November 2005

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Featured Topic: Welcoming New Team Members

Inside This Issue

The Tool That Welcomes

At TLC, we talk often about the power of questions. Not all questions are created equal. There is one type of question that we call BridgeProbes that can be extremely effective in getting to know someone better and making them feel truly welcome.

To use a BridgeProbe, use a question that begins with “what” or “how”. Then sit back and relax. Your role is now to completely listen. Don’t be in a hurry or worry if the person is giving you the right answer. You are not striving to get to the right answer; rather, your purpose is to place yourself as the listener. Any answer is right.

After the person answers your question, base you next open question on something that was in the previous answer. Do not change the subject or jump into an area of interest for you. You are not directing the topics here; you are following the flow. You keep repeating this process as long as you are willing to listen.

Here is an example of a BridgeProbe:

You: What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Person: I don’t know. I guess I enjoy watching sports, especially football. I also like to hike when I can get near the mountains. Other than that, I listen to good music and even play a little guitar.

You: What kinds of hiking trips do you like?

Person: If I can plan for them, some pretty vigorous ones.

You: Hmmm. What would you consider as vigorous?

Person: Well, I started in Boy Scouts, and then hiked part of the Appalachian Trail. Then last summer I hiked in Peru with some friends.

You: Great! What was Peru like?

Person: The native people were very friendly and the food was nice and spicy.

You: What are some of your favorite foods?

This BridgeProbe could go on for quite a while. If the first Bridge Probe had asked about football instead of hiking, the conversation would have gone in an entirely different direction. Notice later in the conversation, it navigated from Peru and hiking to food because the person mentioned food in their previous response.

When you become adept with the BridgeProbe, you get credit for being a great listener and this makes the person who is talking feel very included and welcome. It is a great technique to use when meeting a new team member.

What Our Clients Are Saying

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course on presentation skills (Season Tickets: Presentations That Get Ovations!). I have already benefitted from your lesson and my level of confidence during my presentations has greatly improved. I look forward to the next course.”

Tanya Wildgoose, Chattanooga TN

“I especially like the way the trainer takes the time to make sure you have a clear understanding of the material you are covering. His interest in the individual is a feeling you are receiving ‘special treatment’. It was a great training class.”

Dee Raya, Atlanta GA

In The News

Our CEO, Beverly Inman-Ebel, was a keynote speaker for The First Annual Conference of U.S. – China Women Business Leaders held in Washington, D. C. on September 21-22, 2005. The title of her presentation was, “The Heart of the Leader.” The organizer of this historical event, Jade Zhou, hopes that international networks can be created and has asked Beverly to come to China for the next annual event.

My Road To Recovery

Vincent Ivan Phipps, B.S.

As many of you already know, this year on September 11 (what is it about that date?), I was in a near fatal vehicular accident where my truck went off of the highway, flipped over several times, resulting in my severely breaking my neck.  Emergency eight-hour surgery was conducted to replace the fractured bones in my neck.

After a month of limited mobility, a lot of welcomed pain (beats being paralyzed), and a whole lot of love - luck - and blessings, recent x-rays confirmed that the titanium screws in my neck have fused perfectly with my spine which will result in 100% recovery to my central nervous system (In other words; I’ll be fine!).

A special thank you to all of you for your support, generosity, and kind words and gifts.  This has been the toughest thing I’ve ever endured physically.  I thought I was making the most of my life before.  With this second chance of life, expect more positive changes! I appreciate all of you for being there for me.  Here’s to round two!

Well Come

The word “welcome” can be a positive greeting. It basically means that when you come, all will be well. In our lives, there are some significant times when this is so important, including joining a new team at work.

To ensure that when you come all will be well requires willingness from those who are already members of the team and for the new person entering the group. Below are some quick tips for both.

The group welcoming a new person can:

The new person can:

With everyone working to include a new person, the transition will go much smoother. A new team member affects the whole team. When they come, make sure it all goes well.

Sidekick

We often hear the term “sidekick.” Have you ever wondered where it came from?

In old English, a kick was a large pocket in the side of a man’s pants. It was a deeper pocket than the ones we see today. Pickpockets realized that they could not steal from the kick as easily as they could from a rear pocket, called a pratt back then.

Over time, sidekick became a term used for a faithful friend who was as close to you as your side pocket.

It represented someone who was always there and would not vanish or be stolen away.Perhaps there is a new person on your team that you could help to learn their way. You could become close in your work life and that relationship would not vanish as more people enter the team. It all begins with a welcome.

Happy Birthday!

A very happy birthday to our clients whose birthdays are in November:

George TrottiPaul Veraart
Margaret Carton
Jeff Hathcock
Debbie Franke
Sheila Nelson
Tommy Beckler
Robert L. Henry
Brian Korkus
Tom Sutter
Wilson Harvey
Randy Crowder
Marian Adamson
Layne Grantham
Eric Norden

CEO Corner: "Continual Welcome"

Beverly Inman-Ebel, MA CCC-SLP

At several times in my life, I have served on boards for multiple years. Each year, when board members rotate off or come on the board, is a time of adjustment. I am glad to see some leave and miss others. Likewise, some new members are delightful and others have to grow on me.

Adjusting to new people is a way of life. There are some things we can do to make it easier. In the last eight years, we have had a very stable workforce at TLC. Years ago when we were hiring college graduates right from school, we had more turnover. To compensate for this, we initiated a new program to get these young people acclimated quicker to the work environment. We divided the team into twelve units and each employee had her or his week to be the new employee’s “buddy”. Duties of the buddy included, taking the individual to lunch once a week and being the “go to person” for any questions. We created a welcome basket that had suggestions for dry cleaners, drug stores, dentist, doctors, etc, explaining what the various employees liked about that business. It also had maps and coupons from the newspapers to get them more acquainted with their new home. It helped these young people find a home away from home.

Whenever I enter a new team, I strive to listen and ask questions long before I share my thoughts. When I went to Libya in September, my first event was a dinner to honor the three American guests. I chose to sit with the Libyans and after a three-hour dinner they dubbed me, “The American of a Thousand Questions.” Because I took the time to find out about their lives, business climate, and culture, my keynote speech the next day was quite a success. My dinner mates were glowing because they recognized that my questions and their answers became part of my presentation.

Preparing a team member to join a team also makes good sense. Giving assignments to read about projects, company culture, etc. can be time well spent during the first weeks. We often recommend that employers profile the job in order to determine what qualities they might be looking for in filling a position. Target Training International reports that 85% of people who leave their jobs do so because of people problems rather than skill level. Getting new employees off to the right start can make a big difference.

Laying down the welcome mat does not mean treating someone like royalty for a day and then getting back to business as usual. It can mean creating an environment that is inclusive and open. Hiring or acquiring new people onto your team is inevitable. With a little forethought, it can ensure that the relationship not only gets off to a good start, but stays on course. Welcome others and live your dreams!

Ask The Experts

Dear TLC,

We had a team that really hung together. Then, new management came in and divided the group. Now we have some new people that quite frankly do not know what they are doing. Why break something that is working?

Teamed Out

Dear Teamed,

When a group works well together, it can be difficult to regroup. Do you remember your first days together with the old team? There probably were some challenges in the very beginning.

So it may be with this new team. Ask questions to get to know them. Listen to their ideas. Slow down your judgement process until everyone is better acquainted. One of your first actions may be to come up with new ground rules that the new team will operate by. Remember, you think they are new, but you are just as new to them. Meet them half way.

Featured Service: Executive Coaching

Have you ever wondered just what TLC does? Our mission statement provides insight into what we’re all about: TLC exists to promote the importance and use of effective interaction among people through our individual and group training, coaching, facilitation, and materials. We actively pursue this mission with our clients across the United States and in foreign countries. Our goal is not to be the biggest, simply the best.

We accomplish this through:

TLC can provide testimonies about our products and would be happy to sit down with you to discuss our products/services. We also have books, tapes, CDs, DVDs and other learning tools available. Visit our website at www.talklisten.com or call us at 1/888/BECAUSE (232-2873).

TLC establishes long-term relationships with our clients. If we have helped you or if you believe our approach to change would work for someone you know, please request a proposal or phone 1-888-232-2873. We work with individuals and groups on the following subject areas: attitude, listening, body language, voice, leadership, compliments and corrections, behavioral style, teamwork, effective meetings, public speaking, accent reduction and much more!.

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