This is a guest post by Piyush Patel, author of Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work. There are plenty of studies to put numbers behind the costs of letting someone go. The Society for Human Resource Management, for example, indicates those costs to be as high as 50% to 60% of the employee's annual salary. What you won’t find as easily are stats for how it affects the … [Read more...]
Working Long Hours Doesn’t Mean Dedication
Why do you hire new employees? Ok, this seems like an obvious question, and no, it isn’t a trick. We hire people because we have assignments that need to be completed, sales to be made, and products to be created, manufactured, shipped and billed. We hire people because we're growing and because other people leave. We hire people to be productive and to get work done. … [Read more...]
You Can’t Control Everything, So Focus More on This
There is a difference between what we can control and what we can merely influence. Sometimes we get the two mixed up, and it leads to major headaches. For example, in several states (California, Montana, Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota) there is a big primary election today. If you live in one of those states and vote (and you … [Read more...]
6 Tips for a Super Successful Summer
Summer is the season of “school’s out,” cook outs and vacations. Summer is also the season of warmth, longer days and the period of greatest growth in the natural world around us. As leaders, we must navigate all those truths to create a successful summer for our teams, both at work and in the rest of their lives. The challenge, as is often the case in life, is about seeking … [Read more...]
To Terminate or Not to Terminate That Employee?
I don’t think firing employees comes naturally to anyone. Many new leaders avoid making this tough call. But keeping a poor performer on staff is detrimental to your bottom line as well as your team’s productivity and morale. Your staff knows when a teammate isn’t pulling his or her own weight, and that can lead to laziness (“If she can get away with that, why am I working … [Read more...]
5 Steps to More Beneficial Conversations
Engaging conversation with your employees does more than just provide you with something interesting to talk about. Each time you dive into an insightful conversation, you are building rapport, understanding and trust with employees. Your relationship improves, and with it, so does employee collaboration, cooperation, performance, motivation, engagement, morale and … [Read more...]
The Leader’s Role in Onboarding
When you're a new leader or you've made a shift and are leading a new team, thinking about the onboarding of others is not usually top of mind. And the reality is, it should be. In today's video, I'm giving five pieces of advice to help you onboard your new team more quickly and more effectively so that everyone can be more … [Read more...]
4 Hacks Successful Leaders Use to Overcome Resistance
This is a guest post by Martin Lanik, author of THE LEADER HABIT. When you propose a change or new strategy to your team, do people openly resist your ideas? Do you have trouble articulating the improvements the change will bring? Are you unable to come to an agreement with particular team members? As a leader, you must be able to bring your people on board to make … [Read more...]
The Power of 1 Minute
Do you think you don't have a minute to spare? You should think again. In one short minute, you can accomplish so much: Identify something you are grateful for Encourage someone Smile Do some stretching Listen to someone Observe what is going on around you Reflect on what you have learned today Say “thank you" Notice someone’s strength Take a … [Read more...]
Protecting Your Time When You Are a Busy Manager
Being a manager is time consuming. If you accept that fact, you won’t resent the extra hours you spend at the office. Chances are you’ve found yourself stuck at work in the evening completing a project that you could have finished easily within normal work hours in the days before you became a boss. Even though you have more on your plate as a manager, you can slice some of … [Read more...]