Posts

The Case for Creating Safety and Belonging in the Workplace Has Never Been Clearer

, , , , , , ,

As we get used to a new normal and over the shock and grief of COVID-19, it’s never been more important to care about our workplace. Our employees and teams really need a sense of safety and belonging. Both in the psychological and in the physical sense, as COVID-19 leaves us with new rules and regulations.

Simply put, if people don’t feel safe at work and if they don’t feel like they belong, they won’t do their best work. It really is that simple. The key to creating a successful culture that helps your company thrive and deliver high performance is to make sure your employees are safe. That means addressing their fears and concerns over their physical and psychological safety in a post-COVID19 world. Here’s how:

 

Ask, “What Can I Do Differently to Serve You?”

To solve any problem in your workplace, start by asking great questions. Questions that encourage the other person to go deep and really mine for the crystals so you can help solve for the challenges. I love these ideas from Google’s Head of People Analytics – start this week by asking these questions of every person on your team:

1) What am I doing now that you want me to continue to do?

2) What am I NOT doing frequently enough that you’d like to see more of?

3) What can I do to make you more effective?

Asking great questions demonstrates to the other person that you care about them, that you’re willing to listen, and you’ve got their back. When people know you care, they’ll trust you. Trust goes a long way toward creating a true culture of safety and belonging. In this new world you actually may want to share your procedures for physical safety and further check to see if they do feel physically safe and social distanced.

 

Ask, “What Makes Work Meaningful?”

We all want to do work that is meaningful, that makes a different for someone else or the world. With all this time at home, worrying about what’s going to happen to our families, our friends, our jobs, it’s got a lot of people thinking about what’s really important in life and questioning if they’re living in alignment with those principles.

Make sure you’re helping everyone on your team connect their work to their meaning and purpose. Help them see why they’re doing something and how it’s contributing to larger team or organizational goals. When people can see that they are part of something and helping to meaningfully create progress, they will feel that they belong. Again, COVID-19 is a game changer. Is there something you can do to help your employees or clients create meaning while protecting them at this time?

 

Seek to Reskill on Emotional Intelligence and Behaviors to Create Safety and Belonging

In previous articles we’ve discussed the importance of cultivating Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in our changing workplace. As we reenter the world and workforce with differing fears, anxieties, and stresses, demonstrating EQ has never been more important. Self + Others = Success. EQ helps us get there.

Reskill your team on the basics of EQ and make sure they understand how to really listen in a meaningful way, how to ask great questions, how to have empathy for the other person, and how to tap into their own strengths and story to connect. Also, make sure that you understand the real challenges of the current times and be sensitive to how they are feeling. Seek to address how their colleagues and clients may be feeling as well.

Check out our toolbox here for free resources you can use to help your people level up and let us know if we can help you apply them to our current day scenarios.

 

If you make a conscious choice to intentionally create a culture of safety and belonging, your team and company will thrive. We’ve seen it happen over and over again with our clients – and we’re sure these simple hacks will make the difference for you, too.

Need some support? Reach out to us – our Strength & Story system guarantees you will create a culture of safety and belonging and see real results with your team and business in 100 days or less. Contact us to find out more about how we can help you grow and thrive.

Embrace Millennials as the Opportunity they are

,

A massive shift is taking place in the workplace and marketplace. Millennials—currently representing 36% of the workforce—will be 75% of your employees and customers by 2025. This change is creating a huge gap. Boomers and Gen Xers grew up with structure. Millennials have grown up with flexibility and the freedom to say what they want, when they want, simply by sending a tweet or a snap. They want feedback 24/7. They collaborate and create influence through network and community. They work way differently than previous generations. This difference is causing what you might label a “problem” in the workplace. There is a clear disconnect between expectations and work style.

But what if you challenged yourself to view this generational gap not as a problem to be solved, but as an opportunity to be embraced? Millennials control $660 billion in spending and will soon be leading the workplace, if they’re not already. Be the solution and embrace this generational “shift”–you can “shift” your perspective on this gap and win the millennial race! Millennials hold a tremendous opportunity for your workplace to excel in the future. Here are 3 millennial “problems” that are actually opportunities to be embraced.

  1. They constantly seek feedback 

    Millennials grew up in an era of instant gratification, so they expect feedback all the time. While this classic millennial trait may seem annoying or ridiculous, it offers you an incredible opportunity to actually communicate and connect. The” problem” isn’t just that they want feedback, they are scared to ask for it and don’t know what to do with it or how to react.

    Use this opportunity to be a mentor and guide for your millennials. Be real, be honest, be a teacher.  Show appreciation when they do a good job, and let them know when they make mistakes and how they can improve. Ask them questions on a regular, weekly basis so you can create a two-way relationship. If they see you, their boss, asking questions, being vulnerable and caring, they will mimic your behavior and develop confidence.Use feedback the way it is intended, as a give and take.

  2. They want flexible or their“perfect” schedule 

    It may seem like a pain to offer a flexible schedule to your millennial employees. You may think, “Why can’t they just work 8 hours straight like I did and not complain about it?” Well, technology has changed the world and millennials can get work done remotely as well as in an office. Millennials tend to seek a perfect work/life balance. By allowing a flexible schedule, you provide your millennials the opportunity to fulfill other activities that make them happy and keep them fulfilled and engaged.

    If your millennials are engaged in the other areas of their life, they will be more inspired to do more great work for your company. By caring about their needs, they are happier, therefore so are your customers and you also create more success of your company.

  3.  They have wild ambitions and ideas

    “They all want to create the next Facebook.” The initial reaction to millennials’ wild ambitions may be that they’re entitled and expect success overnight. But what if you could focus their ambitions within your own company? As a manager, you can motivate your millennials to learn and grow within your company. You can provide opportunities for them to excel, create and innovate…a win-win that would benefit your company. Don’t suppress your millennial worker’s ambitions, but guide them so they can flourish and excel both personally and professionally.

Where one sees trash, another sees treasure. The millennial shift is happening…its inevitable. However, it’s up to YOU how you view it…as an opportunity to be embraced!

 

Light Realistic Blank book cover vector illustration

Need help understanding, engaging, and retaining your millennial workforce?  Dan Negroni, Author, Speaker, Attorney, Kick butt business consultant, coach, and proud Dad of a few Millennials delivers actionable solutions.  Different from all other millennial experts, Dan’s empowering business approach at Launchbox, creates quick value and seamless connections with millennials and management each on their own terms.   Using unique content and delivery methods that audiences respond to immediately he leverages results from the inside out.   Allow millennials to be your secret weapon and maximize your commitment to them to innovate, create a culture of engagement and grow your businesses today.    To start click here to grab your copy of Chasing Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage and Maximize Next Generation Leaders in the Workplace or call them at 858.314.9687 for a free Coaching Assessment or visit www.launchbox365.com.

5 Steps to Work from the Inside Out and Create Relevance

Our team was presenting to leaders at one of my largest clients when one of the gentlemen in the back who had been with the company for three decades piped in.

“Look,” he said, “I had to do it this way. They should have to do it this way. They should just shut their mouths and do it the way I did it. I didn’t like my boss for fifteen years and I still did what I was told and…” I listened as “Angry John” went on, getting angrier and angrier as he went. I let him go a bit, and then calmly asked him to slow down and take a breath. And then I let him have it in a kind but direct way.

“How does what you did thirty years ago matter today? How is it relevant to anyone but you?”

He looked at me. He still looked tense. I continued.

“I don’t deny what you went through, but why do you want the same for them? We are talking about the present—today—and what we want to create for the future. What does what you did thirty years ago, when there were no mobile phones and you weren’t getting hundreds of texts a day, have to do with today and tomorrow?”

The room fell silent as Angry John looked at me and said, “I guess not much.”

Good guess.

Let’s be honest: What stands in the way of change are people, and too many leaders don’t include themselves as “people” complicit, let alone responsible for, the gaps between millennials and non-millennials in the workplace. Non-millennials see themselves as above it all. “Millennials are the problem and they should obey my golden rule: I have the gold; I make the rules—if you want my gold you need to follow my rules.”

I agree with that … to a point.

I am not about redistribution of wealth or egalitarian management systems, and I don’t want to change who anyone is. I just want us to create an impact and rethink the rules of the workplace for everyone. I want us all to be the best versions of ourselves, understand what that means, and leverage that to create better workplaces and results, both short and long term.

I’m not saying millennials aren’t complicit in widening this gap. Of course they are, but let’s be honest: What happens to us is principally because of us—all of us. If we want to get the best from our people, if we are to bridge this gap to create powerful relationships that take advantage of all of our strengths, we must accept that things have changed but we have not.

So how do we get started? We work from the inside out.

We must first know, understand, and manage how we are perceived in order to manage others. Trust yourself to be vulnerable, to work on yourself, to relish who you are, and then to share that with the world, and you will create the kind of relationships that deliver value to others and get results.

Simply put, the more you know yourself—truly know and care about yourself—the more you’ll be able to truly know, care about, and connect to the people around you and achieve the relationships you need and want. The good news is only five short steps are required to complete this work.

  1. Understand
the power of RELATIONSHIPS (how you connect)
  2. Know your STRENGTHS (who you are innately)
  3. Recognize your SKILLS, PASSIONS, and VALUES (what you know and what you bring to the world)
  4. Define your PERSONAL BRANDSTAMP (how you want to be perceived in the world)
  5. Develop and deliver your STORY (how you present yourself to the world)

Successfully complete these steps and you will effectively communicate who you really are and articulate your value in order to connect with others on an authentic level to bridge the gap with millennials in the workplace and marketplace.

Need help getting started? Let us help you stop chasing relevance and make it happen. For more on working from the inside out, check out Part One of Chasing Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage, and Maximize Next-Generation Leaders in the Workplace TODAY.

How to Help Millennials Succeed in the Workplace

, ,
This is a guest post written by Arman Sadeghi of Titanium Success.

Millennials could make up close to 40% of the total workforce by the year 2020, according to the results of a research study conducted by the Association for Talent Development. Businesses are increasingly hiring this fresh source of talent and skills for their operations. However, companies often find that these young people have different methods of working with a distinct ideology from their predecessors. This factor changes the office dynamics completely.

Business owners need to help their millennial workforce assimilate into the company to make full use of their potential. To do this, they need to take several steps that can help reduce employee turnover. Here’s where a business coach comes in. Businesses often choose to hire such personnel to help them understand the strategies they need to adopt. These methods will help millennials succeed in the workplace.

Understand Their Expectations

A few years ago, employees were content to join a good company and work for an extended time, all the while steadily moving up the corporate ladder. Millennials, on the other hand, often have aspirations about wanting to become entrepreneurs. They would prefer to work in managerial positions of leadership. Considering the many young role models they have, millenials feel inspired to follow paths that can lead them to grow and succeed.

Many millennials do continue to work with enterprises for a long period of time, but only so long as their needs are met. If they feel they’re not getting enough opportunities, they’re very likely to move on to setups where other options are available. To work with such young people, you need to adjust the culture of your company. Work with your peak performance coach to create an atmosphere that is conducive to growth, while also being beneficial for your company.

Offer Them Better Orientation and Training

Schools and colleges do give students academic training. However, post-graduation, these students need practical skills that can help them perform in an actual workplace. These skills are often not taught in a traditional college environment. If you offer the proper training, millenials will learn the necessary skills to become independent, reliable and talented leaders in your company. Among the critical aptitudes they need is the ability to think and solve problems, work on and deliver presentations, analyze situations and adapt to the ever changing market. It is also essential to teach them time management, communication, effective listening skills, and most important, working as a part of the team.

Offer Flexible Work Hours

Millennials today have different priorities as compared to the employees before them. They prefer to maintain the perfect work-life balance and want to make time for leisure, entertainment, family, and friends. This is why they prefer jobs in companies where they are free to work at the times that suit them best. One of the pointers your peak performance coach is likely to give you is to allow for flexible working hours. Give your people the go-ahead to use digital technology and work remotely from home if they need to. You’ll also want to allow them to work on weekends and out of office hours if they want to. This way, you’ll encourage productivity and ensure employee satisfaction.

Ensure Manager-Employee Interaction

Young workers prefer flexible working hours and are tech savvy. They are comfortable using gadgets and apps to receive instructions, submit work and stay in touch with their teams. As your peak performance coach will likely point out, they also appreciate the opportunity to interact personally with their colleagues and managers. Institute an open-door policy as your company culture. Instruct your managers to welcome new and innovative ideas. Make sure your millennial workers receive constructive feedback on their performance and that they are allowed to communicate freely with their managers and superiors.

Offer Opportunities to Learn and Grow

Millennials are eager to learn and advance their skills. They are always looking for opportunities to excel by taking on challenging tasks. They thrive on the excitement of working on new assignments. If they see stagnation, they’re likely to move to setups where they can learn and grow. Offer your people training programs and adopt policies where your younger workforce can develop their talents.

For instance, consider the task rotation strategy. Your peak performance coach can show you how to move employees to other lateral positions in the company. Allow them to work in a new role for a preset time period so they can learn to manage other responsibilities and develop new skills. Assigning new projects is another way to challenge their creative abilities. Millennials respect and enjoy a work environment where they are pushed out of their comfort zone. Help them develop their flexibility and ingenuity to aid the success of your company. With that being said, make sure the new tasks aren’t so tough that it leads to discontent.

Work Out a Competitive Salary Structure

In today’s times where remote hiring has made great strides, the job market has gone global. Millennials now find that there is a demand for their talents and skills on an international scale. Hence, they are exposed to better opportunities and salary structures. To retain the skills you need for the growth of your enterprise, your peak performance coach will advise that you need to change your perspective about the remunerations you’re offering. The younger workforce is more focused on the salaries they can earn. You’ll also find that better positions and promotions are no longer enough to stay with a company. Remember, they can get those at other setups also. This is why you’ll need to pay competitive salaries to keep your employees.

These are just some of the factors you need to keep in mind when hiring and working with a team of millennial employees. Given that the work environment is evolving rapidly, it’s advantageous to have a peak performance coach on board to help you direct your team, and help millennials succeed in the workplace.

 

References:

  1. http://www.cio.com/article/2883906/careers-staffing/how-to-help-millennials-shine-in-the-workplace.html

 

 

Interested in learning more about bridging the gap between millennials and managers? Make sure to get your hands on Dan Negroni’s new book,  Chasing Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage and Maximize Next Generation Leaders in the Workplace.

ChasingRelevance_Home_book_cover_nobg

 

Are You a Servant Leader?

,

Is your organization built for servant leadership? This business philosophy can change the way you do business from the top down, allowing you to create a stronger company and a more inclusive work environment. Here’s how you can recognize if your organization will support servant leadership, and how you can establish this innovative system.

What is servant leadership?

Servant leadership is a set of business practices that allows leaders to establish meaningful connection with their staff, improving their morale, productivity, and engagement. To accomplish this, servant leaders set aside their own ambition and adopt a “serve first” mentality.

They ensure that the needs of their staff are met, whether that’s a more comfortable work environment, personal and professional development opportunities, and well-being exercises. Servant leaders share their power and promote the spread of ideas and the inclusion of every voice in the organization.

Is your organization ready?

One of the big things that can get in the way of servant leadership is your company’s culture. Does your organization prioritize a corporate structure or performance-based recognition? In these structures, it can be difficult for leaders to elevate others to a shared leadership position, or encourage development for traditionally overlooked staff members.

Another area that can be examined is how your company identifies and encourages leadership candidates. Do they target aggressively ambitious candidates or those who are more inclined to help others before themselves? This can be a strong indicator of whether or not your organization will be accepting of this philosophy.

How to become a servant leader

If your company is open to servant leadership, you can work to develop some of the best practices of this modern philosophy. Larry C. Spears, former president of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, wrote the 10 most important characteristics of servant leaders, including:

  1. Listening
  2. Empathy
  3. Healing
  4. Awareness
  5. Persuasion
  6. Conceptualization
  7. Foresight
  8. Stewardship
  9. Commitment to the growth of people
  10. Building community

An individual with the drive to become a servant leader can adapt these capabilities if they don’t come naturally. For instance, leaders can make a conscious effort to listen and empathize with others in the workplace. Hold training sessions and establish mentorships to encourage the development of a “serve-first” mentality among upper management.

Servant leadership isn’t right for every organization. Determine if it’s right for yours by examining your corporate culture and existing leadership structures. If it is, work on developing leadership qualities among your managers and adopting the philosophies of servant leadership throughout ever level of your organization.