October 16, 2024

Soft Skills: Not A Vulnerability

October 16, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

You don’t want to be treated as a number. You don’t want to be ignored. You don’t want to feel invisible and lumped in with the rest of ‘the pack’.

You want opportunities to be your best and treated with kindness. You want to reach your goals and dreams, to grow. You want your uniqueness and potential to be noticed, respected… and used. And all of this makes sense so don’t let anyone tell you or make you feel you shouldn’t want this or that you don’t deserve this. You do. We all do.

I believe we can all remember a time when we were lumped in with others and not seen for our full potential. And, I’m sure we can all also remember what it felt like when someone respected our expertise, saw us for our potential, and gave us an amazing opportunity. When that happened to you I bet you were eager to work hard and rise to the occasion because you wanted to honour them… and yourself.

You and I just proved why soft skills and helping others feel proud or accomplished is not a vulnerability – if anything it is a superpower. Whether it’s your children, your partner, your co-worker or the employee who reports to you, when you are clear with your expectations, offer opportunities for them to reach their dreams, give them a chance to learn, grow, and be noticed… you are using what most people would call soft skills and what many people also call leadership skills, people skills or human skills. And, when you care about other people, learn from them and are open to the possibility to change your mind… you are still using your soft skills.

Soft Skills: One of The Best Resources of a Leader.

I can’t think of a job today that doesn’t need people to help each other, trust each other, find consensus, learn from each other and even forgive each other. Even the people who support and supervise the self-check-out area of our grocery stores need to have these qualities. And just a personal question here – is it just me or do these who work the self-check-out spaces people seem like they are enjoying their job more than usual? My guess is because they feel a sense of autonomy and flexibility as they get to interact with people – not just their groceries.

More than ever we all want to be treated with kindness and respect – even if we are introverted and our definition of kindness and respect is being left alone at the self-check-out area of the grocery store. Yes, the spotlight on soft skills has never been more intense and important for everyone.

Respect may be the most important soft skill since in many ways respect opens the door for other skills including honesty, curiosity, and feeling we can safely ask questions, learn and grow.

If we respect each other, we should be able to keep ourselves from imposing our beliefs onto each other. Instead, respect should allow us to share our beliefs and have an open discussion. And when we respect each other, we must accept that the things that inspires each of us and make us proud can also be – must also be as different as our skillset, our background, in the same way our personal preferences around coriander (I like it) and horror movies (I don’t like them) may be different.

Embracing soft skills isn’t about kindness and being nice. Embracing your soft skills is about being clear with shared expectations, holding others – and ourselves accountable, being honest, seeing other people for who they are and who they want to be, and allowing others to ‘see’ you.

Soft Skills: In a Hybrid or Remote Work Environment

As most companies and positions shift to remote or a hybrid work models, the focus and importance on soft skills has grown in its importance, often being weighed equal to technical skills. Why? Because in many cases – even in careers that are highly technical, it is more critical than ever that we work together which requires us to be patient, inspire each other, and communicate respectfully.

Don’t just take my word for it. According to Rohan Rajiv, Director of Product Management at LinkedIn, “Foundational soft skills have become even more important given the rise of remote and autonomous work, and are growing in importance across industries, levels and work environments. In fact, these soft skills were featured in 78% of jobs posted globally over the last three months.”

There is no doubt as more and more of us work remote and we become more geographically disconnected from the people who most of us work most often with (our teammates), soft skills like our communication skills, trust in our ability to manage each other’s expectations and our shared respect for each other and our work only becomes more important.

Soft Skills: Conclusion

So yes, embracing your soft skills is not a vulnerability. But one last point – as a soft skill my self-respect for myself lets me know I’m not perfect… and that I am still OK and important. My self-respect also lets me know I can learn and evolve and that even though change may be scary, it is also an opportunity to embrace adaptability and resilience, two more characteristics of highly successful teams and organizations.

Our personal and professional success depends on our individual and shared responsibility to invest in ourselves and each other. Our investment into each other and our company’s investment into us is the key building a highly engaged, wonderfully loyal and decidingly creative workforce that is dedicated to excellence and delivering outstanding products and services to your customer.

Thank you for reading about Soft Skills: Not A Vulnerability. I know - it was a long post. I look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions.

Bruce

Team Building Activities For Your In-Office or Hybrid Team

September 25, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

Almost every client I work with has some variation of a hybrid work model; it is the new normal for most businesses. There is no doubt that in our post pandemic world, employees’ expectations have changed. Or should I say the dreams employees had for the last 30+ years for a hybrid workspace are the same, it’s just that employees whose work was able to pivot during the pandemic now have confidence and proof they can work remotely and be high-producing.

But whether the dream team you are part of has any remote qualities or not, all of our workspaces have become faster paced and more isolating, not to mention that more and more our teams are made up of unique, wonderful individuals from different generations and different backgrounds. So, in a workspace where much of our communication is by email or some type of instant message system, it has become more important to put plans in place to intentionally create a sense of community that invigorates a high-functioning and very enjoyable workspace. This means including team-building activities into your strategic plans.

What’s In It For The Company
When individuals and teams feel a sense of connection and are part of an inclusive, supportive, trusting workspace, they typically create higher quality work, are happier (find joy) with their work and are more loyal to the company. And the old saying two heads are better than one still rings true, especially when it comes to creativity and problem solving. Even introverted people want and need to feel they fit into the company culture, they need to feel they are important to the team, their boss and their product / service.

What’s In It For The Employee
The benefits of working / connecting in-person for the employee can actually quite important to an employees longer-term career success. Especially if you are new to your career, know that the more time you spend in-person with your coworkers, the greater the likely benefit to the experience you gather, your learning and therefore your career. I will address this more comprehensive post later this year. Feeling a sense of belonging and caring are big parts of our successful lives at work… and with or family and friends. Even the most introverted or independent people need to feel care for and cared by others - and in this case their teammates, suppliers and customers / clients.

We Can Do More Than a Get-Together
With hybrid work teams becoming increasingly popular, we must take extra effort to create opportunities for our teams to come together as we move away from more traditional in-person work environments. But we can do more that get them to come together for a lunch or for a meeting and hope for the best. We can build team connections and promote learning of each other and their professional expertise which is great for the company and the employee. And let’s face it, in today’s workplaces, our younger employees are looking for the companies they have chosen to work for and invest their career hours / years in, to invest back into their professional success, whether remote or in-person

Hybrid Activities Are Possible
When your team building activities include people who are remote, there is a risk of a bit less ‘connection’ being made than if they were in-person, but with the right planning, the right technology and the right event it will still add value. And, it’s still better than doing nothing at all. It is likely hybrid team building will also take a bit more effort and logistic coordination. Side note, if you are going to upgrade your tech in the next year or so, look for flexibility and ease and maximum remote participation engagement opportunities. As someone who has gone into many offices over the last few years, some systems are so complex they need an IT person on hand while others are easy plug in and play options.

Team Building Activity Examples
The following are 17 team-building activities, many of which I’ve used or seen being used that can build familiarity, harmony and trust. And to be honest, some I like, some I like a lot and some are not my cup of tea. Most of these activities can be done on a budget, ensuring that your hybrid employees remain engaged and connected on an ongoing basis!

I find team building activities as often having two main approaches. Both approaches build connection, but they do it in slightly different ways:

One where the primary focus is to help people get to know each other and discover how much they have in common
One has a primary focus on people accomplishing a task or problem solving together.

Finding the best activities for your team largely depends on what you are trying to accomplish and how big or small your team is. When planning to make team building a regular event, my preference is to often use activities that can be set up, competed, and taken down with ease as well as activities that cost little or nothing. This allows them to be repeated with your team again and again. And then, once or twice a year include a more elaborate event like training events or external group activities where food, travel, conference fees and/or hiring an external facilitator or corporate trainer may be required. And if there is a cost, invest wisely, show your team that their wellbeing, education, and career development is an investment you take seriously.

How do we build a sense of belonging within a hybrid or partially hybrid work model?

1. Explore and / or Re-energize Your Team / Company Values.
I like this team building activity a lot since it explores what your core values mean.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take much preparation.
There is a lot of variability with this team building activity. How you do this largely depends on your goal(s), how large your team is and how much time you can spend in one session. The more people discuss what your values mean (or what values they think should be adopted), the more they will believe them and use them to make strategically aligned, and mutually beneficial decisions. For large groups, split participants into smaller groups of 4 or 6 people. When you have limited time, choose only one or two of your existing values to discuss. Do one or two others at a later meeting. Give your (or each) team 30 minutes to discuss what a value means from the following possibilities:

Your clients / customers
Your product
The customer service you offer
Instructions / user guide
As you would reference them in sales material or a sales call
During internal decision making if there are two or more opinions
To employee training
To hiring / onboarding

If you have multiple groups, when everyone comes back together, each team shares their ideas / input. Then, the whole group can find consensus. Listen for new approaches, solutions or even if new values arise. Encourage people to share their experiences or stories they have heard from other employees, customers and/or suppliers. Make note of those stories. It may not be important where the stories came from – and it may be better from a privacy perspective. Most often it is the story not the source that matters.

A follow-up option is to select one person from each group to form a sub-committee and over the next few weeks develop recommendations based on everyone’s input. Then, distribute this back to your broader team for their input.

I like this exercise because it can be used multiple times as you discuss all the values in your company / team. Once done about discussing what each value means you can start again and discuss how to improve on that behaviour / action given that value from a strategic review point of view.

2. Have a Week of Team Meetings
I like this team building activity, but you may miss some people on vacation or ill.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation.
There is a lot of variability you can do with this team building activity. As the name says, book development meetings every day with your team. I recommend planning meetings at the same time – preferably first thing in the morning to discuss a specific topic (like values), or do an activity like play croquet in the hallways, make puzzles, or go for a walk, or on one day run a group croissant, bagel and coffee breakfast.. Most people are most creative and strategic in the mornings. Mornings also focus participants before they get busy with other priorities. The great part of this approach is your team does a lot of team building in short time. The unfortunate part is people who are sick or on vacation may be missed. Thia would be a good time to encourage virtual employees to come in the office on some days. Have fun with this. It is a good way to get a new team to know each other.

3. Find 4 Things in Common
I like this team building activity a lot.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation.
Divide your group into subgroups of 4 to 6 people. I like to arrange people who work together and/or collaborate. This exercise builds familiarity. The idea is that the more your team members start realizing how much they have in common, the more they are likely to trust each other, collaborate, and communicate more effectively with each other.

Start by splitting participants into smaller groups of 3 or 4. Use larger groups if you have more time – and to add complexity. Ask each team to find 4 things they all have in common… outside of work. Ask them to be somewhat specific. For example, everyone eats lunch is too broad, but if pizza is everyone’s favourite food or none of them like pineapple on their pizza, that works. The beauty of this exercise is that not only do they find a few things they have in common; the process means they also discover so much more information about each other. When this happens instead of seeing Bruce as the Finance or IT guy, we suddenly start seeing him like someone who we have something in common with.

4. Go To Events Together
I like this team building activity a lot.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation other than coordinating the event.
If you have teammates going to a conference or an event, try to get them to walk down together or sit next to each other on the flight, and for sure, experience workshops together. The shared experience will help them create a bond, and they will likely have casual conversation and get to know each other on the way. They will also likely have conversations specific to your industry or a project they are both involved in and together discover new approaches by talking with each other or from one of the speakers.

5. Shared Expertise
I like this team building activity a lot.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is usually easy, not physical but does take any preparation for one person or one team..
There are countless shared experiences. Not surprisingly I like the idea of bringing in an external speaker for skills training (like leadership, email etiquette or difficult conversations). If you decide to keep things internal, you can have a group meeting where different people or different departments share a 20-minute overview of something important in their department or specific focus or expertise.

For example, finance may want to give a refresher about how to prepare for the upcoming year end. Your people have a lot of expertise that they may not always be able to share – or easily share. You can also encourage your team members to showcase their unique skills and hobbies. Each month, give a chance for one team member to host an hour-long virtual “master class” on a topic they’re passionate about.

This allows team members to not only express their personal interests, but also learn new skills from one another.

6. Have a Leadership Fireside Chat
I like this team building activity a lot.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and usually doesn’t take much preparation.
This is all about building trust and feeling like your leaders are part of the team and approachable.
The set-up can be variable to suite the location and/or the number of participants, but typically you will want to have one or a few leaders being very visible at table or on a few tall chairs. It may look like they are having a panel discussion. This is an opportunity for team members to ask questions either in person or they could submit them in writing in advance. Usually there are no restrictions to the questions if they are respectful and not overly personal. So, someone could ask what their favourite pastime is. They might also ask work-related questions, which is fine and should be answered clearly if the responses are not gossip, HR related about them or someone else, or some strategy related aspect that is not confirmed or not yet out in public.

7. Book Club or Movie Club
I like this team building activity.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and takes very little preparation.
Book or Movie clubs are a great way for team members to learn about each other. This doesn’t have to be an all-in or nothing activity. For example, if you have a team of 10 people and 3 like to read, I’d encourage the 3 to form a club. They can start with selecting a book or movie. Then twice a month they can book a conference room or schedule a virtual call to discuss. I specifically like the idea of getting together over lunch – perhaps even bring in a special meal – this lets others see how much fun it is. And, if your team is hybrid, this gives club members an extra special reason to come into the office that day. There are many benefits to an entertainment club for your team, including having fun, bonding and improved trust.

Book Club With A Twist
I like this team building activity, and it can go a few ways.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and takes very little preparation.
Let’s say you have a direct report of 6-people including you. Every two months (or whatever timeline you choose) one person recommends a book. The only criteria is it has to do with work. For example, it could be on Leadership, Time Management, Difficult Conversations.

The company buys one copy each for all 6 people who report into you and one more for the larger team library.

Then, for the first 4-weeks (as an example), everyone who reports into you is expected to read the book. On the 5th week there is a team meeting to share and discuss what each person has found most relevant about the book / the message. These points may be written up and placed with the book in the team library.

On week 6 there may be another team meeting about how to implement something from the book. Then, on week 8 or 9, it all starts over again with a new book.

Your larger team can each ‘check-out’ the library copy of the book out for 2-weeks. They can also recommend books for the library and/or the leaders.

8. Hybrid Scavenger Hunt and/or Clue Solving
I like this team building activity.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation.
Divide your group into subgroups of 4 to 6 people. I like to arrange people who work together and/or collaborate.

Scavenger hunts should be a fun team-building activity and are great if you have people who are remote and in-person.

If you have people who are both remote and in-person, it works nicely to design teams to include both.

For your scavenger hunt or clue solve, have identical lists of both physical and on-line things and/or information to find, so both in-person and remote team members can add to the game.

These activities are usually great because they are mostly fun, support teamwork and collaboration, leadership, creativity, problem solving and most definitely… effective communication and managing expectations and problem-solving skills.

9. Play Jeopardy
I’m not a fan of activities like this that require a lot of set-up or potentially external software.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical.
Jeopardy is a classic game that most people know how to play.

You may want to divide your group into subgroups of 4 to 6 people. I like to arrange people who work together and/or collaborate. It is now possible to create a custom game of Jeopardy by using solutions like Fact Tile.

10. Play Bingo
I don’t mind this activity, but it does take a bit of set-up.
Can be done in person or virtually if people download bingo cards.
This exercise is easy, not physical. This game is all fun but is sometimes difficult to bring back to team learning or education.
You might want to divide your group into subgroups of 4 to 6 people. I like to arrange people who work together and/or collaborate.

Bingo is a classic game that virtually everyone knows how to play.

It adds to a bit of the fun if you can arrange prized for Bingo winners. It can include company or supplier merchandise to a half-day off to fun / joke gifts. IIt is now possible to find free online bingo cards using solutions like bingo blog post! Although I have not used it they also have an online Bingo number generator.

11. Don’t Peek, Blind Drawing
I like this team building activity because people learn about communication.
I’ve done it with clients, and it works well.
It costs virtually nothing and is easy to implement and/or scale up.
Pair up your team into pairs of 2 o r3 people. I like to arrange people who work together and/or collaborate. The beauty of smartphones and laptops allows this activity with people who are remote.

This fun activity reinforces the importance of listening and creativity and clearly demonstrates that two people can interpret information and instruction in very different ways, therefore the importance of responding and/or sharing back. It also is important to note that verbal communication is often far more accurate than just writing – but still has its challenges.

I like finding black & white drawings that are simple but will still be a bit of a challenge. I recommend giving instruction to participants that if they need to describe a flower, they cannot use the word flower. If they are drawing a wheel or a plane, they cannot use those words specifically either.

Have participants sit so they cannot see each other. Also, you do not want the speaker to see what the other person is drawing since that may influence their in-the-moment instruction. One person instructs and the other person draws. When they are done, and before they do a show and tell, I like to switch and have the drawer give instruction on a completely different picture. When all is done, reveal, laugh and discuss what they learned about communication.

12. Take A Walk
I do like this team building activity.
Can be done in person or virtually.
It costs nothing and is easy to implement and/or scale up. You can even turn it into a fun competition.
Pair up your team into pairs of two or more. The beauty of smartphones allows us to share a walk and have a conversation even when we have remote people so, it’s your option to create pairs of people who are both in-person, both remote or a mix of both. Why not have all three?

Have your pairs go for a walk together… with camera on. They can be looking at each other, or show / share where each other is walking and talk about what is interesting to them. If you are remote, perhaps take a walk around your garden and show it off. If you are downtown, take your partner on your favourite places for lunch, coffee – or a tour through the gym you go to. Spending time together helps create a bond and trust in the days and months that follow.

This team building activity builds familiarity, understanding of each other and trust which are important elements in any relationship.

13. Cooking Classes
I like this team building activity because people learn to communicate and usually have lots of fun.
It will be difficult to do in a hybrid environment.
It can cost a lot and be difficult to scale up.
It can take a fair amount of coordination.
I did one of these with one co-worker years ago. We planned it and paid for it on our own. I also did another with friends years later.

Cooking classes are a fun way to spend time getting to know other people and deepen relationships with coworkers and even friends and family. Usually, they require coworkers to take some time out of their own schedule The good thing is that usually people learn something, have fun and it cooking is often an activity where everyone is on a somewhat similar ability scale.

14. Potluck and or Cookbook Creation
I like this team building activity because people learn about each other.
Can be done in person or virtually… but for a taste experience it would be best if people could come into the office.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation.
I did one of these when I was in college and two when I worked at an office.
I like this activity because it creates a level of familiarity and curiosity. If you end up creating a cookbook, you now have something you created to give to suppliers or customers which may increase the familiar relationships from this activity. Or you could invite suppliers or customers to participate.

An in-office potluck can be a lot of fun and you can make them theme oriented like desert or breakfast. One twist I did with friends at college was to have everyone bring in a main dish traditionally from their culture or that was a special / favourite dish from their family. A potluck can be a fun team-building activity where people get to know each other and build trust, but is a challenge if team mates need to stay remote.

15. Lunch Club
I like this team building activity, but it can take a fair amount of coordination.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation.
I did one of these when I was in at work.
Block off time in your team’s calendars for an in-person, virtual or hybrid lunch club. You can each go your own way and pick up food or bring it in. Some of the fun of everyone bringing in whatever they like, people may learn about restaurants around the office they didn’t know about – or they may learn how good a cook you are. This can be a fun team-building activity where people get to know each other and build trust.

16. Casual Pre-Meeting Chat
Not my favourite team building activity.
Can be done in person or virtually.
This exercise is easy, not physical and doesn’t take any preparation.
Allow the first 5-minutes of meetings to be time where people talk casually. It is a low-key, casual way to develop familiarity with each other. This is not my favourite because I also value time management. I like meetings to start on time, stick to an agenda and end on time – or early. Pre-meeting chats also gives people permission to come to a meeting late because they know the official meeting will start late.

I like casual chat to happen more organically, so I would encourage people to walk to get a coffee together or have lunch together or spend the first 5-minutes in a day asking a coworker how their evening or morning was. A variation of this meeting idea that I do like is when people do arrive at meetings early, use this time to chat casually vs. picking up your smartphone and answering non-urgent email. I find this a very productive use of time until the meeting starts.

17. Ice Breaker Conversation Cards
Not my favourite team building activity.
Can be done in person or virtually.
There are professional cards like ‘Talking Point’ cards that can be purchase that have questions written on them. The conversation cards are meant to foster deeper connections and meaningful conversations between people / groups. The idea is you flip a card or choose a card and answer the question. It is a decent game to play to get to know the people on your team – however, for people who are reserved, new or who don’t fully trust the people they are playing with, it may feel a bit intrusive. A few examples of questions are:

What is inspiring you right now?
What do you wish you knew?
When do you feel most like yourself?
If all jobs paid the same, what job would you like?

Conclusion.
Have fun with these and most of all, let your people have fun. And like I said earlier, I like to try to get activities that build familiarity and trust as well as invest in their education and career by helping them learn.

NOTE: When I break teams into groups for discussions, I think about what my goal is. Sometimes I want to bring existing teams closer, so I arrange group members this way. Other times I want to build relationships between teams, so I make sure I mix up my group members with people from each company division.

Thank you for reading about Team Building Activities For Your In-Office or Hybrid Team. I know - it was a long post. I look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions.

Bruce

Employee Onboarding Strategy Checklist - Improve Your Onboarding Plan

July 10, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

I don’t think I can overestimate the importance of a well-thought-through onboarding strategy. A smart onboarding plan can make a new employee’s energy and effectiveness go from adequate to exceptional.

Your onboarding strategy should empower and excite your new employee, giving them confidence they made the right decision to join your team. Their onboarding experience should also accelerate their familiarity with your company culture and help them build the relationships they need to successfully use the skills you hired and to do the work you need them to do.

Without a doubt, great onboarding is a Win-Win for them and for you, but let’s face it, it’s an area where almost every leader and every team/company struggles. So, let’s look at how you can fix that to benefit your team/company and every future new employee.

A Fresh Start

As a leader you may have just gone through a multi-month hiring process that has meant a lot of preparation, schedule balancing and sweat equity with HR and the other people on your hiring panel. Finally, you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and are keeping your fingers crossed until your offer is accepted. And while I would love for the hiring process to truly be over for you, I’m sorry… it is not. You need prepare for the next big wave of work - onboarding. The great thing is, once you have a fresh new orientation plan in place, it will be easier for every other new employee or promoted employee (yes, promoted employees need much of the following list as well).

Great onboarding is the transition step that is going to help your brilliant new employee quickly grow into a happy, engaged, proud, productive and loyal member of your team. Onboarding includes product and procedure information as expected. But, in today’s high-performing companies, great onboarding is also a detailed training and orientation plan that introduces company values and culture and sets up expectations about everything from the company’s commitment to work-life balance to how employees are expected to behave when working with a team or in high-stress situations (phew). This is your first and best opportunity to have your new team member experience your company values and culture first-hand – not from some words in a manual or on a poster on a wall, but in real life terms which is the absolute perfect way for them to learn about, understand and then share your values and culture with others.

So, just like you don’t want to waste time during onboarding, let’s get into what you can include when you put together your step-by-step onboarding plan that can be used for any new member of your team.

In many ways, onboarding begins during each interview because you can use the results you tracked on your BEI (Behaviour Event Interview) scorecard:
a. What were their demonstrated values, experience and strengths?
b. What value set of the company / team did you demonstrate?
c. Use the strengths and opportunities for learning to discuss possible areas for training and options with your new employee.
Manage their expectations – before their first day:
a. Appointments with HR and to get a security pass – and how to use the security pass
b. What first/last name do they want for security, email etc?
c. Hours to be available, and if virtual, when – how – why?
d. Vacation and benefits information
e. A list of policies and support departments / agencies
f. Virtual workspace – when – how – why?
g. What is the dress code – in office or remote?
h. How to use the elevator?
i. Options for getting to work / parking
j. Places for coffee / lunch / gyms
Now that they have started, give them team introduction / information:
a. As their leader, be there to greet your new hire on their first day
b. Ask your team to come in to welcome the employee
c. New employees go to lunch the first day with you - their leader
d. Organization chart including names and phone numbers
e. List of company jargon, abbreviations and unique terms
f. Give them a company and / or office tour
g. Of course – let's not forget product / service orientation
h. What key performance metrics are they and the team measured?
i. As appropriate, introduce new employees to senior executives.
j. Discuss industry associations, conferences, magazines, training, AGM schedules etc.
k. Introduce them to their onboarding team and mentors
l. As their leader, follow up each day for at least a week and then periodically after that – often in your one-on-one meetings
Prepare their space / equipment:
a. Will they have a desk or hoteling with a locker?
b. Phone, computer, email address, calendar, teams, etc.
c. Give them merchandise (sweatshirts or portfolios) to help them feel part of the team.
d. Walk them through fire safety and emergency contact processes
Discuss the company Vision, Mission & Values:
a. What do they mean to the team?
b. What do they mean to their work?
c. Be honest… are there any major challenges ahead?
Bring them to meetings asap (and debrief them):
a. Invite them to upcoming team meetings
b. Invite them to future one-on-ones
c. Team expectation of cameras on or off during virtual meetings
Discuss projects and goals for their first 90-days:
a. What key performance metrics are they and the team measured?
Discuss transparency & managing expectations:
a. Delivering work on time is base line. Early is the goal.
b. Respect is non-negotiable. It’s OK to disagree or have a different opinion, but to discuss by sharing and listening.
c. Expect recognition and constructive feedback:
i. Both should be seen as growing opportunities and discussions
d. What to do when a due date / deliverable is in jeopardy?
e. Meetings are safe spaces where we share listening and respect.
f. Discussions of someone underperforming against agreed upon KPI’s will happen quickly in what is meant to be a safe and supportive space.

Yes, it takes a time and planning to onboard a new employee. But your investment will pay dividends in many multiples. Recently, Glassdoor shared a report that stated effective employee onboarding increases retention by 82% and boosts productivity by 70%. You just hired someone – don’t you want them to stick around and be amazing, knowing they made the right decision to join your team?

Your onboarding plan is your best opportunity to set the tone for the care and respect you will deliver to them and expect from them.

Conclusion

Onboarding used to be a primarily HR responsibility, but onboarding has evolved just like effective leadership, employee expectations and team engagement have evolved. Now leaders must take on another significant people-focused role - onboarding. As leaders it is our responsibility / your responsibility to create an onboarding program that will put us in the same league as other great leaders and great teams around the globe.

PS: As I mentioned earlier, onboarding isn’t only for new hires – some version of a full onboarding process can also be important when:

An existing employee moves to a different department.
Your company does a merger and acquisition of another company.
An employee comes back from a leave of absence.

BONUS Idea #1: Set up a multi-person onboarding team unique to each new employee.

When you set up an onboarding team, one person will likely still be responsible for much of the traditional formal policy and HR process that will be needed for any new hire. And then, the rest of the team will take over. For example, the other members of an employee’s unique onboarding team may be responsible to set up equipment like computers and phones as well arranging for email addresses and appointments with security to get any access fobs they may need. Others may share responsibility (and give different points of view and experiences) for the direct job information and may be a commitment of a few days to a few weeks depending on the work and company. As a leader you will also be part of their unique onboarding team and keep checking in with them, making sure they have everything they need. Sharing onboarding responsibilities (which included a form of mentoring) is a great idea because besides not occupying one person’s time can also strengthen relationships with multiple team members. These responsibilities can include:

Introducing them to other members of the team, other departments and suppliers.
Mentoring for a few weeks or months.
Perhaps having the new employee job-shadow them part-time.

Make sure they are invited to important and relevant meetings that align to their work. Let them know it is OK for them to initially audit these meetings. But also book some one-on-one time with them before and after the meeting to prepare them and debrief the meeting. Asking them if they had any ideas about the topic discussed will help them feel more confident.

BONUS Idea #2: Ask for feedback

Throughout the mentoring process ask your new employee for feedback. It’s important for you to hear what they need and why they need it. It’s your way to continuously improve the process. Consider the opportunity for them to make the adjustments they recommended. After they have been with you for a year, you may even want them to be part of your next new hires onboarding committee.

Some post onboarding general questions you might ask new hires:

Do you have recommendations for improving the onboarding process? What do you wish you had learned during your first week/month?
Do you feel you are part of the team? Are you comfortable with the team dynamics and overall company culture?
Are there any areas of the company, team and/or your job where you feel you need more training or support?
Is there anything I have not asked that you would like to share?

Some post onboarding position related questions you might ask new hires:

How are you settling into your role? What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered?
What are you most proud of accomplishing since you’ve joined the company / team?
Do you feel you have a clear understanding of your responsibilities and expectations?
Do you feel you have the resources and tools you need to perform your work effectively?
Is there anything I have not asked that you would like to share?

Following up and checking in on new hires includes providing safe and inclusive environments for employees to share their opinions and ideas without fear of repercussion. Openly acknowledge the value of diverse perspectives and explicitly invite new employees to contribute their thoughts during meetings, demonstrating the openness of your company’s culture.

Thank you for reading about how to improve your onboarding plan and set up an employee onboarding strategy check list. I look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions.

Bruce

"Treat Your Staff How You Would Like to Be Treated", Sir Richard Branson. I Don't Quite Agree

May 23, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

Let’s cut to the chase.

Many people have written about challenges with Sir Richard Branson’s quote “There’s no magic formula for great company culture. The key is just to treat your staff how you would like to be treated”. While there are aspects of this statement that are not perfect, there is a viewpoint I believe makes sense and so I choose to give Sir Richard the benefit of the doubt. Let me share my dual position.

When it comes to creating a company or team culture, it is imperative to have corporate qualities / values like safety (physical and mental), honesty, equality, and to trust in your employer and the people you work with. So, Sir Richard is correct. These core corporate qualities / values (which are often referred to as Herzberg's Motivators) are vital to having a healthy, vibrant culture that attracts, inspires, and keeps terrific talent. A company or team culture like this helps us feel a sense of belonging where we can count on others and be our best – together.

But when we get beyond the core cultural traits that drive employee satisfaction, this is where I believe Sir Richard Branson’s quote doesn’t work. To explain what I mean, I believe it’s important to first share a high-level overview of each of the four generations in the workforce today from my Generations at Work Training.

Boomers are loyal by nature. They grew up in an era where work was hierarchical. Promotions were seen as win-lose competitions, and you had to work hard to get ahead. One-income families where the norm. Boomers are currently between 60 – 78 years old (in 2024) with many being retired but their leadership style continues to have an influence on their successors.
Gen Xers saw the birth of the computer when they were young. Women began enjoying careers in the workforce in greater numbers giving families two incomes. It became more common for Gen X youth to vacation globally and they popularized Work Life Balance. They are between ages 45 – 59 and are often in leadership positions with the most senior often in the C-suite / most senior positions.
Millennials grew up with computers on every desk. In their teens they embraced the birth of smartphones, in-their-palm entertainment, and social media. They often traveled more than Gen Xers and their parents prioritised their education and organized recreational team experiences. They are between ages 29 – 44, eager to get ahead. Many are relatively new in their leadership positions and may feel conflicted as they reconcile leadership habits they learned from their Boomer parents and mentors.
Gen Z have never known a world without smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers. On-demand knowledge, entertainment and 24/7 connectivity has always been in their palm. They are often highly educated and communicate more through apps and less through in-person conversations than any previous generation. They are between ages 14 – 28, just entering the job market and are eager to learn, find their place and expect an opportunity to prove themselves.

With that information in mind, I ask you to imagine you lead two people, a Gen Z who is 25-years old and a Gen X who is 52-years old. Now, I ask you to consider what stage they are at in their career and their unique experiences. What might their goals be? As they grew up, how were they rewarded and how often? How is this different from each other? How is this different from you? How has technology and the ability to work anywhere / anytime changed from one generation to the other. How do they instinctively communicate? Who are / were their influencers / mentors? Given these questions and others you may think of what are their similarities and equally important, their differences? What might be their personal preferences and aspirations. And then, take a moment to create a mental list of why it would not work to treat them how you would like to be treated?

I hope you are seeing the important differences. Let me share some of my insights and experience.

Why Treating Your Staff How You Would Like To Be Treated Doesn’t Work

As each generation ages and experiences ever-expanding options and freedoms first-hand, the more they see themselves as unique and want to be involved in the choices that impact their uniqueness.

In today’s culture, those choices include when and where they work. In addition, younger generations grew up with their parents and teachers asking for their input into decisions and sharing virtually every detail why something is the way it is. So, wanting to know ‘why?’ is second nature to Millennials and Gen Z. Simon Sinek wrote a whole book about the importance of why. And yes, it sometimes feels strange (and exhausting) to some Boomers to be expected to explain every detail – especially since they didn’t feel it was their place to ask so many questions when they were new in their career. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg about the different expectations employees have and why treating everyone the same is a challenge.

For example, it may be:

One employee is comfortable with positive feedback being given to them in public (their preference) and another is not. Many people are not comfortable with public praise.
One employee is happy to be given opportunities to travel to conferences or have out-of-town meetings at a client’s offices (their preference) and another doesn’t want to travel and leave their family.
One employee wants more responsibility and a promotion (their preference and commitment to continuous learning) while another is very comfortable with their level of responsibility and current position, especially since it allows them to work remotely almost exclusively.

If you’ll humour me, please let me share one more example that is often relevant in today’s workplaces.

For most Millennials and Gen Z, feedback is a good thing, and they want it often, even if you think their excellent work is obvious. Many Baby Boomers and Gen X managers grew up thinking that 'no feedback is good feedback.' Today, as a leader, if you are unsure about frequency or detail, ask your employee or co-worker. I have a friend whose Gen Z daughter is quite literally worried about her work and work quality. She is so worried she has shared the following concern with her mom, “I have no idea how I’m doing because my boss doesn’t tell me.” In this case my friend’s daughter likely has a leader who is a Gen X or Boomer who is quite happy with her performance. The sad part is that I believe that when an employee (especially a young employee who is new to a workspace) doesn’t know how well they are doing, then that employee likely has energy and potential that is not used because they don’t know what their boss wants.

What Does Work

If you are getting the idea that inspiring every employee can be a zero-cost solution that has nothing to do with salary or bonuses, then you are right. And while it takes a bit more effort at first to treat your people the way they want to be treated, I believe that in the long run you actually spend less time managing people because they know what they should be doing, they are proud of their accomplishments, and they are giving you 100% instead of 75%.

As a leader (or perhaps a future leader), I invite you to reflect on the idea that one of the most important jobs of a leader isn’t to do all the work, it isn’t to control, and it isn’t to make every decision. Leadership is learning how to build people up, share a vision and a purpose, support them well, and help them be their best. Leadership is a privilege and skill that develops over time, just like being a great accountant, pilot, or machinist. John F. Kennedy is quoted saying, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

I hope you are getting a sense of how the best leaders help others feel safe, manage expectations, communicate with clarity, create a sense of belonging and inspire greatness. Leading, giving instructing and giving feedback the way you prefer will feel right for you, but it may be opposite to how someone else needs to feel inspired and be a proud, productive, and loyal person individual.

And sure, we can’t treat everyone 100% exactly how they want to be treated every minute (fairness, equality and respect only work when they’re a two-way street). We all must face that work is work. But, when we can share trust, respect and are transparent with the people around us that honours their uniqueness, we should. We all have wiggle room. The more we trust the more wiggle room we have.

Let me share another quote. This time by Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker. “A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”

As an executive coach and leadership development keynote speaker / trainer, I have never met two people who have the same needs, wants, aspirations and recognition styles. Even identical twins are different in their needs, wants and motivators as they mature. The most inspirational and successful leaders I’ve worked with understand that to unlock each person and their own potential, they need to see everyone on their team and all of their suppliers or buyers are unique individuals.

The best teams include people who are different; people who have strengths that complement each other and who respectfully challenge and learn from each other without ego. And if we embrace this, we must also accept different people also need to be rewarded differently. So why treat everyone the same or how you want to be treated?

Conclusion

Circling back to Sir Richard Branson, I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but what I get from Sir. Richard’s quote is him saying is, “Stand with, stand behind and stand up for your people.”

To be a good leader you should do you best to understand your people. You should understand what is important for them, and why it is important. Only when you know them and how they want to be treated can you make your best effort to treat them that way. If you do that, your team will know that you care, they will care back, they will be flexible and have wiggle room in what they want / need, and they will feel they belong with you and at your company. You should also know what their life ambitions are and help them to reach these.

And now let me finish by give you a real Sir Richard Branson quote that I quite like, “It is fascinating what people achieve when their perception of what is possible alters.”

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘Treat Your Staff How You Wold Like to Be Treated.’

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

Toronto corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting is in the people business… it just so happens that training and/or executive coaching is involved. Let us help you improve your productivity and employee engagement.

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Bruce Mayhew Consulting's most popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Difficult Conversations, Generational Differences, Leadership Skills Training and Time Management Training

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Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

April 30, 2024

Be A Great Leader For Generation Z

April 30, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

While Generation Z have just begun entering the workforce, it is important to pay attention to them because they will soon be the second largest population at work.

Generation Z expect their career journey to be unique. This isn’t an ego thing; it is an experience thing. Gen Z grew up being in the middle of constant social and technology change with unlimited access to information. They have witnessed and fought against racism, sexual harassment, gun violence and income disparity while they have supported diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and climate change solutions. Many are well-travelled and have had local and global influences from travel and/or from their multicultural family influences. Add all of this together and it often means that Gen Z are socially liberal and financially conservative.

On the skills side, if you are looking for an employee who is tech-savvy especially when it comes to digital platforms and is used to disruption, then a Gen Z employee is likely to have these skills. Fast-paced technology advances have shaped their social experiences. They are also adaptable – a trait that can be a great asset for an employer especially when Gen Z employees can flex their creativity and innovation skills. Many Gen Z have parents who have gone to college and/or university and have grown up with a focus on higher education. As such, Gen Z are likely to go to college and/or university as well. Generation Z are often entrepreneurial and like to build / create things. Don’t be surprised if they have a side hustle or are part of the gig economy.

And yes, while embracing a multi-generational and a multi-cultural workforce takes effort, you also get to enjoy all the benefits from proactively integrating a talented, diverse population into your inclusive workplace culture. Alternatively, not paying attention will also take a lot of a different type of effort that will be less positive and it is unlikely you will experience many of the benefits.

Your New Generation Z Employee

If you just hired a Gen Z, this may be their first serious experience working and interacting in a professional work environment. It is reasonable to anticipate they will have little insight into what you expect. Everything from working in person, professional etiquette, building professional relationships professional deadlines, managing difficult conversations, emotional triggers, and receiving constructive feedback may be new frontiers.

Let’s recognize that due to Covid-19 restrictions, the last few years of a Gen Zers education and/or the first few years of their professional careers have likely been 100% remote and 100% online (isolating). This means they have experienced all the convenience of not having to travel to school or work. And when it comes to working in the office, they may also be feeling a bit restricted with less freedom and autonomy over where and when to work. Unfortunately, while they are right that they may be able to get specific tasks completed more quickly at home, they may not be aware of the many learning / growth, career and social benefits that come from being social and working in-person with their co-workers and you… their leader. These experiences will impact their communication and work styles, expectations and ability to build relationships.

And while Generation Z are used to working remote and when working in a hybrid environment they may need help / patience with their communication style, getting used to receiving constructive feedback, and seeing the benefits of working in-office/in-person. It is also unlikely you are giving them too much detailed instruction or feedback. This is certainly a place (and generation) where ‘more is better’ is appreciated.

Have I made you want to run in the other direction yet? I’ve got more because Gen Z want the whole package.

Generation Z employees like fast-paced work, learning, and experiences where they have impact. Gen Z want their employers to be their partners and respond well to leaders who are experts. They want to learn so are looking for leaders and companies that will mentor them and give them opportunities to grow and gain experience which is far more likely when working in person. Gen Z want to understand why something is done. They are used to asking questions and getting (or looking up) the answers. This may be because they grew up with unparalleled and immediate access to information that fed their curiosity.

Can all of this be done within a 100% remote culture? Yes, but it takes a lot of hard work and commitment by everyone to create and sustain a highly effective, highly communicative, highly collaborative (and trusting), remote corporate culture.

And of course, like all of us Gen Z want to be able to trust and be trusted. To earn their trust an employer must recognize how important Gen Z social and global values are. Generation Z employees want to see their values reflected in the company. They value transparency of strategy, clarity of purpose for the company and their team, and to be able to see the impact of their collective contribution. Gen Z also want to have clarity of purpose for their position including what is expected of them, why it’s expected, and to be able to point to the impact of their individual contribution. And of course, they want equality, respect, to feel safe. And as mentioned earlier they want the opportunity to grow / learn, access to decision makers, to make a difference, and honest recognition.

But as you can imagine Gen Z have many stresses. For example, their first-hand experience of continuous change, ultra-connectivity and global unrest has impacted their mental wellbeing. They have also grown up with a greater emphasis on personal wellbeing and less negative stigma associated to mental illness. This means they may be more attuned to their own mental wellbeing and health than other generations. As an often more outspoken generation, Gen Z are more likely to speak up and care for their work-life balance and their mental and physical health.

How We Can Make The Experience Great

With hybrid work being the norm in most cases, it is important for employers to have clear expectations and consistently champion them whether people are working remote or not. Accountability to these expectations as well as to their work / teams is a must. With a multigenerational and multicultural workforce that means looking at every aspect of our workspace from someone else point of view / perspective.

Whether it is day-to-day communication or workplace expectations, we cannot take anything for granted or assume the other person knows what we mean or even uses the tools/software we share in the same way. What is ‘normal’ for you with 20-years of work experience will not be ‘normal’ for someone with 2-years of work experience that began during the Covid pandemic. And as I’ve suggested earlier, it is not only different generations that have different expectations. Different cultures have different needs, values, communication styles and different problem-solving abilities. And because values, trust and managing expectations are so important, successful leaders are now including discussions about expectations during the interview process.

While offering flexible work arrangements is more important now than ever, we must make sure we don’t lose sight of a feeling of team. Bring your team together whenever possible. One common practice is to make one day a week mandatory for everyone on your team and then allow employees to choose one or two other days. On your shared days in office, have a formal team meeting / team update. Also schedule events that are best done in-person like project brainstorming and social team-lunches. The goal for leaders is to make in-office days learning experiences that help teams bond… and get their work done.

Another way to engage younger employees is to let them know you notice their contribution. Boost this by offering them (and any member of your team), an opportunity to share their experience during a project meeting or even by giving the team a short group training event. When they feel safe and respected, the opportunity to teach (help) others can be a strong draw. At the same time, this may give older, more experienced employees the opportunity to partner and build stronger relationships with their younger co-workers. All training you offer will lead to personal and professional growth for your team members and will help your team build trust and community with each other and break down intergenerational biases and stigma.

Conclusion

To summarize, Generation Z like fast-paced environments that stay relevant with technology and social values. They want their work and their team/company to make a difference and align with their personal values. Learning and new experiences are important, but they sometimes struggle with constructive feedback. Transparency is also important. Gen Z will ask “why” a task is relevant… and their leaders should expect suggestions.

When you create a work culture that respects everyone for their individuality and is clear and consistent about company vision, values, expectations and accountability from day one, then I do believe you can create a culture where everyone is celebrated for their uniqueness while also find a path to support each other.

Multigenerational workspaces that boast diverse skills, experiences and cultures lead to greater creativity and problem solving. They also lead to more impactful peer mentoring and peer learning experiences that benefit each other, likely create greater loyalty and help make your business a great place to work that is also… highly productive.

Hiring the right person is far more complicated now so managing expectations must start during the job interview. You want to get the right skills – but you also want to get the right culture fit. Doing this will help you create a highly engaged, dependable employee / partnership. Workplaces cannot be all things to all people. Workplaces must have a dependable culture – noting that dependable does not mean stagnant.

While Gen Zers may prefer to work remotely or even non-traditional work hours, it does not mean they are naturally less engaged. It also does not mean you have to bend to their every whim. Remember, Generation Z want transparency and to collaborate. They are flexible, especially when there is purpose, and they feel respected. Providing opportunities for workplace flexibility, personal and professional growth are elements that lead to a highly motivated, trusted, productive and loyal team that brings creativity and innovation to every opportunity.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘Be A Great Leader For Generation Z.’

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

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Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

April 17, 2024

Change Management: Why Transformation Efforts Fail

April 17, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

Some change management models have more steps – some have fewer. In all honesty, no matter if you call it restructuring, total quality management, cultural change or any other name, if the majority (70%-80%), of your senior leadership team AND your employees do not share a vision and are excited by the prospects, your change management goals will be at serious risk.

Whether you are working on how to include working from home into your hybrid workspaces or looking to bring a new Supply Chain Solution into your workspace, your process and how you approach change does matter.

Your process matters because it will be the path everyone shares. But what model should you choose? There is nothing wrong with many of the models out there like Kotter’s eight stage or McKinsey’s seven stage models. Your choice should work IF their steps are diligently completed. That said, I do like the simplicity of the ADKAR model. I also like how each of step of the ADKAR model unmistakably embraces the recognition that people and a commitment to a shared vision are at the centre of change – especially step number three. Too often I see too much focus on process and policy and far too little on approaching your employees and taking the time to discuss the benefits of change and explore options with the people change will have the greatest impact on.

The ADKAR Model:

Awareness of the need for change
Desire to participate and support the change
Knowledge of how to change
Ability to implement desired skills and behaviours
Reinforcement to sustain the change

So, if you are wondering why transformation efforts fail and how you can avoid them, I recommend that early on you take a deep breath and patiently include everyone in discussions as you explore all the important questions and opportunities that arise as you work through each of ADKAR’s five steps. What are the important questions and opportunities that will arise? I suggest nobody can tell you until you begin including your greatest assets – your people.

Thank you for spending time with me today and exploring our quick article about Why Transformation Efforts Fail. I hope this has helped guide you through your Change Management journey.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

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Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

March 25, 2024

Millennials Are Today’s Leaders. What Is In Our Future?

March 25, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

Not too long ago whenever I delivered a Generational Differences training workshop, I shared a slide that read, “Millennials Are Our Future Leaders.” But times have changed and now that slide reads “Millennials Are Today’s Leaders.”

This ongoing generational shift at our leadership levels and in the C-Suite which in large part ensures the company stays focused on its vision, mission, values, and policies is what I want to talk with you about. I’d also like to discuss what Millennials (and some Gen Z’s) are doing differently as leaders and how we can all support – and benefit from this important – monumental change.

Times Have Changed / Are Changing

Throughout my career I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Millennials and now Gen Z’s. I’ve found their positive attitude, creativity, willingness to pitch in and desire to share unique ideas and perspectives refreshing. Additionally, I’ve also felt many of them were getting a bad rap by their Boomer and Gen X bosses who thought they were entitled and lazy. And sure, some Millennials are entitled and lazy, but I know some Boomers and Gen Xers who also fit that bill.

There are a few other things I’ve found is often true about Millennials. They don’t want to be bored and they want to have an opportunity to share their opinion – to contribute. They are often uncomfortable / unwilling to sit around for two years doing the same routine work to “pay their dues.” What is the source of all this impatience? For most Millennials, their Boomer parents (isn’t that ironic), taught them as children to ask “Why?” if they were curious. This is also true for the Gen Z employees that are following in the Millennials footsteps. Boomer parents also often encouraged their children to go after their dreams if they wanted something and to not listen to people who might tell them they don’t deserve it.

But all that is history, right? What is the impact Millennials are having now that they are moving into leadership roles? This is a great question.

Because Millennials are today’s leaders, they are having an important influence on corporate cultures. Millennials often bring a fresh, more casual perspective to our workspaces. And perhaps more lately than I’ve ever seen, Millennials feel comfortable with flat organizational structures. But don’t let their casual exterior fool you – they are very focused on being productive, successful, and proud of their work. A Deloitte study found that 62 percent of Millennials say work is part of their identity. And because Millennials are community driven, most of them (there are always exceptions) are very comfortable sharing that pride and success with their team.

If Millennials have shortcomings (don’t we all), one of their big ones is that they often need to unlearn many of the leadership skills they saw (and learned by accident), as they were growing up. Yes, even though they resist that style of leadership, there are learned biases they must unlearn like hierarchy, silos, the need to try to control, and the need to try to know everything. But with the support of mentors, coaches, and teachers / trainers, they are learning how to be leaders who are focused on traditional leadership qualities like results and accountability while also learning it’s OK to embrace softer-skills and encourage people… including themselves… to be their whole, unique, vulnerable, compassionate, forgiving, learning, evolving selves at work. Hurray!

Let’s get back to how Millennials (and Gen Z) are changing leadership. To do that lets look at some of the baseline / general profile characteristics that have always been part of the Millennial profile and are still there. For example, they want to:

Feel their unique experience and abilities have value – are respected.
Feel their unique experience and abilities have impact – make a difference.
Contribute to a conversation.
Feel safe – respect each other’s individuality.
Collaborate, be mentored, mentor others, and still have opportunities for autonomy.
Be recognized for their contribution.
Learn new skills – embrace continuous learning (a Growth Mindset).
Enjoy work-life balance… which now includes some work-remote opportunities.
Be friends / friendly with the people they work with (enjoy approachability).

I really respect this list. These characteristics all lead to a wonderful mix I’ve seen in action. I’ve noticed first-hand that in team meetings decisions are more thoughtful and impactful and buy-in / follow-through is so much better when everyone has an opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives. And this also has a big impact on building long-term trust for both the individuals and team.

What Is In Our Future?

Workplace evolution (change) is only going to speed up and this includes options on how we all work and communicate. Workplace acceleration is going to continue to shine a very bright spotlight on the importance of excellent communication… for everyone. As work continues to speed up, timing and accuracy will become even more critical, especially as more and more of us work in a remote or hybrid environment (and hybrid is not going away). We are going to have to intentionally, mindfully take some opportunities to slow down. And when we slow down we are going to have to be thinking about:

Why we communicate. Pausing for a moment to fully grasp what our goal is and what needs to happen to move our goal forward should be an easy first step. But, it’s amazing how many times we write an email (for example) and as soon as we hit send we notice we have something more to say or something else we need.
How and when we communicate. We now have many options on how we communicate – everything from the old-fashioned ways of being in-person or using the telephone, to using countless software apps to message, video call, email or update a shared file. These choices are a challenge because not only are there many ways to share information or get updates… even in the same company, but ideally, we should all be using these ever-changing tools in the same way, store information in the same way and adopt the seemingly never-ending upgrades and new functions in the same way.

Getting back to something I mentioned early in this article, Millennials (and Gen Z) want to feel like they are being heard, having input, making a difference, and being recognized. In short, they want to be acknowledged. And really, don’t we all? I have yet to meet a Boomer or Gen Xer who doesn’t want the opportunity to share a good idea they have or be recognized for a job well-done.

I know successful Millennial leaders who’ve figured this team culture thing out for themselves. They know their actions are more important than what they say. So, not only do they share the importance of community, responsibility, and values (for example), they demonstrate these qualities every chance they have. They talk about community, responsibility, and values when they are sending group communication to their team, they share community, responsibility, and values in meetings, and they demonstrate them when one employee is going through a difficult personal time and may need a few days off. But these Millennials also demonstrate hard work, taking charge and being responsible. They encourage everyone to do their best, give their teams opportunities to shine, and give them recognition when they do great work and work as a team – especially when they work to break down silos.

The successful Millennial leaders have also figured out that when there is a quiet person in the meeting, that this is their time to shine as a leader and to gently engage the quiet person by perhaps going around the table (or screen) and asking everyone a final open-ended question. For example, ask:

What do they see as the greatest opportunity?
What they see is the most important milestone / requirement for the project or the team to succeed?
What are they most excited about in relation to the overall project, or perhaps how the team is working together?
How do they see the project – or a decision that was made – meet the strategic goals or the values of the team / company?

The difference for Millennials and Gen Z from many of their Gen X senior coworkers and any Boomers is that if Millennials and Gen Z’s don’t feel they are part of a shared, supportive corporate culture – or able to build one – they are likely already looking for that culture somewhere else.

In closing, let’s not forget that we humble humans are social animals… well most of us are. If your work requires any sort of teamwork / collaboration, creativity, problem (or opportunity) solving, learning or development, take every opportunity to be face-to-face with the people you work with. If you are not in the same city and/or your hybrid workspace means frequent video calls, turn your camera on – let people see you. Seeing someone nod their head in agreement with you even when you are sharing an idea in a virtual meeting can do wonders to building trust.

If you are a leader – or hope to be a leader in the future, my recommendation is to start right now to find ways to build trustworthy relationships with the people around you – from family to friends to co-workers.

Conclusion

As I end this article, I want to give a shout-out to our wonderful Gen X leaders and coworkers. I will gladly say Gen Xers have been among the heroes in our workspaces for the last 20-years. They’ve had to put up with a lot. First, they were promised that when Boomers retired at 55-years old (does anyone remember the commercials for Freedom 55?) and that they would have their pick of exceptional opportunities. Then, a few recessions, market downturns and global instability arrived and Boomers kept working longer than anticipated.

I believe that Generation Xers have quietly been holding things together. Sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials, Generation Xers are able to bridge the gap. And Generation Xers whole existence as adults in the workforce has been one of constant change.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘Millennials Are Today’s Leaders. What Is In Our Future?’.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

March 15, 2024

The What, Why and How of Vulnerable Leadership

March 15, 2024/ Bruce Mayhew

Researcher, speaker, New York Times bestseller Brené Brown is an expert on vulnerable leadership and the importance for us all to have courage, put ourselves out there and show more emotion. She – and others I’ll mention throughout this article write and speak about how vulnerability and building a culture of creativity, trust, and collaboration is important for organizations, leaders and of course employees to be successful and engaged.

Let’s start this discussion by exploring what vulnerability is. Vulnerability may look different for each of us. It depends on our personalities, our upbringing, our experiences and so much more. For some, vulnerability can mean fearing not always having the answers. It can mean searching for the courage to ask others for help. We can also feel vulnerable when we [should] say, “I was wrong” or “I made a mistake.” And I bet all of us have felt vulnerable when we’ve entered a room and discovered we don’t know anyone and/or don’t see anyone who looks like us.

So yes, there are many ways to feel vulnerable. At this point, as a leader you may be thinking, “If you want to see vulnerable – ask me to add this to my plate. How can I possibly find time in my already far too long To Do list to add one more thing – especially the idea of vulnerability?” And yet you still want to be the best leader you can be for yourself and your team. This is what makes you a terrific leader, even if you don’t [yet] have a formal position as a leader. So, what I suggest is that as you take a few minutes to read this article, ask yourself, “Is there one small step I can take?” And as you do this I invite you to think of vulnerability from a position leadership strength, not a weakness; an example of positivity and opportunity.

Now that we have a shared the idea to see vulnerability as a strength, let me outline two more important areas we will explore in the next few minutes:

The positive attributes of vulnerability.
How to build a culture that is safe and where everyone can be vulnerable.

The power of vulnerability in leadership. How great leaders see vulnerability as a strength, not a weakness.

You and I both know that leaders don’t have all the answers.

Success in today’s high tech, fast paced economy requires creativity and innovation at all levels of the organization. It also requires alignment across the team on our shared vision, mission and values (which I recommend be fine-tuned every year). For creativity and innovation to exist, every team and every company must work together towards creating a culture where people feel welcome to be themselves and show their emotions to their team, coworkers, clients, and suppliers. This doesn’t happen by accident.

When we believe we can be authentic at work, we are able to help build inspired solutions that will make us all proud and successful. The best leaders aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. Leaders who see vulnerability as a strength are able to build teams who are willing to dare greatly as Brené Brown might say. By embracing vulnerability, leaders create an environment that nurtures trust, opens channels of communication and listens to new ideas – from everyone. This is where a leader’s real strength can flourish as they help others collaborate and share their expertise.

In contrast, when leaders try to be all knowing and all-powerful they are not protecting themselves. Instead, they are putting their longer-term success at risk as well as the future success of their team.

How to build a culture that is safe and where everyone can be vulnerable?

From Brené Brown to perhaps the leading expert on Emotional Intelligence Dr. Daniel Goleman, to motivational speaker and author Simon Sinek to Canadian author focused on transformational leadership, social collaboration, and communication Celine Schillinger, they all agree great leaders create an environment of respect, safety, and curiosity that teams trust.

The power of vulnerability in leadership cannot be overstated. And while this all sounds amazing, you and I have years of pre-programing within our communities / cultures that has told us that vulnerability means weakness. It will take effort for you to unlearn some of our less helpful biases and past lessons and decide to forge a new path that sees vulnerability and showing emotion as strengths and opportunities. It’s time to embrace new ideas and new voices that will create relevant, timely and collaborative solutions that also help us feel engaged and proud.

To build a culture where everyone can be vulnerable, everyone on the team must be certain they are allowed to be creative and to start sentences with the words, “What if we were to…” as they begin to share inspired, improvised, half-baked ideas. Here are a few examples how you can start building a culture of trust.

Get to know each other. You don’t have to become best friends, but start seeing people as more than a j.o.b. Explore what you have in common. Do you have pets, a summer cottage, traveled through Greece? Knowing someone is a good way [not a guaranteed way] to begin trusting someone.
Set an example when you are not doing well… when you are struggling. For example, if you are exhausted, frustrated or stressed, it’s fair to send someone else to a meeting on your behalf because you need some down-time. Delegating has the bonus of letting that person know you trust their ability to stand-in for you. Another example is asking for help if you are struggling with a task. In this example you are proving that asking for help is not only OK, but expected. And the bonus here is that it may give a junior employee a feeling of pride to be able to mentor you.
If you see someone else feeling vulnerable or attacked, help them! They may not feel they can stand up for themselves so do it for them. This demonstrates you are paying attention and that you care. And the people who see you do this will know it is OK to stand up for someone else as well.
Always stand up for the organizational values. As I shared earlier, your organizational values must be respected by all. And everyone in leadership positions must set the example. If leaders ignore shared values, they are telling others it’s OK for them to ignore them as well and that this jeopardizes team alignment, efficiencies and so much more – including perhaps the importance of building / honoring respect and trust.

“Leadership is not about being in charge. It's about taking care of those in your charge.” Simon Sinek

And while leaders must set the intention, it is all of our responsibility to build a trusting, vulnerable, safe workspace. The following are guideline examples for you to consider and expand upon:

Cultivate openness where everyone knows that when they share ideas, observations and opinions that they will be heard and valued.
Know that it’s unacceptable to not listen to others (and to learn).
Never joke, tease or gossip about someone elses expense. Everyone must know there is no risk of being made to feel stupid or embarrassed.
Acknowledge that leaders likely have insight into broader goals and have greater decision-making responsibility and therefore may make decisions we don’t fully understand or agree to… but must support.
Know our worth is not placed on whether our ideas are accepted.
Know that we all make mistakes, and we will use them as an opportunity to learn, not an opportunity to judge, accuse or demonize us.
Know that while we share our ideas, we must also know they may not be fully adopted but may spark other ideas.
Agree that if we have an idea or suggestion that is out of scope of the immediate topic under discussion that it might be best to arrange a smaller one-on-one meeting with our leader or one of our co-workers and start a discussion there. Staying on-topic during a meeting is also important.

All this to say, you can achieve honest, respectful relationships with your whole team when you agree to how you will treat each other. When team members can be vulnerable with each other, creativity and innovation are enhanced,.

Share Without Oversharing

Privacy and boundaries still exists in a vulnerable culture.

Questions many leaders ask themselves when practicing vulnerability is, “How do I embrace vulnerability without overdoing it and oversharing to the point of making someone uncomfortable — regardless of any positive intentions?”

A team that fully embraces vulnerability must also have an open discussion and shared agreement / recognition that we are all individuals with our own sensitivities and personalities. We must respect that someone may feel uncomfortable or vulnerable even though we don’t. It’s also true that some things are private – not everything about us needs be shared at work. The vulnerability we share at work doesn’t have to be the same vulnerability we share with our family or partner.

My suggestion is that if you are concerned you are oversharing or if you are worried your idea may trigger a sensitivity for someone on your team, this may be the perfect time to share the idea in a closed, one-on-one meeting with your superior. And if you are a leader who has already navigated this, I thank you for having your empathy and edit features turned on. Well done!

One last thing before I close. If you are wondering, “What if Bruce hasn’t done the task he said he would or is not being a team player. Shouldn’t I bring that forward?” To this, I say absolutely – but is that about creativity and a new idea or is that about Bruce putting the team and project in jeopardy? To me it sounds like the latter which suggests it is a conversation you should bring up with your leader or one of your co-workers in a private meeting – Bruce should not be made to feel vulnerable in that situation. Remember, for vulnerability to become a positive in your team it must be supported by trust and respect.

Conclusion

It is time for vulnerability to be part of our workplace culture; to show our emotions to our team and coworkers, our clients and suppliers. In recent years vulnerability for leaders and their teammates of all genders and generations has grown to become culturally acceptable, welcomed and even encouraged. Millennials and Gen Z especially are more comfortable asking for time to manage caregiver and mental health concerns. And lets face it, Millennials and Gen Z are now the dominant populations in our workforce.

If you’ve studied ‘Courageous Leadership’ and have been thinking of it as you read this article, that makes sense to me. Like courageous leadership, being a leader who begins developing a culture of vulnerability often starts with one or two small acts of courage. You can be certain that the best leaders aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. As you evolve down this path, and I imagine from time to time feel outside your comfort zone, I do hope you take pride in the steps you take, how you’ve evolved – grown during the process and how you now know you’ve have supported courageous leadership in your own way.

“Daring leaders work to make sure people can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging.” Brené Brown

When courageous leaders begin to demonstrate vulnerability and trust in their team, something truly special happens. I invite you to build a culture of collaboration, creativity and high employee engagement.

Leadership is a journey, not a destination.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘The What, Why and How of Vulnerable Leadership’.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

What Is Servant Leadership?
Email Etiquette Training
The Role of Empathy during Difficult Conversations at Work
Difficult Conversations: Never Easy - Always Worthwhile

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

July 24, 2023

Disagree With Respect At Work: Part II

July 24, 2023/ Bruce Mayhew

When you and I approach a problem and disagree with respect, it’s an opportunity for us to work as a productive team, to be creative, and build stronger relations as we build trust, loyalty, and pride in our outcomes.

In my previous article called Disagree With Respect At Work: Part I, I discuss three critical building blocks of a culture (at work or at home), where we can safely and respectfully explore different points of view. ‘Rules of Engagement’ is one of the three building blocks I discuss in Part I. With those Rules of Engagement we are able to be part of a culture – a workspace or family – where everyone can trust they will be safe and supported and therefore able to be their whole, honest, true self with all of their passion, creativity and flaws.

As I wrote in Part I, especially when stakes are high, there is more to having successful, respectful difficult conversations than only those three critical building blocks. So, here is Part II where I share three more that we can all use to help us have successful difficult conversations and be able to disagree with respect at work, with family and even with strangers. These three additional approaches are:

Be Intentional About Time and Place
Have Conversations In-person, By Phone or By Video
Share Stories Instead of Assigning Blame

Lets dive right in.

Be Intentional About Time and Place

Even when we are in a trusting culture there will always be a level of anxiousness when we disagree. Simply by its nature, disagreement makes most of us feel vulnerable. But it’s important we do our best to create a time and place where everyone feels safe, respected and not rushed. Let me share three less than ideal examples:

It’s not a good time or place to disagree with your boss while they are giving a project update to their boss. Doing this will immediately damage your reputation and destroy trust. This would also signal you are not a team player – and likely a half-dozen other unfavourable characteristics. This may also damage your bosses reputation as a leader.
It’s not a good time to raise a disagreement with your co-worker when they are working hard to meet a different important end-of-day deadline and they also have to pick up their 6-year-old from daycare before it closes. In this example you are adding a stressful moment when they have to push back on your request and begin negotiating a better time.
It’s not a good time or place to disagree with your partner in front of your child and their new boyfriend about how late they can stay out.

I bet that even as you read these examples, you felt – actually felt – these were not good times or places. These situations risk unwelcome feelings like surprise, humiliation, frustration, embarrassment, and more. I think we can all imagine many different other times or places for each of these examples where we could have disagreed with respect.

Have Conversations In-person, By Phone Or By Video

It’s near impossible for you and I to feel empathy and caring from an email or text message. In fact, we are more likely to feel the opposite. So, while sending an email or text message may feel ‘safe’ for you, please avoid disagreeing in writing. To disagree with respect I strongly encourage you to try to have these conversations in person… and if not in-person, try to hear each other’s voice. A happy middle-ground is a video conversation where everyone is on-camera (no blank screens).

This isn’t conjecture. Studies back-up this best-practice. Professor Julia Schroeder at UC Berkley and her colleagues say, “Listening to someone’s voice is humanizing as they make a contradictory or controversial argument. It makes it easier to engage with what that person has to say.” When a person feels empathy or genuine curiosity, it goes a long way to feeling respected.

So, when you disagree, know that a 5-minute face to face conversation can have far greater impact than the email you spend 20, 30 or perhaps even 60-minutes writing. If it is important to have a physical record, go ahead and write a brief email after you have had the in-person, phone or video call.

Share Stories Instead Of Assigning Blame

Facts are important. Stories make a situation real.

We know sharing disagreement in person, by phone or by video call engages our empathy. Sharing stories takes our ability to disagree with respect to a whole other level. Stories also builds connection between people and events which supports greater trust and understanding. Stories also make the situation far more memorable.

To disagree with respect at work, your stories should get to the point quickly. Don’t let your stories drag on. In my Difficult Conversation Training Workshops I encourage participants to consider starting their story by answering ‘Why’ the conversation is important at the beginning before they share ‘What happened’. Talking about ‘Why’ first does two things. First, it helps the other person (or people) feel safe and want to listen; to not put their defences up. Second, stories help them care and be curious. For example, consider the difference in being on the receiving end of the following two options with the second starting with ‘Why a conversation is important’ and the first and second examples being more inclined to immediately put Tom on the defensive:

Bad Example: “Tom, you talk over me in meetings and when you do, this makes me feel undervalued. I want you to stop.”
Bad, But Better Example: “Tom, you talk over me in meetings and when you do, this makes me feel undervalued. I want to discuss this with you because I want us to have creative conversations and a respectful work relationship.”
Ideal Example: “Tom, I have something important I’d like to share with you because I want us to have creative conversations and a respectful work relationship. When you talk over me in meetings it makes me feel undervalued. I’d like to work with you to find ways we could work together better.”

In the first example, the main goal isn’t to have Tom stop talking over them; it actually feels like the main goal is to assign blame. The second example is better, but still has the chance to immediately trigger Tom into being defensive. The third example has the greatest chance help Tom to stay engaged and curious and trust us (note I said help). If we can help Tom keep his defences down, he’ll be more likely to want to participate in this conversation. Only then can we have a productive, non-threatening conversation.

One last thing about trust. Whether someone trusts us depends on largely on our history with them and others. Are we known to be a good listener who is respectful, patient and curious… or do we have a reputation as a blunt… ‘If you don’t like it, too bad’ type of person?

What If You Are Surprised And Not Expecting It? (BONUS POINT)

The examples I’ve given are all about you and I starting the difficult conversation. But what if you are surprised? Can you still disagree with respect? You may be asking:

“How do I act when someone comes to me – unexpectedly – to talk about a challenge or disagreement they have?”
“What do I do when I’m working to a deadline and can’t be interrupted”
“How can I turn things around when I receive an email that is clearly involves a difference of opinion, disagreement and I feel is both rude and abrupt?

Great questions! I believe everyone deserves the same kindness and respect no matter who you are or what you do. My quick answers to these three questions are:

If you are feeling surprised and a bit off-balance by a difficult conversation or disagreement then it’s fair to ask for some time to prepare or at least a few moments to gather your thoughts. Even court trials have 15-minute recesses from time to time.
Unless timing is urgent, if someone approaches you and wants to discuss something, it’s fair to ask to have the conversation at a different time. But, any delay should be short… and reasonable.
If you feel an email you received is touching on disagreement, I believe it is 100% your best move to try to set up an in-person, video or phone conversation.

Conclusion

You may be thinking that this is all interesting and helpful learning… but what if the other person hasn’t read this article? Sure, that is a hitch. But I believe this is also an opportunity for you to be a leader and a mentor.

Merriam-Webster defines a mentor as, “1: a trusted counselor or guide. 2: tutor, coach.” With that definition in mind, I bet each of us could think of a dozen people we engage with every day who we subtly or specifically mentor already. Every time we help someone find a solution or share our knowledge / experience we are potentially helping someone grow / learn.

One Last Suggestion

If someone gets upset during a difficult conversation, it’s best you give them some time. They may only need a few minutes, but they may need it to process new information and come to terms with their feelings. If they don’t have time to deal with their feelings, they may not be able to be open to what you are sharing. When they’ve processed their feelings, they will likely have questions and may even need to share their experience.

Disagree with the idea, not the person. Never make a disagreement personal or dismiss the other persons feelings, ideas or beliefs.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘How To Disagree With Respect At Work: Part II’. I hope you also enjoyed Part I.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

What Is Servant Leadership?
Email Etiquette Training
The Role of Empathy during Difficult Conversations at Work
Difficult Conversations: Never Easy - Always Worthwhile

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

July 14, 2023

Disagree With Respect At Work: Part I

July 14, 2023/ Bruce Mayhew

To disagree with respect at work is a sign we are part of a healthy business culture.

There's a big difference between disagreeing with respect versus having a heated, uncomfortable encounter. Disagreeing with respect means we can even deal with challenging situations without harming or threatening each other. Feeling safe, both physically and emotionally, means we can still be productive and move forward with confidence – together.

Wonderful things happen when we two or more people know they can disagree with respect. When we’re able to disagree with respect at work, it means our workspace also values creativity, growth, new ideas and is an evolving workspace.

We all deserve to share space where respectful disagreement is natural.

When we feel physically and emotionally safe we are able to apply our unbridled individuality to every challenge, opportunity, and goal for our shared benefit. It means we can explore possibilities while still respecting each other’s uniqueness. Alternatively, a disagreement that becomes disrespectful causes hurt feelings, lower productivity, lower creativity and morale, and burns through trust like a wildfire.

1. Approach Opportunities With Curiosity

When we approach a problem or disagreement in a positive way it becomes an opportunity to be creative, work as a team and build stronger relations as we also build trust, loyalty, and pride in our work.

One way to infuse positivity into our difficult conversations and workplace culture is to embrace Appreciative Inquiry. For example, when solving a problem using Appreciative Inquiry, we all look at what went well and what we want more of. While we don’t ignore serious flaws, overall we do however take the point of view of a glass half full. Instead of spending meetings dwelling on what went wrong and assigning blame, we spend the bulk of our time focused on how we can get more of what works, what we are good at and what our clients want. This also has the benefit of creating an uplifting, learning space focused on teamwork.

The old saying two heads is better than one is still relevant today; not because it is folklore but because it is true. Each of us is unique and there are things you know that I don’t. Two heads allow us to rely on and learn from each other, especially in a culture that embraces Appreciative Inquiry and respects curiosity.

2. Rules Of Engagement

For us to disagree with respect, we must intentionally and relentlessly commit to building a healthy foundation of trust where we care for our shared physical and emotional safety. Physical safety is self-explanatory. But when it comes to emotional safety, I think it’s important to quickly discuss how emotional safety can include many things like knowing that our individuality will be celebrated and never mocked or dismissed. Emotional safety also includes our creative ideas, our education, our experiences, our values, and anything else about us.

The following are rules of engagement that often support a healthy personal and professional culture:

Find and clearly state – in writing – a goal everyone agrees on. Only then should we discuss different options on how to reach that goal.
Values must be clearly defined, discussed, and agree upon… with everyone.
When you win it doesn’t mean I lose. The idea is to get on the same page on how we move forward.
We treat each other with respect. This means each of us realize others may have different boundaries and needs than we do.
We must all be open and encouraged to actively participate in difficult conversations.
We must learn about and strive to overcome biases like sexism, ageism and/or any other ‘ism’ both as individuals and as teams.
Everyone must listen to each other with the intention to hear what they feel, need and are fearful of.
We don’t speak over each other.
While we might speak passionately, we don’t holler or use upsetting language.
If I want to be open to the possibility of changing your mind, I also must be open to the possibility that you might change my mind.
If I change my mind it doesn’t need to mean I was wrong, it may just means I understand things differently now.

3. Changing Our Mind Is Often One of The Biggest Barriers

As we learn to disagree with respect, many of us discover that in our past whenever we entered difficult conversations we had a goal to change what other people understand, feel or believe, “If we could only make them see things our way we would have harmony.” That is an important realization, so I invite you to take time with that thought.

As we learn to disagree with respect, it’s important to recognize that if we expect others to change what they understand, feel or believe, we should also be open to changing what we understand, feel or believe. The truth is that respectful disagreement and important solutions almost always mean one or both of us has an opportunity to learn something… if we are paying attention.

For most people changing our mind is personal – scary. Many of us subconsciously worry that if we change our mind that it must mean we were wrong and our identity or reputation is compromised. You may know someone who has built their reputation as being the expert, the person who knows the most and/or who has the most experience. They can feel uncomfortable and uneasy with change and disagreement because they have worked hard to build their reputation as an expert and change threatens that reputation. In these cases, building their trust is an important step. Warning: it usually will take some time to build their trust and it may not always work.

If someone is assertive and/or lashes out, we need to pause and ask ourselves “Why are they acting this way?” and “Do they recognize they are lashing out?” They may not see their behaviour as inappropriate; many don’t. A first step for us would be to use our calm approach to help them see other ways to behave – that they don’t need to be assertive with us. This means that initially, we are not even dealing with the issue. Instead, our first goal is earning their trust.

One last thing on this point. Saying something like, “You are wrong” or “I have a better idea” will almost never go over well when trying to disagree with respect. Instead, a more inclusive approach may be, “I have a new idea and I’m hoping I can get your input and expertise. If you don’t mind, I’d like to walk you through from start to finish before I get your thoughts. Are you able to explore this new approach with me and is now a good time?”

Conclusion

Whatever we experience at work will also influence our behaviour, our relationships, and our enjoyment at home. This makes it even more important we recognize our responsibility to be part of a healthy business culture that embraces disagreeing with respect.

I believe that two things will happen when each of us learns to be respectful, open to listening and focused on shared goals:

First, our cool, curious behaviour will calm the ‘feelings’ and ‘tensions’ in the room and encourage others to listen.
Second, others will notice our steadiness and they will respect us for making the whole situation better… not making matters worse. We will be setting an example for others that disagreeing with respect is possible… and it feels good.

One Last Suggestion

If someone is disagreeing with you, don’t take it personal… because often, it isn’t personal. Often if someone is disagreeing with you it is simply because your goals are different and/or you have access to different information. Instead of taking it personally, listen to their ideas with curiosity. Look at the situation from the other persons perspective. What are their goals, needs and fears? Look for where there is alignment with your goals, needs and fears.

Remember, every coin has two sides. Same coin, but still, each side is different.

Thank you for spending time with me today and reading ‘How To Disagree With Respect At Work: Part I’. I hope you will enjoy Part II. I will post the link here when I launch it.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

April 26, 2023

What Is Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement or BATNA

April 26, 2023/ Bruce Mayhew

When you are negotiating ANYTHING and your best option looks like it won’t happen, a BATNA will be your best alternative, or as it is formally defined, the acronym BATNA stands for, ‘your best alternative to a negotiated agreement’.

By preparing one and preferably more BATNAs (options), in advance of a negotiation, you empower yourself. Whether you are asking for a pay increase, buying a competitor company, or deciding with your partner where to go on vacation, when you prepare your BATNAs you give yourself choices you can feel good about because you’ve researched the pros and cons in advance. You can make good, informed decisions quickly, without regret because you’ve thought through alternatives.

As Kenny Rogers sang in the song ‘The Gambler’ “You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run.” Little did Kenny know that when he first started singing “every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loser”, that in 1981 Roger Fisher and William Ury would coin the term BATNA in their bestselling book, ‘Getting to Yes: Negotiating Without Giving In’. Fisher and Ury would define and idea that embodied preparing yourself to make good, informed decisions quickly. And I wonder if Kenny Rogers somehow inspired Roger Fisher and William Ury.

But thinking through your alternatives is only half of the process to determine your best choice. Imagine how empowering it would be to explore, as best you can, what the alternatives of the other person or business. For example, imagine you want to purchase a house and you’ve seen two that interest you. They both have similar pros, cons and pricing, but house A has just come on the market, and house B has been on the market for 45 days. The other difference is that house A is a 15-minute drive closer to your work than house B. While house A might be your preference, house B might be a good BATNA for you. And while a con is that house B means a longer drive to work, the owners of house B might be more motivated to negotiate price. How high house B sits on your priority list might include how price sensitive you are and how much of a demotivator it is to be 15-minutes further away from work.

Pros of BATNA

At a glance, the BATNA pros include:

Provides an alternative if the primary negotiations fail.
Empowers you or other negotiators to make the best decisions.
You will know you don’t need to compromise as much when you know you have a good alternative.
Your BATNA can keep you from getting caught up in the moment and accepting an offer that has fewer advantages.
Reduces the impact of bias and emotion.
Makes agreement more likely, as a well researched and fair BATNA is more likely to be acceptable by all.
Reduces stress around negotiations, crucial conversations and potential difficult conversations.

How To Determine Your BATNA

Since BATNA is the identification of alternative solutions in advance of a negotiation, it’s important to know how to determine your BATNA or BATNAs.

While a BATNA may not always be easy to identify, the following are several steps you can take:

List as many alternatives you can think of if your negotiations for your ideal option don’t work out.
Evaluate the pros and cons of your alternatives based on your values, goals and resources. Other criteria can be anything that is important to you / the project or your organization and can also include (but not limited to):
- Affordability
- Long and short-term market impact
- Long and short-term job impact
- Long and short-term earnings / profit
- Which is most affordable and feasible?
- Which will have the most impact in the shortest amount of time?
Prioritize your options as best you can based on their strengths and weaknesses. Be very clear about what your lowest-valued / bottom-line BATNA is. Remember, sometimes it is best to walk away.

And as I mentioned earlier, when you’re done identifying, evaluating and prioritizing your BATNA, be sure to explore the alternatives, pros and cons of your counterpart's BATNAs.

Conclusion:

To reach the best possible outcome, it’s important to do as much preparation as possible before entering into negotiations. While BATNA dramatically improves your chances of a satisfactory outcome, it is not a guarantee. Even your BATNAs might become unattainable, but it is far less likely if you are prepared in advance.

If I was able to ask my dad what a BATNA is, I imagine he would simply say, “Know what your alternatives are and when the cost [any cost] is too high. And then, as best you can, know the same for the other person.” Dad always kept things simple.

Thank you for reading ‘What Is Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement’. If you have any thoughts or questions, please let me know.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

March 17, 2023

How To Develop A Strategic Plan

March 17, 2023/ Bruce Mayhew

Knowing how to develop a strategic plan that meets the needs of the organization, its’ employees and the community it serves is a wonderfully rewarding task; and it’s also no small job. Developing a strategic plan may feel as daunting as playing a game of chess against a master. Truth is, it will likely take months and you might benefit from the clarity of external help / coaching, but I assure you, you can do it and it is worth it.

So how do you go about being successful when faced with this mammoth task? My quick advice is, “Be patient, take it one step at a time – don’t skip any steps, and include as many other people as possible at every step”.

Step 1. Get Others Involved and Excited

Everyone who will be impacted by the strategic plan must care about the goals that are developed. One of the best ways to build compelling goals and buy-in at the same time is to involve as many voices / perspectives as possible.

Your first step in getting others involved and excited is to create a diverse task force.

At your first task force meeting, take a victory lap of past successes. This should help build unity, excitement, and positive energy. If there have been some challenges, acknowledge those as well… but don’t dwell on them. It’s healthy to acknowledge and take responsibility for challenges but move on once you’ve learned from them. When you talk about both your successes and challenges, frame the discussions so that you explore what went well and what you want more of, (called Appreciative Inquiry). Even challenges must have had some aspect that went well, like perhaps how the team rallied together.

Step 2. Ask Questions

I recommend reaching beyond your task force using a combination of surveys and in-person meetings to ask anyone you can for input – from your clients to your suppliers and of course your employees. Treat this as a fact-finding project. This is a time to do more listening than talking or planning. Use simple, open-ended questions like:

What makes us best in class today – what do we do well?
What made us best in class yesterday – is there any option to capitalize on that reputation / experience?
What are some out-of-the-box options for where we could be in the future?
What do our clients / customers dream of?
What is most exciting in our industry today?
(For Employees Specifically) As an employee, if you could learn or do any one thing, what would it be?

Step 3. Answer ‘Why’ Your Department / Organization Does What It Does

As you hear the answers to the questions you asked it will be tempting to start working on some of the wonderful ideas you and perhaps others have. Your excitement is terrific – but I encourage you to not go too far down that path and don’t get too invested into those ideas too quickly.

In addition to the answers and ideas your questions have raised, some of the most important inspiration for any strategic plan should also come from your mission statement and vision statement. For example, imagine your vision and mission statements were as follows:

Vision: To become the world's most trusted, innovative, and profitable provider of data security solutions for the protection of highly critical sectors.
Mission: To be considered a partner by our clients and to assist them to be productive, successful, and trusted by their clients.

From these two examples you can already imagine how your vision statement and mission statement will inform the important ‘What we do’ and ‘How we do it’ chapters of your strategic plan. The words ‘trusted’ ‘innovative’ ‘partner’ are just as important as ‘profitable’. These words will give your task force a clear direction as they answer the question “Why what we do is important”. I’d suggest actually defining a ‘Why what we do is important’ statement. Empower your process by letting ‘Why’ become the foundation on which your brand and your corporate culture are built. This work will do wonders to position your strategic plan.

Simon Sinek is famous for championing the ‘Why’. And you know what? He’s right! Be sure your team knows the decisions they will make will be informed by and measured against how they relate to ‘Why’.

Step 4. Define The Goals Using The Vision, Mission and ‘Why’ Answer

As we’ve discussed, your vision and mission statements offer a guide – an opportunity by which strategic decisions can be evaluated and defended. So, empower and encourage the people in your task force to use them to define the opportunities / goals. It’s very likely that by now they have created a robust list of possible opportunities / goals to consider. That’s great! Now is the time to apply the ‘Why’ statement to the possibilities. The ‘Why’ statement should be a powerful tool that adds clarity to what to prioritize and what must change and evolve. The ‘Why’ statement will also defend and prioritize any larger change that might have to take place down the road.

A word about change and evolution. It's worth saying, some resistance to change is natural. You may even experience it yourself. But change and evolution are important to your business AND everyone connected to the business. For example, change keeps our work interesting and maintains our own personal and professional growth (evolution) and competitiveness. The way I see it, change is enviable so you might as well try to guide it (as best you can) because if you don’t try to take an active part in guiding it, you will be 100% guided by it.

The ‘Why’ that comes from exploring your vision statement and mission statement will also guide what you spend your budget on – and help you defend your requests if you are asking for an increased budget. These statements will also form the categories you and the finance team will measure including the ROI. And, if your strategic plan calls for a short-term drop in ROI, the guidance these statements offer should be able to explain how the investment is expected to catapult the company ahead of the competition.

Step 5. Delegate And Measure

Strategic plans are terrific… but once they are done, now what? Every strategic plan needs a strategic implementation protocol to turn the plan into reality. You’ve done a great job so far by including everyone in the process, and while it may feel like your job is almost done I urge you to not take your foot off the gas (as my dad would say). Many great projects and great ideas don’t reach their potential because of a lack of attention and commitment after the strategic plan is written. Instead, people get busy doing their “busy work” the same way they always have and none (or few) of the great strategic ideas get implemented. I urge you not to fall into this trap.

A challenge many leaders have (especially new leaders) is delegation. It is important leaders do less of the ‘doing’ and instead keep everyone’s focus on achieving the strategic plan by consistently guiding, inspiring, and supporting employees and employee teams. Consistency is an important word here! Another major leadership task is to build trust with your employees / teams so they come to you quickly with challenges so you can help guide solutions and when necessary use your seniority and experience to manage roadblocks.

Step 6. Keep Everyone Informed

From day 1, keep everyone informed what is going on throughout the strategic planning process. Even people who are not part of the task force should have a high-level understanding of the importance of each step. Transparency builds trust and lack of information builds fear!

As the strategic plan is implemented, let everyone know what they should be expecting… and why. ‘Why’ is as important throughout the implementation as it was during the planning process. ‘Why’ will continue to build alignment and commitment, not to mention personal and professional pride. Keeping everyone informed will also help minimize fear and can even inspire a willing commitment to change. For example, imagine being an employee who is faced with having to learn a new process and/or a new piece of software. Instead of experiencing fear of the unknown and worry of not looking competent, what if the message was positioned to remind everyone that the change they are experiencing will make the company they’ve chosen to work for an industry leader, AND the change will also put them at the forefront of their profession as an expert in this emerging market. WOW!

Step 7. Monitor, Keep Measuring and Course Correct

Organizations must constantly monitor, measure, and course correct their goals and strategic plan. Measurement may fall on the task force but should be an important senior level responsibility. Measurement should include that that the strategic plan is being implemented and that the defined elements of the strategic plan are staying true to the overall mission, vision, and values. Also, as I eluded to earlier, expect the finance department to play a serious role in monitoring and measuring that plans are staying on budget.

Something unexpected is going to happen so don’t be surprised – it is part of the process. Perhaps there will be new technology you can use, or perhaps there will be a new competitor or perhaps there will be a pandemic (COVID must have taught is something). Or, it might be that the changes aren’t working the way your task force expected. As quickly as you can, get employee, client / customer and supplier feedback. You must be prepared to take their advice and adjust your game plan. Sometimes that means mid-course corrections. Other times, it means scrapping a planned project / goal and starting from scratch. That’s not defeat — it’s the ultimate sign that you value the buy-in and ideas your community have.

Conclusion

Partnering with others is important to developing a compelling strategic plan. It is also key to growing commitment and trust in the future. Partnering with others also does one other thing I love to see by leaders; it means delegation workload and sharing responsibility. The best leaders delegate responsibly.

Thank you for reading ‘How To Develop A Strategic Plan’. If you have any thoughts or questions, please let me know.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting proudly offers leadership training and professional development.

March 10, 2023

Work-Life Balance Requires Respect, Trust And Choice By Everyone

March 10, 2023/ Bruce Mayhew

Organizations are continuing to struggle finding ways to address the reality that for a company to succeed, employees need to feel like their leaders care about them. This is a struggle because businesses can’t survive if all they do is care for your employees. Instead, the business – employee relationship must be a delicate balance of respect, trust, clear expectations, flexibility, collaboration and choice.

The question is, "What is the balance between employee needs and business needs?"

Take work-life balance and flexible hours in an office environment as an example. Some employees may work the early part of the day from 7AM to 3PM as their regular hours. Other employees may be on a later schedule from 11AM to 7PM. That is terrific, but what happens when you have to schedule a project meeting and the only time everyone is available is 9:30AM except for the one person whose regular, agreed upon start time is 11AM?

I believe the answer exists within the above mentioned balance of respect, trust, clear expectations, flexibility, collaboration and choice.

In this example:

Respect and trust mean that everyone can be confident that there was a serious attempt to find a time during everyone’s typical work hours. They also mean that everyone will respect and trust each other and previous agreements.
Clear expectations means that everyone knows that if someone can’t make a meeting – no matter what the reason – the person who can’t attend will understand and respect that the meeting must still take place.
Flexibly, collaboration and choice mean the person who has the conflict has the opportunity – and the responsibility to make one of the following three choices:

Choose to make a special adjustment and attend the meeting.
Choose to assign an alternate person to represent and speak for them.
Choose to be OK receiving the meeting minutes and support any decisions made.

For organizations to succeed they (and by extension the leaders AND every employee), must make each employee feel like their success as employees AND as individuals matters. Employees at every level must feel valued and be proud they are part of the team. This is what it means to build a strong corporate culture where difficult decisions and difficult conversations can actually be prevented.

When people feel valued and proud, they become more creative, more collaborative and more loyal. Nobody should be treated as disposable cogs in a machine that exist only to do their j.o.b. and obey.

One last thing – leadership requires intentionality! As a leader, even if you are not in a leadership position (yet), you must focus on the well-being of others and what you can do to inspire them (and yourself) to greatness. Being a great leader takes conscious effort to find balance between the ever-changing business goals and employee needs… all the time… everyday.

Thank you for reading ‘Work-Life Balance Requires Respect, Trust and Choice By Everyone’. If you have a moment, please let us know, “How do you respect work-life balance?”

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Difficult Conversations: Never Easy – Always Worthwhile

October 21, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

Conflict is everywhere and impossible to avoid. And that’s OK,

Even the most confident people don’t see difficult conversations and managing conflict as easy, stress free and certainly not the highlight of their day. But we can all learn how to manage difficult conversations so that we reduce overall stress and improve overall outcomes.

To help us manage difficult conversations I believe it’s important to accept that not all conflict is bad or inherently negative – in fact sharing constructive feedback and resolving conflict often builds stronger relationships, new ideas, greater respect and greater trust.

Imagine you have an employee who isn’t performing or whose behaviour is making work unpleasant for others. I propose it’s better to have a conversation that will be uncomfortable in the short term, but will give the employee the opportunity to see you as someone who cares about their personal and professional future. You are also empowering them to decide if they would like to adjust their behaviour and to continue building a successful career.

And the benefits to having difficult conversations and resolving conflict don’t end with the employee. Consider the benefit to team dynamics and corporate culture when a peaceful resolution is found versus the disruption a more volatile outcome will have for everyone.

First Steps

One of the first steps when having difficult conversations and / or sharing constructive feedback is to be clear how it will benefit us and the other person. In our personal lives, there are times it just isn’t worth it. Do we need to invest in a difficult conversation with a rude salesclerk? Maybe it is worth it… but often it is not. Alternatively, in our professional lives difficult conversations are important for many reasons like when our company values and performance objectives are not being met.

Another important step when having difficult conversations and resolving conflict is to have conversations as soon as possible. When inappropriate behaviour isn’t corrected quickly, it becomes the new norm and far more difficult (and costly) to correct later. Inappropriate behaviour also erodes the motivation, respect, and trust of everyone else on the team who must watch and potentially experience this behaviour first-hand.

Conclusion

There are many other steps to having a difficult conversation and resolving conflict including sharing stories of what you observed, encouraging an atmosphere where situations and solutions are explored versus placing blame, and never thinking the other person is evil / mean. But for now, let’s embrace the idea that conflict and difficult conversations are opportunities for us all to be respectful, improve and build greater trust.

In our next post, (which I will link here) I will discuss important steps to take when faced with conflict and the opportunity to have a respectful, empowering difficult conversations.

Thank you for reading ‘Difficult Conversations: Never Easy - Always Worthwhile’. I will link to other related difficult conversation articles in this series as I launch them.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

September 13, 2022

What Is A Mission Statement?

September 13, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

A mission statement that reflects what the company is (or should be) doing now. It describes a purpose of the company and the importance of today’s decisions and actions in support of the overall vision and values. It is a statement that can give employees a sense of identity as it inspires and guides their actions. It also serves to support a brand image that suppliers and customers want to support.

Like your vision statement, when anyone reads your mission statement, they should feel inspired and believe in it. Everyone must also believe in the leadership of the company and employees and suppliers must see themselves as willing participants who are working together to achieve todays and tomorrows goals.

How to Use a Mission Statement

Not surprisingly, you will be able to use your mission statement in many of the same ways you use your vision statement and values.

Your mission statement should be shared and discussed everywhere. Employees should be using it daily when making decisions about their work, even if it is to reinforce the importance of their work, how it fits into the overall company mandate and the pride they take from it. Your mission statement should also be discussed in every hiring decision, onboarding, employee performance reviews (and employee recognition / awards) as well as goal-setting conversations. And like your values statement, your mission statement should help guide leaders regarding investments in training and through the design of strategic marketing and promotional messages.

How to Build a Mission Statement

Like your vision statement and core values, building a mission statement will take time. If you have already built your vision statement, you will be able to use much of the research you conducted to help you build your mission statement. You will also be able to use the values you identified.

You can also stay with the same team you assembled to build your vision statement and values, however adding new voices to team might give you a fresh perspective. I’t not because anything you previously did might be wrong. I suggest this because the process of onboarding new people and answering their questions will likely help keep the process fresh with a sense of exploration and adventure.

Consider your business’s goals. Write two sentences, one explaining what your company does today and the other explaining why your company does it in the simplest terms possible. Now, look at those two sentences and be sure you are incorporating your company values.

The trick here is to keep it short while not being too vague and not sounding generic. You will want your mission statement to sound like it fits your company and only your company. As mentioned earlier, you want employees, suppliers and customers to read it and say, “I support this and want to be part of this brand.”

If you find you have lots of great things you want to include but might not be critical to a mission statement definition, no worries. Keep a record of those sentences or statements and share them with your marketing team. They may be gold for your marketing materials and website and even included along with your mission statement as additional information and background.

Mission Statement Examples

COBS Bread: “Our mission to develop strong connections with our customers and communities that ignite a passion for bread and the freshest baked treats.”

IKEA: “To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”

Starbucks: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”

TED: “We're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.”

Conclusion

A mission statement is an opportunity to take a good look at the market you serve, what part you want to play and the corporate culture you want to work within. Let yours give employees a sense of identity as it inspires and guides their actions and support a brand image that suppliers and customers want to be part of.

Thank you for reading ‘What Is A Mission Statement’. It is the third article I’ve written to honour the hard work of a client who invested in their future by exploring the important process of creating and using:

A Vision Statement
Company Core Values
A Mission Statement (this article)

I will link to the other two articles here as I launch them.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

September 08, 2022

What Are Core Values?

September 08, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

Welcome to the second in my trilogy of articles covering the importance and use of Vision Statements, Core Values (this article) and Mission Statements.

I like to think of core values as common ground we are all aware of, share, understand and can count on. Core values help unite us – be it families, the companies we work for and purchase from or the non-profit charities we support. Whether it’s connecting leadership to employees, employees to customers, or customers to a feeling of trust, core values bring people, ideas and actions together.

Defining, communicating, and living core values is essential to a company or department reaching its full potential. Yes, you can have a high-functioning department with a great leader and team who embrace shared values within a less-than-ideal company.

If you want a one sentence definition of what are core values, here it is. Core values are a list of action-oriented verbs that clearly and concisely represents the company’s guiding principles.

A company’s core values establish guidance for company leadership and employees. Core values help companies make important decisions and keep everyone on the team focused and accountable, particularly during time or challenge or change or when faced with difficult decisions. Core values are also a useful tool for recruitment. Similarly, core values are excellent tools to help improve customer awareness and confidence. When customers understand the business’s core values and see how they align with their own, they’ll more than likely trust the company.

How to Use Core Values

Before you publish the core values, determine how they will be used. How will the company help every employee begin living these values with every discussion they have, meeting they participate in and decision they make? How will these values be used in product design, implementation, marketing materials, sales discussion, and client support? When will they be used to say “Yes” and most importantly, when will they be used to say “No” or “I made a mistake.” How will these amazing new core values be integrated into every employee’s goal setting discussion and performance reviews – from the most senior to the most junior? Hold everyone accountable for living your core values – no exceptions.

Share them everywhere and all the time. What else is there to say? Implementation of your core values must be more than putting up posters in the conference rooms and updating them on your website. If that is all you do, you many as well not have done any of this work.

Finally, integrate them into your vision statement (your future looking document) and your mission statement (your what we are doing today document).

How to Build Core Values

Uncovering your core values is an important project that provides stability and guidance throughout the company. Consider these steps when planning how to find your company’s unique set of core values.

Assemble a Team
As with the exercise to uncover your vision statement, assemble a team who will share in this project. Ideally, include people from different levels of the organization. An outside agency will be a great asset as they can be a neutral voice and help guide the process.
Brainstorm values
In a small business you may be able to ask everyone for their insight. In a larger operation, you may need to be more selective as you capture a range of employee voices from different levels of the company. Ask employees to use verbs – action words and short statements to describe how they feel about the company, the work they do and the impact they make. Also ask what they would like to company to represent in the future. Don’t edit their feedback. You will likely end up with a long list of interesting ideas. Note, some of this feedback may not be positive or inspirational. That is valuable information into your corporate culture, and I encourage you to use it to work on your employee engagement.
Group themes
Now is the time to consolidate and group similar words and statements. Look for themes that represent your business now. I also encourage you to explore themes that are inspirational and will assist in supporting change and growth.
Look for words that pop
Have each person on your values team independently select 10 words they feel best meets the company’s current and future potential and uniqueness. Ask them to rate from highest to lowest and include a brief explanation of why they chose that word. Then, assemble the team and discuss. This is a time to practice your listening skills. Try to choose six core words which may have a few related words listed below them. If you have more than six core words don’t worry – go with that for now. Remember, you are looking for unique, relevant and truthful words that are inspirational for today and into the future.
Draft a support statement for each word
Try writing one sentence for each of the six word you chose in the previous step. You may want to ask each member of your team to draft a few versions of this sentence and then meet to review and discuss each option. Once you have agreed on a sentence for each word, ask questions like, “Are we missing anything?” and “Do we really believe them?”
Finalize core values
Share your proposed core values with others from top leadership to your newest employee. How do they feel about them? What feedback do they have about them? Use their feedback and see if there must be any further adjustment before you lock down your final core values and support statements.

Conclusion

I recently was approached by a prospect to do some leadership training. As part of our initial discussion we began to talk about their vision statement and their core values which they were proud of for good reason, they had recently invested a good amount of time to update them as part of their current and future strategy. To honour their hard work and the hard work of other teams who want to embark on this journey, I decided to write a trilogy of articles that walks through the important process of creating and using:

A Vision Statement
Company Core Values (this article)
A Mission Statement

I will link to the other two articles here as I launch them.

For now, let me leave you with one last thought about core values. Exploring, sharing and working each day being guided by your companies core values will help everyone as individuals achieve excellence as they work united toward the companies – and their own personal and professional goals.

Thank you for reading ‘What Are Core Values?’.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

September 06, 2022

What Is A Vision Statement?

September 06, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

I recently was approached by a prospect to do some leadership training to their executive team. Perfect, I love that kind of work. As I listened to their challenges and we discussed how I could help them, we began to talk about their vision statement and their core values, two exceptionally important elements of a business culture.

They were proud of their vision statement and values for good reason. They had recently invested a good amount of time to update them as part of their current and future strategy. They promised to share them with me after the call and I couldn’t wait to see them and to see how I could support their hard work.

So to honour their hard work and the hard work of other teams who want to embark on this journey, I decided to write a trilogy of articles that would demonstrate the importance of their efforts and share how a team would go about this journey by exploring the important process of creating and using:

A Vision Statement (this article)
Company Core Values
A Mission Statement

I will link to the other two articles here as I launch them.

What is a Vision Statement?

A vision statement is a document that provides a guiding light for everyone who might be interested in the company. It is a beacon for what the company wants to achieve, and should act as an invitation for employees, potential employees, suppliers, and customers.

When people read your vision statement, they should feel inspired and believe in it. They must trust the vision is attainable – even if it is a stretch – and they must want to be part of the journey. They must be able to see themselves (employees, suppliers, and customers), as willing participants who can share in the dream.

If the people within and close to your business don’t believe in your vision or feel it is all smoke and mirrors (as my dad would say), there is no way the future vision will ever be realized. And the worst might happen when the most trusted and valued employees abandon ship in search for a better place to offer their talents and customers go to your competition.

In summary, a vision statement is essential because has the power to:

Align the future with the business values and goals today
Provide a clear, unifying message to everyone
Be a proud anchor that attracts people to the corporate brand

Lastly, let’s agree every company should have a vision statement. And to push it a bit further, I like to see certain departments having a vision statement that is secondary to the company’s main vision statement. For example, imagine you are a division leader and are thinking a reorganization of your team would be a good move. This would be a perfect (and admittedly rarely used) place to create a one or two sentence vision statement that would explain the future you imagine.

How to Use A Vision Statement?

Before we look at how to build a vision statement, let’s explore how a company or leader can use a vision statement.

We have already discussed how a vision business statement should help inspire and align people inside and outside the company to reach the company’s goals. To do this means everyone has to know what your vision statement is, and how it applies to the decisions they make.

A company should be sure to use their vision statement as a talking point in every hiring decision, employee performance review and goal-setting conversation. Knowing and understanding the vision statement will also help guide leaders as they plan investments in training and even as they guide the design of strategic marketing and promotion messages. When employees and leaders are truly embracing the vision statement, they use it to confidently guide R&D decisions today that are an investment into the strategic future. When these are happening the leadership team can proudly say the vision statement is being integrated it into the company culture.

Hanging a vision statement in the conference rooms and dedicating a page on your company website isn’t enough to make it part of your corporate culture.

You may be feeling all of this seems like a lot of work – and you would be right. And we haven’t even got to the work required to build a vision statement. But let’s look at the alternative of not having a shared vision and guide into the future. Imagine what it would be like for 10 people in a department or 100 people in a division or 10,000 people in a company to not have this shared vision. Imagine the waste in time, resources, and manpower. Imagine your top 10 best product, sales, marketing, accounting and support employees being frustrated and quitting just to get away from the chaos, waste and frustration. Imagine the negative impact on your brand, customer experience and competitive advantage.

Prepare to commit time and resources to the vision you establish. Once you have one, commit your attention to using it – everywhere.

How to Build a Vision Statement?

Building a vision statement will take time. If you are efficient and the company is small, it may take weeks. If the company is mid-sized or large, expect it to take months. The one biggest mistake I see happen and I urge everyone to avoid is for one person to write the vision statement. The next mistake is to copy someone else’s.

A team should be assembled to build or update a vision statement. In a small business, you may be able to ask everyone for their insight. In a larger operation, you may need to be more selective while still capturing a range of employee voices. It’s also a good idea to hire an outside agency to assist as well since they can be a neutral voice as they guide the process and offer advice. Your team should represent a cross section of employees from different levels of the organization.

The next step is to start research. This can include competitive analysis, economic reviews, talking to technology experts, suppliers, customers and even prospect customers. The more information you gather the better off you will be. This information can also be used as you define the company Values and Values Statement (which I’ll discuss in another article and link to this one once it is published). I like to think of a company’s Vision Statement and Values as being related, but not exactly the same, like siblings.

You also want your team to outline your business’s goals for today – and tomorrow. Be bold, be creative, reach for the moon. If it sounds lofty and worries a few people, be happy, you might be on the right track. This is about being great in the future – not mediocre. Be sure you also pay attention to market analysis and customer feedback. If you find your goals start sounding like your competitors or worse, that they could be used by another type of business, throw them away and start over.

Most people believe a vision statement should be a concise, yet impactful and inspiring message, and they are not wrong. Well designed, well researched one or two sentence statements are easy for people to get behind. But, the senior team might feel it doesn’t go far enough. That’s OK – so design two vision statements. Use the short one for the general population, annual reports and websites and use the second, more lengthy vision statement for senior team strategy discussions, and to set senior team performance KPI’s.

Vision Statement Version 1: Widespread Use

Keep the vision statement short but meaningful.

Create a vision statement that is one or two sentences and delivers a concise, yet impactful and inspiring message. You want your employees, suppliers and customers to be able to understand easily, be able to remember the key message, and hopefully remember how inspired they felt when they read it. Note: “Just do it”, is not a vision statement but it is a really good Nike tagline.

Vision Statement Version 2: Senior Team Use

Create a longer vision statement for the senior team. This statement isn’t a secret, it’s just more information than most people need.

Your senior team might feel the short vision statement doesn’t provide enough scope for what your company can do and what they want it to do. That’s OK. A longer vision statement for the benefit of the senior team is terrific. It can help them determine big, bold decisions while also giving them guidance for Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) for the company – and for each other.

Vision Statement Examples

COBS Bread: “To be the favourite bakery in every community.”

IKEA: “To create a better everyday life for the many people.”

Starbucks: “To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.”

TED: “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and, ultimately, the world.”

Conclusion

Like the company that is hiring me for leadership training, most companies benefit from periodically updating their vision statement, values and mission statement. This makes total sense because our world is changing and companies have to change to keep up. By going thorough the process of updating your vision statement, values and mission statement there is also the opportunity to take a good hard look at the market you serve, what part you want to play and the corporate culture you want to work within.

Thank you for reading ‘What Is A Vision Statement’.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

August 31, 2022

Benefits, Challenges and Solutions of Remote Work, Hybrid Work and In-office Work

August 31, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

Remote work is not going away.

The last few years have demonstrated people are able to work remotely. We finally broke many misconceptions about remote workers. We have also advanced the development and adoption of technology to assist in collaboration and project management between individuals who may or may not be distance-based.

The challenge we have today is to figure out our brave new world and how work will ‘be’ tomorrow for each of us.

Many of us want the best of both working in-office and working remotely. Before we get too far down this path I recommend we pause for a moment to accept one of the biggest challenges we are facing is that there is no one-size fits all solution for companies, departments and individuals. But one thing I am pretty sure about is that people who work fully remotely will be the minority; in-person contact just offers too much potential benefit for the individual and the company.

Let’s talk about benefits of remote work, hybrid work and in-office work

There are many discussions about how in-office work benefits the employer. So let’s do something different (and perhaps a bit controversial) and explore some of the important benefits to you and I as individuals to being in the office at least some of the time.

In-office work helps us learn to communicate more effectively, confidentially and respectfully. It’s the face-to-face, in-person contact that is important here. Benefits from in-person contact helps us communicate pretty much everywhere; from simple discussions and reading body language, to learning to listen for what people are saying as well as what they are not saying. In-person contact helps us feel and give empathy and helps us recognize when others are sharing or needing empathy; all which are great for build trusting relationships. In-person contact is also amazingly important during creative brainstorming sessions, not to mention in-person contact helps us learn, practice, and sharpen our leadership skills.

Remote work also helps dedicated employees get more done in less time with fewer interruptions (starts and stops). Remote work is also good for employees as they might feel less stress about work, have more time to spend on other projects or training which would enhance longer-term career aspirations, have more autonomy and feel more productive.

Remote work employees may also have the benefit (stressing the word may) because they:

Have greater flexibility to support family
Save money on transportation
Save money on clothes and meals

Let’s talk leadership

Many people aspire to become talented and productive leaders as they progress through their career. Here’s the thing; experts around the world tell us leadership today is far less about being a subject matter expert and far more about building shared respect and trust with individuals. Being a great leader is about inspiring and supporting your team to want to do their best work as they pursue shared company goals.

One of the most important and challenging jobs of a leader is to inspire people who have a variety of personal and professional experiences, values, goals and who may even come from different cultures. This is a rewarding challenge that will require today’s leader to invest a considerable amount of time and attention into being great. And, as I suggested earlier, today’s leaders must also be able to have difficult conversations. Leaders must learn to share challenging news while helping others feel respected, supported, and to not be triggered into a defensive posture. To do this, great leaders have to be great communicators. Not surprisingly, these skills don’t just magically appear. Even the greatest leaders have had to acquire their skills through years of training, coaching and practice.

Can we all learn to be great communicators and build trusting relationships when working remotely? Yes, of course. But (you knew there was going to be a ‘but’), given today’s technology, our use (and misuse) of this technology, our workplace cultures, and past experiences, our success is almost always greater when we have at least some in-person experiences. Let me again share that there are no one-size fits all solutions; leaders and employees must understand different companies, different jobs, and different people will need different arrangements.

There is one more important benefit to in-person interactions. As I briefly mentioned earlier, when we are trying to come up with new ideas and brainstorm solutions, in-person idea-generation sessions are still best. They allow people to see excitement and body-language. In-person interactions allow us talk over each other in respectful ways and for everyone to follow the conversation from many directions at the same time. It’s an energy and rhythm that’s difficult to duplicate in an on-line format given today’s technology.

Let’s talk career-advancement

Imagine half of your teammates are in-office all or most of the time, physically seeing each other and going for coffee while the other half of your teammates are working remotely. It’s not a stretch to see how remote employees may be less top of mind and their accomplishments, participation, ideas and even future opportunities overlooked from time-to-time.

Is this ideal? No. Would almost all of us prefer if it wasn’t like this? Yes. The reality is that it would take a highly evolved workplace culture to find true balance between the experiences of in-office and remote workers. Might we get there in the future? I hope so.

It may seem unfair this burden falls 100% to the employee, but it is their career that is on the line, so I believe staying visible is an employee’s main responsibility no matter if they work in-office, remote or hybrid. You and I both know that even when employees are working in the office, staying visible is their responsibility. It’s just that as a remote and hybrid employee, staying visible feels different than when they used to work in-office all the time. So, how can any employee (and leader) be professional and proactive. Here are some examples:

Come to all meetings prepared
Do their work well and hand it in early
Help others when they can – but don’t let their work suffer
Say something positive when others do something great
Be on-camera during video meetings (and look interested)
For both on-camera meetings, in-person meetings and group phone calls, plan to sign-in or attend early if possible. When others show up, engage in casual conversation to support relationship and trust building.

There are also many other creative opportunities to stay visible. For example, imagine knowing a company retreat is being planned. Especially if it's not the employees’ job, I’d recommend making sure they are part of the organizing committee. Even the smallest role – like organizing and manning the registration table will give them major exposure.

Remote, in-office and hybrid workers must all accept there are pluses and minuses to every solution. As a remote worker part of your life may be easier (like zero transportation) and part may be less attractive. Meanwhile, your co-workers who go into the office may have the unpleasant experience of spending 1, 2 and even 3-hours each day commuting. In the end, we all have new elements to consider when revising our own, personal work-life-balance equation.

Note: This new environment is starting to level the playing field for people living with a disability who find either getting to in-office spaces difficult.

Let’s talk about moving forward – together

Five responsibilities organizations, leaders and employees (in-office and remote) will have to share, noting that some of the best organizations were doing these long before 2020:

A. Be crystal clear with company, department, and project goals

B. Communicate (and repeat) important messages clearly, often and respectfully… to everyone

C. Set and track clear performance metrics (note, being in-office is not a quality performance metric)

D. Follow organizational values and the unrelenting support of 100% respect for everyone

E. Support the concept that change is the new standard

A: Whether you are all working remote, in-office, or hybrid, if you are not clear with company, department, and project goals your work quality and your feelings of pride will suffer.

B: Communicate is the best way to keep people focused on a goal and to be sure they feel pride in their work and are inspired by their community. It builds employee trust with their leaders and among each other. When leaders and employees are transparent and communicate often, this also helps others feel a sense of stability and calm.

C: When consumed by the busyness of an office, many leaders confess they sometimes forget the remote worker when setting project assignments. This is why it matters organizations help their leaders change the way they set tasks and evaluate productivity. Performance goals should measure many things. For example, they should:

Be based on objective value added to the firm’s core goals
Constantly support the values of the organization.
Be transparent, understood by everyone
Be tracked in real-time

A popular approach to tracking and evaluating productively is called Results Only Work (ROW). This is a brilliant way to measure success, regardless of if employees are in-office or remote. Even if you have all of your employees working in-office I encourage you to set and track what people accomplish in today’s world, a bum in seat is not a good measurement of a dedicated, high-value employee.

D: As a leader one of the most empowering things you can do is ensure everyone on your team knows how their contribution aligns to the company values. And hopefully one of those values is to ensure everyone deserves to be a member of a respectful, inclusive and equitable workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying. When it comes to setting and tracking clear performance metrics, demonstrating company values should be at the top of the list.

E: Leaders have to help take the fear out of change and insert an expectation of change. People love routine because it feels comfortable and dependable. But today, routine means you are falling behind your competition and/or co-workers. How we worked 10 years ago is different than how we work today. How we worked 2-years ago is different. And I imagine how we work 2-years from now will be different yet again.

Moving forward will not only change the way we work, it makes sense that the actual work we do will change. Like always, part this change will be due to market demand and innovation. But change will also accelerate as we integrate new remote-work and hybrid work models into our culture – not to mention the new emerging technologies. For example, as we emerge out of a pandemic, half of my mother’s quarterly check-in / check-up doctors’ visits are now done by phone. During the pandemic all of them were remote unless there was something serious my mother felt she needed to discuss. Before the pandemic all her doctor visits were in-person. These are three significant changes to how my mother’s doctor works in just over two years.

We are living in a culture of change. The organizations, leaders and employees who will thrive will be excited about change and see it as an opportunity to grow and develop new skills. I believe our clearest path forward is for us to all adopt a positive perspective that focuses on saying things like, “What we did today was great, how can we make it and/or the process better tomorrow.” We must allow ourselves to be reflective – but in a positive “can do” way that honours and respects what we did today, not condemn it. Treat it like an After-Action Review (AAR) originally developed by the U.S. Army as a structured review process would encourage everyone to pause after a project and to explore three questions with a goal to learn from our experiences:

What happened
Why it happened
How it can be done better by the participants and those responsible

Conclusion

Experts predict that as we move into a ‘new normal’ between 35 to 65% of employees will work hybrid with only about 10% working fully remote.

It is incumbent on everyone, leaders, and employees alike to make sure we all remain visible, front-of-mind, and reviewed based on job performance despite a remote status.

One last thing. When bringing employees back to the office either full time or as part of a hybrid work model, I strongly believe leaders need to be able to answer the following four key questions clearly and transparently. And I warn you in advance, if you tell the truth people will believe and respect the news you share even if it isn’t what they wanted to hear. But, if you try to fluff it off or treat today like it was 2-years ago, you will likely soon have a productivity and employee loyalty issue to manage… as well:

How can we bring people back safely?
Why are we bringing people back to the office?
What is our hybrid work strategy?
What is our workplace value proposition?

Thank you for reading ‘Benefits, Challenges and Solutions of Remote Work, Hybrid Work and In-office Work’. Together we can get the best of working in-office and remotely.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

August 24, 2022

How to have a difficult conversation with a hostile or toxic employee

August 24, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

Hostile, toxic employees are just bad gone worse. They are a drain on morale, productivity and likely other great, loyal employees.

And hostile, toxic employees come in all shapes and sizes. Some are experts in passive aggressiveness, others are condescending and demoralizing, while others might actively sabotage other people’s work – or take credit for it.

The easy way to manage a hostile or toxic employee is to let them be until the pressure around them blows and the only choice to manage the conflict is to fire them. Unfortunately, the damage of lost employees, clients and productively left in their wake – often for years – will likely be considerable.

The bolder and better way to manage a hostile or toxic employee is to first accept that a hostile, toxic person may not realize their behaviour. Seriously – they may not… as difficult as that is to imagine. Next, I recommend quickly preparing yourself to have a difficult conversation with them about their behaviour. The great part of this is that while a difficult conversation will likely be uncomfortable, it has not yet reached the boiling level of conflict. A difficult conversation lets you both discuss the issue and gives them an opportunity to choose to change. Conflict usually has only one uncomfortable, messy outcome.

So, how do you prepare for the important difficult conversation and plan your approach? I recommend starting with two simple steps, observe and document.

Observe: Take note of the hostile, toxic behaviours you are seeing. What is happening? Where is it happening? When is it happening? With whom is it happening? Don’t add your interpretation of ‘why’ it is happening. Any ‘story’ you may think is the reason they are being hostile or toxic will likely not be accurate and will not be helpful. Later, during the discussion if they choose to share ‘why’ then let them, but during the observation phase, the ‘why’ doesn’t matter very much.
Document: Keep notes of what, where, when and with whom. You want to have hard examples to share and discuss with them. And let’s be clear – this is for discussion purposes, to help them understand what they are doing that is not OK, to perhaps help them see a pattern of behaviour. This is not blame or vindication.

OK, you’ve done steps 1 and 2. Now what? This could be a really long article if I went into detail, so let me suggest the following as reference points on how to move forward. The general sense is to share what you see, explore causes, and to begin building a better path forward that is in-line with the company vision, values and policies.

Steps to having a difficult conversation with a hostile or toxic employee:

Consider including HR and / or an HR lawyer, especially in severe cases. They can offer guidance up front, and if things continue or escalate their support will be required, while likely minimizing your exposure.
Mention you have something important to share and are eager to find a positive solution versus requiring a disciplinary action
Discuss their behaviour. Do not discuss or attack their character – this will make it personal, and you don’t want that.
Give direct and honest feedback of undesirable behaviour you’ve observed using specific examples how that behaviour does not support the values and policies of the company. This may be news to them so help them understand.
Share the behaviour you expect and how they can support the values and policies of the company
Be clear their behaviour needs to change
Don’t debate, toxic people are often good at debating meaning, twisting goals and responsibility
Discuss consequences if an improvement plan cannot be agreed upon
Help them change, develop an improvement plan with them setting clearly defined, measurable goals
Offer a coach if the company has access
Confirm their agreement / commitment
While overall performance discussions should be private, there may be times during a work day you need to stop undesirable behaviour as it is happening. Do it gently and move on – don’t make a public spectacle, just like you should with all employees.
Mention you are happy you were able to discuss this and find a positive path forward versus requiring a disciplinary action
Document everything, the bad and the good. Especially if progress is being made you will want to discuss and reward that progress.
Practice self-care and support care for the rest of the team
Don’t let yourself or the team be distracted so that major deliverables and goals suffer

These steps will help you prepare for a difficult conversation with a hostile or toxic employee and find a way forward with (hopefully) the least amount of stress and anxiety.

One last thing. While you are working through the situation with your hostile or toxic employee, don’t forget to care for the rest of your team. They likely need a bit of TLC and support since they have – and may continue to experience some of that undesirable behaviour.

How to support the rest of the team:

Be sure to give them positive feedback on their success / their effort
Encourage them to focus on their success / their effort
Don’t focus on what the toxic person is doing / not doing
Encourage others to not talk about the toxic person behind their back
Encourage them to give the toxic person support if they see improvement
When they need to talk, listen to support them, not discuss the toxic person
Offer them professional counselling / mentoring
Do your best to insulate them / distance them from the toxic employee

Thank you for reading ‘How to have a difficult conversation with a hostile or toxic employee’.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

August 19, 2022

How To Have Employee And Team Meetings: Be A Great Leader

August 19, 2022/ Bruce Mayhew

Being a great leader is about knowing your people and building trust so you can help them to proudly do their best work. But how do you get to know people without sounding personally intrusive and creepy? And let’s face it, work is work for both of you and neither of you need a new best friend.

A combination of team and one-on-one meetings is the answer if you want happy, trusting and loyal employees, high employee engagement and high productivity.

Employee and team meetings don’t need to be long, but, they should be professional in nature (i.e.: not a walk to get a coffee), and I believe employee and team meetings should have a relaxed feeling. The most important outcome of these meetings is that your employees feel important and listened to. This means that besides having the meetings, you have to show them you care by giving them your undivided attention during these meetings; so put your phone away… and have them do the same!

One more thing before we get into how to have employee and team meetings as well as some possible questions to use. If you or they are new to this type of meeting, expect them to be quiet at first. Trust is a big part of this and they may have to learn this is a safe place to share. This also means you have to keep the meetings feeling positive… even when you are discussing a challenge, don’t look for blame, instead look for solutions – what can be done.

Step 1. Establish A Routine

Your meetings must happen on-schedule and be a priority. You can’t cancel them at a drop of a hat and you can’t let your employee(s) cancel them either. When you dedicate time for these meetings and keep them on schedule, this signals to your employee(s) that their well-being, success, feedback and insight are important to you.

Step 2. How To Have One-on-One Meetings

I like to call one-on-one meetings ‘laser meetings’. I design them as 15-minutes long (tops) where an employee and I meet in a private space (like an office or board room). I also like to have them run the meeting. I’m not there to draw information out of them – I’m there to listen, be there for them and engage in conversation. Laser meetings also give employees the privacy to ask questions or have discussions with me that they may not want to have in front of other people or a group. How do I do that? I share with them far in advance possible questions they might want to answer. For example:

What are your biggest accomplishments this week / month or with this project?
Do you want to give a shout-out to a colleague who you saw make a positive impact?
What challenges and/or roadblocks you are facing that might put a deliverable in jeopardy?
What resources do you need to help you achieve your goals?
How can the team help you achieve your goals?
What is something I (your leader) should start, stop and/or continue doing with with the team?
Is there something I can help you with to meet one of your personal or professional goals?
What is something we can improve upon – as a department or company?
What excites you the most about work lately?
On a scale of 1-10, how safe do you feel sharing ideas with me and/or with others on the team?
How is your workload?
Have you felt you weren’t able to keep up your deadlines?
What has been taking up the majority of your time?
What is your biggest time management challenge?
Our core values are ABCDE. Which do you identify closely with – and please describe how?

Now, let me be clear, I don’t expect – or want – them to answer all these questions in one meeting. In one laser meeting we might only get to two or maximum four questions. I also don’t want a presentation – I want conversation. This is time for me get to know and trust them and for them to get to know and trust me. I also look for a bit of rotation through these questions, and if I notice they were always coming to meetings with talking points based on the same questions, I might ask a few of my own. I’d also encourage them to come up with their own questions and talking points.

Step 3. How To Have Group or Team Meetings

Group meetings could be run in a few different ways depending on the team and the priorities. From a timing perspective, 1-hour usually works well meetings. If they need to be scheduled as longer because you have a big team and/or there is lots going on, then that is fine.

As with laser meetings, these meetings must happen on schedule. People must count on them and respect them. You respect the meeting means you respect the meeting attendees and purpose.

Let’s assume I’m having a group meeting with my direct reports. I may tend to act more like a chair of the meeting and then go around the table giving everyone equal time. The list of 15 questions would still be relevant, but because it is a group meeting, I might suggest just a few questions in advance they can choose from. For example, I might suggest just the first five, but encourage them to bring up something else if they feel it is pressing or helpful:

What are your biggest accomplishments this week / month or with this project?
Do you want to give a shout-out to a colleague who you saw make a positive impact?
What challenges and/or roadblocks you are facing that might put a deliverable in jeopardy?
What resources do you need to help you achieve your goals?
How can the team help you achieve your goals?

Step 4. Take Notes

I’m not encouraging you to write down every word they utter, and again I would certainly downplay the need of giving you a presentation. But taking down a few choice words like: “Shout out to Jesse, supported ABC proposal with new analysis,” or “Challenge, Sales Team over-promising delivery dates causing increased transportation costs.” If there is a specific project you are working on, keeping notes based on question #3 is an excellent way for you as a leader to get ongoing updates and track progress.

Conclusion

Employee engagement, alignment, trust and satisfaction is your number one goal when you are looking to have employee and team meetings. Your secondary goal – the thing that will result from these meeting will be increase performance, less waste and greater pride in their own and each other’s work. When these meetings happen, your employees will walk away from the meetings feeling important and inspired instead.

One last thing, be prepared to hear things you may not like… even about your own performance. If you get difficult to hear feedback you should be thrilled because it means your team trust you. So don’t blow it and get defensive. You are their leader – so be a leader. As I said earlier, even when you are discussing a challenge, don’t look for blame, instead look for solutions; what you can do. But, if you are to blame, take responsibility for it, apologize, talk about what you are learning and move on to solutions. This is an excellent opportunity to be a role-model.

Thank you for reading ‘How To Have Employee And Team Meetings’.

Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.

Bruce

Learn More About Bruce Mayhew

To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.

Related Workshops That Drive Business Success

Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.

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