Category: Leadership

Highly Effective Leaders Practice these 7 Habits

Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

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Are great leaders born or made? It’s an age-old question, and evidence exists to support both sides.

Many leaders have qualities that seem innate, as Forbes notes. Confidence, a positive attitude, intelligence, exceptional communication skills, a sense of humor — these are typically characteristics inherent to an individual’s personality.

Sure, some leaders are simply smarter or luckier than other people. But it seems that in most cases, leaders have to work at setting an example that others want to follow. They do so by engaging in a number of positive behaviors.

They’re persistent

Leaders don’t quit the first time something doesn’t go their way. They keep at it, and most enjoy the journey almost as much as the destination. They know there’s a lot of valuable information to be gleaned and skills to be mastered along the way.

Not everyone is born with an assertive personality. But leaders learn to keep going despite having doors slammed in their faces — sometimes literally. They overcome passivity and keep pushing until they achieve their goals.

They work hard and invest in themselves

The image of the CEO who spends her days out on the golf course is a myth. Most leaders — and most successful people in general — work extremely hard, putting in many more hours than average people.

Time off? You won’t find leaders slumped on the couch catching the latest reality show. More than likely, they’ll be bettering themselves or helping others, whether it’s reading books related to their fields, keeping their bodies healthy or volunteering in the community.

Individuals in leadership roles never feel that they’re done with their own educations. They always want to grow and improve, and they invest significant time in learning new things, refining their skills or finding new ways in which to stretch their abilities. They consider themselves a project that’s never finished.

They learn from mistakes

When average people make mistakes, they get down on themselves. Often, the negative voices in their heads prevail, and they stop trying altogether. For leaders, mistakes aren’t the end of the world. In fact, they’re opportunities to learn and improve.

Without people willing to keep trying despite making mistakes, there would be no progress in the world. And without mistakes, there is no learning. Leaders know there’s significant truth in the old adage: Practice makes perfect.

They set goals

Leaders don’t fly blind. They create plans and set goals.

Goals create a framework for tangible action to meet larger objectives. Whether it’s increasing a company’s sales or rolling out a new product, goals serve as a road map toward success. The simple practice of creating goals gets team members on the same page and provides benchmarks for measuring performance. Goal-setting also fuels motivation as everyone moves in the same direction.

They don’t give in to failure

Did you know that before he became one of the best-known scientists in history, Albert Einstein was somewhat of a failure? In college, a professor derided him as lazy, and he was forced to take an entry-level job in government after graduation. Fortunately, young Albert didn’t let his early fits and starts deter him, and he went on to great things.

Great leaders don’t give up, and they don’t listen when people call them failures. They get right back up and keep going.

They build support systems

No one can do everything on their own. Even the best and brightest need help sometimes. Great leaders know this, and they surround themselves with friends and colleagues who can help them improve and continue achieving their goals. They stay away from toxic, negative people, instead spending their time with smart, positive people who are determined to be successful.

They have a spirit of service

Leaders help other develop their talents and skills. They’re generous with their time and often can be found mentoring young people. They act as role models, and they’re conscious of the ways in which they can serve others.

What makes a highly effective leader?

Viewed from afar, leaders can seem almost superhuman. Brilliant ideas seem to flow effortlessly, and everything they touch seems to turn to gold. The truth is that for most, learned and practiced habits make the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Persistence, setting goals, rebounding from failure and serving others build the character that makes a true leader.

Source

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247518?ctp=BizDev&src=Syndication&msc=Feedly, http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-ways-that-great-leader-thinks-differently.html, http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/12/19/top-10-qualities-that-make-a-great-leader/, http://www.forbes.com/sites/zalmiduchman/2015/04/24/how-i-discovered-the-importance-of-persistence-and-learned-to-annoy-the-heck-out-of-everyone/, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-motivation-goal-setting-businesses-2506.html, http://www.creativitypost.com/psychology/famous_failures

 

5 Signs of a Positive Work Environment

Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

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Whether looking for a new job or considering ways to increase fulfillment within your current company, a positive work environment is crucial in determining how successful a company will be in the long run, as well as how content and motivated a team of employees will remain. Though all companies have their own unique work environment, there are five key signs that indicated whether an organization truly is healthy and able to thrive.

Open Communication

Whereas nearly all organizations claim to value open communication, many do not maintain it. A positive workplace consists of leaders who are dedicated to setting aside time to communicate clear goals and expectations, and then offer and invite honest feedback that seeks to better employees and the company as a whole. Most truly healthy organizations have implemented an open-door policy where leaders are ready and willing to listen to concerns in a non-threatening manner, and then actually address those concerns. A strong atmosphere of trust is established when open communication is a key function of a company.

Opportunities for Development

People who are given opportunities to grow and learn in an area where they can personally and professionally grow are highly motivated to put their new skill-sets to work and therein make a company more productive. Businesses that offer opportunities for employees to grow and learn are filled with empowered and content employees. People feel cared for as employees and they then tend to remain loyal to the business that helped them to grow and advance. Companies that offer opportunities for development tend to be filled with ambitious employees who feel appreciated, thus creating an upbeat, thriving work environment.

Recognition

Positive work environments are those characterized by leaders who take time and energy to recognize the efforts and successes of employees. Organizations with an atmosphere of recognition boast employees who are satisfied and motivated to produce results. An environment where goals are set, achieved, and celebrated is one that going to be measured as healthy and desirable to work with and for. This type of environment harbors employees who feel valued and who want to contribute to the overall productivity of the organization.

Flexibility

People who are able to have flexible work arrangements that help them balance out all aspects of their lives are proven to be happier, and therefore more productive and engaged at work. Studies are showing that individuals who are employed by companies that offer flexibility in hours and location to work on and complete tasks have reduced stress levels at work and in their family life. They feel valued and cared for by their company, and the work environment, as a whole, is exceedingly favorable.

Teamwork

A company whose departments actually work together as a team is most often one that effectively solves problems, uses resources, and produces results significantly more efficiently than businesses without that sense of team. A positive work environment is one where people enjoy working together, and where employees offer help to each other. Ultimately, this type of work climate is populated by people who feel a stronger sense of purpose as they are surrounded by a team of employees working toward a common goal.

Which of these traits can your company work on to adopt a more positive work environment?

 

 

How Hierarchy Takes You from Surviving to Thriving

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Many leaders believe an effective leader’s subordinates consider them a friend. They feel uncomfortable with hierarchy and/or chain of command and feel everybody in the organization should be treated equally.

While these misconceptions aren’t entirely wrong (your subordinates should believe you respect and appreciate them and everybody in the organization is immensely valuable), when leaders adopt these trains of thoughts, their teams suffer. An established, structured, well communicated, and enforced chain-of-command can eliminate confusion and frustration when it comes to conflict resolution or employee grievances and improve morale and productivity. The word hierarchy may not be well received by leaders or staff, but its effects are positive and necessary for organizational growth.

Some of the benefits you can expect to see when you establish and implement a chain of command include:

  • Improved morale. Employees are more likely to see the direct results of their suggestions or grievances when they have addressed it at the closest level first. Leaders are more apt to follow up with their direct employees regarding their grievance. Employees trust that if their supervisor has failed to respond, they have further options for resolution, which improves morale as well.
  • Decreased legal risk. When policy outlines clear guidance for grievances, employees have an obligation to take the steps recommended to resolve complaints. When the grievance or chain of command policy is followed, the organization has increased opportunity to address issues before they reach a judge.
  • Lower turnover. Employees who see action following an appropriate grievance or suggestion are likely to enjoy their jobs and stay on board longer.
  • Increased productivity. Satisfied employees work hard and feel personally vested in the organization. They look for efficiencies and solutions and are driven by quality results.
  • Lower costs. When your turnover and legal risk decrease and your productivity increases, your bottom line goes up. That should provide the justification you need to get your chain-of-command idea past upper management.

What are the characteristics of an effective chain of command?

  • All employees report directly to somebody who has overall responsibility for their results. Supervisors who are responsible for the results of their team are personally vested in the performance and productivity of their employees, understand the processes, know the staff, and have the authority to address concerns appropriately. They also have several levels above them for support and guidance.
  • Few employees report directly to upper management. Those reporting to upper management have only one option when it comes to grievances. Only the most professional people in the most independent positions in your building should report to the president or CEO.
  • All employees are trained upon implementation and then annually and upon hire regarding the structure of the organization and the grievance process. All supervisors are trained to manage authoritatively – to take personal responsibility for the performance of their team. In order to do so, they must be comfortable directing and correcting their team when necessary (remind them to balance reward and constructive criticism).
  • Everybody must be willing to say, “Have you addressed the right person with these concerns?” before they act on concerns that do not come from their direct subordinates. This enforces chain-of-command and provides maximum opportunity for resolution.

If you choose to establish and implement a chain-of-command, it is vital that your employees understand that it dictates who has the authority to make which decisions and where they should go for help, not who has value within the organization. Employees often view authority as value and poor morale results.

Furthermore, your leaders must own their authority. Weak or inexperienced leaders often feel that they are no more valuable than anyone else and therefore should not delegate or correct. While their value remains equal, their authority makes them different – and this authority is vital in order for the organization to operate as it should. Leaders must feel comfortable correcting their subordinates.

If you are struggling with employee morale, legal risk, poor productivity or attendance, or high turnover and you are not yet utilizing an established chain-of-command, consider moving forward with a chain-of-command policy. The cost is in the time it takes you to establish and the benefits far outweigh the investment.

5 Characteristics of an Effective Performance Appraisal

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Performance Review

Performance appraisals are a vital tool in increasing accuracy, productivity, and engagement in every organization. Organizations who utilize performance appraisals correctly acknowledge an employee’s strength and win while challenging the employee to continually evolve and improve. Unfortunately, however, many organizations fail to execute a useful motivational performance appraisal and instead realize negative results such as confusion, decreased engagement, and increase turnover. Following are 5 vital characteristics of an effective performance appraisal:

1. An effective performance appraisal is comprehensive. Performance appraisals should not be used in response to specific errors, omissions, or incidents. They should instead be scheduled periodically as specified in policy (most organizations choose to do appraisals annually or twice annually) and reflect upon overall performance over the entire specified period of time. It is also important to schedule the discussion several days in advance to give the employee an opportunity to prepare their goals and input before the discussion takes place and to prevent catching an employee off-guard or at a bad time.

2. And effective performance appraisal looks forward. All opportunities for improvement can be addressed in one of two ways:by focusing on an unchanging past or applying the lesson learned to future performance. For example, an ineffective appraiser might say, “Your presentations really miss the mark. We really expect more sales to result,” while an effective appraiser will say, “Okay, so your presentations haven’t been landing the sales. Let’s talk about what you’ve learned through this process that might improve your next presentation and close the deal.” An effective performance appraisal results in clear, attainable short- and long- term goals and doesn’t reprimand or discipline for past failures.

3. An effective performance appraisal is honest. Supervisors who consistently check the “exceeds expectations” box for every competency and every employee aren’t contributing to the success of their employees or their department. Instead, they contribute to a do-the-bare-minimum culture, which results in bare-minimum work and ultimately reflects poorly on the supervisor’s ability to lead and motivate. Employees appreciate honest feedback and most employees feel energized by new goals and challenges. While choosing “needs improvement” may not be accurate, it’s okay to select “meets expectations” and then add in the comments section that the employee has demonstrated through-the-roof potential and you would like to see them work toward a new goal, a new position, or take on additional responsibility.

4. An effective performance appraisal is accurate. Depending on the size and structure of your organization, it’s possible that the person completing the performance appraisal does not always intimately know the employee’s role, work history, or character. In these cases, the organization may consider implementation of a 360-degree feedback policy. If the organization deems 360-degree feedback to be a poor fit or unreasonable, it’s vital that the person completing the evaluation seeks input from peers, first-line supervisors, and available data. Has the organization received customer complaints or compliments on the employee? Is he or she arriving for scheduled shifts on time and prepared to work? Do coworkers value his or her knowledge and skills? Has he or she been placed on a work improvement plan in the past year? Only a performance appraisal that accurately reflects the employee’s performance can provide the right guidance, acknowledgement, and motivation.

5. An effective performance appraisal goes both ways. Not only is the performance appraisal a good time for supervisors to share their comments with their subordinates, it’s also a great time to receive insight from staff regarding their working conditions, their perception of workplace culture, and their overall engagement and satisfaction. In a busy organization, one-on-one time with employees in every role should be maximized and utilized. In an effective performance appraisal, employees are given the opportunity to set goals for themselves and their departments. They are asked if they have adequate education, resources, and support to perform to the best of their abilities. They are asked if their working conditions are safe, comfortable, and free from harassment and discrimination. They should be given the opportunity to share their ideas for process improvement. Integrating this additional time into your performance appraisal process always pays off; it improves employee morale, helps you identify and resolve issues, and might even help you simplify or improve processes.

Training supervisors to master the performance appraisal is an investment in the future of your organization. Employees who feel challenged strive to raise the bar; those who feel appreciated go above and beyond to excel; and those who feel valued and supported in their roles enjoy coming to work. And, of course, when your employees enjoy coming to work your organization excels.

Still have questions? The team at Bridge Between is here to help.

10 “Don’ts” that De-Motivate Employees

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Successful organizations are filled with motivated employees from the top down. Motivating employees is one of the key tasks of an effective manager, but all too often, managers err in their efforts to motivate employees.

Following are 10 practices to avoid in order to maintain a productive, motivated workforce:

Don’t just reward results – Often times, the employee who closes the sale, secures the client, or meets the company goal has had a long line of behind-the-scenes coworkers who carved the way toward success. At the same time, some employees are assigned more difficult clients and tasks than others. Be sure to regularly offer praise and rewards for efforts across the company and along the path to success so that employees continue to want to be productive.

Don’t make praise the only reward – While praise and expressions of appreciation are excellent motivators, they only go so far. When employees receive a tangible reward, they and their coworkers notice and get excited. Furthermore, rewards can and should come in all shapes and sizes. Taking an employee out for lunch, offering them a day off, or giving them a gift card are fun, affordable ways to honor employees. Rewards should remain interesting and fitting to the efforts made.

Don’t offer external-only rewards – While money talks, studies show that employees are much more highly motivated by a sense of self-worth than they are by money. In fact, employees who are paid too highly for their work typically have lower performance outputs than people in similar positions at a lesser salary range.

Don’t be stingy – On the other hand, bitterness and frustration result when employees are not appropriately compensated for their efforts. Ensure that employees are truly making what they are worth to ensure continued motivation and productivity.

Don’t delay feedback – Multiple studies on feedback prove that immediate feedback increases motivation because people automatically understand the cause and effect relationship between actions and results. Employees who receive consistent and constructive feedback are more goal-oriented and productive.

Don’t focus on mistakes – If an employee makes more mistakes than successes, it is likely that employee is not a good fit for an organization. But focusing on small errors and mistakes rather than overall successes will lead to a lack of confidence, a lack of motivation, and ultimately a lack of productivity.

Don’t be predictable – Employees are motivated by opportunities to be creative, learn and grow. A sense of accomplishment and the ability to take a new or fresh perspective keeps work interesting for employees, and interesting motivates people to work.

Don’t forget to be human – One of the greatest motivating factors for people is knowing that they are cared for. Employees are highly inspired to work for people who care about those things that matter beyond the work day. Know the names of employees’ significant others, and ask about them. If an employee isn’t performing to the standards expected, don’t ridicule without stopping to ask what help they might need, or what might be affecting performance. 

Don’t impose too many structures and rules – This especially applies when it comes to how a task is completed. Telling people how to complete their job disables the ability to operate in the freedom and comfort of their own aptitudes and styles. When you take a way freedom, you demotivate.

Don’t create an atmosphere of fear – Lastly, companies who instill fear among employees often have significant turnover rates. People want to experience happiness and joy as they contribute to a company, and fear has the opposite effect on people, thus creating less drive to complete tasks.