Focus on your people
Bell is part of the tail end of the baby boomer generation, and as she has ascended the ranks, she has noticed that there are differences between the former generations and the younger ones.
For instance, more and more younger workers are interested in international assignments. Along those same lines, there is an increasing amount of diversity of backgrounds in the work force. And as technology improves, there are so many different ways to communicate and keep up with the business.
“I don’t think you can assume that things are one-size-fits-all either across generations or within generations,” Bell says. “People are different. Their goals are different.”
In order to adapt to a changing work force, you have to make sure you’re connecting with them and building strong relationships. She says that one of the best ways to do this is by focusing on having integrity and respecting others.
“It has to start with listening and listening with a view toward understanding what the nuances are,” she says. “I don’t think human beings fundamentally are changing. It’s more about the way we do business, so you have to start with that two-way dialogue of communication and listening — spending time with folks.”
It’s important to focus on your people and really get to know who they are so you can be the most effective leader possible. One way that Bell gets to know her people is by asking about what they enjoy doing and what they’re passionate about.
“I’m a big proponent of the ‘Good to Great’ philosophy of you have to know what you can be good at, what you can be the best at, and you have to know how you can do that profitably, but you also have to have a passion for it,” she says. “I’m a huge believer in being passionate about our people and about serving our clients. I try to get a feel for that. What are people passionate about?”
She says one of the keys to learning the answer to that question is to listen sincerely.
“If you really sincerely care about people and what their needs are and what their wants and desires are, then it’s much easier to listen,” Bell says. “To me, it really gets back to being yourself and being sincere in how you communicate, and then you’re able to read [people.]”
She says it’s important to listen carefully because in doing so, you’ll develop intuitions about what people really believe, think or feel.
“Sometimes you can hear someone saying they’re interested in or passionate about something, but you just sense that they really may be more interested in something else, something that may be more important to them, by a combination of what they’re saying and following the body language and intuition,” she says.
As you learn what’s important to your employees, you will also learn better ways to effectively communicate with them.
“Some people say you can never communicate enough, yet in this world of technology it’s certainly not one-size-fits-all,” Bell says. “Some people like e-mail; some people like voice mails. I actually like to ask people when we’re one on one, ‘How do you like to communicate?’ … That can be a difference among generations, so it’s important to ask and not assume.”
As you have those conversations, you’ll find other ways to reach out to people. For example, Ernst & Young now has online forums on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, to communicate with people. By reaching out to employees in different ways, it will create stronger bonds between you and them and help retain them, which ultimately benefits your clients.
“It’s about communicating early and often through different forms and different forums — multiple forums,” Bell says. “I think nothing really replaces frequent communication.”
