Leadership

  • Human Resources, Leadership, Leading Self

    Top 5 qualities of a better leader

    If you want to build a better business, you should be working on becoming a better leader.

    So, what qualities do better leaders have in common? Where should you start on your journey to becoming a better leader? Here are my top 5 suggestions.

    1. Build your personal brand

    To be a better leader, you need to understand who you are. If you stay true to your personal values, you’ll find it easier to be your authentic self at work. This, in turn, allows your team to understand what makes you tick – both at work and, to some degree, in your personal life – which will help to build trust.

    No-one is perfect and your team isn’t expecting you to be. Acknowledge your flaws and weaknesses and improve them to become a stronger, more confident leader. Being a better leader is about nurturing your team so they can be the best they can be – and this should start with yourself. Continual self-development and learning should be a part of your personal brand as a better leader.

    1. Build a culture of trust and transparency

    Trust is important in the workplace. According to the Harvard Business Review, people who work in a business with a culture of trust report “74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout”.

    Pretty impressive statistics!

    Your job as a better leader is to help cultivate trust in your business. Make sure that your people can trust you to keep your word, even if it’s not always the easiest option.

    It is also important to be transparent. Most people will appreciate you for telling it how it is, especially if you are also empathetic (another key quality of a better leader).

    And make sure your team are kept in the loop as much as possible. Communication is integral to this. See below for some tips on ensuring communication is not overlooked in your business.

    1. Better leaders cultivate Emotional Intelligence

    Emotional Intelligence at work is the art of understanding what motivates your team and how to get the best from them. You are aware of your emotions and can use them in a positive way to build your team up, resulting in a more productive, profitable organisation.

    Being aware of, and working on, the 5 elements of Emotional Intelligence as proposed by Daniel Goleman is a great place to start when it comes to becoming a better leader. These 5 elements are: ⁠Self Awareness⁠, Self Regulation⁠, Motivation⁠, Social Awareness⁠ and Relationship Management⁠.

    For a full explanation of Emotional Intelligence and how it relates to the workplace, read my blog on the topic here.

    1. Better leaders communicate, communicate, communicate

    If you consistently hear the phrases ‘I didn’t know about that’, or ‘Nobody told me’, chances are you need to up your communication game.

    Better leaders communicate with their entire business, not just other leaders.

    Internal communication tools can include:

    Staff newsletters – these are a great way to help communicate any changes in the organisation, break down barriers between colleagues and inform them of any social events.

    Teams – this Microsoft program is an easy way to bring people together. You can set up different channels for your different teams and it also allows for more informal interaction (using emojis and gifs, for example).

    Regular face-to-face meetings – be sure that any decisions made at the top level (that your team should be made aware of) are filtered down throughout the entire business. An effective way to do this is to have each leader or head of department hold their own team meeting to encourage two-way conversations with employees.

    1. Treat your people as individuals not robots

    In a world where we are becoming more isolated (thanks to many of us now working from home, social distancing and the like), the need for human connection is more important than ever.

    And, as many of us spend as much, or more, time at work as we do with our family, it’s important that we get that human connection in the workplace – whether it’s remotely or in an office.

    Not to mention that being treated as an individual is a simple matter of respect. Better leaders treat their people as individuals, not money-making machines. Emotional Intelligence and communication are key factors here.

    It’s about making someone feel valued at work. Those employees who feel heard, valued and understand that they are making a real difference to the business will stick around longer and be more motivated in their role.

    Plus, embracing individuality can help formulate new ideas – which just might boost your profitability.

    Now you’ve made a start on your leadership journey – why not continue? Speak to us about our leadership development training or executive coaching programs.

     

     

  • Leadership

    Bad leadership: Why do we tolerate it?

    I have a saying, “Never sacrifice the team for one person”. Yet I continue to hear how badly people are being treated in the workplace because of bad leadership.

    People leave leaders not companies!  According to a Gallup survey of 1 million employees, a massive 75% who left their job voluntarily did so because they had a bad leader.

    Recognise this person as a leader:

    • Arrogant
    • Huge ego
    • Know-it-all
    • Disrespectful
    • Has a group of favourites in the team
    • Not interested in you as a person
    • Takes the credit for your ideas?

    (Also the kind of leader who will send ranting emails in red bold caps…on a Friday night – more about this later).

    Why do organisations continue to accept bad leaders?

    So, we can all probably agree on the type of person that qualifies as a bad leader.

    Why, then, do poor leaders continue to be at the helm of our companies? Could it be that it’s simply too hard to manage the problem of poor leadership? That organisations are worried about how these leaders will react if confronted about their leadership style? That business owners have condoned these bad leadership traits for so long that these managers are almost an ‘iconic’ part of the culture (think The Devil Wears Prada)?

    Whatever the reason, it’s clear that poor leadership is detrimental to business success. Who would want to work for Mr or Mrs Arrogant, when they could work for a human-centred leader instead?

    Good leadership v bad leadership

    Human-centred leaders value good communication, respect their employees and provide a clear picture of the organisation’s goals and how team members can help to attain those goals. Great leaders listen, are transparent and help their people grow.

    While bad leadership tears a company down and leads to poor engagement and increased turnover, great leadership helps build a company up. It does so by developing a company culture that values its people, increases motivation and lowers turnover – all while increasing profit.

    Those leaders that invest in their employees understand how much an engaged, motivated, productive employee means to their company. And the respect works both ways. Employees that trust their leader are more likely to follow their leader.

    Dealing with poor leadership styles

    So, if your business is having problem with staff retention and morale, it’s worth taking a closer look at those on your leadership team.

    If you determine that an employee’s leadership style is lacking, there are some steps you can take to solve the issue:

    1. Understand why they are making poor choices as a leader

    Has the business undergone significant recent growth or has the nature of the leader’s role changed? The leader might be feeling out of their depth or lacking the confidence to lead a team because of these changes. Do you have clear business goals? It’s impossible to lead a team if a manager is not sure where they should be leading them. Are they simply a poor communicator? This can lead to many different problems within the team, including confusion and mistrust.

    1. Provide leadership training

    Once you are aware of the areas in which your leaders are lacking people and culture skills, you can provide training to address those gaps. There are many valuable courses (both online and in person) specifically designed to strengthen specific leadership skills.

    1. Conduct performance reviews regularly

    Use these sessions to set clear expectations of your leaders and review past performance. These reviews will help you to identify any areas of weakness so you can implement a plan to address them right away.

    If the above fails, you might need to replace these bad leaders with human-centred leaders that will bring your people together, working towards clear goals – happy, engaged and productive.

    It’s important to make a positive, proactive people and culture change in your organisation as soon as is needed, before employees seek it elsewhere. After all, it’s rare that an employee will stand up to bad leadership – especially if it is seen to be accepted by you, the business owner.

    “Be a voice – not an echo.” – Albert Einstein

     

    My experience with an arrogant leader 

    I had a leader that would send what I called the ‘Friday bomb’. At least once a month on a Friday at 5pm I would receive an email in CAPS shouting at me about something in the business. The first time it happened I was so upset that it ruined my weekend. Still, I responded politely and it was never spoken of again.

    The next time it happened, I called him and he did not answer, ruining my weekend for a second time. Again, I responded politely and nothing was mentioned after the incident.

    The third time it happened, I was so angry that he treated me this way that I booked a meeting with him on Monday.

    In the meeting, firstly, I asked him why he was sending these emails at that time and why he didn’t pick up the phone. Secondly, I said the matter clearly wasn’t important as he did not respond to my reply. Thirdly, I stated that if he did it again, I would report his behaviour to his manager as it was unacceptable.

    I’m happy to say I never received an email like that again! My learning? Deal with any issue immediately by discussing it with your leader – and don’t allow incompetent leaders to ruin your weekend.

     

    If you need help making a positive people and culture change in your business, get in touch with me here for a free, confidential consultation.

  • Leadership

    Top 5 Leadership Lessons for Business Owners

    Great leadership can motivate people. Great leaders nurture, inspire and grow with their team, communicate their ideas effectively and are flexible enough to solve problems along the way.

    If you take a closer look at how great leaders actually run their business, you will find that most have similar methods of ensuring they get the most from their people, and themselves.

    Here are my top five leadership lessons for business owners so you can develop your skills.

    1. Continue to learn

    The workplace is always evolving. Not just in terms of the people and projects that may come and go, but in the way that it needs to be run to ensure growth and profitability. Like any professional, leaders must keep their knowledge and skills up to date to better equip themselves to deal with the changing landscape of business.

    The past two years are a great example of how those in leadership roles must also be able to adapt to better guide their team and continue to drive profits, even in challenging times. Most businesses who have weathered – or even excelled in – the Covid-19 storm have leaders who are flexible and committed to learning how to guide their people in the most trying of circumstances.

    Self-improvement is the cornerstone of learning – to understand how to lead people, you must first understand how to lead yourself. Lead by example and you will gain the trust and respect of your people.

    “Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.” – Unknown

    1. Ensure you have the right people in the right role

    Job satisfaction is key to ensuring an engaged, committed, highly-functioning team. You could have an excellent team member who is reliable, a great communicator and goes above and beyond, but if they are not in a role where they can flourish, they will never be truly satisfied at work.

    An unfulfilled employee will also likely be more reliant on external drivers, such as bonuses, and will be more likely to leave if a better monetary offer comes along, even if you have the best people and culture practices in place.

    However, those in the right role are more likely to be self-motivated and self-fulfilled because they are doing a job they enjoy.

    An accurate job description can help ensure you get the right person for the right role, even before you start the interviewing process. Also try and think of ways to assess compatibility with the role beyond an interview – having them complete a role-based task, for example, or an aptitude test.

    “You can’t make a square peg fit in a round hole. The time you waste trying to figure that out could be spent finding a round peg.” – Unknown

    1. Don’t underestimate the importance of your personal leadership brand

    Just as your business brand conveys your values to your customers, your personal brand helps communicate what you stand for to your team – your values, goals and beliefs.

    Your personal brand is about curating the aspects of your personality that make you the best leader you can be. Draw on the personality traits that your close friends and family admire about you and use these attributes as a cornerstone of a powerful personal brand that people respect, trust and want to emulate.

    It is also important, however, to acknowledge your weaknesses. This makes you more human and more relatable to your people. It comes back to leading by example. Be the person you want your people to be – aware of their strengths and weaknesses and striving for self-improvement. Provide a nurturing workplace culture to allow this.

    Read more about developing your authentic leadership style here.

    “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” – Jeff Bezos

    1. Seek and embrace new ideas in leadership

    A sure-fire way to make your people feel undervalued is not allowing their opinions to be heard.

    No-one has all the answers, not even those in a leadership position. As I said before, flexibility is key to navigating the ever-changing business landscape. Those businesses that embrace new ideas are the ones that are more likely to profit – and you have a great source of new ideas in the form of your people.

    To find new ideas for your business:

    • Stop talking and start listening
    • Actively ask your team for ideas – you can use meetings, surveys, 1:1s, etc
    • Keep an open mind

    By embracing new ideas, you gain respect from your team, and might just unearth a winning business strategy in the process.

    “Creativity in life is about saying yes to new ideas.” – Nolan Bushnell

    1. Give back to the community

    Of course, everyone should make time to give back to others. The great thing about giving back as a business is that you also get to make a difference to your people.

    Giving back as a business makes employees proud to work for the company, boosts morale and directly impacts the very community where your employees and their families live.

    You might also want to consider company-sponsored volunteering when it comes to charitable giving as it is shown to:

    • Broaden skill sets and improve staff leadership – reported by 92% of staff
    • Boost employee wellbeing – reported by 77% of staff
    • Boost morale – reported by 70% of staff
    • Strengthen bonds with work colleagues – reported by 64% of staff

    (Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/us-deloitte-impact-survey.pdf)

    “Those who are happiest, are those who do the most for others.” – BT Washington

    Which of these leadership lessons do you think is the most important for aspiring business leaders? What other lessons do you live by as a leader?

  • Leadership

    7 Guiding Leadership Principles

    Effective leaders have the ability to communicate well, motivate their team, handle and delegate responsibilities, listen to feedback, and have the flexibility to solve problems in an ever-changing workplace. These are my 7 guiding leadership principles to be high performing leader of a team and business.

     

    #1 – Model the Way

    What does it mean to ‘model the way’? It’s the act of authentically embracing and displaying your values to those around you. Leaders who model the way encourage others to follow by setting an example.

    They lead with optimism and positivity. More importantly their actions align with their shared values and greatly influence those of others. Kouzes and Posner believe “values influence every aspect of our lives: our moral judgements, our responses to others, our commitments to personal and organizational goals.” Talk is cheap. Anyone can talk up a good game, however people are more likely to act when they see their leader doing.

    “When people see you doing what you say, then they have the evidence that you mean it. Otherwise, it’s just words. Your actions send the loudest signals about what other people should be doing.” Kouzes and Posner.

    Two ways you can adapt this leadership principle: (more so during these COVID times):

    • Be clear about your values and the organization’s values so others can see why you do what you do.
    • Show your values in how you talk and act to establish credibility and authenticity as a leader.

    #2 – Develop Your Team

    Leaders who take the time and make the effort to develop their team will reap the rewards tenfold and have an advantage over competitors. ⁠ ⁠

    Who is responsible for team development? In some organizations it’s HR, trainers, senior leaders. They are all right – to a point. Leaders are responsible for the teams performance therefore responsible for developing their team. They should certainly use all the tools and support available from HR, trainers and their leaders but leaders understand and know what is best for their team.

    How do you develop your team?⁠

    1. Ensure each person understands their role.;
    2. Provide training based on skills gaps;
    3. ⁠Don’t micro-manage – let them do their job;
    4. Mistakes happen and it’s a learning- support them, don’t chastise them⁠;
    5. Discuss their personal and professional goals regularly⁠;
    6. Use your resources – HR, Trainers, other leaders⁠ .

    What’s in it for the team member?⁠

    • Engagement;
    • More productive;
    • Successfully contribute to the team ;
    • Become and expert ⁠

    What’s in it for you as the leader other than results?⁠ Great leaders attract, hire, and inspire great people. People will be lining up to work for you. That’s a good thing.⁠ ⁠

    #3  – Business Acumen as a Leadership Principle

    Business acumen also known as being business savvy is the understanding of how your business makes money. Understanding the big picture and inter-relationships between various areas of the business that drives growth and profitability. It is not a skill but rather a combination of competencies, knowledge and awareness of multiple aspects of the business.

    Why is it important as a leadership guiding principle? If you are business savvy, you are able to contribute to the goals of the organisation, solve simple and complex problems while understanding the bigger picture and understand the consequences of your decisions. As a leader you are able to effectively guide your team and their contribution.

    You can develop business acumen through experience, self-learning networking, reading and training. I recommend reading Good to Great by Jim Collins.

    #4 – Effective Communication as a Leadership Principle

    Confusion, missing deadlines, lack of understanding, poor execution, missing information. Sound familiar?

    The #1 complaint from individuals in a survey I conducted says that communication is ineffective from their leaders.

    Communication is the ability to exchange information clearly to another person or group of individuals. Effective communication is communication that is delivered, received and understood successfully so that what you say is interpreted as you intended. Some skills to focus on to be an effective communicator.

    • Listen, listen, listen – one of the most important aspects
    • Non-verbal communication – body language and tone
    • Clear and concise – the more concise you are, the easier to understand – less is best
    • Personable – make it about the person not yourself Confidence – be clear on what information you want to convey

    For more information read my article on communication.

    There are so many aspects to effective communication. I encourage you to read, research, chat to effective communicators – it will hold you in good stead in all aspects of your life.

    #5- The Right Environment

    Why is this leadership principle so important? Have you ever walked into a place of work and felt the negative energy and tension? That environment is not good for employees or customers. So how do you create a positive work environment as a leader?

    I always think about it from the perspective – if this were my son or daughter, brother or sister, what kind of environment would I want them to work in? A few tips:

    • Have a robust onboarding process that includes the entire team.
    • Empower your team to do their best work
    • Have regular informal check-ins with each individual
    • Encourage collaboration
    • Facilitate training and development
    • Have fun

    The benefits of a positive work environment:

    • It alleviates stress
    • Removes negativity
    • Increases productivity
    • It is inspiring and motivational
    • You achieve better results
    • Teamwork and collaboration improves which leads to innovation
    • You will be able to solve problems as a team more effectively

    As the leader this is your responsibility however, use the strengths of your team to create a positive work environment.

    #6 – Vision Plans and Goals

    A vision, plan and goals gives purpose and direction to you and your team.

    A vision is a picture in words and is aligned to what the organisation hopes to achieve in the future. It is inspiring and motivational. It helps with long-term planning. A vision should have the following elements:

    • Be concise
    • Be clear
    • Have a time-line into the future
    • Be challenging
    • Be abstract
    • Be inspiring

    An example of a vison:

    Patagonia “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

    A plan is a clear roadmap on how you will achieve your vision. It shows the actions needed to achieve the goals. A plan usually has the following elements:

    • Defines your competitive advantage
    • Focuses on systematic growth
    • Is agile
    • Is inclusive
    • Overcomes challenges.

    Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. Goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely

    Once you have your vision, plan and goals it is important to communicate it regularly and review it at a minimum annually.

    #7 – Discipline as a Leadership Principle

    Discipline is… what is meant to happen, happens! Yes it is that simple, however hard to do.

    I know that discipline sometimes conjures up the image of the big stick. It is actually the complete opposite when done well. As a leader it starts with you and is incredibly important. Being disciplined creates clarity and consistency for your team. It supports building a high performing team and creates accountability. It also allows your team to have the space to perform their role successfully.

    Ever worked for a leader where they change their mind about the strategy or plan every week? Remember how frustrated you felt as the direction was not clear and it probably caused turmoil amongst the team? This is an example of an undisciplined leader. Having the discipline to stay on course and execute your plan leads to success.

    Of course we need to be flexible as the environment is changing, however the change in strategy and plans should be supported by fact not whim. A disciplined leader identifies what is important and focuses on the 20% that will drive 80% of the result. Discipline improves productivity, execution of strategy, growth and profit.

    These are my 7 guiding principles. It takes a life-time to work on them, however, being a leader is about continuous growth and learning. I challenge you to use these 7 leadership principles – it will bring you success and your team will be forever grateful to have you as their leader.

  • Employee Experience, Human Resources, Leadership

    What is Generational Diversity and How Can it Work For You?

    For the first time in history, there are five generations in the workplace. People are living longer, healthier lives, and many are delaying their retirement beyond age 65, increasing generational diversity. This is a unique development for the 21st century workplace, and a novel challenge for today’s leaders and HR managers – but also a real opportunity for businesses to grow and outstrip their competitors.

    As an ardent Diversity and Inclusion advocate, to me, embracing generational differences is just another facet of establishing diversity and inclusion, and another way to enable the positives that come from a diverse and inclusive workplace.

    What Are The Generations

    As a starting point it is important to understand how the generations are grouped and named:

    • Traditionalists—born 1925 to 1945
    • Baby Boomers—born 1946 to 1964
    • Generation X—born 1965 to 1980
    • Millennials—born 1981 to 2000
    • Generation Z—born 2001 to 2020

    Working with team that embodies generational diversity – employees who were born well before World War II plus those who have never known life without the internet – can be a challenge for leaders and HR managers. Employers need to grapple with very different motivators for these different groups. I outline at the end of this article their different world views, characteristics, communication preferences and drivers – I encourage you to read this section, it makes for interesting and surprising reading – and may offer some useful insights into what really engages and encourages your staff.

    Generational Diversity: All About Collaboration

    Beyond being politically correct or complying with legal obligations, embracing generational diversity and collaboration provides real opportunity to drive your company forward and put you ahead of the pack. There are a number of articles that outline some tips and hints on how to communicate to and motivate these very disparate groups but where I see the greatest possibilities are when the generations genuinely collaborate.

    The concept of the potential of inter-generational collaboration was reaffirmed by a recent meeting I had as a Gen Xer, with a young woman born in 2000, a Gen Zer. Our initial small talk strayed into where and what she was studying. We discussed degrees, career goals, and I mentioned that in my experience careers paths were often not linear. I also reassured her that just because she did not have everything mapped out at the ripe old age of 20, there was nothing to worry about.

    Ms Gen Z, in return outlined that although she did not have everything sorted, she was quite financially literate and commercially savvy as were most of her female friends, and this knowledge base had been encouraged by school and university educators. I found this emerging trend for young women to develop fiscal literacy greatly reassuring – and a promising skill base to bring to the workplaces of the future.

    In previous organisations, I have championed the need for women to develop greater financial awareness in order to be empowered with choices that come from having their own financial independence. Too often, women push financial responsibility to their partners, only to find themselves severely disadvantaged when there is a relationship breakdown or death of a spouse.

    So, from this inter-generational encounter, Gen X and Gen Z both gained a better understanding of the other’s worldview, became better informed and knowledgeable, plus were ultimately buoyed by the experience – and this from one chance meeting – imagine if we had actually planned to collaborate, what we could achieve?

    Three Methods To Encourage Cross-Generational Collaboration

    As we have seen, generational diversity in the workplace should be celebrated. If you do want to plan some collaborations with your staff to harness the collective knowledge that spans over 90 years, here are some options to help the age groups learn from each other:

    • Create cross-generational mentoring: Allocate each employee a corresponding partner from another age group and encourage them to meet often to share knowledge – and the subject matter can be beyond the workplace – the important aspect is the sharing of different perspectives.
    • Establish collaborative projects: Creating teams with generational diversity helps reduce bias and surfaces the skill sets of employees of different generations.
    • Go off-site: Team activities off- site help employees get to see each other as individuals rather than age-based stereotypes.

    Employers need to keep abreast of what employees need and want to stay engaged and motivated at work – because happy employees, equal happy customers and a happy business.

    Ultimately, by using all the benefits that generational diversity can provide, you can boost your rating among employees and customers and be a standout from the pack.

    Generational diversity in the workplace – Drivers and Motivators *

    Traditionalists

    Born 1925–1945

    • Dependable, straightforward, tactful, loyal
    • Shaped by: The Great Depression, World War II, radio and movies
    • Motivated by: Respect, recognition, providing long-term value to the company
    • Communication style: Personal touch, handwritten notes instead of email
    • Worldview: Obedience over individualism; age equals seniority; advancing through the hierarchy
    • Employers should: Provide satisfying work and opportunities to contribute; emphasize stability

    Baby Boomers

    Born 1946–1964

    • Optimistic, competitive, workaholic, team-oriented
    • Shaped by: The Vietnam War, civil rights movement, Watergate
    • Motivated by: Company loyalty, teamwork, duty
    • Communication style: Whatever is most efficient, including phone calls and face to face
    • Worldview: Achievement comes after paying one’s dues; sacrifice for success
    • Employers should: Provide them with specific goals and deadlines; put them in mentor roles; offer coaching-style feedback
    • Stats:
      • 65% of baby boomers plan to work past age 65
      • 10,000 baby boomers reach retirement age every day

    Generation X

    Born 1965–1980

    Flexible, informal, sceptical, independent

    • Shaped by: The AIDS epidemic, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dot-com boom
    • Motivated by: Diversity including generational diversity, work-life balance, their personal-professional interests rather than the company’s interests
    • Communication style: Whatever is most efficient, including phone calls and face to face
    • Worldview: Favouring diversity; quick to move on if their employer fails to meet their needs; resistant to change at work if it affects their personal lives
    • Employers should: Give them immediate feedback; provide flexible work arrangements and work-life balance; extend opportunities for personal development
    • Stats:
      • Gen Xers make up the highest percentage of start-up founders at 55%
      • Gen Xers will outnumber baby boomers by 2028

    Millennials

    Born 1981–2000

    • Competitive, civic-minded, open-minded on diversity including generational diversity, achievement-oriented
    • Shaped by: Columbine, 9/11, the internet
    • Motivated by: Responsibility, the quality of their manager, unique work experiences
    • Communication style: IMs, texts, and email
    • Worldview: Seeking challenge, growth, and development; a fun work life and work-life balance; likely to leave an organization if they don’t like change
    • Employers should: Get to know them personally; manage by results; be flexible on their schedule and work assignments; provide immediate feedback
    • Stats:
      • By 2025, millennials will comprise 75% of the global workforce
      • About 15% of millennials age 25–35 live at home with their parents

    Generation Z

    Born 2001–2020

    • Global, entrepreneurial, progressive, less focused
    • Shaped by: Life after 9/11, the Great Recession, access to technology from a young age
    • Motivated by: Diversity including generational diversity, personalization, individuality, creativity
    • Communication style: IMs, texts, social media
    • Worldview: Self-identifying as digital device addicts; valuing independence and individuality; preferring to work with millennial managers, innovative co-workers, and new technologies
    • Employers should: Offer opportunities to work on multiple projects at the same time; provide work-life balance; allow them to be self-directed and independent
    • Stats:
      • 40% of Gen Z wants to interact with their boss daily or several times each day
      • 84% of Gen Z expects their employer to provide formal training

     

    *Generational profile information sourced from Purdue University

  • Leadership

    “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

    “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” – Vernā Myers 

    Real diversity and inclusion is good for business – but many organisations are still just ticking a box.

    I make no bones that I am a passionate advocate for authentic diversity and inclusion practices to be in place across all industry sectors and our communities. Considering the benefits that come from a diverse workplace, I find it surprising that some companies are still just ticking boxes when it comes to diversity and inclusion compliance. These companies just don’t seem to realise that when they embrace diversity and inclusion initiatives, positive outcomes like a better workplace culture and a boost to their bottom line will emerge.

    Respected industry resource, McKinsey in their Diversity Matters report, confirms the link between better diversity and inclusion and better company performance.

    McKinsey’s research shows that gender diverse companies are 15 per cent more likely to outperform their industry average, while culturally diverse companies are 35 per cent more likely to outperform theirs.

    From my years in corporate roles, I have seen diversity and inclusion failures and successes and from that experience I share some observations below that I have made plus the importance of being committed and authentic about your diversity and inclusion initiatives.

    Diversity goes beyond gender

    I should clarify at the outset that diversity is not just about gender. Gender diversity is still an issue that needs addressing in Australia, and around the world; but if our diversity and inclusion dialogue is just about gender, it fails to include other forms of diversity – disability, cultural, LGBTQI, age, socioeconomic and beyond.

    If you’re going to do diversity and inclusion, it has got to be real

    Firstly, let me say, that the benefits that come with diversity and inclusion only come when there is “real” engagement – where a company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace goes further than just having a policy or a code of conduct; it needs to go to the core of the company’s values and beliefs – it needs to go to its DNA.

    Also, I believe for it to be real diversity and inclusion, it needs to be evidenced by a company’s actions. It is refreshing to see a company like Vend, a retail management software company, who have introduced a diversity process that includes hiring senior leaders in mid-pregnancy, scheduling functions around family commitments, and enabling employees to self-create company initiatives around diversity issues that are important to them.

    Other organisations proactive in this area like Secure Warrior Code have demonstrated their commitment by providing specific resources to develop diverse talent, setting the tone with leadership, and ensuring all their communications reflect this – it is these types of real actions that help organisations create a stronger workforce and a high performing culture.

    Diversity means that good business decisions come from a range of viewpoints
    Secondly, real diversity and inclusion is beneficial to companies because it means decisions are based on the lived experiences from a diverse workforce – the other bonus is that your business is obtaining viewpoints that could potentially better resonate with a broader range of customers or clients. Beyond tapping into a larger target market, it’s important for you to have a team around you with different and contradictory viewpoints and perspectives. If you have people with the same point of view or similar life experience, you will see just through that one lens. If you are a leader you have access to a diversity of thinking and perspectives which ensures that decision making will be much more comprehensive, factual and balanced.

    Diversity and inclusion is not just about recruiting people with differing viewpoints, real diversity also requires creating a culture at your organisation that genuinely values those different experiences and perspectives. The value that comes from true diversity is that your people have a sense of belonging and feel that they have a voice and the ability to contribute to your organisation.

    Diversity cannot be implemented in isolation

    The ability of your workforce to make a contribution highlights the second part of diversity and inclusion – the inclusion part.

    One of my favourite quotes in this area comes from Damien Hooper-Campbell (Chief Diversity Officer at Zoom), who says, “If diversity is getting invited to the dance party, inclusion is being asked to dance when you’re at the party.”

    It is great that you have hired a diverse workforce that spans age, gender, sexuality and ethnicity, but your organisation must also integrate your commitment to diversity and inclusion for your people throughout all parts of your business.

    Diversity cannot be implemented in isolation – diversity without inclusion will result in just statistics reporting and box-ticking instead of real progress.

    Don’t just tick a box because real diversity and inclusion implementation boosts your organisation’s bottom line.

    As a final point, I also would like to emphasise that achieving diversity in the workplace isn’t a “set and forget” process. You still need to regularly review and assess your diversity and inclusion initiatives so you can ensure staff feel included, valued, and proud of their workplace.

    I encourage you to develop and instigate real diversity and inclusion initiatives, because not only will you enhance your workplace culture, attract and retain engaged staff, but your business will be equipped to outperform non-diverse companies.

    Take action, don’t just tick a box, because real diversity and inclusion, not only maximises the potential of your people to boost your organisation’s bottom line, it can also create a pathway to success for all areas of your company.

  • Leadership

    Agile leadership: how to find your leadership style and what impact this might have on your organisation

    In times of challenge and change, our leadership style can have a profoundly negative or positive impact on the people we lead and the outcomes we’re trying to achieve.

    Typically, as leaders we will gravitate towards one of 8 defined leadership styles so understanding our preference, how each style differs and what impact these styles have on the teams we lead provides a really valuable insight into how our business operates.

    Attached to each leadership style is a set of advantages and disadvantages. What works for some employees doesn’t resonate with others and this represents one of the key challenges of effective leadership today. Despite this, we know that the best leaders are those who live authentically by their leadership style and personal values.

    The 8 leadership styles are:

    Democratic
    Autocratic
    Laissez-Faire
    Strategic
    Transformational
    Transactional
    Coach
    Bureaucratic

    Some styles, such as Autocratic and Transactional Leaders, lead from the front; making all the decisions and asking (or telling!) the team to follow them.

    Others, such as Coach and Democratic, lead from the middle and they’ll roll up their sleeves to help get the job done. T

    here are other styles, such as Laissez-Faire, that lead from behind to let the team shine and take on added responsibility.

    Some styles are hands on, and others hands off. Some value highly structured environments while others harness this instability to create new, innovative ways of working.  Some challenge the status-quo, others live by it.

    We might also adapt our leadership styles over time and depending on the types of teams we lead. Typically, younger employees need more direction so we find ourselves defaulting to a more autocratic style with extrinsic motivations to help them settle in, learn the ropes and grow.

    When we lead highly experienced teams, we tend to shift to intrinsic motivations and thus, a more democratic or coach style of leadership.

    Below is a summary of each leadership style, including a definition and what to look for as the characteristics of this leadership style. Have a think about which style resonates most with you. Is this a style you think you authentically live each day or is it a style you want to develop to better reflect the type of leader you wish to be? As a lesson in self-awareness and self-reflection, it can be a real eye-opener for some.

    LEADERSHIP STYLES

    Democratic

    The Democratic Leader involves and takes into consideration the opinions of the entire team, however makes the final decision.

    This type of leader asks, “what do you think?” and will always involve and consider all opinions, empowering the team to be part of the solution.

    Autocratic
    The Autocratic Leader makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to them. Employees are neither considered nor consulted prior to a direction, and are expected to adhere to the decision at a time and pace stipulated by the leader.                                                  

    This style allows the leader to dictate work methods and processes. This tends to create a highly structured and ridged work environment but establishes defined rules and boundaries through clearly outlined communication.

    Laissez-Faire

    The least intrusive form of leadership; the French term “laissez faire” literally translates to “let them do,” and leaders who embrace it afford nearly all authority to their employees

    A hands-off approach to leadership, Laissez-Faire Leaders will provide all the training, support and resources to the team and let employees make decisions. They’re comfortable with making mistakes and take accountability on behalf of the team when things go wrong.

    Strategic
    Strategic Leaders sit at the intersection between a company’s main operations and its growth opportunities. He or she accepts the burden of executive interests while ensuring that current working conditions remain stable for everyone else.

    Strategic Leaders will say “I need your help…” and “how can I help you…”. They are clear and purposeful communicators who are dedicated to getting the job done. Those with this leadership style thrive in an environment where they can challenge old conventions to create better solutions and do so knowing that everything will likely not happen as it is supposed to. They are disciplined in always keeping the objective first and maintain a structure to their decision-making process.

    Transformational
    Transformational Leaders are always “transforming” and improving on conventions. While the team will have a requirement to complete set tasks and goals within their role, Transformational Leaders are constantly pushing them outside their comfort zone.

    Transformational Leaders lead with vision; it’s a leadership style focuses on inspiration and motivation. Attuned to the feelings of their team members, People with this leadership style know how to keep their ego in check. They’re proactive and can make difficult decisions, entertaining new ideas and easily adapting to change.

    Transactional
    Transactional leaders are fairly common today. These managers reward their employees for precisely the work they do.

    Based on extrinsic motivations, Transactional Leaders reward performance and practicality. They tend to micromanage their teams and place emphasis on the corporate structure and their own self-interests.

    Coach
    Coach Leaders will focus on identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of each member within the team. They also focus on strategies that will enable their team to work better together. This style offers strong similarities to strategic and democratic leadership, but puts more emphasis on the growth and success of individual employees.

    Coaches are known for their positive outlook and enthusiastic attitude. They’re supportive, goal-oriented, observant and patient. As clear communicators, those with this leadership style come across as very knowledgeable and trusting.

    Bureaucratic
    Bureaucratic Leaders go by the books. They create power structures and relationships that discourage dissent, typically by centralising decision making and forcing compliance using rules and procedures.

    Bureaucratic Leaders favour well-structured management and more formal, hierarchical structures. They’re hard working and task-oriented and can sometimes be strong minded.

    Understanding your leadership style is a great step towards your self-awareness and development in authenticity. After all, the ultimate goal is to become an Authentic Leader.

    Understanding the leadership style you naturally lean into can help you refine the type of leadership style you’d like to emulate as well as how to get the most out of the teams you lead.

  • Leadership

    How kindness could be your most powerful leadership tool

    Today, 13 November, is World Kindness Day, and I think we can all agree the world needs a little more kindness now, more than ever.

    Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern and care are words often associated with this quality.

    For many leaders, kindness is not the first word they would want people to associate them with. Sure, it’s a ‘nice to have’ but before kindness many leaders would say they’d want to be known as inspiring, confident, perhaps a visionary and many other things. Kindness has a connotation of being associated with someone who is naïve or weak. But it is fundamentally not the case.

    Being kind can do many things to a person. It has been shown to increase self-esteem, empathy and compassion and improve mood – and not just to the recipient of the act of kindness.  It can also decrease blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone, so being kind in your dealings with those you work with is proven to directly impact the lowering of stress levels within teams.

    One of my favourite leadership lessons is “clear is kind.” For me, it has proven to be an invaluable little saying that has helped me in many situations. While you never want to intentionally hurt someone’s feelings, sometimes the kindest thing you can do to someone is give it to them straight, offer constructive feedback and be open to sharing your opinion.

    What I’m trying to say is that kindness can actually be harnessed as a powerful leadership tool.

    Why is it so powerful? Kindness can significantly improve your relationships and connections. Your willingness to tell the truth in a gentle way, by giving truthful feedback in a way that is constructive is incredibly rewarding, both to you and the recipient.  It’s a real sign of growth and flexible thinking and goes a long way towards strengthening the connections you form with those around you.

    Lead with compassion, follow with kindness
    Kindness is about give and take – it’s a two-way street. If you want respect, you must give respect and kindness is the perfect place to start. Compassion can really help guide us to acts of kindness; finding a private moment to ask if a co-worker is ok following a stressful meeting, grabbing lunch for a colleague when you know they are too tied up in meetings to eat, helping someone in your team meet a deadline when you know they’ve been up all night with a sick child. All of these small acts can mean a great deal to the recipient.

    And there is someone else who could definitely benefit from a bit of extra kindness – you. It’s important to be kind to ourselves first. Create a balanced work/life environment that allows you to refuel, recharge and destress as you need.  And when things don’t go your way, go easy on yourself.

    There is a great organisation called The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. They have set out to “make kindness the norm” and have a great resource  called “7 ways to start making kindness the norm in your daily life”. See on this link https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/. 

    Happy Kindness Day to all, and I hope you each give and receive an act of compassion today.

    If you found this article interesting, you might also enjoy this one.

  • Leadership

    Leading with words, actions and inspiration: Communication as a critical function of leadership

    Communication and leadership are arguably symbiotic – you cannot be a good at one without the other.  Great communicators and great leaders have many things in common, but perhaps the most important commonality is their shared notion of authenticity.

    For many leaders, 2020 has been the year they finally grasped just how important communication is. In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, effective communication is so critical and great leaders do it so well that their people follow. Good communicators will always weather a storm better.

    I have written previously about a leadership survey I conducted of employees across South Africa, the U.K, Canada, U.S.A and Australia. I asked a simple question – what qualities do you think make a great leader? Communication was the number one quality ranked by those we surveyed.

    I found this really interesting as a lack of communication is one of the most common complaints I’ve heard from employees regarding ineffective leaders.  When done right, effective communication gives people clarity. They understand what is expected of them, as well as the goal or outcome to be achieved and the role they play in achieving it.   But it can also go so horribly wrong.

    As a leader, you may have a clear vision of what you’re trying to accomplish, but if you can’t communicate that to your team or colleagues, it will be almost impossible to achieve. By developing the ability to clearly describe what you want done and relate it to your team, you will unite everyone’s efforts…and your team needs to be aligned and on-board with your strategic objectives and goals to be successful.

    What makes a good communicator?

    Good communicators can listen, delegate tasks clearly, manage meeting to maximise productivity and compliment or acknowledge others. The best communicators are also not afraid to have a difficult conversation or open the floor for discussion and different opinions. What many don’t often realise though, is that the best communicators utilise both verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

    Consider developing your communication skills as a three-step approach. The first step is to simply communicate through words; a great starting point to share information. The second step is to master communicating both through words and actions. When you use compelling words along with consistent action, you win influence. To reach the peak of effective communication, you learn to take this ability to communicate through your words and actions and enhance it by communicating through the words and actions of other people.

    What this means is that the people you have influenced through the first two levels begin to speak your words, live out your values and share your view. They trust your authenticity wholeheartedly so, in turn, they influence others and this is where real change can occur.

    How to master better communication skills

    • Forget the corporate speak – the best communicators are sincere and radiate authenticity. What they speak comes from the heart and is inherently trustworthy.
    • Be visible – visibility is a form of communication and great communicators make themselves present and available in meetings, and they don’t hide behind email.
    • Listen first – listening is a really powerful skill and the best communicators use it wisely. When you listen, you gain a clear understanding of perspectives in the room, gather knowledge, and invite shared respect and openness. As a general rule, aim to spend 80% of your meetings listening and 20% talking.

     

    As I reflect on my many years in the corporate world, some of our bravest ventures or most difficult decisions have been swayed by a compelling story. Storytelling is one of the most wonderful ways to create trust, capture hearts and minds and bare your vulnerability. When you tell a good story, you’re letting people in and giving life to a vision, goal or objective – and you can bet people will be able to share the story better than the vision statement or strategy overview.

    Next time you need to bring people on board with your vision or company direction, ask yourself…why am I really doing this? Because I would confidently bet you have a story to share that gives context and understanding to some of the big questions people in the room are thinking. Try it, what have you got to lose?

  • Leadership

    Authentic Leadership: 10 simple ways to develop your authentic leadership style

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    Authenticity lays the foundation for ‘good leadership’. If we consider building trust as the key to leading effective teams then it is authentic leadership that will best inspire trust and reciprocal loyalty.

    Whether you’re a new leader or have been at it for a while, leading small or large teams, we can all learn and adapt to be better prepared to lead today’s talent in a fast-changing environment.  Given today’s teams are largely working remotely, conversing more frequently via zoom and often in isolation, it’s never been more important to let our authenticity take over so we can connect with our teams.

    Trust is the foundation of all relationships and authentic leaders inspire trust and loyalty through vulnerability and consistently showing who they are. They care about individuals and their team.  They are genuine, self-aware, and transparent. Authentic leadership is a more inclusive approach to leadership and promotes individual and team growth and performance. Authentic leaders will align their personal values to the wider team’s core values as well as the organisation’s values and vision.

    It’s easier said than done to suggest we all just start being more vulnerable with our teams but creating more authentic leadership styles can be developed by focusing on 10 key qualities of authentic leadership. How many do you already consistently practice with your teams?

    10 Qualities of Authentic Leadership

    1. Self-awareness

    An authentic leader reflects upon all of their actions and decisions and examines their own strengths and weaknesses without any bias. They put in the effort to overcome their fears and use their strengths to maximum advantage.

    2. Lead with heart

    An authentic leader is all heart. They are not afraid to dig deep, and they lead their team with courage and empathy that only comes from listening to the heart. In many ways, this best encapsulates the essence of vulnerability.

    3. Focus on long-term results

    Authentic leaders don’t waste precious time unnecessarily worrying over temporary setbacks, or less than stellar results in the previous quarter. Their focus is always long term. They know that patience and hard work do take time but yield rich results in the long run.

    4. Integrity and authentic leadership

    Strength of character is essential for authentic leadership. Those leaders don’t say things which they don’t mean, and they earn respect because of this quality. People trust them because they keep their word, no matter what it takes.

    5. Lead with vision

    Authentic leadership is leading with purpose and vision. These leaders always add value to people they interact with and help them realise higher professional goals which lead to better personal lives as well. They push themselves and others around them to raise the bar and aim for excellence.

    6. Listening skills

    An authentic leader is always a good listener, even when someone else contradicts their views. In fact, they are even willing to consider those ideas with an open mind and change their opinion if the arguments make sense.

    7. Transparency and authentic leadership

    Authentic leaders believe in open communication and combine their directness with empathy, which, more often than not, reaps success. They don’t hide their mistakes and weaknesses and have the courage to actually be who they really are; both in their private public lives, the imagine they project is aligned.

    8. Consistency

    Consistency is another hallmark authentic leadership. Those leaders aren’t fickle and they stick to their principles. Their behaviour is consistent, and they are not easily swayed by superficialities. This consistency further reiterates their ability to be trusted, and provide trust in return.

    9. Share success with the team

    This is something that sets an authentic leader apart from other leaders. They not only build a good team but also give credit where credit is due and share success and achievements with the entire team.

    10. Drawing on experience

    There is no better teacher than life itself, and these leaders draw from lessons learned from their life experiences. Authentic leadership skills can be somewhat challenging to refine but can evolve when you embrace your real-world experiences and life stories (the good, the bad and the ugly) for a positive spin.

    How to develop your authentic leadership qualities

    As a list, it’s easy to see how placing focus on these 10 qualities represents an overwhelming expectation on leaders. However, in my experience, there are a few simples way you can develop and refine these authentic leadership qualities over time.

    1. Become more self-aware

    Easier said than done, right? Being more self-aware is about understanding your own story and how it has impacted your leadership. Get a proper handle on your strengths and weaknesses, listen to and ask for feedback and be prepared to invest in yourself.

    2. Understand your personal values for authentic leadership

    What drives you? What are you passionate about? The strength of your values are usually best determined when you’re put under pressure as it is our personal values that act as our moral compass and constant check point.  A great place to start this process is by downloading Brene Brown’s Values handout. Read through this list and see which words jump out at you.

    3. Find and develop your support team

    Leaders cannot succeed on their own. It takes support and advice. Authentic leadership is building a support team to help everyone stay focused. This team is on hand to always provide honest feedback and a balanced perspective. They’ve earned the right to speak into your life because you inherently trust them – they’ve earned your trust and you, theirs. Because of this foundation of trust, you can authentically be yourself around them. Consider your friends, family, colleagues and/or mentors to refine your support team.

    4. Get personal, but not too personal

    True authenticity comes when a leader is balanced and consistent in all areas of their life. Leaders that can integrate the different areas of their life turn the journey to authenticity into a reality. The challenge is balancing effective leadership at work with a healthy insight into your personal life to add value to your relationships.

    5. Authentic leadership – stick to your roots

    Those who achieve true, authentic leadership are constantly working to maintain balance and stay grounded in holistic lives. For all of us, we are constantly battling to find the balance between all the facets of our busy lives; spending time with your family, catching up with friends, physical exercise, community service, spiritual practices, passion projects….the list goes on! Acknowledging where you came from and understanding what drives your personal values and passions will allow your authenticity to be sustainable. It also adds insight into your character to those around you. As an example; your team will soon understand how important physical exercise is to you, and why it is so important, once you embed it as part of the ritual of your day.

    6. Inspire and empower those around you

    Once a leader has worked through self-awareness (an ongoing challenge), they have earned the rite of passage to empower others to lead. Authentic leaders create a culture of trust and loyalty by not being afraid to show emotion and vulnerability. In doing so, team members are inspired at all levels to step up and lead and/or take on greater challenges. This culture shift has incredibly powerful flow on effects – most notably that the wider organisation can retain and attract top talent that aligns team members with shared values and goals. Thus, authentic leaders produce sustainable results for themselves and their organisation.

    Discovering your true, authentic leadership style will require not only honesty but courage. Reflecting on your experiences, owning your story and understanding your values and motives will allow you to be a stronger, more authentic leader. Leading with authenticity will help create balance in your life, build trust and empower others. Taking time to learn your authentic leadership style is a worthwhile journey that will create lasting impact.

    If you already consider yourself to be an authentic leader, well done and keep doing what you’re are doing. If not, then I challenge you to embrace authentic leadership because the world needs more, especially during these challenging times.

    Developing authentic leadership in managers and teams is one of our areas of expertise. Book a call with me to find out how we can create workshops or training to bring out the best in your leaders or visit our services page for more information.

    Read more about better leadership qualities here.