At Incept, I’m part of the Live the Brand subcommittee, Learning Never Stops.
The group is made up of conversational marketing experts (CMEs), coaches, supervisors and Sam Falletta, President of Incept. We meet once a week to discuss how to help our fellow employees meet their personal and professional goals through education.
When I first joined the group, I assumed that Mr. Falletta would be leading our meetings. Instead, every week we take turns moderating. Almost everyone has had a turn so far, so I’ve been able to observe a half-dozen different leadership techniques.
The Incept Conference Room
Here are the top-5 ways to lead a meeting:
- Sit in the middle of the group. I mean that literally. In the Incept conference room, there is an oval table with black office chairs around it. A leader’s natural seat is at either end of the table – not physically above the group like a throne but slightly separate. I’ve noticed that the leaders in my committee purposefully sit in the middle chairs. This action communicates “I’m with you” rather than “I’m above you.”
- Begin and end the meeting on positive notes. The Live the Brand committee meetings start by sharing “Wows.” We go around the circle and everyone talks about a “wow” moment they had that week. Usually, we’re “wowed” by another employee who went above and beyond their job description. The meetings end with each member stating what they thought was the most productive part of the conversation and the most meaningful result. Then members pass out an Incept poker chip. The chips are given to fellow employees who did something that represented an Incept value. It’s a way to publicly reward exceptional work.
Keep everyone on task. It’s always difficult to stay on topic, especially when the people in the meeting are friends you want to catch up with. The fact that they are friends can also make it harder to rein them in when they get off topic. It’s OK to let people inch from the main subject for a few minutes, but like any good shepherd leading sheep, a leader has to steer the conversation onto the most productive path.- Summarize. Every few minutes, especially if you’re about to go to the next topic, make a decision or if everyone in the group has different opinions, be sure to summarize the discussion. Make a one-sentence statement that mentions what you’ve accomplished so far, what you still disagree on and what steps to take next.
- Ask questions. The moderator of a meeting has to always be prepared to ask questions. It could be a question to an individual group member to clarify what he or she is saying, or it could be a general question to keep the group thinking.
What additional advice do you have for moderating a meeting?
Recently I talked about how March is the one-year anniversary of our adventure into blogging at Incept. I sat down, read just about every blog we (as a team) had written and picked my Top 10 Incept Saves Blogs.
It only seemed fair to go back, look at them all again and pick out my favorite Incept Results Top 10. Here they are:
- “Conversations: Quantity Versus Quality” ~ December 2010, by Sam Falletta
- “When ‘No’ Actually Means ‘Maybe’” ~ April 2010, by Sam Falletta
- “Listening to the Message Between the Words” ~ November 2010, by Dave Walter
- “Compliance = Listening” ~ April 2010, by Sam Falletta
- “You ARE the Company” ~ December 2010, by Jim Beuoy
- “The Internet Conversation Cycle for Brands” ~ September 2010, by Nate Riggs
- “Customer Service in Reverse: Everyone’s a Customer” ~ December 2010, by Stephen Smith
- “How Far We’ve Come and How Much Further We Can Go!” ~ February 2011, by Jim Beuoy
- “The Golden Rule & Standing Orders” ~ June 2010, by Stephen Smith
- “365 WOWs” ~ December 2010, by Sam Falletta
I have to compliment my good friend and mentor, Mr. Sam Falletta, for taking ownership of this list I put together. All of these blogs posts are great resources of insight and information, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them.
So here’s to our first year of blogging (and many more to come)!
Did I miss a post that you liked? Which post(s) would you have picked?
A long time ago in a land far far away, people who worked together treated each other with kindness and respect. Sadly those values are often lost in most modern work environments, but not at Incept.
I don’t remember what month it was when our President/Chief Results Officer, Sam Falletta, said it, but there are a set of standing orders in the contact center. They are, of course, unofficial and are more like guidelines to live by, but they’re also simple and important.
“Compliment someone everyday,” and ”Thank someone everyday.”
Simple enough, right? What we’re really saying is this: follow the golden rule. Doing so will build trust, friendship, and communication in teams of any size. By treating others the way you want to be treated, we strengthen the integrity of our company which leads to much happier employees.
I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t want to be thanked and complimented each day just for coming in and doing their job? It’s that simple.
Working at Incept is a different kind of experience. I really get the feeling that the company is invested in my future, both as an employee and as a person. Here are just a few reasons why:
My Accountability Group - Lisa, Chris, Allison and Sarah
A few months ago, Incept decided to try something different. Something that would help our employees on a deeper level – a goal-setting and accountability program. It started with management and worked its way down to our CMEs. I was one of the first to jump on board.
When we talked to our President and Chief Results Officer, Sam Falletta, he said to us, “I want to help each of you reach your goals, even if they have nothing to do with your work.” He wanted to help each of us be “present” at home and work to allow us to feel more balanced and free up our minds to be more productive.
It certainly worked. I feel like my team holds me accountable for the goals I set, and pushes me to balance my life. The results have been amazing: people all over the company are reaching their goals and doing more because they now have the support system in place to help them feel more present.
Going along with the idea of trying something new and reaching for bigger and more challenging goals is the value, “never satisfied.” This one is pretty straightforward. There’s never a reason to stop improving.
This is one of my favorite values at Incept, as once you’ve reached your goal, the next level is always just within your grasp. Everything can be improved and we can always accomplish more with the strong support we have from everyone around us.
Everyone working at Incept contributes to this value. The impact each of us make and the way we push one another to new heights is what makes Incept great! We are never satisfied with being average or with only reaching our goals. There’s always something more you can do! Try finding that at your typical nine-to-five office. Just another reason why Incept is special!
Have you ever spent time – be it a year or even an entire decad
e – working for a company without seeing the Owner or President step foot onto the floor?
Sure, he or she’s busy doing “President stuff,” but a king with no people has no empire. You’d think they would take some time, even once a quarter, to step out and show a little gratitude and appreciation to the employees who keep the business fully functioning each and every day.
I believe I was working at Incept for around a month before the President introduced himself, along with the Vice President and CEO, during an Employee of the Month meeting. They gave me a brief overview of the company culture, vision and origin.
One of their shinning moments was admitting that the little guys sometimes had the hardest, yet always the most important, job within the company. They wanted us to know just how much they relied on us. We, of course, all knew this, but it was refreshing to hear the big cheese admit it.
It was probably three months later that the President came in on a Saturday, sat in one of the cubicles and started making calls with the rest of us. Rumors spread like wildfire, until his name appeared on the livestats with the rest of us, entering into the unofficial competition to be named top blood donor recruiter for a particular program. It was also refreshing to see that Sam, our President, was able to back up his title with his performance. I believe he finished in the top three spots of appointments per hour.
For anyone that has spent more than two weeks at Incept, you will come to realize that Sam is a frequent visitor of the Contact Center. At any given moment, he might be speaking with Managers or waving to the Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs), but he also prides himself on keeping a consistent, transparent response towards any issue directed his way. He’s the type of person that leaves you saying, “what a really cool guy.”
As I have gotten closer to Sam, and worked with him on more projects, his passion for what we do continuously surpasses all of my previous expectations. He is a perfect example of someone who is never satisfied, always looking to innovate and constantly improve results.
