What Drama Really Looks Like
We all probably know one person at work who always seems to be caught up in some sort of personal or office drama. You know who they are, and you know better than to get caught up in their latest turmoil de jour.
However, while we refuse to allow ourselves to get caught up in obvious drama, we tend to overlook subtle ways we can create drama of our own. I’ve listed four scenarios that I’ve noticed tend to stir up drama that, intentional or not, distracts from the main thing, creates discontent, and slows momentum. (more…)
How well are you doing at bridging the generation gap inside your organization? No, I’m not talking about Gen X and Gen Y. I’m talking about your Legacy group and your Accelerate group. You may not be familiar with the terms, but after I explain you’ll know exactly who I’m talking about.
Legacy Group
Your Legacy team members are those who’ve been with you since the “early days.” They know your culture because they helped create it. They bring stability, dependability, and a wealth of knowledge on how you do business and who you do it with. They are committed, and you depend heavily on them.
Accelerate Group
Your Accelerators are your teammates who’ve recently joined your organization as you’ve grown. What they lack in tenure they bring in fresh energy, new ideas, and an excitement about the future of the organization, so naturally they’re focused on the future rather than the past.
Good leaders see the value in both groups, and they also understand how to overcome some of the common challenges each group poses, such as Legacy employees’ concern over change, the company’s evolution, and a sense of entitlement that can accompany the feeling that they’ve “paid their dues.” Accelerators, on the other hand, must learn how to connect with the Legacy group and maneuver what might be a steep learning curve. (more…)
Leaders must continually keep their eyes on the horizon and drive their business toward the future while still leading in the present. It’s a difficult balance, planning for tomorrow while still appreciating today.
However, if we constantly live in the future, we miss what’s going on now, and the “now” is what we were dreaming about in the past. It’s finally here, but you’re not. (more…)
Isn’t fulfillment at work something nearly all of us want to find? After all, if we’re going to spend 40-plus hours 50 weeks a year doing something, it should be something that we find personally rewarding. So whose responsibility is it to ensure your workdays are satisfying?
The Leader’s Role
As a leader, you can do many things to influence your teammates’ sense of fulfillment in their work. They include:
- Creating fun in your work
- Fostering open communication
- Making your department a safe environment for sharing, debating, and discussing ideas (more…)
The team leader has a huge impact on what motivates their teammates. What brings your teammates to work each day?
The Check
The check is all about working for money. After all, we need money to live, and a job provides a paycheck. When we work for the check, we probably don’t find our work life too fulfilling, but hey, it’s a job and we do it for the money. The paycheck is our success. (more…)
Are you a person of faith who’s trying to figure out how to bring God into your workplace in a more meaningful way? I thought I’d touch on this subject today because I’ve had a week full of wonderful business conversations that included spiritual dialog.
I’ve been a leader in both faith and non-faith based businesses and, for example, I’ve started meetings with prayer in both settings. While the corporate setting is more of a maze to work through (due to HR legal restrictions) it can be a more rewarding environment to show Christ because in the business world your spiritual health isn’t an expected talent that you must have to be successful.
So how do we, as business leaders who are faithful to Christ, balance business and God in our day work life? (more…)
Good food for thought from one of our emerging leaders!
At work, I’m known as the go to person for helping communicate what needs to be shared – both the good and the bad – with fellow employees, customers, and just about any other audience. Such was the case a few weeks ago when a teammate asked me to review an email she had drafted to share her frustration with another teammate. I made the usual tweaks so that the intended message was clear and direct without being harsh and offensive.
When I sent the newly revised email back over, I jokingly remarked that I needed to learn to take this same diplomatic approach with my husband! She replied that if I ever got that mastered, to coach her on that as well. We both laughed.
But our short exchange made me wonder, why don’t I approach all my relationships with the same patience, understanding, and thoughtfulness that I apply at work? (more…)
Balance is always a hot topic regarding the workplace. For many leaders, balance is one of those elusive concepts that they long for but feel they never really achieve. It can be hard to feel any semblance of balance when you dedicate the majority of your workday to serving your teammates and then have little time to left get your own work done.
So, maybe it’s time we reframe the concept of “balance.” For a leader, I don’t believe balance is this magical, always-longed-for-but-never-achieved concept that means you always dedicate adequate and equal time to everything going on in your life – work, family, faith, hobbies, rest and relaxation, and so on. (more…)