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Best Practices Culture Growth Leadership Personal Development

Inspirational Leadership in Trying Times of Crisis – How To Elevate Your Company Culture

What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to leadership in trying times of crisis?

That question is not necessarily an easy question. And oftentimes the leadership assessments don’t give a truly satisfying result. That’s why the following story could be of service for your leadership growth in these trying times of crisis.

“There once was a king and queen couple. They were revered by the people they reigned. But the land got invaded. And the time to step up their game had come.

Before this day though, things seemed to be easy. It was all about letting the people do their thing within the confines of a safe and well-ruled land. Everyone felt at home and on purpose. Life was good. And even the sky didn’t look like a limit to any of them.

Through securing the ways of freedom, trade and development, they had thus accomplished a great many things. Everyone received profits in different shapes and forms. And happiness and prosperity were as normal as the clean air they could breathe and the clear water they could drink, every day.

Until that moment came…

The invasion of dark forces and destructive patterns took a hold on their world. Freedom began to become a far off illusion. Trade got stalled and stuff got stolen. Developments were reversed and all outlooks for growth got destroyed.

Indeed it were trying times of crisis.

The couple got together with their most trusted advisors. Those advisors had intelligence and information from the peoples in the field. And the meeting was orchestrated so an invisible but infinitely powerful Benefactor could supply the timely wisdom they needed so much right now.

What came out of that meeting was a new balance of clarity on strengths and weaknesses. The strengths were all aligned with a grander vision previously unseen. The weaknesses were all confined to a balancing polarity, now productive again for a shared way forward as all being equal to the king and queen.

And so the darkness got destroyed by its own destructive forces. And the light shone upon the lands once again galore! Indeed the crisis was overcome. And everyone was led into a form of benevolence that was never seen before.”

What is the moral of this story?

  • You can clearly see that it refers to some actual events. In that respect, it hopefully gives you some hope.
  • You can also see that it refers to powers within each and every one of us. In that respect, it hopefully gives you some deeper understanding for creating and building a better company culture.
  • And you can see that it beholds a promise, something that can be made real through conscious choice. So…

Is it your strength to choose for new inspirational leadership now in these trying times of crisis? Can you indeed balance the weaknesses so they become a productive polarity for something better?

If you also believe in genuine inspiration for doing more good in the world then you’re invited to >>read this letter now<<

What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to leadership in trying times of crisis?

Because it is possible. It is doable. And it is time to embody it now.

I hope this story already helps a bit.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Maurits van Sambeek, MA

Author of >>Omnibenevolence<<

+++++

PS: If you want to talk deeper about the topics and themes of this story then you can >>contact me here on LinkedIn<<

PPS: If you want to receive genuine new inspiration for doing more good in the world then you’re invited to >>read this letter now<<

And you can go even deeper to reach higher forms of inspiration again and again by getting your copy of >>Omnibenevolence<<

 

Categories
Best Practices Culture Growth Leadership Personal Development

Inspirational Leadership in Trying Times of Crisis – How To Elevate Your Company Culture

What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to leadership in trying times of crisis?

That question is not necessarily an easy question. And oftentimes the leadership assessments don’t give a truly satisfying result. That’s why the following story could be of service for your leadership growth in these trying times of crisis.

“There once was a king and queen couple. They were revered by the people they reigned. But the land got invaded. And the time to step up their game had come.

Before this day though, things seemed to be easy. It was all about letting the people do their thing within the confines of a safe and well-ruled land. Everyone felt at home and on purpose. Life was good. And even the sky didn’t look like a limit to any of them.

Through securing the ways of freedom, trade and development, they had thus accomplished a great many things. Everyone received profits in different shapes and forms. And happiness and prosperity were as normal as the clean air they could breathe and the clear water they could drink, every day.

Until that moment came…

The invasion of dark forces and destructive patterns took a hold on their world. Freedom began to become a far off illusion. Trade got stalled and stuff got stolen. Developments were reversed and all outlooks for growth got destroyed.

Indeed it were trying times of crisis.

The couple got together with their most trusted advisors. Those advisors had intelligence and information from the peoples in the field. And the meeting was orchestrated so an invisible but infinitely powerful Benefactor could supply the timely wisdom they needed so much right now.

What came out of that meeting was a new balance of clarity on strengths and weaknesses. The strengths were all aligned with a grander vision previously unseen. The weaknesses were all confined to a balancing polarity, now productive again for a shared way forward as all being equal to the king and queen.

And so the darkness got destroyed by its own destructive forces. And the light shone upon the lands once again galore! Indeed the crisis was overcome. And everyone was led into a form of benevolence that was never seen before.”

What is the moral of this story?

  • You can clearly see that it refers to some actual events. In that respect, it hopefully gives you some hope.
  • You can also see that it refers to powers within each and every one of us. In that respect, it hopefully gives you some deeper understanding for creating and building a better company culture.
  • And you can see that it beholds a promise, something that can be made real through conscious choice. So…

Is it your strength to choose for new inspirational leadership now in these trying times of crisis? Can you indeed balance the weaknesses so they become a productive polarity for something better?

If you also believe in genuine inspiration for doing more good in the world then you’re invited to >>read this letter now<<

What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to leadership in trying times of crisis?

Because it is possible. It is doable. And it is time to embody it now.

I hope this story already helps a bit.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Maurits van Sambeek, MA

Author of >>Omnibenevolence<<

+++++

PS: If you want to talk deeper about the topics and themes of this story then you can >>contact me here on LinkedIn<<

PPS: If you want to receive genuine new inspiration for doing more good in the world then you’re invited to >>read this letter now<<

And you can go even deeper to reach higher forms of inspiration again and again by getting your copy of >>Omnibenevolence<<

 

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

What an Orchestra Can Teach Your Company About High-Performance Teams

Do you ever feel like you’re conducting an orchestra? It’s hard to get all the people and parts moving harmoniously, isn’t it?

On a recent episode of Talking Business Now, I talked with Maestro Roger Nierenberg, the founder of The Music Paradigm. Nierenberg believes organizations can learn many critical lessons from orchestras, including insights into team collaboration and how to be more productive.

The Music Paradigm is an immersive learning experience Nierenberg created for business leaders, using actual orchestras. Company participants discover how the orchestra mirrors their company’s own culture.

Nierenberg made his New York conducting debut at Avery Fisher with the Pro Arte Chorale and Orchestra. He’s conducted numerous American orchestras as well as several abroad, including recording with the London Philharmonic and conducting at the Prague Spring Festival and the Beijing Festival. While he was with the Jacksonville Symphony, he made an astute observation after listening to many business and civic leaders: the challenges and opportunities organizations face during times of rapid change could be demonstrated with an orchestra. The Music Paradigm was born.

The format itself is simple enough: customized two-hour sessions consisting of a pre-meeting, the session with the orchestra and follow-up discussions. Nierenberg meets with the leadership team to explore their challenges and goals. He then creates interactive exercises for the orchestra designed to bring the company’s issues to life.

Next, the organization’s participants are seated within the orchestra. As participants observe the musicians, they focus on the dynamics at play. Because the orchestra is mirroring the actual dynamics of the company , participants discover some surprising and fascinating lessons about dysfunction, diversity and leadership.

“I’m asking them to adopt certain behaviors that are very much like the kinds of behaviors that either they want to bring about in their own organization, or else, they don’t want to admit that it’s holding them back,” Nierenberg said. “And so the orchestra becomes kind of a mirror for them to look at themselves and see themselves more clearly than they can in real life.”

Afterwards, Nierenberg conducts a discussion with participants about what they have just experiences and the key lessons that can be drawn.

If you’re interested in more details about The Music Paradigm and what your organization can learn from it, click here to listen to the full podcast.

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

Attitude Is a Multiplier

If you say the word “attitude” to people in the training community, most of us will think about presenters who burst into a room and try to knock trainees over with high bursts of energy. That’s not a bad image. Energy is absolutely part of attitude. Yet attitude is a lot more too.  It is a force that multiplies the results of training, improves performance, and leads to greater success.

Attitude has been the motive force behind many kinds of people. Rosa Parks was a quiet woman, but she had the attitude to take on bigotry and hasten the end of segregation. Winston Churchill was not a showman who sought the spotlight, but he rose to the challenge of World War II and his “never, never, never give up” attitude led his country to victory. Stephen Hawking, with his physical limitations, is not equipped to bowl people over with high energy, but his great attitude has enabled him to lead a very full life and expand the horizons of physics and science.

And you and I can use attitude to multiply our effectiveness too, no matter our field of endeavor.

What Is Attitude?

Here’s an analogy that helps explain what attitude is.

Attitude is like STP, the popular oil additive. People who love STP say that when they add it to the oil in their cars, their engines run more smoothly, produce more horsepower, and deliver better gas mileage. Attitude is like that. You pour it into whatever you do, and performance improves.

Attitude is like an electric light bulb too. As soon as Edison began to sell electric light bulbs, people were able to read and learn into the evening hours, work longer days, and achieve logarithmically bigger things in their lives. Attitude also lights up the world and empowers people to achieve more than they ever thought possible.

How Can You Put the Power of Attitude to Work?

I am still working this out – it is a very big issue. But here are some observations from my own life in business that I know to be right:

A great attitude starts with great listening, because attitude flows from other people to you – and not the other way around. When you become immersed in other people’s ideas, needs, concerns and inspirations, your attitude soars, and people sense that.

Being open to new ideas is the cornerstone of a great attitude. I have noticed confusion in this area, because some people seem to think that attitude means having emphatic opinions and trying to convince other people that they are right. A great attitude, in contrast, means trying to discover where other people are right and honoring them for that.

People who inspire you can help you build a powerfully positive attitude. If you apply life lessons from people who had great attitudes, you will take on some aspects of their greatness. When you study exceptional people, they will always be at your side in a sense. They might be your parents or other family members, business leaders you admire, historical figures, your minister or imam or rabbi – or anyone else whose life inspires you.

A great attitude is something that gets things done in the real world, not just in theory. If you go into a room and charm people and then nothing changes after you are done talking, you are not really tapping the power of attitude. Attitude does not stop as soon as the words are said. If you want to tap its power, follow through and follow up and bring change to other people’s lives and to the world.

I Would Welcome Your Input

Attitude is a topic that runs through my new book, Ingaging Leadership. As I noted above, it is a topic that I continue to explore. I invite your comments and feedback so we can engage and ingage in this process together.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Leadership Personal Development

Shift Your Focus to the Positive

“The negativity around here is wearing me down.”

If you have ever said those words to a colleague, I have some tough-but-loving advise to offer you today . . .

If the negativity is getting to you, it is up to you to do something about it. You… and no one else.

You don’t have the time, you say? You are not negative other people are, you say? Well that could be true. But unless you do something to turn the problem around, you are part of the roadblock.

Here are two simple, time-efficient steps you can do today to transform your organization into a much more positive place to work.

Use the Power of Five-to-One

I recommend telling people five positive things for every comment that could possibly be interpreted as negative – so in effect, you are operating on a ratio of 5 to 1 in positive versus ambiguous or less-than-positive communications. This practice will transform your leadership on the job, and it will produce surprising transformations in the way you interact with your family members, friends – in fact, everyone around you.

Why? Because too many of us don’t spend enough time giving positive feedback. Some of us say nothing at all until they need to comment or correct something that we think someone is doing wrong. Over time, this negative pattern causes others to feel unappreciated and so defensive that when you approach them, they know that you are unhappy with them. Is that good leadership? Is it a good way to interact with the people you love?

In contrast, be on the lookout for good things and call attention to them in positive ways. Concentrate not on perfection, but on the progress and hard work that you see in other people. If you apply this philosophy consistently, everyone around you will be happier, more motivated and less distracted by worry. Please try it and again, let me know how it has helped you.

Express Appreciation Every Day

Expressing appreciation seems like a small thing to do. But just like using the Three Things philosophy, it exerts a surprisingly profound force on everyone around you. You can express appreciation to members of your family, to people who work for the same charities and organizations that you do – and to people you meet everywhere and anywhere as you go about your life.

If the babysitter you hired to watch your kids one night did an especially caring and capable job of it, mention how much you appreciate that. And then go on to do the same, by expressing appreciation for the gas station attendant who washes your windshield, to the waitperson who did an exceptional job attending to your family at a restaurant, to the woman who holds the door of the ATM to make life a little more pleasant for you instead of letting it close in your face.

Every time you express appreciation, you are creating a more positive world, both for you and for everyone around you.

Embrace the Fact that Other People Often Have Ideas that Are As Good As Yours . . . and Possibly Better

Learn to suspend judgment in interactions with other people, by letting go and allowing them to surprise you by doing things the way they want to. We have already explored this leadership book in this book. I am here to tell you, it can produce transformational results in your family and personal life.

Here is a small experiment for you to try. If you have a child, for example, try to see everything you say and do through his or her eyes. You son just came to you with a suggestion for a summer program he would like to participate in, for example, or your daughter wants to go on vacation with her best friend’s family. If you were your son or daughter and expressed desires like those, how would you feel if your idea gets summarily shot down by Mom or Dad?

Accept the idea that the people around you are just as smart as you are, and sometimes smarter. You are not the person who gives final permission for everything. Do bear in mind, of course, that part of being an effective parent sometimes means failing to give permission. Does you daughter want to go swimming with sharks, for example, or travel to a dangerous part of the world. Or does you son suddenly announce that he wants to drop out of college a few months before he is due to graduate? Remember that you don’t have to approve everything. As you do in your professional life, it is a matter of exercising positive leadership. But before you deny permission, take a little time to ask “why?” so you can determine what the real issues are. Then facilitate decision making in a positive and Ingaged way.

About Evan Hackel

Evan Hackel is a 35-year franchising veteran as both a franchisor and franchisee. He is CEO of Tortal Training, a leading training development company, and principal of Ingage Consulting. He is a speaker, hosts “Training Unleashed,” a podcast covering training for business, and author of Ingaging Leadership. To hire Evan as a speaker, visit evanspeaksfranchising.com. Follow @ehackel or call 704-452-7368. Why not have Evan Hackel address your group about franchising success?

 

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development

5 Steps You Can Take to Reshape Your Company Culture

Executive leaders hear a lot of talk nowadays about the importance of company culture, and I can sense that some people haven’t quite bought into the concept. I’m sure that some see it as a soft, feel-good slogan, but in fact research shows that having a positive work culture is a hardcore business practice.

Say you’ve already bought into the importance of your work culture, it’s still tempting to look for the “hack” or shortcut to creating your company culture. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just click on the ‘download’ button and, after just a few short minutes, (depending on your bandwidth) voila, your new company culture would be installed?

We all know it’s not that easy. Your company culture is a big ship, it didn’t get where it is in the blink of an eye, and it will take some time – and effort – to turn that big ship around.

Those efforts will need to begin with a cohesive, committed, collaborative leadership team. Notice I didn’t say you should start with a strategic plan. That’s where many organizations start, and that’s their first mistake.

If your leadership team is pulling against one another instead of all rowing in the same direction, all of the strategies and all of the plans in the world won’t work.

First, I work with leadership teams to help them to function like a true team so that they can achieve results in a much shorter time frame. Once we’ve accomplished that, then we get to work on strategy.

I encourage executive leaders, managers, and senior level executives to think about what kind of experience they want to create for their customers and then what kind of environment they want to cultivate for their employees. The two are intertwined.

Here are 5 steps that you can take to reshape your company culture:

1. Provide challenging work. Research shows that ease is actually a path to dissatisfaction. In fact, when it gets easy, we tend to check out. Yeah, who knew? So provide work that allows team members to stretch, use their strengths, and feel useful and valuable.

2. Know what business you’re in. Harley Davidson is not just in the motorcycle business and Zappo’s is not just in the shoe business. Organizations like these are all about creating exceptional experiences for their customers. Ensure that your employees and your team members understand the business they’re in and this will drive the company’s work culture.

3. Put people over profits. Your team members will treat your customers no better than you treat your employees. Take an interest in your people. Ask what they’re working on, struggling with. Talk to them about their learning and career growth goals.

4. Don’t assume that no news is good news. Ask for feedback. Ask employees what you could be doing better. Ask how the work environment could be improved. Ask what employees like and dislike about their jobs. Ask, ask, ask. Listen and then take action to make whatever improvements you can.

5. Don’t take yourself or your business too seriously. I recently flew on Southwest Airlines after they’d had a major computer outage. Needless to say, there were delays, passengers were, uh, cranky, and stress was high. Once in flight, our flight attendant had everyone in stitches, served drinks on the house, and literally turned what could have been a nightmare into a pleasant experience. Southwest has worked hard to build a fun company culture. Team members are given latitude and encouraged to express their sense of humor. Build in fun and team activities to your culture wherever you can. Allow time for informal gatherings, even if it’s just for lunch or a fun snack break.

Revamping your company culture can seem daunting, but you can do it by consistently applying these business communication practices over time. The message must come from the top and be consistent throughout all levels of the organization. Oh, and in case you didn’t pick up on that: consistency is the key.

CHIME IN:

  • What would you add to this list?
  • What are some areas where you’d like to improve?
  • How have you created a positive company culture in your organization?
  • Leave a comment below and share your insights with our community.

For more resources on leadership and employee engagement, be sure to sign up for our monthly Ezine and you will receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved.”

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

You might also like:

Four Signs You’re Sabotaging Your Team (and How to Stop)

For Leadership Success – Give Your Power Away

8 of the Best Kept Leadership Communication Secrets

Photo source

Categories
Entrepreneurship Management Personal Development

Employee Retention: What Today’s Employees Are Looking For

Today’s workforce is a different breed from the dedicated 9-5’ers of yesteryear; this makes employee retention an entirely new ballgame. The current financial landscape has a great deal to do with it. The internet allows consumers to buy more than ever before with a few clicks of a mouse, while real estate prices continue to rise and income rates remain relatively static.

Decades ago, 40 hours a week at a menial job could buy a house, a car, and a middle-class lifestyle for an entire family. Those days are over. Today’s workers may not intend to create a family and sustain it in the traditional sense; both partners in a relationship usually go to work every week. Therefore, the landscape of employees’ expectations has changed, as they attempt to derive deeper satisfaction from employment than ever before.

Employee retention is a matter of ensuring that their expectations are met.

I recently had the opportunity to partner with a company called Beaconforce. They have built software that allows managers to survey their employees a twice a day to determine their employee’s mindset: how satisfied they are with their work, and how comfortable they feel with their managers.

In the process of building the software, Beaconforce learned that the key expectations for today’s employees include a feeling of purpose and belonging, autonomy, freedom, clear goals, continuous feedback, and a sense that they are growing and improving over time. Today’s employees also want to be challenged and have an aversion to boredom.

The software Beaconforce developed creates a chart demonstrating the employees’ level of satisfaction in each of these areas, along with their level of trust in their managers (and the company at large.) It also indicates how often they are in their “flow zone”—feeling fulfilled and constructive in their work, as opposed to stagnant and/or confused.

So, let’s say the software reports that employees are not entirely satisfied. Perhaps they don’t feel a sense of autonomy, they are bored or, worse, they don’t trust their manager. What’s next?

That’s where my partnership with Beaconforce comes in. As a transformational business coach, I work with managers to identify their blind spots and determine which ideas and behaviors are creating a less-than-ideal environment for their employees. In the days that follow, managers have the opportunity to make choices regarding how they relate to their employees, rather than continuing to act in the same way that generated the problems they want to address, to begin with.

If you are in a management position, with or without the Beaconforce software, it is very important to pay attention to each individuals’ satisfaction to ensure employee retention for your company.

If employee retention is something you are struggling with or something you simply feel you could improve, consider a three-month coaching package. Six sessions (once every-other-week) can identify blindspots you were completely unaware of. The resulting changes in management style will make a huge difference in how your employees feel about working with you.

Contact me to set up a free consultation to discuss what this particular program looks like, and how it can benefit you. Also, if you have any questions about employee retention (or how you might create a better work environment for your employees) feel free to contact me directly, or leave a comment below!

Categories
Growth Health and Wellness Leadership

Are You Working on Survival Mode?

Most of the time, when I ask someone why they don’t drink enough water every day, the answer is… because I don’t have time to go to the bathroom. Wait… you are thirsty and you know you are getting dehydrated, but you still don’t drink any water?

What is the problem here?

The problem is not the water, the water is just the symptom. The problem is time. Our relationship with time is… complicated. In our busy modern lives, time is the new currency and we cut corners to save time. We multi-task and juggle as much as possible on our to-do list and we try to do it in less time, but I think you and I can agree, it is not working. We don’t get more done it just feels that way. And we are more busy than ever and when we look back on the day, we might wonder, where did the time go and how much progress did we make?

What does water have to do with it?

A lot actually. Because when we are dehydrated we don’t think as well; we lose focus and attention faster, we get more easily overwhelmed and we might even find ourselves more confused. You might also be more irritable and impatient. Yup… Next time you are in a meeting with an impatient, slightly passive aggressive person, pass them a glass of water and see if it helps.

When we are running low on water, our most basic and essential inner fuel, our bodies think we are under survival stress. Your body does not know that there is water in the faucet just around the corner from your office, your body thinks you are in the middle of nowhere and you have not yet found water, so it will try to preserve its energy and keep you from using it, by slowing things down until you find a waterhole again. Because why else would you starve yourself from what keeps you going right…?

When you are on survival-mode, your hormones run the show. Actually, your hormones always run the show, but when you are smart about your fuel, essentially you are the master of your hormones. When you are on survival mode your hormones take over, because their job is to save you from extinction. At the office that means your hormones are trying to save you from yourself. Or rather from your work which is keeping you from pausing for things like water and toilet-breaks. So in a round-about-way you are just working against yourself.

The time you spend, is time saved.

When it comes to self-care, and probably many other things in life, we save time at the end, when we spend some time up front. With self-care it works this way: the more you take care of your essential foundational needs for water, food and sleep, the more you optimize your human performance. It is really pretty simple, so simple that we don’t do it.

And yes, being dehydrated is not going to save you time, it makes you spend more time getting things done, because you are not focused. More time solving issues in meetings, because you are overwhelmed and cannot think straight. And simply being in-effective because you have to comeback to the same task over and over, because you lose your attention. Survival-mode will do that to you. And maybe all you needed was some water through out the day and a couple of 10 min. toilet-break here and there, and you could have saved yourself hours of being unproductive, unfocused, and unhinged. So instead, go drink some water and see how it makes you feel. You might just realize it is the quick-fix to unstressing, getting more work done, and the foundation for you performing at your best. As a CEO told me the other day, “I was having a hard time focusing and I felt tired before my meeting, then I drank a whole bottle of water and I felt fine again, I was ready for my meeting right away.”

Now go drink some water! And take a pause to enjoy it as well.