Contributed by Sam Hill, head of people and culture at BizSpace. With British employees back to working from home during the second lockdown in 2020, businesses once again face the challenge of employees being split across locations. Although technology has permitted teams to stay connected over the past few months, this lockdown presents a second obstacle, as employees battle with the anxiety and worry which this lockdown brings. Teams typically speak less frequently when working remotely, so small businesses must ensure that their employees do not feel isolated and that they stay connected whilst working remotely in this period. Even for small businesses with just a few members of staff, employees need to feel valued and connected to other members of their team. How do you help your staff avoid isolation while split working? 1. Take advantage of technology
By now, many employees feel exhausted by video calls. Even so, it is imperative that businesses continue to use technology to connect their teams. Within small businesses, it’s easy to dismiss daily or weekly video calls if there is not much of an update to provide to the team. However, doing so can add to the feeling of isolation for remote working employees. Continue to host daily or weekly team meetings via video conferencing, where employees can catch up and share what they are working on. This will ensure all employees continue to build connections and celebrate their achievements. 2. Encourage team work wherever possibleIt’s easy for employees working in separate locations to feel detached and lonely. To resolve this, encourage teamwork wherever possible. Encourage the group to solve issues together and meet targets in a more efficient and effective manner. Employees working remotely often struggle to speak up when they face challenges since they cannot turn to the desk next to them for quick advice. Teamwork combats this issue, with employees connecting to their peers and opening the door to new lines of communication. 3. Reinforce your company cultureAs a leader, make sure you are proactive in nurturing and reinforcing the company culture, since healthy company cultures have a direct impact on the performance of teams. Take the time to reinforce the organizations’ vision and values to employees. This approach not only helps your team feel connected to the larger picture, but it can reenforce loyalty and calm. Keep lines of communciatoin open relating to shifts in goals. Uncertainty is detrimental to the morale of a team, so any communication should be as clear and certain as possible. 4. Introduce lunch and learnsRegardless of the size of a business, lunch and learn sessions are a great way to ensure employees are actively engaging with each other and the company. These talks are typically informal. They offer employees opportunities to deliver talks on a variety of topics, ask questions and build community. For employees working remotely, this is a perfect way to ensure they are still able to engage in training, with video and audio conferencing opening up the ability for remote workers to tune in wherever they are. 5. Don’t dismiss virtual social eventsAlthough the use of Zoom quizzes and calls quickly became tiresome for many employees during the national lockdown, the use of virtual social events should not be dismissed. For employees working remotely, these social events are a direct replacement for the usual social events and informal drinks after work which they would have otherwise attended. Social events are an easy way to create natural conversation opportunities and bring employees together on a far more personal level. They also contribute to the success of the business by boosting morale, which can increase productivity and satisfaction in teams. This, in turn, can boost the company culture as employees feel a higher sense of loyalty to the organisation, even from their remote locations. Contributed by Samantha Hill, head of people and culture at BizSpace. The post 5 ways to keep your team connected with split working appeared first on THE BLOG. via THE BLOG https://ift.tt/36BJQFd
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By Julia Langkraehr, a member of EO London and founder of Bold Clarity. Do you remember the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen? When all his courtiers are too afraid to tell him that he’s naked for fear of being labelled stupid? As a business leader, do you ever feel that sometimes your team might be trying to tell you something but can’t? This is the result of a culture where a team is afraid to be open and honest. It’s a culture that makes them fearful of telling their colleagues and leaders (like you) the truth. Even if the truth is hurting your business.A lack of openness and honesty gets to the heart of dysfunction in companies—and one of the root causes is conflict avoidance. What is healthy conflict?Healthy conflict is a good thing when orchestrated in the right way and when there is no negative consequence to sharing an opinion or a view. Entrepreneurs often want to run fast—faster than those who surround them. The risk is that, when you move so quickly, you may not get alignment from your partners, your senior leadership team and the rest of the organization. I have seen and experienced diversity of culture on my journey to implement a business operating system in over 50 businesses. I have seen companies where a culture of personality clashes or toxic politics has developed—and even flourished. That’s not “healthy conflict.” As part of the process of implementing a business operating system such as the Entrepreneurial Operating System, you’ll adopt tools and techniques to identify, discuss and resolve issues in an open and honest environment. Some companies find that they have a “terrorist” or ‘’maverick’’ character in their midst, who performs well but doesn’t match the company values, thus negatively impacting on the morale and the culture of the company. As leaders, we find ourselves trying to justify whether their performance compensates for the cultural impact. This person is typically doing more damage than good. In our operating system, it’s what we call the “wrong person in the right seat.” Leaders can’t blame their staff if there’s an unhealthy culture. In America, there is a saying that “a fish stinks from the head down.” How open and honest worksWhat businesses need to do is develop a culture where there is team trust, and people are able to be open and honest. That begins by the example we set as leaders, owners and entrepreneurs. Teams that have built trust are able to enjoy healthy discussions, where they challenge assumptions, engage in productive debates, are free to share what they think and say what needs to be said when it needs to be said. Walk the walkWhile it’s very easy to say that you want to encourage an open and honest culture, it’s not so easy to do. Open and honest is more than simply an act or behavior; it’s a tool which teams can use. “Open” is ensuring you are open to new ideas, open to new approaches and open to changes in the status quo. Examples include being open to automation or open to outsourcing. “Honest” is being prepared to say what’s in your head, sharing your perspective, your fears, your concerns, your hesitancy, and also sharing your dream. It’s both positive and negative: When people don’t know what team members are thinking, they imagine what they’re thinking instead. That can lead to miscommunications and misalignment. When implementing EOS, we work first to get the leadership team using the concept of open and honest. By doing so, leadership sets the culture, which filters down to the rest of the organization. When you foster an open and honest environment, and you get a team really listening to each other and understanding each other’s perspectives, you’ll see powerful results. Julia Langkraehr, founder of Bold Clarity, became the first Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) Implementer in the UK in 2014 and has helped over 50 businesses implement the tools with great results. The post Why healthy conflict is important to your business appeared first on THE BLOG. via THE BLOG https://ift.tt/36oXiMI Contributed by J. Douglas (Doug) Holladay, the founder and CEO of PathNorth, a former White House advisor, and a professor at Georgetown University. Doug is also the author of Rethinking Success: Eight Essential Practices for Finding Meaning in Work and Life. Years ago, my close friend Steve Case, cofounder of AOL, and I flew down to Asheville, North Carolina, for a private visit with Billy Graham. Graham’s health had been failing, and Steve wanted to spend as much time with this remarkable figure and friend as possible. Graham’s influence in the world was beyond measure. He had spoken to more people When we arrive, we found Graham fragile, relying on a walker. Although he was obviously quite frail, I was impressed by his endurance and lucidity. We spoke for hours. He graciously allowed me to ask question after question, ranging from Graham’s relationship with JFK and the Mormon hotel magnate Willard Marriott to his view of Muslims and their spiritual destiny. Graham’s humility and lack of rigidity and judgment were striking. His thinking had clearly evolved. He patiently and with utter candor answered all inquiries until a certain moment abruptly altered the rhythm of our exchange. He took a bead on me with those steel-blue penetrating eyes. “Doug, you have asked me questions all day. Could I ask you one? I need your advice.” I gulped and nodded, panic gripping me. “As you can see, I am much diminished. I use a walker and am extremely weary and spent. I am in my 80s but am getting calls from news networks around the world to be interviewed about my life and the state of the world.” Then came the showstopper: “Do you think that the public should see me in my weakened state, or should they remember me as the firebrand of old?” I paused and pondered what I could possibly offer this giant figure. But then I had a thought. “If Pope John Paul II has taught us anything, it has been the power of his genuine humanity in the face of decline. Despite a serious stroke that left him partially paralyzed, the pope travels and shows that his weakness and infirmity are not a limitation, but are inevitable as we age and decline.”
“Weakness need not be feared and despised, even in a culture that prizes and elevates youth and beauty.” I urged Graham to allow the world to experience him in decline. This too would be inspirational, perhaps even more so than his earlier labors. Graham was humble, asking for guidance mainly because he so desperately desired to finish well and to please the right audience. Most of us want to present a story to others that highlights only the achievements and wins. Yet far more interesting and valuable are those failures and low points where we started paying attention to what matters. Everyone can identify with brokenness and setback; after all, it is reality, if you live long enough. Dale Jones was asked to take the helm of a global executive-search firm based in Philadelphia. Dale shared with me this piece of advice he was given at the start of his tenure: “When you are interviewing CEO candidates for new job opportunities, ask them about the ‘failed rungs’ on their ladder. If they can’t tell you some, run for the hills.”
Everyone, if they are honest, has experienced setback and limitations. Real leaders don’t run from weakness; they embrace and incorporate it into their authentic leadership style. No doubt exposing our limitations and failures is risky. We are taught from day one to project strength, to be unflappable. So much that occurs in our lives shapes our stories in unexpected ways and can easily derail us through discouragement and setback. Yet the questing for purpose is all about becoming whole, embracing all facets of who we are. Author Richard Rohr understands the difference between circumstances and our real lives: “Most people confuse their life situation with their actual life, which is an underlying flow beneath the everyday events.” It’s important to consider who you are, the real story that drives you, not the fake one you learn to project. You aren’t simply the sum of your achievements and failures. You aren’t defined by the status associated with powerful individuals you just met, the job you just lost, or the raise you just received. You are a complex being who has been influenced by people and circumstances that existed long before you did and those that will exist long after you pass. One way to develop a deeper understanding of your story is to become your own audience. Remove yourself from your story and tell it. Are you inspired by the person at the helm in that narrative? Do you feel that this person is engaging with others authentically? Is this person motivated by personal beliefs or others’ definitions of success? Is this person desperate to appear strong, even when feeling powerless? Do you admire him or her? It is both illuminating and chilling to understand this map in its entirety. Yet once you fully accept your truth— truly embrace it—you will then have choices. You can live the story of your peers and family or you can value your own story and find your own path. For in the end, to be healthy and the best version of yourself, there must be separation. You and I must differentiate ourselves from our past, letting go of the patterns that continually sabotage our lives in the present. Listen to the audience that truly matters: the audience of one. We all have an audience, perhaps multiple. And we all have a story. It is vital to reflect upon our initial questions if we are to move forward living the story true to ourselves. “Have you embraced your unique life story and identified your audience?” It is a critically important question to consider, for it is the doorway to a life of meaning. For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. The post Real leaders embrace their weakness appeared first on THE BLOG. via THE BLOG https://ift.tt/32kAOv2 Contributed by Alexis Maness, contributing editor at 365businesstips.com. Nearly 100,000 businesses have permanently closed due to COVID-19. And with no end in sight for returning to business as usual, that number can be intimidating to anyone who’s considering opening their own business or entrepreneurs hoping to survive the next year. If there’s one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, it’s that you can’t predict the future but a little preparation can go a long way. So, what do you need to include in your business plan in order to make it pandemic proof? We’ll cover the essentials in this post, but first, here are some key elements you need to keep in mind when creating your business plan. The most important characteristics of a good business plan include:
Make a plan for transitioning to remoteOne of the biggest hurdles businesses have had to address is moving their business operations from in-office to remote. While some industries (like tech-based businesses) have been able to adapt fairly easily, others have struggled. When you assess your business or your startup idea, ask yourself how you can plan to go virtual. Consider safety measures and employee health. Your team should remain just as effective working remotely as they would working in the office—with the exception of a few industries such as restaurants and certain stores. So, how do you make certain that’s the case moving forward? First, establish the steps needed to transition remote. Next, identify official processes and protocal for remote work to ensure work-from-home success. For example, are you set up with the right collaboration tools and file-sharing platforms? Will you require employees use video conferencing applications? With the right remote work plan in place, you can even offer work-from-home opportunities as rewards for hard work or as a company-wide benefit. After all, the option to work remotely is one of the most desired work perks. Create a strong budgetAnother one of the challenges that businesses have faced is financial instability throughout the pandemic. So much so that many businesses—both small and large—have shuttered their doors forever. In fact, according to Yelp data, approximately 60 percent of businesses that closed in response to the pandemic, have permanently shuttered. What can you learn from these businesses? You want to do whatever you can to prevent the same financial crisis from happening to your company in the case of future pandemic, natural disaster or other emergency economic situation. The first thing to do is to get your budget in order and determine what you need in your emergency fund. During the pandemic, business leaders who understood that cash is king survived. According to Jody Grunden, Summit CPA Group, businesses should save 10 percent to 30 percent of annualized revenue, or about three to six month’s worth of expenses. Having a cushion of cash to fall back on can be the difference between being able to cover your operational costs and ending up like another statistic. While financial planning is a key component of any business plan, it’s even more critical as we come out of the pandemic and prepare for the future to make sure we can withstand something similar in the future. Have a future-focused mindsetAs always, when you’re creating a business plan, you want to consider the future, not just the year you’re planning for. So, as you work on your plan for 2021, don’t fall into tunnel vision. Keep in mind the effect your moves could have on your business for the next five or even 10 years. When setting your vision, initiatives and strategy for 2021, keeping your business open and finding creative ways to bring in revenue will be essential. That said, you also want to make sure you’re not making moves that are going to completely derail your long-term business goals and stability. As you make decisions based on your company’s current position and the pandemic-affected economy, take steps that will help your business get back on track—whether that’s providing incentives to get customers back through the door or restructuring certain departments. How will you recoup losses, get your staff back up to normal capacity, transition employees back to the office, and so on? Answering these questions will help you make the best decisions for your business now and in the future. Additionally, make sure you pay attention to trends in both your regional economy and the global economy. Major changes in the world economy and consumer behavior can be good indicators of what to expect. Creating a well-thought-out business plan for 2021 is the first step to making your company pandemic-proof in the coming years. Keep in mind, however, that a plan is never set in stone. Be ready to pivot as needed and make adjustment as the year unfolds. Contributed by Alexis Maness, contributing editor at 365businesstips.com. The post How to build a pandemic-proof business plan for 2021 appeared first on THE BLOG. via THE BLOG https://ift.tt/3jQpfln |
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November 2020
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