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How to Avoid Work-From-Home Burnout
Follow these tips to help your teams thrive as they continue to work from home. Today’s post is by Lonnie Mayne, author of Red Shoes Living (CLICK HERE to get your copy). During the past year, many changes have been made in the workplace. Since most companies are now working from home with new schedules and meeting formats, employees have been through a lot. With stress at an all-time high, companies are seeing drastic amounts of work-from-home burnout. So, how should companies deal with employees running on fumes? It all starts with the team leaders.
How well do you maintain long-term professional relationships with those in your network?
Our reader poll today asks: How well do you maintain long-term professional relationships with those in your network? Extremely well: I put a lot of effort into staying connected with people: 7% Very well: I work hard to stay connected with a focused group of people: 16% Well: I stay connected to the most important people in my network: 27% Not well: I could improve how connected I stay with people: 28% Not at all well: I only stay connected to a small handful of people: 15% Poorly: I put minimal effort into maintaining my network: 8% Connecting takes effort. Looks like a pretty normal distribution of responses in terms of how well respondents stay connected with each other. Staying connected takes effort. Knowing a lot of people aren’t good at it means you have to put in extra effort to make up for their lack of initiative in that space. It’s easy to say “well they don’t try to stay connected to me so why should I put in the effort?” You can take that approach but you’ll find your network dwindling quickly. Put in the effort. Be generous in sharing ideas and helpful information. Be a resource. The more people who see your value, the more you become a person they want to put effort into staying connected with. And you never know where your next big opportunity is going to come from. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!
Recruiting the Right People
Recruiting the right people involves creating appropriate role descriptions and knowing where to look. One of the most exciting aspects of building a high-performing team is recruiting people to be members of that team. There’s nothing better than finding that really talented person who wants to come work with you. So as you think about doing this recruiting and finding the right people, you need to understand how to create role descriptions based on the team’s skill needs.
Surge or Die
Leaders need to be prepared for sudden changes that affect their organizations. Today’s post is by Dr. Michael Waters, author of The Power of Surge (CLICK HERE to get your copy). If you are a leader and you don’t have surge gear, then guess what? You might not be a leader for long. If you lack the wherewithal to move your business from its normal mode of operation to one that is turbocharged, then you’ve no way of responding effectively to either sudden problems that could send you into a tailspin or unexpected opportunities that could send you rocketing.
How do you handle someone trying to change small terms of a deal after it has been struck?
Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle someone trying to change small terms of a deal after it has been struck? I accept the change and move on as long as it’s not a huge issue: 37% I object strongly and hold them to the original terms: 19% I accept their change as long as they accept new changes of mine: 40% I call off the whole deal: 4% Push back or let it slide? Last-minute contract or deal term changes can be frustrating. Sometimes it’s cold feet. Sometimes it’s an intentional negotiating strategy. Sometimes business needs just shift. The majority of you (60%) push back either by sticking to the original deal or asking for a concession of your own. Just be sure to assess the relationship impacts of such a move. Sometimes accepting the change and moving on is the best long-term strategy. But if you choose that approach, make a mental note so the next deal you strike with them either gets you a concession for the point you gave in on or your negotiating strategy contemplates some last minute changes and you leave some concessions in the deal in case you have to give something away at the last moment. And if you choose to negotiate this way, consider how it feels on the other side – you might win the point today but there will definitely be a cost in the future. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!
Extreme Responsibility
Sometimes a simple change in perspective is all it takes to empower ourselves. Today’s post is by Kristen Cox, author of Stop Decorating The Fish: Which Solutions to Ignore and Which Problems Really Matter (CLICK HERE to get your copy). “I want to change the world” is a common declaration among passionate professionals. Early in my career, this desire also drove me. But as enticing as this statement is, it actually assumes that success—and failure—is contingent upon changing others. Although trying to change others may seem like a “power move,” when we, as managers, focus on other people rather than ourselves, we relinquish our power to create real change. Extreme responsibility, on the other hand, shifts power back to management—where it belongs.
When dealing with someone who is manipulative, how do you react?
Our reader poll today asks: When dealing with someone who is manipulative, how do you react? I get away from them as fast as I can: 18% I actively combat their manipulation and confront them on it: 16% I try to understand why they’re doing it and avoid the trap: 61% I try to manipulate them right back: 4% I just let it happen: 2% Beware the manipulator. 77% of you either actively battle against a manipulator’s efforts or try to understand their motivations and avoid the trap they’re setting for you. Most of the rest of you try to get away from them as best you can. Unfortunately there are situations where you’ll be challenged to get away – especially if they’re a teammate or a boss. Invest the time in understanding their motivations. Those motives might not make sense to you but that doesn’t matter. You simply need to understand the motivations and see how their behaviors can harm you or, more productively, how you can resolve whatever the conflict is either by meeting their needs or getting them to look at the situation differently. Regardless of the situation, avoid the temptation to manipulate them in return. Those situations rarely end well. Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!
How to Build Teams With the Right Mix of Skills
Building a high-performing team involves hiring people with technical, functional, and cultural skills. As the leader of a high-performing team, you’re personally responsible for making sure your team has the required set of skills to succeed and execute against all the initiatives that you have on your prioritization list. You need to evaluate your team’s mission. You need to look at the key initiatives. And then, you need to map out the skills and capabilities required to succeed.