An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Empower people so they have autonomy and responsibility to make decisions and do their jobs so their work is meaningful. Work to people’s strengths and give them opportunities to help them grow and develop. Coach them and not instruct them.
As a part of our series about “How To Give Honest Feedback without Being Hurtful”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sharon Sullivan.
Sharon Sullivan is the managing editor for Lawn Love, one of the country’s leading outdoor services providers. She has spent almost 30 years as an editor for newspapers, magazines and websites. Sharon lives in Central Florida with her husband, William, and 10-year-old son, Aiden.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I graduated from the University of Florida in 1994 after studying journalism. Even though I did a lot of writing, specialized in editing. My first job was at a small daily newspaper in South Florida, where I was a copy editor and page designer. After two years getting my feet wet, I decided to move a little closer to my aging parents and took a copy editing job at a larger daily paper in Central Florida. That is where I made the leap and jumped into my management career. I learned a lot about the newspaper industry, and quickly worked my way up the ladder. I spent 18 years with that New York Times-owned newspaper leading print and online editing, design and advertising teams.
Then, as newspapers around the country were shrinking and folding, and I knew it was time to make a career shift. I moved into sales as a local magazine publisher. In that role I directed the content and editing of the magazine, while also selling prints and digital advertising.
Then one day a former colleague contacted me because he was looking to hire an editor to help direct a team of blog writers for Lawn Love. To me, this was a great opportunity and challenge that I couldn’t pass up. It was getting back to doing what I loved — editing and coaching a team of writers.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I think it’s important to work for a company where you believe in and live their core values. Lawn Love has an amazing company culture where they believe in continuous learning.
When I was being interviewed for Lawn Love, my boss said they were searching for a seasoned editor who could create a strong learning environment to help the writers develop and grow. Most of my job is coaching and providing feedback to help them become better, which then helps our company become better.
Even though we all work remotely, we have a lot of one-on-one sessions, training and other learning opportunities. The company has a weekly meeting to discuss what’s happening in various departments and with the company overall. Not many companies offer insight into all the departments and how they operate. This strong belief in continuous learning is carried through at every level of the company and to every employee.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Honestly, I would have to say the most interesting story was how I became the managing editor at Lawn Love.
In 2008, I was in charge of hiring a team of 30 editors for the New York Times Editing Center, which was relocating from New York to Florida. One of the editors I hired I kept in touch with off and on as we both moved on to other companies. Then, this past May, he sent me a message and said his company was looking to hire a managing editor and thought I would be a perfect fit. That managing editor position was for Lawn Love. Now, that colleague I hired 13 years ago is now my boss.
That is why it is important to stay connected to the people who make a difference in your life and influence your career. You never know when a great opportunity will come your way!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
There were many mistakes I made when I was first starting my career. At my first job we published two different newspapers at once, and we switched stories between editions. Keeping them straight and keeping on top of where stories were placed in each edition was tedious. I ended up running a story twice in one paper and not at all in the other. I can look back now and laugh, but at the time it wasn’t funny and I was embarrassed. The biggest lesson I learned from that was even though you are working in a fast-paced environment, it’s important to focus, pay close attention to the details, and double-check your work.
What advice would you give to other CEOs and business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
First, you need to have good, honest communication between you and your employees. If they are feeling burned out, they need to be able to tell you they are feeling this way and the reasons why. It may just take some simple adjustments or workflow changes to take the load off of them.
Setting priorities for employees so they have a roadmap will help them feel less pressure to get everything accomplished. If they have some things taken off their plate and focus on the most important tasks, it can relieve stress and prevent burnout.
Variety is the spice of life. If an employee is doing the same thing over and over, it can cause burnout. Give them a special task that challenges them and helps them grow. It’s hard to grow if you are burned out.
And, it’s important to have balance in your life. An employee can’t keep their nose to the grindstone all the time. If they do, they will not be a happy, productive employee. They have to have a good work/life balance.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is not something you can define in a few simple words. There are many facets of leadership.
Essentially, leadership is inspiring people to want to follow you. How does that happen? Many ways. Be a good role model who walks the walk and talks the talk. Follow through on things you say you are going to do. Make sure you know how to do all aspects of your employees’ jobs so you can show them — not just tell them — what to do and how to do it. Coach them and not instruct them. Empower people so they have autonomy and responsibility to make decisions and do their jobs so their work is meaningful. Work to people’s strengths and give them opportunities to help them grow and develop. Leadership is developing relationships where there is a two-way street with open communication and a lot of listening. It is being empathetic and authentic.
And “leader” and “manager” are not synonymous. Just because you manage people does not mean you lead them.
In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?
The best way for me to get my mind and body right is to go running. I have been an avid runner for the past 25 years. I start my day with a 4.5-mile run, and it helps to relieve stress and is a great way for me to work through things in my head. I’ve had some of my best ideas and worked through some of my toughest problems while running. It’s a visualization technique for me where I am able to go over scenarios with my desired outcomes. It is a great way to get mental clarity and prepare you for the challenges of the day.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Can you briefly tell our readers about your experience with managing a team and giving feedback?
I’ve been in a management role most of my career and started very young (when I was 25). After just over two years out of college and working in my profession, I was promoted to a management position. Even though I started out supervising a small group, it was challenging. What made it so challenging was that I was giving feedback to journalists who were older and much more experienced than I was at the time. In the beginning, that feedback was not well-received. It took some time with me giving them consistent, thoughtful feedback for those more experienced employees to really value and respect me and the feedback I was giving them.
As time went on and I moved up in my career, I started managing larger teams. Along the way I picked up valuable knowledge and advice from my leaders on giving good, constructive feedback. I learned that the timing, format, and tone of feedback are all so important. And it’s not one size fits all. You have to consider the individual and how they respond to feedback so you know how to present it so it’s most effective.
This might seem intuitive but it will be constructive to spell it out. Can you share with us a few reasons why giving honest and direct feedback is essential to being an effective leader?
Giving honest and direct feedback is essential to being a good leader. As a leader, you want people to learn and grow. Constructive feedback will identify and help correct negative behavior and reinforce positive behavior. People can’t change something if they don’t know what they are doing is wrong. People need to know where they stand and not be fooled into thinking they are doing things right. If they think what they are doing is right, they will keep doing it. This will only hurt them when they move on in their careers. The direct and honest feedback helps people get on the right path to achieving their goals. If they are going in the right direction and achieving their goals, then the company is going in the right direction achieving its goals.
One of the trickiest parts of managing a team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. Can you please share with us five suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee? Kindly share a story or example for each.
- Give timely feedback: When you’re working remotely you are not in an office together with your employees, so it is not simple to go by their desk to talk anytime. If you have feedback, it’s important to take the time to do it as soon as you can. The more time that passes, the less effective the feedback is because people forget what they did and why they did it.
- Make sure feedback is in the proper format: Try to avoid emails. The best feedback is face to face, but because you can’t be together in an office, the next best thing is via online meetings. By meeting through Google or Zoom, you can see each other and can see facial expressions, mannerism and other body language. When you give feedback through email, there is much left up to interpretation.
- Use proper tone: Don’t just make it all negative. Always start out the conversation with a positive, provide the negative feedback, then end the discussion on a positive note. An employee will feel beaten up and only remember the negative if they never hear anything positive. And there are always good things to point out about a person’s work.
- Be specific: Don’t just give a very general, “You’re doing a good job.” Point out specifics about what they did and said. Something more specific would be, “You doubled your goal last week by writing six stories instead of three. That’s amazing!” By being specific it gives the feedback more value and meaning.
- Have a two-way discussion that involves listening: Make sure you are not the only one talking, otherwise it seems like the employee’s thoughts and opinions don’t matter. All feedback talks should involve two-way communication. It’s just as important to listen to your employee because there are many things you can learn by them giving you feedback.
How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
Generally, I try to avoid giving feedback in email, even when working remotely. When I do have feedback to give, I often message them and see if they can get on a quick one-on-one Zoom or Google Meets meeting to go over some things. This allows me to talk to them — face to face — and be able to show them things on the screen. It makes it much easier to provide effective feedback.
But if the only way to provide the feedback is through an email, I generally start the email pointing out something positive. If you start out by jumping right into the negative, it sets the tone for the entire email. It will turn them off and not get the results you want. After pointing out something positive, go into the meat of the email and provide the constructive feedback — just watch the tone. Watch the words and phrases you use. At the end, try to end on a more positive note. Before you send the email, read over it again to make sure it doesn’t sound too harsh or critical. A good way to do this is act as though you are the one receiving it. Does it sound harsh, or is it well-balanced?
In your experience, is there a best time to give feedback or critique? Should it be immediately after an incident? Should it be at a different time? Should it be at set intervals? Can you explain what you mean?
It’s always best to give timely feedback. You want to address something while it’s fresh in your mind and their mind. The more time passes, the less effective the feedback will be. And, if it is something critical, it should be addressed right away. You can often take care of things in a quick, impromptu Google meeting.
But, if you have weekly one-on-one meetings, that is a great time to talk about overall performance or issues. You can go over some things from the week and have an open dialogue.
Some cases require immediate feedback while others can be done within a reasonable window.
How would you define what it is to “be a great boss”? Can you share a story?
Being a great boss is being someone who provides a clear vision and clear expectations. They give constructive feedback and consistent coaching. A great boss sets high goals and challenges you so you can stretch and grow both professionally and personally. They trust you to get the job done so they empower you to make decisions and don’t micro-manage. They value your work and contributions and recognize you for your achievements. They encourage two-way communication, and their door is always open.
Not every boss you meet along your career path embodies all these attributes, but if you find one who has most of these qualities, you are lucky. I’ve had many good bosses, but I had one great boss early on in my career who stood for many of these values. During those years I learned the most and grew the most. I credit much of my success as an editor and leader to this very inspirational editor.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I have been athletic all my life and now, as an adult, I am involved in youth sports. I’m the site manager for i9sports in Ocala, FL, and I coach soccer, baseball, flag football and basketball for youth ages 3–14. My 10-year-old son has been playing sports since he was 3 years old. I believe in the importance of getting kids involved in sports and physical activity at a very early age. I believe being healthy and active starts in your early years. If being physically active doesn’t become part of your lifestyle as a child, it’s hard to develop those healthy habits as an adult. I feel that youth sports doesn’t just help fight obesity and other health-related issues, but it also helps develop your character.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Honestly, my life has been based on habits. I live my life by the habits and routines I have formed. You can say I am a creature of habit. I believe successful people who strive for excellence develop good habits to get where they want to be in life, personally and professionally. You change bad habits into good ones, and you can achieve excellence. I wake up the same time every day. After taking my son to school I run 5 miles. I come home and get my work day started. After work I get my son to his activities and head to the gym.
My routine and habits have helped me be more focused, disciplined, and productive. They have helped me excel in all areas of my life and be a better person.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can see all the great stories we are publishing on our blog, https://lawnlove.com/blog/
Thank you for these great insights! We really appreciate the time you spent with this.
Sharon Sullivan Of Lawn Love: Giving Feedback; How To Be Honest Without Being Hurtful was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
