Appendix I: Leadership Philosophy 1. Think of a leader you admire and state what you admire about that leader i.e. what has that leader accomplished, what are the leader s strengths, what are his/her values, how does she/he treat people, the core values his/her business has, why do you respect this leader? 2. From the list below, pick five core values that you feel describe and guide who you are as a leader. Accomplishment Balance Courage Knowledge Spirituality Adventure Challenge Creativity Love Team builder Ambition Change & variety Efficiency Loyalty Trustworthiness Artistic Collaboration Family Mastery Wisdom Affluence Community Financial stability Recognition Authority Competency Influencing people Results Autonomy Compassion Integrity Recognition Are there any other values you would like to state that are not on the list? 3. In the chart state your top five values and how they make you an effective leader. 1. Top Five Values Give a definition for each of your values Write actions you can take to apply your values in your job 2. 3. 4. 5. 1
4. If you could write the eulogy for your funeral service, what would you like to be said about the legacy you have left as a leader? Leadership Philosophy Statement A leadership philosophy is the way we see ourselves and want others to see us as leaders. The purpose is to guide our actions and behaviours. It s the model we set through our actions and behaviour that we would like employees to follow. Write your leadership philosophy using the answers to the above questions. It can be a sentence or a story whatever makes sense to you. When you are happy with it, type it out and keep it somewhere visible. Share your leadership philosophy with your employees. My leadership philosophy is: 2
Appendix II Employee Engagement Assessment Check one or more of the boxes in the following list that might indicate a problem with engagement with your employees. The credibility of management is regularly questioned: We ve heard this before. When asked for suggestions employees rarely give any. Employees are unclear about the direction of business the bigger picture of where the business is going. There is a lack of information sharing between the different teams/crews and lack of collaboration towards common goals and results. Turnover among good employees seems high. Rates of absenteeism and short-term disability are on the rise. Employees often arrive late and leave early. There is a lack of passion for continuous improvement among employees. Employee s work is disconnected from providing excellent customer service it s about completing tasks. The morale is low and employees are not interested in taking part in company events. Selecting any one of the statements identifies that employees do not feel fully connected to the goals of the business and perceive that management is not interested in their wellbeing and development. The more statements selected identifies the seriousness of disengagement within the business. Using the X-Model of Engagement shown in the video: The X Model of Employee Engagement: Maximum Satisfaction Meets Maximum Contribution - - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz3wxgog4nc take the following actions to improve engagement: 1. The owner s responsibility is to foster a sense of community by sharing goals, aspirations, and success stories. What communication venues are available to easily reach employees on a regular basis? 2. Owner/manager to have a one on one meeting with each of the employees to discuss their goals. Sample questions in Appendix III can be used to uncover those goals. Develop an action plan with each employee to achieve at least one of their goals. Landscape Ontario Growing People Resource has a template for a Personal Development Plan - http://www.horttrades.com/lmp---careerdevelopment-plan-template. This is applicable to seasonal as well as full-time employees and is a practice for successful businesses in the sector. 3. Supervisor/Manager is responsible for coaching employees to achieve accepted performance and personal development plans. Recognition is the key to engagement. Make a list of practical ways to recognize employees who excel. Personal recognition is very important particularly from the owner/manager. 3
Appendix III Coaching Questions: One on One Employee Meetings 1. What is one thing I can do better to support you? How can I help you? 2. What would make your work more meaningful and satisfying? 3. How do you like being recognized when you do great work? 4. How could we improve things around here? 5. What do you like the best about your job? The least? 6. What is your greatest challenge or roadblock? 7. What support, tools/resources, skills or empowerment do you need to be more effective? 8. What strengths or talents do you possess that aren t being used? 9. What motivates you? 10. What de-motivates you? 11. What makes for a great work day for you? 12. What can we do to make your job more satisfying? 13. If you could change one thing about the company what would that be? 14. Do you receive enough training to do your job effectively? 15. How can I, or the company, help you reach your career goals? 4
Appendix IV New Leader Self-Assessment Directions: This self-assessment gives you the opportunity to identify the areas where you may need more knowledge, coaching, or training. It is important that you are honest as this will assist in ensuring that you develop the skills and gain the knowledge to be successful as a leader. From the resulting information your leader and you will develop a coaching plan. A sample plan can be found in Appendix IV in the People Development section. Please select which of the following areas you would like coaching in or training. Knowledge, Skills or Abilities Please select Knowledge: Vision, Mission, Values Business objectives How to keep my manager updated Need clarification on my job description as a supervisor/crew leader My boundaries to make decisions as a supervisor/crew leader Policies and procedures How my performance will be measured How to maintain boundaries with team members who I previously worked with Supervisory Skills: How to delegate tasks to the team How to manage multiple job assignments/crews How to give constructive feedback How to deal with conflict How to give clear instructions How to handle performance issues How to recognize employees How to keep the motivation of employees up under tough circumstances Provide on the job training Administrative Skills: Completing daily work plans Complete time off/absence sheets Complete required safety documentation Complete incident reports Requisitions for materials, equipment, etc. How to do performance reviews Customer Service: Basic customer service skills Capabilities: Basic computer skills Operation of all the equipment and machinery 5