Trust in Leadership

On February 28, 2022   /   Building Trust, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Trust   /   Leave a comment
Trust in Leadership

Your company’s growth and profitability can catapult to new levels and a lot of it has to do with how much your employees trust your leadership. 

According to an article in The Harvard Business Review, employees who trust their leaders tend to be more productive.   The article suggests that trust is linked to oxytocin levels in the brain, therefore, employees are happier and communicate more effectively with colleagues and management.  This may have a connection to increased productivity and profits.  

Points to ponder:

1) Transparency is key.  Employees seek to be aware of what is real and true.  Besides the need for job security and career advancement opportunities, employees want to be part of a workplace culture that puts a premium on delivering the truth.  For example, employees want to know how management perceives the effectiveness of their work performance because it allows them to make decisions based on facts and not assumptions about how they want to navigate their company career. 

2) Do as you say.  Discussing company core values and expectations in monthly meetings is important and employees expect leaders to model those values—consistently. 

3)  Be vulnerable.  Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t have all of the answers and that you’re not perfect.  Become comfortable with being uncomfortable so that you can build workplace relationships as you build the business.  Be willing to share childhood family dynamic(s) that influenced your adult values.

4) Avoid micromanagement.  This is key for building trust and developing strong workplace relationships.  Also, less micromanaging means less stress for you and more accountability for your employees.

5) Understand how to be an effective listener.  Sometimes the boldest thing a leader can do is listen and truly internalize the ideas/opinions of their staff.

6) Make employees feel appreciated and valued.  Plan an annual retreat.  Ask employees where they’d like to go and activities they want to do during the retreat.  If it is successful, consider making it an annual event…it will be something for everyone to look forward to each year.

Bonus point:  Authentic trust in work environments promote well-being and high morale.  A lack of trust produces higher turnover and lower productivity. 

Go out there and make it a great day !

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Psychological Safety at Work

On December 15, 2021   /   Back to Work, Cancel Culture, Emotional Intelligence   /   Leave a comment
Psychological Safety at Work

Do your employees feel comfortable to share their ideas and concerns, or raise questions?  If you’re unable to answer that question with a confident and resounding “Yes!”, you may want to take a look at the level of psychological safety your workplace offers. 

According to Forbes, psychological safety at work is “a shared belief held by members of a company, department or team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”  Simply said, if employees feel psychologically safe at work, they feel free to express their genuine thoughts and opinions without fear of rejection, embarrassment, or reprisal.

Psychologically safe workplaces are important because they foster innovation, increase productivity and improve retention. Employees are more likely to share unique ideas if they feel safe to do so. If mistakes occur, they can be treated as a learning opportunity; unlike employees in psychologically unsafe workspaces where mistakes may be hidden due to job security concerns.  Not surprising, turnover is reduced because great teams flourish in psychologically safe work environments.  Employees want to work where they’re valued. Ultimately, being part of a great work environment is beneficial to the company, its consumers, and the community.

Improving psychological safety in the workplace requires dedication and must be a priority to management.  Begin by observing your team’s communication style. How are differing opinions handled? Ensure all ideas are heard by reassuring the team that honest feedback is welcomed.  Be sure to thank team members for their contributions.

Celebrate diverse thinking and show respect for all opinions.  Model how to provide constructive criticism without belittling others.

What steps are you taking to improve psychological safety in your workplace? Let us know in the comments below and remember…make it a great day!

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Quality Customer Care on Social Media

On September 23, 2021   /   All Star Customer Satisfaction, Business Etiquette, Effective Communication, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment
Quality Customer Care on Social Media

Dialing up the client services department to complain (or compliment) about your buying experience can be a hassle.  Let’s be honest, it’s just easier to use social media to convey good or bad consumer experiences to solve our problem.

Social media customer service was once a rarely used service channel, however, that has changed.  Companies are bringing customer service pages back to the internet.

According to Forbes Business Magazine, addressing service quality on a social media platform boosts a company’s brand.  When executed with empathy, it presents situations to the public that describes how the business treats its consumers (this can also be a golden opportunity to shine if you’re delivering exceptional quality care).

To thrive in commerce on the world wide web, your customer service had better be on point. So, consider this:

1) Identify which social media platform you’ll use to communicate with customers.  Ideally, it should be the same platform the majority of your customers currently use.

2) Decide on an appropriate response time.  How quickly will you commit to responding to your customers?  Most customers expect feedback within an hour.  Establish customer expectations with automated responses that identify turnaround time.  Post your service hours.

3) Make sure your company’s values are reflected when acknowledging customers criticisms. Coach employees on proper verbal and written tone of voice.  Offer specific examples and encourage role play to enhance the training.

4) Monitor conversations on your social media platforms in order to gain insight into public opinions about your business and products.  Use it to improve your weaknesses.

Tell us how social media has impacted your customer service delivery.

Remember, make it a great day!

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Zoom Fatigue

On September 8, 2021   /   Empathy, Video Conferencing, Zoom Fatigue   /   Leave a comment
Zoom Fatigue

Many companies are rethinking their return to office timeline with the recent spikes in Covid-19 cases nationwide and for many employees, that means more zoom meetings and no end in sight to the fatigue that seems to accompany videoconferencing. .

According to PsychiatricTimes.com, zoom fatigue is attributed to burnout due to the overuse of virtual communication platforms.  Physical symptoms of burnout can include sleeplessness, tense muscles, and pain.  Cognitive issues such as forgetfulness and lack of concentration can also develop.

So why is videoconferencing so taxing?  Virtual meetings require your brain to work harder because in addition to processing what the speaker is saying, you must also give the impression you’re making eye contact.  Additionally, when communicating virtually, a slight verbal delay requires more of your brain power to interpret the speaker’s words.

As we all work through this “new normal,” we’d like to offer possible solutions for those facing endless video conferences. Here are a couple key tips for reducing zoom fatigue:

First, consider which interactions truly require video.  Could the matter be handled with an email or phone call?  Try to balance your meetings with a mix of video conference and teleconference calls.

Second, when creating your schedule, include breaks where possible.  It’s important to give yourself a break from continuously staring at a screen.

Third, remove distractions.  Minimize the image on your screen if you find yourself becoming distracted by your own appearance.  Or, consider asking if it’s okay to turn off your video functionality so that you can better focus on the discussion.

As always, we hope this helps.  Feel free to share your tips for reducing zoom fatigue in the comment section below…and…by all means, make it a great day!

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Internal Communication Has Critical Impact on Business

On September 5, 2018   /   Internal Communication, Team Building   /   Leave a comment
Internal Communication Has Critical Impact on Business

Photo Provided by Pixaby

What’s one of the best ways to foster creativity and growth in the workplace?  Dismantling silos and building internal bridges.

Members of various corporate C-Suites are beginning to recognize that silos are a major factor that prevent companies from hitting growth and profit targets.  Not only that, they understand that silos are partially responsible for key employees not reaching their full potential and losing them to competitors.  

The term ‘silo’ has been used in the corporate arena for the last 30 years.  It is borrowed from what we know as farm silos which store grain for farmers.   When you look at farm silos, they have no windows, they have limited points of entrance, and in older silos, the grain cannot be easily extracted.  How ironic.  The instrument that is used to store a product to sell at a later date for profit is the same instrument that obstructs the full life and fervor of the farm.  The same is true when applied to companies.

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