Make Life at Work Better for Your Team
According to a recent Bersin Report, a major focus in the years ahead will be on human performance – a combination of how we think, feel, experience, and react to the world around us. People today are experiencing higher stress levels, pressure to do more in less time, and forced to juggle multiple priorities – all with a smile on their face. So, it’s not surprising to see employees disengaging and burning out. For example, the Bersin report shows:
- Employee engagement levels today are no higher than they were 10 years ago
- Productivity in the United States after the iPhone launch has slowed (ironic considering the device was meant to make us more productive)
- Employees in the United States take 4-5 days less vacation now that they did in 1998
- Almost 40% of employees believe it is impossible to maintain a growing career and sound family life
Work-life balance is important – but don’t overlook the importance of life at work. How do we as leaders make the work we offer one that encourages employees to perform at their best AND enjoy themselves while they’re doing it? What is good about life at work at your organization? What is not? How are you challengingyour employees to be their best? Consider adopting these strategies when assessing your company’s life at work:
Offer Purpose
We all crave to find a deeper meaning in the work we do – to have purpose, to contribute to something bigger than ourselves and to feel energized. How does the work you offer contribute to the small and big picture (company, industry, community, self)? Although this is often a personal journey, employers can support the importance of discovering purpose with their employees.
Embrace Mentoring
Having someone who helps you work through challenges, pushes you out of your comfort zone, and helps to define your career path is something many of us long for in our careers. Effective mentors are perfect for this and go a long way in keeping employees engaged and excited about the work they do.
In addition to these strategies, ensuring your employees have access to the resources they need and keeping the lines of communication open are always key to making life at work better. We spend a big chunk of our waking hours at work – shouldn’t making it a great experience be a top priority? We think so.
Reach out to us at https://www.successfulculture.com/contact/ to discover how we can help your organization make your organization’s life at work better. Our SCALE Academy is the perfect place to start! Building cultures where everyone can thrive is what we do best.
3 Powerful Ways Your Company Brand Fuels Your Culture
The ‘War for Talent’. I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase over and over – and perhaps, even have a battlefield story of your own. Today more than ever, companies are competing for talent – forcing employers to find ways to stand out from the pack. There is one thing that makes each company unique and should be the foundation for how you attract job seekers – your employer brand.
When you have a strong employer brand imbedded in your recruiting strategy, you find authentic ways to connect with and inspire the talent you need today and tomorrow. Today’s job seekers aren’t just looking for a J.O.B. – they want to work for a company with a culture that fits their goals, personality and values. If you brand speaks to this, you are more likely to attract the type of people that will fit into your culture – resulting in 50% more qualified candidates at your doorstep. Sounds amazing, right?
Well-known companies such as L’Oreal and Salesforce know how to position their employer brand in recruitment. But you don’t have to be a huge company to do this well – companies large and small made a recent top 10 list for winning at employer branding. So, what are these companies doing well? And, more importantly, how can you start doing it? Start off by considering the following strategies:
Careers Page
Your company’s career page should not just be a place where you list open positions (a thing of the past). Instead, use this as a platform to promote your company’s culture and values. This is your chance to connect to job seekers on an emotional level and make them want to work for you.
Your Employees
Words on a website are not enough. Use videos with testimonials from real, live employees – highlighting why they love to work for you or even show a ‘day-in-the-life’ of an employee. Let your employees do the talking. This connects job seekers to your people, giving it a personal touch.
Cohesive Message
Social media is your friend when it comes to promoting your employer brand. And with 79% of job seekers using social media in their job search (even higher for Millennials), this is a platform you just can’t ignore. Strive for a cohesive message across all social platforms with links back to your careers page – enticing job seekers to learn more. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are all fantastic platforms to engage and create a fan-following – building a candidate pipeline for the future.
Hiring great talent is not an easy task. With companies competing for the best and brightest, it is vital that you position your company in the strongest way possible. Your brand tells the world who you are as an organization. What is your story?
Three Pillars of Leadership Confidence: What They Are & How to Build Them
NOTE: This is an excerpt of a detailed white paper I have created for my clients that outlines specific strategies for developing these confidences. If you would like the full white paper, please email me at [email protected]
I’m working with a very brave CEO who stepped into a global non-profit to turn it around after a tumultuous three years that included two ineffective interim CEOs and the loss of a customer that accounted for 70% of the organization’s revenue.
We’re working on numerous strategic and cultural initiatives. In all organizations, leadership confidence is essential. However, it’s critically imperative in an organization that is going through or has experienced turmoil, uncertainty and mistrust.
All organizations encounter challenges. During all times of leadership, leaders must strive to display three types of confidence:
1: Self-confidence
2: Team confidence
3: Organizational confidence
Self-Confidence
As I’ve discussed in previous columns, leaders are always being watched. To lead others through change and difficulty requires self-confidence that is rooted in a realistic understanding of one’s own self-worth. When employees are uncertain about their future or about the organization, they look to their leader for reassurance and direction.
When working with my clients, my goal is to develop in them a healthy combination of high self-esteem and high self-efficacy. This empowers them to confidently communicate their value proposition, and deliver on their brand promise. Many times, clients come to me with an insecurity about their leadership abilities, or an insecurity/unawareness about their value in the workplace. Sometimes, it’s both. As I tell my clients, we can’t expect our clients to value us and have confidence in us if we don’t see it in ourselves first.
My chart below diagrams what happens when these two characteristics are imbalanced. The upper left quadrant, however, shows what happens when they are balanced.
Team Confidence
The second pillar of leadership confidence is team confidence. No one builds an organization alone. Surrounding ourselves with “A” players is critical to moving to the next levels of growth. Especially in difficulty, a leader will need to know who really has their best interests. 100% confidence of their supporting team is essential to moving forward, in all organizational conditions. Trustworthiness, competency, and loyalty are three of the most important characteristics that supporting team members need for leaders to confidently move forward alongside of them.
Organizational Confidence
The final pillar of leadership confidence is organizational confidence. At all times, leaders must believe in the capabilities of their own organization. If their organizational confidence waivers, they need to assess where the doubt is originating, and take steps to restore it. Often when leaders lose confidence in their own organization, there are several underlying factors that have eroded the trust. Perhaps they have lost sight of their mission, or core values system. Perhaps the organization has lost a customer or key employee.
What matters is that the leader and the supporting team work together to restore the trust, and move the company forward.
Self-confidence, team confidence, and organizational confidence are three pillars of organizational health. When these are combined with a pragmatic assessment of an organization’s capabilities & value, and a realistic growth strategy, the leader, the employees, and the organization will be set up for growth and success.
Want to know HOW to create greater self-confidence, team confidence, and organizational confidence? Please email me at [email protected] to request my full white paper, and to set up a 15-minute skype session to share your greatest organizational challenge that is holding you back.
Keep growing!
Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.
About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.
Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]
Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).
Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.
~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
Three Integrated Strategies for Peak Productivity
We all have a set number of hours in a day, with multiple demands always competing for our attention. How do we maximize efficiency & productivity? This is a MAJOR issue with most leaders who are chasing way too many relationships, company tasks, opportunities, and requirements.
Productivity is essential for health and happiness because it allows leaders to get off the constantly running treadmill and incorporate downtime for rest. “Busy” often has a way of looking like “Productive.”
Peak Productivity Results from the successful integration of three things:
1: Time Management
2: Energy Management
3: Prioritization
Time Management
• Say NO. No is a complete sentence. Limit volunteering. Say no to lunch and coffee appointments. Offer a 15-minute skype session/Google hangout instead.
• Make decisions quickly – avoid ANALYSIS PARALYSIS. I’m setting up a media studio in my home for the weekly video tapings I am launching in June, and for my podcast show (summer launch planned). The amount of information available on equipment is overwhelming. I am keeping a narrow focus and working from a checklist to get what I need, and actually MOVE FORWARD rather than getting caught up in a never-ending swirl of decision making.
• Set an agenda for every meeting to make the time together meaningful and effective. If someone can’t identify three desired outcomes for your time together, don’t meet with them. This goes for 5-minute meetings, 15-minute meetings, or 50-minute meetings.
• Set time limits on things that can drag you down a rabbit hole (research, new ideas, networking events). Create a time budget for new activities you are going to explore.
• If possible, bundle your commitments/appointments to get the most “mileage” out of driving. Do not drive 45 minutes each way for one appointment.
• Put boundaries in place with people/activities/groups to allow downtime.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel – leverage things you have already done or created and build upon them. Creation of original content is great, but it’s time-consuming and expensive. Determine when it makes sense, based on your desired outcome.
• Be OK with “good enough.” Perfection” is the enemy of “good enough.” People get sucked into the fantasy of needing things to be perfect. This becomes the enemy of productivity AND execution. The goal is to FINISH…not complete it 99%.
• Delegate. Working on the wrong things sucks time, money and energy, and puts us in a position of not working from our strengths.
Energy Management
• Become aware of your own energy and work with it. Know when you are most productive to handle specific tasks. Some tasks take more mental energy than others, so knowing your own energy rhythm is necessary for peak productivity.
• Become aware of other people’s energy and distance yourself from negativity. Everyone projects energy. Protect your own energy by being cognizant of the energy of other people.
• If you can’t distance yourself, create mental barriers. Know your triggers. Do not allow yourself to be dragged down. Some people are like energy tornadoes; they suck you in. It is not your job to fix everyone else’s problems.
• Become aware of the impact other people’s drama has on you and do not engage. You can say NO when others try to bring you in. We can help others without becoming a drama victim.
Prioritization
• SINGLE-task. Itemize your priorities according to the criteria that works for you (time needed; deadline to be made; money spent; money made; ROI, etc.) and only work on the top few – sometimes only one, depending on the size of it. That’s it. You will get more done, more quickly, with better quality, with much less stress.
Other Important Tools/Strategy for Peak Productivity
Here are a few more tricks to tap into your Peak Productivity:
Mindset
• Practice a mindset of achievement and productivity. There are no excuses for not producing.
• Build a mindset of resilience. Do not let fear or setbacks derail you.
• Start the day in a positive place. Develop habits and own that time.
Goal Setting & Accountability
• Create realistic goals.
• Create an accountability partnership with someone who is in a similar place that you are.
Your Circle of Influence
• Who is around you? What is their daily pace? We run at the pace of our peers. When people exercise, they train with people on their level. It’s the same philosophy with our work pace.
• This is also a cultural issue in organizations. The CEO sets the pace. We are the people that surround us. When hiring employees, does their pace match the organizational pace?
Productivity Hacks
• Technology apps that streamline your most common tasks are essential for productivity. You can now accomplish almost everything you do at your desk with a mobile app.
• Scent/candles: Cinnamon and Citrus stimulate limbic system in the brain and make us more focused.
• Music: Focus music proven to stimulate the limbic system too for enhanced concentration (Spotify and [email protected])
• Physical care: Mind, body and spirit. All three need care & feeding on a daily basis.
For specific tips on neutralizing the effect that toxic behavior has on you, read my blog, Six Strategies for Containing Workplace Behavior.
For more insight on my Peak Productivity tips, visit Washington Business Report’s website to view my regular monthly appearance. My March segment focused on Peak Productivity.
If you would like to discuss how the Successful Culture Prioritization tools can work for you, email me at [email protected] We can set up a Skype chat to discuss how my TransformU tools can move you past your blocks and onto your next level of growth.
Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.
About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.
Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]
Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).
Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.
~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
Four Steps to Successful Delegation
I’m blessed to work with many business owners who are rapidly growing. They are certainly enjoying the growth, but alongside the joy is pain. Business growth for most entrepreneurs brings two types of pain:
1: There are not enough hours in the day to do everything required to implement their vision.
2: Entrepreneurs are happiest when they are NOT in the weeds, where they have to handle the operational tasks that keep the company running.
The natural remedy for both of these problems is to engage additional people, and assign the tasks that the business owner doesn’t want to do and/or does not do well.
Sounds like the perfect solution, yes?
Not so fast.
Successful delegation is an art. Sometimes it’s even an optical illusion. On the surface, it may appear that everything is handled well, and critical initiatives are moving forward. Dig a little deeper, however, and you may discover that tasks have been buried.
In so many organizations, I have seen CEOs “empower” others too quickly with authority or responsibility because they need some relief. We are always looking for people to be our back-up…to carry the load with us. The most important part of the word “empower” is POWER. By delegating responsibility to others, you are giving them POWER in your organization. POWER feels good. But with it comes the task of delivery – and the CEO is still ultimately responsible for the delivery.
To ensure you are successfully delegating, follow these steps:
- Identify the tasks you are going to delegate, and what the outputs are.
- Determine who you will delegate the tasks to. Ensure that you are not asking someone to take on responsibilities that do not align with their natural strengths, talents, or readiness. Employees must be able to fully manage themselves before taking on the responsibilities of others.
- Create a management plan for the person assigned to these tasks. When we delegate tasks, we don’t release responsibility or ownership of that task. Rather, we have added to our own accountability because we are now responsible for the output and performance of others. The quality of our own performance is directly tied to the performance of those for whom we manage.
- Schedule regular status meetings with the employee(s) you have delegated tasks to.
Depending on the size of your organization, you may delegate tasks to an employee, who may then delegate them to someone else if they have a direct report. If this is the case, communicate to both parties about the responsibility and importance of delegation management. Ultimately everything rolls up to top leadership, so regardless of the numbers of layers, the CEO ultimately owns the outcomes. Therefore, it is necessary to create a feedback loop where executive leadership is briefed on the status of all initiatives.
For anyone who has now been emPOWERed, ask them to regularly report:
- What they have delegated
- How they are managing it
Delegation does free up the executive leadership in the organization, but it also injects additional management requirements. It’s never a good idea to go on auto-pilot when important operational tasks are delegated throughout the organization. Stay attuned to the delegation relationships and responsibilities in your company, and you will stay ahead of the small hiccups that can turn into big problems.
Good luck!
Sign up here to receive Successful Culture’s leadership blog every Friday. All posts contain actionable content to make you the best leader you can be, to help you develop your people to their greatest potential, and to help you build your best organization.
About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.
Ready to move forward? Email us today at [email protected]
Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).
Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.
~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
photo credit Stuart Miles via FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Making The First Hire: 4 Steps Business Owners Can Take to Manage New Hires Successfully
Entrepreneurs who have successfully launched a business will find themselves at a fork in the road.
In one direction, there is the option to stay at the solopreneur level. This is a great option for those who…
Four Steps to a Successful 360-Degree Hiring Process
A client asked me, “Marissa, should I involve my other employees in the interviewing process?” My answer was an enthusiastic YES. From the intern to the executive, the CEO should never unilaterally own a hiring decision.
The REAL Differences Between Leadership & Management and The Two Tools to Help You Excel
I attended an exceptional Young Presidents Organization (YPO) learning event last week, where Steve McLatchy, author of Decide: Double Your Results, Reduce Your Stress & Lead By Example, spoke. Many people speak at a high level about the differences between management and leadership, but few articulate it well. Steve nailed it.
Leadership is a result you produce. If things are exactly where they are when you arrived in a “leadership” position, then you’re providing maintenance, not leadership. A true leader never “arrives” at leadership. The moment you’ve arrived there, you are a manager, and in maintenance mode.
In a nutshell, leadership = improvement, and management = maintenance.
Six Steps to Lead Your Business (And Yourself) Through an Unexpected Setback
Small business owners are vulnerable to major disruptions when life throws a curve-ball. We make ambitious plans with “permanent” deadlines, knowing that one unexpected event can derail everything and we will need to pivot.
Living Your (Customer’s) Mission
Only when we understand the motivations and missions of our customers can we create a compelling mission statement that inspires a customer to trust us. There is a big difference between selling a product or service and fulfilling a mission.
