Leaders rely on feedback from those they lead as one metric to gauge their effectiveness. Whether this feedback is derived from an engagement survey, or via direct conversation, the responses fundamentally answer these three questions: 1. “Do you care about me?” There’s an old adage which states: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Inspiring hearts and minds to invest their talent and energy relies on your ability …
What do you see? Is seeing believing? While we see with our eyes, it’s actually our brains that interpret what we see. And, more than one part of the brain is involved. For example, we ‘see’ shapes before we ‘see’ colors, and then ‘see’ context. These first stages of visual processing occur unconsciously, so we actually have no idea what information our brain is initially gathering from our visual images. Scientists have confirmed that existing …
Remembering is part of who we are – it’s what separates us from all other living creatures. Our Thanksgiving Day tradition honors this reality by dedicating one specific day each year to the simple, explicit concept of gathering to remember why we are grateful, to count our blessings. Sharing our unique stories of successes and failures with one another, of lessons learned, strengthens our identity and culture. It provides a sense of continuity. This is …
It’s during the challenging moments that your people make the biggest difference. Each person in your organization is a source of energy, with a unique set of gifts to contribute, and the potential to leverage these together with their distinctive insight and experience, to convert products and services into strategic value for your customers. This energy is focused like a laser when employees share commitment to a common purpose and culture. And unlike other forms of energy, …
While seeking to improve results, leaders are perpetually balancing the preservation of the status quo with the need for innovation and improvement. Keep what’s working, with its efficiency, reduced risk and expected result, or challenge the organization to consider the possibilities of doing something better, pursuing productive change in which the outcome is uncertain. Because the leader relies on others to help determine the right balance in this exercise, and to drive change when that is what’s required, hiring the right people …
Leaders learn by leading, and they learn best by leading in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains, problems shape leaders. ~ Warren G. Bennis The pace of change challenges leaders to be bold. But the unpredictability of bold actions can cause fear and anxiety within a leader’s team, inhibiting them and potentially compromising the expected outcome. For such actions to be successful, it becomes a leader’s priority to minimize the team’s stress, to help them become …
We’ve begun returning to the office, emerging from months of virtual-only connectivity. Many leaders are discovering that the lack of in-person interaction has caused their company’s culture to fray. Businesses are living entities, communities with cultures built and nurtured by all those whose energy and commitment have produced the company’s progress. Their culture binds them to one another, enabling the execution of strategy and achievement of goals, creating value for customers, the business and each other. Culture is how things get done. Leaders have increasingly …
Empathy, the capacity to understand another person’s perspective and feelings, is often described as the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes. But don’t confuse empathy with making people happy or being nice. Empathy is a skill that enables leaders to scan large sets of data and establish priorities, sorting out what’s noise and what’s essential information by assessing signals, anomalies and novel patterns that compel their attention. For those who master it, employing …
When business turns down, and layoffs are necessary, preserving culture can be challenging for leadership. Leaders who sustain the dignity of those who must depart, who communicate clearly and honestly, employ a fair, ethical process, and offer resources to assist are seen as modelling a company’s core principles, thus preserving some trust with the survivors. A poorly managed downsizing damages that trust, perhaps irrevocably. It also crushes morale and loyalty, increases resentment, and reduces employee engagement …
During this prolonged time of disruption and stress, those you lead benefit from your personal attention in letting them know that they are appreciated and valued. The return on these efforts is higher individual and team performance, greater collaboration, increased willingness to invest in changes that deliver improvements, and enriched job satisfaction for your people. Good employees are hard to find, develop, and keep. And replacing trained, experienced people is often quoted as the #1 non-productive cost …
