It’s performance review time for many organizations. Towards the end of a year or the beginning of a new year, many companies will hold these reviews for their employees. They look back on what each one worked on and accomplished over the last year.
On this episode, we’re discussing performance reviews from a different perspective than we have before. A listener asked how she, as an individual contributor, could demonstrate and document leadership skills to her supervisors during her performance review.
First, you must understand what leadership really is. Don’t overcomplicate it.
Leadership is about stepping up, raising your hand, and giving your opinion. It is doing whatever is necessary to make things better in your organization. Leaders take on responsibility and don’t back down from hard things.
You have to demonstrate this leadership ability to your supervisors clearly. They’re busy, so they might not notice when you do something great.
Don’t be afraid of self-promotion. If you don’t tell people something, they just won’t know. So make sure you get noticed.
Go to your supervisor and tell them of your aspirations. If you’ve gotten involved and done great work, make sure they know about it. They’ll either tell you what you need to do to get where you want to go or will remember you when a promotion opportunity arises.
If they’re not helping you advance, consider leaving. Go someplace where they will help you get what you want.
To learn more about how to get your supervisors to notice your performance at work, listen in to the rest of this episode.
This week’s episode is a special one. We’re sharing a clip from our conversation with Ron Logan. Ron is retired now, but he was the Executive Vice President of live entertainment for Disney worldwide.
If you have ever experienced live entertainment at any Disney location, Ron had a part in it.
Even though he is retired today, his impact is still felt at every Disney park.
Ron is a man of attention to detail and creativity. He wouldn’t send anything out unless it was perfect. He even brought some of the shows he produced at Disney to Broadway, which is no easy task to accomplish.
In our conversation, Ron talked about his beginnings with Disney. He started out as a trumpet player on Main Street at Disneyland. This led to him putting whole parades together and eventually coming back to work for Disney full-time.
A lot of Ron’s success resulted from his interactions with his bosses. He had lots of amazing mentors, but he also had some bosses he didn’t like. His secret was to treat them as the hero.
If you have to deal with top executives in your job, make them your hero. Make their jobs easier and you’ll be in a much better position.
Tuck away your problems with them and keep the faith. Who knows, maybe you’ll take their spot one day.
You can get access to our entire conversation with Ron inside the Cockerell Academy. There is also a lot of exclusive content from me and amazing courses that teach high-level concepts you didn’t learn in college. Find out more about the academy at https://www.cockerellacademy.com/.
Are you helping or enabling?
Do you know the difference between the two?
Listener Greg Parsons recently asked us what the difference is. On this episode, we’re breaking it down and explaining how you can tell if you’re helping or enabling.
Helping is setting clear expectations and sticking to them. It is teaching somebody how to do something and then letting them go off on their own to do it. When you work with someone to make them responsible, you are helping them.
Enabling, on the other hand, is doing something for somebody that they should have done themselves. It is not enforcing the expectations that we have set.
When we enable, we’re giving people permission. We’re telling them that we actually didn’t mean what we said.
In the long run, this hurts them. We need tough love instead. By helping the person take responsibility we are showing them that we care.
If you have a problem that’s recurring, you might actually be the problem. By seeing the same behavior over and over again and doing nothing about it, you’re allowing it to continue to happen.
Stop taking the easy way out and letting things go. Instead, educate, inspire, and hold people accountable. In this way, you’re helping them.
If you want to hear more from Jody and I, tune in to our guest episodes on the podcast How That Happened. You can find Jody’s episode here and my episode here.
On this week’s episode, we’re answering a question that came to us from Joe Fernandez. He is a Park Ranger and is wondering how to respond well to a crisis. Joe wants to know how he can continue to lead with a positive attitude during times of uncertainty.
At Disney, we were prepared for anything. We thought about crises before they happened.
You should do the same. Anticipate what could happen and make sure that you’re ready for all of it. Think about what resources you’ll need and which people you will need to go to for help. You can be ready for most things, even if you don’t know the specifics of what will happen.
When a crisis does occur, do any follow-up necessary to get back to normal operations.
At Disney, everyone who had a piece in dealing with a crisis would sit down afterward. We would reflect on what happened, what went right, and what could have gone better.
During a crisis, you don’t have a lot of time to sit and reflect. So make the space to do it after the fact. This will make sure that you respond better the next time something happens.
We’re all experiencing something along these lines with the pandemic. Use this experience to prepare you for anything else that may come along in your life or your organization.
One important key in time management is realizing that being late is a choice.
Too many of us think it’s a phenomenon. In reality, we can make the choice to be on time or we can make the choice to be late.
When we become that person who is always five minutes late, our reputation is damaged. People start to believe they can’t trust you. You appear unprofessional and impolite to the people who are left waiting. Your lateness starts to become a joke. You are no longer seen as reliable or credible.
You’ll get into all kinds of other trouble when you’re late. You could miss flights, let people down, make bad decisions, and miss important information.
A listener named Jennifer struggles with this exact problem. She wrote to tell us that she’s heard a lot about what to do with your time, but wants to hear about how to actually get places on time.
One key is to become more aware of what’s going on. Know the trends in traffic and the events that happen over and over again.
It may also help to get up earlier and plan out your day. You could even consider getting to appointments an hour early to read and get some work done.
Tune into this episode to hear more advice on how to be punctual. We also teach about time management in The Cockerell Academy. Learn more at https://www.cockerellacademy.com/.
People feel they are the only one until you say it out loud.
In a recent training session, I gave this advice when someone asked about communication. I wanted those leaders and I want all of you to understand that by not speaking up when someone says something you don’t agree with, you’re approving it.
This all comes down to communicating effectively as a leader. We need to make sure that we are always clear and honest when we speak with our teams.
Anything that could or might happen (whether good or bad) talk about it. Your team wants to know the rules so they won’t get penalized. Train them in those rules and then support them when they follow them.
On the flip side, if we don’t practice clarity as a leader, people will assume where you stand. Unless you tell people what you believe, they won’t know for sure.
You don’t want them guessing. So communicate your values, the way you work, what you believe in, and anything else you want to be clear about.
This applies to all people you communicate with. Whether they’re above you or below you, make sure your message remains the same. Always be honest--the truth is always the best route.
To learn more about leadership and communication join us in the Cockerell Academy - www.cockerellacademy.com
Everyone has a story they can tell. If you’re good at anything and have a message that can help people, you can become a speaker. It just takes habit and practice.
Listener Steve Ross asked how I knew the time was right to become a keynote speaker. I started by speaking at conventions that came to Disney and eventually started working and traveling with a company for a year. I also did lots of free speaking, which helped me develop the skill more than anything else.
Through these experiences, I learned that speaking is like anything else. The more you do it, the more comfortable you get. The more you practice, the better you become.
If you have trouble speaking, remember to tell a story and not a speech. People love personal examples from your own life. Use those and other things that you’re passionate about. Any time you have the opportunity to stand up and give your opinion, take it; that’s what speaking is all about.
Start getting into the habit of speaking by finding volunteer opportunities. There are so many out there. Find people that need help and offer to speak for them for free. Do your research and find relevant examples each time you speak. Above all, don’t stop practicing. Keep doing it and keep getting better at it.
Over time, you’ll begin to see what’s most important to people. Your message will get a lot clearer. Listen to audience feedback and questions and hone your message from there.
Join us in the Cockerell Academy. Find more information here - www.cockerellacademy.com
Team sports are all about learning to rely on others and taking responsibility for your own actions. No matter what each player looks like or where they come from, they all work together to accomplish the goal.
Reggie Williams learned this lesson during his 14 years as an NFL star. He experienced incredible hardships, but through the entire process developed resiliency.
Many people don’t overcome difficulties in their lives. They get angry, get in trouble, and give up. However, Reggie overcame obstacles many of us couldn’t imagine. He credits this to his upbringing. His parents emphasized the power of education from a young age. He learned to seek the truth, which provided the foundation from which he navigated many adversities in his life.
Reggie has spent a lot of his life building bonds that last. In relationships, you receive not only companionship but also a reservoir of truth. If you stop kidding yourself and operate in that truth, you can deal with amazing challenges.
When Reggie joined Disney, he learned so many things he hadn’t in his time at college and in the NFL. He learned how to operate a business and what true leadership looks like: not doing things your way, but the right way.
To hear more of Reggie’s story and the raw truth he has to share, get his book, Resilient by Nature. You can find it here - Resilient by Nature.
Are you required to put in enough time on the job to get respect or have influence?
Someone who listens to the Creating Disney Magic said they have been given a responsibility that is higher than their experience. However, they’re confident about their knowledge. Sometimes, they feel like their colleagues don’t take them seriously because they’re underage for their role and asked for tips on how to develop tact, influence, and authority in everyday leadership while being welcoming, caring, and nice.
This is a problem all over the world. Young people are entering the workforce while the older generation is in the middle of their careers or on their way out. There is a pervasive mentality that you have to pay your dues before you get your shot. However, the world doesn’t work that way.
I didn’t finish college myself but took on highly responsible positions from a young age. I had people from Harvard, Stanford, and other big schools reporting to me. It was clear that they were annoyed, but it wasn’t my fault.
All you can do in this position is to continue to do your job with excellence. Performance outweighs all else. Be professional and do your job every day the best you can.
If you do your thing and do it well, people will eventually come around. If they don’t, there’s something in their wiring or some other issue they need to work through that’s the cause. Just smile and do the best you can to work through it.
You can control your performance, but you can’t control what others will do or think or say about you. Even when you’re the same age as people, some will still not like working with you. They might think you didn’t go to the right school, didn’t work for the right company before, or didn’t take the right courses.
All you can do is stay focused and responsible.
No matter your age or position, you can become a better leader by what you will learn in the Cockerell Academy.
Not only does training benefit the employees of a company, but it benefits the company itself, too. As we’ve talked about in previous episodes, when you spend time and money on someone, it shows them that they matter and that you care about them. They understand just how valued they are.
Training also builds trust. Your people will say good things about you behind your back when you invest in them. It creates a powerful environment between the two of you, which is contagious. Other employees will pick up on that culture and want to be trained themselves.
When employees are properly trained, they take better care of your customers. They do their jobs much better. Training is an investment, but it has a huge payoff later.
Employees who are confident and care about the company will earn your money back. They’ll grow and be worth more. When you need to fill a position, one of your trained employees can be promoted and you won’t have to spend the time and money to go out and recruit someone new.
Finally, training gets all of your employees on the same page. You can know they’ve all received the same message and training. The company is greatly benefitted by this.
We’re already talking with many companies about instituting the Cockerell Academy as the training program in their companies. This is one way to make sure every employee is trained in the same way. To learn more about the program, head to CockerellAcademy.com.
In a past episode of Creating Disney Magic, I said it was a mistake to try to live two separate lives; one at home and one at work.
Since we have never discussed it in a full episode, a listener wrote in asking us to talk more about it. So in this episode, we get right into it.
The truth is, you don’t get to live two lives. You have to get everything done in the one life you are given.
The way to do this is through time-management. This isn’t a skill that’s only applicable to work. You need to implement good time management at home, too.
List out everything you need to do in a planner, then go through and prioritize it. If the two most important things you have to get done today are personal, that’s okay. If you need to finish up a work project after supper, that’s okay, too.
Management is all about control. All the stuff you have to do isn’t business or personal--it’s just life. Your personal issues affect your work and vise-versa. So, keep all aspects of your life under control.
Additionally, it’s a mistake to keep your personal life from your staff. If you act like a robot and never share, people won’t be as open or trusting with you. It’s all about making connections. You never know who you will help by sharing something you’re going through or who will be able to help you.
To learn more about time management and to keep up with the best work we’re doing right now, check out the Cockerell Academy at www.cockerellacademy.com.
Many people are struggling with the job search right now, so on this episode of Creating Disney Magic we and a listener question. She asked, “How do I reenter the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom for 17 years?”
In this episode, I explain how to sell yourself through your resume, even if you don’t have directly relevant experience for the position for which you’re applying.
It’s all about the story you tell with your resume. Take what you’ve done and tell a story with it. Be authentic and truthful, because the employer wants to hear who you are more they want to hear what you’ve done. That’s what people are looking for long-term.
So, write about who you are. Write about any experiences you’ve had that have developed leadership, organization, or management traits within you. Write about the things you’ve dealt with as a mom or in whatever situation you’ve previously found yourself in.
Most importantly, show them that you’re a good gamble. If you tell them that you’re willing to take on an entry-level role and prove that you deserve a full-time position, you will create a win-win situation. They have nothing to lose by hiring you. You’re coming in to get experience and an opportunity, so be willing to take any position that gets your foot in the door.
Another thing that impresses employers is the preparation you’ve done and the training you’ve received. For example, going through Cockerell Academy helps you think about the things you need to know and prepares you for elements of an interview you may not have known to think about. You can find it at www.cockerellacademy.com.
Show your employees that you care and in return, you’ll get commitment.
When I was at Disney, we gave housekeepers an hour to attend English lessons. We hired local professors to teach these classes. As a result, the turnover rate for housekeepers dropped down to almost zero.
When you’re investing in people, you’re showing them you care. Leadership is about taking care of people. It’s all about showing people they matter. One way to do that is by helping them with their education or training them in some other way.
Many people in entry-level jobs underestimate what they can achieve in life. A leader’s job is to build up these employees’ self-confidence and help them know they achieve great things.
When you help people get knowledgeable, you change their life. This, in turn, changes their children’s and their grandchildren’s lives. It also enhances the environment of the company and attracts even more great people to it.
You may not immediately see it if you’re only looking at the numbers, but showing employees they matter will benefit you. So, even if just for an hour a month, start investing in them now.
If you want to become a stronger leader, join us at www.cockerellacademy.com.
When we don't have much experience in the field we're working in, or get a big promotion, we can have what some people call Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is when you feel like you aren't deserving or good enough for the opportunity, even if your track record might suggest otherwise. These feelings can be especially prevalent we don’t have much experience in the field in
This week’s episode features a question from a listener who is struggling with imposter syndrome. On the episode, we talk about how to overcome imposter syndrome when we’re leading a team with far more experience than us.
When I first started working at Disney, I didn’t know anything about the theme park. In fact, I had never even been to Disney World! I wasn’t there to run the parks, though. It was my job to be a leader and let the experts around me run the parks.
The first thing you should do is get everything out of the way upfront. Have a team meeting and have the person who hired you to explain why they chose you for the job. Tell your team that you’re excited to learn from them. Think up every question they may have and address all of them.
If you have the right attitude, have support from the boss, and get every concern squared away immediately, you’ll learn the job. Don’t come in and assert your authority. Be cooperative. Be willing to admit when you don’t know something and ask your team questions.
If there are still employees who aren’t going along with the decision, talk with them one-on-one. Ask them what else you can do to make them happy. Just deal with it and put the flame out as best and as quickly as you can.
Above all, remember that someone in leadership believes you can do the job. They saw something in you. Go in every day seeking to prove the doubters wrong.
If you want to become a strong leader and not worry about imposter syndrome, join us in the Cockerell Academy.
Innovation doesn’t get in the way of structure. Innovation helps create structure.
Your organization needs to have policies, procedures, and standards within your organization in order to protect your employees and prevent disaster. Once we figure out the best way to do something, we must do it that way and make sure everyone in the organization knows we do it that way.
Structure won’t lead to micromanagement if you’ve hired the right people. If you can rely on your team, they will follow the policies and procedures you’ve put in place.
Anything can get better. If leadership wants to improve something and has the drive to do so, it can be improved.
Structure won't lead to less innovation. Instead, when you get the right policies and procedures in place, they will create more freedom. They take away the questions and in that way create more innovation.
On this episode, we talk about why structure is so important in organizations and how to make sure it doesn’t impede innovation.
To learn more about adding structure and innovation to your team, check out CockerellAcademy.com.
On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I answer two listener questions. Both about looking for or starting new jobs.
Here are some tips;
Applying for jobs online is tough. It is better to know someone. Be recommendable and have someone who can recommend you.
Use a resume as a way for people to find out who you are, not just what you have done.
My career didn't take off until my mid-forties. By the time I had an opportunity with Disney, I was ready. Don't be afraid to start over or make a big shift in your 30s or 40s.
One thing valuable to employers is experience, which you have after you have worked for a while.
Your greatest assets are your attitude, and what other people are saying about you.
Be flexible, volunteer for assignments, work the tough shifts, keep learning, have a great attitude, and stick out like a sore thumb. Get a reputation where people notice you and are talking about you.
To get more career advice and training you won't find anywhere else, join us in the Cockerell Academy.
On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I want to talk about the importance of continuous training for leaders and employees.
When should you redo formal training?
The training interval will vary depending on what field you’re in. For example, if you are in the medical field, you would need to stay current on pathogens, policy, and procedures for illness and infections. Where if you are in the food industry, then staying current on food handling, proper cleaning procedures, and food safety would be paramount. It would also be necessary to redo training after a leave of absence since policies and procedures can often change rapidly.
Why should you train continuously?
If not trained and retrained, people will shortcut and not apply the formal training the way it was intended, the consequences of this could be deadly. Great leaders continuously train themselves and then coach their staff so they can all be the best example of safety, customer service, and leadership possible.
When we continuously coach the team, not only does it keeps the training information fresh at the front of our minds, it also allows coaching on specific situations that need to be addressed. Using a daily coaching strategy can implement changes as needed rather than waiting for something to happen before we handle a situation.
If your company or business is not paying for training, coaching, or continuing education, it is your responsibility to invest in yourself to become the best leader you can be.
Are you interested in continuing your education and growing your leadership skills?
Visit https://www.cockerellacademy.com for more information.
On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, we have an anonymous listener question that strikes a chord with a lot of people including myself.
“What do you do when someone takes credit for your ideas?”
It is really tough when someone takes an idea you shared, possibly in confidence with them, and presents it as their own idea. What this really indicates is that the person, claiming it as their own idea, is insecure in some way. Insecurity could come from a number of reasons like fear of being passed over for promotion, trying to impress the boss, feeling out of place or it could be because they don’t care who they step on in order to move up.
Depending on the underlying reason the way you handle it will vary. This may be as simple as talking to them in private and letting them know that as a team we share ideas without claiming credit by the individual person. It could also be something they are not aware they are even doing and when brought to their attention they will stop doing it immediately. There are also times it will require intervention by upper management so that claiming credit by the individual doesn’t dissolve the camaraderie of the team.
Having hard conversations isn’t easy and though they may be uncomfortable, they are necessary to create a strong team.
Always look for ways to improve your leadership skills. You can start by checking out https://www.cockerellacademy.com. It is never too late to get better.
I am excited to announce the launch of The Cockerell Academy.
The Cockerell Academy is the best thing I have ever created. It is full of courses on leadership, management, customer service, and culture.
When you enroll, you will get instant access to six courses:
Time Management Magic
Morning Magic Planning
Career Magic 30
Career Success for Students
Perfect Day for Your Customers
World Class Customer Service (based on my book, The Customer Rules)
All of my courses will be inside the Cockerell Academy and you will have access to every one of them.
Plus, you will have access to the Phronesis Vault. Every month, I will add new content to the Vault, including articles, podcasts, videos, and exclusive interviews with some of my favorite people in business. Over time, the Vault will grow to become the most valuable part of the Cockerell Academy.
And this is just the start. Over the next few months, I will add more courses. Already, we are working on three new courses: Better Decisions, Diversity and Inclusion, and Real Leadership (based on my book, Creating Magic).
With the Cockerell Academy, you will have access to all of this for a yearly subscription. As an early adopter, you will lock in the pandemic price of only $249 per year for as long as you stay with the Academy. I am keeping the price low right now while we all work through the pandemic.
Even better, you will lock in that annual price for as long as you remain a member of the Cockerell Academy.
On this episode, I’ll answer two reader questions on “How to Manage Your Mood”.
The first question is from John Sparks.
John asks “How did you grow to control your thoughts and reactions? How do you catch and manage your moods?”
Here are my best tips for managing, catching, and controlling moods.
-When I am feeling good I can control my behavior, thoughts, and mood much easier.
-I always preach “Don’t underestimate the influence you have on people.” This is very applicable to the world today.
-I think about it often so that it has become a part of how I control myself. Nothing good comes from having a bad attitude.
-While I have the ability to be upset, the positive feedback from being positive is a part of what keeps me focused on how I respond.
-Attitude and behavior can be controlled if I think about it.
-When a failure happens I ask, “Why and what can I do about it?” so that it doesn’t happen again.
-I can still be honest and firm without degrading people.
-If I am nice, polite, and helpful people want to be around and talk to me.
-It's all about attitude.
-The more you practice being positive the more positive you become. Soon it becomes a habit.
-Getting over a bad day is easy when you help other people have a great experience.
-So the next time you find yourself in that spot see who you can help to have a better day and watch how your outlook changes.
The second question is from Evan Markowitz. Evan asks me to clarify what “Professionally Ballistic” means when I didn’t get the General Manager job with Marriot.
I was firm and professional when I went to talk to them about being passed over. I was persistent but not annoying.
Evan then asked if I “Had not ended up going to Disney would I have left Marriot after that?”
Yes because I wanted to go and do something different.
Even followed up with “Had you been looking at all outside of Marriot for a different job before that?”
No, I was happy, appreciated, and valued where I was at so I wasn’t looking for something else.
People who are appreciated and valued will be the most loyal employees.
When it comes to hiring, always hold out for the right person.
Play the long game. Don't hire someone who is not the right person just so you can fill a position.
If you don't have great people you won't become a great organization. Being excellent is hard. And you need the right people to be excellent.
Sure, it can become frustrating to deal with the extra work that comes from an empty position. But hiring the wrong person will create even more work.
Dan Cockerell returns to Creating Disney Magic to talk about his new book, How's the Culture in Your Kingdom.
Four stages to building a healthy culture; Leading Self, Leading Teams, Leading an Organization, Leading Change.
A leader understands they have to take care of themself before they can take care of other people. Taking care of yourself is probably the hardest thing a leader has to do.
Dan explains there is more to taking care of yourself than physical fitness. You also need to tend to your mental and moral fitness, too.
How you take care of yourself flows into how you lead a team.
Few organizations have a leadership strategy. How's the Culture in Your Kingdom will help you develop a deliberate strategy for leadership. Don't leave leadership to be a byproduct of the work you are doing. Be deliberate about building a culture. It's all about people.
In this episode, Dan will walk you through how to develop a clear leadership strategy.
Don't miss out on the new book, How's the Culture In Your Kingdom.
Most organizations make two big mistakes with their website.
First, we are confusing people about what we sell. People should be able to look at your website for five seconds and be able to know what you sell, how it will make their life better, and what do you need to do to buy it.
When you tell people what you are selling, they tend to buy it.
Some of the confusion we create comes from the curse of knowledge. We know so much about our product, we project our knowledge onto the customer.
The second mistake we make with our website, is we talk too much about ourselves. Instead, you want to talk about the customer and the customer's problem. People don't read your website to find out about you, they are reading to find out how you can solve their problem.
"Don't be the hero, be the guide." - Donald Miller.
You can talk about yourself as long as you are talking about empathy, "I feel your pain", and authority, "I have the expertise to get your out of your problem."
When we express empathy and authority, people will end up wanting to hear your story. But you have to earn the right by showing people you care about their problems.
If you enjoyed hearing Donald Miller on this episode, you will also enjoy the Building a StoryBrand podcast.
To get more marketing tips from Don, you will want to check out the daily Business Made Simple videos.
Finally, don't miss Don's new book, Marketing Made Simple.
When it comes to marketing, most businesses guess.
Donald Miller wrote Marketing Made Simple to help businesses create marketing that actually works. The book will give you a step by step guide on what to do to connect with customers.
Story is the hidden language we all speak. If you don't use stories in your marketing, you will not connect with people.
You are in business to solved a problem. If you don't solve a problem and transform people, you've got no story and no business.
Marketing Made Simple breaks down marketing into this simple plan:
Between Donald's last two books, Building a StoryBrand and Marketing Made Simple, you can implement a simple, clear marketing plan to get more leads and earn more customers.
To learn more, visit StoryBrand.com
The 300th episode of Creating Disney Magic.
After recording 300 episodes over 6 years, here are the biggest things I have learned:
This episode includes a few special messages from people with congratulations on reaching 300 episodes.
One thing I want you to remember is don't underestimate the power of your voice. We all need to stand up and speak out loud about what we believe in.