5-steps for a group leader 213500

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5-Steps for a Group Leader toEngage Everyone

Build a “Cycle of Engagement” among

Associates, Customers, and Partners alike.Involvement with hearts and minds!



Frontline Leadership can be learned!

Note: For this .pdf file we have removed any unnecessary pictures or graphics to makethe course easier for you to save and/or print.

Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involveany Group or Team

The ThankingCustomers.com free 5-stepfrontline leadership course for winning thehearts and minds of associates. Whether your group is educational, religious, civic,

community, or workplace related! If you would like to keep everyone in your group involved and self-motivated you have come to the right place. A career skill and processof 5 action steps you do with (not to) your group members, based on a'best practice' of over a half-century, for the people-part of dailyactivities to continue learning, focus, and commitments.

Thank You!

How to Get the Most out of your Course and Maximize your new Leadership Skill

Our Intentions

Please let us demonstrate what we hope for you to learn andthen let us know "How are we doing?"

Tutorial 1 (includes Introduction):

A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts withTHANKING

Tutorial 2:

INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?"



Tutorial 3:

ASKING the critical questions for reflection

Tutorial 4:

Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities

Tutorial 5: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and

continuous dialogue

Appendix 1:

The Leadership Pyramid - a sense of purpose

Appendix 2:

Build a "Cycle of Engagement"



"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focusthem for a day. If you teach a team member how to 'ask' for

customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!" .



Thank You!

How to Get the Most out of your Course and Maximize your new Leadership Skill

Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team

Hi, I'm George Reavis, author of the Frontline Leadership Course.

There are a few important points I would like you to know before you begin your course. Please take a moment to read the letter below......

How to Get the Most out of your Course and Maximize your new LeadershipSkill

First, congratulations for discovering the free frontline leadership course. Thiscourse is designed as a career skill for anyone, who wants to, to use the fiveaction steps from a proven practice to keep everyone engaged in daily activities

for any group. It does not address activities for implementing the practice into anorganization with layers (hierarchy) of delegation. For this we have our Enterprise eHandbook which is a user-centered approach to implement thepractice within a chain of command or typical organization.

Second, a couple of key points to keep in mind as you use the course:

o This is your career skill and tool for involving and self-motivating membersof any group at any time. This course is designed to benefit groups inschool, church, communities, clubs, or the workplace regardless of prior experiences.

o The course is about maintaining an all-important dialogue between your group's services and those who benefit from those efforts (customers).

o The process is simply a set of actions you lead with group members andnot activities you do to group members.

o The practice is for leading soft skills for the people-part of your group'sdaily activities. Continuing and complementing, not changing, the hardskills you manage through daily activities.

o The acid test for the practice is to always keep it simple, back-to-basics,with a cost of primarily time and attention.

o As you practice these actions (5-step process) you will create a cycle of engagement which will increase your groups effectiveness geometricallyas each associate is engaged (involved with hearts and minds).



Thanks, and Enjoy!

George Reavis



Enterprise Edition eHandbook "Propel Frontline Leaders" --

http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm



Our Intentions

Please let us demonstrate what we hope for you to learn and then let usknow "How are we doing?"

Frontline Leadership 101: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team

Our intentions are for you to learn, using this practice, a career skill for beingable to keep any group of people involved, inspired, and self-motivated throughdaily activities/operations. Leading the delivery of services/products/benefitstowards the same goals, objectives, and customers/beneficiaries.

A few questions we want you to be able to answer "yes" to as you use thepractice with your group:

1. By thanking customers/ 1 beneficiaries are you recognizing thebenefits your group provides everyday and who the beneficiariesare?

2. As you invite customers/beneficiaries to let your group know"How are we doing?" are you demonstrating your intentions to themas well as to each other and partners who provide support to your group?

3. In asking the critical questions for the group's continuedsuccess, are you taking the important questions that your administration is asking in determining what actions need to bedone and reflecting on how to get the actions done through dailyactivities?

4. As group members review feedback fromcustomers/beneficiaries does it give them a perspective on their own daily activities as well as the groups?

5. By bulletining the feedback are assessments, or opinions, beingdiscussed among group members about customers, services,benefits, and products? Are assessments shared with partners andcustomers as well?

6. When you thank customers/beneficiaries again do they feelappreciated along with group members and partners?



• Thank: Builds recognition and leads appreciation.

• Invite: Demonstrates intentions, which leads to commitments.

• Ask critical questions: Creates attention and leads to long-term focus.

• Get feedback from activities: Keeps associates engaged at a high level.

• Share assessments: Develops opinions that foster dialogue.

Note: Once the journey is underway, there is really only one activity to lead thepractice and that is inviting customers/beneficiaries to participate. The rest of theprocess is lead effortlessly. Herein lies the beauty and powerfulness of thepractice.

I'd love to hear your feedback on your experiences during and after the course,so please drop me a note directlyhttp://thankingcustomers.com/casequestion.htm or email me at

[email protected]. As a "Thank you" I would invite you to submita case and we will provide you a solution to illustrate howThankingcustomers.com might help you start building long-term focus,commitment, and learning towards customers through daily operations.



There really is nothing more uplifting for me than to hear successstories from course subscribers. (And if you have a criticism, Iwant to hear that too!)

1 Beneficiaries are those that benefit from a groups purpose and efforts. We make this added distinction because the

term customers is not really appropriate outside the workplace. Beneficiaries could well include multiple entities including

those members of the group themselves. For example, in an educational group the members themselves would certainlybe at least one of the beneficiaries of engagement.

-------------------Stay Up to Date! -------------------

If you want us to stay in touch about course developments andother free resources, subscribe to the 'Frontline Leadership'newsletter by going to:

http://thankingcustomers.com/news.htm





Tutorial 1 (includes Introduction):

A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts withTHANKING


Introduction + Tutorial One

______________________________________

The 5-part Course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team"from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.comWelcome + Tutorial One: A five-step process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts withTHANKING

_______________________________________ http://ThankingCustomers.com An Introduction

The next five tutorials will guide you through a five-action process which will start you off on a journey to win the hearts and minds of associates towards long-term focus, learning, andcommitments. Importantly, these actions will only complement/continue and not change anyprogrammed or procedural activities you currently execute.https://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0518/5afe06a9bbccd/5afe06afa933b.jpg The five-steps can best be described as a "secondary asking process" and a missing-link in mostdaily operations. They are activities to lead a group/team in asking (mostly non-verbal) the criticalquestions for "How are we doing?" from a daily operations perspective. The reason this is soimportant is that while associates, partners, and even customers receive feedback fromcolleagues and supervisors/administrators, they also need feedback directly from the activity itself in order to stay fully engaged in the group's efforts. While learning experiences are certainlysupported by feedback, it is asking/reflection (often through thought and emotion) which mostoften initiates and continues the learning experiences.Leading any group/team of people toward a common goal or objective using a practice of appreciation, participation, reflection, involvement, dialogue and recognition. Whether you areleading a group at school, church, club, or workplace this practice will keep everyone involvedand everyone committed to the same objectives.- We will use the following terms to define "others" during this course: Associates - members of your team or group, including yourself Partners - people or groups who provide you and your group support. These could be 'internal',within your enterprise, or 'external', from outside your enterprise.Customers - those persons or groups that benefit from the efforts of your group or team.Everyone - is all of the above. Frontline daily activities is where the efforts and influences of allthree groups come together for results. This illustrates the importance for frontline leaders to, inaddition to their hard skills, also have soft people skills such as this practice.You'll learn how to keep everyone, in any group, on the same page and committed to the samegoals or objectives. We call the idea "Frontline Leadership" and basically it is continually striving

to lead experiences, foster beliefs, practice actions, and celebrate results through frontline dailyactivities. Leading situations and moments of truth through daily activities. Please understandthis course is not about changing anybody, rather, using activities based on human nature andexperiences to lead everyone in the same direction. The five actions which make up the processthat continue into the practice are about performing activities with associates and not toassociates.



My name is George Reavis and I'll be your guide for these 5 tutorials. However, I can't claim allthe credit for this big idea - it's roots are from a best practice over a half century old. Rooted inthe " entrepreneurial ethic" which links a valuable idea/service/product with those people thatbenefit from it (customers). Also building a continuous dialogue between those providingproducts and services and the customers or beneficiaries of those services and products.I hope you're as excited about this course as we were when we were putting it together. Monthsof work backed by years of experience as an entrepreneur and practitioner have created what Ithink is a critical career skill for you to involve and self-motivate associates. The " secondarygroup asking process" ( http://thankingcustomers.com/process.html ) is five action steps to

address six principles ( http://thankingcustomers.com/principles.htm) we believe are necessaryto win and maintain the hearts and minds of associates as well as customers and partners. Thepractice is a simple, back-to-basics approach with a primary cost of time and attention (like mostthings that keep working on the frontlines of daily activities) rather than money.Over the next five tutorials you will be shown five actions which when executed in sequence willgive you a process you can practice to build a career skill to lead any group or team toward their objectives. If you lead/direct/manage any group of people currently or are considering doing so inthe future this course will be invaluable (and it is free!). We offer it because more effective groupsand teams are beneficial for society, whether they be in schools, churches, associations,workplaces, social clubs, or special interests. An effective group achieves their objectives andmakes a contribution, even when the beneficiaries of their efforts are themselves. Effectivegroups also nurture the human spirit, innovation, cooperation, learning, a sense of purpose, pride,self-motivation and worth. In short, we view effective groups as a win-win-win for group

members, beneficiaries, and supporters (including, hopefully, society).If you are considering taking your new career skill to a business enterprise or organizational levelwe highly suggest our eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders. The handbook is the "how-to"develop and maintain the practice within any organizational framework. Our coaching tips (CT)throughout this course are references to this handbook for just such a purpose.http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm The course is unique because it is rooted in human nature and is user-centered or designed for use in frontline daily activities It is simple enough that its practice is not dependent on previousmanagerial or leadership experience. Creating continuous learning, focus, and commitmentsthrough involvement and self-motivation! By "self-motivation" we mean the ability to get others tomotivate themselves from within which is far more lasting than external forces creating atemporary motivation.So that we are all on the same page during this course it is important to define the following terms

as follows:"practice" - repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill. The businessof professional person(s)."enterprise" - any undertaking of some scope. An industrious, systematic activity which couldbe for profit such as a business but not necessarily so. It could be a church, school, club, civicgroup, association, or other project where people come together to accomplish a specific purposeor objective. From the 'Old French' meaning "to undertake""organization" - any enterprise (from previous description) that has layers or hierarchy.Requires management and leadership as well as to organize efforts. Most businesses would beorganizations whether public/private or for profit/non-profit."process" - a series of actions or functions bringing about a result. A series of operationsperformed in the making or treatment of a product/service. Note that a process is simply a set of actions and not to be confused with a program which is a schedule of events and list of instructions. A process could be a part of a program or may exist separately o its own which will

be the focus of the course. This course and subsequent practice/process is not a program so wedo not suggest any administration such as planning, meetings, budgets, measurements, or schedules--simply do it! We view the process as a career skill that may be implemented at anytime by an individual leader to compliment and continue (not change) any existing programs."managing" - the actions for executing a set program or system. These activities are usuallyassociated with paper, such as procedures, schedules, checklists, policies and even processesare often embedded as well. Often hard skills are required to execute or manage.



"leading" - also actions to achieve the same objectives and results as in managing, even usingthe same programs and systems. Leading mostly involves soft skills for the people-part of theenterprise. We often lead actions which are not only not on paper but are intangible, non-verbal,and even unconscious! Examples might be intentions, emotions, enjoyment, attention, dialogue,pride, passion, reflection, inspiration, involvement, etc. We also lead many actions to complimentand continue the management, such as recognition, communications and learning. For example,learning is managed through training programs yet we also know that experiences will influencelearning profoundly."frontlines" - where daily activities deliver results to customers or the beneficiaries of the groups

efforts. This is where associates, customers, and partners all merge and services, products,ideas, or benefits are delivered.

The course is a practice which you as a leader can learn as a career skill and tool for anyenterprise. As the name practice implies you learn and get better at it the more you do it.During the course we will define and explain a process consisting of five actions. I havewitnessed this practice, first-hand, provide involvement and self-motivation (the lasting kind!) tonot only associates of a group/team but also partners and even customers!What follows is a brief introduction, followed by your first Tutorial. Please read from here as thereare several important things to do before beginning the course.First though, here's what a couple of our subscribers had to say- I hope it inspires you!-----------------------"QUOTES"---------------------------

"I read your course and eHandbook about 4 times since finding it last week. It's so realistic,simple, practical and adaptable that it's brilliant".Thank you, Tom Hanks (unfortunately not the actor)---------------------"Dear George,Your Course and Team Leadership eHandbook have been incredibly helpful to me and I feel thatothers might benefit also. Having been promoted for working hard I received all my training onsystems and almost nothing on leading people. That part of supervision was a complete shockwith many sleepless nights.I now look forward to the people part of my job. I used to feel like the "enforcer" of policies andprocedures and a slave driver for performance. With your sequence of actions we all supporteach other.The whole experience of working through the Free Course and the Leadership Handbook has

given me a whole new perspective. I feel confident with a tool for giving everyone what theyreally want--the ability to participate, be appreciated, and involved in "How are we doing?" as ateam and enterprise.I no longer have to prod everyone to stay focused on their daily activities. They are coming to mewith questions, opinions, and ideas on how to be better themselves and as a team!<Name removed - anonymity requested>-----------------------"END QUOTES"------------------------The reasons we spent so long putting the course together are:1) I had used the 'best practice' and was amazed by how it kept everyone focused, learning, andcommitted toward their common goals but since it wasn't a program no one had ever set it upfrom scratch!- The practice was so simple and back-to-basics that it was difficult to understand why it worked.- On the "frontlines" of daily activities a team leader must manage and lead simultaneously

- Daily activities involve constant attention to group members, partners supporting their efforts,and those that benefit from those efforts at all times.- Soft "people" skills are mostly non-verbal, intangible, invisible, and often even unconscious2) Another reason is that I wish I'd had access to acourse like this when I needed it!



- My training was about managing people and events with programs and systems. Leadershipwas something you did every once in awhile when it was needed and was more similar tomounting a horse in battle and encouraging everyone to follow you.- Trying to motivate others with outside pressure is hard and when they have differentbackgrounds and commonalities it is frustrating. We wrote this course to ensure others have acareer skill and tool to establish cooperation rather than compliance.3) In today's fast paced and global society people's attentions and even intentions are bombardedconstantly often leaving little time for even reflection. The rewards are incredible when individualsare provided the opportunity to participate in a group that is focused, learning and committed

toward the same goals!- Being able to provide that opportunity is even more rewarding!!4) Most literature about coordinating a group's efforts is about abstract leadership ideas, do's,don'ts, or managing behaviors and not specific actions one can take "with" their group to leadparticipation, enjoyment, and commitment. You'll find this course powerful in it's simplicity bypresenting five actions which when continued with your group will make achieving results easier and more enjoyable.I want you to be able to lead cooperation and enthusiasm and potential without getting 'side-tracked' or duped, and withouthaving to change a single thing you are doing now.---------------------------------------------------------------"Where motivation is concerned, the journey is more important than the destination. It's moreimportant for people to be proud of what they are doing every day than it is for them to be proud

of reaching a major goal. That's why it is crucial to celebrate the 'steps' as much as the'landings'." -- Jon Katzenbach, Why Pride Matters More Than Money---------------------------------------------------------------As you may know, or may soon find out as a team leader, winning the hearts and minds of teammembers can be really difficult. And you must do it not once in a while but every day!Conversely, when you have a practice for involving them it can become a career skill, withpractice, AND enjoyable as well!- Goals become easier to achieve and maintain when, in addition to managing a program, youalso can lead the people-part of your group or team.Our objective is for you to learn a career skill that you can call upon anytime in the future youneed to move a group of people toward a common goal or result. A five-step action cycle whichcan be initiated to keep everyone involved and self-motivated for the long-term.- Leading people in daily activities is about the soft skills of relationships and experiences. It is

about leading these relationships and experiences towards continuous learning, focus, andcommitments from everyone. Everyone being team members, partners and even customers or beneficiaries of your efforts.Sounds like a mammoth task and it can be overwhelming and stressful without taking action toget everyone involved and self-motivated. In fact, in business it has a name--the "caught-in-the-middle syndrome." Frontline managers can learn, focus, and commit to actions for the executionof programs, policies, and procedures to create structure and discipline for their team but oftenfeel it is a constant struggle without the hearts and minds of all their associates.-----------------------------------------------------"Relationship building is a process not an event"-----------------------------------------------------How much more effective would you be if everyone's attention was focused on the job in hand?- If everyone is demonstrating their intentions to make commitments and reflecting to learn more,how much better will your group efforts come across and make a leaders job easier? Allowing a

leader to play a servant and support role rather than an enforcer and critic role.--------------------------------------------Welcome to the first Tutorial of your course to motivate-inspire-involve everyone.Over the years here at ThankingCustomers.com, we have helped frontline leaders of enterpriseswith the people-part of their daily activities. Understanding and taking action on the soft skillissues which are often intangible, non-verbal, and even unconscious.



Leading, through daily activities, enterprise relationships and experiences for everyone. Nottaking actions to them but with them. Building and maintaining teamwork, service, andcollaboration all simultaneously.The reason we're so pleased with this course is because it lets us share what we have learnedwith you. Allowing you to accept leadership, not with fear and frustration, but with simplicity,enjoyment, confidence, and rewards.--------------THE COURSE TO MOTIVATE-INSPIRE-INVOLVE EVERYONE (Associates, Customers, andPartners)

During the course, you will be asked to do things that might not be a habit or routine. All aresimple, back-to-basics, and rooted in human nature. Do not make them a big deal or complicated. If they don't take at first just learn from the experience and try again. We'd like toask you to JUST TRY IT! Remember that the course and practice is simply for the people-part of your enterprise and does not change a single thing/procedure that you are doing now.One of the things we'll be talking about is that regardless whether you call them managing or leading it is always ACTIONS that get results. Actions create experiences that, in turn, providevaluable learning to grow interests, confidence, challenge, and skills. The sequence of actions:Begin with THANKING,then INVITE customersto let you ASK the critical questions, mostly non-verbally,for FEEDBACK from everyone's daily activitieswhich are then SHARED to create assessments for building a continuous dialog about purpose

and results of the groups efforts. The pivotal point in the process becomes THANKING as it isrepeated to begin the process again.And, if you are serious about maintaining involvement and self-motivation in others, you do notchange a single thing you are doing now (number one rule). Rather use the following actions tolook for ways to complement what you are already doing. Provide associates the opportunity toask themselves (mostly non-verbal) "How are we doing?" We will introduce you to each of thefive actions, in sequence, and give you ways to implement them. As this is not a program itshould not come with timetables, budgets, meetings, schedules, or even announcements.Simply look for ways to lead (introduce) the steps into your daily activities solely for the benefit of you, your group members, and those who you serve or provide benefit to. Keep in mind the fiveactions can each foster multiple activities and become greater as they continue to cyclehttp://thankingcustomers.com/process.html I compare the "human nature" physics here to that of a large stone flywheel which takes practice and effort at first to begin rotating but as it builds

momentum it takes very little effort to keep going. Another analogy would be to that of an old-fashioned hand water well pump-- http://thankingcustomers.com/waterpump.htm 15 MINUTES A WEEK for something that could radically change your life for the better. Worth it?We think so.--------------OK, so on to the nitty-gritty! This is the way the course goes together.Tutorial 1 (this one) : A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts with THANKINGTutorial 2: INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?"Tutorial 3: ASKING the critical questions for reflectionTutorial 4: Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activitiesTutorial 5: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogueNow before we start, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you to do.Make a document called 'Motivation course notes' and type at the tophttp://thankingcustomers.com/motivate.html. Keep it in your personal documents folder.

This way, if you lose your emails, or anything goes wrong with your email server, you'll know where to find us. This will be where youkeep your course notes as we progress.

________________________CT__________________________ About ‘Coaching Tips’



Throughout the course, you’ll notice boxed-off sections like this one. If you own the eHandbookPropel Frontline Leaders, these will help you get the most from your Handbook when using it inconjunction with the course. The eHandbook details the specific issues of an organization or business whether profit/non-profit or public/private. It also addresses leader development inorganizations. You may view the Table of Contents and read excerpts athttp://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm This career skill course is designed tointroduce the activities or process for a individual to develop the abilities to involve and self-motivate any group or team either temporarily or for the long-term. Application of this skill to amulti-layered organization with departments, accountability levels, and administrative levels is the

purpose of the eHandbook. ____________________________________________________

OK, so let's get going.Before we look at THANKING, our first action in the process, let me give you two importantpoints:Firstly, the 3 biggest challenges for a frontline leader. These are the most common things youmust understand about your groups daily experiences in order to lead them.1) The relationships and experiences created through the daily activities of your group becomeone on the frontlines for everyone (associates, customers, and partners).- Each one affects the other to the point that they blend together. This emphasizes the role of soft people skills, which need to be led, for continuous results.2) The actions you take must affect associates, customers, and partners (internal and external)

alike. It takes all three areas to sustain results on the frontlines of daily operations.- A service procedure for the customer must include the experiences not only between associatesand customers, but between fellow associates and associates and partners as well.3) You must lead and manage simultaneously. On the frontlines actions get results and you musthave processes, sets of actions, to both manage and lead at the same time. View managing asmaintaining the structure and discipline of your group and leading as maintaining theentrepreneurial ethic of the group. Entrepreneurial ethic usually refers to a business but it bestdescribes the connection and link a leader has between an idea, product, service or effort and thecustomer or persons who benefit from those efforts. Continuing this link is key to the purpose,mission, and reason for being of the group, all of which inspire, motivate, and involve everyone--even customers!As a frontline leader you must understand that your perspective of daily activities and the 3challenges may be unique to your position. A supervisor/administrator above you in operations

often understands these 3 challenges but they do not experience them firsthand if they are not onthe frontlines daily. ________________________CT__________________________ Refer to seeking support from a "Coordinator" in your eHandbook on the fourth page of theIntroduction. View your role as a "Guide" for the practice in working with your supervisor.Remember to keep it simple. All you are doing is leading your group in thanking the customer for their support and asking them "How are we doing?"

____________________________________________________ The challenges may look great when written out all together but the practice helps you geteveryone on the same page with the same goals and objectives which makes the challenges meltaway. Like making lemonade out of your lemons. Also making your tasks simpler and enjoyablerather than frustrating and stressful.-----------------------------------------------------The tough question that managers need to answer isn't, "How do we build better teams?" The

question is 'What kind of conversations and interactions do we want to create?" -- MichaelSchrage-----------------------------------------------------Secondly, Three epiphanies (discoveries) that we learned from our research as to why we thinkthe practice is so effective:1) While feedback supports learning, it is really the process of asking/inquiry/reflection which notonly initiates learning but also continues learning! -- http://thankingcustomers.com/ask.htm



- We often deal with a service problem or issue with a group by providing more feedback but,while that may help sort-term, the long-term solution is to initiate and continue learning byinvolving the group in asking, mostly non-verbally, the critical questions that are needed for thegroup to be successful.2) While feedback from colleagues and supervisors is important for maintaining structure anddiscipline, it is feedback from the activity itself that provides long-term learning, focus, andcommitment -- http://thankingcustomers.com/feedback2.htm - You and your group members no doubt get feedback from your colleagues and supervisorswhich is important for structure and discipline. The critical and often missing feedback for

motivation, involvement, focus, and learning for the long-term is feedback from ones own dailyactivities. All peak performers have this skill but unfortunately that is less than 25% of thepopulation. The practice helps you lead this feedback through daily activities.3) " 95% of all thought, learning, and emotion is unconscious.......most of communication is non-verbal" -- Gerald Zaltman- The practice helps lead this non-verbal portion of thought, emotion, learning, andcommunication.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Emotion drives Attention and Focus; the Focus drives Learning. You are never going to learnanything that you are not attending to and you are never going to attend to anything that doesn'tmean anything to you." -- Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we present the five actions to meet these challenges in daily activities it is important tounderstand each one on its own merits (that's why we separate them) but to also remember thateach is an integral part in the overall process and sequence. This is a case where the whole ismuch greater than the sum of the parts.The first action of the process is THANKING your customers.While this may seem obvious but the importance of "Thank you " cannot be understated. Youprobably already "Thank" everyone but please do not skip over this action as we will give you anew perspective to help you lead thanking throughout your enterprise. In most cultures it isalmost the foundation of appreciation and recognition. It is one of the few phrases which areused to express such a wide array of situations, from someone holding a door open for you tosaving your life! There are no other words that substitute for it.- Thanking does not have to always be verbal. It can easily be written and symbolized by a

gesture of appreciation/recognition, such as a gift (but not money).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Exercise 1 - "Who to Thank"The essential first action to motivate-inspire-involve everyone is to decide who customers are. If your group does not have "customers" figure out who benefits from your groups efforts. It ispossible in some cases that it may be the members of the group themselves. It is also possibleto have multiple customer groups.If you have a director, supervisor, or report to someone ask for their support in helping your groupask customers "How are we doing?" They may be puzzled at first but I assure you they will beimpressed by your initiative and think it is a wonderful idea.- Brainstorm with this person to identify a group of customers that you must please in order for your group to be successful in their ongoing efforts. If there are multiple customer groups it wouldprobably be simpler for your first trial to decide on one group to target.

As we mentioned before, this practice is a journey and you never want anything laid in stone.Nothing is off limits for review or change. Decide up front that this will be part of the process. Itwill be very easy to change any decision later as the practice develops. Don't be afraid to act,make a mistake, make a decision. As you decide or write things down it is not like a procedure itis only to organize your thoughts. Your motto should be "Ready, Fire, Aim"In your course notes,List the customer group you and your director decide to target for the trial.



What your group needs to accomplish (products, services or efforts) to be successful in meetingthis customer's needs. This may well have already been decided by your administration, simplymake sure you and your director are clear on it.Decide how this customer benefits for your group's efforts. Or possibly, how will they deem therelationship and experience with us worthwhile?Discuss some ways with your director that you might "Thank" customers for their patronage andsupport. You want to let them know you appreciate the opportunity to serve them and intend tobe there and get better in the future. We do not suggest doing it verbally or with money. Someideas might be a card, letter, small gift, discount, bonus service/product, or an event. Use an idea

that matches your group or enterprise style, culture, relationship with customers, and sincerity.You don't need to decide now and it can always easily be changed. Your director may seeksuggestions from Marketing or their Supervisor.This information will be used in the next exercise "Thank and Invite".----------------------------------------------------------------------------------We will return to thanking in the the final tutorial as the pivotal point of the cycle repeating isthanking. You initiate the process by thanking customers in writing for their support andpatronage and inviting them, in the future, to let you know "How are we doing?" We will get intothe invitation in the second tutorial.As the practice cycle repeats a number of important things growhttp://thankingcustomers.com/practicecycle.htm You are demonstrating your intentions to not only customers but everyone. Intentions lead tocommitments.

You demonstrate appreciation and recognition to everyoneYou are beginning to lead enterprise relationships and create learning experiencesYou are getting everyone's attention. Attention leads to focus.You are beginning to ask/inquire/reflect even though it is non-verbal. Asking leads to learning.-----------------------------------------------------"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated." -- William James-----------------------------------------------------

________________________CT__________________________ "Coaching Tips" --- We detail "Thanking Customers--Leadership" in Session 4 of the eHandbookPropel Frontline Leaders. Here we discuss step 5 of the six practice implementation steps"'Thank' the Customer"

____________________________________________________

Tutorial #2 will be "INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"If you give a team member customer feedback, you focus them for a day. If you teach ateam member how to 'ask' for customer feedback, you focus them for a lifetime!" .



Tutorial 2:

INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?"


Tutorial Two

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The 5-Part Course "Frontline Leadership: Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team"

from George Reavis of ThankingCustomers.com

:: Tutorial Two :: "INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?"

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Hi Subscriber,

As a review, the first tutorial "A process (set of actions) that begins and re-starts withTHANKING" demonstrated the importance of thanking customers then involvingassociates and partners in the process.

Here is your second tutorial and action, "INVITE everyone to let you know "How are wedoing?"

- We will begin INVITE with customers, or those who benefit from our services or efforts. As the process repeats through practice this INVITE will involve associates and partners thus spreading intentions, feedback, and learning to everyone.

The action of INVITATION is the second in the process following THANKING.

- Invitations are where you demonstrate your intentions to your associates, partners, andcustomers. This will build as the practice cycle continues and you repeat the process.http://thankingcustomers.com/practicecycle3.htm Intentions are important because:

• They are difficult to manage with procedures and programs but the practice will lead them (softskills)

http://thankingcustomers.com/intention.htm

• Intentions are key to continued commitments (a result of the practice)http://thankingcustomers.com/commitment.htm

• Intentions are the flip side of perceptions for customers. Those customers your group serves will,over the long-term, perceive what you intend.

• Leading the intentions that group members demonstrate among themselves as well as to partnerswill influence the intentions your group demonstrates to customers.



- Invitations also demonstrate to customers, associates, and partners alike that customersare partners as well. They are the purpose of your group's efforts and the focus of your attentions.

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Exercise 2 - "Thank and Invite"

In Exercise 1 you decided, with the help of your director, who your target customerswould be for this practice trial. You also began thinking about a proper "Thank you" for customers who let your group know "How are we doing?" as well as some ways toextend an invitation

In this exercise we will use the information from Exercise 1 as we thank customers andextend an invitation to let us know "How are we doing?"

We previously suggested some ideas for THANKING customers for their patronage. Our suggestions were a card, letter, small gift, discount, bonus service/product, or an event.We do not suggest doing it verbally or with money. Work with a director or supervisor indeveloping a "Thank You" that matches your enterprise style. To this let your customers

know you plan to even serve them better and extend an invitation for them to let youknow, in the future, "How are we doing?'

- Provide a method for them to let you know if they would like to participate

- Consider using different or multiple methods of invitation to determine which your customers like best.

- It is important to understand that only a small percentage of customers who are invitedwill participate but that 100% will appreciate the "thank you" and be impressed by your intentions demonstrated by the invitation. The small percentage of acceptance is simplyhuman nature as people are busy, prefer not to, or just forget.

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"Coaching Tips" -- Working Backwards to Build Customer Recognition andAppreciation from Provider Teams Up

Including the "Turning the Organizational Pyramid Upside Down", "Posturing","Leadership and Learning", as well as "Leadership and Results"

Find in Session One of the Handbook Propel Frontline Leaders

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Next Tutorial 3 is ASKING the critical questions for reflection



Tutorial 3:

ASKING the critical questions for reflection


Tutorial Three

Motivation Course Tutorial 3

_________________________________________________________



:: Tutorial Three :: ASKING the critical questions for reflection

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Hi Subscriber, and welcome to Tutorial #3 of your course "Frontline Leadership:Motivate-Inspire-Involve any Group or Team." Let's get moving right away. The lastTutorial #2 was INVITE everyone to let you know "How are we doing?" This Tutorial#3 is ASKING the critical questions for reflection.

So far in the process we have THANKED those for whom our group seeks to provide benefits and INVITED them to let us know "How are we doing?" Now we will lead our group in ASKING, mostly non-verbally, the critical questions to determine collectively"How are we doing?"

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"Experience teaches nothing unless we ask a question for experience to answer." -- W.Edwards Deming

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Two important points which make "asking" so important are:

1. Asking/inquiry/reflection is the foundation for learning. From the time we are all infants it ishuman nature for us to learn, and develop interests through asking/questioning/challenging in our thoughts, emotions, communication and learning. Most of it is non-verbalhttp://thankingcustomers.com/howcustomersthink.html So, while feedback supports learning, it is

asking that initiates and continues learning. http://thankingcustomers.com/reflection.html

2. Asking/challenging/questioning provides group members with the opportunity to move throughthe leadership pyramid. http://thankingcustomers.com/purpose.html#pyramid Leading, throughdaily activities, experiences and beliefs to form the foundation for actions which get results.



In fact, I believe what makes this practice so unique and powerful is that it combinesasking and thanking into a single process (set of actions). This combination of THANKING, which is basic in our culture to appreciation and recognition, andASKING, basic in human nature for learning, provides a incredible leadership skill andtool for any group or team

So, you ask, why do we want to ask non-verbally? When you and your team memberscan or have asked customers verbally "How did we do?" The reasons are:

- While verbally asking customers is important whether by procedure or not, the action itself often fails to involve everyone and provide consistentexperiences/relationships for customers. The practice leads actions for everyone to experience soft skills such as intentions, reflection, andattention. http://thankingcustomers.com/reflection.html http://thankingcustomers.com/attention.htm

- While we use actions to manage the visible, verbal, and tangiblesituations we can compliment those experiences with actions to lead thesoft people-part of situations. These situations are often invisible, non-

verbal, and intangible.

Even as you ask the previous question (Why do we want to ask non-verbally?) your thoughts and emotions are involved in a non-verbal learning and communication that mayeven continue unconsciously as you take up another task.

Determining the critical questions to ask your customers or those that benefit from your groups activities is where we get the term "secondary group asking process." Here, aswith THANKING and INVITING, we suggest you work with your Supervisor/Director in taking the questions your enterprise already asks to determine "what" needs to be doneto determine what questions you need to be asking for "how" to get it done or achievedesired results.

- Take the approach of re-asking the questions from your seniors but in the specificcontext of daily activities. Search for those half dozen to one dozen questions thatanswer for your group "How are we doing?" Focus on "how" we as a group will meetour objectives and be successful/winners.

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REAL RELATIONSHIPS -- The word "relationships" has reached buzzword status.Almost every company has them. But almost every company views customer relationships as something to be managed. What are some new ways to approach thecreation, fostering, and leveraging of your organization's connections with colleagues,

customers, clients, and partners.

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Exercise 3 - "Ask the Critical Questions"

Create the questions, with the help of your director, that your group would like to ask your customers proactively as to "How are we doing?" By proactive we mean you wantthe customer to have the questions before they use your service/product/benefit. Thecustomer will feel more comfortable and be more accurate if they know what to look for and what is important to you.

We suggest keeping the questions simple and down to about 6 to 12 in number with acomment area. Keeping it simple will benefit both the customer and your groupmembers.

- Remember, the primary purpose of this action of asking is to involve and self-motivateyour associates rather than the feedback itself. Your associates will receive their ownfeedback from their daily activities which will be our next action and tutorial.

- You do not need to use the feedback to determine "what" needs to be done that hasalready been done by your Seniors. You are using feedback to contribute to the "how" toget and keep it done.

- Make sure your questions reflect what your group needs to do to be successful andviable. Most often your customers doesn't know or care how your provide them their benefits they just want you to be there for them.

- Make your questions are diverse enough so as to include all your team members effortsso they may participate.

- The customer may feel more open and comfortable if they remain anonymous on thefeedback.

Work with your director on the format for presenting your questions to the customer.They can get some help from Marketing or Seniors. You may consider trying differentformats. I like the personal touch of a letter format but you may use a form. Here is alink to a form format as an example http://thankingcustomers.com/feedback_form.htm

Be sure to get the feedback back to your team ASAP. Work with your Director on tryingmail, e-mail, fax, or direct website submissions. Electronic submission can dropsubmission times from days to minutes.

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We believe this "secondary group asking process" is a missing link in your group's dailyactivities for the creation, fostering, and leveraging of your enterprise's connections withthose you serve, those that support you, and your group members themselves.http://thankingcustomers.com/process.html#define

- This process allows you as a leader to take the "what" needs to be done or accomplishedfrom your enterprise/director and use actions to determine the "how" to get it donethrough daily activities/operations.



Our next Tutorial 4 is "Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities"





Tutorial 4:

Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities


Tutorial Four


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:: Tutorial Four :: Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities

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Tutorial #3 was ASKING the critical questions for reflection. So to recap, after THANKING customers and INVITING them to let your group know "How Are WeDoing?", then ASKING the critical questions which will make your group effortssuccessful. You now will lead your group in "bulletining" the answers or feedback toeveryone providing them the opportunity to participate in getting feedback from their own daily activities.

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"It is difficult for people to stay absorbed in any activity unless they get timely onlineinformation about how well they are doing. Feedback may come from colleagues and

supervisors but preferably the activity itself will provide the feedback. The ability to giveobjective feedback to oneself is, in fact, the mark of an expert." Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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So Tutorial #4 is "Everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities". Whatmakes this action so powerful is that it is a learned skill for individuals involved in groupactivities such as a workplace. Some members of your group may already have it and doit unconsciously. These are no doubt your peak performers. Gallup's organizationalresearch (below) shows on average 29% of members are engaged. This group would

practice getting feedback from their daily activities to some extent.

- They are enthused by paying attention in workplace situations to experiences andrelationships. They learn from these daily activities in a personal and group effort to get better. They have a need to know and answer the question "How are we doing?"



- This action of the practice not only acquaints and helps those who do not possess thisskill to learn it, but just as importantly, provides those that do possess this skill anopportunity to participate and grow in using it! Our research shows this increasesretention of peak performers by increasing involvement through challenge to match their skill level (in this graph "flow" is maximum involvementhttp://thankingcustomers.com/FlowBase.gif ).

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Gallup Organization’s research on employee engagement finds that approximately 29%of employees are engaged, 55% are not engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged. Thisdata is based on more than 3 million employees in companies around the world. Gallupestimates that just the 16% actively disengaged employees in the United States cost $350 billion in lost productivity in 2002 -- Curt Coffman "Building a Highly EngagedWorkforce." Govleaders.org, 2003

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We suggest in most cases to use the simple "Bulletin Board" technique to place and keepfeedback (answers to your critical questions) in front of everyone during daily activities.Depending on your groups demographics this could be a physical bulletin board on a walland/or an electronic bulletin board accessed by computer. The number one rule is keep itin front of everyone so that they can easily come to it rather than you taking it to them.

- The practice is based on human nature and maintains momentum on its own (just likethe water pump) by group members seeking to belong, make a contribution, desiringrecognition/appreciation, wanting to succeed/win, and looking to be better/improve. Thisis what attracts them to answer the question "How are we doing?"

- This "bulletin board" demonstrates the simple, back-to-basics approach of the practice.To reiterate, the practice is not about doing anything to others, rather, doing activities

with others. Also not about changing others, rather, using activities to lead others in thesame direction.

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"There are no leaders, only leadership. Leadership is situational, less a personal qualitythan specific to a situation. -- Richard Farson, Management of the Absurd--Paradoxes inLeadership

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Exercise 4 - "Feedback from Daily Activities"

Generally I suggest having the 3 or 4 most recent feedbacks from customers posted onyour "Bulletin Board" at one time. This will keep interest up and a dialogue going.



A good target for frequency would be 3 to 5 feedbacks per week in most cases.Remember, you are not paying money for the feedbacks.

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"Coaching Tips" -- You can discover how-to get instant customer feedback through the

practice for your own organization in Session 2 of the eHandbook Propel FrontlineLeaders .

Find answers to "How do you get the feedback? - Who do you get the feedback from? -What should the feedback consist of? - What are criticals?

Also how-to execute the first two steps of the six-step practice implementation

_____________________________________________________

Our next tutorial "SHARING 'How are we doing?' for assessment and continuousdialogue" will also include a course summary where we will demonstrate what your newcareer skill will mean to you. Also what kind of tool the course will be for your enterprise.



Tutorial 5:

SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment andcontinuous dialogue


Tutorial Five


_________________________________________________________

The 5-Part Motivate-Inspire-Involve Course


:: Tutorial Five :: SHARING "How are we doing?" for assessment and continuousdialogue

_________________________________________________________

Tutorial 4 was everyone getting FEEDBACK from their own daily activities. We mowlook at the next resulting action from the bulletin board which is Tutorial #5: SHARING"How are we doing?" for assessment and continuous dialogue

You do not attempt to "push" the feedback or bulletin board to your group members,simply make it accessible and they will come to it. It doesn't happen immediately or eventhe first time the process is initiated. As the practice cycle repeats, momentum occursand everyone begins to involve themselves.

You will first find that people will make assessments. Assessments are simply opinions.Of course knowledge and experience creates a more valued opinion or recognizedassessment. Assessments continue learning, focus, and commitments.

- Assessments are healthy for a group because they initiate dialogue. Dialogue is anextremely important type of communication tool due to the fact that it fosters discussionand the exchange of thoughts and ideas--a give and take. This is an example of how agroup leader can actually lead something as intangible and often unconscious asthoughts!

- Think of assessments as a type of informal measurement. While measurements are

important for tangible hard skills in maintaining structure and discipline, assessments areequally important to compliment and continue long-term that structure and discipline. Aswe have seen, assessments demonstrate intangible soft skills like reflection, attention, andintention. These in turn lead to the goals of our practice and process--learning, focus, andcommitments respectively. Our research indicates these three skills not only improvegroup and enterprise results but sustain them as well.



The following would be an example of how assessments compliment measurements in a basic group activity such as training:

• If you administer a training program to me and then give me a test to see what I have retained thenI have feedback from you in the form of a measure/score that lets both you and I know my progress. This is important for structure and discipline within the enterprise but does not foster much if any discussion. If, however, you also follow these five steps and provide me theopportunity to get feedback from my own daily activities which provides an assessment for "Howare we doing?" this will foster discussion, inquiry, and initiate an ongoing dialogue. From thiscontinuing feedback and dialogue I will remain attentive, reflective, and demonstrate myintentions for the enterprise, group, and customers. From these daily activities will develop long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments.

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"My 30 years of research and these 12,000 journal entries suggest that whenpeople are doing work that they love and they're allowed to deeply engage in it --and when the work itself is valued and recognized -- then creativity will flourish.Even in tough times" -- Teresa Amabile's creativity study articled in Fast

Company, issue 89

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This concludes our demonstration of the five basic actions for the process which we call"Frontline Leadership" We hope we have accomplished our objective of providing youas a group/team leader or first-line manager with a practice which you can use to leadmore effectively the people-part of your daily activities. Complimenting, not changing,the program activities for structure and discipline with an entrepreneurial ethic for long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments from everyone.

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Exercise 5 - "Assessments for Continuous Dialogue"

As feedback is posted on the bulletin board and updated a "natural" interest will grow asgroup members gain awareness through experiences. Members will develop anunderstanding and take ownership of the experiences reflected in the feedback. This willform the basis for future actions and results. We do not suggest you have meetings,schedules, or even announce the feedback.

In most cases I would not measure/grade the feedback but it is often effective to make anassessment with a range from "Bad" to "Excellent". I like having 3 or 4 "top priority"questions of the dozen or so total which are main determinants. These will help

determine future decision-making during daily activities.

If you desire a running or overall assessment for "How are we doing?" as a group, Isuggest a percentage of acceptability for feedback with the definition of acceptabilitycommunicated up front.



Assessments will grow and continue a dialogue which should be customer-centered as thefeedback is directly from customers in real-time. A true "customer dialogue" maintains adialogue focused on customer service between group members and customers, fellowgroup members, and partners alike.

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"Coaching Tips" ------ Session 3 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders will helpyou assess and share feedback to involve everyone. You will also find here suggestionsfor the third step in implementing the practice "Assess Feedback and Develop aScorecard". Session 3 also provides instructions for the fourth step of the six toimplement the practice "Share Feedback to Involve Everyone".

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After the action of SHARING feedback to create assessments and build dialogue you areready to repeat the process or five actions.

- To do this simply THANK (repeat first action) the customers who provided feedback aswell as any other customers, group members for their efforts, and partners (internal andexternal) for their support. This is a natural activity that will come to occur withspontaneity and demonstrate intentions, attention, and reflection. Leading to continuouscommitments, focus, and learning respectively.http://thankingcustomers.com/natural.htm

- As the actions are repeated the practice will grow to lead not only the relationships between group members and customers, but also between group members themselves,and partners as well. This is where the true benefits of the practice begin to grow. In thesummary that follows we will demonstrate these benefits.

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If you wish to apply these frontline leadership actions to your organization we suggestusing our eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders which is designed to implement the practice in a multi-level enterprise such as a business, government, educational, or association environment. The handbook is a step-by-step instructional to guide thedevelopment of the practice. Instant access is available through digital download.http://thankingcustomers.com/coursegateway.htm

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"Coaching Tips"

Support Membership - 3 months free with eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders .Become a Member and get support: Case Submission, Self-Service Web Portal, Coursewith Labs and .......... http://thankingcustomers.com/services2.html



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Finally we would like to summarize the practice to reflect on the purpose and objectiveswe expect you to be able to achieve as you continue the journey to build the practice intoa career skill for yourself and a tool for your enterprise.

One of the most important points to remember is that regardless whether you call themmanaging or leading it is always ACTIONS that get results. The five actions which form

the process will create experiences that, in turn, provide valuable learning to growinterests, confidence, challenge, and skills. As the process, set of actions, is completedand is repeated the practice will develop. As with any practice the more you do it the better you get and the easier it becomes (like the water pump).

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"Coaching Tips" ------ To help your organization in getting started on the journey useSession 6 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders. You will find a "Customer Retention Model" we suggest you begin with which targets the saving of customers whohave concerns or complaints. This session also helps you with getting that first "quick win".

_____________________________________________________

Let's review the sequence of actions and their benefits. As the practice develops, the benefits are felt not only by customers but also group members (associates) andsupporters (partners) as well.

1. Begin with THANKING those that benefit from your group's efforts -- Demonstrate recognitionand appreciation.

2. INVITE customers to let your group know "How are we doing?" -- Demonstrate your group'sintentions to serve and strive to be better.

3. ASK the critical questions, mostly non-verbally, that will ensure successful daily operations --Develop continuous learning, focus, and commitments.

4. Provide group members FEEDBACK from their daily activities -- The only way to maintaininvolvement and self-motivation.

5. SHARE information and feedback to create assessments for building a continuous dialog about the purpose and results of the groups efforts. -- Create assessments for a continuous customer dialogue

Repeat the process by THANKING everyone for their participation and efforts. View the practice as a journey, not a destination.

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"Coaching Tips" ------ In Session 5 of the eHandbook Propel Frontline Leaders wereview the sixth step for implementing the practice "Align Results with BusinessStrategies".



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APPENDIX 1

( Links in this appendix are available at our website

http://thankingcustomers.com/purpose.html )

The Frontline Leadership Pyramid-- Working Backwards

The practice creates a secondary asking and thanking process at thefrontlines which consists of actions rather than words. The primary

purpose is not to get additional feedback (although that may happen aswell) as much as it is to use the process to lead the activities of long-termcustomer focus, learning, and commitments for everyone in dailyoperations. This is accomplished through maintaining everyone'sattention, self-motivation, involvement, and appreciation.

The pyramid shows the foundations needed to achieve long-term results or continuous improvement. A blueprint for leading accountability and thealignment of culture and results.

Keys:

* Working backwards to lead a foundation in daily operations(Experiences, Beliefs, Actions, and Results)

* Relationships or the 'people' part of the enterprise which can be led byfrontline activities. Frontline managers building and maintainingrelationships for Teamwork, Customer Service, and Collaboration--simultaneously!



Leading the enterprise's alignment of culture and accountability

Note: Most managerial programs and systems are oriented above the line with daily operationalactivities to achieve organizational ends and maintain results. Our practice is a process (set of actions) which gives operational managers leadership activities for below the line. A tool for leading experiences and beliefs to learn and focus on the "how" and create the "means." These

operational leadership activities form a base and provide follow-through and continuation for existing programs and systems. Results are maintained through the practice cycle which buildsmomentum using incremental increases in focus, learning, and commitments to continue leadingexperiences and relationships. Culture and accountability are aligned through aligning theactivities which lead relationships and experiences.



4) Celebrate & Maintain Results

3) Practice Actions

2) Foster Beliefs

1) Lead Experiences Daily

(Working Backwards)

1) Lead Workplace Experiences (Working backwards from the bottom of the pyramid or the frontlines of daily operations)

Asking & Thanking Processes (95% non-verbal)

"Propel Frontline Leaders" - a team leadershippractice for building relationships in three areassimultaneously:

1. Between associates and customers(Customer Service)

2. Between associates themselves(Teamwork)

3. Between associates and partners both

internal and external to the enterprise(Collaboration)

Build Soft Skills - Dialogue, Celebration,Enthusiasm, Pride, Empowerment, Enjoyment,Sharing, Acceptance, Reflection, Trust,Appreciation, Inspiration, Passion and Culture



2) Foster Beliefs

Leading Workplace Relationships to compliment and continuethe Management of Relationships (CRL for CRM)

Create Conditions for

1. Awareness,

2. Understanding, and

3. Ownership

3) Practice Actions

Leadership activities for follow-through and continuation withthe "people" part of the enterprise.

• Practice Cycle

o "Asking" process, set of actions, for learning

o "Thanking" process, set of actions, for recognition

• Customer Retention Model

• Customer Recruitment Model

Self-motivation, Involvement, Intentions,Question, Communications, Cooperation,



Participation, Recognition, Accountability andAttention

4) Celebrate Results

• Increase customer retention and loyalty by:

o a) keeping all associates focused, learning, and

committed to customers

o b) complimenting existing frontline managerialactivities with leadership activities

• Larger customer base increases top-line (sales) tosupport bottom-line (controls).

• Aligns leadership by taking the "what" needs to bedone, from senior management, and asking "how" to getit done in daily operations.

• Lead long-term results with a tool for frontline managersto use "ends" as their "means". (i.e. - use an enterpriseprogram for Customer Service to lead Service as an activityand aim it towards customers)

Customer Retention & Loyalty through BuildingLong-term Customer:

1. Focus,

2. Learning, and

3. Commitments



Appendix 2:

Build a "Cycle of Engagement"

Frontline Leadership can be learned!

( Links in this appendix are available at our websitehttp://thankingcustomers.com/engagementcycle.html )

Homepage: http://thankingcustomers.com

The Cycle of Engagement - keeping the voice of the customer onthe frontlines of daily operations

A number of studies indicate that one third of associates are engaged in daily

operations. This is crucial for all group leaders because only these associatesare high performers and will engage customers--critical for loyalty. But how dogroup leaders know at any point in time where their associates are on theengagement continuum? Much less keep them moving on the continuum towardfull engagement!

All associates receive feedback from colleagues and supervisors which cancreate engagement, at least for the short term. But, to remain engaged,associates must learn to get internal feedback--or that from their own dailyactivities. It is this "internal" feedback which inspires and self-motivates.Internal feedback allows associates to develop the ability to give themselves

objective feedback a prerequisite to sustain peak performance and fullengagement.

Our practice outlines a proven 5-step process which helps associates learn toget the feedback they need from their own daily activities. Specific actions whichany group leader can take with their associates to move everyone towards fullengagement on the continuum.



The cycle of engagement is where engaged associates on the frontlines of daily operations engage customers who in turn re-engage those sameassociates as well as their partners (internal and external). For example, if aservice provider is fully engaged they will engage the customer and in turn be re-engaged through customer interaction. These activities will bring about morecustomer and partner engagement through support. The cycle will build its ownmomentum as it repeats.

Part of this momentum is sustaining a customer dialogue between associatesand customers as well as fellow associates and partners. This is necessary inkeeping the all-important voice of the customer (VOC) on the frontlines of dailyoperations. We believe the VOC to be the entrepreneurial ethic which is criticalfor long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments. In fact, the cycle of engagement continues commitments, learning, and focus through everyonedemonstrating intentions, reflection, and attention respectively. All entrepreneursrepresent the engagement cycle as they begin their venture--their engagement iscontagious as they engage customers who reengage the entrepreneur and their supporters.

We define engagement on the frontlines of daily operations as "people involvedwith their hearts and minds." Involvement is the matching of challenges andskills to avoid a person being anxious, apathetic, or bored and can be managedto a large degree. Hearts and minds however, being more intangible, can onlybe managed with limited success and require leadership activities to continue for any length of time. Characteristics from the heart would be passion, emotion,enjoyment, feelings, and intentions (at least as perceived by others). Those fromthe mind are thought, attention, reflection, informal learning and communication.



Sustaining a "sense of purpose." Sustain a direction and engagementthrough a desire to focus our energy on particular activities or goals. We deeplycare when our feelings tell us we are doing what matters. Purpose feeds our souls and stimulates our passionate energies.

Through a "leadership pyramid" engaged group members can lead experiencesto form the basis for beliefs. These beliefs support and complement the actionswhich are managed through daily operations and the results which are achieved.

So how can group leaders get and keep everyone fully engaged?Associates, Partners, and Customers alike! Everyone not only receivingfeedback, but also participating in asking the critical questions, of customers, for "How are we doing?" is key. Individually and collectively maintaining a customer dialogue to keep the voice of the customer on the frontlines of daily operations.

Enterprises traditionally provide associates feedback through their colleaguesand supervisors but herein lies the uncertainty for team leaders in understandinghow engaged their associates are? While important for structure and discipline,leaders never know how much of this feedback is internalized by associates or for how long.

Leaders must recognize and address another feedback as well, to complementthose from supervisors and colleagues. This is where internal feedback iscritical--or feedback from ones own daily activities. The stimulus to sustainengagement must come from within each person by developing the ability toprovide oneself with objective feedback. An engaged person has learned toget internal feedback often without even knowing where it came from. After all it

is not on anyone's teaching agenda. All the associate knows is that they areinspired and self-motivated by the challenge to excel individually and as a groupthrough interaction with customers, partners and fellow group members.



Group leaders can lead activities for everyone to get customer feedback fromtheir own daily activities. Associates learn the ability to give themselves objectivefeedback.

Our practice defines a five-step process, set of actions, with which anygroup leader can lead associates in getting customer feedback from their owndaily activities. It complements without changing their existing

managerial/administrative activities on the frontlines and works by leading thesoft, intangible, people skills which involve the hearts and minds of everyone.These intangibles make the interaction a positive and motivating experience for everyone. By demonstrating intentions, recognition, appreciation, reflection,participation, and attention people become focused, committed, and learn.

1. Thank: Builds recognition and leads appreciation.

2. Invite: Demonstrates intentions, which leads to commitments.

3. Ask critical questions: Creates attention and leads to long-term focus.

4. Get feedback from activities: Keeps associates engaged at a high level.

5. Share assessments: Develops opinions that foster dialogue.

These five activities are seamless as part of a single process. After momentumbuilds there becomes really only one action in that of extending the invitation.The rest of the process happens as a part of human nature seemingly as naturalas the physics of a siphon effect displayed by an old-fashioned hand water pump.

Discover the missing-link in daily operations for leading associates'engagement to retain customers (beneficiaries)! A user-centered approach for keeping the voice of the customer in front of everyone with a customer dialogue.

We define the five steps as a "secondary group asking process" meaningsimply a set of actions that anyone can learn as a career skill to leadassociates in re-asking (mostly non-verbally) the critical questions for "How are we doing?" The process represents the entrepreneurial ethic of building momentum for everyone to continue to be engaged through focus,learning, and commitments. Why is the practice missing? Asking, synonymous



with reflection, question, inquiry and challenge, as a practice went to the top of enterprises after WWII when they became hierarchical to more efficientlymanage capital. In the last two decades, as enterprises moved to be morehorizontal, asking as a practice never fully returned to the frontlines. Onlyfeedback from the asking which is more manageable through programs andsystems.

In summary, existing managerial activities provide everyone feedback fromsupervisors (vertical) and colleagues (horizontal) but it is difficult to managecustomer feedback one gets from their own daily activities (internal). Studiessuggest that one out of three associates have learned this self-motivatingexperience although they often do not even realize it as it is not on any group'scurriculum (family, school, church, or enterprise). Frontline leaders can,however, lead activities to provide this feedback for this one third to develop itinto the ability to give themselves objective feedback--full engagement. The restcan practice getting customer feedback from their own daily activities and learnthis engaging experience.

Group leaders are often engaged themselves--a key reason for their promotion.

They often feel caught-in-the-middle between meeting the needs of supervisorsand keeping everyone (associates, customers and partners) fully engaged indaily operations. For two big reasons:

1. On the enterprise frontlines three critical areas merge together everyday of workplace relationships and experiences which must work with each other for results . Those three groups are Associates, Customers, and Partners who continuouslyinteract among each other within their groups as well as between them. Partners areanyone who supports your group, both internal such as Marketing or external such assuppliers.

2. People's level of engagement can move on a continuum from fully engaged toactively disengaged. At any point in time it is difficult to know exactly where people are

on the continuum or which way they are moving.

The cycle of engagement builds a momentum, much like a flywheel effect,based on human interaction. Focus, learning, and commitments flow from dailyexperiences and relationships as everyone develops the ability to providethemselves with objective feedback. This is human nature as the same effect isevident in any performing group be it in sports, arts or entertainment. Engagedperformers engage fans and audiences who in turn reengage the performers aswell as partners.

The practice supports continuous learning when group leaders do it with rather than to everyone. Even in classroom situations if the instructor wants to takelearners on a journey toward reaching a competency level rather than simply arote memory exercise the practice will keep everyone on the same page workingtowards the same goals.. The bonus for learners is they also develop a life skillthey can apply in any group situation.



Finally, the cycle of engagement can be seen and felt quite easily from acustomer's perspective. The next time you have an opportunity, observe andassess levels of engagement on the continuum in a setting of multipleinteractions such as a restaurant. You will be able to readily identify associateswho are getting customer feedback from their own activities (engaged) and areengaging customers. In turn, the enjoyment and self-motivation they receiveback from their customer interactions is noticeable as well. Others may be

following all policies and procedures and be very active but are not receiving thesame customer feedback from their own activities. They, in turn, are visibly not,to the same level, engaging customers and being reengaged themselves fromsimilar activities and customer interactions.

Enterprise cases or examples of the cycle of engagement:

Click here to view the case of Sam Walton

Click here to view the case of Starbucks



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