leadership

Corporate CPR Episode 91: How Every Leader Can Influence A Company’s Employee Engagement 

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how every leader can influence a company’s employee engagement. 

Paul ter Wal is a seasoned consultant, speaker, author, and founder of ANDARE (now Ter Wal Beheer BV). His journey has evolved from sick leave reduction to transforming company culture, amplition, and engagement. Pioneering “Value-to-Profit,” he aligns core values with employees’ essentials for heightened profitability. His approach empowers organizations to implement innovative engagement, vitality, and sick leave strategies, guided by the 7 keys of Talent Management Engagement as ROI.

Paul is a guest lecturer at Maastricht University, Masters Work, Health and Career and is registered as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) with the organisation Professional Speakers Australia and a Fellow (FPSA) with the Professional Speaking Association in Great Britain and Ireland.

Key Takeaways:

  • Global Engagement Statistics: The engagement levels in the workforce vary across regions and cultures. About 15% of employees worldwide are fully engaged, showing energy and enthusiasm in their work. Regions like Europe have higher numbers of disengaged employees compared to fully engaged ones, while regions like South Asia, the US, and Canada have relatively higher engagement levels.
  • Generational Shifts: Different generations approach work differently. Older generations often valued duty and work to provide for their families, while younger generations focus more on personal fulfillment and purpose. This generational shift impacts the way leaders need to approach engagement and motivation.
  • Changing Leadership Roles: The role of a leader has evolved from simply being the best employee to being a facilitator and supporter of their team. Many leaders who were promoted due to their individual skills may lack the natural leadership skills required to effectively manage and engage their teams.
  • ABC of Engagement: Autonomy, Belonging, and Competencies are essential factors that influence engagement in the workforce. Leaders should provide employees with autonomy to make decisions and contribute, create a sense of belonging within the team or organization, and continually support employees in developing their competencies.
  • Non-Negotiable Values: Organizations should establish non-negotiable core values that define their purpose and mission. These values should guide hiring decisions, and employees should align with these values. A strong organizational purpose contributes to a sense of belonging and engagement among employees.
  • Leader’s Role in Engagement: Leaders play a critical role in driving engagement within their teams. Effective leadership involves understanding individual employee’s strengths and weaknesses, fostering a culture of continuous development, aligning individual purposes with the organization’s purpose, and maintaining open communication.
  • Personalized Conversations: Engaging with every employee through meaningful conversations is crucial. Leaders often focus on addressing issues with underperforming individuals, but it’s equally important to engage with high-performing employees. Valuable insights can be gained from these conversations, contributing to better team dynamics and performance.
  • Effective Communication: Building relationships requires leaders to communicate effectively with their team members. Engaging in open conversations and actively listening can foster trust and understanding. Opt for informal settings like walking meetings or coffee chats to create a relaxed environment conducive to candid discussions.
  • Recognition and Feedback: Recognition and feedback are powerful drivers of engagement. Celebrating successes and acknowledging contributions can boost morale. Feedback sessions should focus on strengths and areas for improvement, creating a positive impact and encouraging employees to take ownership of their growth.

Top 3 Takeaways:

  1. Stop talking about human resources. Nowadays we talk about human beings. 
  2. Change negative issues into a positive approach.
  3. Take your position as a leader seriously because you’re there to support and facilitate employees. 

How to connect with Paul:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PaulterWal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulterwal/

Corporate CPR Episode 72: Why We Need a New Type of Leadership to Manage Corporate Change

/ Jana

On today’s show, we discuss why we need a new type of leadership to manage corporate change.

Lata Hamilton is a change leadership and confidence expert and founder and CEO of Passion Pioneers and creator of the Leading Successful Change program. Her change leadership training Leading Successful Change helps women carve their own paths for change in career, leadership and life. Lata is a Change Management Consultant, Leadership Trainer, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, and Confidence Coach.

Lata is based in Sidney, Australia and has led change with some of Australia’s biggest companies on their major Transformation and Organisational Change projects with agile, fit-for-purpose, practical Change Management strategies, plans and approaches. She’s worked on changes that have impacted over 100,000 people, operating model changes impacting thousands, global cultural transformations, and digital transformation that is literally change the way that we work.

Key Takeaways

Change management as we know it, has to change:

• The old standard of change management is regimented and relies on the idea of change projects being a step-by-step process for managing change. Which is not based on real life.

• Organizational change requires fluidly and flexibility instead of strict processes and timelines so you can add value in the moment.

• We need to shift our mindset from “managing change” (how are we going to manage a process or project to some desired outcome) to embrace a more holistic view of “inspiring change” (how are we going to change hearts and minds and engage people through all levels of the organization)

Focus on the experience you want to create with the change, not on specific dates and times:

• Instead of thinking the change project starts and ends, think about the experience you want to create and the benefits you want to see from the experience. For example – for training, instead of thinking of it from a time/deadline perspective, think of it from an experience perspective and plan out a journey for a particular team member.

• Focusing on the experience works because the actual delivery of the change is not the success. The success comes from realizing the benefit of the change and using it to engage people correctly, so they are switched on for now and for the future.

How do you prepare an organization for changes caused by automation?

• Open people’s minds to the possibility of change early on. • Create a change vision at group level and an individual level.

• Provide inspiration to give people a reason to believe and hope in the future of the organization.

• Leadership should be highly involved in communication to build trust. If employees trust their leaders, they will follow them through tough/uncertain times.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1) Wake People Up. Look to empower people. Take a new approach – how can we focus on getting an emotional shift and emotional transformation now and in the future?

2) Think about the communications you use. Take every opportunity to build trust when you are in a project or not. Change doesn’t have a start and end date. It’s always rolling, and you are always paving the way for new changes.

3) Leading change is hard. If you are working in any change leader position, take care of yourself and take time to build your internal confidence. To be able to lead change with other people you need to be able to step up i to your leadership and your internal strength in the process.

Connect with Lata:

Website: https://www.latahamilton.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latahamilton

Corporate CPR Episode 45: How to Effectively Manage Global Teams

/ Jana

On today’s show, we discuss how to effectively manage global teams.

Dr. Rajesh Kumar is a consultant and a retired business academic specializing in global business. He has an undergraduate and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Delhi, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in International Business from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He is also a Certified Global Dexterity Trainer.

Originally from India, Dr. Kumar has lived and worked in the United States, France, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. He has taught at Penn State, Ohio State, Babson College, and Menlo College in the United States, the University of Nottingham in the U.K., and the University of Aarhus in Denmark, among others.

Dr. Kumar specializes in the art of doing business across cultural boundaries. As companies go global they must deal with suppliers, customers, and even employees coming from different cultural backgrounds. This impacts all facets of business operations ranging from how you negotiate business deals to how you motivate employees and manage them.

Dr. Kumar has led training programs for global companies on Doing Business in India, Negotiating Cross-Culturally, and Managing Strategic Partnerships. Global Strategic Advisory, of which Dr. Kumar is the principal, offers training programs to companies seeking to enhance their global presence. Dr. Kumar is also part of the Partner-Alliances Collective, a group of professionals involved in managing alliances.

Dr. Kumar has a passion for reading, spirituality, and wine tasting. His global experience adds to his vast knowledge, in which he has many fascinating stories to tell.

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My Journey from I QUIT To I DO: The Path to Achieving my Full Potential

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Walking into my boss’ office to tell him I was quitting was one of the hardest moments in my career. I was in tears. I loved my job. My boss was wonderful. My team was fun. The company was a great company to work for. But it was time to leave. At university I took the Myers Briggs test. I remember sitting in class, reading about the best careers for an ENTJ. There was one that stood out to me: CEO. That’s what I wanted. Over time I forgot though, distracted by different career options. In my MBA I took a project management course and discovered an entire career field just for me. I poured everything into project management. I began volunteering at the Project Management Institute, worked on finding a project management job, and in general lived and breathed project management. Life as a project manager was great, but there was still something missing. Continue reading →

5 Times to Get a New Project Manager

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The project was struggling – over budget and behind schedule. It was a critical subproject of a larger program and delivery was critical. Senior leadership decided it was time to change the project manager, and I was brought in to lead a turnaround effort. As I was digging into the details of the project, I came to the conclusion that my predecessor wasn’t a bad project manager (thankfully he was just transferred and not let go). The project needed a different leader with a different style and set of skills. If you have projects in your portfolio that are struggling or the team is burnt out, here are some reasons it may be good to change the project manager: Continue reading →

3 Toxic People in the Workplace and How to Manage Them

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Toxic people in the workplace are nightmares! They thrive on making your life miserable. Often their behavior is driven from pride and somehow it makes them feel good to treat you poorly. Likely you have seen all these people at some point in your career. Here are a few tips with how to deal with them:

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4 Ways not to React in Crisis Situations

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Crises happen in the workplace frequently. Whether these crises are real or artificial, it seems there are four types of poor leadership that emerges during crisis (or perceived crisis) situations. Each having a negative impact on the team:

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7 Tips for a More Highly Engaged Team

/ Jana / 2 Comments

A kegerator? Friday lunches paid for by the company? Open workspaces where even the CEO doesn’t have an office? It sounds like a page right out of Silicon Valley. You won’t find this company in California, though: they are right here in Denver, CO. I knew there was something special about this company when I met a handful of the employees at a networking event. They all seemed to have a passion for life. They didn’t seem like many others at a networking event: the ones compartmentalizing home and life (which doesn’t work); and the overly professional or agenda-pushing. Everyone from the company was high-energy and fun to be around.  Continue reading →

Bossiness Is Not Leadership

/ Jana / 4 Comments

Bossiness is not synonymous with leadership, despite what the recent movement claims. The difference? It’s all about the approach. I was a bossy child. In fact, I was so bossy that at four I was in charge of my single-parent family. I told my mom what to do and held her hostage to my whims. I bossed my friends around to the point I didn’t really have any. If my friends didn’t do it my way, I had a bad attitude or didn’t participate at all. That’s not leadership.

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