Make Tough Decisions Without Second Guessing Them
Great decision making takes time to develop and practice to sustain. In order to be effectively decisive, a person first has to be able to identify what governs the choice they’re facing, weigh their options and make a move.
Being able to separate what needs to be done now vs. later and critically evaluate action through objective evaluation helps increase speed and quality in any organization.
Without decisiveness, innovation and progress slow, apathy rises and engagement fades. It’s a critical behavior for any high performing individual and essential in teams who are driving results. All of these things and more are why it lands among the core behaviors on our Clickstop Code.
Consider the Perspective of Others
Our award winner for this quarter works on our Talent Enrichment team and has demonstrated decisiveness in his work and inspired great decision making in others. His thoroughness in listening to the perspectives of others and wisely weighing options and opinions are helping him and others take ownership to improve performance and fulfill our mission as a company.
Jeremy Meyer is someone who objectively questions others to ensure the right decisions are made in alignment with our business goals and values for the long term. Rather than settling for misunderstanding, disagreement, or passive alignment, he presses in and asks questions with a genuine commitment to listening and a willingness to learn something new. He’s challenging the status quo and insisting on greatness in others by digging in and taking action.
Congratulations, Jeremy!
The Interview
What is your role at Clickstop?
Director of Communications
How long have you worked at Clickstop?
6 years in October
What brought you to Clickstop?
I was looking for an opportunity to remain in the Cedar Rapids community following the departure from my previous employer. Clickstop’s emphasis on values, aligning strengths, and investing in the community was what sold me on this being the right place.
What effect has this recognition had upon you?
It’s humbling. I strive to add value to the organization and I often just focus on areas where I want to improve. Sometimes that causes me to become disconnected with the impact I’m bringing, and even feel defeated because I focus on what’s not going well. I appreciate the feedback. It helps me align my perception of performance with how others perceive it.
What do you believe has led up to this recognition?
I have decided that I will speak up when I have a question. I want to understand what is leading someone to hold a position, and if I feel disconnected from how they arrived there, I ask questions. Or, if I think there is an alternative that should be explored, I simply provide that input. I don’t share my perspective because I’m convinced it’s right. I share it so that we can align on what’s right for the outcomes being sought. In the end, I want us to all be excited about where we’re going and what we’re doing to get there. To do that, I need to take time to understand the perspective of others.
Who has supported you in achieving these results?
I could thank so many people. I glean so much from my colleagues, but I’m just going to highlight one person because it set the tone for my entire Clickstop experience.
Scott Keeling immediately embraced my curiosity as an employee. He served as my first manager, and from day 1 at Clickstop, he looked at my curiosity as an asset. He recognized that my question asking was about arriving at the best solution. It was such a breath of fresh air for me. This wasn’t my experience prior to Clickstop, which is what made the value of Communicate Openly with Confidence and Respect one that stood out. I resolved to press hard into this value and test whether it was true. It was, and it is. My experience with Scott emboldened me to courageously pursue understanding and offer my perspective. Thank you, Scott!
What is a recent challenge/obstacle you’ve overcome through the behaviors within this Core Trait?
I have had the opportunity to work more directly with some of our external customers through Leverage. In doing this, I’ve identified areas of opportunity for my own growth. As I mentioned, it’s easy for me to focus in on areas that aren’t going well and begin to feel defeated because I don’t acknowledge what’s going well. I made the choice that I was going to celebrate my strengths and focus improvement on one area at a time, rather than feel like I need to perfect it all at once. This has increased my confidence and helped me feel more in control of my growth.
What should people know about working at Clickstop?
We are committed to driving great culture and achieving exceptional business results. You are a fit if your values align with ours, you have discipline in the behaviors associated with them, you celebrate the success of your team members while pursuing great results for yourself, and you are excited about improving yourself and others.
What is one word your wife would use to describe you and why?
Odd. And she loves it. She’s just pretending when she says otherwise. 😉
If you could never have to do one chore for the rest of life, what would it be?
Dishes. Once dinner is finished, I just want to immediately go to hang out with my family. Fortunately, it makes for a good lesson on responsibility for my kiddos.
What’s your worst bug-related story?
I was on a mission trip in South America. One of the countries we spent time in was Ecuador. The buses we traveled on had windows you could open. At one point, we made a quick stop and I noticed a spider on the window. It was a nasty-looking one – as many were in Ecuador – and due to the fact that many other windows were open, I thought I’d be heroic and kill this thing. It was a noble decision, but my strategy was flawed.
I thought I’d just open the window and then quickly close it as the spider came through – kind of a guillotine type effect. Well, the spider was quicker than my reflexes and instead of getting splatted, it got in. This was much to the horror of one of my teammates. She was deathly afraid of spiders. So much so that when she saw this, she didn’t even scream. She just inhaled deeply, raised her hands to her face, and froze in sheer horror. This spider was quickly racing towards her and all she could do was stand like a statue. I eventually got the thing with the help of our bus driver. Evidently, it was of the poisonous variety because he delayed our travels to assist with the killing. In the end, there was a bit of trauma for my teammate, but no bites. And we were able to open our windows in peace. 😊
What do you dislike but have no good reason for disliking?
The song “Feliz Navidad.” The sound of it bugs me for some reason. I literally groan out loud every time it pops up on the radio or within the playlist.
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Paul Rudd. He’s easygoing but way funnier than I am. I’d love to see how he’d add humor to my moments. 😊