Small Business Week has continued for nearly 60 years and grows in scope — with each new generation of startups and entrepreneurs leaving their imprint on the event. National Small Business Week (NSBW) will run from Sunday, April 30 through Saturday, May 6 in 2023. The SBA will announce winners for the 2023 awards in 14 categories, including:

• Small Business Person of the Year Award
• Small Business Exporter of the Year
• Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery
• Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Mitigation
• Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery – Public Official
• Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery – Volunteer
• Federal Procurement Award – Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award
• Federal Procurement Award – Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award
• Federal Procurement Award – Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence
• 8(a) Graduate of the Year Award
• Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Award
• Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award
• Women’s Business Center of the Year Excellence Award
• Small Business Investment Company of the Year

Nominations are closed for 2023, but if you have a small business or are inspired by one, 2024 nominations will open in the Fall.

The National Small Business Week 2-day virtual summit is happening Tuesday, May 2 – Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

2023 virtual summit event will include educational presentations by experts, an exhibit hall, networking, and a mentoring lounge where attendees can get questions answered. The event is free to attend for both established and aspiring business owners.

Small Business Month and Day

Starting with Small Business Week, many areas extend the celebration throughout May for Small Business Month.

There are other annual celebrations for small businesses as well. Starting with Small Business Week, many areas extend the celebration throughout May for Small Business Month. Companies can choose how long they promote their business, either for the week or through the entire month.

In 2010 American Express began promoting Small Business Saturday: in 2015 the Small Business Administration joined the event as a co-sponsor. Typically the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday will fall on November 25, 2023. American Express promotes the event with national advertising and businesses around the country participate. It’s estimated that since Small Business Saturday began, the event has generated about $103 billion in revenue for local companies.

This year, American Express has partnered with TikTok to launch the #ShopSmall Accelerator, a new program designed to help small business owners reach a new generation of Gen Z shoppers on Small Business Saturday.

There’s reason to celebrate

There are great reasons to celebrate small businesses in the US. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, in 2021 there were 32.5 million small businesses in the U.S.:

• 99.9% of U.S. businesses are small businesses
• 99.7% of companies with paid employees are small businesses
• Small businesses employ 46.8% of private sector workers in the U.S. (61 million)
• Small businesses generate 43.5% of gross domestic product, and almost 40% of private sector payroll
• Small businesses earn $13.3 trillion annually — 35.6% of private sector receipts

Compared to large businesses, small businesses are growing faster, according to the SBA. From 1995 to 2020, small businesses created 12.7 million net new jobs: large businesses created 7.9 million. Post-pandemic data has not been compiled, but some losses have likely occurred.

How do you celebrate a Small Business Week?

Small Business Week (Day and Month) are all about shameless self-promotion, and why shouldn’t they be? You had a vision you turned into action. Whether you’re your only employee or you have a 100 on the payroll, you provide jobs and a valuable product or service to your community and beyond. Celebrate the event(s) alone or alongside your neighboring small businesses.

Whether you’re your only employee or you have a 100 on the payroll, you provide jobs and a valuable product or service to your community and beyond.

Tell your story

Let your customers know who you are, what inspired you, and the history of your company. If you’re a generational business, blow up pictures of the ancestors who started the company and post them on social media, in windows or inside the business with their backstory.

Post your inspiration or where you plan to grow and develop on social media pages, too. Customers love to support local businesses: telling them your journey (or your family’s) builds brand loyalty.

Brag about your team

Let your customers know how much you appreciate the team that serves them. You can blow up pictures of your employees with their work story, too. List when they started, if they’ve moved up the ladder, how much customers rave about them, etc. You can even make it silly. If they’ve been with you for many years, try to find an old photo to compare with today’s look.

Thank your customers

Make sure you’re extra thankful to customers during any event. Add a picture of the first dollar you earned — hopefully with the date marked on it, or the day of your grand opening in your window. Let clients know you’re grateful they’ve been with you from the beginning, or that they just found you!

Create Small Business Week Events

Create events for your own company, your business district, or your entire town. Work with your Chamber of Commerce or Business Development Office and local vendors to promote the week or day.

Make it a team effort

Collaborate on signage, sidewalk sales, or create a progressive shopping event. Customers can start with a card that’s punched for every purchase made locally. When they get 10 punches at 10 local shops, they drop their card into a box for a  raffled-off prize.

Create swag

You can create your own Small Business Week tees and tote bags, or team up with other local shops on a group item. From the smallest of magnets to the largest swag bag, customers love branded items. An “I   Shopping Local” with your logo, or all your local businesses’ logo, not only drives traffic — it continues to advertise for your businesses long after the event is over.

Make it festive

Open and close Small Business Week with events like face painting, musicians, balloon artists, or bouncy houses for the kids. This not only drives interest in the event, it helps support other small businesses that may not have a storefront — like your local magician or unicyclist. Look for high school talent — bands, theater, and art departments may have suggestions for students willing to work the event(s).

Promote your wares

If you’re a restaurant, consider creating a signature sandwich or drink for the event. If you’re a candy or ice cream shop, make a new combination to celebrate. For those who aren’t ready to create something new, promote your best sellers with a small discount or an added treat — an extra scoop always draws customers.

Small businesses supporting other small businesses

If you can, work with your neighboring small businesses or those in town to make it a community event. Launch on Sunday together. Post signage widely; you might consider using your town or strip mall logo. Decorate with a theme, or just matching colors, to tie everyone together. Plan ahead with décor and events so you can share ideas and costs.

Schedule the best sales and swag days for the launch of the event or on the weekend, but don’t neglect mid-week. Offer 10% off on Tuesdays, when traffic is slow, to see if you can increase sales. A small free gift with purchase on Thursday can help, too. If there are only a few shops on main street or in your strip mall, work with your neighboring businesses to pick a discount day for each store. The more traffic you can drive to your neighbors, the more traffic you may see in your shop.

Consider teaming up with local charities — like your PTA or Little League. If you can offer a portion of the proceeds to these groups, you’ll begin with a targeted customer base.

Create social media events to generate buzz. Ask customers to post themselves and their purchases on your and their social media pages when they shop Small Business Week. Consider creating a backdrop that shows your shop (and logo) and boasts about shopping local as a photo op space. At the end of the event, you or your partnering shops can create an entire album of loyal customers who supported your businesses. Bonus points for silly posts — like that sassy new hat on the pup!

The purpose of Small Business Week

Small businesses are the backbone of entrepreneurship and success in the U.S. These companies employ almost half of American workers and drive nearly half the country’s gross domestic product. Small Business Week celebrates their contribution locally and across the country in May, but it builds customers and brand loyalty throughout the year. Make sure to celebrate your small business — and your neighbors’ — in your community.

The post Small Business Week 2023: Ways You Can Make an Impact appeared first on Workest.

Companies should encourage career advancement. Supporting and facilitating professional development allows team members to work at their maximum potential. Management can create a stronger team by empowering employees through career development.

Why is employee professional development significant?

An investment in employee development is an investment in growth and advancement. As team members grow in their careers, they significantly impact the company they work for.

How can supporting career growth benefit a business?

Let’s look at exactly how offering career development and supporting employees’ growth can benefit your business.

Increased employee engagement

Employees who remember speaking to their manager about career goals within the last 6 months are more likely to be engaged than those who haven’t had the same type of conversation.

Improved employee retention

Career progression is the number 1 reason for job hunting during the Great Resignation. Of employees who receive promotions, approximately 75% of workers stay with the same company for at least 3 years. About 94% of workers said they would remain with a company if their employer invested in their careers.

Attracting top performers

Currently, there are 2 job openings for every unemployed worker, so there is tremendous competition for top-performing talent. Most who are seeking employment are motivated by the potential for career progression.

Prepare teams for the future job climate

In 1940, most of today’s jobs didn’t exist. Many of the jobs that will be available in 10 years haven’t been invented yet. Companies that support career development and advancement help their teams prepare to maintain or obtain jobs as the job-seeking market changes.

Provide a better employee experience

Companies that invest in their employees’ growth potential help them feel supported and valued, thereby improving satisfaction ratings and the overall employee experience.

Improved diversity, equality, inclusivity, and belonging

Companies that support employee career growth can develop talent from underrepresented groups within their organization, building diversity within their skilled internal talent pool.

6 ways to support employee career growth

Some employees take responsibility for their own professional growth. They read blog posts, enroll in classes, watch webinars, or even hire career coaches.

Other employees may need help embracing career development. They may need assistance finding the time, covering costs, or trusting their own career ambitions.

Here are 6 ways management can support professional development and career paths for their teams.

1. Create a learning culture

Management can better support employee professional growth when all team members know that learning and development (L&D) is celebrated, encouraged, and prioritized. That’s why facilitating a learning culture is essential.

Companies should incorporate learning and growth into their core values. Those values should shine in business decisions and people strategies. Managers should discuss career growth options with employees, during recruitment and employee onboarding and through to one-on-ones and performance reviews.

Reinforce company values regarding learning and growth through rewards, recognition, promotions, and role-based compensation.

Organizations should encourage their teams to use time during the workday for learning activities and then share what they’ve learned with other team members. Reinforce company values regarding learning and growth through rewards, recognition, promotions, and role-based compensation.

Encouraging a learning culture allows employees to grow in their current positions and achieve upward mobility within the company.

2. Build employee career paths

Helping employees build their career paths allows them to visualize their future within an organization and see the actions they should take to reach their goals. HR can use onboarding to learn about an employee’s career goals.

In response to the stated objectives, the HR professional can assist in developing a career path. HR can use the employee’s skills, education, experience, and other qualifications needed to reach each goal and develop a plan for achieving the employee’s ultimate goals.

Building a career path works best in tandem with succession planning. Succession planning is when the company identifies the most crucial positions, both now and in the future, for which high-performing employees could successfully acquire the skills.

When companies combine succession planning and professional development, it helps team members set goals to advance their careers within their current organization.

3. Deliver continuous performance management

Performance management is not simply a once-a-year progress report filed in a personnel file. Instead, it should be a continuous process. Managers and employees should discuss progress toward goals during regular one-on-one meetings. During the meetings, the career path should be reviewed to ensure the employee stays on track.

As management reviews career goals with employees, they should also discuss how those goals align with potential advancement within the company. These meetings are the time to adjust plans to address new priorities or any challenges the employee faces.

4. Offer multiple career development opportunities

Everyone has their own learning style. One person may want to complete an entire workshop, while another may prefer shadowing a more experienced team member to learn their job.

Live speakers and conferences may be ideal for 1 team member. At the same time, others may prefer a recorded webinar that they can pause and rewind to allow for more comprehensive note-taking.

Most learners need various learning opportunities because they may learn differently in different situations. Management should offer multiple career growth opportunities that make sense for both the employee and the company.

5. Provide rewards and recognition

Career advancement doesn’t happen overnight. When a team seems to be stalled, they can often be encouraged and motivated to continue by managers recognizing their progress and rewarding them.

Recognition can occur during one-on-one sessions and all-hands meetings where management or supervisors can highlight learning and development achievements. HR should create a compensation strategy and budget that allows a financial reward for employees as they increase their work-related skill set and education.

Recognition and rewards emphasize the company’s value on career growth. They also show the support management can be expected to provide for achieving career development goals.

6. Offer career advancement

If an employee puts in the work toward professional development, the company should reward them. Over time, that reward is career advancement. Working toward career advancement within the company helps team members maintain their commitment to reaching their goals. Sometimes advancement comes in the form of promotion.

Other times, it comes in the form of moving laterally within the company to place the employee in a position that they think will bring them more job satisfaction.

Creating an open environment for learning benefits everyone

Management can facilitate employee growth and development by creating an open environment for learning. They can further encourage learning, development, and growth by providing recognition and rewards for progress. Continuously moving toward professional goals includes adjusting the path or updating the plan to ensure their place is secured within the organization’s development.

The post How to Create a Work Environment That Encourages Career Advancement appeared first on Workest.

At every level, performance reviews inform workers of what’s important to their organization, their manager, and their staff. Employee are better able to deliver on those expectations when they’re clearly outlined and discussed.

An emerging trend in performance reviews is to look at the review from a wider perspective. In addition to supervisory staff being evaluated by their manager, staff members are now being encouraged to chime in.

Input from employees who work directly under a manager can be insightful and can lead to better team cohesion and productivity.

Staff members may not have been asked to evaluate their manager in the past. They may be unprepared or hesitant to do so: but encourage them to participate.

The value of their input, and the information that may be revealed, can be highly relevant. It has the potential to improve day-to-day operations as well as future growth for the company and all employees involved.

Add structure and boundaries to the evaluation process

A recent report in SHRM discussed the 360-degree evaluation process, which includes reviews from direct reports (as well as peers and managers).

One expert advised using the process as a means to develop managers with potential, rather than weed out the bad ones. To get managers on board with the process, communicate clearly with your supervisory and rank-and-file staff that that’s your goal.

The aim isn’t unlimited complaints, but areas where growth is a possibility. Most direct-report evaluations are anonymous, giving employees room to be candid, but there can (and should) be boundaries.

Structure direct-report evaluations tailored to a moving forward approach. Include questions that are targeted toward growth and development.

Ask ‘what can your manager do to better support you?’ or ‘what does your manager do currently that helps you perform?’ Use Zenefits’ performance review generator for sample questions and inspiration or to structure questions that meet your company’s specific needs.

Get direct reports on board with the process

The next step will be getting employees to participate. Some may be concerned their comments will be used against them; others may worry their concerns will not be acted upon. It will be management’s responsibility to allay those and other apprehensions.

The message must be clear to all staff (and managers) that the goal is to grow, not to punish. If employees have a specific concern it should be brought to HR or a team leader immediately, not held onto until performance evaluation time.

When asking staff to review their own manager, ask them to keep progress at the forefront. The better their manager performs, the more they can support and develop their staff. It’s in every employee’s best interest to have the best possible manager. Reviews can pave the way.

Talk with staff members about how to structure comments

Ask staff to include how their manager can improve, and in which areas; and where they’re strong and successful. Even though comments may be anonymous, ask for specifics.

You may use a template or standardized questions baked into the review, but leave room for essay-type comments as well.

Outline that the goal is growth and development, with a ‘help me help you’ mindset.

Talk to staff members about what to include, with suggestions on how to structure comments:

• What does my manager do that supports my day-to-day work?
• What does my manager do that supports my short- and long-term career goals?
• Additionally, what would I like to see more of from my manager?
• What would I like to see less of from my manager?
• Where could my manager benefit from training and development?
• How will that help the manager, team, and company?

Remind staff members that the goal isn’t to castigate their manager, but to set everyone up for future success. You’re looking for feedback that triggers understanding and growth, not complaints that are current or long overdue.

Once you’ve provided tips and set boundaries, it’s time for managers to message staff asking them to participate. Have them request that workers be honest so they can grow as a manager and better help the team.

Outline that the goal is growth and development, with a ‘help me help you’ mindset.

Read through the reviews and look for patterns and themes

As you collect employee comments, look for patterns versus one-offs. There may be a consistent theme that’s positive or negative that requires attention.

Work with the manager to understand the employees’ points of view and direct the discussion to growth and development. There may be some eye-openers for the manager (and you), but don’t turn the session into a ‘woe is me’ meeting.

There may be areas where a manager thinks they’re doing well that are far-removed from what employees really want.

These types of reviews can reveal employee priorities versus their manager’s and how to realign. They may uncover areas that are urgently in need of development, or those where the manager excels and should remain focused.

The goal is to uncover areas for growth as well as areas of competencies. Comments that are not praising are opportunities.

Most managers work hard to support their staff. A clearer understanding of what employees want provides a better chance to do just that.

When managers do better, so does their team. Everyone’s work (and work day) gets easier and more pleasant.

Managerial reviews are as (or more) important as staff reviews

For some companies, managerial reviews are a low priority. If the team is working well, turnover is low, and productivity is high, there’s an ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mentality.

While the short-term reward may be continued performance, the long-term cost may be growth. Where can this well-run team go in the future with an even stronger manager? What opportunities are they, their staff, and your business missing out on by maintaining the status quo?

Managers need and want feedback as much as their staff. Managers who are consistent in providing reviews and feedback to their own team may be messaging to you just how valuable they think the process is.

For managers who are less-than-stellar in reviewing their own workers, managerial evaluations can remind them how important these tools are and even provide guidance on how it’s done well.

Spend 25% of the review on the past and 75% on the future

Work with supervisors in a positive way when you review them: encourage them to do the same with their staff.

When the review is a negative experience, it’s easy to understand why everyone wants to avoid it. When it’s forward-thinking, with short- and long-term career planning in mind, it’s welcome and even anticipated.

Performance reviews ideally focus only marginally on the past; and then only when it can inform action for the future. What’s done is done: if you didn’t address it before, is it relevant now? If it is, then deal with it, if not, move on.

A best practice may be to spend 25% of the review on the past and 75% on the future. Reviews may reveal an area that has been problematic: discuss it to understand, but spend the bulk of the time looking for ways to correct and develop for the future

A review is not a substitute for dealing with bad managers

If you have bad managers, and you probably already know who they are, they should be dealt with. Waiting for employees to anonymously complain about an abusive or ineffective manager on an annual basis is too little, too late. Consider how much engagement, productivity, and even staff have been lost during that gap time.

Don’t rely on team members to let you know their leader is not suited for the work. Identify bad managers through pulse surveys and (hopefully infrequent) exit interviews. Then take the initiative to upskill their leadership abilities or move them away from those responsibilities.

Manager performance reviews can be an excellent tool for business if they’re structured correctly and forward-thinking. They present an opportunity for candor and outline avenues to grow and develop. When managers and staff buy into the process, the entire organization benefits.

The post Tips for Conducting Effective Manager Performance Reviews appeared first on Workest.

There are many reasons for this, and in general people tend to be change-averse. This is why it’s key to introduce change in the workplace with careful consideration. In other words, you’ll need a process for process change. The steps for introducing a process include:

1. Collecting employee opinions and feedback on what the process should look like
2. Clearly and openly communicating why a process change is needed
3. Providing the right training
4. Providing a clear and realistic timeline for when the change should be followed by everyone
5. Measuring the process and impact

Why might workplace teams be averse to process?

It’s not that people dislike process changes; it’s more likely that they’ll resist process changes they feel are not in their best interest or are coming from the top down without any employee input. Other reasons teams and employees might oppose change include:

• Mistrust in the person making the process change: If your people don’t trust the person making the change, you’ll likely struggle to have buy-in.
• Fear of failure: Without proper training, people might be worried about failing.
• Poor communication when introducing change: As with all change management, communication is key.
• Unrealistic timelines: It’s important that changes have a well-thought-out timeline.

Below we explore how to introduce new process or process changes, and get employee support and buy-in.

What part of your process has to change?

Before jumping into an entire process revamp, managers must first determine the areas that actually need new process, or process refinement. While some changes might be necessary for managers (vacation policies, for example), other processes are required so employees can perform their jobs better.

So where should you begin? Some places you can first gather insight from include engagement and pulse surveys, and 1-on-1 discussions.

Engagement and pulse surveys

Employee engagement surveys could include questions about how your employees feel about their jobs, the areas they feel require process changes, and what’s working well for them. Some engagement survey questions you can ask include:

• Are you provided with the proper tools, resources, and time to do your job well?
• What areas of your job do you find the most tedious or become a time sink?
• What tasks drain you and which tasks energize you?

Take stock of the tasks that employees report as draining, tedious, or time-intensive.

One-on-one meetings

Another (more informal) way of gathering feedback is simply by asking during your 1-on-1 meetings with your employees. It’s been proven time and time again that when employees speak up, companies benefit, making it critical to encourage employees to share honest feedback. Some ways to do this include:

• Inviting consistent employee feedback (both in writing and verbally)
• Displaying respect, trust, and active listening skills
• Fostering workplace belonging with community and inclusion

How to create and introduce process and process changes

After you’ve determined where the process needs to be introduced or tweaked, there are concrete steps you can take to ensure teams follow and buy into them.

1. Collect employee feedback on what the process should look like

After collecting feedback on any areas that require process, management should solicit the opinions of the people who will be following and implementing it. This is perhaps the most important step when making any changes to how someone’s tasks might change.

Moreover, when change is simply introduced by higher-ups or management, without soliciting the input of the employees doing the work, it can create an environment of mistrust.

Your employees are the ones who know the tools and pain points in and out. They may have useful and practical ideas on how to help improve the process.

Your employees are the ones who know the tools and pain points in and out. They may have useful and practical ideas on how to help improve the process.

If you have an open discussion about why the change is needed, and ask for their feedback, it communicates that you trust them to be part of it. This is heavily tied to the importance of communicating a process change.

For example, many companies have client reports as key deliverables (e.g. monthly or quarterly reports). If your company decides that these deliverables need to be standardized across teams, it’s important to include the employees who create these reports in your decision-making.

As the people executing the work, their first-hand knowledge is incredibly valuable.

2. Clearly and openly communicate why a process change is needed

When a new process is required, there should be a concrete reason that can be communicated to your employees.

For example, many companies require employees to do daily time logs. It’s not uncommon for processes to change around time logging so companies have better data to see how employees are spending their time.

If a process change is needed here, it’s key to communicate the “why.” Simply introducing a change in this case might create mistrust (e.g. “does management not trust that I’m accurately logging my time?”)

A process change can be communicated in the following ways:

1. In meetings (team, company, or department)
2. Via emails
3. On Slack
4. In company-wide documentation

3. Provide the right training

Even if management believes the process change is straightforward, it’s important to provide your people with training. This should be in the form of:

1. A meeting, walking your people through the change.
2. Documentation outlining the change. The documentation can even include a recording of the meeting.

4. Provide a clear and realistic timeline for when a process should be adopted

Change doesn’t happen overnight. As with anything, people need time to adapt, adjust, and make a few mistakes. It’s key to strike the right balance between what your business needs to operate, and what your employees need to get used to a new process.

For example, as your company grows, you might need to change your vacation request policy. In smaller companies, people can typically make informal requests, and vacation lead time can vary.

You might later decide that it makes more sense for everyone to begin following a standardized process for vacation requests. After management determines the most sensible process, your communication plan should also include when this new process will kick in (e.g. “starting January 1st” or “starting at the beginning of the next quarter”).

5. Measure the process change performance and impact

After the process has been implemented, managers should follow up with employees to see if any tweaks are needed, and if the process is working. Some questions to consider include:

1. Does the process accomplish what it was intended to?
2. Are employees facing any friction with this process?
3. Does this process make your people’s lives easier or harder?

Once you’ve gathered feedback, as a team, you can make any necessary adjustments.

Change is hard, but you can work through it!

Even though change is hard, it’s not impossible! There are ways to introduce change, and ensure it has the right impact.

The most important step is including and getting buy-in from the people on the ground. This will help give them the confidence that the process is necessary, and understand why it’s being introduced in the first place. Without gathering their input, it’s likely they’ll feel threatened by this change, and resist it entirely.

By including your employees in the process and its inception, you’ll be more likely to get their buy-in, and more enthusiastic cooperation.

The post How to Create Process for Process-Averse Teams appeared first on Workest.

Variety promises:

• Flexibility
• Creativity
• Innovation
• Productivity

Like virtually everything else, workplace diversity affects productivity. Diversity within the workplace also helps create greater job satisfaction and higher financial performance. Misplaced diversity policies can also hinder performance, so people should understand how to properly introduce diversity into the workplace.

Pros and cons of workplace diversity

Workplace diversity is a broad concept. Multiple criteria can form the basis for a company’s definition of diversity. Surface-level diversity is visible criteria such as age, gender, race, or sex. There is also diversity in:

• Attitudes
• Personalities
• Skill sets

When these aspects differ within a company, it’s said to have deep-level diversity.

Both levels of diversity are necessary for a successful workplace. Discrimination and stereotyping have historically kept people from chasing the opportunities they wanted. As worldwide societies continue to change and become more inclusive, embracing people from various walks of life, barriers to anyone pursuing the career opportunities they want are diminishing significantly.

Diversity within the workplace helps create greater job satisfaction and higher financial performance.

The workforce still has some adjusting to do to be perfectly diverse. For example, only approximately 40% of the US workforce is female. The chief executive level of corporate life is skewed even more, with about 73% of that population being male. Only 22% of the workforce is Black, Asian, or Latino.

Similar statistics apply to deep-level diversity

Many companies only recruit and hire people who fit well into their current company culture, leading them to hire people with similar mindsets and ideas. Some organizations take the lack of deep-level diversity deeper by discouraging differences of opinion to minimize disagreements as much as possible. This causes a workplace where people seem to think alike.

Companies need to lead the charge in embracing diversity within their organization. To help them embrace diversity, executives within a company need to understand how deep-level diversity can improve the organization’s overall performance.

Management also needs to be aware of the issues that can occur when they fully embrace deep-level diversity too abruptly. Researching the best ways to encourage diversity within the workplace with the least amount of hassle can help organizations transition to a more diverse population.

Benefits of a diverse workforce

Many organizations consider introducing a diverse workforce as an inclusive act of goodwill. While that is technically correct, diversity holds the promise of multiple benefits that can positively impact a company’s bottom line.

Higher morale

There’s a reason monotony, tedium, and boredom are synonymous. People need variety to perform at their best. Some businesses have incorporated programs that let workers rotate between positions regularly.

Hiring people with differing points of view allows workers to expand their personal and professional circles, which helps the workplace become more exciting.

This same principle applies to relationships with other people. If people are regularly with others with the same ideas and hobbies, they soon get bored. Many employees enjoy embracing both similarities and differences among their coworkers. Hiring people with differing points of view allows workers to expand their personal and professional circles, which helps the workplace become more exciting.

A commitment to diversity opens greater access to talent

Historically, people missed opportunities because of stereotypes based on unfair criteria. Organizations willing to set aside biases will find more people with the skill sets and dispositions they want and need.

Open-minded companies will be able to fully embrace a more diverse group of people to fill the positions within the organization. Additionally, more people will choose to work with a company that embraces inclusivity as a core value.

Companies incorporating diversity will have access to a larger talent pool than those with a more close-minded culture. These companies can set higher standards for their hiring practices without fearing losing portions of their talent pool. Access to a larger talent pool allows the company to be more selective with its hiring process. As a bonus, having access to a larger talent pool creates greater performance as a company.

Increased creativity

Creativity increases with the number of people that a company hires. Generating ideas is a complex process in general. A healthy team with more people working together is more likely to create good ideas through brainstorming.

Diversity is crucial to the creative process. When people who think differently work together, it facilitates higher-quality ideas. People with varying experiences and skills stimulate each other’s thought processes, leading to a more stimulating idea generation.

Increased flexibility

Everyone has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. A person’s skill set allows them to excel in some areas while needing assistance with others. Even the most talented individuals can’t perform every assigned task without issues.

When a team is built of people with similar skills, it has vulnerabilities when dealing with change. If something unexpected occurs that requires a different skill set or way of thinking, the team won’t be able to adapt appropriately or quickly.

A team comprised of people with varying skills can handle changes more readily. One person’s strengths will offset another’s weaknesses. When a team seamlessly works together, everyone’s abilities shine, and the deficiencies become less noticeable. Collectively, the group can access their varying skill sets to consistently perform in various situations.

Better critical thinking is a result of deep-level diversity

Individuals working solo are limited in their abilities to assess their own performance. Their own biases can convince them they, and by extension, their ideas, are more important than others around them. This makes it challenging to recognize their own mistakes. These people usually need peers or supervisors to assess their performance.

Critical thinking skills rely on a person’s ability to recognize inconsistencies or missed opportunities.

Assessments are based on the perspective of the person making the assessment. Critical thinking skills rely on a person’s ability to recognize inconsistencies or missed opportunities. For this reason, having someone with a different perspective assess a coworker’s ideas is essential. This process only works in this manner when mutual respect and diverse viewpoints are present.

Well-rounded skill sets

Two characteristics are the hallmarks of critical business projects. They are created from complex, interconnected tasks that are dependent upon each other. These projects also require different skills that one person is unlikely to possess alone.

Think about simple marketing campaigns:

• One person writes the copy
• Another creates, edits, and manages media
• Yet another person would be in charge of publishing the content

Additionally, someone typically oversees the entire operation to ensure that everything is finished on schedule and the final product meets the client’s expected standards.

Having a diverse team helps ensure that at least one person can handle each task necessary to complete a project. Even the most uncomplicated project requires different skill levels in multiple areas. If teams think too much alike, the finished product will suffer. This issue can be avoided if a company creates a team with the right balance of skill sets.

Final thoughts

Deep-level diversity within the workplace allows a company to access a larger talent pool. That larger talent pool provides hiring opportunities that help to increase:

• Morale
• Creativity
• Innovation
• Productivity

Diversity within the workforce increases the opportunity to access a variety of skill sets. This results in a well-balanced team that helps to eliminate the monotony of a homogenous workforce.

The post How Deep-Level Diversity Improves Workplace Morale and Productivity appeared first on Workest.

Creative collaboration is the process that teams use to come up with fresh perspectives on business aspects. It opens the floor for open communication and the sharing of respected ideas.

Here is a list of at least 10 businesses that inspire efforts like these.

Slack

Slack is in the business of interaction. Their messaging app brings professionals together. They can effortlessly work in uniform with business goals and aspirations. With Slack, colleagues can connect not only with one another but also with those outside their network. Everyone within an organization has access to shared and searchable data that makes their jobs easier.

According to Slack, at least 85% of their users report improved business communication. Even within their own working environment, Slack instills open communication.

Ideas are respectfully recognized as reliable contributions.

Their Glassdoor ratings are very impressive. One employee says they are both humble and collaborative. Other Slack team members declare that ideas are respectfully recognized as reliable contributions.

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment is one of the most recognizable names in the gaming industry. They are the creators of famous internet games and franchises and have thousands of employees worldwide working towards entertainment evolution.

In their sphere, game creators and collaborators work together and align themselves with the organization’s core values. Two values stand out. They are:

• Embrace Your Inner Geek – states that cutting-edge thinking helps facilitate a creative culture. Their environment appreciates uniqueness and enthusiasm.
• Every Voice Matters – relays that Blizzard believes creative ideas can come from anyone. Every employee is professionally encouraged to share their concepts and listen intently to others, too.

These two values specifically relate to creative collaboration to make their business better. This scales their ability to make the most epic games out there. Blizzard employees benefit from these values that respectfully embrace their opinions.

Google

Unsurprisingly, Google leads in many business aspects. They’re known for providing an innovative and professionally collaborative culture. Their company culture thrives from this and the idea that a shared vision helps shape a company. To prove it, Google continues to win awards for diversity and inclusion.

This company’s massive range of services makes sharing ideas with diverse groups of people necessary for success. Their fleet of tools helps other businesses of all sizes handle their successful projects similarly.

This company’s massive range of services makes sharing ideas with diverse groups of people necessary for success.

Companies everywhere take Google’s example to find all sorts of automated methods of sharing and communicating. They can thrive and communicate ideas seamlessly as a fully productive business should.

Their example of creative collaboration is evident between Gmail, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and so much more.

Hewlett-Packard

This technological company values tech that makes lives easier for everyone. They’ve made reasonable efforts to make the world a better place through innovative products and practices.

HP invented Maker Space. This is a collaborative space specifically for HP employees to access group interactions. It includes several workspaces that allow their employees to tinker with robotics and share their output. What makes it more inclusive is the addition of monitors and cameras for virtual collaboration.

Companies can take a lot from the inclusive efforts of HP. Professional spaces for team collaboration will do wonders for employee engagement. It provides an environment where employees can develop ideas without interfering with business practices.

Mastercard

Mastercard is a multinational leader in the financial industry. They make connecting merchants and businesses seem easy with continuous creative collaboration. Mastercard’s mission statement asserts they believe in connecting everyone to priceless possibilities. To make this happen, they start within and create an inclusive and collaborative environment.

They drive employee engagement and inclusion with regular staff feedback. Mastercard allows their workers’ voices to be respectfully heard to make their customer’s experiences safe and straightforward.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation

The FBI works around the clock to protect citizens for the best American security. They have many departments that work interconnectedly to protect American families. They match employees to departments that best fit their backgrounds and skill sets. These departments include:

• Criminal investigation
• Cybersecurity
• Counterintelligence, and more.

The FBI still has work to do regarding its diversity efforts. Still, the FBI works closely with all federal law enforcement agencies on joint investigations. These task forces address many national security threats and crimes. Like other companies, each team must communicate effectively to provide the best work ethic.

Many other businesses aren’t likely to come close to a national disaster without collaborative teamwork, as the FBI would. Their intense attention to detail and creative collaboration should inspire all businesses to work as diligently as they do.

Amazon

Amazon prides itself on its unique work culture. Once just a bookselling company, Amazon spans a variety of industries. Amazon claims they want its employees to feel empowered enough to speak their minds.

This business strives to support customers who rely on the knowledge of people from different backgrounds. Amazon is another multinational company that requires cultural input through collaboration.

This business strives to support customers who rely on the knowledge of people from different backgrounds.

From a business aspect, their hand in many industries makes collaboration necessary. Amazon can relate best practices across all their projects. From online retail to cloud services, Amazon connects team members with each other to share different perspectives.

Wistia

Wistia is a company that works to build the most streamlined video marketing process. This platform allows users to upload, host, and share videos supporting B2B companies. It’s a collaborative business that caters to the needs of marketers everywhere.

Wistia caters to the unique personalities of all its team members and encourages their creative efforts. Essentially, their work environment fosters the inclusion and collaboration their customers strive for.

Disney

The person looking for a great example of growth and inclusion needs to look no further than Disney. Their revenue relies on:

• Parks
• Movies
• Merchandise
• Cruises and much more

As such, they have a massive team of 10,000+ cast members collaborating to connect the dots and give the people what they want.

Disney creates magic for people of all ages. They rely on the opinions and shared ideas of people of all backgrounds and from areas around the world. From within, they facilitate a supportive and creative working environment to make this happen.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s entire goal is to help people with creative ideas succeed. They believe in facilitating creative teams to embody their mission. They are one of the leaders in website and e-commerce platform-building companies. As such, they provide many high-value designs to suit any business.

Squarespace collaborates with team members from all over the globe to protect creativity. They are in the business for all companies of maintaining:

• Branding
• Sales
• Online presence

They are able to share intuitive plans designed to increase their customers’ creative business aspects.

Conclusion

Through collaboration, teams effectively drive the process of developing creative ideas and products. They share a common sense of ownership for their work and become motivated toward reaching a shared goal.

Regardless of the need, creative collaboration pays off in ways that outpace individual effort. Companies will do well to embrace sharing ideas the way these businesses have.

The post 10 Companies Who Inspire Creative Team Collaboration appeared first on Workest.

The question becomes: how? Is there an easy way to fill the mind with new ideas? There actually is. One of the best options is to listen to leadership podcasts that focus on innovation and creativity in the workplace.

Based on learning theory, people learn by watching others. One excellent method of observing is listening to stories and hearing lessons people have learned in life. What makes podcasts stand out is that they provide an intimate way to engage with some of the most successful people in the world.

Based on learning theory, people learn by watching others. One excellent method of observing is listening to stories and hearing lessons people have learned in life.

However, it can be challenging to sift through thousands of podcasts to find the most relevant ones. The podcasts below have been screened to ensure they offer creative content that workers use daily to spark innovation.

POPS! The People Ops Podcast

First up, POPS! The People Ops Podcast. Produced by our team at Zenefits, we bring weekly conversations around the new world of work. Tune in to hear from a variety of small business leaders who share:

• Fresh thinking
• Examples
• Answers to build your people
• Effective leadership methods for today’s evolving workforce

This show is built for those just getting started and seasoned HR leaders. You’ll discover transformational stories, actionable insights, ideas for hot issues, the latest industry trends, and more.

Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders

Among all of the innovation podcasts available on the net, this one stands out from the pack. Engaging speakers provide talks that are similar to lectures on some occasions. In other moments, conversations are posted with Stanford professors interviewing thought leaders.

Some CEOs and founders of startups like Instagram, Alibaba, Strava, Girls Who Code, and thredUP have participated. Episodes typically run for about one hour.

This podcast offers “a combination of down-to-earth and intellectual thoughts on what drives some of the most prolific people to keep pushing past boundaries.” People who tune in will get the gritty details about how current innovators get through the day.

How I Built This with Guy Raz

This podcast about innovation takes a different tactic than most out there. It has an audio-essay format that offers clear narrative arcs.

Interview segments are included alongside a narrative presented using:

• Music
• Information
• Statistics
• The host’s personal thoughts about each topic

Guy, who hosts the podcast, is a radio host and journalist who has been described as “one of the most popular podcasters in history.” As people listen to the episodes, they’ll enjoy entertaining and rich storytelling based on real moments of failure and success to fuel out-of-the-box thinking.

Most of the episodes of this podcast are roughly an hour long.

The Corporate Innovation Podcast

With episodes of around an hour, this podcast’s illustrious host is Kris Østergaard. He is the Chief Learning & Innovation Officer and co-founder of SingularityU Nordic. His minimalistic and calm style ensures the podcast focuses on what his guests are willing to share. This podcast offers fascinating interviews with a great deal of depth.

Noted as one of the most interesting podcasts on the topic of innovation, you can expect themes to include:

• Integrity
• Ethics
• Sustainability

It offers stimulating and in-depth investigations of the most intriguing challenges of the modern world from some of the most esteemed thinkers.

Innovation and Leadership with Jess Larsen

This podcast will be appealing to those who prefer shorter episodes. Each episode is about 30 minutes long and packed with informative thoughts. The host is Jess Larsen, the co-founder and chairman of Graystoke Media and Graystoke Investments.

The casual conversation style, coupled with amazing guests, enables the host to provide high-energy interviews on interesting topics. The combination makes the conversations move quickly, ensuring that the exchanges will be highly entertaining.

Some of the past guests of this podcast include research scientists, marketing processions, CEOs, and founders of companies like:

• Google
• Pinterest
• Canva
• Zoom

Authors, psychologists, entertainers, and athletes are also interviewed.

The casual conversation style, coupled with amazing guests, enables the host to provide high-energy interviews on interesting topics.

Overall, the podcast shows glimpses behind the scenes of success journeys, including personal stories, tips, and anecdotes.

2050 Investors

Whereas most of these podcasts have an interview format, that isn’t the case for this one. The host, Kokou Agbo-Bloua, is the Global Head of Economics, Cross-Asset, and Quant Research at Societe Generale. He pulls together narratives complete with selections of:

• Interviews
• Ideas
• Quotes
• Stories
• Sound effects
• Music

Topics range from extreme weather and inflation to adaptability quotients, artificial intelligence, and more.

The podcast’s episodes are about 20 minutes long and make for an easy listen when someone is short on time. It offers entertaining yet quick overviews of issues relevant to social justice, sustainability, and business.

The advanced art production and insights provided will shed light on themes anyone might have been thinking about anyway.

The Accidental Creative with Todd Henry

This podcast has roughly 30-minute episodes focusing on interviews but also brings other things into the mix. The host, Todd Henry, provides an introduction to set up each topic. He’s also very engaged in the conversation and shares his observations and thoughts as the podcasts continue.

Todd has founded a company with the same name as the podcast and authored several books. He brings that large amount of expertise to the featured topics. This is likely why this is one of the top innovation podcasts available today.

Expect to hear about innovative processes, habits, and motivation from several perspectives and angles.

Inside Out Innovation

Clocking in at around 20 minutes per episode, this is one of the shorter podcasts to focus on creativity and innovation. The host is Brian Ardinger, the founder, and CEO of NXXT. He offers dynamic and thoughtful interviews with people at the forefront of various fields. He does well at creating a great balance between detailed conversations and making sure things move along.

Guests include:

• CEOs
• Designers
• Authors
• Founders
• Professors

There are a lot of topics and thoughts brought up by this podcast. The subjects are also diverse, from talk about the creative process to technological advances. These podcasts include ideas about innovating both at the macro and micro levels.

Listeners can hear experts talk about business obstacles and solutions that might be useful in other organizations.

90 Seconds of Innovation

As the name suggests, this is a super-short podcast with episodes clocking in at one and a half minutes. It’s mainly focused on offering research-based insights and quick tips about innovative thinking and how to make the best use of it.

These segments act as great warmups for engaging with unstructured tasks or problem-solving. In 90 seconds, they can also give a boost of motivation whenever it is needed.

This podcast, with its fascinating and concise segments, practically demanded inclusion on the list. They act as great warmups for engaging with unstructured tasks or problem-solving. In 90 seconds, they can also give a boost of motivation whenever it is needed. Some topics that have been covered include “Why Do People Avoid Innovation?” and “How Do I Achieve Flow State?”

Final thoughts

Humans are creatures of habit. This can be an issue when the business world requires:

• Innovation
• Agility
• The ability to quickly adapt to change

One of the best ways to keep the mind open is through listening to podcasts that relate to this topic. It can open people up to asking questions, looking into options, and being capable of taking risks.

The post 9 Leadership Podcasts to Spark Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace appeared first on Workest.

• Meetings
• Projects
• Assignments

Even so, only 12% of workers from a study said they have a dedicated time management system. Of that population, 91% still understood that better time management would lead to reduced stress and increased productivity.

Proper time management can look different from person to person. Still, the bottom line remains the same: time is money and waits for no one. The best time management techniques keep people on track and cater to their needs.

Without proper time management, excessive due dates can result in burnout. Plenty of workers sit in front of their computers, working, typing, and clicking hour after hour without taking care of themselves. To avoid this issue and decrease the lack of productivity and competence, the Pomodoro Method was created.

What is the Pomodoro Method?

The Pomodoro Method is a time management technique created in the 1980s. It instills the idea that a person should only work for 25 minutes at a time before taking a short 5-minute break. After 2 hours (4 Pomodoros), an extended break lasting 15-30 minutes should be taken.

Intermittent breaks allow a person to have better focus. During their frequent short downtimes, they can gratify distractions and take a breather. Using that small 5-minute break for self-awareness and other meditative efforts hinders exhaustion. Essentially, this technique allows a person to work within the time they have available without causing a mental breakdown.

This method is perfect for those who carry the mindset that they have all day to complete a list of tasks. Each 25-minute segment simplifies goal setting, allowing complex goals to be broken down into digestible pieces.

As such, the 25-minute work period should be uninterrupted. Any sudden ideas, requests, emails, or instant messages can be noted and taken care of:

• During the 5-minute rest period
• Once the task is complete
• During a different 25-minute block

Initially, keeping up with the intervals may seem cumbersome, but some apps can help a person stay on track. It may also help to have a timer close by that will go off when the 25 or 5-minute breaks are over.

How time management techniques improve workflow efficiency

Effective time management strategies help workers achieve their goals faster without increasing stress. Instead of getting tied into endless multitasking, team members can focus on a single task or project at a time. Doing allows workers to give each duty individualized attention and care without being troubled by a massive to-do list.

When people intentionally manage their time, it can become evident that some tasks are more critical than others. Time management techniques allow a person to assign each duty a hierarchy of sorts, which can help them prioritize their time slots. This enables workers to meet or beat their deadlines without worrying about being overdue.

When people intentionally manage their time, it can become evident that some tasks are more critical than others.

Time management skills are also instrumental in combating mental fatigue. When people realize they haven’t been able to tackle their ceaseless list of things to do, they can feel overwhelmed and lack confidence.

In contrast, setting time aside to dive into a single task can help them reach their bite-sized goals with time to spare. Not only does this increase their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment, but it gives them extra time to get a grip on their mental health to manage the rest of the week.

Other time management techniques

Time management comes in many forms. Workers have several structured systems options to assist them in effortlessly reaching their milestones. It doesn’t matter if they’re a chronic procrastinator or die-hard workaholic — the below information includes a strategy that will work best for anyone’s preferred style.

The RPM

The Rapid Planning Method (AKA, the result, purpose, and massive action plan) was developed to train a person’s brain to focus on an overall vision of what they find most important. This approach assists them in bringing it to fruition.

In this method, a worker will write down the tasks they need to complete and categorize them into groups. Then, they can label the importance of the groups in three categories. The:

• Task
• Desired result of the task
• Purpose for completing the task

From there, a person can list all the actions necessary to make it happen.

Time management processes were developed to train a person’s brain to focus on an overall vision of what they find most important.

The 80/20 Rule

The Pareto Analysis or the 80/20 rule instills the idea that 20% of a person’s tasks will contribute to 80% of their accomplishments. In other words, 80% of the assignment’s steps can be finished without taking more than 20% of a person’s allotted time.

This is a helpful tool for analytical workers who need to know how much of their time is currently spent on their daily workflow.

The GTD method

The Getting Things Done method focuses a worker’s attention on organizing the details within each task. As part of this method, they would write down what they wanted to accomplish and then break down the timeline for each job based on smaller actionable items.

This process effectively reduces the tension caused by projects that are more difficult to manage.

The Pickle Jar Theory

This visual method helps workers prioritize tasks that are more useful than others during their daily workflow. They would imagine a pickle jar with:

• Sand at the bottom symbolizes distractions
• Pebbles in the middle represent mediocre tasks
• Rocks at the top indicate major priorities that need to be taken care of

This method of symbolization helps people find ways to make time for the rocks first to get to the pebbles. Then, the sand can be tended to.

The Matrix

This uses another, less whimsical, imagery method. Using a 2×2 matrix, a person can use two columns to categorize crucial tasks vs. unimportant ones.

Two urgent matters are placed on an axis. The first one is important, and the other is not. The 2^nd axis is insignificant matters classified in the same way.

The matrix strategy helps people see which matters must be worked through first (the top 2 blocks) and which items can wait.

Eat That Frog

As Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog the first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

When thinking in terms of time management, the frog is the most challenging and time-consuming task of the day. Leaving the frog until later in the day takes up mental capacity all day and saps part of your ability to focus on the task at hand.

Instead of procrastinating, it’s much easier to get it out of the way first before continuing with more manageable tasks that can be done quickly.

Conclusion

Not all tasks are created equal. Each time management technique is designed to help a person prioritize and schedule their events in a timely, stress-free manner. When all the time in a day is handled with patience, it can become much easier for a person to:

• Do their job
• Meet their targets
• Change their outlook on their company altogether

Any approach to time management can be helpful with a bit of personal tweaking. Whether a person is a visual, creative, or analytical thinker, there is always a way to be effective during an 8-hour shift.

The post The Pomodoro Method and Other Time Management Techniques to Boost Efficiency appeared first on Workest.

• Lead your team effectively
• Manage teams through demanding projects
• Create a pipeline of future leaders in the company

To do that, the leaders you have will need to embody the 5 pillars that create a stable foundation of leadership. This article will help you understand the 5 leadership pillars and how your team leaders can develop them professionally and personally.

The 5 pillars of leadership

There are 5 pillars of leadership. They are reflective of one’s:

• Values
• Motivations
• Support teams
• An integrated life
• Self-awareness

All of these pillars are essential if you want to have strong and stable leaders within your organization. Let’s jump right into each pillar to understand why they’re so fundamental when it comes to leadership.

The leadership pillar of values

Values are an individual’s or organization’s deeply held beliefs. They provide guidelines that direct a person’s behavior, whether from a personal or professional perspective.

A leader always has a set of values, whether they’re aware of them or not. Their values are seen through the individual’s or organization’s actions when they’re entrenched in various complex challenges, problems, and situations.

Because a value is only of worth when it’s tested, there’s no point in claiming that honesty is an individual’s value if it was never tested during a potentially compromising situation. For example, an individual claiming honesty as a value will uphold that value even if they’re offered millions to do something that isn’t ethical or honest.

In order to develop values in your leaders, you will need to allow them opportunities to go through difficult situations, challenges, and problems and to come out the other side as a stronger person.

The same principle applies to all values — they can only be confirmed through situations that test them.

Honesty, integrity, courage, generosity, and other values must be tested when implementing them is difficult. That’s why they’re deeply rooted in the fabric of one’s existence.

In order to develop values in your leaders, you will need to allow them opportunities to go through difficult situations, challenges, and problems and to come out the other side as a stronger person. Give them projects you know will be difficult to successfully implement. Throughout the process, jointly evaluate their behavior.

Although individuals can consciously decide what they want to hold as their own values, they will likely find that those values change and evolve as the person overcomes complex challenges. Therefore, make sure you provide your staff with opportunities for development.

The leadership pillar of motivation

All motivations can be divided into two buckets: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivations come from within the individual and are deeply personal. They’re the elements that feed and nourish the individual’s soul, heart, and mind. Some examples of intrinsic motivation include:

• A sense of autonomy
• Expertise in a field
• Purpose in life and business

Extrinsic motivations come from outside the individual. They’re the elements that exist in the world around us, and once received, they provide us with satisfaction for a job well done. Extrinsic motivations can range from:

• A salary increase and bonuses
• Receiving the employee of the month reward
• Gaining a higher social status in the company

A stable leader will understand how much motivation they need from one bucket and how much they need from the other bucket. Everyone needs both intrinsic and extrinsic needs met, but they’re not the same for every leader.

Some leaders want more intrinsic motivations, while others will thrive when receiving extrinsic rewards. It’s up to every leader to understand themselves and realize how much inspiration they need from each bucket to function optimally.

When they asked Shackleton how he managed to keep his team mentally stable when they were lost in the Antarctic sea, he said, “I treated every member of the team fair, but not the same. Fairness isn’t sameness.” Shackleton realized that some members preferred extrinsic motivation. In contrast, others thrived from intrinsic motivation, so he gave them what they needed.

As a leader, you need to understand your employees’ needs and provide them with that so they can be effective and productive in the organization.

The pillar of a strong support team

No person ever succeeds alone. A stable leader must create an effective support team that will keep them grounded. It doesn’t matter if it’s one person who steers them away from disaster or an entire group of people that provide the necessary support.

As a leader of leaders, you need to be the pillar of support for your team leaders. They will need to know that you’re there for them whatever happens and that you will advise them on how to proceed.

A leader that isolates themself from others and no longer hears any advice is bound to make terrible mistakes and be their own downfall. If values are a building’s foundation, it’s critical to acknowledge that a support team is a framework that leads us into an integrated life.

Living leadership through an integrated life

Integrated life changed the term work-life balance because it’s impossible to have a work-life balance. Work-life balance meant you needed to shut down your entire thinking regarding your career and office once the clock hits the time for you to go home.

That was possible when most people worked in factories, and the job required the employees to perform repeatable mundane tasks. In today’s market, employees need to be creative and innovative. This requires them to be fully engaged and think about their role. Try telling your marketing manager to stop thinking about their work once they leave the company — they can’t. It’s nearly impossible.

But this approach started creating problems with employees who were always “on” when it came to work, and they couldn’t shut down their thinking. Productivity experts learned that the solution to the problem wasn’t work-life balance but an integrated life.

People started to live their job, which became a part of their identity. That was how they achieved “work-life balance.” They decided they didn’t have to find balance when their work was already a part of them.

Imagine telling Usain Bolt that he is no longer a runner after he finished his daily training and went home. He would look at you like you’d lost your mind.

Employees today need to embrace the same mentality, and that’s particularly true for leaders. They must lead by example and adopt the mindset of an integrated life. As a leader of leaders, you can help them do so by enabling them to find their purposeful work.

The gift of self-awareness

The final leadership pillar is the most important of them all — self-awareness. Just as courage is a foundational value because it’s required to practice all other values, self-awareness is the leadership pillar that enables all other leadership pillars.

As a leader of leaders, you need to be the pillar of support for your team leaders. They will need to know that you’re there for them whatever happens and that you will advise them on how to proceed.

A leader with self-awareness will:

• Understand their values
• Find the proper measure when it comes to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
• Create a stellar support team
• Lead an integrated life

As a leader of leaders, you must provide your team leaders with leadership development training to help them develop self-awareness. This will allow your leaders to understand their blind spots and start working on them.

Implement the 5 pillars of leadership

Once you implement the 5 pillars of leadership in your team leaders, they will become better and more effective team leaders. If you need additional information and inspiration regarding creating leadership experiences, you should read Why Courage Is an Essential Leadership Quality in our blog section.

The post The Secret Ingredient of Leadership Development: The 5 Pillars of Leadership appeared first on Workest.

With the nature of the economy today, people are looking to their employers for guidance now more than ever. Employees value skilled problem-solving and interpersonal skills from their managers.

Insufficient management can cost a business billions. Therefore, it’s crucial that they stay sharp and knowledgeable about updates and new skills.

This is just 1 way upskilling managers fosters an innovative culture that improves performance. This focus on a future-ready workplace creates a company-wide impact.

So, it’s important for companies to discuss why upskilling managers is so important. They can brainstorm the best strategies to get it done and reap the benefits it brings to their organization.

What are the skills that need enhancement in leaders?

Learning new skills equips leaders and supervisors with the knowledge to effectively lead their teams. After all, they’re supposed to exemplify credibility and inspire staff to hone their own skills. Modern-day skill advancements may require:

Emotional training

Managers need to be more aware of how their employees are feeling these days. In fact, 91% of people believe their workplace should support mental health.

Effective emotional intelligence programs can help upskill leadership in this department. Leadership courses like these help strengthen their capacity for emotional management. Plus, it teaches them the importance of self-awareness.

Communication and motivation training

An organization’s management should know how to communicate effectively. Active listening, writing, and verbal skills help ensure that managers are instructing clearly.

Employee performance management meetings or HR complaints are better handled with thoughtful communication skills. Training focused on this area can also help fine-tune motivational skills for management. Their ability to uplift their employees may help increase worker satisfaction.

Problem-solving and organizational training

Managers have to balance multiple workflows. On top of that, they are managing the workflows of others. As such, it helps managers to enhance their organizational skills.

Effective task delegation can benefit from an enhancement in this area. Knowing where each skill set lies with employees helps them better manage their daily processes without issue.

6 strategies for upskilling leaders and managers

Managers who learn better skills drive the success of an entire organization. Skill gaps can create costly errors, increased stress, and lower productivity.

Contrarily, upskilling leaders can encourage skill adaptations for all. Attention to education for managers helps facilitate the following:

• Organizational knowledge and expertise
• Adaptability and resilience to company-wide changes
• Improved communication skills, strategic thinking, and problem-solving
• Increased employee efficiency and productivity
• Enhanced employee engagement and loyalty
• Increased workplace attractiveness and potential for capable new hires

Upskilling managers is essential to ensure they have the knowledge to manage their teams. There are a few innovative ways managers can gain new and improved management skills.

When these strategies are properly utilized, managers can stay up to date with the talent that drives a business to success.

1. Attend workshops and seminars

Live remote or in-person workshops can help them see management from a different perspective. Real use cases and experiences help sharpen existing skills.

These are typically held in a setting that allows for questions and brainstorming. This consists of an expert or educator teaching an interactive lesson to a group of peers and colleagues.

Since workshops and seminars allow deep conversations to take place around the topic, they can last a while. The information shared here takes a deep dive into the best practices that drive a deeper understanding of leadership.

2. Provide access to online resources

There are several online leadership and management courses out there. These online resources are available to managers for self-learning ventures. Providing access to online learning courses allows leaders to increase their skills at their own pace.

These courses usually cover all the areas specific to leadership and management. They are interactive, self-paced, and available on demand for workers.

Online learning resources focus on actionable daily processes in digestible segments. Courses like these are affordable and could conclude in just a few hours if necessary.

Aside from online courses, managers can have access to online e-books about management skills. Any type of self-applied training or resource can help leaders find the best training suited for them.

3. Offer training in new technologies

Technology has taken over many aspects of business. To stay relevant with today’s AI and automation tech, managers need to get educated in their use. There are automation tools used for many processes in an organization.

Revenue, inventory, marketing, recruiting, and more now have automated software to streamline workflows. Non-tech-savvy employees look to their managers for help navigating software like this. As such, leaders need to do their best to learn and thoroughly understand new technology so they can help their staff.

4. Introduce a mentorship program

Mentorships often look like a 1-on-1 relationship between a capable leader and an employee. Managers can also participate for the betterment of their managerial skills.

Companies can enlist a leading executive to take a manager under their wing. With this interaction, they can develop more soft skills that make them more adequate leaders.

Companies can enlist a leading executive to take a manager under their wing.

They relate to the daily experiences of someone in a higher position and learn how they got there. This kind of mentorship helps executives pay it forward to the future of every business.

5. Foster knowledge-sharing

Research shows that 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if there were more learning opportunities. Instilling this type of environment can kick-start the educational presence of an organization.

When executives encourage managers to take on new challenges, their employees will follow. Exchanging information between the teams of a company allows for the sharing of many different skills. Finding lessons from other points of view can help managers find the best 1st steps to hone skills unique to their business.

6. Make data-driven decisions based on employee feedback

Harnessing the power of data is another way managers can find areas of self-improvement. Holding surveys or viewing business ratings will show companies where they thrive and what needs fixing.

For example, employees could express their desire for more remote work opportunities. Managers can then develop the skills necessary to facilitate this. Technology training may be beneficial to these leaders. As a bonus, they can participate in training that involves learning flexibility.

Upskilling is a necessity to remain competitive

It’s clear that for businesses to remain competitive, they need to encourage managers to upskill. Improving their leadership abilities can create success within every level of employees. It may take a small investment of time, money, and resources, but it’s worth it in the end.

Businesses will see a return on their investment with increased revenue because of more active management. Therefore, companies must make a priority of empowering managers to become better leaders. This way, they can compete and adapt in an ever-evolving landscape.

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