Tag: Leadership

How Companies Are Calling Out Racial Inequality

Companies all around are paying more attention to racial inequality in the workplace. It is a rising issue in the world right now, and places are realizing this isn’t the time to be quiet. The problem is that many minorities feel they are not treated with the same opportunities as others.

Change

The manner in which a company responds to events in society such as inequality, especially those that receive global media coverage can affect the company in many ways. You want the employees to feel safe and not to mistrust the authorities of the organization. Thus creating a better working environment for everyone involved.

Big and small companies are making a stand against racism and inequality and donating to civil right groups. Some are taking it a step further and not only donating money, but also committing to being an anti-racist employer.

Acknowledgment

Businesses in today’s society acknowledge diversity and inclusion, but being anti racist is new. You can see it in different procedures and in the ways in which employees are promoted. Companies need to be acutely aware of the reality of racism that may occur and inequality in their workplace.

Often enough leaders in the company are reluctant to talk about the racial inequalities in their organization. These leaders can make a difference by speaking up, not being defensive, and realizing that there is the possibility of a problem. Then the problem of inequality can begin to resolve.

Education

As the leader of a company, it is important to educate your staff and educate them on the realization of inequality. A way to have some positive impacts on the problem is to have diversity training. Some of the things that are covered in these training sessions can turn into goals that you have for the company. By keeping your employees accountable for these goals that have been set, it will set the path for improving the company in a positive way.

Talk and Resolve

As a company, when you sit down to discuss all the inequalities that are present in the business, it is most likely not going to all be positive. There will be hurdles to overcome and difficult conversations. Not everyone is going to agree with what is being said and done, and that may result in a loss of employees. Don’t worry though, it might be a positive loss, someone who can’t empathize with others is not an ideal coworker to have.

Taking steps to ensure that everyone in your company is treated equally will help in the overall success of the business.

We would love to hear your comments about this article. Please contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Are You Thinking About The Future Of your Business

The future of your business is important. Are you thinking about it as the present time or as something that is far off? If you think it is something that is far down the road, you are wrong. Your business’s future is in the present times. There are some critical steps that you need to do now to help your business flourish in the future.

The Pandemic

The pandemic put stress on all businesses. Whether you were able to remain open or not, things changed. To continue to thrive, your business needs to be planning for after the pandemic, during the pandemic. Once things return to normal and everyone can mingle freely, your business will be behind if you weren’t already planning for it.

No matter what post-pandemic work looks like for your business, there needs to be a plan in place. Many companies have decided to remain remote or to remain half remote. It revealed to the company that they can thrive just as well remotely as they can inside a physical work building. That is fine, but there needs to be a plan in place for the business’s future.

What Post Pandemic Can Look Like For Businesses

Every business is going to look different. It will also depend on how well they thrived during the pandemic and how they did working remotely. Some options that companies are going with are:

• Home-Based- This employee pretty much 100% of the time works from a home office.
• Remote-Based- Working from home for a remote company may mean an entirely different living location than the business location.
• Office-Based- Solely works within the business building.
• Mobile- Based- Works on a complete remote situation and comes into the work building as needed.

Hybrid working is still something that many businesses are doing. It cuts down the amount of people in their building at one time. Plus, a lot of people have enjoyed the versatility of working from home.

Intelligent Leaders Are Planning For The Future

If your company has decided to remain remote, put actions into place to remain in contact. It is so easy to isolate when you are not in front of one another every single day. This will result in employee discouragement and possibly falling behind in tasks.

Set in place a schedule that includes tasks such as weekly productivity reports and zoom calls. That way, you are often communicating with your employees and not forgetting about remote workers. Set designated times and days for remote workers to come into the office. Whether it be for occasional meetings, customer luncheons, or training.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Time Is Money

Are you carrying the weight of many jobs as a CEO? Did you know that taking time to answer all emails, calls, and more that’s received is wasting your time? It takes up a lot of working hours to complete this task. In this article, we will point out a few ways to stop wasting valuable time and money.

Have An Assistant

Do you have an assistant? If not, get one. It can help you to get far more tasks completed and be more successful in your day.

Simple tasks like answering phone calls, returning calls, replying to emails, and checking emails can all be done by an assistant. They can also cut down on any interruptions that may come up while you are busy. You can let them know that you want to be uninterrupted till a specific time, and they can filter anything that comes up during that time.

Use Automated Services

If your assistant is already super busy or you don’t want to hire one, you can use automated services. This is a simple system that you can set up to help save you time. When you receive an email or a phone call, an automotive response is given to let the person know you will get back to them at your earliest convenience.

Delegate Jobs That Need To Be Done

It is so easy to feel like you have to get everything done. As your company grows and takes on more work, that will become harder and harder for you to do. Many CEOs get bogged down and don’t recognize when to delegate.

Trust the employees that you have hired. Inform them of what you want them to do, train them, or whatever else you need them to understand before taking on the task. Delegate jobs out to people you feel are responsible and capable of accomplishing them.

Make Sure You Prepare For Meetings

Have you ever had a meeting with your employees and felt like after it was over, nothing was accomplished? Don’t let it happen again. Prepare for meetings thoroughly. Take the time to plan out the point of the meeting, the discussions, and what you want out of it.

Create a PowerPoint to show your employees

Visual presentations are more interesting and will keep the focus of your employees more. Don’t go overboard; get straight to the point. Allow time in the end for questions and comments to be made to clarify any confusion. Proper preparation can prevent you from spending valuable time and wasting it.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Being A Compassionate Leader With Constructive Leadership Skills

Leadership skills are a very important aspect for an employee to possess, even more, important for someone who is in a leadership position. When you are able to control and instruct a group of people with great success, it can benefit your business greatly. A leader has a fine line they can straddle for constructive criticism and encouragement.

Be A Good Leader Without Being Ran Over

When you possess a kind and generous attitude to employees, sometimes employees can in return try to overstep their boundaries. They take your empathic personality as a sign that they can take control. Some will try and get you to do them favors that are a little more manipulative than an actual favor.

Being in a leadership position you have to play on equal grounds. Rules have to stay the same for everyone and favoritism can’t be shown. Another negative aspect that some employees can have is to not take responsibility when wrong. This is where a good leader can step in and get to the bottom of the situation.

Qualities Of A Good Leader

It is not an easy task to be a leader. You have to deal with a lot of people and their different personalities. Some that are hard to deal with in the realm of things. When you are in this position, you have to handle all sorts of different scenarios, such as conflict, trouble, rewards, and more.

Some of the good qualities that someone has when they are a good leader are:

• Ability To Give Constructive Criticism
• Ability To Take Charge Of A Situation
• Problem Solving Skills
• Handle Conflict With Employees
• Keep Employees On Task
• And More

Jerks Are Everywhere

There is no doubt that at some point in your career as a leader you will deal with an employee who is a jerk. You need to have the ability to not let it get the best of you. When these employees are allowed to continue their behavior, it can really change the performance of the other employees.

Other employees will describe these jerks as:

• Fatiguing
• Demoralizing
• Intimidating

This will all in all result in a loss of workers. No one wants to be surrounded by that behavior day in and day out. No matter how good the money is. A good leader can help to silence many issues that are going on within the business. Making it to where the environment and running of the company are going smoothly.

Do you have constructive leadership skills? We would love to hear from you today.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Team Leadership and Team Dynamics

The role of a leader cannot be undermined when it comes to setting up the direction of a team and it plays a focal role in the organization’s success to achieve its goals effectively. When we look at the literature, we realize that most of the literature is focused on the common features of leadership and how it affects and influences the organization but few works of literature focus on leadership and team dynamics.

There are some approaches and theories when it comes to leadership and team dynamics. There is a theory known as the path-goal theory in which a leader influences the organization in achieving its goals by setting goals for and with the subordinates. So, the involvement of the leader with individual members to set expectations is barely minimum. There are other models which emphasize leadership progression as a key driver for the success of the team.  

The general practice as to who will lead in a team depends on the seniority of individuals and their qualifications. Well-qualified people or senior people are often preferred over others and are appointed to lead the team. There are some cases in which this traditional criterion is not followed while appointing a leader. Several staff members are identified as team leaders although they fall behind in the seniority order. Research has been done to get an insight into such personalities. It is noted that being vocal and actively participating in team meetings and discussions at an early stage is a strong predictor of a team leader. Such that, individuals who actively participate in the initial team discussions mostly end up leading the team. The passive personalities rarely end up leading the team.

Team members usually look for two important characteristics in the team leader. First, they focus on the social and emotional competencies of the individual. Members who are good at social dealings because of being adept in communication skills, and members who take into consideration the opinions and views of other members such that they have high emotional intelligence. The second characteristic that members look for in a team leader is their willingness, intensity, and frequency to get themselves involved in the problem-solving process. Being a team leader highly supports the transformational leadership concept.

A leader in a team is in a position of power and can impact others. A leader should persuade his followers through words and actions so that the followers can act accordingly to drive the organization towards its goals and to achieve the desired values. Transactional leadership is mainly driven by mutual political or economic reasons and as the name suggests it is simply a transaction between a leader and a follower. Transformational leadership is different. Because it requires the leader to be a role model and to bear enough emotional intelligence to listen to his members such that an environment of learning is developed and a positive feedback loop is created within the organization. Such an environment is healthy for the organization. Another type of leadership that can be seen is charismatic leadership. In this type of leadership, the charisma of the leader is the main thing because of which followers follow their leader, to the point that the leader is the conscience of the followers. Charismatic leadership can be constructive or destructive depending upon the leader. There are plenty of examples of both cases. 

Observe your staff and see if you can spot these characteristics and potential successful leaders. How are your leaders leading?

We would love to hear your comments on this article or any of our latest articles.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Building Digital Dexterity Into Your Workforce

Earlier than 2020, working remotely at home was almost unheard of unless you were a private business owner or worked overseas. Today the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic have changed the game. Many companies have transitioned into a work environment that supports remote work from home scenarios, hybrid office days, and digital meetings. During the beginning of the pandemic, many mid-sized companies found ways to cut spending on travel, training, promotions, marketing, hiring across the board with the expectation of digital technologies. This expense for employees significantly increased as work became more digital. This expense continues as companies continue to utilize a hybrid digital-work scenario.

Though companies will do their best to meet this growing need for technological collaboration, they will fail if they do not improve their digital dexterity. Using technology to grow the business in all aspects is every leader’s hope.

Why Is Digital Dexterity Important?

Technology advancement has skyrocketed since the invention of IBM PC in 1980. Companies have competed to showcase their latest technological advancement, which will aid in business and manufacturing across the globe. Technology certainly has advanced many different professions and taken business to new heights.

The progression led to the internet, then onto smartphone technology, and from there cloud servers.

Digital dexterity is now more important than ever. As each part of an organization functions separately, it is difficult to get everyone on the same page with advances in technology as it changes. The pandemic has taught us that having these technology systems in place like SaaS-based personal and team productivity applications helps flip-flop between remote settings and the workplace.

How To Build Digital Dexterity in the Workforce

The level of digital dexterity in an organization often determines the likelihood of success for a digital transformation. About 16% of all leaders and 9% of employees have a high level of digital dexterity. Below are ways to build a digital ambitious company:

• Teach employees how digital dexterity can help them reach their career goals and grow as a person.
• Replicate what works at other successful companies and model the practices through your teams.
• Offer Broker development experiences to employees. Help employees build new skills in ways they find most interesting to them.
• Identify employees who can act as “digital translators” and “skill disseminators” to help encourage the movement to digital dexterity and coach others.

The economy is unpredictable in many ways, but one thing is certain: the need for digital dexterity. Our society will continue to grow and technologically advance despite what setbacks our economy endures. The hybrid remote workforce is no longer taboo as many companies continue to make this the new normal. Using these techniques will help you to ease this transition and motivate your employees.

We would love to hear your comments on this article or any of our latest articles.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Rehire Former Employees: Invest In What Matters

All businesses are still regaining their grounds after the past year of Covid-19. Whether you could remain open or had to close, there were still hardships through the process. Some of your employees had to be let go, some had to work remotely, and others did their best to work through the madness. Now that things are opening back up and starting to look up, the positions you had to put on hold can now be filled again. Where do you start?

Ready To Hire More Employees?

Are you ready to hire employees to fill the spots that were let go during the pandemic? Not only is it stressful to hire new employees, but it is also a gambling game. There are some things that you should consider before hiring someone new.

When you hire a new employee, there is a lot that you need to think about.

Not only is it going to cost you money in time and training, but you also don’t know how it is all going to work out. It is a trial period of observing their work ethic.

It will cost you on average $40,000 or more in recruit money to replace a high-earning employee.

What About Previous Employees?

Did you have a good work crew that kept business flowing before shut down? Why change things up? Many of the employees you let go have had to find new means of making money. They may have a new job, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t want to come back given a chance.

During the pandemic, work situations were complicated and slim. Several people took significant pay cuts with new jobs that they found, but they needed an income. If your previous employee was a hard worker that you would want back, call them. Not only are you going to get an employee you know has a good work ethic, but you are saving your company thousands of dollars.

Where To Start?

When you are getting ready to fill needed positions within your company, review precious employees first. Whether they were let go due to the pandemic or left due to personal or medical reasons. People recover, and schedules change.

If they were a valuable asset to your company, call them and make that known. Not only are you financially protecting your business, but you are getting an employee that you value and respect. Everyone, including the rehired employee, need financial security. This past year and a half have abruptly made everyone a little more conscious about their futures.

We would love to hear your comments on this article or any of our latest articles.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

Focus More On Productivity Than Hours Worked

Do you have set working hours for your employees? Regular business hours look something like 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or could be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Many times though, employees are needed past those regular business hours. This can become stressful and overwhelming for them. Here are some ways to focus more on the productivity of your employees rather than the number of hours they are working.

Communicate With Your Employees Regularly

One of the most important aspects of someone’s personal life and business life is communication. No matter what you are trying to accomplish, it will be done more effectively when there is communication. You don’t want to put stress and anxiety on one of your employees, as this can lead to lessening the effectiveness of their job.

Simply checking in with your employees regularly to see where they are can help. This also gives them the chance to ask any questions they may have or if they need help. To be more proactive and start the conversation, think about asking questions such as:

• Are You Comfortable With This Assignment?
• Do You Have Any Concerns About Your Work?
• Do You Need Help With Completing Your Assignment?
• Can I Help In Any Way?
• Do You Need More Resources?

Have A Rotations System

The nature of the job that your employees are performing is important to keep in mind. If you have employees performing high-demand jobs that’ll eventually take a toll on their mental health, you need to rotate them. Allow them a period of time that they can perform a less taxing job.

Help Your Employees Prioritize Their Time

Sometimes, it can be hard to figure out where to start. Employees can benefit from a bit of help prioritizing their workload. A little insight from you can help them know what needs to be done first and how to get it done on time. Try and use a system that shows them in what order you want the work done. Label the assignments with:

• Urgent
• Pivotal
• Moderate
• Low

Disperse Work Evenly To Avoid Overload

It is so easy to overwork a reliable employee unmeaningfully. You have some employees who you now will perform effectively and thoroughly. This happening time in and time out can make a negative impact on that employee. It is always important to disperse work evenly to avoid overloading your employees.

We would love to hear your comments on this article or any of our latest articles.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!

The Top 5 Leadership Lessons Learned During Covid

This pandemic has taken many people and businesses on a wild ride.  Leaders were faced with some of the most challenging times of their careers. There were many lessons to be learned from all the events that took place with the pandemic. One lesson that many people had to step up to was leadership. This article will discuss five of the top leadership lessons that people had to learn in 2020/2021.

1. Time Is Short

Take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. You never know when things will take a turn and you will no longer have the chance. Take leadership of your life and make things happen.

2. Working Remotely Is Valuable

Many companies haven’t ever worked remotely before the pandemic. They’ve had to dive headfirst into remotely working this past year. They have found that it is a valuable tool that can be utilized when needed.

It is very different than working side by side with your coworkers. The daily interaction is minimal in most cases. This isolation must be addressed in order to keep everyone engaged and up to date. Companies have found a way to still stay in contact using many of the technological platforms like Zoom or video chats.

3. Show Empathy For Your Employees and Leaders

People have faced many ups and downs throughout 2020/2021. Leadership roles have been more difficult to perform. Everyone has had to go through many changes not only at work but also at home. It has been more important than ever to express empathy to your employees. Working remotely makes it harder to be empathetic.  However, leaders must do their best to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of others.

4. Think Outside The Box

Being given time off of work in many cases has caused people to have a reduction in salary. But, their financial needs may not have changed and has caused us all to think outside of the box to make ends meet.

The good thing that this has led to is that people have been able to be more creative and pursue things they didn’t have time for or didn’t take time for in the past. Trying new things is easier now.

5. Interact With Others More

The pandemic has left a lot of people in isolation and feeling alone. When people are so used to seeing their coworkers, friends, and family regularly this can take a big toll on them. It has had a bigger effect on people than they would have thought or imagined. Even as we recover from the pandemic and try to get back to “normal” our interactions have been affected. Physical and emotional interaction is important for people’s well-being. Stay connected.

By applying the lessons learned over the past year plus, leaders will be better prepared for other challenges and opportunities that come along.

We would love to hear your comments on this article or any of our latest articles.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

All articles, quotes, and material in this newsletter are copyrighted by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC ©. No part can be reproduced in any form without specific written consent. All rights reserved worldwide. Thank you!