The Value of Metronomics
We all know what a metronome is. A metronome is a device that helps its user stay in time. The user sets the beat of the metronome, and the metronome produces an audible click or other sound for the user to follow. The metronome is typically set in beats per minute because it’s traditionally used by musicians to help them keep the pulse when playing an instrument.
Employee Retention and the Real Cost of Employee Turnover
It’s easy to think that the only guaranteed way to retain employees is to pay them more money than your competitors. If only it was that easy because there’s a lot more to employee retention than that.
Forward Planning: Where Do You Want Your Business To Be Next Year?
Hopefully, when you take that inevitable moment between now and 2023 to look back over the last twelve months, you'll see a lot to be happy about. As far as business is concerned, if a few things didn't go so well or a couple of your leadership decisions might have been better, that's what being a leader or a manager is all about—making mistakes and learning from them.
Gen X and Gen Z in the workplace: How can leaders retain their younger employees?
One of my colleagues recently created a presentation about generational differences among employees. It went something like this:
Generation X people, who were born between 1965 and 1980, tend to be ‘over workers’ with an ‘I’ve got this job for life’ mentality. They typically have high levels of faith that the company they work for will stay loyal to them.
Generation Z people, who were born between 2001 and 2020, tend to have a more transient approach to work. They’re focused on finding a work/life balance and they don’t have faith in the loyalty of the company they work for.
….could The Great Regret be starting?
The Great Regret is the fallout of The Great Resignation. While The Great Resignation was all about the mass exodus of employees who decided to pack up their jobs post-COVID and look for something better, The Great Regret is what's happened now they're starting to realise that the new, 'better' job they found isn't all it was cracked up to be.
According to recent studies conducted by the Harvard Business Review and the recruitment site The Muse, almost a third of US workers who quit during The Great Resignation are suffering from The Great Regret. The Muse even has a new buzzword for it. They're calling it "Shift Shock". In The Muse-speak, Shift Shock is "that feeling when you start a new job and realise, with either surprise or regret, that the position or company is very different from what you were led to believe." That's because the job changer has had:
With The Great Resignation over…
Economists, politicians, academics and newspaper editors with too much time on their hands love to make up buzzwords.
One of the most recent examples is the phenomenon that occurred soon after the COVID pandemic ended, when a massive wave of people who were fortunate enough to still be in work decided to pack in their jobs and look for something else.
The buzzword the economists and their cronies gave it was 'The Great Resignation'.
Characteristics of Leadership: See The Bigger Picture
I’ve always believed there’s a crucial difference between Leaders and Managers.
Leaders lead.
Managers manage.
I know. That’s quite a revelation, right? But, all sarcasm aside, you’d be surprised how many leaders I’ve met over the years who don’t understand that distinction.
Characteristics of Leadership: Avoid the ‘Tunnel Vision Mentality’
There are two definitions of tunnel vision.
As far as leadership and management are concerned, tunnel vision is not being able to see the bigger picture. There can be many reasons for that, but the main one is usually this; we’re so confident that the decisions we’ve made and the outcome we’re focused on is right that we’re unable to accept there might be better ways of achieving our goal. We don’t even stop to consider other possibilities or seek the input of other people. We just keep forging ahead, certain that we’ve got it all worked out, and unable to see the wood for the trees.
Notice I used the word ‘unable’ a couple of times there. That’s because, in my experience, having tunnel vision doesn’t tend to be an obstinate ‘I’m right; you’re wrong’ refusal to see things any other way. Tunnel vision is much sneakier than that. It’s the complete inability to recognise that there are other ways of doing things.
Overcome Your Fear of Failure
Here’s the bottom line: You can't be an effective leader if you're afraid of making mistakes.
And, by the same token: You can’t be an effective leader if, once you’ve made mistakes, you don’t learn from them.
There are plenty of bad leaders around who coast through life in their ivory tower comfort zones. On the one hand, you can't blame them. If it's not broken, why take the trouble to fix it and risk the whole thing blowing up in your face, potentially exposing what an incompetent leader you are? But, on the other hand, if you’re a leader with an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ attitude, your business won’t evolve. Before you realise it, you’ll be left choking in the exhaust fumes of the more effectively led companies roaring past you, sweeping up your customers and profits as they go.
The Three Biggest Mistakes I’ve Made in Business
In my previous article, I talked about how we all make mistakes in business, and if someone says they haven't, they're almost certainly lying. Either that (P.S. there's no 'either that', they're definitely lying), or they haven't tried hard enough to fail, which says even worse things about their qualifications to be a leader. In fact, it says very bad things about their qualifications to be a human being. All human beings fail, all leaders fail; it's how we learn, grow resilience, and become better at what we do.
Tall vs Flat Organisational Structures: What Are The Pros and Cons?
Did you know that the word ‘organisation’ comes from the Greek word 'oragon', which means 'tool'?
The idea behind it is that an organisation needs to have a structure to function correctly, and all the people inside that structure are the tools that make the organisation work.
That’s ironic when you consider that, in modern-day slang, calling people “tools” is guaranteed not to make you friends, but, according to the ancient Greeks, ‘tools’ are what we all are.
Not the right fit? Maybe it’s time to let your employee go
Letting people go is something that no business leader likes to do. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth of everyone involved. But, sometimes, letting an employee go is doing both of you (them as much as you) a favour. That’s because it leaves them free to find a role they’re going to be good at and happy in, and it leaves you free to find somebody who will perform the role more effectively and be a much better fit.
What is inclusion in the workplace?
Many people confuse 'workplace inclusion' with 'workplace diversity', but they're two very separate things. Whereas 'workplace diversity' is all about having a wide demographic of people within your organisation, 'workplace inclusivity' is about making everyone in your organisation feel welcome and a valuable part of your team. There's no point in having a diverse workplace if you haven't already got an inclusive workplace to bring all those diverse people into.
Leadership Skills: Here’s Why Effective Leaders Don't Live In Comfort Zones
Up until now, I’ve tried to be very careful about how I write these blogs because I don’t want to put a shelf life on them. After all, the subjects I’m writing about – the principles of leadership, the importance of identifying your employees’ strengths, etc. – are timeless and universal. The topic I’m going to talk about today, why it's essential for leaders to step out of their comfort zone, is timeless too. However, I'd be avoiding the elephant in the room if I didn't at least give the nod to what's going on in the world right now because the conflict in Ukraine has pushed a lot of leaders out of their comfort zones in ways they could never have imagined at the start of this year.
Career Progression: Why It’s Essential To Map Your Employee’s Careers
I don’t like gardening. The closest I come to being a gardener is working out where the plants should go so somebody who knows more about plants than I can put them there. That's also a reflector of one of my key strengths in business. I'm full of ideas; I'm full of what's going to happen in the future, and when there's something I want to do, I want my team to help me get it started as quickly as possible. CliftonStrengths calls people like me ‘Activators’. There are many good things about being an Activator and a few not so good things as well, mainly that Activators can become very impatient and frustrated when things aren’t happening.
The Importance Of Identifying Your Employees’ Strengths
Think about what your employees and team members are doing right now. Are they working in roles that let them use their strengths to their (and your) best advantage, or were they just slotted into that role simply because it was there, and you needed a body to fill it? If it’s the second one, chances are you’re not making the best of what your employees can do, and they won’t be achieving their full potential either.
Don’t Be Afraid of Transitioning an Employee Into a New Role
Over the years, I've noticed a frustrating trend in leadership and people management. In fact, I don't even think it’s a trend because trends come and go, and this critical example of leadership short-sightedness seems to have been with us forever.
It’s the reluctance of leaders to move people out of roles.
“It’s Not My Job”
Sure, there will always be people who’ll try to swerve being given anything else to do simply because they don’t want to be bothered. But, if you’re a halfway decent leader or manager, you'll already know who those people are and have taken steps to either encourage a better mindset or inspire them to find another workplace where they can make their excuses and waste somebody else's time.
Do What You Love And You’ll Never Work A Day In Your Life
So, now all that has been said, the old saying, "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life", seems like an excellent place to start the ball rolling.
Is it a saying you agree with, or do you think it’s just another one of those corny, old-fashioned cliches our parents and grandparents used to spout way back in the mists of time, like “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and "There's no use crying over spilt milk"?
The Power of Clifton Strengths
If you’ve ever undergone the thankless process of ‘management profiling’, you'll know what a soul-destroying experience it can be.
Until recently, the profiling methods that I've had to endure throughout my career have left me highly cynical. They don't do what they promise to do, and most bosses put their managers through them purely as a tick-boxing exercise. Not only is it a total waste of time for everybody involved, it can also potentially do more harm than good.