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Telecommuting...sounds like something from the future. However, it is one of the most challenging issues for businesses today. Employees want flexible work schedules and work hours. And many companies are trying to make it a priority and allow employees to work remotely. Some have even gone as far as hiring full remote teams that work in different states across the country.
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If you’re a business leader, it’s safe to believe that you understand the need for, and the benefits of, succession planning. So, for the purpose of this article, we won’t spend much time addressing them. What we will highlight, however, are a few ingredients that are necessary in order to develop bench strength for your key employees. In sports, the definition of bench strength is “the quality and number of players available to substitute during the game”. In business, there’s a bit more focus on the quality piece; but really, the concept is the same. The purpose is to have people ready to step into a different role when a leadership or key position becomes available or when a new role is needed.
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More and more companies today have come to understand that employees are demanding that the company they work for fit their values and beliefs about how employees and coworkers should treat each other. They look at a company’s philosophy about customers and their beliefs about social causes. And most importantly, they look at organizational culture. And if the company doesn’t fit the mold, the employees go elsewhere.
Some companies have not spelled out what behaviors support their specific culture. And this creates confusion for employees. For other companies, there is no connection between what’s documented and what’s actually happening. New recruits may be told during an interview about the mission and how people interact but once hired, find that isn’t how people really act day-to-day.
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Ahh, the feeling of setting new goals. It’s exciting. You’ve planned exactly what this year is going to look like, both personally and professionally. Your company is expecting big things this year. You’re probably feeling headstrong and ready to take on the world. You have no doubt that all of this can get accomplished. You’re ready to do this!
Fast-forward three months. You’ve struggled to stay consistent with your goals. We know. Life gets in the way, schedules change, and suddenly you have gotten really busy. You’re behind, you might have procrastinated just a little, and you didn’t do everything you said you were going to do this quarter. Now you’re off track and mad at yourself for not being more accountable. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there.
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Imagine this all-too-familiar scenario. You work a full-time job, maybe even a little more. On top of just doing your job, you're managing a team of other people, also trying to get them to do their jobs. And maybe you’ve got kids at home, so not only are you working and managing people, you’re a full-time parent who has to cook, clean, do laundry, and attend soccer practices.
Even though you’re trying your best, you just feel like you're always struggling. Always tired. Always have something else you have to do. It’s getting harder for you to wake up in the morning; your workload is getting heavier, and your supervisor is requesting that you complete more projects in less time. It seems like you are constantly on the go, you have no time for yourself, and you don’t see an end in sight. You’re drowning in your own hectic life… We’ve all been there.
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Let us be your leadership “Google.” Ask Revela!: Last year, in an article from our #AskRevela series, we addressed the question of how to deal with a toxic person on your team. We examined possible reasons and tips for handling someone who is less-than-pleasant. We looked at it from the perspective of a peer or direct report. But what about a toxic boss? What if that person is your manager? So here’s today’s question…
How do you successfully motivate your team when your supervisor’s toxic behavior affects morale, both yours and the team's? - Anonymous
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The word compassion holds many meanings, and it’s hard to define. Here’s what we know. Compassion consists of three main elements: recognizing or noticing when others are struggling, understanding and feeling for the person that is struggling, and responding or having the motivation to act and help relieve the struggle. Compassion takes empathy one step further with that final element: having the motivation to act.
You might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with leadership? I can’t fix every person’s problems.” Our answer: It has everything to do with it. Human beings are born with a compassionate instinct at our core. In fact, research by David Rand at Harvard University shows that with both adults and children, our first impulse is to help others, not to compete with them.
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If you do research on how to create an individual development plan (IDP), you’ll probably notice that the advice you find is typically offered to a leader or manager, helping to develop an IDP for their employee.
They all start with the notion that first, you should know where the business is going and then talk with your employee about the future. Next, it’ll walk you through determining what the person is missing (gap analysis). Finally, it ends with creating a training plan and applying it. You might even find some lists that have a few more steps, but the majority contain at least those steps.
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You’re about to lose 40% of your workforce. Yep, we said it. That’s awfully close to HALF! Over recent years, we’ve seen many Baby Boomers retire. Waved goodbye as they took their knowledge and expertise out the door with them. As of December 2018, 39.2% of people in the US workforce were aged 55 or older. Traditionally, most people retire in their early to mid-60s. So what does this say for your company in the next 5-10 years?
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Let’s guess what you’re thinking. Probably something along the lines of: “Another article about what it means to be a leader, even if you don’t manage anyone.” And you’ll probably move on or delete this as your eyes roll to the back of your head. But wait! Keep reading…
This topic has been a hot one for a while. If you search for it on Google, you will get about 35,800,000 results (at least that’s what we got). There are more pictures than you can count of a leader helping push people up a mountain, while a manager steps on heads to make it to the top first. And the memes? Don’t get us started.Alongside all that, you’ll see articles: “3 Differences between Managers & Leaders,” “Leaders vs Managers: Which Are You?,” “Want to Be a Leader Not a Manager?” and so on.
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Picture this scenario: People at work are unengaged. You can feel your direct reports whispering about you around the water cooler. Sometimes you feel walked on. And your team thinks that they can get away with anything…because you won’t do anything about it. Does any of this sound familiar?
Having crucial conversations with your team is hard. We know our employees have good intentions. But sometimes, they make mistakes, or we need to correct performance issues. And holding them accountable for missing the mark can be extremely uncomfortable.
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