Here are several steps that leaders and individual employees can take to normalize accountability:

• Set the Tone at the Top: If you never accept personal responsibility for something, how can you expect your team to? Leaders serve as role models, and their behavior and actions set the standard for the entire organization.
• Create a trusting environment : Encourage open communication where all team members are encouraged to share successes and failures for the purpose of learning and continuous improvement.
• Find (and share) the lesson in failure : What could you have done better? What will you change? Acknowledge the impact that your actions (or lack of action) had. Embracing accountability means acknowledging mistakes and learning from them.
• Align Goals and Values : When leaders consistently uphold their commitments and demonstrate accountability, it reinforces the importance of the organization’s values, creating a shared sense of purpose among team members. Be sure those are clearly defined and understood.
• Avoid the blame game : Leaders who take responsibility for their actions set the expectation that the focus can be on problem-solving and improvement rather than assigning blame. Ditch the excuses. Take the blame. Apply what you learned. And do better next time.

In summary, leadership accountability serves as a cornerstone for a positive organizational culture by shaping behaviors, fostering trust, encouraging learning, and promoting values that contribute to the overall success and well-being of the organization.

Want to learn more about how you can practice and encourage accountability in the workplace? Check out my Keep It Real Leadership program!

Till the next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Thriving Together: Cultivating a Positive Culture through Accountability appeared first on PeopleThink.

Here’s a reality check. There’s always more to learn.

Stanford University Psychology Professor Carol Dweck has done extensive research on achievement and success. In this work, she discovered that people tend to have one of two mindsets – a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.

People with a fixed mindset believe that their innate qualities, such as intelligence or talent, are fixed traits and that any success they achieve is directly attributable to those qualities. Conversely, people with a growth mindset believe that their innate qualities are just a starting point and that those qualities can be further developed through hard work and dedication.

Dweck found that cultivating a growth mindset can be transformative in various aspects of life, including personal development, career advancement, and — most importantly — leadership.

The best leaders are those who commit themselves to continuous learning and development. Great leaders commit to learning beyond just skills. It’s about identifying and developing the personal behaviors to help you lead effectively.

So how do you do it?

• Adopt the right mindset. Be curious and admit that you still have room for improvement. Recognize that investing the time to do so will not only benefit you but will also benefit your team.
• Reflect and identify gaps. What are the areas you need to develop to become the leader you want (and need) to be? Do some self-reflection to make a list, and then get some feedback from others (here’s where you develop “accepting feedback.”)
• Create a plan. Select one or two areas that you will focus on in the next three months. Do some research to find resources and opportunities to develop and practice those skills/behaviors. Carve out and schedule the time.
• Seek mentorship and coaching. Enroll in leadership development programs, workshops, and online courses. Find a mentor or coach who can provide guidance, feedback, and support in your leadership journey. Regularly engage in mentorship conversations to gain insights and wisdom from experienced leaders.

Remember that learning is an ongoing process, and there is always room for growth and improvement. As a leader, your commitment to learning not only benefits you personally but also positively impacts your team and organization as you continuously evolve and adapt to the changing landscape of leadership and business.

Till the next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post The Power of Learning – Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset! appeared first on PeopleThink.

Many researchers have identified a correlation between an employee’s personal and professional development, and an organization’s growth as a whole.

Increased job satisfaction, higher employee engagement, improved retention, enhanced productivity, and a more skilled and adaptable workforce are some of the benefits of employee development.

Companies that invest in their employees’ development demonstrate a commitment to their growth, which can lead to a positive organizational culture and a competitive edge in the market.

If you want to keep your people and grow your business, you must provide opportunities for your team to learn and grow. The best way to do that is by creating and implementing effective employee development programs.

Here’s How.

Ensure roles and responsibilities are well-defined.
Roles often morph over time as responsibilities expand or business needs change. This can be frustrating to the individual in the role – and detrimental to the team/organization – if training around new skill requirements and responsibilities isn’t included with the change. It’s also difficult to hire for, train for or promote someone into that role if you haven’t updated the current skills and responsibilities for the role.

Create career path outlines.
Employees want to know what growth opportunities are available in the organization. Create career path outlines for each job family to help employees build personal development plans.

Make performance management an ongoing process.
The annual performance review – dreaded by managers and hated by employees – typically focuses on weaknesses and rarely includes a development component. How inspiring is that? Effective performance management is a continuous process (not an event) and consists of a development component that builds on strengths and develops areas that are not strengths.

Develop for future needs.
Development plans should consider organizational goals and the skills and behaviors employees will need to contribute to achieving those goals. They should also take into account the skills and behaviors employees will need in the future to succeed (yes, even if it’s not in your organization). Make a list of top skills required and design training programs to help them acquire those skills.

Consider employee goals and interests.
It’s also essential that individual employee career goals and personal interests be considered. All too often, employees have skills and talents that are under-utilized. Take the time to identify, develop, and leverage those hidden talents and unspoken interests. Employees want to use their strengths and feel that they’re contributing to the organization in a meaningful way.

Implementing and supporting leadership development and training programs for your employees will help them grow and develop their style and prepare them to lead their teams in the future.

Till the next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Employee Development: Building a CULTURE of Learning! appeared first on PeopleThink.

You are excited and…just a tad bit nervous because you will now be the leader of a team of your peers. You know that at least one other team member was hoping to get the promotion. And there has been some ongoing team conflict that will now be yours to deal with.  

What’s a new leader to do?

Start by taking a breath. Don’t feel that you need to dive in immediately to make changes or solve problems. Give yourself a little time to settle into the role and get clear about how you want to lead. Do an assessment. Have an initial team meeting to establish yourself as the leader and to listen to team members’ ideas and concerns.

Conduct one-on-one meetings. Meet with each team member to assess where everyone is, how they view their role and contributions, and what they need from a leader. Clear the air with the individual who was hoping for the promotion by enlisting their support going forward.

Build trust. Communicate frequently and clearly. Do what you say you’re going to do. Follow up. Listen. Provide needed resources and support.

Establish boundaries. Let your buddies on the team know that you’ll no longer be able to lunch with them. Avoid the appearance (and expectation) of favoritism. Treat everyone the same.

Involve the entire team in designing the way forward. Establish ground rules around communication, meetings, dealing with conflict, etc. Co-create team goals. Determine how they will hold each other accountable.

Get leadership training. Forty percent of new leaders fail in their first 18 months, primarily due to the assumption that what made them successful before will make them successful in the new job. Leadership development matters!

Become the leader only you can be with Keep it Real Leadership – a self-paced, blended learning approach to leadership development that is immediately applicable.

Till next time,

Karen

The post 6 Tips for Leading Your Peers appeared first on PeopleThink.

Blurred lines between home and work, dealing with remote technology (no tech support team!), and missing collaboration and camaraderie with their teams were typical complaints.

And then…they adapted.

Now, as more and more companies are calling their workers back to the office, not everyone is jumping for joy. In fact, 72% of respondents to a PwC survey said they would like to continue working from home for at least 2 days a week. And 32% of those surveyed by Owl Labs said they would quit their job if they were not able to continue working remotely.

So, as a leader, how can you smooth the transition back to the office and reignite your team?

Here are some tips.

Be flexible. Meet with each of your team members and, as much as possible, create a work schedule that aligns with their personal needs as they transition.

Manage your expectations. Just as they had to adapt their work style to a remote model, they’ll need to adapt again to working in the office.  The commute, dropping the kids at school or childcare, and “dressing for success” have been on hold for more than two years. Give them grace as they find their way back to working in an office.

Reconnect your team. Create plenty of opportunities for team members to gather and get to know one another again. No doubt you’ve had lots of Zoom meetings and, perhaps, video socials, but it’s not the same as chatting in the same room eyeball to eyeball!

Conduct a re-onboarding. Hold an onboarding event to officially welcome employees who were hired over the past two years and perhaps are meeting their teammates in person for the first time. Use this event to remind everyone about the company vision, mission, and values, as well as your vision for the team.  Allow time for questions, concerns, and suggestions.

Check in. Now, more than ever, is the time to follow that tried-and-true principle MBWA – management by walking around. Make time to check in with each of your team members. We are in an environment where workers have a lot of opportunities, don’t let them walk away.

They may have come back to the office, but how will you get them to stay?

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Leading the Way Back to the Office appeared first on PeopleThink.

Some to the extreme, as in the case of abusive airline passengers and others who have acted out in response to mask mandates and other perceived restrictions resulting from the pandemic.

And some more general, as work-from-home and limited gathering has put our social skills on hold.

Now, as more companies call their employees back to the office – at least for a couple of days a week – it’s time to give those social skills a reboot.

Here are some tips.

Think positive. Yes, it’s easy to grumble about the commute, having to wear pants and other “inconveniences” of going back to the office. And yet you can make it easier for everyone by focusing on the positive: Connecting with your team without technology glitches and Zoom fatigue, and having a clear separation between home and work. Seriously, when your home is your office does the workday ever end?

Be tolerant. It will take a little time to adjust and get back into the rhythm. For you, for your leader, and for your teammates. Eat the elephant one bit at a time.

Exercise your social skills. It seems funny to say, but this might be a good time to reflect on the socio-emotional skills you learned in kindergarten. As Robert Fulghum said in his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, “Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.” Play fair. Clean up your own mess. Wash your hands. Put things back where you found them. Say “please” and “thank you.” And say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.  Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Be kind. It’s been a rough couple of years for everyone. And the pandemic is just a part of it. It would be easy just to curl up under the covers until the world gets better. And yet, I’ve never been one to just wait around for things to change. I think we each have a responsibility to make the change we want to see in the world – even if we can only make it one small step at a time.

As you put on your pants, start up the car and head toward the office, ask yourself, “How can I be kinder today?” Then commit to looking for opportunities to show someone you care.

Keep it real and keep it kind.

“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” – Unknown

Till next time,

Karen

The post Returning to the Office: Be Kind! appeared first on PeopleThink.

In our pre-pandemic world of work, when (if you recall) people gathered in person for meetings and workshops and hallway conversations, new hires had myriad opportunities to assess the culture they’d just signed up for.

Today, not so much.

Many employees who have been hired in the past two years have never met their co-workers or even their leader in person. They haven’t received the welcome basket in their cubicle, asked for help in locating the coffee station, checked out the cafeteria, smiled for their employee badge or done all the other things that new hires typically do.

Many are feeling adrift and unconnected.

So how can leaders – and seasoned employees – help news hires get connected and engaged in the culture? Remember – employee retention begins on Day 1.

Develop a clear and consistent definition of the culture. A great culture is more than fun after-work events, casual dress, and catchy slogans. It’s how employees, customers and the outside world perceive an organization based on its attitudes and behaviors.  It’s where all employees feel valued, connected, challenged, and recognized. And it stems from leadership behavior at all organizational levels.

Communicate the culture. Make it easy to describe. Make it real. Do a periodic check-up to ensure that all parts of your culture are healthy and if not, review, adjust and get back on track. Every new hire (including remote ones) should receive an orientation that includes a discussion about company culture, vision, mission, and values. Consider having long-term (positive) employees/leaders describe the culture and give examples of how they’ve seen it demonstrated in their experience.

Demonstrate the culture. Make it an expectation that all interactions leader-leader, leader-employee, employee-employee align with the company values and promote the culture. Give new hires a strong start by helping them understand how their role contributes to the overall success of their team and the organization.

And last, but certainly not least, remember that it’s about the PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE. Hiring the brightest and the best does you no good if you don’t take care of them. Be clear about their roles and responsibilities. Help them understand the values and the culture. Keep developing them, provide them with new challenges, and develop a work environment where every level of the organization is valued, connected, challenged, and recognized.

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Boost Retention with a Strong Culture appeared first on PeopleThink.

This calls for a word of caution. Don’t get so focused on replacing those who left that you neglect your attention to those who stay.

How are you gonna keep ‘em?

Employees need to feel valued, connected, challenged and recognized. They want to use their strengths – every day – and know that they’re contributing to the success of the organization. They also want to have time to spend with their families and/or to pursue interests outside of work. And they want to be fairly compensated for the work they do.

It’s not rocket science.

Help your employees feel valued by communicating how their goals align with team and organizational goals. Provide them with opportunities to build on their strengths, learn new skills and prepare for the future needs of the company. Development can happen in many different forms: on-the-job training, personal development, cross-functional projects, coach and/or mentor, special projects, stretch assignments, training courses, reading and personal study, online courses, peer coaching, job shadowing… The important thing is that it is available and encouraged.

Help them feel connected by communicating with them regularly about what’s going on in the company. Provide opportunities for employees to connect and build relationships with one another, not through forced team events, but more naturally through spaces to gather and cross-functional team projects.

Do you have career roadmaps and succession plans in place? If not, what are you waiting for? Help your employees feel challenged by communicating the next level in their career path and what they need to do to get there. Give them temporary assignments that will stretch their skills and comfort level.

Recognize their efforts by saying “thank you” early and often. Don’t wait until review time to tell them what a good job they’re doing. And be specific – what was the situation, what did they do, and what was the impact. Applaud the behavior you want to see repeated and emulated.

Organizations need to acknowledge that their people are the lifeblood of the business. Don’t take your employees for granted. As the economy continues to improve and there are options for them elsewhere, you want to keep those employees in your organization. Find creative ways to develop and challenge them. Let them know they are valued, and that they are a critical component to the business moving forward. Build succession plans to ensure that your bench strength is available and ready to grow the business.

“Connect the dots between individual roles and the goals of the organization. When people see that connection, they get a lot of energy out of work. They feel the importance, dignity, and meaning in their job.” – Ken Blanchard

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Keep Top Talent by Helping Them Grow appeared first on PeopleThink.

I can’t answer the questions about shaking hands or hugging – check your local public health guidelines for that. However, I can give you some tips on keeping your team happy and motivated.

Start with a Team Tune Up.

Just as you need to tune up your car every so often, it’s important to take some time periodically to tune up your team. Especially when that team has been disassembled and in the garage (metaphorically speaking) for more than a year.

Here’s how.

Begin by listening. Make your first in-person meeting an extended team check in. Go around the room and give each team member the opportunity to express what’s on their mind and how they feel about being back. You might ask questions like: What did you miss the most? What did you learn about yourself? How have you changed? What are you most looking forward to now that we’re back? Encourage them to ask questions and share their concerns. Listen and respond. And be sure to engage remote team members in the conversation as well.

Communicate. Cover any state or county public health guidelines that team members need to be aware of, such as reporting COVID symptoms or vaccination status.

Re-establish Rules of Engagement. In a subsequent meeting, allocate some time – as a team – to review/amend/establish your team Rules of Engagement. Consider what guidelines you need to change or add to reflect the current work situation (e.g., a hybrid team) and to avoid issues or misunderstandings.

Here are some topics your rules should address:

• Communication. What is the preferred method – text, email, Slack, phone, in person – for sharing information vs. decision making vs. resolving conflict?
• Meetings. Is there a limit on length? How will you handle chronic late comers? How will you ensure that everyone is heard (at the meeting rather than post-meeting in a hallway discussion)?
• Decisions. How will you make them? A vote? Who’s the tie breaker?
• Conflict. What’s your process for managing it? What will you do when it escalates?

Other potential topics are prioritization, accountability, coordinating task hand off, reviewing each other’s work. And don’t forget to include a general rule about good behavior – kindness, respect, integrity.

Review/reset team and organizational goals.  Be sure everyone clearly understands team and organizational goals and expectations for meeting those goals. Work with your team to create an environment where they hold themselves – and each other – accountable for results.  Include regular progress reports, open sharing of mistakes and lessons learned, and team discussions on how to move through roadblocks.

Encourage open communication and constructive feedback. Perhaps the most important team tune up tip is reminding them about the importance of open communication. You to the team, the team to you, the team among themselves. It is the overarching element of all these tips. Communicate the purpose and goals. Communicate to individuals and the team how they contribute. Communicate the value of diversity. Communicate expectations to create mutual accountability. Talk about things. Even the hard things.  And provide consistent and constructive feedback.

Also, be sure to spend some time with each team member for a more personal check in and to acknowledge their contribution to the team.

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Heading Back to the Office? Start with a Team Tune Up appeared first on PeopleThink.

As I speak with various leaders for my Let’s TAWK Leadership podcast series, I’m always interested to learn how they approach leading through change. Their comments tend to fall into three categories: communication, connection, and gaining commitment, as outlined below.

Communication

The importance of communicating frequently and honestly probably comes up in every conversation I have about leadership. Whether it’s about achieving goals, developing people, motivating teams, whatever. So, it’s no surprise that it’s a common theme when it comes to leading through change. 

• Create the big picture and bring people along for the journey.
• The “why” is so important for everyone – individuals and organizations.
• Practice compassionate truth telling.
• Listen – two-way communication is a must.
• Be as transparent as possible – share what you know.
• Give people time to ask questions.

Connection

This is about human connections as the team goes through the change, and about making a connection between the change and benefits to be derived from it.  It also includes giving team members the opportunity to connect with you, their leader.

• Make a connection to the organization’s goals or values.
• The human factor/connection is key to making a smooth transition.
• Help the team understand your shared purpose and shared vision.
• Teams need to feel more connected now than ever. Even 15-minute huddles can make all the difference for that connection.
• Leaders need to be as accessible as anyone – keep the door open.

Demonstrate and gain commitment

It’s okay to admit that change is hard. Demonstrate, however, that you are committed to adapting to the change and ask for their support in doing so.

• Co-create a plan to implement the change.
• People are more likely to commit to a change when their voice has been heard.
• Vulnerability is key in order to evolve. Be vulnerable.
• Embracing change is a must for continuous growth.
• Leadership is a very dynamic process, and you have to meet the team members where they are.  You have to adapt and adjust.

And once the change is implemented, don’t forget to celebrate success and thank your team!

Listen to more wisdom from leaders by tuning into my Let’s TAWK Leadership podcast series.

Few things are more important during a change event than communication from leaders who can paint a clear and confidence-inspiring vision of the future. – Sarah Clayton

Till next time. Keep it real.

Karen

The post Leading Effectively Through Change appeared first on PeopleThink.

When managed effectively, however, conflict can actually be a good thing. New ideas are born; relationships are deepened through the airing and resolution of differences; teams grow stronger. When you are a leader in the midst of conflict, however, and attempting to deal with it while juggling everything else, it can be a bit overwhelming.

Here are 5 tips for managing team conflict effectively.

Be self-aware. Understanding your leadership strengths and how you react under stress is essential to handling conflict in a constructive manner. Often our positive traits can be perceived as negative when they get overextended during stress. For example, if you tend to set the bar high for yourself and others, this may be perceived as an unreasonable demand for perfection by a team that is struggling with workload or other internal issues. If your strength is leading through people, when stressed you may spend too much time trying to make sure everyone is happy rather than focusing on the collective team goals.

Know your team. The best teams bring diverse personalities, skills and experience to the table. Recognize the value that each individual contributes to the team. Build the team’s awareness and appreciation for different skills, ideas and approaches. Provide opportunities for productive interactions and mutual understanding. This will help you create a foundation for effective conflict resolution.

Make the time to just listen. When a deadline is looming, and the team can’t seem to get past a conflict barrier, you may be tempted, as the leader, to force an end to the issue and just push your position through. Don’t. Make time to listen to all sides so you can get to the core of the issue and help the team co-create a solution.

Harness the power of diverse thinking. Create an environment that encourages open communication and fresh ideas and approaches. Reach out to those who are less vocal to ensure that their ideas get added to the mix. When everyone feels heard and appreciated, “conflicts” become productive discussions.

Chart the way forward. Embrace the “lessons learned” from the bumps on the journey, refocus on the goals and move forward.

Want to learn more about your leadership style and the styles of your team for more effective conflict resolution? Contact me at kcolligan@PeopleThink.biz.

Till next time, keep it real.

Karen

The post Team Conflict: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly appeared first on PeopleThink.

1. Establish a clear purpose and specific goals. By definition, a team is a group of individuals with a common purpose. That purpose and the milestones to achieve that purpose need to be clearly communicated and understood by every individual on the team.  For high-performing teams, it’s not just understanding the destination, but also – as team members – being able to help define the means to get there. This ability to co-create results gives them a deeper commitment to the team purpose and improves performance.

• Identify and include individuals with complementary skills.  These skills go beyond just the technical and functional skills required to achieve the purpose. Also consider decision making skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills and other “soft skills” that are necessary to succeed. Be sure that each individual – and the rest of the team – understands how their role aligns with the team purpose, and how their expertise contributes to team success. 

• Value diversity. Someone once said, “We only have harmony when we sing different notes.”  Include people on your team who are different than you and who represent different personality types.   Diverse teams perform better. They perform better because they bring multiple perspectives, experiences and approaches to the table, which results in increased innovation, better problem solving and overall improved results.

• Create a sense of mutual accountability. Be sure everyone clearly understands expectations. Challenge your team to higher performance goals and establish an environment where they hold themselves – and each other – accountable for results.  Include regular progress reports, open sharing of mistakes made and lessons learned, and team discussions on moving through roadblocks.

• Encourage open communication and constructive feedback. Perhaps the most important tip in creating a high-performing team is ongoing communication. You to the team, the team to you, the team among themselves. It is the overarching element of all these tips. Communicate the purpose and goals. Communicate to individuals and the team how they contribute. Communicate the value of diversity. Communicate expectations to create mutual accountability. Talk about things. Even the hard things.  And provide consistent and constructive feedback.

People often ask, “How do you know when you have a high-performing team?” If they have to ask…they do not.  Think of a time when you were on a high-performing team. It’s one of those things you just know. The team gels, team members have each other’s backs, the ultimate outcome(s) are for the team, not individuals. There’s fun, hard work and camaraderie. Ya just know.

Is your team a high-performing team?  If not, what’s stopping you from getting there?

Till next time, keep it real!

Karen

The post 5 Tips for Building a High-Performing Team appeared first on PeopleThink.