Business Toolkit – Page 29 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

Unlocking Productivity: The Power of Effective Conversations in Meetings

October 23, 2023/0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Trevor Jones

Meetings shouldn’t be obligations; they should be opportunities for growth and collective progress. By embracing the right conversations, you can turn your meetings into transformative experiences.

Today’s guest post is by Chuck Wisner, author of The Art of Conscious Conversations: Transforming How We Talk, Listen, and Interact (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Whether you love them or loathe them, meetings are a fundamental part of the modern workplace. They play a crucial role in driving collaboration, decision-making, and progress within organizations. Far too often, though, people believe that meetings are a waste of time, and they often leave participants feeling drained and unproductive.

In this article, we unravel the transformative potential of conversations, the unsung heroes of successful meetings, capable of turning routine gatherings into dynamic, meaningful, and effective forums.

Elevating Your Meetings with Transformative Conversations

Aristotle once noted, “Anybody can become angry—that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.” Similarly, anyone can convene a meeting, but orchestrating one with the right people, at the right time, for the right purpose, and driven by the right conversations is an art well worth mastering.

Conversations have the potential to transmute ineffective meetings into efficient decision-making gatherings. The success of these conversations depends on your organization’s culture, which is defined by the conversations your team engages in.

The Four Conversations

Meetings serve three fundamental purposes: information sharing, information processing, and decision making. These three pillars are supported by four distinct types of conversations, which constitute a new framework for meetings. Let’s delve into each of these conversations.

Storytelling Conversations

Participants bring their unique stories to every meeting. These narratives encompass what individuals know, what they’ve heard, what they’ve researched, or even what they assume. One person might arrive at a meeting confident a project’s progress is on track, while another person might be livid about the scarcity of resources.

These stories aren’t just information; they’re the essence of personal experiences and perspectives, which seep into our presentation of information. While these narratives are life-affirming, they can also be loaded with ego energy, leading to patterns of defensiveness and unproductive interactions.

The antidote is to acknowledge that your story, as convincing as it may seem, isn’t the ultimate truth. It’s only one of many perspectives. We can all introspect and analyze our thinking and emotions before entering a meeting, and when we do so, we must ask ourselves what stories, feelings, and fears we’re bringing with us. Are we entering the meeting with an unwavering determination to win arguments, or are we open and humble enough to reveal our thinking and to consider alternative viewpoints?

Thinking about our thinking is the initial step toward fostering productive storytelling conversations. It encourages us to expose our thoughts, leading to open, constructive interactions. Our demeanor and approach, whether in virtual or physical meetings, also significantly influence how others perceive and engage with us.

Collaborative Conversations

Meetings often become mired in the sharing of objective data—the exchange of information, report summaries, and metric reviews.

Collaborative conversations are the collective sharing of not only objective information but also personal perspectives. To be successful, they demand a shift from an “I”-centric storytelling mindset to a “we”-focused approach. When our ego staunchly defends our position, we tend to advocate for it with a closed fist, leading to conflicts and standstills. Conversely, if we shift to a “we”-focused conversation, we can share our thoughts and positions with humility, free from defensiveness, and we can explore others’ perspectives openly.

This transition from a close-fisted to an open-handed conversational style encourages listening, learning, and wiser decision-making. It’s a transformational shift that sets the stage for constructive, productive dialogues.

Stagnant meetings can be reinvigorated when a leader or facilitator introduces thought-provoking subjects that encourage participants to voice their opinions, to respectfully challenge one another, and to explore diverse viewpoints. Robust collaborative conversations give rise to creative conversations.

Creative Conversations

Brainstorming sessions often suffer from premature judgments that stifle innovation. Comments like, “That will never work!” or “The boss will never go for that” often stifle creative ideas. Creative conversations, on the other hand, create a safe space, where participants can bravely put forth their ideas without fear of judgment.

In a successful creative conversation, there’s ample room for ideas to percolate and emerge for consideration. Tools such as drawings, whiteboards, pictures, and out-of-the-box thinking find their fullest expression in an environment that nurtures collaboration, where open minds and open hearts synchronize.

Commitment Conversations

Commitment conversations are the final piece of the conversation puzzle. This is where action plans take shape and decisions are made. Business operations thrive on commitments made within organizations, but commitments are often made hastily and without careful consideration.

In the quest to make timely decisions, leaders sometimes rush into this conversation, skipping essential collaborative and creative conversations. This conversational bypass leads to hasty, poorly informed decisions.

Commitment conversations require careful attention to metrics for success, clear deadlines and checkpoints, accountability, and transparent decision-making.

This conversation is often thought of as the purpose of a meeting, but it should be the outcome of a conscious process of considering multiple perspectives and possibilities. By purposefully engaging in collaborative and creative conversations, unforeseen solutions are often the result.

The “Who” Factor

Many meetings suffer from “attendee bloat.” Participants often feel undervalued if they aren’t included, and addressing this issue requires explicit communication about the nature and expected outcomes of meetings.

Determining who should participate in a meeting hinges on its purpose and objectives. Information sharing, a form of storytelling, often requires a broader audience. But information processing, a form of collaborative and creative conversation, are more efficient with smaller, specialized groups. Recognizing this distinction and aligning participants accordingly is vital for productive collaborations.

Meetings as Catalysts for Success

Meetings are your organization’s pulse. Done correctly, they foster collaboration, innovation, and open-mindedness, leading to more effective meetings and, ultimately, to greater success.

Meetings shouldn’t be obligations; they should be opportunities for growth and collective progress. By embracing the right conversations, you can turn your meetings into transformative experiences.

Chuck Wisner is president of Wisner Consulting. His client list includes companies such as Google, Rivian, Apple, Tesla, Harvard Business School, Ford, and Chrysler. Wisner was a senior affiliated mediator with the Harvard Mediation Program and was among the first to be certified through the Mastering the Art of Professional Coaching program at the Newfield Institute. He was also a specialist in organizational learning and leadership as an affiliate with MIT’s Center for Organizational Learning. Check out his website @ chuckwisner.com and get social with Chuck on IG, FaceBook, Linktree. Linkedin, Twitter, and Tiktok!

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Which form of recognition do you find the most valuable?

October 19, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: Which form of recognition do you find the most valuable?

Praise in front of a group 16.85%
A personal one-on-one thank you 32.63%
A handwritten thank you note 13.64%
Cold, hard cash 25.93%
Additional time off 5.88%
A personalized gift 2.13%
Something else 2.94%

Make it personal or pony up. Almost 50% of you say you like your recognition to be one-on-one and personal. That can either be a thank you note or a personal interaction. Keep this in mind when rewarding and thanking the members of your team. The other popular option is cash. Find out what kind of spot bonus programs your organization has. I’ve seen many instances of great programs like that going unused because leaders aren’t aware of them. During challenging economic times, even a small amount of additional income can go a long way and it’s always appreciated.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How to Move From Managing to Leading

October 18, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Spend less time on administrative tasks and more time helping the members of your team grow.

One of the most critical resources that your teams need are access to you as their leader. And we forget a lot of times that they need that access. We get wrapped up in the day-to-day operations or the meetings that we’re attending, or emails and voicemails, and we as leaders are not spending our time giving that critical resource to our people to give them the guidance they need.

A lot of times, we follow that sequence that I just went through in terms of slotting our work. We start with the simple things, like administration and email and documents, and we end up spending less time on the feedback, the coaching, and the development. These are old habits that we learned as individual contributors because many of those tasks, like admin, email, project planning, and budgeting are individual contributor activities. Those are habits that we’ve built over time. But now, as leaders, we need to step into the broader responsibilities of thinking through relationships, problem-solving, and providing feedback to the members of our teams. We have to stop managing and start leading.

As you think about the work that you do, let’s look at two aspects of that work. First, consider the amount of time that you spend on something, from very little to a lot. Then, think about the impact that that has on the performance of your team, from very low to very high. I’ll bet if you look at your calendar, you’re spending a lot of time on administration. I think we’d all agree that has a pretty low impact on the performance of your team. Next, you probably spend a little bit less time on project planning and budgeting, and it has a slightly bigger impact. All the way up to providing feedback and development and coaching, which could have a very large impact on your people, but we’re probably spending very little time on that.

What I’ll ask you to do as a leader is flip that view. Let’s think about how we can spend less time on administration because it’s really low-value stuff, and start spending more time on problem-solving and generating ideas, and even more time invested in developing our people, coaching them, and building relationships with critical stakeholders in the organization. By reversing that mindset and putting more of our time on the tasks that really matter, your team is going to perform much better than if you’re holed up in your office doing email.

As you think about where you’re allocating your time as a leader, you need to be deliberate in terms of, “What’s my investment of time?” and “What’s the return I’m going to get on that time?” Hopefully, you can shift away from those day-to-day activities like email and project meetings, and spend more of your time with the members of your team, helping them develop, helping them grow. Because that’s what’s going to enable you to have a broader impact on the organization, versus answering a few emails.

Want to learn more about building high-performing teams? How about taking an entire course on it? Check out the video below to learn more about the course and get started. Or you can go directly to the course and start learning how to build high-performing teams. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

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Building a Resilient Team: A New Way to Look at Psychological Safety

October 16, 2023/2 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy, Training /by Trevor Jones

Unlock resilience in your organization through psychological safety. Forge a strong workforce, thrive in modern challenges.

Today’s guest post is by Joshua Berry, author of Dare to Be Naive: How to Find Your True Self in a Noisy World (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

In a small, dimly lit workshop, a skilled blacksmith once molded raw iron into finely crafted tools. With the ringing of his hammer against the anvil and the heat of the forge, he created pieces of exceptional quality. This blacksmith, let’s call him John, had a reputation for producing durable and reliable tools that would withstand the test of time.

Fast forward to the present day, and John’s philosophy still resonates, but it has found a new application. Today, the raw materials aren’t iron and steel; they are the hearts and minds of your workforce. The hammer’s ring is now the sound of collaboration, and the heat of the forge represents the pressure and challenges of modern work environments. And just like John, who knew that a well-crafted tool requires care and precision, business leaders must understand that their workforce thrives when they create an environment of psychological safety.

In recent years, the idea of a “safe space” in the workplace has become somewhat of a buzzword, even a meme in some circles. For those who come from more “old-school” approaches to work, the concept may seem soft or unnecessary. The prevailing belief often leans towards “toughen up and show up to work.” However, in this article, we’ll explore a perspective that resonates with those who value grit and resilience, showing that providing care and psychological safety to employees is not about coddling but about forging a workforce of extraordinary strength.

The Resilience Dilemma

Imagine two individuals working side by side, both highly skilled and motivated. One has the resilience of a finely crafted tool, while the other, despite their potential, constantly buckles under the pressure. What sets them apart? Psychological safety.

Psychological safety is the foundation upon which true resilience is built. It’s not about shielding employees from challenges or eliminating stress. Instead, it’s about creating an environment where they feel safe enough to take calculated risks, voice their concerns, and learn from their mistakes.

In the world of the “old-school,” toughness is often equated with resilience. Employees are expected to handle stress, adversity, and criticism without showing signs of weakness. However, this tough-it-out mentality can have detrimental effects on both individuals and organizations.

The Hidden Costs of Toughness

The “toughen up” approach may seem effective on the surface, but it comes with hidden costs. Employees who feel unsupported or judged for expressing vulnerability are more likely to:

1. Burn Out: Suppressing emotions and stress can lead to burnout, which not only affects individual well-being but also hampers productivity and innovation.

2. Disengage: When employees don’t feel psychologically safe, they’re less likely to engage with their work or share innovative ideas, ultimately stifling creativity.

3. Exit: High turnover rates are often a consequence of workplaces that don’t prioritize psychological safety. Employees leave in search of environments where their voices are heard and respected.

4. Stagnate: Without the freedom to take risks and learn from failure, employees may become stagnant, and their development may plateau.

The Resilience of Psychological Safety

Now, let’s pivot from the “toughen up” mindset to a more appealing perspective for proponents of old-school work ethics: the idea that psychological safety is not about coddling but about building resilient, high-performing teams.

1. Encouraging Growth: Just as a blacksmith carefully shapes and tempers metal to create a durable tool, leaders can foster psychological safety to encourage the growth and development of their employees. When individuals feel safe to express their ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes, they are more likely to learn and adapt.

2. Boosting Adaptability: Resilience is not about enduring constant pressure without breaking; it’s about adapting and bouncing back stronger. Psychological safety encourages adaptability by allowing employees to speak up when they notice potential issues or opportunities for improvement. This adaptability is a hallmark of strong, durable teams.

3. Fostering Collaboration: Like the different parts of a finely crafted tool working in harmony, psychological safety fosters collaboration and teamwork. When individuals trust their colleagues and feel safe to share their perspectives, it leads to more effective problem-solving and innovation.

4. Retaining Talent: Just as the best blacksmiths take pride in the longevity of their creations, organizations that prioritize psychological safety retain top talent. When employees feel valued and supported, they’re less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Nurturing Psychological Safety

To convince those skeptical of psychological safety’s value, it’s crucial to highlight practical steps and tangible outcomes:

1. Open Communication Channels: Encourage open dialogue at all levels of the organization. Make it clear that feedback and concerns are not only welcome but also valued.

2. Lead by Example: Demonstrate vulnerability and openness as a leader. When employees see that it’s safe to express concerns or ideas, they’re more likely to follow suit.

3. Reward Innovation and Learning: Recognize and reward innovative ideas and a willingness to learn from mistakes. Show that the organization values growth and adaptability.

4. Training and Development: Invest in training programs that promote emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and active listening. These skills are essential for creating a psychologically safe environment.

In conclusion, for those who believe in the value of old-school work ethics, embracing psychological safety is not about making the workplace soft but about forging a workforce that’s resilient, adaptable, and capable of achieving extraordinary results. Just as the best blacksmiths take pride in crafting tools that stand the test of time, leaders who prioritize psychological safety are crafting teams that can withstand the pressures of the modern workplace and emerge stronger than ever.

Joshua Berry is a world-class facilitator of change. As an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and director of Econic, Joshua has spent the last two decades helping Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed startups evolve the way they work. Learn more at econic.co and joshualeeberry.com.

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When you see a peer being wildly successful, how do you usually react?

October 12, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When you see a peer being wildly successful, how do you usually react?

I cheer them on and am genuinely happy for them 46.09%
I’m happy for them but I get jealous or competitive 25.89%
I feel afraid I’ll get left behind and get more competitive 15.27%
I actively try to slow their progress so I can catch up 12.75%

Support or sabotage? When a colleague is being successful, a large portion (47%) of you report being fully supportive of their success. For the rest of you, the specter of jealousy rears its ugly head. 26% of you are happy for them but get unnerved and more competitive – which is a generally normal reaction. What’s alarming is 15% of you feel like you’re losing ground and get even more competitive. The scary number is the 13% of you who actively try to slow your colleague’s progress so you can catch up to them. This amounts to sabotage and it’s not good for anyone involved. Obviously it harms your colleague which, in turn, harms the organization. It also harms you. It can result in you being branded as a saboteur and not a team player. The approach is generally unsuccessful too because you spend so much time and energy slowing them down instead of investing that time and energy in your own development and improvement. If you find yourself in this final group, try to reorient your focus on productive pursuits instead of hampering the efforts of others.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Accepting Failure

October 11, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

As much as we like to celebrate success, there are going to be failures. They’re not fun and they can derail a team if you don’t handle that failure well.

As much as we like to celebrate success, there are going to be failures. They’re not fun and they can derail a team if you don’t handle that failure well. When there is failure, the first thing is avoid blame and turn it into a learning opportunity. This is not about the individual. This is not personal. This is about behaviors and this is about choices we made that didn’t work out well. Find the opportunity to turn those into lessons learned and think through how future actions can be taken that will help you avoid these failures the next time around.

Here are some principles around dealing with failure:

First, fail as a team. Deconstruct the failure and understand what the root causes were. Identify all the places where the team could’ve improved. Was it was a process failure or a failure to provide information from one team member to another? Try to never make it about the individual and instead, look at the processes that the team is following and where those broke down.

Next, even when there’s failure, praise people for taking a risk. We’re always making risk reward trade-offs and if you’re not encouraging people to take risks, you’re going to get that risk averse culture where people are paralyzed and won’t make decisions. And if they’re not making decisions, you’re not going to get that upside. So, when you talk about failure, help people appreciate, “Here is the risk we took, here’s what we thought the odds were, and then here was the result and it didn’t work out well and here were the actual odds.” So next time around, how do we do this better?

Your job as a leader, in terms of success and failure, is making sure that you celebrate those successes and all forms of success every opportunity you get. Do so in a way that’s going to be targeted to the individual you’re trying to reward. When there’s failure, avoid making it about the individual and instead focus on, “What are the things that we did wrong as a team and what can we do differently the next time?”

Taking this healthy approach and balance between success and failure will continue to build momentum for your team and keep team members engaged and excited.

Want to learn more about building high-performing teams? How about taking an entire course on it? Check out the video below to learn more about the course and get started. Or you can go directly to the course and start learning how to build high-performing teams. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

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!

Mastering Feedback and Overcoming Apprehension: Strategies for Success

October 9, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Master leadership insight by unleashing the power of authentic leadership and conquering feedback apprehension.

Today’s guest post is by Paul Bramson, CEO — The Paul Bramson Companies

In an era where organizational success hinges upon the alignment of teams, innovation, and continuous improvement, there are expanding and new expectations for leaders. There are many elements to this that could (and do) fill books, and one of those is the art (or rather, the skill) of providing and receiving feedback.

Let’s be clear — feedback is a valuable tool for assessing and improving past performance, while coaching is a more comprehensive and ongoing process that supports an individual’s overall growth and development. Feedback is a fundamental leadership function that can shape not only individual growth, but also contribute to and influence a company culture overall.

Welcome to this journey of discovery as we delve into the heart of conquering the all-too-common hurdle of feedback apprehension. Recent studies have cast light on a surprising yet relatable statistic: a staggering 69% of managers admit to feeling uncomfortable when communicating with their employees. Moreover, 37% express a distinct unease when faced with the task of delivering direct feedback, especially if they anticipate a less-than-positive response.

The importance of authenticity

A key and integral element for giving and receiving feedback is being authentic, so I pulled this out to its own section. Authentic leaders are self-aware individuals who know their strengths and limitations, and can understand and manage their emotions. This leadership style is marked by a leader being genuine and generally transparent with others.

To master providing feedback to others, authenticity must be at the forefront. If you are not being “real” with your employees, they will not be with you either. Feedback will not be received or discussed in a productive way to impact action and incorporate what has been talked about.

This brings me to my second key point which is communication. In addition to being authentic, a strong leader must be an excellent communicator; one that is fully and truly present in conversations while listening and responding empathetically. They must be able to convey information clearly and concisely so that someone understands it to process and implement it. This combination elevates relationships, fosters trust, and transforms organizational cultures.

There is more, understandably, on communication below.

The crucial role of feedback

Feedback is the cornerstone of growth and development. It is integral to empower individuals and teams to grow and develop to reach their full potential while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

The number of leaders experiencing feedback apprehension is a phenomenon that — if not addressed and overcome— can hinder progress and stagnant growth within organizations. The reluctance to give feedback or engage in open conversations not only limits the potential of individual employees but could compromise team cohesion and adaptability.

Effective and meaningful feedback is integral for growth and development while acting as a mirror to reflect strengths and areas for advancement as well as potential blind spots. Constructive feedback has the power to communicate and clarify expectations, highlight areas of excellence, and provide actionable insights for enhancement. On the other hand, a lack of or poorly communicated feedback can lead to misunderstandings, frustration, diminished morale, and less-than-optimal performance.

When company culture is based on growth and collaboration, providing feedback may not feel as stressful. However, when feedback is not part of company culture, building your confidence in this area can go a long way for you and your team.

Overcoming feedback apprehension

Effectively providing and receiving feedback is a skill that can be honed, and it starts with cultivating an environment of open communication, trust, and growth.

Tips for effective feedback

Embrace timely feedback: Feedback is most impactful when it’s provided promptly. Waiting for formal performance reviews could lead to missed opportunities for development as well as celebration of accomplishments. Timely feedback allows immediate course correction, recognition of success and strengths, and supports your commitment to continuous improvement.
Craft specific and actionable feedback: Vague or generalized feedback lacks the clarity necessary to take action. Be specific about what worked and identify areas for growth. Offer clear steps that employees can take to address these areas effectively while identifying any support they might need in their work in this area.
Active listening and curiosity: Effective feedback is a two-way street. Practice active listening, allowing employees to share their perspectives and insights. Get curious and ask questions to ensure you understand their perspectives fully.
Empathy: Empathy is key to listening in order to understand others’ perspectives as well as their feelings and viewpoints. This is important to be able to respond and provide feedback with a full understanding of where they are coming from and how they are feeling. This will also create a safe space for open and productive dialogue.
Focus on solutions: When discussing areas of opportunity or giving constructive feedback, shift the focus from problems to solutions. Engage in collaborative conversations to jointly identify ways to overcome challenges. This approach empowers employees and reinforces a sense of ownership.

The world has changed, and leaders no longer live in a place of one-way feedback. To effectively meet the expectations of individuals today and create the best possible work environment, leaders must be authentic, genuine and be able to create productive circumstances for feedback, constructive and celebratory. That is the only way individuals, teams and companies can reach their full potential.

– Paul Bramson has been described as a powerhouse on keynote stages and in training arenas. With over 25 years of experience in educating, speaking, and coaching, Paul has a unique ability to connect with professionals, leaders, and teams at all levels, providing them with valuable insights and empowering them with the most relevant knowledge and skills. His sincere and passionate approach to his work is evident in his ability to engage and inspire audiences. Paul grew up in Boston, graduated from Boston University, and currently lives in Atlanta, GA.

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How well do people in your organization respect confidentiality when dealing with other organizations?

October 5, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How well do people in your organization respect confidentiality when dealing with other organizations?

Extremely well: we never disclose someone’s information to a third party 46.85%
Very well: we occasionally slip and accidentally disclose information 28.83%
Well: we keep sensitive information confidential but sometimes share other topics 18.02%
Not well: we have a hard time keeping information confidential 3.60%
Poorly: we routinely share confidential information that shouldn’t be shared 2.70%

Keeping things quiet. 75% of you report that your organization does a good job of keeping information about others confidential. Unfortunately a large group of you report that your organization is less than secure about keeping confidential information quiet. These “loose lips” can have catastrophic impacts. You might expose your organization (or yourself) to lawsuits, ruin relationships, and create a bad reputation for yourself. Even the most innocuous-seeming information can damage the other party. You might not think it’s a big deal to disclose that you got a great discount on something you bought but now you’ve put your supplier in a pinch when their biggest customer finds out about your discount and demands the same level of pricing. That’s a simple example of how disclosing information can be damaging. So the next time you’re inclined to share something about another party, pause and ask if sharing it is really necessary. It usually isn’t. If it’s not necessary, simply keep quiet.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Why Vulnerability Can Hurt You At Work

October 5, 2023/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Vulnerability in our personal lives is not the same as it is at work, and vulnerability for leaders is not the same as it is for everyone else.

Today’s guest post is by Jacob Morgan, author of Leading with Vulnerability: Unlock Your Greatest Superpower to Transform Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

We all know what vulnerability is because we have all at some point in our lives felt vulnerable, which according to Brené Brown is the feeling of risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure. In our personal lives, the value of vulnerability is clear; it’s what allows us to create connections and relationships.

But what about at work? Does vulnerability play a role there where we have a very different dynamic of hierarchy, bosses, customers, employees, deadlines, projects, and money? And what about for leaders? Is vulnerability for them the same as it for everyone else?

To find out, I interviewed over 100 CEOs around the world from companies like American Airlines, GE, Edward Jones, Best Buy, Dow Chemical, and many others. I also teamed up with leadership firm DDI to survey around 14,000 employees. All of this was put together in my brand new book, Leading with Vulnerability: Unlock Your Greatest Superpower to Transform Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization.

It’s clear that vulnerability in our personal lives is not the same as it is at work, and vulnerability for leaders is not the same as it is for everyone else. In fact, for leaders, vulnerability can actually cause more harm than good!

To understand why this is the case, consider why you were hired in your current role. You were hired because you have a set of capabilities, skills, and talents to do a job that the company needed help with. So what happens if after you get the job you show up to work each day talking about your mistakes, challenges, failures, and feelings? At some point those around you are going to say, “Maybe this isn’t a good fit.”

Vulnerability on its own is not the right approach. Instead, leaders (and all of us for that matter) need to combine vulnerability with leadership. You can think of vulnerability as exposing a gap, whereas leading with vulnerability is about exposing a gap and then demonstrating how you are trying to close that gap. For example, it’s the difference between saying “I’m sorry I made a mistake” versus, “I’m sorry I made a mistake, but here’s what I learned and here are three things I’m going to do in the future to make sure that mistake never happens again.”

This is the relationship between leadership and vulnerability or competence and connection. Leaders need both.

Take a look at the following quadrant.

The novice is someone who is either new in their leadership journey or someone who isn’t a leader yet. Therefore they have not yet established their leadership or vulnerability. The path they take here will determine what kind of a leader they end up as.

The robot is someone who is effective in leadership yet struggles with vulnerability. These can be thought of as more stereotypical leaders who got to where they are by focusing more on competence instead of connection.

The incompetent leader is someone who is vulnerable yet struggles with leadership. Perhaps this leader was once quite competent but then stopped learning and growing after becoming a leader. Another possibility is that this person became a leader simply by navigating through office politics and bureaucracy. They are good at the human aspects of work but should not be in a position where they are leading others.

The vulnerable leader is someone who combines the elements of vulnerability and leadership to achieve positive change and outcomes. These are the leaders who are both good at their jobs and can connect with their people on a human level.

Today you need both vulnerability and leadership to be successful.

Most of the literature and research out there does not address the potential of leadership when vulnerability is approached in the right way.

Inside of organizations it’s clear that vulnerability alone is not enough to achieve the desired outcomes of the individuals, the team, or the business. Vulnerability is not always a good thing at work, especially if you are not highly competent at your job. Vulnerability for leaders is not the same as it is for everyone else.

The solution is what I call The Vulnerable Leader Equation, which you can see below.

Leadership + Vulnerability = Leading With Vulnerability.

Whenever you are in a situation where you feel vulnerable or when you know vulnerability will be present, ask yourself, “What can I do to add leadership to the equation?”

This will be the best thing that you can do for your own career and everyone around you.

To learn more and discover how to put this into action, you can grab a copy of Leading With Vulnerability.

Jacob Morgan is the international best-selling author of 5 books including his most recent book, Leading With Vulnerability. He is also a keynote speaker, and professionally trained futurist. His passion and mission is to create great leaders, engaged employees, and future-ready organizations.

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The Importance of Celebrating Success

October 4, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Success and failure are part of running a team day to day. You need to recognize and promote wins, because it’s going to build momentum for the team and make them feel like they’re accomplishing great things.

There are a lot of great ways to acknowledge success. You can give people bonuses, provide them visibility opportunities, maybe do some public recognition, give people increased responsibilities, and even promotions. And all of those are very effective ways to celebrate success of your team members. But remember, just because you think something is valuable doesn’t mean the team member will. You need to understand what personally motivates them and then reward them accordingly. Because if you’re not thoughtful about it, something you think as a reward is going to be horrible from that person’s perspective.

For example, if you have somebody on your team who is very introverted and you decide that you’re going to take their success and celebrate it by putting that person on stage in front of a large audience, that introvert might really hate that situation, and they’ll feel very uncomfortable. And even though you thought you were rewarding them and celebrating their success, you’ve turned it into a bad experience.

Or, for example, you have somebody who’s very happy in their current role. They like their level of responsibilities because it allows them to have a proper work-life balance. You decide they’re doing such a great job and you want to celebrate that success, so you’re going to give them a promotion with more responsibilities. Now they’re pulling their hair out and they’re very stressed out and unhappy because they really enjoyed their old role. That promotion isn’t a way to celebrate success. It’s actually a punishment.

So as you’re thinking about celebrating success for your people, put yourself in their shoes and ask, “What would that individual really value?” Be sure that you communicate that success to the rest of the team. It helps build momentum and creates a culture of winning among those team members. People will feel proud to be associated with their teammates who are doing such great things.

Want to learn more about building high-performing teams? How about taking an entire course on it? Check out the video below to learn more about the course and get started. Or you can go directly to the course and start learning how to build high-performing teams. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

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Optimizing Remote Team Dynamics Through Effective Performance Recognition and Feedback

October 2, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

Feedback and recognition are critical to enhancing the collaboration and ultimate success of remote work teams.

Today’s guest post is by Shiela Mie Legaspi, President — Cyberbacker

The rise of remote work has made it increasingly more appealing to workforces around the world, but the benefits are not without their own set of challenges. A lack of physical proximity can inhibit communication, tasks can need tweaking, and team dynamics can require fine-tuning.

Luckily, every challenge brings an opportunity for growth. In the case of optimizing virtual team collaboration and enhancing remote team success, the opportunity lies in a smarter use of performance recognition and feedback.

The new paradigm of recognition in remote teams

A recent study on employee recognition reveals that 92% of workers are more likely to repeat a specific action after receiving recognition for it, and over 40% of working Americans feel they would put more energy into their work if recognized more often.

Recognition is an essential part of the engagement equation that should be part of your performance management process. It is especially important in the case of remote teams because these employees otherwise tend to work in isolation, meaning they need to feel that their contributions are seen and appreciated in order to remain fully engaged and productive. When managers provide positive feedback, team members feel valued by the organization and connected to the team’s efforts.

Whether recognition is formal or informal, make sure that it reinforces behavior that supports your company’s goals and values. You can do this by tying it into goals or performance metrics so that the recipient understands how their work contributed toward meeting them.

Feedback as a catalyst for engagement in remote teams

Feedback is a key part of building a successful team, but it’s important to recognize that feedback is a two-way street — it must be given and received by both parties. As such, it’s vital that you make sure everyone understands how they can provide effective feedback and receive it in return.

Both positive and negative feedback are important to effective performance recognition. Positive feedback reinforces behaviors you want to see more of, while negative feedback helps your team improve their performance.

To create an environment where people feel comfortable giving and receiving positive and negative feedback on their performance, establish clear guidelines for what constitutes good work, ensure that everyone knows what’s expected, and encourage open communication. In such an environment, team members understand how their actions impact others and discuss issues — rather than letting them fester — meaning they tend to experience higher morale and avoid project delays.

Feedback frequency and impact

When delivering either positive or negative feedback, timing is everything! The sooner you provide feedback, the more likely it will be received positively. With this in mind, build opportunities for communication into your team’s schedule.

The frequency of feedback will vary depending on the nature of your business or organization’s culture. Some managers prefer weekly meetings, whereas others prefer daily communication to keep everyone on track and avoid miscommunication. Remote team leaders must find a routine that works with their schedules and those of their team members.

The role of technology in feedback for remote teams

Remote workers often struggle with feeling disconnected. Because they’re not physically together in the same office environment, it can be difficult for managers and employees to convey everything they are doing to contribute toward the common goal.

As a manager, you can use technology to enhance the feedback process. Multiple communication apps such as Slack or task management platforms such as Asana deliver, track, and can even analyze feedback data. Furthermore, platforms like Motivacity enable managers to share recognition with remote teams in real time.

For feedback that is best delivered in person, online scheduling apps like Calendly and video conferencing platforms such as Zoom facilitate quick virtual meetings, which allow team members to provide guidance and feedback remotely without writing everything down. If needed, the meeting’s information can be collected via video recording software.

Virtual team bonding through feedback

Both recognition and feedback are critical components of building successful remote teams. Recognition, for instance, is the acknowledgment of an employee’s contribution to the group. It can be a simple “thank you” or pat on the back; it can also come in the form of a formal raise or praise at an annual review.

More than anything else, recognition builds relationships, encourages virtual team collaboration, and enhances remote team success. In addition to its role in creating rapport among members of remote teams, recognition promotes reciprocity. This is the idea that people tend to give back what they’ve been given by others.

Feedback focuses on how individuals can improve their performance in order to achieve future goals. It also helps people learn from past mistakes and avoid repeating them.

Constructive feedback is a proactive means of keeping a successful, engaged team on track. To be effective, this feedback must be frequent, specific, constructive, and actionable.

It’s easy to lose sight of how remote employees contribute to the bigger picture, but regular feedback and recognition keep each team member improving and feeling good about his or her contributions. These two powerful tools enable you to build strong relationships with coworkers and conquer tasks collaboratively — no matter how far-flung team members happen to be.

Shiela Mie Legaspi is the President of Cyberbacker, the leading provider of virtual assistance and administrative support services from anywhere to anywhere. She empowers growth-minded business owners with world-class economic leverage to fulfill their greatest purpose. Legaspi is an expert on career coaching in the remote workplace, and she leads the company to organizational excellence through her work centered around workforce experience. She excels in people management and teaches others how to lead with integrity, purpose, and passion. Read more from Shiela on Chief Executive, Employee Benefit News, HR Daily Advisor, California Business Journal, and Newsweek.

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How robust are your organization’s crisis response contingency plans?

September 28, 2023/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How robust are your organization’s crisis response contingency plans?

Extremely: we’re ready for anything and can get operations back online quickly 13.16%
Very: we’re prepared for most crises and have adequate contingency plans 47.37%
Somewhat: we’re ready for common crises but would struggle with others 28.95%
Not very: if we face a crisis, we’ll be challenged to get through it 7.89%
Not at all: if a crisis hits, we’re doomed 2.63%

Be prepared. Only 60% of you responded that you’re well-prepared for a crisis or emergency. For the 40% who aren’t, it’s easy to put off that preparation with the notion that a crisis will be a rare occurrence. Unfortunately crises happen every day but we perceive them to be infrequent. Wars, pandemics, natural disasters, civil unrest, bankruptcies, financial crises… the list goes on and on. It’s well worth the investment of creating contingency plans and having the infrastructure in place to be able to continue business operations quickly in the face of a crisis. Having that plan in place can be the difference between tremendous success and abject failure.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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