Nine Lies About Work – Is it more engaging to be a full-time worker, a part-time worker, a virtual worker, or a gig worker?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | Nine Lies About Work - Is it more engaging to be a full-time worker, a part-time worker, a virtual worker, or a gig worker?Is it more engaging to be a full-time worker, a part-time worker, a virtual worker, or a gig worker?

According to the study, the most engaging work status is to have one full-time job and one part-time job.

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Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Press. Excerpted from Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall. Copyright 2019 One Thing Productions, Inc. and Ashley Goodall. All rights reserved.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Marcus BuckinghamMarcus Buckingham is a bestselling author and global researcher focusing on all aspects of people and performance at work.  During his years at the Gallup Organization, he worked with Dr. Donald O. Clifton to develop the StrengthsFinder program, and coauthored the seminal business books First, Break All The Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths.  He designed the StandOut strengths assessment completed by over one million people to date, and authored the accompanying book, Standout: Find Your Edge, Win at Work.  He currently heads all people and performance research at the ADP Research Institute.  Nine Lies About Work is his ninth book.

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Ashley GoodallAshley Goodall is the Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence at Cisco Systems.  In this role, he built a new organization focused entirely on serving teams and team leaders – an organization combining learning and talent management, people planning, organizational design, executive talent and succession planning, coaching, assessment, team development, research and analytics, and performance technology.  Prior to joining Cisco, he spent fourteen years at Deloitte, where he was responsible for Leader Development and Performance Management

How To Be A Leader During A Crisis

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StrategyDriven Management and Leadership Article | How To Be A Leader During A Crisis

“The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis” (Brian Tracy). Now, more than ever, the world is looking to its leaders. The leaders of countries, communities, and businesses. What we need now are smart, focussed and compassionate leaders who can flourish in a crisis.

So what can you do if you’re responsible for a company or team during a crisis such as the one we’re currently experiencing with COVID-19?

Be Human

Great leaders aren’t emotionless robots. You need to have empathy for the way people are feeling right now. Many are worried about their jobs, the health of loved ones and dealing with their own mental health issues. Older employees may be especially worried due to the lack of clarity around the government stimulus package and will senior citizen get a stimulus check? You may share some or all of these worries and you need to express that.

Yes, there will be difficult choices ahead, but empathy is a major asset to any leader.

Stay Up To Date On The Situation

It is increasingly difficult to get an unbiased picture of what is happening at present. You owe it to your company to stay educated on the developing situation.

Don’t rely on social media of partisan news outlets for your information. Look for factual ones. The World Health Organisation (WHO) produces a Daily Situation Report which is helpful.

Don’t Get Defensive

You won’t have all the answers and you won’t always make the right decisions. Own it, admit it, apologize for it and do better.

If you don’t know something, admit it and go and find out what you need to know.

Becoming defensive can start a cascade of negative feelings from your employees that lead to mistrust and disengagement that will continue long after the crisis is over.

Communicate Regularly

Frequent communication is vital for all stakeholders. This includes employees, investors, clients, and board members.

Sit down for a moment and think about what each stakeholder would need to know right now and get them that information.

Regular communication, whether or not you have something new to say, is the key, even if you only confirm that nothing has changed.

Be Yourself

You are likely spending your days encouraging your employees to stay physically and mentally healthy while they deal with everything that’s going on around them.

Take your own advice, you are not immune to everything that is happening, you have the same worries and fears as everybody else.

If you’re a good leader, your employees already like you as a person for your skills, charisma, sense of humor and professionalism. Try and remember that and do your best to maintain these qualities when times are trying.

It isn’t easy to lead during a crisis. Even world leaders, with all of their advisers and resources, are displaying varying levels of competence at present.

BUILD AN A-TEAM: Introduction, Being the Kind of Boss People Love to Work For

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StrategyDriven Management and Leadership Article | BUILD AN A-TEAM: Introduction, Being the Kind of Boss People Love to Work ForIn San Diego, California, in 1953, a new startup set its sights on the Space Age. The Rocket Chemical Company had a small lab and just three people, but they could see a major opportunity in front of them. The aerospace industry was producing incredible new technology – missiles and rockets that could fly farther than any had before – but that technology had a major weakness: it was all made of metal, and metal rusts.

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Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Press. Excerpted from Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve by Whitney Johnson. Copyright 2018 Whitney Johnson. All rights reserved.

About the Author
StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Whitney JohnsonWhitney Johnson is the CEO of WLJ Advisors and one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world as named by Thinkers50. She is an expert on helping high-growth organizations develop high-growth individuals.

Photo credit: Macy Robison

Notes

  1. “WD-40CompanyHistory,”FundingUniverse,accessed November 17, 2017, http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/wd-40-company-history/.
  2. LarryEmond,“2ReasonsWhyEmployeeEngagement Programs Fall Short,” Gallup News, August 15, 2007, http://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/216155/reasons-why-employee-engagement-programs-fall-short.aspx.
  3. Whitney Johnson, interview with Garry Ridge, Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 13, March 10, 2017, https://soundcloud.com/disruptyourselfpodcast/episode-13-garry-ridge.
  4. Ibid.

How to Build Trust with Those You Lead

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StrategyDriven Management and Leadership Article | How to Build Trust with Those You LeadAs the author of Be Different! The Key to Business and Career Success and as a nationally syndicated columnist on leadership, I share my views on the traits of effective leaders. These views are based on over four decades of serving in the trenches advancing through 11 jobs to the position of CEO of a global company, and observing other leaders serving on numerous public, private, private equity and nonprofit boards.

I also have a window on the workplace issues that are on people’s minds. I post every article I write on LinkedIn. The articles that get the highest number of views are on the lack of trust between bosses and their direct reports.

Stephen Covey, the late motivational speaker, writer, and advisor, once wrote, “Without trust we don’t truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team.”

The CEO’s tone at the top and the culture they nurture determines the level of trust in the organization. So, how does one earn the trust of others?

Always lead with the highest standards of ethics and integrity

There should be no misunderstanding as to the tone and culture that you embrace. These reflect the values to which you hold yourself and your employees accountable. Employees want to be part of an organization with high ethical standards and work for a leader that lives by those standards.

Never lead through fear and intimidation

I once worked for a tyrant. His style took a huge toll on the morale of his people. I was promoted to be his peer and then promoted to be his boss. I then fired him. After appointing a very effective leader to replace him, it took months before the employees of that division started to make decisions on their own again.

Acknowledge the brutal facts of reality

Never shoot the messenger. You can’t solve a problem unless you know what it is. You want your people to feel comfortable when sharing bad news with you and confident that you will listen to them. Most problems can be solved if addressed as soon as they are known. They may become unsolvable if left unaddressed for too long.

Be consistent and readable by those you lead

As the leader, ensure your style is consistent and that your expectations are understood. Situations will arise when decisions need to be made by your employees for which there is no operating procedure or precedent. Employees will fall back on their common sense and good critical judgment, and proceed in a way consistent with your expectations, tone, and culture.

Don’t micromanage

Steve Jobs, the former chairman and CEO of Apple once said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” Ensure your expectations are understood, negotiate goals, provide the needed resources and cut your people loose to do their thing.

Never publicly undermine your direct reports

Never criticize the people within your organization in public. It damages their ability to do their jobs. It only depowers them and makes them less effective. They lose credibility with those they will need to deal with in the future. Good employees won’t tolerate your behavior. They will leave the company and perhaps go to work for your competitor.

Don’t retaliate against those who follow their conscience and do the right thing

Retaliation shows you lack character. You may need those who you retaliate against in the future. What goes around comes around.

Organizations in which employees trust their leaders perform at a significantly higher level than those in which trust is lacking. Be sure you engender trust with those you lead.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Stan SilvermanStan Silverman is founder and CEO of Silverman Leadership and author of Be Different! The Key to Business and Career Success. He is also a speaker, advisor and widely read nationally syndicated columnist on leadership, entrepreneurship and corporate governance. For more information please visit www.SilvermanLeadership.com.

Do You Have What It Takes to Hack It as a Female Founder?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleWomen’s curiosity and interest in entrepreneurship is at an all-time high. Getty Images has seen a fourfold increase in searches for “woman entrepreneur” photos in the last year alone. With the popularity of television shows such as Shark Tank and The Profit, more and more women are wondering if they have what it takes to be a female founder.

It takes more than having a good idea to be a successful entrepreneur. While there are a vast range of personalities, educations, and backgrounds among female founders, there are a few personality traits that are paramount to hacking it as a woman entrepreneur.

Passion is one such trait. To be a female founder, you must be passionate about the product or service you have devised to solve a problem. Authentic passion is what helps women find the best employees, sell their customers, and sell potential investors. If you don’t believe in yourself and your idea, no one else will, no matter how good it is.

Having enough grit and self-motivation to overcome setbacks and disprove early nay-sayers is another important characteristic of successful women entrepreneurs. The women who use negative statements as fuel for success instead of self-doubt are the ones who build ideas into thriving companies. Entrepreneurship is a high-contact emotional sport. If you get knocked down or denied seven times, you need to stand up eight times and keep pushing to make your dream a reality.

Long-term vision is needed for women to make the leap into entrepreneurship. Our tendency to be risk adverse serves us well after we launch a company, but that same tendency can having us making lists of reasons why we shouldn’t launch our own businesses. Female founders typically have the ability to see the big picture and justify the risks and challenges that come with startups because they know they will be successful.

If you have an amazing idea as well as the traits outlined in this article, you have what it takes to hack it as a female founder. Take the time to validate your idea and market, map your business plan, and prepare for the ride of your life!

About the Author

Danielle Tate is the author of Elegant Entrepreneur and founder and CEO of MissNowMrs.com, a multimillion dollar online name-change company. As a female founder in her 20s she noticed that few business guides offered step-by-step advice to smart but inexperienced entrepreneurial woman.