When was the last time you heard thank you or sent a handwritten note? You might feel such moments are rare or nonexistent in the workplace. Most leaders feel trapped in the relentless pursuit of results, achieving the next goal. And a transactional leader considers a paycheck the best form of motivation. But what if I told you that acts of goodwill, often taken for granted, are not optional but essential to establishing your leadership credibility? Trust is not something to ignore. It has been shown to affect employee openness to change and, ultimately, moderate the outcome of change. Some of the most successful leaders and companies attribute their success to high-quality, trust-based relationships. Microsoft, for example, promotes that business value is achieved through trust, love, and loyalty. Being trustworthy takes credibility, which is not inherent to being a leader. You're not alone if you are concerned about not having enough time for goodwill. A key is to not see goodwill as optional but as necessary. To help you start, here is what you need to know about trust and goodwill. The leadership trust and credibility connection Trust-based leader-follower relationships are based on credibility, reliability, transparency (vulnerability), and humility (self-orientation). Credibility has rational and emotional aspects related to an individual's content expertise and personal presence. Reliability is based on the frequency of interactions with someone and the consistency for them to behave as expected. Transparency (vulnerability) requires being personal and the willingness to have a courageous conversation. Humility (self-orientation) relates to the amount of focus placed on oneself versus the emphasis placed on the other person. A High degree of self-orientation creates significant distrust with others. When you are an executive leader or own your own business, it is inevitable that at some point, you will experience a situation where you have responsibility for leading but don't have a deep understanding or technical expertise for the specific work. While these situations negatively impact your credibility, it doesn't necessarily mean you are not perceived as trustworthy. Evidence suggests that power and influence increase with a leader's perceived ability to possess and display knowledge and skill. A leader's ability to influence is directly affected by follower perceptions. The more credibility a leader has, the greater their influence and ability to lead. Research into credibility reveals that the leader's knowledge, competence, and goodwill are the primary drivers of followers' perceptions. A critical blind spot for many executives is the importance of their knowledge and technical competence in the areas they lead. Although leaders are not expected to be all-knowing and possess the competence to perform the tasks of every job in a company, a leader can enhance the perceptions of others through training, education, and experience. What is trustworthiness? Being considered a trustworthy leader is something that is earned. Without trust-based relationships, leaders and businesses can't succeed. Being trustworthy brings out the best in others and the workplace. Trust is a reliance on character, capability, or truth. Trustworthy synonyms include reliable, dependable, honest, and ethical. In the following video, Simon Sinek breaks down the impact of trust and being trustworthy as a leader. Do you have high-quality, trust-based relationships? Leaders who want to improve the quality of their relationships can measure their trustworthiness using the following free Relationship Trust Checker. Scores of 10-30 indicate a high degree of relationship trust, 5-10 indicate a moderate degree of relationship trust, and scores of 1-5 show a low degree of relationship trust. What is Leadership Goodwill? Evidence suggests leadership goodwill may be the most crucial element of credibility, especially among leader-follower relationships with frequent interactions. Most simply stated, goodwill is being authentically friendly and having their employees' best interests at heart. There are a couple of important nuances to clarify with the concept of being nice. First, building mutual goodwill is not trying to be popular but authentically caring for followers and the organization. Second, being friendly means being willing to have a difficult conversation and exit a colleague from a job where they are underperforming. "Your smile is a messenger of your goodwill." ~ Dale Carnegie Leaders display and create goodwill by being: friendly helpful cooperative and taking an interest in followers' well-being A leader can build their goodwill capacity by developing their emotional intelligence, helping followers, and spending time establishing high-quality relationships. Leader characteristics that support goodwill Several research studies demonstrate the benefits of a leader's inner game. A leader's behaviors or outer game are the actions a leader should take in a given situation. However, a leader's inner game characteristics influence whether a leader will take action. A leader's empathy, compassion, and selfless love are the inner game characteristics supportive of goodwill. Empathy is the ability to be aware of, feel, and take on the emotions of what another person is experiencing. Compassion is an empathic understanding with a desire to help another person. Selfless Love - to desire and put into action the will for the good of another ahead of your interest. 6 ways leaders can show goodwill Leaders can enhance goodwill with simple actions without having to expend much energy, such as: Saying thank you Sending a digital or handwritten thank-you note Asking questions to get to know your followers Using a reinforcement survey to learn what they find rewarding. A reinforcement survey is a series of questions to learn about activities and situations a follower finds reinforcing, such as hobbies and how employees spend their free time. Recognizing special dates such as birthdays and work anniversaries Scheduling one-to-one meetings and treating them to a drink of their choice Key Summary Points Being trustworthy takes credibility, which is not intrinsic to being a leader. Being credible is something that followers rationally and emotionally perceive. Trust-based leader-follower relationships are based on credibility, reliability, transparency, and humility. Research into credibility reveals that the leader's knowledge, competence, and goodwill are the primary drivers of followers' perceptions. Leadership goodwill may be the most crucial element of credibility, especially among leader-follower relationships with frequent interactions. Leaders display and create goodwill by being friendly, helpful, cooperative, and taking an interest in followers' well-being. Leaders can enhance goodwill with simple actions without having to expend much energy. References: Cameron, K. (2012). Positive leadership: Strategies for extraordinary performance. Berrett Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Hovland, C. I., Janis, I. L., & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion: Psychological studies of opinion change. Yale University Press.Koehler Publishers, Incorporated. Maister, D. H., Green, C. H., & Galford, R. M. (2000). The trusted advisor. Free Press. Yukl, G. (2010. Leadership in organizations. (8th ed.) Pearson.

An Examination of the Importance of Leadership Behaviors and Attributes on Shaping Culture Executive Summary Organizational culture is a critical factor in financially successful companies. But culture change is often overwhelming and elusive. In a fast-paced digital workplace, leaders face increasing pressure to innovate, make data-driven decisions, and effectively lead a remote and multicultural workforce. To thrive, change is necessary. It is crucial for leaders at every level to be equipped with the capability to act both within and upon a company's culture. Although overwhelming, culture change doesn't require sizeable investments and employees in the office. Leaders with dynamic transformational leadership attributes and behaviors are effective culture change agents. Evidence suggests that idealized influence and inspirational motivation are key leadership attributes and behaviors for leaders to drive culture change. They are foundational for enhancing trust, emotional connection, and the leader-follower relationship. Additionally, these leadership behaviors and attributes increase the willingness of employees to excel and give discretionary effort. The benefits of architecting a positive organizational culture are found to extend beyond financial success to include improved employee morale, commitment, health, and well-being. HOW TO READ THIS WHITE PAPER This white paper is divided into five sections. Each section is essential to understanding the importance of key leadership behaviors and attributes in shaping organizational culture. Sections one and two of the white paper provide a contextual understanding of what is meant by organizational culture and modern organizational culture challenges. Section three focuses on proven approaches to architect organizational culture. Section four looks at two key leadership behaviors and attributes vital to shaping culture. The white paper concludes by highlighting the significant benefits associated with improving organizational culture. This white paper aims to establish the importance of leadership behaviors and attributes and guide business considerations for architecting organizational culture. As designed, the insights covered will improve our communities and workplaces by applying proven thought leadership. Section 1: Understanding Organizational Culture Organizational culture is the one thing that influences every aspect of a business. It directly impacts organizational success, employees, customers, and communities. The underlying cultural values of an organization affect the behaviors of employees and their decisions. Scholarly research directly linked the effects of an organization's culture on customer satisfaction, employee teamwork, cohesion, employee involvement, and innovation (Gregory et al., 2009). Just as some organizational culture characteristics can support these qualities, others can also inhibit these qualities. For example, a hierarchical corporate culture type is proven to decrease an organization's ability to innovate (Cameron & Quinn, 2011). The idea of organizational culture is abstract and often not well understood. The word culture gets used in different ways by people at different times. Culture has been studied for many years resulting in many different models and definitions. Organizational culture is complex because it involves individuals, their interactions, teams, and the organization. Edgar Schein, who is considered to be one of the most influential contemporary thought leaders on organizational culture, described it as: "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems" (Schein & Schein, 2016). A more simplified working definition of organizational culture is how things get done within the organization when no one is watching. It is easy to focus on the things that are visible to describe an organization's culture. However, an organizational culture framework consists of artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions. Artifacts: These are the things you can see, feel, or hear in the workplace. Examples include what is displayed, office layouts, uniforms, identification badges, and discussed and not discussed. Espoused Values: What you are told and beliefs that you can use to make decisions. Examples include a company's vision and values or mission statement. They are explicitly stated official philosophies about the company. Basic Assumptions: These are things that go without saying or are taken for granted. Examples could include speaking up in meetings, holding a door for someone, smiling, or greeting someone by name when walking down the hall. Often many elements of an organization's culture are not visible daily and drop into the background. However, significant events like a company merger or acquisition can make organizational culture differences noticeable. Section 2: The Organizational Culture Reality No organization is looking to stay the same year over year. The world needs organizations that desire to create a better future. According to the Business Roundtable, made up of the CEOs of 181 largest corporations, the principal purpose of a corporation is no longer only to maximize shareholder return (Business Roundtable, 2021). The purpose includes creating value for customers, investing in employees, dealing fairly with suppliers, and supporting the communities where corporations operate. Modern leaders are asking, can organizational culture be changed? This question is not just about changing but thriving. Today’s organizational culture reality includes challenges with innovation, making data-driven decisions, and a geographically dispersed multicultural workforce. Innovation Organizational cultures need to cultivate innovation. A global survey of over 5000 CEOs revealed that greater than 60 percent of organizations anticipate introducing new products or services to fuel their growth. A quick walk through a parking lot looking at the similarity of cars reveals a need for organizations to move beyond making incremental improvements. Company cultures centered on efficiency thinking have flooded the marketplace with low-cost, widely available products and resulted in tremendous waste and social issues (Brown, 2009). The future for organizations involves changing the organization's culture to create value for both the individual consumer and society. Data-Driven Decision Making Advances in technology create a significant advantage for organizations that can leverage data to make better decisions and take the right actions. To maximize their technology and talent investments, organizations need a culture that aligns with data-driven decision-making (Bartlett, 2013). This represents a sizable shift for many cultures that rely on stories to make decisions. A study involving more than 1000 executive leaders demonstrated that 80% of organizations with a mature approach to data analytics exceeded their goals, and 48% significantly exceeded their goals (Deloitte, 2019). Geographically Dispersed Workforce Modern organizations need to foster a culture that is shared across geographically dispersed and physically present workers. Hybrid models of remote and physically present workplaces for knowledge workers are projected to persist. According to a study of 2000 tasks, 800 jobs across nine countries project that 20 percent of an organization’s workforce could be remote three to five days a week (Lund et al., 2020). This represents an increase of three to four times as many employees working remotely. These changes are fueled by the workforce, advances in technology, and the pandemic. Multicultural Workforce The world is full of complex problems like cybersecurity and global political uncertainty. Still, the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion are being discussed from the boardroom to the breakroom. As companies continue to expand into new markets, the makeup of the workforce in our companies and communities served is becoming more diverse. The United States is more diverse today than at any time since data has been collected, and projections are for continued increases in diversity (Vespa et al., 2020). However, organizations face serious cultural challenges, including broadly held perceptions of inequity to illegal business practices based on race, sex, language, and other diversity factors. Inequity and discrimination result from failure, one person at a time, one action at a time (Greenleaf, 2008). These ethical failures are often not the result of one "bad actor" alone but systemic issues. Section 3: Architecting Organizational Culture Leaders at all levels in the organization play a vital role in the success of shaping organizational culture in business. Although architecting organizational culture is challenging, making changes often doesn't require considerable investments or physically co-located employees. Leaders can leverage the following primary and secondary actions and tools for leaders to embed the desired culture (Schein & Schein, 2016): Primary Actions and Tools Pay attention to metrics that matter and provide regular updates Respond to organizational crises Resource allocation Training and development Rewards and recognition Selection, promotions, and terminations Manage change Secondary Actions and Tools Organization design Policies and procedures Rituals and events Workspaces Traditions and stories Vision and mission statements Organizations are likely to deny the need for organizational culture change. It is common for organizations to become anxious at the suggestion of change. Leaders should exercise caution and approach the change thoughtfully or risk being seen as the problem. Overcoming resistance to change begins with establishing a desire for survival and reducing learning anxiety through creating a sense of psychological safety. Psychological safety is created by leaders proactively helping followers understand and accept the need for change. Section 4: Two Key Leadership Behaviors and Attributes Organizational culture is everyone's responsibility, and leaders play a fundamental role in influencing and supporting culture (Schein & Schein, 2016). Leaders must be able to operate both within and upon the organization's culture. Leadership is a system increasingly influenced by technology and consists of the leader, followers, the situation, and time (Sosik & Jung, 2018). In today’s turbulent and fast-paced digital marketplace, leaders are challenged to quickly discern and apply the appropriate leadership attributes and behaviors that will bring out the best in followers, so they will go beyond what is expected in ways that contribute to the organization’s results and make the world a better place. Leadership Behavior – is how a leader responds within the leadership system. A behavior is something that can be seen and described. Leadership Attribute – is an inherent quality of a leader as perceived by others. Often each leadership challenge requires a blended approach. Based on research, generally, the more dynamic transformational leadership behaviors and attributes are most effective (Sosik & Jung, 2018). Leadership thought leaders Sosik and Jung identify two key leadership behaviors and attributes to help leaders meet today’s complex organizational culture challenges: idealized influence and inspirational motivation (Sosik & Jung, 2018). Leadership Key #1: Idealized Influence Success is achieved through others rather than a leader alone. Establishing positive leadership influence is not easy, and it is vital for leaders to shape organizational culture. Leaders displaying idealized influence possess a high degree of moral behavior, virtues, character, and work ethic (Sosik & Jung, 2018). These leaders reflect the organizational culture, impart pride in followers, and reinforce the importance of teamwork and shared success. The following are idealized influence behaviors and attributes (Sosik & Jung, 2018): Idealized Influence Behaviors Talk about their most important values and beliefs Communicate the importance of team trust Reinforce the importance of purpose Evaluate the ethical consequences of decisions Reinforce the need for teamwork and its possibilities Idealized Influence Attributes Infuse pride in others Make personal sacrifices for others Create respect Demonstrate confidence Encourage others about the future Idealized influence increases trust, enhances learning, increases emotional connection, and empowers followers to think independently and express their individuality. A modern example of idealized influence leadership behaviors and attributes is Jack Welch. He is the former GE CEO and is known for achieving tremendous organizational results and developing followers. Leadership Key #2: Inspirational Motivation In a volatile and uncertain marketplace, leaders need to adapt and motivate followers toward a challenging and aspirational vision (Sosik & Jung, 2018). Human nature focuses on what is missing or needs to be fixed when presented with organizational culture change. However, inspirational motivation behaviors involve creating and effectively communicating a shared positive vision and purpose for followers (Sosik & Jung, 2018): Inspirational Motivation Behaviors Optimistically communicating about the future Enthusiastically communicating about what needs to be achieved Communicate a compelling vision of the future Provide an exciting image of what is essential to consider Express confidence that goals will be achieved Like idealized influence behaviors, inspirational motivation enhances the leader-follower relationship by increasing trust and emotional connection. Additionally, inspirational motivation behaviors heighten the willingness of followers to excel. Jack Ma is a modern example of idealized influence leadership behaviors and attributes. He is the former Alibaba CEO known for his ability to communicate a small business eCommerce vision, leading Alibaba to become the world's largest retailer and online marketing company. Section 5: Benefits of Improving Organizational Culture Ultimately every organizational result is the direct contribution of an employee. Organizational culture is identified as a critical factor in financially successful companies (Craig, 2018). Research has linked organizational culture to employee morale, commitment, health, and productivity (Schein & Schein, 2016). Failing to improve the organizational culture on challenges such as social justice reinforces stereotypes in communities, increases litigation risks, damages the organization’s brand, and increases missed opportunity costs. According to the Business Roundtable, made up of CEOs from the largest corporations in the United States, advancing social justice promotes access to key enablers of well-being and prosperity, such as healthcare, finances, education, and housing (Business Roundtable, 2019). Conclusion Architecting organizational culture is necessary for organizations to thrive in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous marketplace. Leaders need to be able to operate within and upon an organization's culture. The leadership behaviors of idealized influence and inspirational motivation are key for leaders to shape an organization’s culture. The benefits of improving organizational culture extend beyond performance and financial success to include employee morale, commitment, health, productivity, and well-being. If you have organizational culture or leadership development needs you cannot solve independently, we're ready to partner with you to craft a solution specific to your organization's context and challenges. Getting started is as easy as visiting www.organizationaltalent.com or contacting us via email info@organizationaltalent.com. References: Bartlett, R. (2013). A practitioner's guide to data analytics: Using data analysis to improve your organization's decision-making and strategy. McGraw-Hill. New York. Brown, T. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. HarperCollins Publishers. Business Roundtable. (2021). Statement on the purpose of a corporation. https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/ourcommitment/ Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2011). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework (Third ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Craig, W. (2018, March 6). As Company Culture Improves, So Does Your Business. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2018/03/06/as-company-culture-improves-so-does-your-business Deloitte. (2019). Deloitte survey: Analytics and data-driven culture help companies outperform business goals in the age of with’. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/press-releases/deloitte-survey-analytics-and-ai-driven-enterprises-thrive.html Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Greenleaf, R. (2008) The servant as leader. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Gregory, B. T., Harris, S. G., Armenakis, A. A., & Shook, C. L. (2009). Organizational culture and effectiveness: A study of values, attitudes, and organizational outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 62(7), 673-679. Lund, S., Manyika, J., Madgavkar, A. & Smit, S. (2020). What’s next for remote work. An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries. McKinsey Global Institute. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/whats-next-for-remote-work-an-analysis-of-2000-tasks-800-jobs-and-nine-countries# Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. (2016). Organizational culture and leadership, 5th edition (5th ed.) John Wiley & Sons. Sosik, J. & Jung, D. (2018). Full range leadership development: Pathways for people, profit, and planet. Routledge. Vespa, J. Armstrong, D. & Medina, L. (2020). Demographic turning points for the United States: Population projections for 2020 to 2060. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.html

Despite R&D being risky and expensive, businesses are betting big on innovation to fuel growth and competitive advantage. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta are investing billions annually. The R&D budgets from the top 100 innovation leaders total over $720 billion, an increase of 15.3% from the prior year. But evidence suggests that executives remain dissatisfied with their company's innovation performance. As the world rapidly changes, businesses and people must change. Culture is the one thing that impacts everything. An innovation culture supports beliefs and feelings about the importance of innovation, as well as habits that encourage research and development. Here are three proven steps that will move your company closer toward an innovation culture. Benefits of an innovation culture It is no secret that culture is a powerful force multiplier for your company's mission and values - and when properly harnessed, it can become a powerful competitive advantage. Companies with a positive culture experience 8x more profitability than S&P 400 firms. Organizational culture defined is "a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." Edgar Schein Although innovation requires taking risks, failing to innovate can be fatal to a business. The proven benefits of innovation include: increased competitive advantage improved operational productivity reduced costs and increased revenue improved commercial value enhanced problem-solving One modern innovation that is impressive to watch is SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 (watch the video below). Space travel alone is challenging, but reusing a rocket by landing it on a drone ship takes the complexity to another level. A financial services company engaged in investment banking and capital markets estimated the customer benefit of the Space X Falcon 9 reusable rocket. If Space X passed on 50 percent cost savings to its customers, this one innovation could reduce company costs by 21% or $48.3 million per launch. A recent study found that only 12% of companies claim to have a program in place to define and improve culture. Although only one in four employees strongly agree that they can apply their company's values daily. Here are the three steps leaders can take to cultivate a culture of innovation. Innovation Culture Step 1: Defining Your Culture Trying to define and change company culture is overwhelming. When you don’t have a shared understanding of culture, it's difficult to create a plan to transform it. You waste time and money on ideas that don't move the needle, you guess instead of following a proven process, and employee performance stalls (or worse) dips. Defining an innovation culture in measurable and actionable terms is essential for a thriving company culture. The Competing Values Framework created by Dr. Kim Cameron and Dr. Robert Quinn identified four fundamentally different cultures. This tool can be extremely useful for defining the current and desired culture of any organization. Clan Culture creates a collaborative atmosphere like a family. This culture emphasizes the value of teamwork, participation, and a consensus decision-making style. Adhocracy Culture creates an energetic and entrepreneurial atmosphere. This culture stresses the importance of research and continuous improvement. Market Culture creates a competitive, fast-paced, results-oriented environment. This culture highlights coming in first. Hierarchy Culture is a top-down formal rule-based atmosphere. This culture emphasizes efficient, reliable, and cost-effective performance. Note: Adapted from Cameron and Quinn (2011). Innovation Culture Step 2: Overcoming a Fear of Failure Fear of failure is the enemy of an innovative culture. An organizational fear of failure limits experimentation, risk-taking, and failure, all of which are necessities of innovation. In three separate studies, researchers found that the fear of failure triggered by an objective or psychological reaction is detrimental to decision-making and reduces opportunity-seeking behaviors. The acceptance of failure as learning is fundamental to innovation but challenging to comprehend. Watch the following short video to see why Honda accepts failure and suggested it is the secret to their success. A step toward learning to overcome the fear of failure is to reframe that failure is necessary and learning is the opportunity. I like adopting the paradigm of experimentation. The following are three proven strategies leaders can use to help employees overcome a fear of failure: Game Theory: Game theory can be used in a safe environment without the harmful consequences of the real world to teach employees about failure as learning. Mindfulness: Mindfulness-based stress-reduction meditation training has been shown to have a positive outcome in overcoming the fear of failure. Mindfulness meditation is defined as learning to focus on purpose at the moment without judgment of experiences. Rewards: Innovation behaviors need to be rewarded and recognized even if they do not directly achieve the desired goal. I am not advocating for rewarding the result of failure. However, reinforcing desired innovation behaviors increases the behaviors necessary for innovation. Innovation Culture Step 3: Leadership The role of leadership is to encourage, guide, and empower innovative behaviors. Cultural change should be approached with purpose and caution. Cultivating an innovation culture is not a one-off initiative. Leaders can increase innovation effectiveness by clarifying the gap between the current and desired state, identifying and removing barriers to innovation, and clarifying innovation processes. Innovations are dependent on leadership's ability to deliver: Effective leadership Company innovation integration Controlled change volume and focus Creativity and innovation value realization Reward and recognition for desired behaviors Internal and external diverse relationships and talent Remove barriers and negative reactions to innovation After setting expectations, leaders need to align what they regularly pay attention to, how they respond in a time of crisis, where they allocate resources, what they reward, and how they buy, build, and bounce employees with the defined behavioral expectations of the innovation culture. A culture of innovation comprises many different attributes, and learning quickly is critical to building an innovation-based culture. Cultures that produce innovation adhere to three basic rules: Creating innovation teams and addressing the "lack of time" barrier Holding employees accountable and providing persuasive prompts for innovation Recruiting, rewarding, recognizing, and developing innovation champions An empirical study of over 800 organizations found that effective innovation characteristics are not the same for product innovation and process innovation. For example, the research demonstrated that increasing problem-solving freedom among employees decreased product innovation. We can help you cultivate a culture of innovation Organizational culture is often complex to describe making change difficult and confusing, while busy leaders and employees lack access to high-quality training, proven tools, and over-the-shoulder guidance necessary to create positive culture change. Our solutions accelerate positive culture change, create committed employees, and drive your business growth. References: Beswick, C., Bishop, D., & Geraghty, J. (2015). Building a culture of innovation: A practical framework for placing innovation at the core of your business. Kogan Page, Limited. Cameron, K. S. (2006). Competing values leadership: Creating value in organizations. E. Elgar Pub. Cantaragiu, R., & Hadad, S. (2013). The importance of play in overcoming fears of entrepreneurial failure. European Conference on Knowledge Management, 833. Çokpekin, Ö., & Knudsen, M. P. (2012). Does organizing for creativity really lead to innovation? Creativity and Innovation Management, 21(3), 304-314. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Gierczak-Korzeniowska, B., & Gołembski, G. (2017). Benchmarking in the process of creating a culture of innovation in hotel companies. Economics and Business Review, 3 (17)(2), 101-113. Hjeltnes, A., Binder, P., Moltu, C., & Dundas, I. (2015). Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 10(1), 27990-27990. Kollmann, T., Stöckmann, C., & Kensbock, J. M. (2017). Fear of failure as a mediator of the relationship between obstacles and nascent entrepreneurial activity—An experimental approach. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(3), 280-301. Loeb, W. (2018). Amazon Is the biggest investor in the future, spends $22.6 billion on R&D. Forbes. McKinsey & Company. (2021) Global innovation survey. Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed). Wiley. Tucker, R. B. (2008). Driving growth through innovation: How leading firms are transforming their futures. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated.

What makes certain leaders excel in the workplace while others struggle? Have you ever wondered if you were capable of getting more out of life and work? In the Netflix series Medal of Honor, inspiring stories of impossible bravery are recreated from sworn accounts and battlefield forensics. You quickly learn combat is not something great, and recipients of the nation's highest recognition don't set it as a goal. But these heroic lessons from the worst day of life reveal an unexpected leadership lesson. It's a leadership mindset and skillset for how to become a better leader than you thought possible. Selfless love changes everyone and everything The contemporary workplace needs a different kind of leader. Rates of stress, anxiety, sadness, and anger are trending up. In a recent survey, Gallup found that 57% of US employees feel stressed daily. In speaking with frontline to c-suite leaders across various industries, one common theme is that the new normal is crisis-driven. In the series trailer, Medal of Honor recipient Army Capt. Florent Groberg says, "One thing you will learn a lot about in combat is love." The stories in the series remind us of what has been done for our country and what is possible when leaders embrace selfless love. Selflessness means being more concerned with the needs and desires of others than with your needs. And one of the best definitions I have come across for love in the workplace context comes from St. Thomas Aquinas. "To love is to will the good of the other." St. Thomas Aquinas Selfless love is a radically different paradigm from a transactional worldview of the workplace. Without selfless love in the workplace, the best of what might be is impossible Selfless love creates remarkable courage that overcomes the fear of failure. Selfless love unlocks the leader's and their team's potential to deliver amazing results. Overcoming the fear of failure No organization is looking to stay the same year over year. Fostering innovation within an organization is an increasingly important leadership behavior for every business. Innovation and failure are interconnected, where one produces the other. Failure is not always bad, but an unhealthy fear of failure puts results at risk. Fear minimizes experimentation and risk-taking, which impact innovation and change. The greater the fear of failure, the more likely an individual or organization will avoid taking necessary risks. "On his very worst day, he managed to summon his very best. That's the nature of courage — not being unafraid but confronting fear and danger and performing in a selfless fashion. He showed his guts, he showed his training; how he would put it all on the line for his teammates." President Obama speaking of Medal of Honor recipient Captain Groberg Selfless love creates remarkable courage that overcomes fear. When leaders practice selfless love, it creates safety where followers are more willing to take risks and be open to failures. Selfless love does not imply that leaders ignore the fear of failure. Instead, they recognize the negative influence of fear and use it as an advantage. Delivering Results and Maximizing Performance Potential Too often, employees are treated like light bulbs, considered disposable. When they aren't working well, leaders look to replace them. Disposable employees aren't committed to the business, and a failure to maximize employee performance is a costly mistake. Selfless love unlocks potential in the leader and their team, delivering amazing results and business growth. Selfless love makes a better workplace and improves outcomes. It increases leader and follower commitment, increasing intrinsic motivation that amplifies workforce alignment and business strategy benefits. Evidence suggests that increased employee intrinsic motivation causes people to achieve better business results. In addition to increased productivity of expected behavior, selfless love impacts an employee's discretionary effort, also known as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Discretionary effort is considered the penultimate type of performance in organizations. OCB is when employees contribute to an organization beyond their formal job requirements. There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer. "— General James Doolittle, Medal of Honor Recipient An emerging leadership style for the new normal Evidence suggests that only 43% of employees indicate a positive team climate at work, only 30% see a reason to say something when they see something is wrong, and only 30% believe their opinion counts. This distrust breeds polarization in society and the workplace. There are many red flags that the workplace is in trouble. Gallups Global Workplace report found evidence suggesting that 2 in 10 employees consider their mental health fair or poor, 3 in 10 are engaged at work, and 5 in 10 are only doing the minimum required at work. Effective leadership makes a difference in the results you achieve and the life you live. The costs of poor leadership often show up in the workplace disguised as low employee engagement, a lack of team cohesion and collaboration, high employee turnover, and failed execution. Leaders must continually transform and adapt or fall behind. Striving for better habits is a competitive advantage available to any leader looking for a powerful point of differentiation. Servant Leadership is a distinctly different emerging leadership style described by the attribute of selfless love. A servant leader serves others first. The benefits of servant leadership extend beyond reducing costs and improving performance to include employee retention, intrinsic motivation, and discretionary effort. The following short video from leadership expert Ken Blanchard provides some thoughts on the power of servant leadership in today's workplace. Robert Greenleaf is attributed by most as the founder of servant leadership, described a servant leader as a servant first and used the following test to answer the question, what's servant leadership? The best test, and difficult to administer, is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, will they not be further deprived. ~Greenleaf & Spears Are you a Servant Leader? Take this free quiz to learn if your leadership style aligns with servant leadership. If you’re like most leaders, you’re running from meeting to meeting and working at a breakneck pace to manage your business and help those around you be successful. You’ve probably neglected to invest in your development more than once and wish you had a meaningful development plan to help you and your business grow and lead at a higher level. I invite you to check out our Servant Leadership Development Program. I challenge you to apply selfless love as a leader in the workplace and see your business results improve. What about your leadership style needs to change to get more out of life and work? Key Summary Points Selfless love changes everyone and everything Selfless love creates courage and overcomes the fear of failure Selfless love unlocks potential in the leader and the organization Selfless love delivers amazing business results The world needs a different kind of leader. Selfless love is rare. References Becchetti, L., Castriota, S., & Tortia, E. C. (2013). Productivity, wages, and intrinsic motivations. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 Proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Gallup Workplace. (2021). State of the global workforce. Gallup. Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th-anniversary ed.). Mulinge, P. (2018). ALTRUISM AND ALTRUISTIC LOVE: Intrinsic motivation for servant-leadership. The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 12(1), 337-370. Patterson, K. (2003, October 16). Servant leadership: A theoretical model [PDF]. Shu, C. (2015). The impact of intrinsic motivation on the effectiveness of leadership style towards work engagement.

So, what can leaders do to gain a competitive advantage in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world? Current research suggests there is a significant benefit in focusing on individual and organizational virtues and character traits. In organizations, there is most often a disproportionate focus on the development of leadership behaviors when compared to the development of a leader's character and virtues. Most Human Resources (HR) departments have focused on embedding defined behavioral expectations into talent management processes to reinforce alignment. However, few have given little, if any, thought on the role of leadership character and virtues. Although not often discussed within organizations, character and virtues historically are accepted as having a significant influence on both individual and organizational performance. Ancient philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius spent much time discussing virtues. They articulated that character and virtues determine what and how individuals think and apply competence in different situations. "The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons." - Aristotle Why Virtues and Character Counts Many studies demonstrate the proven benefits associated with virtues and character in individuals and organizations. Fred Kiel conducted a study involving 84 CEOs from companies around the US to understand the connection between character and return on assets. They found that leaders rated high on the four-character dimensions of integrity, responsibility, forgiveness, and compassion had a return on assets of nearly five times those rated low. In a large-scale empirical study on the influence of virtues on employee and customer identification, distinctiveness, and satisfaction, Rosa Chun found significant positive correlations with all dimensions. In a study of over 232 firms by Carole Donada and colleagues, they surprisingly discovered that virtues had a more substantial positive significance on organizational performance than organizational management control systems. Pablo Ruiz- Palomino and colleagues conducted a study of 436 employees in the commercial banking and social economy to understand the impact of virtues and ethical culture. They found that virtues in an ethical culture positively influence the person to organization fit, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to stay. "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -Abraham Lincoln Leadership Virtues and Character Explained Virtue is the English translation of the Greek word for excellence and the Latin word for human. Aristotle considered virtues a habit or disposition to think, act, or feel in the right way that is not deficient or in excess and toward a proper goal. Virtues are a part of an individuals' distinctive character. Gerard Seijts and colleagues established a modern character framework from over 2500 leaders that comprised 11 leadership qualities (see infographic below). When presented with a new or unknown situation, an individual's character will govern the actions taken. The modern reality of ambiguity is that most circumstances an individual will encounter are unexpected. Virtues and character are often considered complex and challenging topics to articulate and measure, contributing to minimizing their inclusion within the workplace. However, validated instruments to measure character and virtues exist. Muel Kaptein introduced and validated the Corporate Ethical Virtues Model, which measures virtues at the organizational level. Vincent Ng and colleagues expanded on the Comprehensive Inventory of Virtuous Instantiations of Character instrument by creating a valid multidimensional forced-choice individual character instrument. The Leadership Character Insights Assessment measures an individual's character through self-assessment or 360-degree assessment using behavioral anchors. Gerard Seijts and colleagues found in their research that an organization can expect a yearly savings of up to 23% of an executive leader's annual salary when using the assessment for organizational placements. Like with the use of all assessments, an organization needs to consider the cost-benefit analysis. Special consideration needs to be given to the individual's scope of authority because the potential benefit is positively aligned with an increase in the scope of authority. A New Approach to Leadership Development Like competencies and behaviors, character and virtues can be developed and embedded within organizational processes for talent management. Also, like competency development, the development of virtues and character can have a variety of positive consequences for businesses. According to a neo-Aristotelian view of virtue and character development, an individual's development should include knowledge transfer, reasoning, and practice. Character development is primarily developed through role modeling, including feedback and reflection. Feedback is a gift; most people want more feedback on their performance. However, feedback on character gaps is not commonly provided, given the complexity of these types of conversations. Additionally, most leaders spend little to no time reflecting on character experiences because of ethical blind spots. Godfrey Owen, CEO of Brathay Trust, suggested that utilizing a dedicated and skillful executive coach can improve character feedback and purposeful character reflection. Numerous studies have found that dedicated mentors can also support character development by openly reflecting on insights gained from experience. Research supports that organizations can incorporate character and virtue development into existing competency-based leadership development programs. It is not required for organizations to create separate leadership courses focused only on character and virtue development. An equal focus needs to be on both character and competence within organizations. To gain a competitive advantage in an uncertain world, leadership needs to move beyond a focus on leadership behaviors to include character and virtues. Given modern realities, no leader considers their business and thinks they do not want to change. Likewise, as leaders, we should expect a need to look at leading others differently, as well. It’s fair to assert that leading the same way and expecting different results is the definition of leadership insanity. Key Points Today's leaders are facing significant challenges amid high degrees of environmental turbulence. Developing leadership behaviors is essential but is not sufficient for today's challenges. Virtues and character provide an answer to meet the unknown challenges of the future. References Chun, R. (2017). Organizational Virtue and performance: An empirical study of customers and employees. Journal of Business Ethics, 146(4), 869-881. Donada, C., Mothe, C., Nogatchewsky, G., and de Campos Ribeiro, G. (2019). The respective effects of virtues and inter-organizational management control systems on relationship quality and performance: Virtues win. Journal of Business Ethics, 154(1), 211-228. Kiel, F. (2015). Return on character: The real reason leaders and their companies win. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press. Ruiz-Palomino, P., Martínez-Cañas, R., & Fontrodona, J. (2013). Ethical culture and employee outcomes: The mediating role of person-organization fit. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(1), 173-188. Seijts, G., Crossan, M., & Carleton, E. (2017). Embedding leader character into HR practices to achieve sustained excellence. Organizational Dynamics, 46(1), 30-39.

Eating that leftover jelly-filled donut or stopping at Taco Bell for a fourth meal on your way home from a long day at work will have consequences. Sometimes we are aware of how our bad habits impact us because we experience the immediate effect. Other times we have no idea of how our habits are negatively impacting ourselves and others. A habit is a practice or tendency that is hard to give up. We acquire habits through learning based on consequence reinforcement that can be considered either good or bad. Leadership bad habits can sometimes be rewarding, as the taste of a jelly-filled donut, or harmful as weight gained from eating too many donuts. The consequences of bad leadership habits vary and range from minor uncomfortable situations to those with organizational survival impacts. In leadership and life, it is easy to fall into bad habits. One helpful approach to breaking any bad habit is identifying the habit and replacing it with a new healthy habit. The following are my top seven leadership bad habits and some ideas for breaking them. Leadership Bad Habit #1. Using positional power. It is easy to fall into the trap that the only way to gain influence is to leverage positional power. I am the boss, so do as I say. Positional power is not always negative, but it can do great harm to any relationship if abused. Although positional power can prompt immediate action, it reduces others' motivation to give more than what is expected. When abused, it can lead to retaliation and the mindset of "when the cat is away; the mice will play." The result is that you may have people only doing what you direct when you are around. Abusing positional power prevents the realization of the full potential of what can be from motivating others to do more than what is expected. Breaking the habit: Adopt a servant leadership style. Research has shown that a servant leadership style improves workplace productivity, performance, and organizational results and increases discretionary effort. Start using positive reinforcement. Find followers making an approximation of the behaviors you want more of and reinforce them for those behaviors. Leadership Bad Habit #2. Attention deficit. Fostering innovation within an organization is an increasingly important leadership behavior. Identifying worthy ideas requires seeing new patterns in the data. However, in today's fast-paced digital workplace, staying focused can be very challenging as leaders rush from meeting to meeting. Avoiding distractions and focusing is essential to identifying new patterns. Breaking the habit: Keep a journal of problems that you find and ideas that you have. Using a journal helps you manage the negative impacts of rushing and role overload. Reflecting on the issues and innovative ideas written in the journal at a later time helps you recognize patterns and avoid cognitive errors caused by recency bias. Leadership Bad Habit #3. Do as I say, not as I do. Leadership is about influence. As a leader, you set expectations for the organization. Your actions speak louder than your words. When actions do not match what is said, it damages trust. Integrity moderates the degree of confidence in a relationship—the less honesty in the relationship, the less trust. No one wants to follow a leader that is not willing to follow their own advice. Breaking the habit: No radical advice on this one. Ask others to help you become aware of situations where you do not live up to what you ask of others. Leadership Bad Habit #4. Sending an email instead of talking. Written communication is not a substitute for speaking directly with someone. It probably goes without needing scientific research to understand that face-to-face communication is the most effective communication form. Sending emails and texts can be deceptive because you feel like you are communicating; however, a message sent does not mean a message received. When you send an email in place of a face-to-face conversation, you minimize your influence potential and, ultimately, the relationship. Breaking the habit: Prioritize meetings with those you lead. Establish a regular meeting schedule to make space for time to talk face-to-face. If you are unsure where to begin or question if it is possible, I recommend reading about the model presented by Patrick Lencioni in Death by Meeting. Leadership Bad Habit #5. Employee training as "the" solution. Not all issues involving employees require training. Unfortunately, many leaders hold an assumption that any productivity or behavioral problem can be solved with training. It is often perceived as a relatively quick and cheap, easy way to show visible action and document resolution to a problem. Training is a practical solution for knowledge and skills needs. However, training is often not the only or best solution. You can improve employee productivity, job satisfaction, and overall performance by not using training as a blanket solution to every workplace problem. Breaking the habit: Before recommending training, conduct a root cause analysis to understand all the potential contributing factors. Talk with employees to find out what would help them most. Gilbert's behavior engineering model provides an excellent framework for investigating potential causes. Leadership Bad Habit #6. Keeping secret the company strategy. Strategic planning involves strategic thinking, acting, and influencing. Unfortunately, current research reveals that 95% of employees are unaware of or do not understand their organization's strategy. The difference between a realized strategy and a created strategy puts the organization at risk. Also, assuming you have all the answers puts your organization's survival at risk. Breaking the habit: Involve others and practice empathy, energy, humility, and strategic foresight. Listen to employees to understand their needs, motivations, and concerns that any strategy can produce. This will lead to better strategic thinking, acting, and influence. Leadership Bad Habit #7. Nearsighted business focus. Focusing on the near team is easy and immediately rewarding. However, an organization focused only on the immediate is gambling with their future. One of the most significant downfalls of strategic planning is the failure to consider future changes. No one would argue that that the modern workplace is predictable. However, organizations desperately need leaders to adopt an approach to strategic planning that can account for the volatility, uncertainty, and complexity in the marketplace. Breaking the habit: Introduce scenario planning as a decision-making tool to explore and understand the variety of potential issues impacting the organization. Teach employees strategic foresight skills such as the futures wheel. Leadership Bad Habit or Addiction? Bad habits can lead to addictions and can be difficult to break. How is it that we can know something is bad for us and still do it? We know eating that jelly-filled donut is likely not a good idea when we are trying to lose weight. We know telling our followers to do something we are not willing to do is not a good idea. So why do we keep doing it? And how do we stop? Wanting to change is a good start, and learning new skills is a good idea. Anyone who has tried to exercise more, lose weight, or permanently change any long-standing habit knows it can be hard. Likely no one book, training event, or coaching session will produce lasting behavior change. That does not mean these are not helpful or important; it just means they need to be incorporated into a systemic change process. If you are interested in getting help to make a change, we would love to help. References: Abraham, S. (2005). Stretching strategic thinking. Strategy & Leadership, 33(5), 5-12. Chermack, T. (2011). Scenario planning in organizations: How to create, use, and assess scenarios. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant-leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th-anniversary ed.). Paulist Press. Hernez-Broome, G., Boyce, L. A., & Ely, K. (2009). The coaching relationship: A glimpse into the black box of coaching. In L. A. Boyce & G. Hernez-Broome (Chair), The client-coach relationship: Examining a critical component of successful coaching. Symposium conducted at the 24th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New Orleans, LA. Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. M., & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization's enduring success. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Patterson, K. (2003, October 16). Servant-leadership: A theoretical model [PDF]. Regent University School of Leadership Studies Servant-leadership Research Roundtable.

Given the increase in anxiety and division in the world today, the chances for conflict at work have increased. Despite best intentions, sometimes different personalities, heavy workloads, lack of respect, and cultural differences can lead to non-productive conflicts with coworkers or customers. According to a survey by CPP Inc of 5,000 full-time employees in nine countries, 85% of employees deal with conflict at work. This same study found that US workers spend more than 2.5 hours per week in a conflict. The estimated impact of non-productive conflict in America is well over $1.5 billion annually, not to mention the emotional and psychological costs on the workforce. Beyond employee productivity and wellbeing, a study by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development of 2195 UK employees found that one in ten cases of conflict results in employee turnover. Of course, it is natural to want to minimize workplace conflict. Still, it is necessary to manage conflict and realize that productive conflict can have many positive outcomes. When you hear the word conflict, do you have mostly positive or negative feelings? Many people tend to have negative feelings associated with the word. However, conflict is not necessarily referring to aggressive confrontations or arguments. Conflict could mean a heated argument or a simple difference of opinion. The distinction lies in the importance of the issue and the amount of energy you put into it. Conflict is not a sign of failure, but when it is avoided or ignored, we make it something worse. Productive conflict is an open exchange of conflicting or differing ideas. Parties feel equally heard, respected, and unafraid to voice dissenting opinions to reach a mutually comfortable resolution. Even though conflict may be uncomfortable, it is productive to have ideas challenged so we can learn and grow. Non-productive conflict is an exchange of conflicting or differing ideas. Parties do not feel equally heard, respected, and afraid to voice dissenting opinions. Non-productive conflict arises when the real issues are not discussed, and attention is placed on trivial matters resulting in the conflict escalating. Productive conflict requires a healthy workplace culture and a strong commitment and dedication from everyone within the workplace. Conflict impacts more than just those that recognize the conflict. It is easy to miss the hidden cost of non-productive conflict in the workforce and the company's performance. Also, it is important to realize that our reactions to conflict can result in either positive or negative consequences. 3 Tips for Avoiding Non-Productive Conflict in the Workplace When it comes to productive conflict, understanding what NOT to do is just as important as understanding what to do. The following are some tips to keep you from mismanaging conflict at work: Don't wait around and do nothing. If a conflict is left unresolved, it will escalate over time with win-lose outcomes. Don't let your bias drive your solution to the issue. We all have biases, and it is essential to reflect on the situation and people involved before moving to solutions. Don't approach workplace conflict without a plan. As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Take time to prepare a productive conflict approach, so you are not just reacting without thinking. 3 Tips for Productive Conflict in the Workplace As we mentioned earlier, successfully creating productive conflict requires a healthy workplace culture and the dedication and commitment of the workforce. Invest the energy when times are tough. Avoiding conflict also takes time and energy. Avoiding conflict will only make matters worse for you, those involved, and the impact on your company. Commit and act. Like rapids in a river, there will be a time of conflict and calm. Both are natural and healthy for every workplace. The following are three tips for what you should do: Have a plan for how you are going to approach conflict in your workplace. Your plan should include answers to what, when, where, how, and why specific to the situation and those involved. Provide training for your leaders and employees on how to deal with workplace conflict. Training on creating productive conflict and communication should go beyond initial onboarding training for new employees. Be sure that everyone takes ownership in resolving non-productive workplace conflict. Create a culture of accountability for productive conflict that starts with your leadership. As Gandhi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." How to Develop Your Productive Conflict Skills One of my favorite tools for assessing an individual's expectations and desires in conflict situations is the Thomas-Killman Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). It is quick to complete and easy to understand for teams and individuals at any organizational level. The instrument describes behavior along the axes of assertiveness to satisfy personal concerns and cooperativeness to meet the other person's concerns. Using the TKI helps team members get to know each other and identify potential challenges and strategies to manage conflict constructively before a conflict arises. The TKI model describes five types of conflict and the methods for successfully managing conflict: (1) competing, (2) collaborating, (3) compromising, (4) avoiding, and (5) accommodating. Note: Conflict model adapted from Thomas (1992). Remember that disagreements do not have to be divisive and what you choose to do or not do will largely determine if you achieve productive conflict. Key Points Productive conflict competence is a must, and it contributes to organizational effectiveness. A non-productive conflict will likely escalate if not managed, and the time to intervene is when the conflict arises. While non-productive conflict can have negative consequences, productive conflict is a force for positive change and more inclusive workplaces when managed successfully. References: Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. (2015). Getting under the skin of workplace conflict: Tracing the experiences of employees. Hayes, J. (2008). Workplace conflict and how businesses can harness it to thrive. CPP Global Human Capital Report. SHRM. (2021). Managing workplace conflict. Toolkits. Thomas, K. W. (1992). Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(3), 265-274.

The reality of a hybrid workforce with geographically dispersed employees is not going away. The modern hybrid workplace includes a combination of time spent in the office and working remotely. The pandemic has touched every part of our lives and has dramatically changed the way people work and the workplace. Even though many of us crave the return of in-person social connections in the office, many of us have become accustomed to the flexibility that comes with a work-from-home environment. Returning to old office routines seems less likely for many organizations. According to a McKinsey & Company global survey across nine countries, it is estimated that based on an analysis of the work, up to 20 percent of an organization's workforce could work remotely three to five days a week. Combined with the allure of shorter commutes and increased time with family, this research points to a workforce looking for something different. A study of 2300 employees across ten industries and from a wide range of seniority levels, roles, and ages in the U.S. found that 52 percent surveyed prefer a hybrid workplace. Leading by example is essential to effective leadership, and a do as I say, not as I do approach doesn't work, but how can a leader effectively lead by example in a hybrid workforce environment? Would you follow you? Why leading by example is powerful? Those already in leadership and those currently aspiring to lead can benefit by understanding how to model the way. The behaviors of leaders trigger behaviors in followers. A peer-reviewed study of culturally diverse leaders working across different organizations found that modeling the behaviors leaders want from followers significantly impacts the behaviors of followers. Influential leaders align their actions with their values. Modeling the way is all about going first and setting a daily example of commitment. Leading by example begins with clarifying your values and then letting your values guide your actions. Consider the question, would you follow you? We prefer to follow leaders who listen actively, help us succeed, and demonstrate compassion. Understanding your values and aligning your behaviors While leadership behaviors prescribe what a leader should do, a leader's values will influence what a leader will do. Good leadership involves a combination of competence, character, and commitment to challenging work. Values and character are often not discussed within human resource development departments. However, for many years they have been perceived to be foundational to good leadership. Values do not need to be considered subjective and can be measured. To understand your values better, the VIA Character Strength Survey is a valuable tool for defining a leader's values. The free VIA Character Strength Survey provides insights into your 24-character strengths in rank order. Character strengths are values in action or positive traits for thinking, feeling, and behaving that benefit the leader and others. The VIA has been completed by over 15 million people globally, and all of the scales have satisfactory reliability (> 0.70 alphas). Combining the understanding of your values with a 360-degree assessment and coaching feedback can improve self-awareness and increase leadership effectiveness. A study of 1,035 middle managers revealed that leaders could avoid derailing by developing self-awareness and leadership competencies. Implementing a leadership 360 assessment process promotes becoming more situationally aware of a leader's behaviors and the perceptions others have about the leader's behavior. 360-degree leadership assessment has been around for over 25 years. While 360-degree feedback effectively improves leadership skills across all cultures, it is most effective in cultures with low power distance and individualistic values such as Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 360-degree assessment refers to an organizational chart view from where the rater feedback originates concerning the leader being assessed. Confidentiality is a foundational aspect of 360-degree leadership feedback. Responses are anonymously collected and grouped by the rater's association with the leader. The feedback collected is aligned to measure the degree of the leader's performance on each behavior and group perception. At the organizational talent level, the 360-degree assessment provides input into the team and organizational performance and corporate culture. Modeling the way with virtual employees The virtual workplace requires enhanced communication to overcome the real challenges of geographical distance. It is easier to be mindful in a conventional meeting than when you are meeting remotely. Leaders need to focus on being present and leading with purpose when interacting with remote employees. In my experience, it is easier for people to become distracted in a work-from-home environment. Cats, Amazon deliveries, and customers at the coffee shop can easily distract employees working remotely. Also, numerous research studies have shown that different communication mediums have varying degrees of effectiveness with supporting in-the-moment feedback, information sharing, communication cues, conveying emotions, and customizing the message. The following are a few tips to help you model the way with a hybrid workforce: Visualize. Being mindful and leading with purpose begins with visualizing yourself leading the way you want to lead. When meeting in the office, it is easy to focus on being present and purposeful. During virtual meetings, visualize yourself in the other person's physical presence. Minimize distractions. Be aware that multitasking can be disastrous. Try to eliminate your distractions when meeting with others virtually. Turn off devices not being used during the meeting and, at a minimum, turn off notifications. Find a quiet place in a controlled environment to conduct your meetings. Take notes. Try using a journal to jot down a summary of what is being said during meetings. This will help prevent your mind from wandering during the conversation and focus on understanding. Listen empathetically. Because we are less aware of social cues in a virtual meeting, it is helpful to track how much time you are talking versus listening. Try to identify the emotions behind what others are saying and check for understanding. Select a strength. Leverage your understanding of your values and choose one that you would like to understand better and develop. Ahead of the meeting, give thought to ways you can express the character strength with others. Then give it a try and track how it goes. Avoid distance bias. Unconsciously favoring in-office employees can create unintended consequences for individual employees, teams, and the whole organization. Check out this article for further reading on treating remote employees fairly in a hybrid workplace. What's the real challenge you face with leading by example in a hybrid workplace? If you have organizational or leadership development needs you cannot solve independently, we're ready to partner with you to craft a solution specific to your organization's context and challenges. Getting started is as easy as visiting www.organizationaltalent.com or contacting us via email info@organizationaltalent.com. References: Anderson, R. & Adams, W. (2016). Mastering leadership: An integrated framework for breakthrough performance and extraordinary business results. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Conley, R. (2020). 12 new habits for leading in a virtual environment. The Ken Blanchard Companies. Ergeneli, A., Gohar, R., & Temirbekova, Z. (2007). Transformational leadership: Its relationship to culture value dimensions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 31(6): 703-724. Hernez-Broome, G. & Boyce, L.A. (2010). Advancing Executive Coaching: Setting the Course for Successful Leadership Coaching, edited by Gina Hernez-Broome, and Lisa A. Boyce, Center for Creative Leadership. Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (Fourth ed.). Jossey-Bass. Lund, S., Manyika, J., Madgavkar, A. & Smit, S. (2020). What's next for remote work. An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries. McKinsey Global Institute. Malakyan, P.G. (2014). Followership in leadership studies: A case of leader-follower trade approach. Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(4): 6-22. Newberry, B. (2001). Raising student social presence in online classes. World Conference on the WWW and Internet Proceedings, Orlando, FL: ED466611, 2–7. Sitkin, S., Sutcliffe, K., & Barrios -Choplin, J. (1992). A dual-capacity model of communication media choice in organizations. Human Communication Research, 18 (4), 563–598. Thach, E. C. (2002). The impact of executive coaching and 360 feedback on leadership effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(4), 205-214. Trevino, L., Lengel R., & Daft R. (1987). Media symbolism, media richness, and media choice in organizations. Communications Research, 14 (5), 553–574. VIA Institute on Character (2021). Character strengths survey.

Many leaders believe that their team's performance is tied to their personal and professional success, but few actually are bringing out the best in their employees on a daily basis. Too often, leaders treat employees like light bulbs. When they aren't working well leaders look to replace them. In today's volatile and complex employee-driven marketplace, a failure to maximize employee performance is a costly mistake. Perhaps you've set out to improve employee performance but then quickly got absorbed into other tasks. Or maybe you've attempted to start being more consistent with reinforcing employee performance, but now your employees are working remotely, and you have lost momentum. If so, you are not alone. Without the right tools, maximizing employee performance is one of the more problematic habits to establish. Your workplace is perfectly designed to get the results you are achieving. Performance reinforcement can be daunting for leaders, from not having the time to feeling lost about where to begin. But you can change that. There is a tremendous value that comes from getting intentional about reinforcing employee performance. It doesn't have to be a complicated performance management process that involves a form from human resources. Tips and Tools to Improve Employee Performance The following tips and tools will get you started down the right path. 1. Understanding employee performance. You don't need to have to be a subject matter expert in performance management. Still, you need to understand the basics and realize that there is a science to employee performance. The ABC model, also known as the three-contingency performance management model, provides a foundational understanding of performance. The "A" standards for those things that prompt desired behavior (antecedents). You probably guessed the "B" stands for the desired behavior. The "C" stands for consequences that have the most significant impact on an employee's performance. Consequences can be positive or negative as experienced by the employee. Consequences that the employee experiences after (within a few seconds of performing) or during the behavior have the greatest impact on the employee's behavior. 2. Get to know your employees. Here is a not-so-shocking revelation. Employees are not all the same. What one employee chooses to do with their time and money outside of work is likely different from how another spends their time and money. Get curious about what your employees find motivating. Although motivators are not always good reinforcers, it is helpful to understand. You may find it helpful to create a reinforcement survey for your team or incorporate some intentional time with your direct reports to learn about their life outside of work. 3. Analyze the consequences of the work. Don't assume what is positive or negative to you is positive or negative to your employees. Pick a behavior you need to improve. Find out what prompts exist already for the desired behavior as well as the consequences your employees experience when performing the desired behavior. If you are wondering why an employee would do something that appears to have negative consequences, there are likely positive, certain, and immediate consequences associated with the undesired behavior. I call this the jelly donut effect. Jelly donuts are not helpful for improving weight loss and cholesterol. However, they taste great, and that is one positive immediate certain reason people who need to lose weight and control their cholesterol choose to eat jelly donuts. The following video from The Big Bang Theory is a more light-hearted look at the role of positive and negative consequences and their influence on behavior. 4. Observe, learn, and adjust. When possible, observe and eliminate or modify the negative, immediate, certain consequences associated with the desired behavior. If employees that prefer warmth have to work in a freezer, you can provide warming jackets to reduce the negative of the cold. If you have employees that like to watch Friends reruns, you can surprise them by giving them a year of episodes when they perform the desired behavior. After you attempt to reinforce the behavior, observe if performance improves for the desired behavior. If not, learn and adjust. Positive and negative consequences sit on separate sides of a scale. When you apply enough consequences one way or the other, you will see a change in performance. As you get intentional with applying reinforcement to improve employee performance, keep in mind the following three rules: It’s best to apply positive reinforcement for the desired behavior than negative reinforcement for the undesired behaviors in most situations. Reinforcement is not about what you would want but what others would want. Adults prefer variety, and it is essential to provide variety with reinforcement. Over time even those things we love can lose their value/desire. For many leaders, improving team performance can be challenging and complicated. But it doesn't have to be. By incorporating these tips, you can learn to look at performance improvement as an experiment that can take as little as a few minutes each day. Applying some structure can help you gain the most traction with the least effort when you are pulled in multiple directions and have numerous meetings. The benefits you will reap are both personal and professional as you help others grow and succeed. Which tip do you need to work on now? Do you have an employee performance challenge you are unable to solve on your own? If you are interested in learning more about this topic I would recommend you read Bringing Out The Best In People by Aubrey Daniels. If you are looking for executive coaching or need organizational performance consulting, we're ready to partner with you to craft a solution specific to your organization's context and challenges. Getting started is as easy as visiting www.organizationaltalent.com or contacting us via email info@organizationaltalent.com. Organizational Talent Consulting utilizes proven, simple, and transformational personal and organizational development solutions to help our clients learn, change, and apply tools in ways that benefit their unique needs and corporate culture. References: Daniels, A. C., & Daniels, J. E. (2006). Performance management: Changing behavior that drives organizational effectiveness. Atlanta, Ga: Performance Management Publications.

Caught between the pressure of urgent and important work demands, delegating is often one leadership approach to get cut. Yet one of the top five reasons high potential employees leave their current employer is for an exciting career development opportunity. What if effectively delegating is the very thing executive leaders need to master now more than ever to win in the marketplace? Effective executive leadership involves effective delegation. Executive leaders that maximize their purpose approach delegating with intention and a win-win mindset. Carefully considering the task, situation, employee capacity and capability, communication, and leadership support are essential to delegating, so that sticks. What Delegation Is and Is Not One of the more complex and essential things for a leader to do is go from doing to leading. Giving up authority and responsibility can seem counterintuitive to leadership. Effectively delegating increases work-related discretion and the authority for an employee to make decisions without consulting with you for pre-approval. Effective delegation is a dynamic two-way process that involves the transfer of responsibility and authority from the leader to a willing delegate. Effective delegation is not assigning a task or decision to an unwilling employee. Giving a direct report the responsibility without the authority does not work. Not having the authority to act results in wasted time and frustration for both you and the employee. Why Delegating is Important Research has found that effective delegation improves job satisfaction, responsibility, performance, intrinsic motivation, confidence, and career development. It is thought that delegation signals trust and support from the leader to the delegate, resulting in increased follower effort and performance. Additionally, effective delegation improves the employee perception of the leader's performance. If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make an impact, learn to delegate. – John C. Maxwell Organizational Culture and Relationships Matter Research has demonstrated that your relationship quality with the employee and the organization's culture moderate the effectiveness of delegating. High levels of trust in high-quality leader-follower relationships enhance the positive outcomes of delegating. Likewise, if your relationship is weak with the delegate, the outcome is at risk. Hierarchical organization structures typically found in high-power distance cultures limit the positive effects of delegation on performance. High power distance relates to the lack of balance in power between the leader and follower. In traditional high power distance national cultures found in countries such as China or Japan, the leader has a much higher degree of power than the employee. 5 Steps to Delegating Effectively Effective delegation can be challenging. Spending a little time and effort upfront to consider the task, situation, employee, communication, and leadership support is crucial to delegate effectively. Use the following five-step checklist to improve your delegating skills. Step 1. Consider and decide if you should delegate. Delegating during crises with critical benefits or harm to the organization is not appropriate. Determine if delegating will help you use your time better or potentially develop others for succession or similar future work. Circumstances with tight timelines with severe or long-term consequences do not allow for mistakes or coaching for development. Step 2. Decide to whom you will delegate the decision or task. Consider if they have the experience, knowledge, skills, tools, resources, and willingness needed to succeed. Delegating to an employee that is overloaded can lead to costly mistakes. When using delegation for development, consider how to best support the delegate's development. Step 3. Clearly communicate what you are delegating, timelines, outcome expectations, and why you are delegating. Write it down and discuss it with the delegate to make sure they accept. Clarify if you will keep some of the elements of the task or decision yourself. Explain the reasons for why you are delegating and why you chose them. Discuss the tools and resources available and as appropriate development coaching. Step 4. Communicate with others. Decide what critical relationships are involved in this work and make sure they know what and to whom you have delegated the task or decision. Step 5. Provide feedback, incentives, and consequences. Monitor performance and provide corrective and appreciative input along the way, so the delegate knows how they are doing. Then evaluate their performance and let them know how they did. Doing a task for the first time and not knowing how you are doing is frustrating. Key Summary Points: Executive leaders that maximize their purpose approach delegating with intention and a win-win mindset. Giving a direct report the responsibility without the authority does not work. Effective delegation improves job satisfaction, responsibility, performance, intrinsic motivation, confidence, and career development. High levels of trust in high-quality leader-follower relationships enhance the positive outcomes of delegating. Hierarchical organization structures typically found in high-power distance cultures limit the positive effects of delegation on performance. Spending a little time and effort upfront to consider the task, situation, employee, communication, and leadership support is crucial to delegate effectively. If you want to architect a positive culture or need an executive coach, we're ready to partner with you to craft a solution specific to your organization's context and challenges. Getting started is as easy as visiting www.organizationaltalent.com or contacting us via email info@organizationaltalent.com. Organizational Talent Consulting utilizes proven, simple, and transformational personal and organizational development solutions to help our clients learn, change, and apply tools in ways that benefit their unique needs and corporate culture. References: Chevrier, S., & Viegas-Pires, M. (2013). Delegating effectively across cultures. Journal of World Business: JWB, 48(3), 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.07.026 Drescher, G. (2017). Delegation outcomes: Perceptions of leaders and followers’ satisfaction. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 32(1), 2-15. Joiner, T. A., & Leveson, L. (2015). Effective delegation among hong kong Chinese male managers: The mediating effects of LMX. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(6), 728-743. Yukl, G. and Fu, P. (1999), “Determinants of delegation and consultation by managers”, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 219-232.

In today's fast-paced digital economy, it is easy to find yourself always connected and always at work. Additionally, the recent pandemic lockdowns have led to increased workdays, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Relations. The global survey of 3.1 million people in more than 21,000 businesses found that the workday length has increased recently by 8% or about 48.5 minutes. Like me, you have likely experienced moments when you have realized that spending more time working will not lead to better results. In economics, this is described as the principle of diminishing returns. In any production system, there is a point when increasing the quantity of your input while keeping all other inputs constant yields progressively smaller results. The fallacy of thinking that many of us find ourselves in is that when work demands increase, we have to work harder and longer to achieve improved results. In reality, we are less efficient, make more mistakes, and are less engaged when we do not get any downtime to recharge. Is there another way? If so, how can we shift our thinking and prevent overwork? Shifting Our Thinking Overwork's well-researched impacts include emotional exhaustion, stress, burnout, and sometimes Karoshi (Japanese for death from overwork). This list likely doesn't surprise you because you have already experienced some of these effects or know someone that has. There is simply no easy answer for how to shift our own thinking about working longer. However, the following are a few strategies worth trying: Reflection: Make time to reflect daily. Ask yourself, is it true? Do you need to work longer or smarter? Your mind is a muscle and shifting your thinking can begin by putting 10-minutes into your calendar each day for a time to reflect. Trusted Advisors: Recruit a personal board of trusted advisors made up of experts in your work area, strong supporters of you, thoughtful critics of your ideas, and networkers. These individuals will be able to provide perspective and insights based on their skills and backgrounds. They can help cultivate new perspectives on challenges you are facing. Life was not to be spent alone and it is helpful to get outside input. Hire an Executive Coach: We all experience the effect of not seeing the forest because of the trees. A coach provides a unique perspective gained by coming alongside you, partnering in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires you to maximize your personal and professional potential. Investing in ourselves or as Covey explained in his seventh habit "sharpening the saw" is to preserve the greatest resource we have. When working on your mindset it is essential to keep the focus on continued progress, versus perfection. Take a Break Although taking short breaks may not have the same benefit as an extended vacation, the reality is that shorter "within-day" breaks can lead to significant benefits. In a recent study on the role of breaks, researchers discovered that individuals who took breaks to do something they enjoyed experienced increased energy, better health, job satisfaction, improved performance, and reduced burnout rates. The research concluded that having a choice on what to do during the break and the predictability of the break schedule are significant factors in moderating the associated benefits. Here are five tips for incorporating breaks into your day: Take a break with someone else, accountability helps when starting a new behavior. Plan to take short breaks throughout your day and place the time into your calendar. Shorter work periods help to eliminate distractions and increase concentration. One approach is to work for 25 minutes, take a short 5-minute break then after four repetitions, take a 30-minute break. Another approach is to work for 52 minutes, then break for 17 minutes throughout the day. Use your breaks to do something you enjoy; you are more likely to commit to doing something you find fun. Keep track of how the breaks make you feel, positive consequences influence future behaviors. Use wearable devices to prompt you to take a break. While your entrepreneurial mindset may be telling you to keep pushing, in reality going slower in the short run can lead to significant gains psychologically and physiologically in the long run. If you are considering an executive coach, we can partner with you to develop the right thinking. Contact us to schedule to begin your journey. References: Covey, S. R. (1989). The seven habits of highly effective people: Restoring the character ethic. Simon and Schuster. DeFilippis, E., Impink, M., Singell, M., Polzer, J. & Sadun, R. (2020). Collaborating during Coronavirus: The impact of COVID-19 on the nature of work. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w27612 Hunter, E. M., & Wu, C. (2016). Give me a better break: Choosing workday break activities to maximize resource recovery. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(2), 302–311. Randolph, S. A. (2016). The Importance of Employee Breaks. Workplace Health & Safety, 64(7), 344–344. Sugumar Mariappanadar & Ina Aust (2017) The Dark Side of Overwork: An Empirical Evidence of Social Harm of Work from a Sustainable HRM Perspective, International Studies of Management & Organization, 47:4, 372-387 Zhu, Z., Kuykendall, L., & Zhang, X. (2019). The impact of within‐day work breaks on daily recovery processes: An event‐based pre‐/post‐experience sampling study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 92(1), 191-211.

Evidence-based trends indicate that trust in leadership is declining. Two commonly underdeveloped leadership skills are the ability to have uncomfortable conversations and conversations that explore "what if" scenarios. Both of these skills are crucial to building trust. Leadership is accomplished through relationships, and distrust does not have to be considered the end of a relationship. The challenge of shifting a relationship from distrust to trust is the opportunity to make a difference. Consider the following example. It is a high stakes meeting where the decisions being considered will determine the future of the company's survival. People are suggesting innovative ideas that are challenging other teams' structures and budgets. Some people begin getting angry at each other, rarely are the new ideas building on the others. Some of your peers in the meeting are retreating to silence amid the chaos. Everyone wants to help the business survive, and under the pressure of time, ideas are thought of and shared out loud. At that moment, you have and share an idea that could change the company's direction; however, one person in the meeting begins critiquing your concept. No one supports your opinion verbally, and you immediately feel a wave of emotion go over you. You begin to feel self-conscious and betrayed. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation. Chemical Reactions to Trust and Distrust In the above example, when we feel fear and distrust, cortisol, catecholamine, testosterone, and norepinephrine levels in our blood increase within 0.07 seconds. This chemical reaction triggers the wave of emotion, producing stress and fight or flight, limiting creative thinking, and increasing aggression. In different conversations, when we feel a sense of trust, oxytocin levels increase in our body, which leads to feelings of well-being. These different chemical reactions influence thoughts and feelings, which shape beliefs and ultimately drive behaviors and actions in conversations (see Figure 1). How to Build and Restore Trust If leadership conversations first take place at a chemical level, is it possible to shift our perspective? Is it possible to restore trust in relationships where there is distrust? "Distrust is not the absence of trust" (Glaser, 2014). Ironically, the most robust trust occurs when we can disagree and leave the conversation without negative feelings. A common theme in the research on building and restoring trust is to be transparent in your discussions. The goal is to create safety by being open and candid to demonstrate caring and respect. This intimacy requires being personal and the willingness to have an uncomfortable conversation. Next, focus on building a relationship with the other person. As a leader, this requires you to step back and discuss what works for others and you. Creating a shared idea of success is the goal. The "your way or the highway" leadership style does not work to build or restore trust in relationships. It is essential to understand both the context and perspectives of others and emphasize the other person. Lastly, do not judge too quickly. Learn to test assumptions and try to see the world as the other person does. The following acrostic, created by Glaser (2014), provides a helpful way to remember how to build and restore trust: T – Transparency R – Relationship U – Understanding S – Shared Success T – Testing Assumptions Research supports that we create stories about people as being adversaries or friends. When we repeatedly label someone as distrustful or an adversary, we will shift from not only experiencing pain from the relationship with that person, but we tend to seek out revenge. Moving from distrust to trust provides many personal and organizational benefits, such as increasing information exchange, resulting in improved leadership effectiveness and efficiency. If you have questions on trust or getting started with individual and corporate development, we would like to help (contact us). Also, you might enjoy reading about Leadership Skills at Full Speed and Sodexo. References: Covey, S. R. (2006). The speed of trust: The one thing that changes everything. New York: Free Press. Glaser, J. (2014). Conversational Intelligence: How great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results. New York: Bibliomotion, Inc. Maister, D. H., Green, C. H., & Galford, R. M. (2000). The trusted advisor. New York: Free Press. Upcoming Webinar Series We know you are going to love these complementary leadership and professional development events! Organizational Talent Consulting’s webinar content is developed to help leaders meet today's complex workforce and digital challenges. Our free live webinars deliver superior leadership development based on the latest research with no travel costs. Participants interact directly in question-and-answer discussions with subject matter experts and authors on crucial topics to enhance expertise. Webinars are recorded and shared with participants for convenient on-demand access after the live event. Topics include leadership, strategic planning, coaching, change management, and more (register and learn more).