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Who is the person in the mirror?

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  As 2022 nears its end, take a moment to ask yourself: how will you prepare for a new year? Have you paused to reflect on your performance and how you show up to others?  Traditionally, we define self-awareness as knowing what you are good at and not good at with a willingness to grow  [i] . It is an acknowledgment that your self-perception may not align with how others perceive you.    How can you become more self-aware? Frequently asking others for feedback or utilizing tools such as 360s can create a picture of others’ perceptions.   Ask yourself, “Does this feedback show the leader I aspire to be? If not, what do I do to change?” This learning mindset requires a change in behavior and action. Awareness requires communication and accountability.   Self-awareness is both awareness of self and your impact on others. Here are three strategies to move toward the improvement of self-awareness  [i] .   Step out of your comfort zone   Anything out of your comfort is an
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What It Means to Have Heart

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  In August, our DLS webinar focused on emotions in the workplace. Something struck when the speaker said, “set the tone for the energy you want them to match.” It all became clear. To better deal with emotional dialogue in the workplace, it starts with you. Better communication is a sure way to improve your relationship with others, but why do relationships matter at work? Our ability to connect with others at work can impact the organization’s productivity, engagement, and sense of psychological safety. Learning to communicate or deal with conflict the right way starts with you. How can you do this? According to Crucial Conversations (McMillan, 2021) , this is as simple as Start with Heart. What does that mean? When dealing with a conflict your ‘heart’ is your intent and motive. At times our motives are good, but we approach these situations with the mindset to defend ourselves, prove the other person is wrong, or make them change, which makes us lose. 1.)   Must stop believing peopl
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Create a Culture of Courage

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Workplace courage is a label often applied to those with the guts to call out unethical behaviors or ineffective practices. The idea of calling out these sorts of incidents may be freighting or prevent employees from speaking up. How do you think this impacts innovation and growth in an organization? What if we create a culture that welcomes and rewards courageous acts like challenging the status quo or candidly speaking out on policies or processes no longer effective. These acts of courage lead to growth in the workplace. Research proves that when employees display courageous behavior, it promotes growth for individuals and groups. The more these behaviors are displayed, the better the outcome for stronger, more capable, and more productive individuals, teams, and organizations  [1] . For example, giving honest feedback to people in charge encourages others to openly express new ideas that may increase the effectiveness of practices. Let’s explore how employers can engage e
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The new B, in DEIB

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You may already be familiar with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I). However, the next evolution is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). In the past year, you may have seen DEIB. If you are wondering what the B stands for, its belonging. Belonging is the experience of being accepted and treated as a full member of a community by being who they are every day. And why is belonging part of diversity, inclusion, and equity? Recent studies show that 73% percent of respondents stated that fostering a sense of belonging was important to their organization’s success, with 93% agreeing that a sense of belonging drives organizational performance. [i] The main attributes to creating a sense of belonging are [ii] 1.)     Comfort – workers should feel comfortable at work, including being treated fairly and respected by their colleagues. 2.)     Connection – they should feel connected to the people they work with and the teams they are a part of. 3.)     Contr
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Inspire others to harness the superpower of top performers

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  Top performers can often be segmented from other workers. That leads to a vast difference in performance where some individuals perform at exceptional levels while others coast. Which does not effectively impact the culture and leaves top performers burned out and eventually disengaged.   Least successful achievers need to harness the superpower of top performers. So, how can organizations inspire it’s not so exceptional workers to improve their performance?   1.) Identify/define top performance Identify who the top performers are within the organization, then identify their characteristics and skills. Ask yourself, what does success look like for top performers? With these answers, HR and leadership can create training opportunities and modify interview techniques. Then share those defined standards with everyone to communicate clear expectations for performance.   2.) Invite top performers to interviews Place top performers on interview panels to offer insight about candidates. Inv
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3 Ways to Build Trust in a Team

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Mental Health Awareness Month is here, so what better time than now to talk about trust. For myself working in an environment where trust matters is important. Teams aren’t effective when there is no trust. A lack of trust leads to stress, conflict, disengagement, productivity, and decreased retention. Even more so trust is important to the mental health of a team because it supports psychological safety. A 2015 Google study found the five keys to a successful team and the number one factor was psychological safety. Author and professor at Harvard Business School Amy Edmondson describe psychological safety as “a critical driver of high-quality decision making, healthy group dynamics and interpersonal relationships, greater innovation, and more effective execution in organizations.” Here are 3 simple ways you can start the work to build trust among your team. Build connection, communication, and compassion To get to a place where you feel like others on the team have your back y
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A Transition Plan for Today’s Leader

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  A report of more than 15,000 leaders and more than 2,000 HR executives was completed by DDI completed in 2021 as part of its Global Leadership Forecast series. The results prove their transition into their current leadership role has not been successful. 2020-2021 were the most trying times of the pandemic for businesses. During this time an organization’s lack of transition support can be attributed to its need for survival. In the past two years leadership roles changed for several reasons i.e., companies quickly downsized, transformed, or reorganized leaving them needing to fill leadership roles quickly. Before COVID-19 leadership transitions were already challenging. According to DDI, leadership transition is among life’s most challenging adjustments, ranking up there with personal illness or a major life event. (DDI, Leaders in transition, 2015). Transitions are not getting any easier as leaders are now being expected to have a greater conception of emotional intelligence,
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