Articles tagged "Communication in the Workplace"
Can You Lead When Your Team is in Crises?
With most of the country now entering the second week of voluntary or mandatory quarantine and no or remote-work status, our personal and work worlds have changed. As a leader, be prepared to lead your teams to and through their emotional, psychological and physical reactions to the changes they’re experiencing. How you lead your teams in the second stage of change will exemplify how you can or can not lead in crises.
How Well Do You Know Your Team?
How well do you know your team members? Besides knowing their names and generally what their jobs are, do you have a realistic understanding of their workplace challenges, the projects they’re involved with, their professional goals, and their unique skills weaknesses or areas of expertise? No? I understand. It’s tough enough having time to get your own work done much less worry about your team members’ challenges. However, the sooner you understand your team members better, the sooner you’ll relieve some of your workplace stress, you’ll strengthen your workplace relationships, and you’ll see your performance - and your entire team’s performance - improve.
Stay True to Your Plan
It’s been a few months since you and your team put the finishing touches on your organization’s exciting, challenging, and let’s be honest, pretty amazing strategic plan. So what’s happened since you all high-fived one another and ‘finished’ that project? Have you moved the plan forward? Have you focused on it each day? Has it become a guide for your leadership and team actions? Or, have you already lost sight of what you and the team determined was needed to strategically move your organization to greater success?
Are You Listening?
It doesn’t take much for a leader to show she cares for her team. My company is wrapping up a ‘listening’ and training tour for one of our clients. The new CEO asked us to provide leadership training to help her managers and supervisors enhance their own and their teams’ performance and outline a list of feasible solutions she could move forward to help them, help their teams, and help their customers. However, instead of simply jumping in with a training program on enhancing leadership skills, we included a critical sequencing piece to the training solution:
Not Every Great Employee is A Good Fit
Hallelujah! After weeks, if not months, of diligent searching, resume and LinkedIn profile reviews, phone interviews, and then multi-stage in-person and team interviews, you’ve hired THE right person for your team. Kayla’s got the skills, experience, credentials, references, work ethic, communication skills, team skills, and personality you need. She’s got ‘it’! Every team member, client and vendor who has interacted with her these past few weeks loves her. They’ve been impressed with Kayla’s abilities, intrigued by her thought processes, and grateful for her work and team contributions. You finally feel as if a huge weight has been lifted. You’ve finally found the right team member who will help propel your team forward. Or have you… Something is gnawing at you. Even though Kayla has ‘it’, you’re not sure she’s a ‘fit’. Wait! What? How could a team member who seems perfect for your team, your organization, the job, and the clients, not be a good fit for your organization?
