Use Strengths To Create Customer Moments - With Mike Ganino

This Episode's Focus On StrengthsMike Ganino joins us to help you lead through your strengths at work. You'll find this episode especially useful if you manage a team and you're trying to create a better culture at work--one that your customers can feel too. You'll also love this episode if you're fun and you like people who are intelligent and charismatic at the same time. That's Mike! What You'll LearnMike shares wisdom on: How to create a culture change, even when you’re sitting around on milk crates with no budget or corporate support. Influencing what happens in moments of truth between employees and customers. You can do this by creating an environment that helps each person bring their best performance to work. It’s using their individual strengths to get the experience you want for your customers and employees. How to improve customer service without writing employee manuals and memos that say things like “you need to smile” - because making employees force a smile is just weird. Viktor Frankl “Man’s Search For Meaning” - Mike shares this nugget about Frankl being able to, in the darkest of humanity (a reference to his experience in concentration camps),  act intentionally with the energy you bring to the team. Owning it. When you’re managing a team, it’s your team. You get to choose how you run your meeting. You get to decide whether to do it like everyone else, or to change some simple things so you can lead through your strengths. And in doing that, you can help your employees lead through theirs too. Meetings. He offers a tip to wrap up your meetings with one minute of appreciation. Just one minute. Do small things to change the temperature of the room. When you take time to notice what works, your team members will know what you want to see more of and they can give it to you. Doing more of what allows you to use your natural talents. That way, you’re building a personal brand. You’re getting known for work you love and you’re great at. That creates a virtuous circle for you because you end up getting more work that reflects what you’re great at. Live into your strengths and change your entire career trajectory by doing more of what you want to be doing. Applying this concept in non-corporate work environments (this is where people like to tell me that working from strengths won’t work in their industry). Mike shares a story with contrast where you’ll see that you don’t have to stop your expectations at, “I wish they’d stop coming in late because they’re hung over.” He used these techniques to transform restaurant cultures. The magical properties of applied improvisation. Mike and I are both big fans, students, and users of improv. He gives great pointers for using it in professional development, employee interviews, and even coaching and feedback. Resource of the Episode Check out the Viktor Frankl book “Man’s Search For Meaning.” And grab Mike's coaching, feedback, and improv tips on mike.tips. You can also follow his ideas on Twitter or Instagram. Remember, using your strengths at work makes you a stronger performer. If you’re focused on fixing your weaknesses, you’re choosing the path of most resistance. So claim your talents. Then share them with the world. And help your team do the same!