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Runtime: 27 Minutes.

Tip No. 38. Respect the support personnel.

Who are the unsung heroes that make your business “work”? Departments that run back room activities rarely get to interact with the external customer and are often forgotten as a key cog in the productivity wheel, yet you could not function without them. The glory goes to those with the authority and visibility, and it sometimes creates a sense of unimportance to those that work to help others shine. Those employees that make it all come together in the background are easily forgotten, like the stage crew in a fabulous show.

Examples – the administrative staff, the HR department, the warehouse, IT, printing & publications, accounting.

Promote the importance of the support personnel by listening to their needs and expectations. Acknowledge them with earned praise. They may not get it elsewhere.

Is there someone right now that you can think of to recognize with some positive feedback?

Katie and Carol talk about Tips 38, 39, 40 and 41 from their book Skirt Strategies: 249 Success Tips for Women in Leadership.

Tip No. 39. Keep track of anything you borrow and return it in a timely fashion.

Tip No. 40. Buy whatever your employees’ kids are selling.

Tip No. 41. Participate in the blood drive.

 

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

 

Hello and welcome to the Skirt Strategies podcast, the podcast to help you get the support, validation and skills you need to accomplish your goals and really succeed in a male dominated world – all without having to give up your incredible female strengths.

 

Katie: We’ve got more podcast coming for you right now.

Carol: More tips.

Katie: Just more discussion about what it’s like at work for you – as a woman in a male dominated workplace.

I say male dominated, but you know what? I think the term we’re going to use more often now is male-based.

Carol: Right.

Katie: A lot of our women followers will say, “Oh, I’m not in a male dominated workplace.” Because they don’t feel like they’re being dominated.

But if their environment or their climate or their culture is male-based, it really is dominating – it just doesn’t feel like it.

Dominating is a strong word.

Carol: It is a very strong word. And you’re right. I always kind of hesitate to say that myself, because I don’t feel like I’m in a male dominated workplace. I’m mostly boss, I have my other bosses and there are more women on my board.

Katie: Yeah.

Carol: So yes, I am in a male-based work situation.

So – interesting. I like that change.

Katie: Okay. So that’s a new change. Although, the book ends on our podcast do say women and male dominated. But you know what we’re talking about.

These next couple of tips – we’re going to put four of them together from the book Skirt Strategies: 249 Success Tips for Women in Leadership.

Carol and I are going through the book, little by little and bringing them to you in podcast bits because they’re great to talk about.

Women do things differently.

Carol: We do. And we do them well. And we have to embrace how we lead, because we lead well.

Katie: Or even influence. Embrace how we influence.

Carol: Yes.

Katie: These next four are good examples of things that we have conversations about. Well, it’s not that men don’t have conversations about it. It’s just that we chat on about things that are…

Carol: That are important to us and should be important to others. And I think it’s just a reminder. That’s what tips are.

Katie: Tips are just reminders.

Carol: They’re reminders of, “Oh, yeah! I should probably do that!”

Katie: These four are kind of out hanging out there – four different things. This is a popery of office things.

Carol: They are.

Katie: We can call that a popery of office things.

Carol: Okay.

Katie: Tips Number 38 – (These tips are the number tips on the book.) 38, 39, 40 and 41. Why don’t you read each of those, Carol? And then, we’ll talk about them singularly.

Carol: Okay.

• Number 38: Respect the support personnel.
• Number 39: Keep track of anything you borrow – and return it in a timely passion.
• Number 40: Buy whatever your employee’s kids are selling.
• Number 41: Participate in the blood drive.

Katie: I like the free cookies at the blood drive. Do they still do that?

Carol: I don’t know. I’ve never participated.

Katie: Oh!

Carol: I’m just kidding.

Katie: You can ride it, but you don’t have to actually do what was…

Carol: We never had one in our office.

Katie: So 38 – Respect the support personnel.

Again, reminders: Remember the people that aren’t in the limelight.

Many of you listeners and those that we’ve done training for – are support personnel’s.

So what do we mean by support personnel? Administrative Staff, HR Department, folks in the Warehouse, the IT people, the guy at the front desk, the Printing and Publications, the Accounting people.

Those are support functions. Those delineation of roles are very obvious in the type of business world where I’ve come from – engineering or production.

Because in my world, (in the background of my engineering world) there was such importance put on the technical product. And if you were an engineer, you were hot cow dung.

Carol: Yeah. You’re better than everybody else.

Katie: You were. I mean, there was an atmosphere of, “Oh! The engineer! Oh! The technical expertise!”

Carol: Yeah. “The engineer is here everybody.”

Katie: Right. Exactly! And by the way, the people that had the least people skills – (Generally, I will throw us as a group under the bus with respect to that.) It became about this technical expertise.

What happened as a result of that was that – all those people that were in the support functions to help make that technical function happen, became secondary.

Carol: Right.

Katie: The message that was sent to them was – they weren’t as important because they didn’t have their hands on the product or they didn’t have the technical expertise or they didn’t know what it was like to use the product or whatever.

Carol: Interesting.

Katie: Has any of your worlds spin that way? Is the chef the hot cow dung in the restaurant?

Carol: Interestingly, they think they are. But because it’s the front of the house that actually interacts with the guests, I think everybody understands in the restaurant how important each function is.

Although, I will say – dishwashers can be put down in that line. And I was always very careful to let everybody know when they came in.

And part of my orientation was saying that, “Everybody’s job is equally important. If a place setting is put out with spots on the glasses and egg on the fork, then the impression of the guest is just as bad – as if they get bad service or bad food.”

So you know, we all are working together to make the end product beautiful for the guest.

Katie: Every single person that’s listening to this tip – can consider what they do as a product or service and who else helps make that happen.

If you’re in an office – anywhere from… I’d say if you’re self-employed, this probably does not apply.

Carol: You know where it applies to you? It applies to you when you are dealing with anybody else.

Katie: A vendor, our IT guy.

Carol: If you want to sell to somebody, what do you do? You respect the support personnel because they’re – in many cases, the gatekeepers. And if you want to get in to see somebody, you get their respect.

Katie: True. Oh! I see what you’re saying. True.

In the case of being a self-employed person, I will outlay money to an IT person or a Graphic Artist or Social Media doer – (for lack of a better word)

Carol: Social Media doer. Okay.

Katie: That’s the official word.

Carol: Yeah. That’s it.

Katie: Or anyone else that I hire. As if they were a part of my organization.

Carol: Right.

Katie: If they were doing something fulltime for me, they would be a support personnel.

Carol: Right.

Katie: They feel a little bit more included because they’re doing a task for money – project wise. But if they were an employee, they’d be on a salary and it’d be really easy to kind of just look them over.

But those of you that are not in cellphone business of just you or a couple of you, you’re in an organization that very likely has support personnel. You’ve got an HR person. It usually has to be a halfway decent size organization to start.

Carol: To get into the HR. But always you’ll have an admin.

Katie: You’ll have specialty folks that you call upon.

Carol: Communications. I mean, I think about my office – bookkeeping communications, admin. And I don’t necessarily think of them as support personnel.

I mean, we are all supporting the same mission and we’re doing it in our areas of expertise. But then we do have an admin. So I would say that would be that person in our office.

Katie: One of the responsibilities of a leader or someone in a position of influence – is to be able to connect the dot to anyone that’s a part of your business to where they fit in to the value of it.

Carol: Absolutely.

Katie: And I might be an admin person and all I do is run your front desk. And if I’m not treated well, I don’t see where I’m helping make your mission happen.

Carol: Right.

Katie: But a great office where the leader is articulating that or showing appreciation or helping to say – when someone comes in the door. “I appreciate the fact that you make them feel comfortable because it sends the message to them about what our company is.”

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Or, “You are the face of us – because you’re the first person they see in person.”

Carol: Yeah. Well, it’s just like talking to the dishwashers and not just relaying the fact that the dishwashers are important to the dishwashers, but relaying that fact to everybody else.

You need to understand that the dishwashers are important here, because if the forks and knives go out on the table and they’re dirty, people… That’s their first impression.

Katie: Right.

Carol: So everybody has to respect everybody.

Katie: I went into the DMV the other day. Now, it wasn’t the State run DMV, it was a private business. And there are lots of those in our little town – so it wasn’t any particular one. Because there’s one I’ve actually done business with and thankfully, it was not them, it was a competitor or theirs.

The person at the counter was not adequately trained. And she didn’t treat us as if we were a valuable customer. One of the first things she did is – she said, “Okay. Can I help you?” And we said, “Well, we’re moving the title of a car from this person over to this person.” And the three of us was there to do it.

So she starts pulling up some paperwork on her computer. In the meantime, she talks to the guy next to her. And they were the only two that were working there. And he was like the office manager for that location.

So she’s typing something up. So she continues the conversation that she had with him in front of us that started before we walked in the door.

Carol: Right.

Katie: So she goes, “So Estefan. What happened when you told her that? Was she like mad?” She’s talking about like something that happened in a staff meeting.

Carol: Right.

Katie: And she wanted to scam on someone’s behavior. I almost wrote it down and called it into them. Because if I were a manager of that private business…

Carol: Yes, I would be upset.

Katie: I would be appalled that one of the employees was right off the bat – talking about office politics and people’s behaviors right in front of us.

Carol: Right. Yeah, it’s almost like she felt like there was a screen up in between you and there was not.

Katie: Yes, yes. So I wouldn’t say that she was a support personnel. So the way that that applies to this tip – is not necessarily that she’s a support personnel, but anybody that’s in your office that you can help make and understand how important they are and where the world sees them – especially a customer, is a great way of going about bringing them into the picture.

Carol: Absolutely.

Katie: Was that in complete sense?

Carol: Well, agreed. So that’s communicating your mission to everybody.

Katie: Yes.

Carol: And the support personnel need to know where they fit into that mission or they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing. So I think it’s very important.

Katie: When you can do that and make that connection for them, it’s a natural motivator. So the benefit for you is – now one of the employee or support person that you work with, is more likely to want to be a part of the organization because they see where they fit in.

Carol: Yes.

Katie: It’s a beautiful thing.

Carol: It is. And I want to go back a little bit. Because – respect support personnel in your place of business, but do it in other places of business as well.

Katie: Oh, good point.

Carol: So when you go to somebody else’s office or when you’re talking, you’re trying to get through that gatekeeper, be sure. And if it’s somebody you talk to all the time, have a conversation.

It’s interesting because there’s a certain place that I was calling (probably two or three times a day) and the person on the other end of the phone would always say who they were and they would ask who I was.

Well, at this point, I had figured out her voice. She didn’t have to tell me. She answers the phone. “Hello. This is blah, blah, blah…” And I say, “Yes. Is (so and so) there?” “Well, who is this? Can I see who’s calling?” And I’m like, “Really?”

Katie: Because you thought she should recognize you?

Carol: She should recognize. It was like, “I’m sorry. I know somebody taught you to say that. But you know me now. We could skip this part.”

Katie: I went over at the University where I teach in the School of Management.

When they answer the phone and I ask for someone, they always ask. So I will say right off the bat, “Katie Snapp, calling for Audrey Arnold.” Then they don’t have to ask.
Carol: Right. Yeah.

Katie: But they don’t recognize.

Carol: I get the point. Right, they wouldn’t necessarily recognize you.

And I was a good customer of theirs – spending lots of money with their company. So it seems like they could’ve taken the time to figure that out.

Anyway, moving on the next tip. Keep track of anything you borrow and return it in a timely fashion.

Katie: This tip – courtesy of miss manners. That’s what my mom would call her. Miss manners.

Carol: Yes. And you know what? I think it goes beyond this. And I’m just going to say that – “Keep track of those things that people have to ask you to do and are waiting for your authority, in order to get it done.”

Katie: Oh.

Carol: So don’t just keep track of things you borrow and return it in a timely fashion, but keep track of things that are waiting on your desks for somebody else to get done.

And I’m really aware of this in an office situation. Because a lot of times, it’s my final check on whatever it is or my signature on whatever it is – that’s keeping something from getting done, keeping the rest of it from getting done.

So I need to be very aware of what people have to put in front of me to do, so that I’m not holding them up on their job.

Katie: Why aren’t they coming to you and saying you’re holding them up?

Carol: Because a lot of times – once it gets to my desk, they’ll think maybe I’m holding up.

Katie: Oh, it’s on your desk.

Carol: Yeah, it’s on my desk.

And we have a small office. So we keep track of each other and if there’s something that’s pending, people will usually tell me. But I’m usually very aware of not making them wait

Katie: Get it done in a timely fashion because you’re holding other people up.

Carol: Right.

Katie: I have a set of CD’s right now – that I borrowed from someone. It’s about a project that every time I see those CD’s, I think, “I’ve got to get them back to Penny. I got to get them back.” But I wanted to view them one more time before I did.

But it would be a good idea if I just send her a note that said, “By the way, I still have those. I haven’t forgotten.” Because she probably forgot she even gave them to me.
Carol: Right.

Katie: If it’s a book, I’ll put my name in it and I’ll say, “Enjoy and pass on.” Or, “Enjoy and give back to Katie when you’re finished.”

Carol: That’s nice.

Katie: If they really loved it, I’ll go buy them their own copy.

Carol: Yeah. I think that’s important too. Because people don’t know I have a friend who gives me stuff all the time and then she’ll ask for it back. And I was like, “Oh, hell!”

Katie: “I thought you gave it to me?”

Carol: “I thought that was for me to give away?”

So I’m pretty careful about that now. I ask her if this is just a borrow. “Are you borrowing me this that I didn’t ask for it?”

Katie: Right. It’s a good idea if you borrow something to clarify as you get it. “Now, do you want this back or am I assuming that you just gave this to me?”

Carol: Right.

Katie: That’s a blunt thing to just come right out and ask.

Next tip…

Carol: Next tip. Buy whatever your employee’s kids are selling.

Katie: Why? You do this, don’t you?

Carol: Yes, I do.

Katie: Could somebody argue on the other side of this?

Carol: Yeah. It gets a little bit too much sometimes.

Katie: I’ve seen the employee come in and say, “My daughter won the girl-scout cookie selling for last year and I’m helping her this year.” And I think, “Yeah. It’s because you sold 150 boxes right here in this office. She didn’t have a damn thing to do with it.”

Carol: Yeah. Well, I think there’s a little bit of a danger.

So then, when my kids are selling stuff, do I take it back to the office? I actually don’t – because I think that’s a conflict of interest. I think asking my employees to buy things for my kids is…

Katie: That’s the other way around.

Carol: Yeah that’s a little bit of a problem.

But it can be a problem too – if people are hitting up their fellow employees and people feel very hit up

I actually had one of my employees… that she was always selling something for her kids. And we’d buy it when we felt like it and I would buy – most of the time out of guilt, more than needing another thing of giftwrapping.

Katie: Does that create a dilemma for you?

Carol: A little bit, but not really. I mean, I want to support them – so I do. But I have had other employees come in and complain about it and say, “Really? Another time?”
Katie: Yeah.

Carol: And then I had her… Actually, her daughter sent me a note that said, “Can you please sponsor me to go to Africa?” And I was like, “This is getting too much.” So she quit working for me and it was perfect.

Katie: Ha-ha! Perfect! Now I know why.

Carol: No, I know. It’s all good.

Katie: Buy whatever your kid’s employees are selling – is a tip to be positive and supportive where it’s appropriate.

Carol: Yes.

Katie: If it’s over the line or it’s your boss asking you to do it for their kids, that puts you in a bit of a predicament, because you feel obligated because he or she is your boss – versus the overall good-naturedness of everybody supporting everybody else.

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Here’s another balance. Fine line.

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Where do you want to do it? Where do you not?

Carol: Do you need that giftwrapping? Really?

Katie: And it’s usually cheesy giftwrapping. I don’t care anymore. I use cheesy giftwrapping of…

Carol: Well, luckily we’re down to bags and we don’t have to giftwrapping.

Katie: I know! Or I’ll use the newspapers. That’s kind of fun.

The last tip?

Carol: Participate in the blood drive.

Katie: Just be a part of it.

Carol: Be participative in everything. And not everything – maybe, but… And especially if you’ve got something – if your office has stuff going on all the time.

But find something that you can participate in with other people in your office because it’s important that you get along with folks.

And if you don’t participate in something, they think something is wrong with them or you.

Katie: Think about the difference between an office where everyone is coming and going and participating and this is going on and I like this and we’re doing a neighborhood book drive. You know, maybe you have a lot of opportunities, maybe it’s just a few.

But where the spirit is – that everyone’s good natured and helping each other out, that’s what most of these tips are referring to.

Carol: Yes.

Katie: It’s the spirit of everyone leaning into putting something out there. It’s a behavior.

Carol: Putting something back in, besides just the everyday work thing. You know, because you don’t want to be looked at as that person who just comes to work, 9:00 to 5:00, that’s it. Check in, check out. You don’t talk about your family, you don’t talk about your kids, nothing else, it’s just work. You know, this is where you spend most of your time. Enjoy it.

Katie: Women are naturally doers of this anyway, because we outstretch and our worlds are often involved in other people and their personal lives.

As I describe it, men’s participation at work is somewhat compartmentalized. I know that might not sound fair, but men generally see it as – “I go out to earn a living. I do the career. I come home. It’s a different world for me.”

Try to leave it behind, but it’s very separated from the rest of our lives. Whereas, women are just into it and were jumping back and forth between community projects and kid and family and neighborhood and work and back to kids again.

We do these things naturally to want to be a part of them. If you’re one of those women that doesn’t – I don’t know that it reflects differently on you, because we expect you to be supportive and out there.

Carol: I don’t think there’s a difference between men and women. I think if you’re not participating in something at work, I think it makes you look like you don’t care.

Katie: Oh, okay.

Carol: And people read into it. And they read into it – that you either don’t care, you’re mean-spirited.

Katie: Mean old bitty.

Carol: Mean old bitty, don’t participate with anything.

And that’s not to say – If you’ve got other things going on – on the weekend, you certainly don’t have to be on the softball team.

You know, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that if you don’t participate in anything extra-curricular, (and that even means gossip) then there’s something about you that is not participating.

Katie: Did you just say encourage gossip?

Carol: No, I didn’t. I take that back.

Katie: But if you’re not in the gossip circle…

Carol: You know, I’ve been in office situations where somebody is just that 9:00 to 5:00er and they don’t even go to lunch with us. When we go to lunch and it’s free – it’s like, “No. I won’t go.” “Why?”

Katie: I know!

Carol: Then we take it personally. Everybody else in the office takes it personally. “Oh well. They don’t like me.” “Oh, no! It’s me.” So we take it personally and that’s not fair.

Katie: Sorry. One of the basic concepts of teambuilding is to get to know people as individuals and personalities. Because when you do, you give them more grace or you understand where their initiative comes from – that can bring you to levels of interdependence that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

So although I can understand someone’s philosophy of, “Well, work is just work and I keep people at arm’s length.” There’s a lot to be gained by going into it just a little more and investing in people’s lives and kids selling cookies and being a part of the blood drive and borrowing things from one another, because it’s that personality.

Carol: It’s the social thing that we all know and crave and it’s a part of us. Again, you’re there for eight hours a day, people expect you to have some kind of a social interaction.

Katie: Right. Can it backfire? Well, yeah maybe. I mean, maybe there’s a level where it’s inappropriate. I don’t know.

But I say that the way women do things differently is more complex and more holistic – which has more risk to it, because now we’re spreading ourselves too thin or we’re bringing in behaviors or opinions that don’t really apply.

But we get so much out of it, because we get this richness of – where someone’s rest of their life is and what their creativity and their innovation is. And rather than just going remotely through a job, (not remotely, but…)

Carol: Robotically?

Katie: That’s kind of the word I was looking for. Rotly maybe.

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: And just not taking that extra oomph to get into it – which is a little risky and cost a little bit more in energy, but I think is worth it. That’s what women bring to the table in so many ways.

Carol: Nice. It’s true.

Katie: So those are a scattering of great tips.

Carol: We’re calling this a popery of office tips.

Katie: Respect the support personnel.

 

[MUSIC PLAYS]

 

Carol: Keep track of anything you borrow and return it in a timely fashion.

Katie: Buy whatever your employee’s kids are selling.

Carol: And participate in the blood drive.

Katie: Great tips!

 

That’s it for this episode of the Skirt Strategies podcast. Thank you for joining us. And please be sure to leave a question or comment at skirtstrategies.com. Remember that success comes when you lead using your natural female strengths.

 

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