FROM APPLE TREES TO THE WORKPLACE: LESSONS IN CULTIVATING ‘GOOD APPLES’

My house has two big apple trees in the little courtyard beside the master bedroom. About three years ago, I started to leverage those delicious green apples by canning them. 

The very first step of the process was to pick all of the apples from the tree and place them into three buckets. One bucket for the apples that looked crispy and vibrant in color. A second for the apples which had some divots and a little bit of bruising but were still worth eating. A third for the apples that were rotten and would not be healthy to eat.

I used the first bucket of apples to make apple pie filling and the second bucket of apples for applesauce and apple cider. 

While the rotten apples were not good to eat, I was able to compost them for later nourishing the dirt used in my garden.

The apples in the pie filling would be seen through the jar or in the pie as if they were on display. During the process, I put a lot of focus on them to make sure they didn’t turn brown. 

While I didn’t need to put as much time and energy into the bruised apples, they were the batch of which I needed the most volume.

And as for the rotten apples? Well, I didn’t spend much time on them as I threw them in the bucket and composted them immediately.

In this process, I consider the best and mediocre apples to be the ‘good apples’ and the rotten apples to be the ‘bad apples’. It is important when it comes to apples or fruit in general, that you separate the bad apples so that they don’t spoil the good apples.

You are probably thinking, “I don’t like where this is headed.” But stay with me! It’s not what you think.

When we talk about people at work, we often refer to them as good and bad apples. But I want to remind you that while this is an analogy often used, people are not apples.

Once an apple is rotten, there’s not much that can happen to change this fact. However, when it comes to people…well…People can change. People can grow. People can adapt. People can thrive. We don’t just toss people away like we might a bad apple.

WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR IDEA OF A GOOD OR BAD APPLE?

I want you to take a moment to think about the people on your team that you deem good apples versus bad apples.

• What do you think causes you to label each person the way you do? What are their differences?
• Are you projecting anything onto your team that you have deemed good vs. bad? What might be biases of your own that contribute to these thoughts?
• Have you and are you providing opportunities for your employees to grow and develop professionally?
• Are the people you think of as bad apples truly rotten people or do they just need something different than what is currently being offered?

HOW TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD APPLES

When it comes to managing a team, it is important to look at your employees as individual human beings with their own personalities, needs, preferences, and motivators. So here are some tips for cultivating a healthy work culture that everyone enjoys and wants to contribute to.

• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Ensure that they are in a position best for their strengths and interests.
• Healthy soil. Check that their workplace environment is one that your employees enjoy! Is it healthy or is it toxic?
• Water and sunlight. Give your employees the nourishment they need to do their job.
• Fertilizer. Present them with opportunities for personal and professional development.

OK. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TRULY BAD APPLES?

Now I do want to acknowledge that there are some people who really are just bad, rotten apples for your team no matter what you do.

They are the people that you have tried to work with to make it better for all involved. The people who just don’t care to contribute to the team. The people who make inappropriate jokes, unwilling to see the harm in them when called out. The people who give no effort no matter how much you support them.

Those bad apples? Yes. They probably just need to go. 

However, remember that sometimes people get labeled as the bad apples because they are in a position that is not fit for them and/or are not given the opportunity to prove otherwise. 

Some people need you to communicate with them in a different way, to motivate them in a different way. Some people need to be in a different position at work. Some people need more involvement with a team while others need more independent tasks.

If you are a manager, you gotta have people in order to get the job done. And retention is important.

Turnover has been high for a lot of companies. Which means more time and energy spent on filling positions than your actual employees. And I know you have a lot on your plate as a manager. Most likely not apple pie either!

However, if you want to keep people around longer, something has to change.

I encourage you to set aside some time regularly to evaluate the individuals on your team and analyze ways that you can nourish each one so that they can grow into luscious, vibrant apples. Create a plan of action with each individual. This might be as simple as changing how you word your emails or making sure to show your appreciation. Or it might mean a larger, more intensive overall plan.

If you are experiencing a difficult time figuring out what to change? How to improve the work culture? Or are just interested in receiving support to nourish your employees, let’s chat! I love supporting managers and their teams so that you all can love going to work. Probably more than I love canning apples from the tree in my yard. 😉 

Book a discovery session with me to discuss your situation and ways that I can help. Visit www.carolgrubbe.com/discover.

Carol Grubbe LLC: Communication Made Simple

Understanding how to communicate with your employees is as simple as knowing their communication style.

Have you ever been told that you do an excellent job in your current position? And guess what! Because of it, your company would like to promote you to a management position.

You think, “A promotion! Hell ya!” Maybe because you are excited to make more money, jump into a leadership role, or learn something new. 

But once you start the new position, you might realize it is a whole new ball game. You are managing a team of people and have the following tasks to implement:

• Plan the budget.
• Set team goals and host team meetings to check on said goals.
• Share messages between your team and upper-level management.
• Navigate your employees’ schedules, sick time, and holidays.
• Keep up with emails in a reasonable amount of time.
• Take care of all the other day-to-day duties.

And this is not an exhaustive list!

FROM PRO TO ROOKIE

I love this article by Forbes, “This is why no one wants to be a middle manager anymore”. It dives deep into why middle managers are so stressed and done with their position. All of those responsibilities and then, oh by the way, can you please change the entire culture of our company?

It happens way too often. The individual who was SO good at their previous job is now taking on a completely different role and often overseeing the exact people they once worked with.

For many, the transition from the previous position to management is like going from pro to rookie in the blink of an eye!

SHORT ACTIVITY TO IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS FOR MANAGING YOUR TEAM

Well, a word of wisdom,  take time to get to know your team. Learn about each one of them individually – their quirks, behaviors, personalities, motivations, etc.

Here is a short activity to get you started.

STEP 1: Gather what is needed.

• Download this management tip sheet which you will use with the steps below.
• Piece of paper and pen OR open up a spreadsheet.

STEP 2: On your paper or in your spreadsheet, title five columns: Name, Energy, Focus, DiSC Style, Characteristics.

STEP 3: List out the members of your team under the name column.

STEP 4: For each individual, ask yourself if they are more outgoing or reserved. Under the second column, write O for outgoing, R for reserved, or B for both if you are unsure.

STEP 5: For each individual, ask yourself if they are more task-oriented or people-oriented. Under the third column, write T for task-oriented, P for people-oriented, or B for both if you are unsure.

STEP 6: Using the image below, determine where they fall on the DiSC map and write that letter (or two) beside their name on your paper or spreadsheet.

STEP 7: Use the communication tip sheet that you just downloaded to fill in tips for each employee based on their Everything DiSC style.

And voila! You now have some simple information you can apply as a manager in order to effectively communicate and engage with your employees, one of the major skills it takes to be a quality manager!

Carol Grubbe LLC: Communication Made Simple

Understanding how to communicate with your employees is as simple as knowing their communication style.

In my twenty-plus years of sales experience, I had to work with many different types of clients. And now as a trainer for internal communication with managers and their teams?! Even more so!

Some clients are very demanding and direct. Others are very sincere and want to be best friends. Some are very outgoing, paying little attention to detail. And others a bit quieter but not afraid to ask a bajillion questions.

Because of this, I would say I have learned to be like a chameleon. 

No, my skin doesn’t change colors and I don’t catch my dinner with my tongue.

But I had to adjust to my clients. 

If they talked fast, I talked fast. 

If they talked slower, so did I.

I learned to adjust my communication skills to theirs. And for that bit on talking slower? I had to work really hard on that one!

I shifted just as a chameleon does to fit my surroundings.

Sometimes I didn’t have to ‘shift’ as much. If I was talking with someone who had a similar personality to mine, I had a much easier time as I was able to be my natural self. 

However, since my personality is more bubby, goofy, outgoing, I had to really stretch myself to tone down my expressions.

Depending on who I was emailing, I often had to fight the urge to add all my smiley faces, exclamation marks, and hilariously funny stories. (Well, at least I thought that they were funny!) Instead, I would get right to the point and ensure I was replying accurately.

I shifted my communication style because I knew they might not feel like I could relate to them.

You see, as much as I love bright colors, just like the chameleon, I had to tone it down to warm colors when in different surroundings. 

I encourage you to take time to recognize this when you are around others. Do you notice a difference in how each member of your team communicates and how they prefer to be communicated with? 

Being a chameleon might feel weird and difficult at first. You might feel a bit of resistance because it might feel like being someone different from yourself. But we all have moments in life where we have to stretch ourselves. And sometimes those moments are when trying to effectively build a relationship and communicate with others. 

Two, Four, Six, Eight! Who do we appreciate?

Employees, that’s who!

MARCH 3RD IS NATIONAL EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY

How are you showing your employees, your company’s most valuable assets, your appreciation?

If you aren’t sure, keep reading for some ideas I’ve got up my sleeve.

First, a few stories of how I showed appreciation for some of my past employees and colleagues.

GOOD THING YOU’RE DOING THIS AND NOT ME

Years ago, I worked in newspaper sales. I was one of the people who found people wanting to put ads in the paper. 

To ensure that the print ads met our clients’ expectations and actually worked with the layout of the paper, I worked very closely with the graphics team. Needless to say, the sales team heavily depended on the graphic designers to do their best work.

And as sales typically goes, I worked on commission. Sometimes I would receive a pretty nice commission check and with that, would surprise the graphic designers with fun snacks on their desks before they arrived in the morning. 

I truly did appreciate them. I would hate to see what the ads would have looked like in the newspaper if I had to design them! 

COULD NOT DO IT SO WELL NOR AS QUICKLY WITHOUT YOU

For a good portion of my time in sales, I worked for a company that provided ad software to newspapers and radio stations with an online presence. During my time doing this, we depended on the project managers to design the most effective and efficient websites for our media clients. And not only that? But in a timely manner as well.

Once we sold the software, the salesperson was to step out of the way and let the project manager handle the remaining details of the launch. 

This was hard for me! I like to be involved and ensure that my clients get what they want and need.

However, I was SO grateful for our project managers. There were many times that I would sign a client on who had multiple sites which meant a lot of work!

I wanted them to know that I really appreciated their hard work (because it WAS  hard work). So I would often send food, flowers, or something else I knew that they would enjoy.

BEING PART OF A TEAM MEANS THE WORLD TO ME

I remember one time with the same software company, we had a company meeting in Moline, IL. I wanted to show how grateful I was for the ENTIRE team – project managers, quality control, developers, accountants, customer support team and more! I lived in St. Louis at the time, so I brought a little of the Gateway Arch with me when I visited the corporate office.

I loaded up coolers with ice and lots of St. Louis beer!

PEOPLE REMEMBER RECOGNITION

All of these little signs of appreciation have not been forgotten. I still get people asking me, “When are you going to bring those goodies?” or, “When’s the next time you’ll be in Moline to drop off some beer?”

It doesn’t have to be big. Just the act of showing appreciation goes a long way!

Here are some ideas:

• Snacks
• Candy
• Fruit
• Gift cards to their favorite restaurant or coffee shop
• Notecard with your own words of true appreciation 
• Paid time off 
• Extra vacation days
• Close up parking
• 10-minute massages by a local therapist
• Free popcorn/soft drinks in the cafeteria

It doesn’t have to take much to make someone feel special. Now get out there and show your employees that you appreciate them! 

Carol Grubbe LLC: Communication Made Simple

Understanding how to communicate with your employees  is as simple as knowing their communication style.

There are four basic ways to communicate: 

1. Non-verbal
2. Visual
3. Verbal
4. Written

And when I see groups of four, I can’t help but think of Everything DiSC. 

If we had to break down the four ways of communication into the four different personality styles, here is what I imagine that would look like.

D, NON-VERBAL

Non-verbal would be the D in DiSC, dominant personalities. 

They don’t want a bunch of fluff. Instead, get to the point. And if that means, we don’t have to waste time in a meeting discussing it and it can simply be shared via email, even better.

i, VISUAL

Visual would be the i in DiSC, influential personalities. 

They dread any meetings with a bunch of meticulous details. Instead, they want to be in person with visuals of the big picture.

S, VERBAL

Verbal would be the S in DiSC, steady personalities.

They are often highly motivated by words of affirmation, genuine appreciation and to be told that you want their help. 

C, WRITTEN

Written would be the C in DiSC, conscientious personalities. 

They want information written down, in a spreadsheet, or somewhere that they can come back to in order to ensure things are accurate. They want observations and research.

Now I know people communicate in different ways regardless of their DiSC style, but it is fun to pick up on this correlation based on my experience with this work!

Why is it SO hard to ask for testimonials and referrals? To flaunt what you have offer in your resume?

When I started my business, one of the hardest parts for me was to ask for testimonials. I love my work. I love helping people and organizations. But asking them to say something nice about me so I can publicize it myself made me feel a little dirty. 

Yes! Even this high i-style individual.

Maybe it was my upbringing. The message to not be so much. That it is bad to ‘flaunt’ your stuff.

But then I realized quickly how much a business like mine relies on the words of others.

I mean it makes sense! I look to the words of others when searching for a doctor, an insurance agent, a restaurant. What is the first thing I do? I go to their reviews. I ask for suggestions on Facebook. Why wouldn’t I expect those who would benefit from my services to do the same?

During my time, I have had to get better at ‘flaunting’ it!

YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO OFFER

For those of you who are in the same boat, I can reassure you, it’s okay to proclaim to the world how great you are. If you want to be successful with help others, they need to know who you are and why people like working with you. 

I want to know why people like working with you!

But how do you do this in a way that doesn’t feel gross?

Well, I’ve got an assignment, activity, exercise…whatever word speaks to you… for you.

ASK YOUR TOP FIVE

I want you to ask 5 of your closest friends, colleagues and/or clients why they enjoy working with you.

I encourage you right now to put it on your list of tasks and give yourself a deadline. Choose a deadline that is realistic for you. Maybe you reach out to all five people at the same time or maybe you focus on one individual per week.

I did this when I was putting together testimonials. Honestly, it made me feel super uncomfortable at first.

But what I found was that my friends and loyal clients WANTED to tell me what they love(d) about working with me. They enjoyed sharing just as much as I enjoyed hearing/reading it. 

Here are a few examples of responses I received:

• She was determined, supportive, dogged, thoughtful, strategic, driven by boundless energy that never ceased to positively impact everyone around her. Matthew
• Carol is the kind of partner we all wish we could find to represent our own company! Gene
• When you partner with Carol expect the best because she always brings her A game! Chuck
• She has a contagious spirit which inspires her peers and teams to greater success, and a wicked sense of humor to boot! While her personality can light up a room, Carol is serious about reaching goals and building successful programs for her customers. She’s the full package – passion, professionalism and persistence.  Sara
• She is one of the best relationship builders I have ever seen. John

Not only did their comments boost my confidence! But they also motivated me to push through any struggles along the way because I was reminded that I have something special to offer. And what I offer changes lives in such a positive way.

When times are hard and I’m ever questioning my work, I can go to my list of testimonials to give me a boost.

So, when you are struggling in your business, in your job, in your relationships, ask those who love working with you, “Why?” 

Now go find those five people. And then shoot me an email at carol@carolgrubbe.com with what they tell you so you can practice flaunting whatcha got!

Carol Grubbe LLC: Communication Made Simple

Understanding how to communicate with your employees is as simple as knowing their communication style.