the board will give. See more on that here. You want the board to be thinking ahead of where the company is today. Too often board members get embroiled in tactical, day-to-day or urgent matters when their time would have been better spent discussing the balance sheet, or how they’d handle things like massive currency fluctuations, recessions, continued hyper-growth, etc. One of the board’s goals should be to stay ahead of the vision of the company.

4. Find the right people: Look for company builders for your board. Too many people make the mistake of putting lawyers and accountants on their board, whom tend to give advice around why you shouldn’t do things versus what you should do. Entrepreneurship is risky, and taking advice from employed lawyers and accountants can significantly stifle your growth or misdirect you.

5. Get a 3-5 year commitment: Stack your board with company builders that are LONG TERM.  This will cause them to have a vested interest in the outcome and allow them to get deeper into the psyche of the company.  Fly-by-night experts should only be used for certain tasks, not long-term projections and ongoing advice.

6. Surround yourself with giants: Taking advice from people who have led companies larger than yours is critical as you grow, and the complexity of your systems and strategic issues evolve.  Find people that intimidate you a little bit.  This will cause a reverence and respect, and it will be easier to take their advice.

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Meetings Suck: Turning One Of The Most Loathed Elements Of Business Into One Of The Most Valuable

We all know that meetings suck, right?

You hear it all the time. It’s the one thing that almost everyone in business can agree on.

Except it’s not actually true… 

Meetings don’t suck.

We just suck at running meetings.   

When done right, meetings not only work, they make people and companies better.

In Meetings Suck, world renowned business expert and growth guru Cameron Herold teaches you how to use focused, time effective meetings to help you and your company soar.

This book shows you immediately actionable, step-by-step systems that ensure that you and everyone in your organization improves your meetings, right away.

In the process, you’ll turn meetings that suck into meetings that work. 

In life, we always hear about people who’ve made huge decisions from their gut – without data.Today, I want you to make a decision, not only from your gut, but also from some data.  A decision that is only $12 per employee but will be priceless for your business.

Right now, your gut is telling you something is wrong with your company’s meetings.  You KNOW everyone complains about meetings.

People HATE going to them, they HATE running them, and they really have NO idea which meetings are truly necessary but they hold meetings simply because they think that is what they SHOULD do.

Even some of the smartest CEOs in the world complain about meetings – Elon Musk publicly told employees at Tesla & SpaceX to walk out of meetings if they weren’t being run properly.

I sent Elon a message saying that wasn’t going to fix anything – the key is to fix the root of the problem – NOT continue to ignore why meetings suck.

A Meeting is – Any phone call, video call or occasion where 2 or more people meet to discuss or work-through office topics.

Most employees on average spend 1-2 hours per day in meetings.

And likely, none of those employees – front-line staff or leaders – have had any training on how to attend meetings or participate in them, LET ALONE How to RUN THEM.

Consider this…

If the Average employee spends just 1 Hour per day in meetings – that’s 1/8th of their time.

If the Average employee earns $50,000 per year.

And they’re spending 1/8th of their time in meetings, that means you’re paying $6,250 dollars per year for just ONE employee to attend meetings.

The reality is, employees spend 1/8th of their time – and 1/8th of your company’s payroll – doing something they have literally NO idea how to do.

The Reality is…

95% of employees are booking & leading meetings – and they have NEVER been trained on how to run them.

95% of employees have had NO training on how to show up and participate in the meetings they attend daily.

And 95% of employees and companies have no idea what meetings are even necessary to hold.

Meetings CAN be hugely effective – IF you know how to run them

Meetings don’t SUCK, we just SUCK at running meetings. 

Investing $15 per employee – to help ensure the $50,000 a year you spend on them is an obvious and easy choice.

This could be the most impactful $15 you’ll ever spend and will save the company’s money, time and resources instantly.

Buying a copy of Meetings Suck for 100% of your employees and having them read it this month will have a huge impact on your company’s success.

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Free PR: How To Get Chased By The Press Without Hiring A PR Firm

Public relations has always been an essential part of doing business which is probably why you’re shelling out big money to an outside PR firm. But the truth is that you don’t need them. You already have all the necessary tools in-house to do as good a job as the so-called experts. 

Cameron Herold and Adrian Salamunovic have taught thousands of company execs how to exploit free media coverage and ditch these expensive, often ineffective outsiders. 

Cameron & Adrian have also built in-house PR teams, spent decades learning how to generate Free PR and how to leverage public relations to complement their sales and marketing strategy. 

In Free PR, you’ll learn how the media world operates while you gain invaluable insider knowledge and actionable advice on how to: 

  • Build your own in-house PR team
  • Provide effective interviews
  • Score great media coverage for free with just a few easy steps 

Landing public relations coverage for yourself and your company is a powerful tool to help elevate your personal brand. PR is easier to generate than marketing, PR is easier to leverage than marketing and PR is more cost effective than marketing. In other words, Public Relations is more critical than ever in growing your brand and your business. 

You’ve got more passion, commitment, a larger stake, and a deeper understanding of your business than any outside PR firm could ever have. So stop wasting money and take the reins yourself.  Learn the secrets to landing TONS of Free PR for your company.

What they’re saying:

“I think PR is the core for promoting any business. Public relations acquires customers! That’s what’s cool about this book.”

– Kevin O’Leary,  Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank

“The ultimate guidebook for those looking to get press, grow their brand, and get in front of the masses. Free PR is the roadmap you’ve been looking for.”

– Peter Shankman, Founder, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

“Adrian and Cameron will show you the secrets of getting massive exposure for your business. This book is packed with actionable insights from two guys that actually know how to to do it.”

– Dan Martell,  Serial Entrepreneur & Investor (Intercom.io, Unbounce)

“I told Cameron to write the book on generating free PR. I’m excited to see that he’s finally sharing his secrets with the world. This is a must read for any entrepreneurial company and marketing team.”

– Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)

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Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future

Many corporations have slick, flashy mission statements that ultimately do little to motivate employees and less to impress customers, investors, and partners. 

But there is a way to share your excitement for the future of your company in a clear, compelling, and powerful way and entrepreneur and business growth expert Cameron Herold can show you how. 

Vivid Vision is a revolutionary tool that will help owners, CEOs, and senior managers create inspirational, detailed, and actionable three-year mission statements for their companies. In this easy-to-follow guide, Herold walks organization leaders through the simple steps to creating their own Vivid Vision, from brainstorming to sharing the ideas to using the document to drive progress in the years to come. 

By focusing on mapping out how you see your company looking and feeling in every category of business, without getting bogged down by data and numbers or how it will happen, Vivid Vision creates a holistic road map to success that will get all of your teammates passionate about the big picture. 

Your company is your dream, one that you want to share with your staff, clients, and stakeholders. Vivid Vision is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.

miracle-morning

The Miracle Morning for
Entrepreneurs: Elevate Your SELF to
Elevate Your BUSINESS

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Hal Elrod’sThe Miracle Morning has helped redefine the mornings and the lives of millions of readers since 2012. Since then, careers have been launched, goals have been met, and dreams have been realized, all through the power of the Miracle Morning’s six Life S.A.V.E.R.S.

THESE SIX DAILY PRACTICES WILL FUEL YOUR EFFORTS TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.

Now The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs brings you these principles in a whole new light—alongside the Entrepreneurial Elevation Principles and the Entrepreneur’s Elevation Skills. These are essential skills that you need to create a successful business and personal life. Cameron Herold— Bestselling Author and a widely-respected expert on entrepreneurial mindset—brings his wisdom and insight to you using Hal Elrod’s powerful Miracle Morning framework.

DEVELOP A VISION FOR YOUR BUSINESS, AND BECOME THE INFLUENTIAL AND INSPIRING LEADER YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE.

The principles and skills you’ll find in this book will help you to channel your passion and achieve balance in a remarkable new way. – Learn why mornings matter more than you think – Learn how to master your own self-leadership and accelerate your personal development – Learn how to manage your energy—physical, mental, and emotional – Learn how to implement Hal Elrod’s invaluable Life S.A.V.E.R.S. in your daily routine – And much more… You’re already an entrepreneur. Now discover how to take your success to the next level by first taking yourself to the next level. The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs is your roadmap to masterfully building an empire with a powerful vision, utilizing your areas of personal genius, with the right team at your side.

Start giving your business and your life the very best opportunities for success, right now.

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.