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Why Your Team Needs a Boost in Emotional Intelligence

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When talking about intelligence, most people think of intelligence quotient, or IQ. But what if another type of intelligence could push your team to extraordinary results?

The Institute for Health Human Potential states that over 80 percent of competencies that differentiate top performers from others are in the domain of emotional intelligence (EI), which refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage our own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

There is debate whether people are born with natural emotional intelligence or not, but you can lead your team to extraordinary results by teaching and developing EI awareness in your organization. An excellent example of seeing this in practice is a Motorola manufacturing facility that provided training in stress management and emotional intelligence. A stunning 93 percent of employees had an increase in productivity.

Build your business by taking the first steps in cultivating emotional intelligence within your team. First, reflect on your own EI, and then consider teaching emotional intelligence principles to the people in your organization.

Are you emotionally intelligent?

Let’s play a game! Put your hand up and put a finger down for every statement you identify with.

  1. You see patterns in your motives and behaviors and understand how your emotions and actions impact those around you.
  2. You can self-regulate your emotions in proportion to the given circumstances. Perhaps, you know how to ease tension, manage conflict, cope with challenging scenarios, and adapt to changes in your environment.
  3. You are intrinsically motivated and strive for personal development.
  4. When trying to understand where someone is coming from, you can draw on your life experiences and be compassionate about what they are going through.
  5. You are a team player. You understand others and their needs in a conversation or conflict.

Suppose you put all five fingers down. Great! You align with the five components of EI—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. But don’t stress if you still have some fingers up because these are skills you can learn and develop.

Prioritize emotional intelligence training in business

Keeping emotions in check is vital for the whole team. When emotions run high, they change how our brains function by diminishing cognitive abilities, interpersonal skills, and decision-making powers. However, recognizing and managing emotions can elevate team performance and the company’s success.

The Institute of Health Human Potential reported that people with higher EIs:

  • Manage emotions when stressed or feeling overwhelmed
  • Resolve conflicts 
  • Coach and motivate others
  • Create a culture of collaboration
  • Build psychological safety within teams
  • Give and receive feedback
  • Meet tight deadlines
  • Deal with challenging relationships
  • Navigate change
  • Work through setbacks and failure

Teach others EI

Although some individuals are naturally more emotionally intelligent than others, EI is a skill that can be developed. EI training programs are abundant, and there are terrific tips for boosting your emotional intelligence and teaching your staff to increase theirs as well.

Become more self-aware

  1. Pay attention to how you feel throughout the day and recognize how your emotions influence your decisions and actions.
  2. Identify and understand your emotional strengths and weaknesses. How well do you communicate with others under stress?
  3. Understand that emotions can be fleeting and easily changed because rash decisions based on intense emotions can be detrimental to your success.

Practice self-regulation

  1. Find techniques that help you deal with your work-related stress, like exercise, hobbies, and family time.
  2. Keep your cool! You cannot control everything. Look for helpful ways to deal with stress.
  3. Give yourself time to think and plan before letting your emotions rule your decisions.

Improve your social skills

  1. Listen actively and attentively to your team members, peers, and employers. It shows passion and willingness to work with others.
  2. Keep an eye out for non-verbal communication.
  3. Avoid office drama! Conflict is inevitable, but you can focus on listening to others and seeing solutions to solve problems and minimize tension.

Become more empathetic

  1. Put yourself in others’ shoes.
  2. Pay attention to how you respond to others. Do you give others a chance to share their ideas? Do you acknowledge input, even in disagreement?

Work on your motivation

  1. Focus on what you enjoy about your job rather than what you dislike.
  2. Work to maintain a positive, optimistic attitude. Optimistic people tend to inspire and motivate others; be that person!

Imagine a more intelligent world

The simple act of drawing attention to the EI principles and having a brief conversation with the team will help elevate awareness of their behaviors and responses. Imagine what your team could achieve if everyone practiced the five components of emotional intelligence – self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and motivation.

You would notice your team working together rather than against one another. You would see your people not only handling stressful situations and conflict but persevering to reach company goals. You would recognize a genuine and authentic team built on empathy and understanding one another. Most importantly, you will be a company that thrives together!

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Photo by seventyfour74

Three Books to Help You Build a Powerful Business

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As a business owner, you most likely have a lot of expertise, experience, and vision that you rely on each day to build, develop, and grow your business. But no one has all the answers. And in a quickly changing society, it’s critical to keep your mind open to new ideas, approaches, and strategies to stay relevant and successfully meet challenges. Below are three books that have made a serious impact and helped business owners and leaders re-imagine and reach new heights in the past decade.

 

Measure What Matters

By John Doerr

In this book, venture capitalist John Doerr breaks down a revolutionary tactic to business management through the practice of goal setting using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). In the book, he illustrates the power of using Objectives (which define the goal), and Key Results (which define the actionable steps needed to achieve the goal), through a broad range of case studies, each with its own success story defined by the implementation of OKRs.

As you read this book, you’ll see how OKRs create clarity throughout an entire company, from entry-level workers to CEOs, and help leaders make the tough decisions necessary to enable growth. Whatever industry you fall under, Measure What Matters can help you create clarity within your organization and develop a sure path towards growth.

 

The CEO’s Guide to Restoring the American Dream

By Dave Chase

In his book, Dave Chase breaks down the misconception that controlling health benefits spending is out of employers’ hands by demonstrating how public and private employers have successfully reduced their spending. In the book, he challenges employers to re-think the reason behind offering employee benefits in the first place, shifting the groundwork, goals, and measurements of success in a way that illuminates the true value of employee benefits.

This book does a wonderful job of breaking down the facts, uncovering the reality behind the challenges the health insurance industry poses to employers, and explaining how real-life organizations have come out on top and been able to reduce their spending by 20% or more. He challenges employers to re-think their approach, uncovering how they hold themselves back while offering solutions and strategies to help them improve their situation. Any employer, CFO, CEO, or HR leader interested in getting the upper hand on their benefits spending would be wise to give this book a thorough read.

 

The Go-Giver

By Bob Burg and John David Mann

The Go-Giver is celebrated in the business world for upending the widely held belief that to succeed, you have to be selfish. Burg and Mann tell a story illustrating how, when you act in service to others, you build a relationship based on trust and gratitude. The book explores how these relationships have a value and strength that surpasses the fiber of relationships built on self-interest.

While this may seem obvious, it’s incredible how often professionals unintentionally steer themselves into relationships based on self-interest, undercutting their potential by depriving them of one of the most powerful resources: a network of relationships based in gratitude, respect, and service to one another. Their story offers thoughtful and provoking insights into how changing your philosophy around building relationships can enrich and enhance your personal life, career, and business.

Get to reading!

Although it can be challenging to find time in your day to read, it is well worth the effort. By opening your mind to new ideas that challenge your way of thinking, leading, and building relationships, you create a significant opportunity for you (and your business) to grow. Plus, now you don’t have to come up with your next book to read! We’ve done it for you. So pick one up, curl up in bed, or sip your morning coffee, and get to reading—or should we say growing!

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

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With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

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With great power comes great responsibility, and great responsibility calls for regular reflection upon who you are as a leader and how you are growing.

Regular periods of self-reflection are needed to ensure that we are heading in the right direction regarding empowering our people, making progress towards our vision, and creating a sustainable legacy over the long term.

Asking meaningful questions that bring you discomfort and get to the heart of what it means to be a leader can show you how well you measure up and highlight areas where your attention is needed.

Is the ‘Why’ of what I’m doing the same as it was when I started?

Change is inevitable. Processes, plans, priorities, and even those on your team will change or evolve. Your Why/Purpose is what drives you to emotionally do what you do. It’s the rock upon which everything is built, and it drives every decision you make in the organization, which is why it’s important to consistently reflect on it.

Start by asking, “Is the ‘why’ of what I’m doing the same as it was when I started?” If your ‘why’ has shifted, then you may have strayed from your values or mission. If that’s the case, ask yourself what strategies you can create to ensure a successful re-alignment, so your purpose continues to drive your organization. If you want to inspire people to get behind your purpose and vision, they need to believe in what you believe in.

How am I developing as a leader?

There are no perfect leaders, so if you think you have it all figured out and that you’re at the pinnacle level of leadership, then it’s time to reflect on how you’re developing. Leaders who remain agile and curious and who value continuous development are best able to adapt to the most significant and most unexpected challenges.

Reflect on how you’re developing. If your list is limited, contemplate how you can seek opportunities to grow and develop your skills as a leader in your organization.

Am I as accessible as I can be?

Take a moment to reflect on this question.

Did you think of physical availability? For example, perhaps, you considered yourself accessible because you have an “open-door policy” or a “virtual communication policy” if you’re remote. If so, it’s essential to differentiate physical availability and accessibility.

Accessibility goes beyond physical availability because it’s everything that happens the moment someone walks in your door and your accountability that follows. Now reflect on this question again and ask yourself:

  • Have I created an environment that encourages people to come to me in need?
  • Am I providing enough support?
  • Do I demonstrate genuine appreciation and gratitude for my team members?
  • Am I actively listening to others’ input? 
  • Do I consistently follow up with people?

For example, if you’re going to encourage your team to share their input and ideas because you one time read in an article that you should, ask yourself if you’re genuine. Especially in the case of leadership, actions speak louder than your words.

Have I been seeking enough feedback?

There are copious amounts of people who don’t seek feedback because it could bruise the ego or harm our self-confidence, but as the saying goes – no pain, no gain. One of the most courageous acts you can perform is to seek honest and constructive feedback on your performance as a leader. You can do this during team performance reviews or one-to-one employee check-ins.

Actively seek out suggestions on how you can improve and support your team. It’s critical to follow through and integrate feedback for it to make a meaningful impact. Take this feedback, reflect on it some more, and embrace how you can grow as a leader.

Self-reflection makes the best leaders

Just as leaders expect certain standards from their people, their position as a leader holds them to greater standards.

Regular periods of self-reflection are needed to ensure that you’re holding yourself to this standard and that you’re heading in the right direction.

Regardless of whether you’re in a leadership position or not, these questions can help you bolster your strengths and make any necessary improvements that will enhance your ability to be of greater service and benefit to yourself as well as others.

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

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Are You an Imperfect Leader?

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Today’s employers are expected to be perfect and do everything right—from seeking innovative solutions to complex problems to having the charismatic presence necessary to rally a team around a shared vision of the future. But if leaders were perfect, then why is there a need for followers?

 

You cannot be all things to all people, especially in a world that’s constantly changing. Leadership is not about command and control anymore; it’s about collaboration and cultivating the actions of those in your organization. It’s time to take the rose-tinted glasses off and recognize your weaknesses as an opportunity for personal and organizational development.

 

So, what can you do? Embrace imperfection by identifying your leadership capabilities and building a team that complements one another’s strengths and offsets another’s weaknesses.

 

Embrace imperfection

 

Rapidly changing economic, social, environmental, technological, and political forces make life difficult for employers as new decisions need to be made and executed. Still, no single person can stay on top of everything. If you try to be this perfect leader, you’ll instead be an exhausted one while damaging the organization in the process. The imperfect leader knows when to let go and delegate. They know their capabilities and have good judgment about working with others to build on their strengths and offset their limitations.

 

Identify your leadership capabilities

 

Identify your strengths and weaknesses by reflecting on the four leadership capabilities – sensemaking, relating, visioning, and inventing. Rarely, if ever, will someone be equally skilled in each capability because they span the intellectual and interpersonal, the rationale and intuitive, and the conceptual and creative capacities required in today’s business environment.

 

Sensemaking involves understanding and mapping the context in which a company and its people operate. A leader skilled in this area can quickly identify the complexities of a given situation and explain them to others.

 

Relating is the ability to build trusting relationships with others through inquiring (listening with intention and holding back judgment), acquiring (explaining how one reached their interpretations and conclusion without aggression or defensiveness), and connecting (establishing a network of allies who can help a leader accomplish goals).

 

Visioning is creating a compelling image of the future. It is a collaborative process that articulates what organizational members want to create together. Those strong in visioning will realize if other people aren’t buying into the vision. But they are persistent. They engage in dialogue about the reality they desire, inspire and motivate others, and use stories and metaphors to paint a vivid picture of what the vision will accomplish.

 

Inventing involves developing new ways to bring that vision to life. The most compelling ideas can lose their momentum if there is no inventing; however, inventors are creative executioners. They conceive, design, and use creativity to help people figure out new ways of working together on the shared vision.

 

Finding a leader who encapsulates each capability equally is rare, but these capabilities are interdependent. Therefore, it is critical to find others who can offset your weaknesses and complement your strengths.

 

Build a complementary environment

 

After identifying your unique leadership capabilities, search for others who can fill in the gaps and build a complementary environment. For example, if you’re a solid visionary but cannot turn your ideas into reality, find someone strong in inventing. Remember, if you get people that mirror yourself, you’ll experience Groupthink and a “bubble,” which is why it is crucial to foster a team with diverse capabilities, experience, values, and attitudes.

 

Embracing imperfection as a leader is not about strengthening your weaknesses; it’s about cultivating a diverse, collaborative, and complimentary organization. Have the confidence and humility to recognize unique talents and perspectives throughout the organization and help others flourish as they build on these strengths. 

 

It’s time to celebrate the imperfect, that is, the human—leader.

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Photo by Worachai Yosthamrong 

Wellness and Productivity: A Holistic Approach

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For much of the country, winter can be a challenging time. Decreased light, more time spent indoors, the horrible experience of waking up in the dark and ending work in the dark—it can be tough. This winter may be especially challenging, with the pandemic forcing us into isolation and away from our favorite cozy coffee shops and bookstores.

As humans, our energy naturally ebbs and flows throughout our lives and throughout the seasons. This can be difficult for those of us with high expectations. We don’t like to accept that sometimes, we need sleep, time alone, or support. But these things are inevitable, pandemic or not, and fighting against them isn’t an effective use of our energy. We need to learn to roll with our energy cycles, not against them.

Here are four tips to help you stay on track with your goals while not falling out of tune with your needs.

Make short term commitments 

At the start of every week, make a list of all the things you want to accomplish. Then break each item out into categories:

  • Start with “the one thing”—the task you commit to complete above all others.
  • Then, break it into time-intensive tasks that you know will take a while.
  • Next, think about your quick wins, the things you know you can get done quickly.
  • Finally, think about the items that can wait till later and put them in your backlog.

This will help you stay on top of the stuff that matters most while also keeping things from slipping through the cracks. It’ll provide you with a sense of accomplishment and enable you to make clear decisions around how you spend your time each day. In short, it’ll help your days stay clear of busywork and give you direction to aim your energy most effectively and efficiently.

Keep small promises

Each of us has different needs, challenges, and sticking points. Try making some small, easily accomplishable promises to yourself. Pick something that can have a high impact on your mood but doesn’t take too much time. A ten-minute walk in the middle of the day, for instance. Or fifteen minutes to journal in the morning before work.

Keeping small promises to yourself helps you gain a sense of control and emotional wellbeing. It will help you remove opportunities to berate yourself for not being perfect by providing you something to point to and say, “At least I did this for myself today.”

Redefine what productivity means

In our society, we often put more value on “productivity” than wellbeing. We get down on ourselves for not doing enough, working hard enough, or growing fast enough. But the reality is that like our energy, our productivity ebbs and flows over time. We may have times of intense growth followed by quieter, more restful periods. That’s normal.

However, we get into trouble when we place greater value on the “more productive” periods than the restful ones. If we measure our success against those times in our lives that we have been the most productive, we’ll always fall short of our expectations. Growth spurts and times of increased productivity are great, but they aren’t necessarily what leads to success.

Approach your life holistically

Allowing yourself the grace to move between these stages in your life and placing value on all of them is the key to both happiness and productivity. To have growth, you need to have rest. Remember, your success, whether it’s emotional, financial, or occupational, is your responsibility. Take the steps you need, big or small, to ensure you’re supporting yourself as you expand and contract within your life.

 

Photo by Alexandr Ivanov

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners 

How to Get More Out of Every Conversation

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The art of leading a productive and enlightening conversation is at the essence of success. Whether you’re conducting a job interview, talking to a client, or working with your team, you need the power to get as much out of every conversation as you can.

You need to inspire, to be purposeful and clear, to obtain and share quality information, and to connect on a human level—all of which needs to happen naturally and in as few words (of yours) as possible.

Here are a few key points you can apply to nearly every conversation you have, amplifying your impact, takeaway, and position.

Who’s at the center?

Leading a quality conversation doesn’t mean you become the focal point. Most of the time, if you position the other person at the center, you can make a greater impact. You can make the other person think you’re the most interesting person in the world, or they can leave the conversation feeling they are the most interesting person in the world.

Which would you prefer? Be honest with yourself.

While you might impress some people by espousing your thoughts, experiences, and opinions, it will do little to help you connect with and learn from them. This brings us to a critical point: setting your intention. If you want to lead a conversation where everyone goes away with your opinions and ideas swirling around in their heads, then sure, get on your soapbox and talk away.

BUT, if you intend to get information from someone while also connecting with them personally, then your focus should be on them.

Listening to hear, not to speak

Imagine a microphone: the only thing that comes out of it is what is said into it. Having a conversation with someone who spends their time waiting to speak is like becoming a microphone for the other person. It’s not fun. Or rewarding. Or engaging.

It’s just exasperating.

So how do you avoid being the person who only listens long enough to find an opportunity to speak? The first step is slowing down. Remind yourself why you are having the conversation. Ask yourself what it is you’re hoping to gain. Then ask yourself how you’re going to get there. I promise you, the answer isn’t by talking.

Learn how to ask questions

While you’ve known how to ask questions since you first learned to talk, it doesn’t mean you know how to ask the right questions.

Let’s look at two similar questions and see how they evoke wildly different responses:

  • Did you feel happy when you got the new job?
  • What was it like to get the new job?

One quick way to stop a conversation in its tracks is to ask leading or closed-ended questions. These are questions that push the response in a specific direction and simply require a yes or no answer.

What would you say if someone asked you the first question? Probably something like, “Yes, I did feel happy!” While that isn’t a bad answer, it doesn’t leave room for you to add anything else. The answer sits within the original question: “Happy,” prompting no additional thought or introspection

Now think about answering the second, open-ended question. There’s no obvious response. Your answer could go in many different directions, allowing richness and depth to develop within the discussion. Those are the types of questions you want to be asking if you’re looking for value.

Don’t resist the awkward pause

While no one loves to sit in silence, learning to do so comfortably can create something amazing. Think about the landscape of your conversation as a jumble of marbles on a mattress. You go from one marble to the next in a sometimes straight, sometimes meandering line. But there will always be marbles that don’t get picked up. 

Now, think about silence as a bowling ball put down in the center of the mattress. The ball’s weight creates a physical pull on the outlying marbles, coaxing them to roll into the dent left by the bowling ball and into the center of the conversation.

Give your conversation some intentional bowling balls. Make way for those stray thoughts or shy opinions to be pulled to the center and realized.

Move with purpose

As you practice leading conversations that produce real value, help you authentically connect, and make progress, take the time to reflect. After an especially frustrating or exciting conversation, stop and go over what made it successful or not. This process takes self-awareness, intention, and purpose. Take your time, work at it, and watch as each interaction you have becomes more valuable, impactful, and satisfying.

 

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Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners 

Soft Skills to Cultivate for 2021 and Beyond

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This year has put organizations, communities, governments, and individuals to the test. We’ve been pushed out of our comfort zones and forced to adapt to uncomfortable changes. Most of us have learned a lot, and many have begun to find their footing in the new normal. As we look ahead to next year and prepare to deal with similar challenges, it’s necessary to take stock of what we’re doing well and what we need to improve.

While many of us needed to cultivate new hard skills this year (like learning how to use Zoom to meet the immediate survival needs of the moment), there are other, softer skills that may help us thrive in the long-term.

Developing a systematic approach

If you’re a fast-paced individual who skims through emails and replies on the go, now would be a good time to check yourself. With emailing and messaging being a primary form of communication, your coworkers need you to slow down long enough to read the whole email and respond to each question. If you find yourself rushing through written documents, emails, and comments, it’s time to change up that behavior.

On that same note, make sure you’re intentional about how you reach out to your colleagues:

  • Are you the type to swing by someone’s desk and ask people small questions more than once a day? Stop and think before you send an email or a message.
  • Do you need to ask them right now? Do you think you might have follow-up questions? Consolidate your communication and be as thorough as you can the first time around.

That way, you’re not interrupting your coworkers more often than needed, and you’re allowing them to be as efficient as possible in their response.

Proactive learning

On that same note, being helpless when it comes to answering your own questions isn’t a good strategy. We need to become more self-sufficient and teach ourselves how to do things effectively. If you’re an “I don’t learn that way” type of person, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Just because you’ve done something one way for years doesn’t mean you can’t learn a new approach. And that is what this changing world demands of us.

Don’t know how to use that program? Look up classes online. Ask Google. Watch how-to YouTube videos.

There is a world of information at your fingertips; “not knowing how to do something” isn’t a viable excuse anymore. To stay ahead of the game and function effectively in your role, it’s time to stop being stubborn and get yourself in a learner’s mindset. New solutions, new programs, new approaches all take effort to learn.

So be prepared to make an effort and choose to do it before you absolutely must.

Time management

Working from home can soften your routines and blur the lines between work life and home life. This can make it difficult to set boundaries around your time, take breaks, or even stay on task. Most people haven’t had practice working from home since they were in school and had homework.

Even if you’re not struggling to get work done, your coworkers might be juggling children at home or other challenges that make it difficult for them to manage their time. Make extra sure you’re getting things to people when they need them. Also, know how and where they rely on you. Be conscious and intentional about your approach to your time. Make adjustments and advocate for your (or your team’s) needs when necessary.

Strong written communication

With more communication taking place over email and channels like Slack, it’s incredibly important to write in an exact, concise, and grammatically correct way. Don’t make it difficult for people to understand your emails. Don’t leave them guessing what you mean.

Make an effort to learn etiquette for email, Slack, and other communication channels. It can be difficult to convey tone through writing, so be intentional.

Don’t send an email with a question in the subject line and six question marks in the body. At the very least, say hello and wish them a good day. Without some personal engagement, you risk upsetting someone, coming off as rude, or looking unprofessional. Everyone deserves this: your coworkers, your boss, your clients, your employees—everyone.

You wouldn’t scream at your coworkers, so leave out all caps words unless that’s what you want them to think. Writing is your new voice. Treat it with respect and consideration, or you’ll end up with bad results.

It’s on you 

In the end, it’s on us to figure out what works best. It’s on us to adapt and learn new tools. It’s on us to show up every day and give 100%. Sitting around in frustration about all the things you have to learn isn’t going to help you. Take responsibility for your success. Ask for help when you need it, and rely on yourself when you can. In times of change comes growth, it’s up to us to decide whether we grow or get left behind.

 

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Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners 

The Power of Permission

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What is it that holds you back? What pushes your employees or peers to burn themselves out? What halts growth and stifles innovation? What keeps cultures from overcoming periods of apathy? Some might point to poor company culture, faulty leadership, or even personal mental health and wellness. But one thing ties them all together—permission.

When we don’t feel like we have permission to do things that need to be done, we hold back and force ourselves into doing something unnatural. And that unnaturalness forms tension between two opposing things: what we are doing vs. what we should be doing.

Now, more often than not, permission is given tacitly. Meaning no one tells us we have permission to take the day off when we need the rest (except maybe during the onboarding process). It’s either built into the culture, or it isn’t. Sometimes, even if it is built into the culture, we don’t allow ourselves permission out of pure habit, fear, or uncertainty.

But whatever the cause, the bottom line is we need permission. We need it to maintain wellbeing at work, try new things freely, follow our gut, and actively confront difficult problems. Permission is needed if we want our organizations to have a healthy growth rate, our employees to have a healthy work-life balance, and our values and vision to withstand change.

For leaders

You may think your employees feel like they have the permission they need to:

  • Take time off work
  • Advocate for their needs (physical, mental, personal, and professional)
  • Try new processes
  • Challenge their leaders
  • Confront issues they see within the organization

But ask yourself: are you sure? How are you sure? Do you expressly permit your employees to do these things? Do their managers? Is it written in your company values? If you’re not sure, then your organization could probably benefit from a refresher.

Some red flags can help you identify when employees need permission. Suppose you have more than one (or even one) employee burning themselves out, consistently working long hours, or taking on too many things. In that case, they probably feel like they don’t have permission to say no to taking on more responsibility, taking the time they need for themselves, or asking for help.

If you want to remind your employees (or tell them for the first time) they have your support in doing these things, try:

  1. Telling them in a one-on-one or company-wide meeting
  2. Training your managers to work it into the onboarding process
  3. Writing it into your company values
  4. Acknowledging or celebrating employees who set an example
  5. Sending it in an email, writing it on the wall, shouting it from the rooftops

However you go about it, remember people often need to be reminded of what is allowed. Don’t fail to do so. Keep it in the conversation, add it to your company employee survey, bring it up wherever and whenever you can. It takes time to unlearn habits of keeping their heads down, keeping quiet, and avoiding asking for things. As a leader, work with your employees to gradually build their sense of permission.

And don’t forget to set the example. Don’t be afraid to tell your team when you need time off or that you’re comfortable asking for help when you need it.

For individuals

We’ve all had jobs where we felt we had to show up when we were sick or couldn’t take time off when we needed it. We’ve had managers who got mad at us for needing help or refused to listen to new ideas. There are far too many people working too many hours because they don’t feel they can advocate for their needs.

The fact is, sometimes you need to give yourself permission. If no one is doing it for you, do it yourself. And if you can’t do it, then here you go. Repeat after us:

You are allowed to take time off when you need it. You have permission to ask for help. You have permission to confront issues. You have permission to say no to more work. You have permission to quit any job that doesn’t give you permission to do these things. You have permission to ask for a raise and to tell your boss you deserve a promotion. You have permission to follow your gut. You have permission to fail.

For each other

As a society, we haven’t done a great job teaching people their needs are just as important as their jobs. We haven’t done an excellent job raising people to feel free to take time off or say when they’re overwhelmed. It’s not uncommon to feel like admitting you’re overwhelmed or need a break is like saying you can’t do the job. It feels like failure to admit these things to ourselves, much less each other, and even less to our bosses.

But if we don’t encourage people to advocate for their needs or take a day off without feeling guilty and afraid their positions will be negatively affected, we’re building an extremely fragile foundation for our success. For our organizations to succeed, we need our people to succeed. And for our people to succeed, we need to build a culture that allows them to meet their needs, guilt-free.

 

Photo by Lindsay Helms

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners 

Creating Habits in Times of Craziness

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Being a working parent was already a juggling game before the pandemic hit. Most successful working parents rely on some sort of routine to help them navigate their dual roles at work and at home. And when those routines get jostled, or, in this case, completely wiped out, they are thrown for a loop.

Insert one or more children running around your home (now office), who would typically be in school, and BAM, it can become straight-up chaos. Even as things begin to open back up, it’s still very likely that young children do not have summer camps to go to, leaving them at home or having to find them childcare.

As an employer, your mind is continuously running over all of the things that need to get done. So how do you keep yourself and your employees on track, even in times of unprecedented disruption? Here’s the simple answer: stop trying to control everything, and start focusing on top priorities and quality results.

You may try to create some sort of routine for your day and yet, end up in an entirely different place than you planned. While controlling everything isn’t going to help you, there are things that will.

As an employer

  • Set one routine you can stick to each day. Whether that’s getting up early to get a workout in, meditating, planning your day, or taking some time at the end of the day to re-organize your thoughts for the next day, pick one thing you can stick to each day.
  • There is no better time than now to prioritize what needs to get done for your business vs. all the little things that seem necessary but might not be. How can you prioritize? Write down all of your activities and categorize them top, middle, and bottom.
  • If you create no other habits, consistently looking at your priorities will change your way of thinking and keep you on track. Do that every day, and you’ll be amazed at the changes in the way you look at things. Ask yourself daily, “Is what I’m doing right now getting me to where I want to be?”
  • Give yourself grace. This doesn’t mean getting rid of discipline or letting yourself get comfortable. It does mean recognizing that everyone right now is dealing with a new routine and processing it differently. Allowing yourself the grace to move through this will make a huge difference.

For your employees

  • Have them answer some simple questions each week to gauge where they are with their priorities. This way, you both feel good about what they are doing. It’s also a huge opportunity to evaluate their challenges and see if there is anything you could help with.
    • What is the ONE thing they want to accomplish in the coming week?
    • Did they accomplish their ONE thing from last week?
    • What was their greatest success over the past week?
    • What was their most significant challenge over the past week?
    • What priority were they able to accomplish?

Having your employees focus on one thing they want to accomplish allows them to feel successful when they’ve achieved it. Encourage them to make it something that adds a little challenge to their week and makes them feel good about their achievement.

Give them grace. As an employer, it’s easy to want every one of your employees to have the same feeling toward your company as you do and work the same number of hours you regularly put in. Although some do, everyone is in a different season of life and might not have the same time or capacity. Giving yourself and your employees grace has never been more important.

Check-in with your employees more than you typically would. Not to see what they are doing, but to see how they are doing. Support is something so many of us need right now; knowing that you’re there for them makes all the difference.

Creating habits in our previous normal was a challenge, so creating them now makes it all the more difficult – but it can be done. For some, there might not be a better time than now to create those habits for success.

 

Photo by Gajus

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Why Your Company Needs a Professional Development Plan

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Several key factors always hover on the list of employer concerns in nearly every industry. Employee engagement and productivity are almost always on the list as turnover rates, profits, efficiency, and customer experience are directly related to both. Which makes them critical factors contributing to a business’s lifespan, stability, growth, and health. 

Despite engagement and productivity’s nearly permanent spots on that list, it’s common for businesses to address the two with a one-and-done approach. This is especially true for small businesses that lack a significant budget for employee experience. But providing employees with a benefits package and break room won’t go very far in encouraging real engagement in their work.  

Employees need more than having their basic needs met to feel engaged. They need to see a direct investment in their success as your employee and as an individual. A vast majority of millennials say they want career development opportunities from their jobs.   

A recent report by Axonify exposes the gap between what employees want and what businesses are providing them. Their principal findings include: 

  • Nearly a third of employees fail to receive formal workplace training 
  • A quarter of employees don’t receive training after onboarding
  • Almost 60% of employees fail to receive additional training and skill development from their employers  
  • 81% of employees say training makes them feel more engaged and happy at work 

It’s cost-effective 

While many employers are ignoring training as a benefit for their employees, providing training and professional development is an incredibly smart tactic for boosting profits.   

Giving employees opportunities for skill development and training can have a massive impact on the value they contribute. Businesses that provide formalized training can more than double their income per employee than companies that don’t.  

Investing in employee skills is investing in the agility and strength of your company. It creates a stronger relationship between company and employee, encouraging loyalty and engagement, which can lower turnover rates. The cost of turnover alone should be a driving factor in implementing strategies to keep your employees learning and engaged.  

Losing an employee can cost 1.5-2x their annual salary. Yet, it can cost between $135 – $750 for an individual community college course, depending on the length of the class. That’s a reasonably small investment compared to the cost of losing an employee or maintaining unproductive employees.  

Now is the time 

The beautiful thing about living in our age of technology is our access to resources. There are seemingly endless ways companies can provide learning opportunities to their employees. Online learning databases like Skillshare, Alison, and Udemy are all options employees can access for learning and development in their own homes.   

Now that a vast amount of the world is learning to work from home, there is no better time to take advantage of these training opportunities. Not only will it give your employees a chance to grow and develop their skills and what they can offer your company, but it may also help address the feelings of isolation and culture loss that many are struggling with during the pandemic.  

An investment into a shared future  

Providing learning development opportunities isn’t just a way to engage your employees—it’s a value statement that can have ramifications across your company culture and employee experience.  

You’re not only investing in the potential of your employees to grow their roles within your company, but you’re telling them you think they are capable of that growth. Show them you value their contribution and also their potential as a professional.  

Having confidence in the power and potential of your employees will lead them to see the value within themselves and feel that their value is recognized. It will create a relationship of trust and confidence that is irreplaceable. It will save money. It will save time. And it will inspire growth in the deepest level of your business. There is nothing to lose but disengagement and apathy.  

 

Content provided by Q4iNetwork and partners

Photo by Aleksandr Davydov