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The warning reads: "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear." While driving, you likely don't think twice about it as you have probably seen and read this warning hundreds of times. It's a realistic warning about the dangers that can come from a distorted point of view. We see the world through a lens shaped and molded by culture and our experiences. Are you aware of your performance management blind spots? In a complex and fast-paced workplace, leaders need to be able to recognize and avoid the performance management pitfalls that come from common organizational dysfunctions and cognitive biases. Why recognizing performance management blind spots matters Cognitive neuroscience research over the past few decades confirms that our biases are normal and flawed. Many decisions we make, especially those about people, are heavily influenced by our cognitive biases. Research has also demonstrated that noticing cognitive biases takes intention and awareness. Left unchallenged cognitive biases result in inaccurate views of performance. These blind spots have invisible yet powerful effects on our lives and those we lead. The following popular video demonstrates the impact of blind spots. Watch the video of two separate groups passing a basketball and count how many times the white team passes the ball. Recognizing cognitive biases requires deep self-awareness . Generally, leaders find it challenging to achieve a higher level of awareness because they spend much of the workday rushing from meeting to meeting, having too much to get done, or taking shortcuts with decision-making for the sake of time. Setting clear expectations and providing fair, honest, and timely performance feedback is essential for bringing out the best in people. A lack of feedback can either launch or shortcut a career. Also, most leaders recognize that their followers are the company's greatest asset. Every result is the direct contribution of someone, somewhere, doing something. Effective performance management has broad personal and organizational implications requiring leaders to account for the powerful impact of cognitive biases and organizational dysfunctions. How to recognize cognitive biases Everyone experiences automatic thoughts triggered by the environment and emotions. These shortcuts are often highly believable. Sometimes these subconscious algorithms are helpful. Like when I saw a wild grizzly bear this summer, I knew to stay in the car at a safe distance because it could attack. However, unlike our computers, none of us are entirely logical. Sometimes these automatic ways of thinking reflect inaccurate judgments in processing. These errors are described as cognitive bias, an assumption that is skewed. Sometimes we might jump to the worst conclusion for a meeting or blame ourselves for things that were not our fault. Here are a few of the more common assumptions that lead to performance management cognitive biases: Positive and Negative Stereotypes : Past performance is how performance is always going to be. These broad generalizations and assumptions can be negative performance presumptions, such as incompetence in one area or another or presuming a lack of character or trustworthiness . The stereotypes can also be favorable performance presumptions, such that the leader doesn't follow up on performance or always blames others and the environment for poor performance. Recency Effect : When the last few weeks or current event influence perceptions of how performance is for the entire evaluation period. Halo or Horns Effect : A strength or weakness in one area shifts perceptions of how performance is in all areas. Employees are given the benefit of the doubt, success is assumed, or employees are put in a box, and failure is assumed. All or Nothing : Performance is either one extreme or the other for aspects of performance. Feedback on one part of performance influences how all performance is viewed. One exceptional strength or weakness seeps into ratings across different areas. Elitism : Individuals are perceived as superior or inferior to others because of certain aspects such as longevity with the company, degrees held, previous positions, or visible characteristics seen through a positive or negative filter. Jumping to Conclusions : Rushing to give numerical scores for a speed advantage rather than wasting time considering performance as a whole. Scoring generates a number; therefore, it must be rational and objective, right? This data closes minds to new or contradictory evidence. Contrast Effect : A leader compares performance only to the last person evaluated instead of performance standards in a series of evaluations. Attribution Error : A leader interprets the performance of others based on beliefs and opinions rather than rational facts. The following Cognitive Bias Codex graphic identifies over 180 identified cognitive biases: How to recognize organizational dysfunctions There is no perfect leader, and there is no perfect organization. It is best to consider them works in progress. Organizational dysfunctions are systemic and affect every leader and follower in the organization. A fast-paced digital and complex workplace creates situations that can impair leadership perceptions making them more vulnerable to cognitive biases and developing bad habits. Common organizational dysfunctions include: Absence of feedback culture: Organizational culture is the one thing that impacts everything. Performance management requires fair, balanced, and honest feedback to be effective. Workplace cultures that can't accept interesting failure or have high leader-follower power distance create barriers for leaders to receive and give feedback. Role overload : Doing more with less and working leader roles keeps leaders rushing from meeting to meeting and spending enough thoughtful time soliciting and providing meaningful feedback. Lack of training: Organizations wanting to reduce costs cut performance management training investments and make a flawed assumption that every leader knows how to handle performance management. Lack of process: To avoid having one more process or a policy that no one follows, companies avoid establishing the criteria between what is preferred versus required performance management standards. Lack of monitoring and accountability: No updates or companywide reporting to create check-ins and organizational alignment on performance standards. Lack of continuous improvement: No after-action reviews with leaders and employees on the performance management processes to understand what is working and is not. Leaders are left to re-create the wheel repeatedly. 3 Helpful Performance Management Thinking Habits The first step is becoming aware that you, like everyone, experience automatic thoughts that, if left unchallenged, can profoundly impact your leadership and those you lead. Next, here are three helpful performance management thinking habits: Reflection is a powerful tool for helping you create helpful thinking habits. Consider the list of cognitive biases and organizational dysfunctions. Do you recognize yourself or your workplace in any of these? Examine the evidence for and against your thoughts in each performance management situation. What is the evidence for believing that your thoughts are true? It is easy to create reasons why a thought you hold is true, but you may find it helpful to get help from others on why a particular view might not always be accurate. Conduct performance calibration meetings. Invite peers and your leader to review and critique your performance reviews before they are finalized. This can help you rationally consider the evidence for or against a perception you hold. You may find it helpful to ask them to play the "devil's advocate" so they know it is OK to challenge your thinking. So what is your cognitive bias or organizational dysfunction challenge? References Kahneman, D., & Egan, P. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Korteling, J. E., Brouwer, A. M., & Toet, A. (2018). A Neural Network Framework for Cognitive Bias. Frontiers in psychology , 9 , 1561. Moody, J. (2015). Rising above cognitive errors: Improving searches, evaluations, and decision making. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Rachman, S., & Shafran, R. (1999). Cognitive distortions: Thought–action fusion. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory & Practice , 6(2), 80-85. Whalley, M. (2019). Cognitive distortions: An introduction to how CBT describes unhelpful ways of thinking. Psychology Tools.

Building a highly-skilled self-directed team and paying them well doesn't guarantee success. Motivation helps to explain the differences between times when employees just show up versus getting things done. Numerous studies suggest that work motivation regulates high-quality performance and creativity. But work motivation is not commonly understood and is a growing source of frustration for leaders in a complex employee-driven talent marketplace. So, if motivation is vital, what can leaders use beyond the traditional carrots and sticks? Here are two leadership tactics that are proven to create optimal work motivation conditions. Why work motivation matters Work motivation is a catalyst for business growth and organizational effectiveness. Motivation is what drives people to take action to satisfy a need. Work motivation is the force within (intrinsic) and beyond (extrinsic) an employee to initiate work-related behaviors. The degree of an employee's motivation influences the intensity and duration of work behaviors. Researchers over the past couple of decades have identified numerous predictors of work motivation: Personal factors such as age, educational level, health status, and family support Emotional intelligence and interpersonal relationship quality Social situations and interactions Culture Psychological needs Global studies have revealed that increased work motivation leads to: Improved performance Increased productivity Enhanced innovation and creativity Decreased absenteeism Decreased employee turnover Understanding the motives behind work motivation One of the earliest and most discussed models of motivation is Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Maslow suggested that physiological needs motivate employees. The needs for food and water are at the most basic level, and self-actualization is at the highest level. Another early model from Herzberg suggested that work motivation is mainly influenced by challenge and reward reinforcement. Motivators increase job satisfaction, such as performance achievement, recognition, job status, and development. Hygiene Factors decrease job dissatisfaction, such as salary, working conditions, physical workspace, and supervisor quality. More recent studies have led to the categorization of work motivation into four categories: Positive-Negative. Positive motives include things perceived as pleasurable. Negative motives are those things perceived as punishment or fear. Intrinsic-Extrinsic. Intrinsic is doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable, and extrinsic refers to doing something because it leads to a reward. Cognitive-Affective. Cognitive includes doing something for knowledge and mental or intellectual development, whereas affective is doing something for feelings or emotions. Economic-Moral. Economic motives are to achieve a goal associated with a basic need or support a desired standard of living. Moral motivation is to do something right or avoid doing something wrong. Evidence suggests that intrinsic motivation is more effective than extrinsic motivation. In his book Drive, Daniel Pink popularized the Self-determination theory (SDT). This theory suggests that intrinsic work motivation stems from the psychological needs of employees to possess: Autonomy leads to satisfaction from good performance achieved from personal decisions. Mastery and competence lead to confidence Purpose and the care of others and the care for others Self-determination theory research revealed that autonomy and purpose are significantly linked to higher performance levels. When employees feel they have control over their activities, they are more confident and, in return, more motivated to work. Likewise, when employees feel connected to their team, they are motivated to work harder for the organization. Research into whether mastery positively impacts performance is not as evident. Here is a short video of Daniel pink speaking on the gap between science and what business frequently does with motivation. 2 Intrinsic work motivation tactics There is a big difference between making someone do something and work motivation. Here are two practical tactics that are proven to create the optimal conditions necessary for intrinsic work motivation. Tactic 1: Organizational culture Organizational culture is more influential than anything else in the organization. It is the one thing that impacts everything. A working definition of organizational culture is the taken-for-granted assumptions and beliefs in a company's norms, actions, and what you can see, hear, and feel. Numerous studies suggest organizational culture is a crucial factor influencing intrinsic motivation. Why employees work makes a difference in how employees work. Research studies demonstrate that the most motivating workplace cultures : Maximize the motivation behind the work itself Enhance the value of the work because of its impact Increase the potential of work to support employee goals Minimize emotional pressure to comply Avoid using negative reinforcement Don't lead with a "do it because I said so" approach The Competing Values Framework is a simple approach that a leader can use for assessing and describing an organization's or team's culture to facilitate culture change that makes the group more effective. By simplifying the cultural description to only two fundamental dimensions of either flexibility or stability and internal or external focus, the Competing Values Framework creates a straightforward way for leaders and groups to become aware of and reflect on their current culture. Then, instead of prescribing one ideal culture, the Competing Values Framework enables leaders to take steps toward a preferred culture that aligns with the organization's strategic objectives. Tactic 2: Servant leadership How you lead makes a difference. Studies suggest that servant leaders create an increased leader and follower commitment, yielding increased intrinsic motivation that amplifies workforce alignment and business strategy benefits. Servant leadership is an emerging 21st-century leadership style. The motivations of the servant leader are to serve others first and lead second. This paradigm stands in stark contrast to traditional transactional leadership. Servant leaders desire to bring out the best in their followers by giving them the best of themself. According to Robert Greenleaf, attributed by many as the founder of servant leadership, the best measure of success for a servant leader is to see those served become healthier, wiser, freer, more self-directed, and ultimately more likely to serve others. The seven servant leadership virtues that direct the actions of the leader are: Love Humility Altruism Vision Trust Empowerment Service Servant leaders practice selfless love. They can apply empathy to be aware of, feel and take on the emotions of what another person is experiencing and demonstrate the compassion to understand and help others. Selfless love is a radically different paradigm from a transactional worldview of the workplace. The ten characteristics of a servant leader are: Listening to identify a group's will and help clarify that will. Empathy to understand and empathize with followers. Healing self and the relationships with others. Awareness to understand issues of ethics and values. Persuasion over positional power. Conceptualization to see beyond the day-to-day realities of a situation. Foresight to see around the realities of the present situation. Stewardship of the greater good for society. Commitment to growth and development of followers. Building community among the team and organization. Have you ever wondered if you are a servant leader? You can take this free Servant Leadership Style Checker to get your Servant Leadership Style Score. Now, what is the real work motivation challenge for you and your team? References Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant-leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th-anniversary ed.). Paulist Press. Kirkwood, C., Lin, A., Rager, M., Shah-Manek, B., Welch, A., & Williams, N. (2017). Point/Counterpoint: Are outstanding leaders born or made? American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 81(3), 58. McGregor, L., & Doshi, N. (2015). How company culture shapes employee motivation. Harvard Business Review. Reed, C. (2022). The truth about motivating employees to be more productive. National Business Research Institute. Spears, L. (2010). Character and servant leadership: Ten characteristics of effective, caring leaders. Journal of Virtues and Leadership. 1(1). Vo, T., Tuliao, K., & Chen, C. (2022). Work Motivation: The Roles of Individual Needs and Social Conditions. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 12(2), 49. Walumbwa, F., Hartnell, C., & Oke, A. (2010). Servant-leadership, procedural justice climate, service climate, employee attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior: A cross-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(3).

Have you ever left a conversation with regret when you dared to disagree? I have. Under pressure, I can be impulsive, leaving me wondering if I was helpful. It could be that you internalize your thoughts and cannot find the right words to say. Let's face it. Upward dissent and critical feedback are the vegetables of communication. We know deep down these difficult conversations are good for results and relationships, but most of us would prefer to avoid them. Issues too bad to ignore often are too big to fix quickly, and pushing ahead without a proven plan can leave others feeling resentful instead of encouraged. Just like any good leadership habit, mastering difficult conversations requires skill and deliberateness. With a little effort, you can give more critical feedback —with less regret later—keeping these three keys in mind. Why you should dare to critique or disagree When leaders avoid difficult feedback or do not handle conversations well, it can lead to relationship strife, failure, and missed growth opportunities. Mastering critical feedback creates the best possible outcomes for the leader, the leader-follower relationship, the team, and the company. Critical feedback can lead to exploring diverse, innovative ideas that drive organizational growth. As businesses invest time pursuing innovation, it is easy to become increasingly less willing to question an idea. But, it is essential to receive critical feedback that challenges innovation assumptions. Organizations that dare to question assumptions are able to keep the focus on the best ideas. One of the greatest gifts any leader can receive is the rare gift of being told what they need to hear but others are unwilling to say. If everyone in the room is always agreeing, you may not have the right people in the room. Isolation is a frequent challenge for executive CEOs and executives. The power distance created by their position limits the critical feedback they receive. Increasingly, leaders are looking to executive coaching relationships outside of the company to find the thought partnership needed to improve ideas. In the following Ted Talk, Margaret Heffernan provides a powerful story of why most people do not dare to disagree and why great teams, relationships, and businesses do. Key #1: Focusing on What Matters Most Masters of critical feedback create a gap between action and response to choose what conversation matters most. Like a ship approaching an iceberg, what alerts a leader of a potential problem is often what is seen, but what lies below the surface presents the greatest opportunity to be addressed. "Don't let the truth run faster than love." Erwin McManus In addition to choosing the right issue, selecting the right level of conversation is essential. There are three basic levels: Level 1: The first level is a conversation about a specific issue, such as showing up late for a meeting and exploring the cause. A simple conversation in passing may be appropriate. Level 2: The second level is a conversation about a pattern of topics, such as showing up late for several meetings. Meeting in private is best to discuss the reasons for this conversation. Level 3: The third and most serious level is the health of the leader-follower relationship. These difficult conversations result from a lack of trust, concerns about competence, or loss of respect for the other person. Key #2: Being Vulnerable Regardless of leadership level or amount of experience, all leaders struggle with the tension of being vulnerable or not. When receiving critical feedback, followers want to know their leader cares about them. But, concerns about managing perceptions can keep leaders from showing vulnerability. And when leaders are guarded, it promotes distrust. Although leaders are expected to convey an image of competence, confidence, and power, followers already know you are not perfect. Being vulnerable in challenging conversations requires courage. Leaders must learn to be comfortable without being right or having all of the information wanted or needed. Leadership vulnerability involves the willingness to be open and take risks that might create the best of what might be in the organization. There is no single checklist of potential actions that leaders can use to show vulnerability in every difficult conversation. However, the following list of proven good leadership habits that promote vulnerability: Being transparent Putting others first doesn't mean thinking less of yourself Asking for feedback and willing to learn Being selfless Taking action To identify your tendency—to be vulnerable in difficult conversations —take the following free five-question quiz and learn your vulnerability leadership score. Key #3: Checking Your MVP Fail to plan and plan to fail. To avoid regret, your communication plan should include checking personal motivation, vision, and perspective (MVP) before giving critical feedback. Motivation. Is your motivation about caring for others first? Or is your motivation to be right? Reasons for a conversation matter. It is less likely that the conversation will lead to positive changes without a positive reason. Vision. How do you see the result of the conversation going? Is it the best of what might? Or is what you see a list of all the things that could go wrong? When you anticipate a positive step in the journey, it provides a sense of purpose and direction to inspire your best and achieve success. Perspective. When the lens through which you perceive the difficult conversation is off, your results will turn out poorly. Is your paradigm for the difficult conversation that real transparent conversation will provide the best foundation for a healthy culture and your relationship? Or is your perspective that it is best to avoid difficult conversations because you need to manage your image? Conclusion: Less regret. More critical feedback. After you decide to give critical feedback, you will want to consider more than choosing when and where to have the conversation to bring out the best in others. Focusing on what matters most will ensure the greatest opportunity is addressed rather than simply reacting. Being vulnerable in the conversation will communicate that you care about them and establish trust and safety. Also, taking the time to clarify a positive motivation, vision, and perspective will keep you focused on being helpful. Giving critical feedback, in turn, encourages others to take risks with you. Leading to improved communication, productivity, and relationships. Others want to see that you care for them and are also open to learning. What critical feedback do you need to give? What is the real challenge for you? References Bartell, R. (2011). Before the call: The communication playbook. Hudson House. Berkun, S. (2010). The myths of innovation (1st ed.). O'Reilly Media, Inc. Brown, B. (2022). The Power of vulnerability: Teachings of authenticity, connection, and courage. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-Changing Leadership Habits: 10 Proven Principles That Will Elevate People, Profit, and Purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Drucker, P. (2006). Innovation and Entreprenuership. Harper Business. Grenny, J., Patterson, K., McMillan, R., Switzler, A., & Gregory, E. (2021). Crucial conversations . McGraw-Hill Education. Hayes, J. (2008). Workplace conflict and how businesses can harness it to thrive. CPP Global Human Capital Report. Patterson, K., (2005). Crucial confrontations: Tools for resolving broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior. McGraw-Hill.

The future workforce is more diverse than ever. Census data confirms cultural diversity is growing faster than predicted, especially among Gen Z. A competitive talent landscape, technological advances, and global population shifts are rapidly increasing cultural diversity in the workplace. Regardless of your industry, you will likely experience vast differences between cultural expectations among employees, challenges in attracting and retaining culturally diverse talent, and the growing need to develop intercultural professionals and leaders. This article explores these challenges and, more importantly, five practical strategies you can take to solve them. Cross-Cultural Strategy #1: Culturally Agile Leadership Leaders increasingly face cross-cultural differences when working with diverse customers and employees. With over 60 global cultures identified and numerous variations in regions within the national cultures, it is virtually impossible to experience every potential situation. Cross-cultural differences require leaders with cultural agility. A large-scale global study involving over 32,000 people from 28 countries found that only 20% are willing to have someone with whom they disagree as a coworker. Cultural differences in the workplace can be substantial, quickly escalate into conflict, and limit a leader's and organization's effectiveness. Successful, culturally agile leaders can see themself through another person's perspective. They can: understand their culture, their organization's culture, and how it impacts the business. recognize and appreciate the differences between other cultures as compared to their own. use their understanding of cultural differences to conduct business within cross-cultural situations effectively. Cross-Cultural Strategy #2: Recruit for Intercultural Competence Talent acquisition is a critical process for any leader and business. Increased competition intensifies the pressures on companies to find talent capable of immediately contributing to the organization with reduced onboarding periods. Adding to the challenge is the reality that the work is changing quickly, and positions needed today may not exist in the future. The increased demand for cross-cultural professionals and leaders is multiplying the challenge for companies. To face these challenges, businesses can benefit by identifying and incorporating intercultural competencies into hiring practices. Unlike competencies that address technical and behavioral knowledge, skills, and abilities of the work, these competencies address the cross-cultural leadership aspects of the work and workplace. Recruiting practices need to attract and select leaders with the inter-cultural competence to: identify and appropriately engage in cross-cultural situations drive cross-cultural value by capitalizing on cross-cultural advantages achieve mutually beneficial outcomes presented in a cross-cultural situation Cross-Cultural Strategy #3: Apply Strategic Workforce Planning Likely you are familiar with conducting a SWOT analysis as a part of your strategic planning, where you identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to achieving your company's overall mission, vision, and goals for the future. Strategic workforce planning similarly identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that apply to the talent needed. Incorporating strategic workforce planning into your business's strategic planning process provides feedback to enhance strategy execution. Strategic workforce planning is a dynamic process to ensure a business has the correct number of people with the right skills in the right places at the right time to deliver on current and future goals. There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to strategic workforce planning. The best approaches account for the unique context and culture of your business. It all begins with getting clear on your strategic business priorities and then integrating the following steps into your planning: Role segmentation. Identify strategic roles based on their importance to the execution of the business strategy. Environmental scanning. Conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of the internal and external workforce supply and demand. Scenario planning. Consider a range of potential futures to improve the possibilities of future success in your business. Cross-Cultural Strategy #4: Employee Retention Interviews Most organizations conduct exit interviews, but employee retention interviews are proactive instead of reactive. Retention interviews are intended to learn from current employees about the factors that motivated them to accept the offer to work with your company and if those reasons are being met today from the employee's perspective. Retention interviews involve asking a series of questions to determine whether changes can be made to meet employee expectations before they exit the company. These interviews can be a regular part of one-to-one meetings or large group team meetings. Sometimes, human resources can administer these interviews to help with anonymity and psychological safety . Here are a few sample retention interview questions you can use: Why did you decide to work for this company? Are those reasons still valid in your current job? If you could change anything about the workplace, what would you change? If you could make this job everything you wanted it to be, what would you change? Focusing on retention and making changes where needed to meet the needs of cross-cultural employees will benefit recruiting efforts by improving the employment value proposition. Cross-Cultural Strategy #5: Talent Development There are many horror stories of organizations that have taken successful leaders with in-depth technical knowledge from one location and placed them in different cross-cultural situations, only to fail. Underestimating cultural differences from one part of the business to another is dangerous, especially in an increasingly cross-cultural context. Cross-cultural leaders are not born; they are developed. Developing a competency of cultural agility requires dedicated effort and investment to break from the typical classroom presentation or eLearning module. Developing cross-cultural talent is most effective in a blended learning environment, including assessments, cross-cultural immersion experiences, and structured feedback. Key Summary Points Businesses cannot rely on leaders' tenure and technical expertise to solve increasingly complex cross-cultural challenges. Modern leaders need cultural agility Businesses should be recruiting leaders and professionals with intercultural competence Strategic workforce planning should be incorporated into strategic planning activity Leaders need to take a proactive approach to talent retention Developing culturally agile professionals and leaders requires more than traditional approaches to learning and development What is your cross-cultural opportunity? References Caligiuri, P. (2012). Cultural agility: Building a pipeline of successful global professionals. Jossey-Bass. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Frey, W. (2020). The nation is diversifying even faster than predicted, according to new census data. Brookings. Mayo, A. (2015). Strategic workforce planning – a vital business activity. Strategic HR Review, 14 (5), 174-181.

If you are like most people, you're facing unprecedented levels of daily stress. Working harder than ever before has become the norm. While we can point fingers at staffing levels, remote work, and rapid technological upheavals, there's a deeper issue at play. The pursuit of happiness has morphed into over-scheduled calendars, feelings of inadequacy, and dwindling time for real relationships. Businesses can't afford to ignore the holistic impact of workplace stress. It's not just about those under stress - evidence suggests it's a trillion-dollar problem affecting all of us. The complexity can be overwhelming, creating uncertainty about the best course of action. What's the answer? Here are ten often hidden workplace stressors and one game-changing step every leader can take to create a healthier and better workplace. Why you need a workplace stress reduction strategy Managing long-term stress can lower your risk for conditions like heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and depression. According to a study by the Mayo Clinic, the personal and organizational side-effects of executives experiencing long-term stress and burnout include: broken relationships substance abuse depression decreased customer satisfaction reduced productivity increased employee turnover Employees are stressed out. A global study of 14,800 knowledge workers across 25 countries revealed: 49% of leaders and 42% of non-managers are struggling with anxiety 74% of those surveyed are looking to company leadership for help dealing with workplace stress. The costs of workplace stress and burnout are severe for individuals and organizations. Manufacturing organizations like General Motors report spending more on healthcare than they do on raw materials for their products. A recent study to quantify the costs of workplace stress found that workplace stressors in the United States account for more than 120,000 deaths per year and approximately 5-8% of annual healthcare costs. Here is a recent TedTalk on the surprising cost of workplace stress. Also, we are more connected to each other than we may recognize, and stress is an emotional contagion. Evidence suggests that co-workers can spread stress within a workgroup. For example, someone on your team who is feeling down enters a meeting. Within a few minutes, the entire team's emotions  begin to mimic their behaviors and non-verbal expressions. The following short NPR video discusses how emotions are contagious. The American Association of Psychology polled more than 1500 employees in the US and found: 87% believe their employer can take action to improve their mental health 59% experienced adverse impacts of work-related stress 44% intend to leave their current company in the next year 21% had a hard time focusing at work “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called everybody.” George Carlin Workplace stressors There is a long and rich history of research into workplace factors with the potential to create stress for leaders. Here is a list of ten common stressors: Role Ambiguity— A common stressor in the workplace is unclear roles and responsibilities. Whether being asked to do more with less or reporting to a new leader, when leaders feel inefficient and are unsure how to prioritize their work, it creates stress. Self-doubt— Questioning your knowledge, skills, and abilities can result in feelings of being a fraud. Being assigned a task for the first time and not hearing any feedback can amplify these feelings and create anxiety. Organizational Culture Misalignment – A lack of alignment or conflict between the company and personal values. Mergers and acquisitions can be a common source of this stress. For example, when a company values rapid decision-making, and the leader prefers strategic thinking, it can add misalignment stress. Expectations Conflict— Starting your day feeling like you cannot win is not good. When leaders are handed a scorecard that can't be executed with the current team's capabilities, it creates stress. Role Overload - This type of stress occurs when you are given too much to do and expected to deliver it on time and with high quality. It is unrealistic and stressful. Inadequate Resources - A lack of staff, tools, materials, equipment, information, and other resources needed to complete the job. When budgets are reduced, investments are delayed, and expectations are not adjusted, it is common to feel stressed from a lack of resources. Work-Life Boundary Mismanagement— In the distraction economy, many  leaders have given up on managing work-life boundaries . However, evidence suggests that not committing to managing personal and professional expectations increases stress. Stalled Career -  Dissatisfaction with career growth opportunities and a lack of hope for a better future. Role potential stress can lead to increased turnover and decreased workplace effort. Isolation - When you are alone and feel disconnected from others, you can feel you lack the support needed to succeed. The opposite is team cohesion. This is when members are committed to one another and collectively to a task, mission, or cause. Underemployment – Feeling like you have more to offer than the company currently asks of you. Career transitions, reorganizations, and outsourcing job responsibilities can leave leaders stressed from wanting more out of their work. How gratitude makes a difference Grateful leaders experience less stress, and expressing gratitude helps both the giver and the receiver. Gratitude is a positive emotion that balances a negative mindset . Many studies link gratitude with improved health, increased happiness, and decreased anxiety and depression. An interesting recent study found that those who wrote gratitude letters showed greater activation in their brain's medial prefrontal cortex when they experienced gratitude in the fMRI scanner three months later. This evidence indicates that simply expressing gratitude may have lasting positive effects on your brain. Similar to the saying, you are what you eat. If you allow only negative thoughts and feelings into your life, it is harmful to your well-being. Consider the negative emotion of envy. It is impossible to be both envious and grateful at the same time. Gratitude helps create a barrier to negative thoughts and feelings. The following short video explains some of the science behind why gratitude matters. Feeling appreciated is linked to well-being and employee performance.  A study involving over 1700 working adults revealed that those who feel valued by their leader are likelier to report higher levels of physical and mental health, engagement, satisfaction, and motivation than those who do not. What is gratitude? According to the American Psychological Association, gratitude is a sense of thankfulness and happiness in response to receiving a gift, either a tangible benefit given by someone or a fortunate happenstance. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others." – Cicero. Gratitude consists of an affirmation of goodness and a source outside of ourselves. Gratitude involves both the ability to acknowledge the good in your life and feeling a sense of thankfulness. Empathy, kindness, and love  are closely related to the virtue of gratitude. Take the following six-question survey to determine and benchmark your likelihood of experiencing gratitude. The following video is from Robert Emmons, the creator of the survey. In it, he addresses what gratitude means. Getting Started Step #1: Cultivating Your Attitude of Gratitude Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is something we can all do and is a healthy leadership habit. The best way to get started is to make gathering and giving gratitude easy and gradually increase the practice. Gratefulness.io  is an app that makes getting started easy. I have used it for a few years and found it effective in cultivating an attitude of gratefulness. The app will send you a simple daily prompt asking you about what you are grateful for, and it stores your responses in a private online journal. What you record can be as simple as what comes to your mind or a purposeful reflection on something good that happened that day and why you felt good. I find scrolling through my journal very encouraging, and it also serves as a way for me to track my progress. Stop. Look. Go.  The following video explains how to get started practicing gratitude. It begins by getting quiet, looking through our senses, and then taking the opportunity presented. If you are feeling stuck about how to get started or have tried to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, executive coaching can help. Coaches work with their clients to foster a mindset shift and implement practical strategies toward meaningful goals, including gratitude-related ones. Through thought-provoking partnerships, coaches guide clients to reflect on achievements and strengths while deepening awareness and appreciation. Getting Started Step #2: Expressing Gratitude to Others Giving gratitude reduces your stress, makes you happier, and improves relationships. After listing what you are grateful for each day, take a few moments to practice giving gratitude. Not only will reflecting and journaling what you are thankful for make you happier, but showing appreciation will multiply the positive effects on your emotions. Simply send a thank you note or, better yet, deliver it and say thank you in person. Here is a simple template from Mental Health America. So, what is the real workplace stress challenge for you and your organization? References: APA. (2021). Facing compounding stressors, many American workers plan to change jobs in coming year. American Psychological Association. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Gallup. (2022). State of the global workplace 2022 report. Gallup. Harms, Zhang, J., & Perrewé, P. L. (2020). Entrepreneurial and small business stressors, experienced stress, and well being . Emerald Publishing Limited. Joshi. (2005). Stress from burnout to balance . Response Books. Williams, N. (2016). Top ten types of workplace stress. Bartell and Bartell.

An issue on the mind of leaders from the CEO to the front line supervisor is employee retention. Many different factors contribute to increased employee turnover and today's skilled workforce shortage. Employee retention directly impacts customer engagement, sales, company culture , and operating efficiency. Employee turnover is on the rise. More American employees are quitting their jobs than ever since data began being tracked by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey of 2000 employees in the US and Canada found that 52% of employees have one foot already out the door. It may seem overwhelming knowing where to begin. There is something you can start doing today that will have an immediate positive impact on employee retention. Employee recognition can be a relatively quick, low-cost, and high-impact place for you to start. When starting with recognition, you will also discover many fringe benefits beyond retaining top talent. Why should you start with employee recognition? We all have a fundamental need to want to know when we have done a task right. Today, many employees are knowledge workers and do not receive immediate feedback on how they performed after completing a task. Also, let's be honest; no news is not necessarily good news in today's world. Gallup studied more than 80,000 managers and discovered that recognition is essential to having a great workplace and better retention rates. One of the most significant benefits of starting with employee recognition in addition to improved retention is improved employee productivity. Studies have shown that positive recognition generates discretionary effort. Discretionary effort is when an employee willingly gives more than what is asked or expected. Additional benefits you can expect from implementing employee recognition include improved teamwork, reduced stress, and absenteeism. 4 Essential Employee Recognition Tips The following tips will help you get off to a great start with recognition and avoid costly mistakes: 1. Don't believe that any recognition is better than no recognition. Effective recognition is positive, immediately connected to profitable behaviors, and specific about what is praised. Don't recognize the ordinary, so when you appreciate the excellent, it is more meaningful. Match the recognition type with the individual and the situation. Keep in mind there are many ways to provide recognition, such as saying, "good job" or "thank you," as well as lunch, coffee, a new computer, money, time off from work, and other desired items. Get creative and use variety, so the recognition does not feel hollow. Also, variety helps you avoid the conversion of recognition into an expectation. 2. Know what motivates your employees. Figuring out what motivates your employees, so you can effectively recognize them is crucial. In other words, gold stars may not be the best form of reinforcement for your adult employee. The golden rule does not apply, so instead, consider the platinum rule: do unto others as they would want to be done unto them. An excellent way to get to know what someone feels recognition is to listen and observe what they like doing with their time away from work. 3. Don't reward the wrong behavior. Rewarding the wrong behavior can have unintended consequences. For example, a distribution company rewarded employees for on-time performance and inadvertently encouraged risk-taking and unsafe practices. The leadership of an organization was pleased that the number of employees with active development plans had increased until an audit revealed that only 20% were well-written plans. Knowing the right behavior may sound like a simple step but take some time to give this more thought to avoid a pitfall. 4. Make recognition a daily activity. Great managers daily look for opportunities to recognize excellent performance. In addition to direct observation, consider soliciting feedback from customers or team members. When seeking feedback on an employee's performance, most people do not want to be sent another survey to complete; so, keep it simple and personal for the best feedback. Start each day by focusing on an area of your business. Keep a list of when you find excellent performance and recognize an employee to track your progress. Consider texts and voicemail as options for recognition but do not forget the value of a handwritten note. Effectively using employee recognition brings out the best in employees and boosts retention. If you don’t already have comprehensive employee retention and recognition programs, w e’re ready to partner with you to craft a solution for your organization’s specific context and challenges. If you do, make sure they align with your organization’s culture to get the best outcomes—and possibly a significant competitive advantage. References: Baumgartner, N. (2021). Achievers 2021 Engagement and Retention Report. Achievers . Daniels, A. C. (2000). Bringing out the best in people: How to apply the astonishing power of positive reinforcement (New & updated.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Daniels, A. C., & Daniels, J. E. (2004). Performance management: Changing behavior that drives organizational effectiveness (4th ed). Atlanta, GA: Performance Management Publications. Harter, J. (2018, August 26). Employee engagement on the rise in the U.S. Workplace (1999, April 12). Item 4: Recognition or praise.

Being honestly heard is rare in the workplace. Rushing from meeting to meeting leaves leaders feeling trapped with little time. Most conversations hardly ever get the space to go below the surface with a focus on words rather than their meaning. And the hybrid workplace has not helped. In a digital environment, leaders receive less context and fewer cues due to technology limitations. Alarmingly, McKinsey & Co. seems to have found a leadership blindspot. A recent global survey suggests that most executives believe their workplaces are inclusive, but only 30% of employees believe their opinions count. Listening is a gift that every leader can give. Being heard leaves your team feeling valued, affirmed, and emotionally connected to you. Listening enhances relationships, eases tensions, and builds trust. Here is a quiz you can give your team to test your listening skills and how busy leaders can overcome active listening barriers. Why does active listening matter? The skill of active listening is the most effective form of listening. Its benefits are well-documented in the workplace. Evidence suggests that active listening builds trust, improves the quality of relationships, and creates a positive work environment. Employees who feel heard feel better about their work and their leader. Improved relationships reduce stress . Active listening is a skill that leaders cannot outsource. Listening to your team's and customers' implicit and explicit needs and wants leads to used and valued innovations. Also, evidence suggests that improved perceptions of respect mediate an environment for joint problem-solving and creativity. 3 Active listening skills Actively listening is your ability to hear and improve mutual understanding. When you actively listen, you pay attention, show interest, suspend judgment, reflect, clarify, summarize, and share to gain clarity and insight. When practicing active listening, you are available to the other person. Suspending judgment can be tricky for leaders who are pressed for time. Leaders are used to fixing problems quickly, so slowing down can be challenging. The goal of active listening is to hear the other person. Try to understand before you try to be understood. Listening does not mean agreement. One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. Bryant McGill Clarifying involves asking open-ended, probing, and clarifying questions. A good starting question is to ask, what's on your mind? And follow it up by asking, and what else? You might be amazed at what you learn. Actively listening doesn't mean only listening and asking questions. But it is best to share your thoughts, ideas, feelings, and suggestions after you believe you have heard the other person. The part many leaders struggle with is empathic listening. However, statements like, "You aren't the only one feeling that way," or "I felt similarly," help to connect emotionally with followers. The following short video from Simon Sinek is about creating an environment where the other person feels heard. Active Listening Skill #1: Verbal Listening Active verbal listening comprises paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, assumption checking, and questioning skills. The words you use matter. Research comparing verbal and nonverbal active listening skills demonstrated that speaking skills are more critical for improving outcomes than nonverbal skills. Active Listening Skill #2: Nonverbal Listening Active nonverbal listening refers to your body language. Eye contact, leaning forward, and an open body position all provide cues of affirmation. Avoid checking your phone, leaning back in your chair, and crossing your arms. Whether intended or not, these are all cues you are not actively listening to the employee. Active Listening Skill #2: Empathic Listening Active empathic listening combines verbal and nonverbal listening skills with empathy. Leaders practice this listening by sensing the explicit and implicit feelings being communicated. It is vital to innovation and maintaining close relationships. 2 Ways to overcome active listening barriers The use of paraphrasing with metaphors and paying attention by slowing down are helpful tips for overcoming common barriers to listening. Active Listening Tip #1: Paraphrasing with Metaphors Like playing catch with a ball, when the conversation is tossed to you, you should put what you heard into your own words (paraphrase) and use that to make sure you hear the key points correctly. A metaphor is a phrase that conveys something typically abstract through a symbolic image with shared understanding. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Metaphors help create connections. For example, when attempting to clarify, you could state, "It is like driving in the fog at night," instead of asking, "Are you confused?" Active Listening Tip #2: Paying Attention by Slowing Down It is easy not to be aware that you are sending unintended signals that you are in a hurry. Put your technology on mute. Get curious about what they are saying and their emotions. This is not the time to multitask. Be natural and use verbal and nonverbal cues, such as nodding your head or saying yes, to let them know you are engaged. Active listening does not typically happen in a rushed environment. The key is not to try to force a conversation into an arbitrarily scheduled time frame. Allow the option to reschedule additional time as appropriate. Take this active listening quiz When you can't see yourself objectively and don't accurately understand the perspectives of others, you can't make the transformational changes necessary for business growth. Evidence suggests that despite being very important to employees, employees' perceptions of their leader's listening skills are very low. This is significant because perceptions are proven to influence actions. When employees don't perceive they will be heard, they will unlikely continue to speak up. Here are a few statements adapted from the research by Longweni and Kroon (2018) developed to solicit feedback from direct reports. You should adjust the wording for different audiences, such as your peers, customers, and leaders. As designed, they are appropriate for use in a formal leadership 360 survey or anonymous pulse survey. I would suggest using a seven-point Likert scale from 1- strongly disagree to 7- strongly agree. My leader can sense how I feel without me having to say how I am feeling. My leader reads my non-verbal messages when we are in a conversation. My leader reflects on my emotions to let me know that they understand how I am feeling. My leader calms me down when I become angry by reflecting on my feelings. My leader restates my words to make sure that they understand me correctly. My leader makes sure to know what I am saying in a conflict situation. My leader does not justify their actions when I complain about something they have done wrong. My leader does not get angry or defensive when corrected. How to encourage others to use active listening Everyone has been in a situation where they don't feel heard. The next time you encounter that situation, here are a few strategies you can use to try and help bring about the change you want to see in others: Find common ground. Whether you are getting to know a person or engaging an executive on a complicated topic, starting with something you share in common can help create interest. Be a role model. Being the change you want to see in the world is a powerful tool for influencing change in the workplace. Don't be the one wanting to be listened to but unwilling to hear yourself. Look in the mirror and assess your skills honestly before fixing someone else. Let them know. Often, it is not a lack of desire as to why someone is not using active listening skills. If you decide to provide this feedback, you want to use an "I" statement, such as I don't feel like you are hearing me. How to develop active listening skills If you are ready to invest some energy into developing your active listening skills, the following strategies are compiled from various studies on active listening. Daily reflection. Reflect and assess daily how you are doing. Reflect on specific conversations to identify what went well and what still needs improvement. Specifically, focus on how well you pay attention, show interest, suspend judgment, reflect, clarify, summarize, and share to gain clarity and understanding. Find a mentor or accountability partner . A mentor should be someone that is a skilled active listener. This person can role model and help ask good reflective questions to help you learn. Find an accountability partner . An accountability partner can also be someone working on building their active listening skills, or they could already be skilled. The key is that they can observe and catch you using or not applying active listening skills. Focus. Consciously focus on building active listening skills rather than expecting to learn these skills while focusing on another competency. Experiential practice. You can build active listening skills with training, like physical endurance and strength. Use blended experiential methods that require learning by doing. Active listening is influenced by the context of the conversation and cues that are best understood by doing. Don't just rely on reading about active listening. Key Summary Points: Actively listening to employees leaves them feeling valued, affirmed, and connected emotionally with you. Listening eases tensions and makes productive conflict work where resentment exists. When you actively listen, you pay attention, show interest, suspend judgment, reflect, clarify, summarize, and share to gain clarity and understanding. Active Empathic Listening is vital to innovation and maintaining close relationships. The benefits of active listening are well-documented for building trust and improving relationships and the work environment. A study of employee perceptions of their leader's listening skills revealed it was the lowest-rated competency despite being very important to employees. Using metaphors, slowing down, paying attention, and paraphrasing key points are helpful tips when practicing active listening. Being the change you want to see in the world is a powerful tool for influencing change in the workplace. You can build active listening skills with practice, like building physical endurance and strength. References: Bodie, G., Vickery, A., Cannava, K., Jones, S. (2015). The role of "active listening" in informal helping conversations: Impact on perceptions of listener helpfulness, sensitivity, and supportiveness and discloser emotional improvement. Western Journal of Communication ;79(2):151-173. Center for Creative Leadership. (2019). Active listening: Improve your ability to listen and lead, second edition, 2nd edition . Center for Creative Leadership. Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-changing leadership habits: 10 proven principles that will elevate people, profit, and purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Gearhart, C., Bodie, G. (2011). Active-empathic listening as a general social skill: Evidence from bivariate and canonical correlations. Communication Reports ;24:86-98. Jahromi, V., Tabatabaee, S., Abdar, Z., & Rajabi, M. (2016). Active listening: The key of successful communication in hospital managers. Electronic physician , 8 (3), 2123–2128. Kourmousi, N., Kounenou, K., Yotsidi, V., Xythali, V., Merakou, K., Barbouni, A., & Koutras, V. (2018). Personal and job factors are associated with teachers' active listening and active empathic listening. Social Sciences, 7 (7) Longweni, M., & Kroon, J. (2018). Managers' listening skills, feedback skills, and ability to deal with interference: A subordinate perspective. Acta Commercii, 18 (1), 1-12.

Being a leader in today's crisis-driven workplace is exciting on the one hand and exhausting on the other. You are presented with new opportunities to make a real difference in areas where you find purpose and are frequently stretched to grow. These 'crucible moments' can leave you questioning your career. Crises disrupt healthy habits creating an imbalance. At times like these, you may not be aware that you are sabotaging yourself. Self-care is fundamental to maximizing your joy of living as a leader. Self-care is not selfish behavior. Like every living thing in this world, if leaders are not continually investing in restoring and strengthening physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, it is deteriorating. No one in the workplace escapes this reality. What is Self-Care? Although no single definition exists for self-care, it involves a wide range of activities that promote physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Implementing and building healthy self-care habits leads to positive emotions, improved relationships, increased physical energy, emotional inspiration, and creativity. Self-care includes the do-it-yourself approach and the use of an executive coach . The scope of self-care ends at the point of becoming dependent on someone for achieving health.⁠ For example, a DIY approach would be independently going to the gym to exercise and receiving guidance but not assistance from a professional coach at the gym. Every leader is different in their definition of physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health and needs. Because we each have different definitions of success and significance in life, it is natural that health and self-care activities will vary from leader to leader. What is Self-Sabotage? Many executives lack joy in life as a result of self-sabotage. These bad habits can be conscious or accidental, ranging from subtle to devastating consequences affecting every aspect of the leader's life. For example, perfectionism is a subtle type of self-sabotage where a senior leader can work tirelessly, dismissing incremental improvements as flaws or sacrificing relationships with those they love. It is easy to accidentally lose sight of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health in a fast-paced digital, always-on workplace. Before you know it, the day is done, and you realize you rarely, if ever, got up from your desk. Maybe you worked through breaks instead of going for a walk, or you chose to eat the left-over donuts in the break room out of convenience instead of bringing in something healthy to eat. When self-sabotage is accidental, leaders simply mistake not placing achieving health on their list of priorities, or the urgent issue of the day shifts the leader's focus. Neglecting and procrastinating when it comes to taking care of yourself limits your ability to perform at your full potential . The following is a hilarious and insightful TedTalk presentation on procrastination. Organizational culture, past leaders modeling, and the fear of failing can steer leaders toward conscious self-sabotage. Unhealthy corporate cultures that emphasize working harder and longer hours can motivate leaders to purposefully self-sabotage their health. These organizations make heroes out of leaders that sacrifice achieving balance in their lives for the company's benefit. In these organizations, leaders purposely neglect self-care in trade for recognition and rewards within the organization. Self-sabotaging habits also come from past leadership examples and mentors. The previous director, who constantly was checking and replying to emails at all hours of the day, might cause the new director to neglect family relationships thinking that is the company's expectation. Fear of failing at something emboldens the inner critic. In return, the internal critic influences executives to not take risks to avoid falling instead of taking a necessary step to innovate and respond to changing environment. Self-sabotage leaves leaders feeling stuck and lacking self-confidence. Self-sabotage has the potential to stop momentum in a leader's life and career. The following video introduces seven common signs of self-sabotage and how to know if you may need help. Creating Healthy Self-Care Habits as a Leader So how do leaders navigate the new normal high-pressure crisis-driven workplace without self-sabotaging their joy in the process? Achieving balance with self-care is an individual path. However, relationships, rest, and your work environment are proven to have significant influences on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Having a clean and organized workspace can provide a sense of being in control of our work. Going for a walk in the park with a friend and talking about life can give perspective during challenging times, or simply resting away from work can provide time for us to process and work through a situation with clarity. It ultimately doesn't matter where you start, but that you do start. Working on one domain of self-care, such as physical exercise, can improve emotional and mental health. For example, suppose you run in the park. In that case, you may encounter others along the run, which provides an opportunity to build relationships and improve your emotional health. It's not difficult to see how these domains can overlap, and simple steps can lead to significant improvements. The following short video helps you become more aware of your emotions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Creating a Healthier Life guide provides an excellent step-by-step approach with resources to help promote self-care. Use this link for more information regarding the SAMHSA guide: ww.samhsa.gov/wellness-initiative. Key Summary Points: Crises disrupt healthy habits creating an imbalance in life. Every leader is different as to their physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional needs. It is easy to accidentally lose sight of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health in a fast-paced digital, always-on workplace. Organizational culture, past leaders modeling, and the fear of failing can steer leaders toward a purposeful self-sabotage habit. Relationships, rest, and your work environment are proven to have significant influences on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Visit our executive coaching page to learn more about how we help you achieve your personal or professional goals or 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: Godfrey, C. M., Harrison, M. B., Lysaght, R., Lamb, M., Graham, I. D., & Oakley, P. (2011). Care of self – care by other – care of other: The meaning of self‐care from research, practice, policy and industry perspectives. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 9(1), 3-24. Richards, S. (2010). The benefits of self-care. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 4(5), 246-247.

Acquiring, advancing, and retaining talent is essential for organizations to achieve their mission. A study of over 8,000 leaders across Asia, Europe, North America, and South Africa, conducted by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) discovered that leaders committed to talent management achieve 25 percent higher performance . These gains in performance resulted in a seven percent improvement in revenue and a six percent increase in profit. Unfortunately, the study also revealed that less than 20 percent of senior executives possessed the commitment and capability to achieve these talent outcomes. Getting the right people leaders in the right seat at the right time is easier said than done. While there is no one single strategy that fits all situations some leading organizations are using predictive analytics to create data-based behavioral models to identify critical behaviors that predict organizational success. Social media, big data, robotics, and artificial intelligence-based applications are providing new insights to improve talent management decision making (See Table 1). Measuring Leadership While there is little agreement on a definition for leadership, there is broad agreement on leadership's importance. Effective leadership fosters innovation and creates a climate of excellence. Determining what to measure and how to measure leadership is essential to efficiently and effectively make equitable talent management decisions. Many CEOs point to a lack of qualified, ready now leadership talent as a significant threat to their organization's growth. Growth-oriented organizations need to understand if they have the right leaders with the right skills in the right jobs and have a sufficient pipeline of ready-now leaders for future growth. Companies like Agilent are using leadership effectiveness audits based on external norms to improve business outcomes. Once the organization reaches the top quartile for a given metric, it revises the audit to introduce a new leadership quality metric. A tool being used by many top-performing companies to measure leadership is the value and promotability matrix or nine-box grid (see Figure 1). Leaders are rated as low, medium, or high for performance, values, competence, and ability to promote. Beyond differentiating leaders, this matrix helps organizations create personalized development plans and accountability for growing the leadership pipeline. In my experience, when implemented correctly, this tool and the additional insights from leadership measurement can add immediate organizational value. To obtain the most value from the nine-box grid, it is vital to clearly define value and promotability and use talent review meetings to gain alignment across the organization. Ethical Considerations As organizations make investments into new technologies to measure leadership attraction, development, and retention, there are potential ethical challenges. One such challenge is equity in decision making. Technology creates the potential for unintended bias or violations of employee privacy rights. In a high-profile case involving technology-enabled decision-making bias, an artificial intelligence algorithm used to predict violent crime recidivism was twice as likely to misclassify black defendants than white defendants. Building a reporting and accountability culture is an important step toward spotting and halting technology-enabled ethics violations. We can partner with you to develop a customized solution to get the right leaders in the right seat at the right time. Walk with us and build a culture of leadership excellence that supports organizational growth. Contact us to get started today. References Dahlbom, P., Siikanen, N., Sajasalo, P., & Jarvenpää, M. (2019). Big data and HR analytics in the digital era. Baltic Journal of Management, 15 (1), 120-138. Ellehuus, C. (2012). Transforming business leaders into talent champions. Strategic HR Review, 11 (2), 84-89. Gandossy, R., & Guarnieri, R. (2008). Can you measure leadership? MIT Sloan Management Review . Larson, J., Mattu, S., Kirchner, L., & Angwin, J. (2016). How we analyzed the COMPAS recidivism algorithm . ProPublica. Ledet, E., McNulty, K., Morales, D., & Shandell, M. (2020). How to be great at people analytics . McKinsey & Company. Marr, B. (2019). Artificial intelligence has a problem with bias, here's how to tackle it . Forbes. Oster, G. W. (2011). The light prize: Perspectives on Christian innovation . Virginia Beach, Va: Positive Signs Media. Shen, K. (2011). The analytics of critical talent management [PDF]. People and Strategy. 34 (2) Sivathanu, B., & Pillai, R. (2019). Technology and talent analytics for talent management – a game-changer for organizational performance. International Journal of Organizational Analysis (2005), 28 (2), 457-473. 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 ). About the Author: Jeff's knowledge and expertise include leadership development, coaching, and workforce strategies to achieve influence and grow organizations. Jeff Doolittle is the founder of Organizational Talent Consulting in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at info@organizationaltalent.com or by calling (616) 803-9020. Visit https://www.organizationaltalent.com/executive-coaching to learn more about executive coaching services provided.

Can a simple act of kindness from a leader transform workplace culture and drive exceptional performance? I had just started a new position in Nebraska. We left family back in Illinois, and a significant snowstorm was approaching. It dumped almost a foot of fresh snow on our house while I was out of town for work. My wife was stranded at home with a new baby, a three-year-old, and a dog. Without me knowing, my leader called my wife to offer to go to the store and pick up groceries in his truck. Although this took place over twenty years ago, I still get emotional thinking about this act of love by my leader. There is no serious debate that well-designed organizations with clear organizational strategies influence desired behaviors, culture, and performance. However, while organizational alignment is essential, it is not sufficient. Evidence suggests love brings out the best in how people think, act, and feel . Unfortunately, this four-letter word is rarely discussed in the workplace. But this is good news if you're a leader looking for a competitive advantage. Here are two practical ways leaders can bring love into the workplace culture and drive exceptional results. The benefits of love in the workplace The well-documented individual and organizational benefits of love include: Intrinsic motivation Increased creativity Discretionary effort Better workplace climate Enhanced employee capacity Enhanced leader-follower alignment Two complex challenges leaders face today are attracting and retaining top talent and creating inclusive workplaces that bring out the best in all employees. Diversity in the world and workplace is increasing. Globalization and technological advances are projected to continue to increase workgroup diversity. This increase in diversity can have many positive workplace effects, such as enhanced performance, creativity, innovation , and decision quality. However, workplace practices rooted in favoritism are costly, leading to increased relational conflict and a lack of team cohesion. In-group favoritism results in actions that favor one group. When leaders demonstrate love, they cultivate an organizational culture where healthy and caring leader-follower relationships break down the adverse effects of in-group and out-group differences. All you have to do is drive down any street or walk through your local retail district to see the signs for help wanted and understand the challenge of attracting and retaining the best and brightest employees. Organizational commitment is a term used to identify an individual with a particular company. Research has directly connected higher levels of organizational commitment with lower employee turnover rates. Studies have demonstrated that love enhances organizational commitment. The following short video from leadership guru Ken Blanchard provides some thoughts on the power of servant leadership in today's workplace. What is selfless love? Selflessness  is 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 comes from St. Thomas Aquinas. "To love is to will the good of the other." St. Thomas Aquinas Selfless love in the workplace is to desire and put into action the will for the good of another ahead of your interest . It is a radically different paradigm from a transactional worldview of the workplace. If you have nine minutes, the following video captures the essence of the meaning behind the definition used by St. Thomas Aquinas. Although the video does not use a workplace example, the intent of willing the good of the other is shown.   The following poem called "Outwitted" by Edwin Markham captures the belief that love creates a radical sense of belonging for everyone: He drew a circle that shut me out—Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in! Aren't empathy and compassion just different words for love? Empathy, compassion, and love are interrelated, but distinct differences exist. Empathy is the ability to be aware of, feel, and take on the emotions of what another person is experiencing. Empathy plays a vital role in moderating the effects of workplace conflict. Research has linked empathy with forgiveness and healing relationships. The following is a short video from Brene Brown that explains empathy and its value within the workplace. Compassion is an empathic understanding with a desire to help another person. Recent studies into the benefits of compassion at work link it to improved job performance, mental health, and leader-follower relationships. Although having awareness (empathy) and a desire to help (compassion) is essential, the world needs leaders who put the will for the good of others ahead of their interest. Leaders who emphasize love bring out the best in how people think, act, and feel in the workplace, leading to success and significance both personally and professionally. How you can love those you lead The answer for bringing love into the workplace is not hiding in metrics or data within the business- but in your routine practices, you perform automatically in your daily life. A traditional transactional leadership style adopts a top-down view of an organization with the leader on the top. Transactional leadership is based on the belief that employees perform best: within a well-formed chain of command rewards and punishments motivate and following the leader's directives is the employee's primary goal. Transactional leaders give employees something they want in exchange for getting something they want. This leadership style adopts a mental model that workers are not self-motivated and require structure, instruction, and monitoring to achieve organizational goals correctly and on time. In stark contrast, when adopting a selfless love worldview, the leader desires to bring out the best in their followers by giving them the best of themself. A servant leadership style aligns well with selfless love. These servant leadership characteristics are tangible ways for a leader to bring love into the workplace : Listening to self and others Showing empathy Healing self and others Being aware Persuasion and not coercion Conceptual thinking, not linear thinking Applying strategic foresight Stewardship of other's needs Commitment to the development of others Building community Are you a servant leader? Maybe you already understand the basic concepts but are unclear on how servant leadership differs from other contemporary leadership styles. The free Servant Leadership Style Checker answers these questions and provides your Servant Leadership Style Score. Take this free quiz to find out. How to cultivate love in the workplace Love may seem complex and challenging to articulate, much less measure ; however , validated measurement instruments exist. Like competencies and behaviors, love can be developed and embedded within organizational processes for talent management. Also, like competency development, developing love can have various positive consequences for businesses. Virtue and character development should include the following : knowledge transfer reasoning and practice. Selfless love is primarily developed through role modeling with intentional time for 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 conversations. Additionally, most people spend little to no time reflecting on selfless love experiences because of blind spots. 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 love development into existing competency development programs. It is not required for organizations to create separate programs focused only on character and virtue development. Great leaders love those they lead to gain a competitive advantage in an uncertain world. What is your real challenge to bringing love into the workplace? References Doolittle, J. (2023). Life-Changing Leadership Habits: 10 Proven Principles That Will Elevate People, Profit, and Purpose. Organizational Talent Consulting. Ferris, R. (1988). How organizational love can improve leadership. Organizational Dynamics, 16 (4), 41-51. Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th-anniversary ed.). Lok, P., & Crawford, J. (2004). The effect of organizational culture and leadership style on job satisfaction and organizational commitment: A cross‐national comparison. The Journal of Management Development, 23 (4), 321-338. 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). Servant leadership: A theoretical model [PDF]. Seijts, G., Crossan, M., & Carleton, E. (2017). Embedding leader character into HR practices to achieve sustained excellence. Organizational Dynamics, 46 (1), 30-39. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.02.001 Zachary, G. W. (2013). spiritual leadership: Investigating the effects of altruistic love on organizational commitment. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 6 (2), 767.

If I think of one word on the mind of leaders in all companies, and at all levels, it comes down to uncertainty. Whether it is trade or social conflict, new regulations, artificial intelligence, or the global pandemic leaders are uncertain about the future. So, what can leaders do to gain clarity and grow revenue in an uncertain global economy projected to have slow growth? Check out this short two-minute video on futures thinking and then keep reading. Understanding Strategic Foresight Many organizations do not possess the ability to implement change fast enough to avoid becoming obsolete. To survive organizations, and individuals need to become future smart. Future smart is identifying and understanding the drivers of changes as they are forming, so individuals and organizations can be architects of change. Becoming future smart can be assisted by leveraging practices and frameworks from the field of strategic foresight. Strategic foresight is an ongoing process involving framing, scanning, forecasting, visioning, planning, and resulting in actions an organization takes to prepare for the future. Strategic foresight is a way of thinking, engaging, discovering, and acting. The goal of strategic foresight is not to predict the future but enable better decision-making and preparedness. Strategic foresight is a systemic view of change, considering not just the likely changes but all the possible potential changes. When we think about change and its impact on organizations, Kodak is an example of a company that knew digital cameras were coming but refused to let go of the belief that film would always be a part of their strategy. Strategic foresight is intended to help let go of old beliefs. Traditional strategic planning is heavily focused on the internal organization, and strategic foresight links the organization to the external environment recognizing the company will operate within a larger world rather than be only change in the world. Strategic Foresight Benefits No organization sets out to become obsolete, and there are many benefits to applying strategic foresight beyond avoiding obsolescence. Organizations benefit from being better prepared, having the right tools and resources at the right time, and improved decision-making . Strategic foresight leads to enhanced change management and positions organizations to move from responding and reacting to change to architecting trends. Being the first to market and leading new trends fuels revenue growth. About Strategic Foresight Tools Achieving the benefits of strategic foresight is accomplished by applying proven tools so that vital information does not get overlooked. These tools help organizations look beyond current experiences and areas of capability where individuals and organizations typically focus. Strategic foresight tools increase both the scope and the degree of specificity of foresight. Tools increase the number of points of view to be considered and build individuals and organizations that are future smart. Future Smart Workshop If you are interested in learning more about strategic foresight principles, engaging in a company-specific foresight activity, and learning how to use a strategic foresight tool that will help you understand the future better, then this workshop is right for you. The workshop will take 90 minutes and involve a minimum of 5 participants and 25 participants . Contact us to learn more about bringing this virtual or in-person workshop to your team. Free COVID Strategy Scenario Matrix Offer Does your company have the right strategy for a post-COVID-19 world? Become future-ready with our FREE COVID-19 Strategy Scenario Matrix analysis. We will pressure test your strategy against likely realities and give you specific recommendations as well as a strategy rating! It's simple, easy, and painless. Request your strategy analysis today . According to the Institute for Management Development, the interplay of three factors – viral longevity, global mindset, and digital adoption – can lead to remarkably different future worlds. These divergent views on how the post-COVID-19 world might look, applied within our Strategy Scenario Matrix Analysis, will provide a stress test of your strategy against highly important and likely realities so you can prepare and become future-ready. References: Canton, J. (2016). Future smart: Managing the game-changing trends that will transform your world (First Da Capo Press Paperback ed.). Da Capo Press. Chermack, T. (2011). Scenario planning in organizations: How to create, use, and assess scenarios. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Cornish, E. (2005). Futuring: The exploration of the future (First Paperback ed.). World Future Society. Hines, A. (2006). Strategic foresight: The state of the art . The Futurist, 40 (5), 18. McGonigal, M. (2020). What’s a futures wheel [video]. Coursera. Ralston, B., and Wilson, I. (2006). Scan™: Radar for signals of change. In The scenario-planning handbook (pp. 245-257). South-Western. The Audiopedia. (2017, April 4). What is strategic foresight? What does strategic foresight mean? Strategic foresight meaning [Video]. YouTube. Van Duijne , F., and Bishop, P. (2018). Introduction to strategic foresight [PDF]. Future Motions .

Have you ever felt it wasn’t safe to speak up at work? This challenge is universal. According to a study involving over 195,000 US employees, only 30% strongly believe their opinion really matters. Contemporary workplace challenges are increasingly defined by incredible technological advances and workforce friction. Evidence suggests that psychological safety is at the core of highly competitive organizations. An absence of physical safety leads to serious accidents, but the absence of psychological safety leads to poor employee mental health and company performance below expectations. Growth in knowledge-intensive business requires the creativity and skills of many employees built on timely and candid collaboration. There is no perfect organizational culture, and there is no infallible leader. It is best to consider both continuous works in progress. Here are four keys to nurturing psychological safety for executives to keep in mind. What is psychological safety? We all share a need to belong. Psychological safety is a condition when you feel included, able to learn, contribute, and provide critical feedback without fear of being embarrassed, excluded, or penalized. The goal is to increase intellectual friction while decreasing social friction, and the four sequential stages of psychological safety are: Inclusion safety – We are constantly dividing the world between them and us. Inclusion safety is creating a shared identity, so others are viewed as being in the same group. Learner safety – This is feeling safe enough to experiment, ask questions, and fail as a part of the learning process. Contributor safety – Is participating as an active full-fledged member of the team supported by autonomy and encouragement. Challenger safety – This is the last stage when others are able to provide constructive criticism and engage in productive conflict without fear of exclusion or retaliation. This is the stage where individuals can innovate. Psychological safety is different than trust. Trust is if you will give others the benefit of doubt, and psychological safety is the environment influencing if others will give you the benefit of doubt. Psychological safety helps you and others work better together. Trust is a component of psychological safety. It is extremely dangerous in a competitive marketplace not to have a culture of psychological safety. When it is emotionally expensive in the workplace to share what you think and feel, it triggers a self-censoring instinct that shuts down and blocks collaboration and innovation. Psychological safety is a tool for leaders to help care for followers. Whispers become shouts as an executive leader. How you approach creating psychological safety as a peer is different than as a leader due to positional power in the relationship. “The presence of fear in an organization is the first sign of weak leadership.” Timothy Clark Key 1: Humility It is OK to be confident, however, when executives appear to be asking a leading question or know everything, few people will take the risk of upsetting the leader. Smart executives realize there is always more to learn , and humility is not the opposite of confidence. Being humble is recognizing that you may miss something without being inclusive of others' points of view. Key 2: Selfless love St. Thomas Aquinas stated that “to love is to will the good of the other.” As an executive, your whispers become shouts within the organization. Self-awareness, empathy, and compassion rather than the use of a position of power are needed to practice selfless love. Self-awareness improves verbal and non-verbal communication clarity and the ability to understand multiple perspectives. Empathy helps you understand how others are feeling, and compassion inspires actions that are helpful. Willing for the good of your followers is caring so much that you are willing to risk failing. Selfless love may seem complex and challenging to articulate, much less measure, however, validated measurement instruments exist. Like competencies and behaviors, selfless love can be developed. Virtue and character development involve learning, reasoning, and practice. Key 3: Performance-based accountability Psychological safety matters, but it is a means to an end, not the end. Providing clear expectations and giving feedback is essential for employees to achieve high-performance levels . When psychological safety is high, but performance accountability is low, results suffer. Without a focus on the organizational results, there is no incentive to be proactive. It is logical to think that creating comfort is a good place to be, but ideas can die, people coast, and problems not get resolved without performance-based accountability. The following TEDx presentation by Annie Edmondson provides some insight into the value of performance-based accountability in building a psychologically safe workplace. Key 4: Vulnerability Although leaders are expected to convey an image of competence, confidence, and power, followers already know you are not perfect. Being vulnerable as a leader requires courage . Leadership vulnerability involves the willingness to take risks that might end in failure or create the best of what might be in the organization. The following short video from Simon Sinek expands on the tension leaders face. Practicing vulnerability as a leader involves checking your motivation, vision, and paradigm (MVP) before having a difficult conversation. Motivation. Is your motivation about caring for others first? Or is your motivation to be right? Goals for a conversation matter. Vision. How do you see the result of the conversation going? When you see a conversation as a positive step in the journey, it provides a sense of purpose and direction. Paradigm. Is your paradigm for the difficult conversation that real transparent conversation will provide the best foundation for a healthy culture and your relationship? When the lens through which you perceive the difficult conversation is off, your results will turn out poorly. You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions. Naguib Mahfouz Good leadership habits to build psychological safety Here are a few specific good leadership habits taken from research for setting the stage, inviting participation, and responding effectively to build psychological safety: Ask questions proactively. Address employees by name and ask questions that you don’t have an answer for, that don’t limit responses to a yes or no (or either or choice), and that helps others think about a topic in a new way. For example, you may have a goal to improve an absence of diversity in the organization. Instead of asking others how they can improve the situation, a better way would be to ask others how the organization can embrace diversity. Be transparent. Keep conversations genuine, especially when it involves your mistakes. Being transparent pertains to both the logical rationale aspects of the conversation as well as your feelings about the other person and the conversation. Be willing to learn. Vulnerability is about being weak to defend your point of view and desiring to listen and learn something new. When asking for feedback, it is essential to remember that it is a gift given. Silence is expensive. A good tactic is to ask others for what you need to hear but that they think you may not want to hear. Avoid blame. Use collaborative language. For example, how can we (instead of you) make this better? We statements turn the responsibility into a group effort, keeping the emphasis on the solution rather than an individual. Set expectations about failure. Innovation is increasingly important and dangerous for leaders. Organizations desire certainty, success, and efficiency, and it is uncertainty, failure, and inefficiency that are sources of innovation. Many organizations are designed to keep leaders from taking risks. It is important for leaders to differentiate between excusable and inexcusable failure. Express appreciation. Compensation for the work is not enough. The rewards and incentives you provide can be as simple as saying thank you. Effective reward and recognition systems target specific behaviors, are applied immediately, are tailored to what the individual values, are focused on what and how, and present everyone the same opportunity to achieve the reward or recognition. Use participatory decision-making styles. Although delegating and making command decisions have a place, they should not be the only or primary styles of leadership decision-making. Highly participatory styles such as consulting and facilitating not only improve feelings of belonging but they improve decision quality. So, what is the challenge for you to invite others to challenge the status quo? What steps can you take to create autonomy for followers to contribute in their own way to deliver results? References Clark. (2020). The 4 stages of psychological safety : defining the path to inclusion and innovation (First edition.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated. Daniels, A. (2016). Bringing out the best in people: How to apply the astonishing power of positive reinforcement (3rd edition). McGraw-Hill. Edmondson. (2019). The fearless organization : creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth (1st edition). Wiley. Edmondson, A. & Hugander, P. (2021). 4 Steps to boost psychological safety at your workplace. Harvard Business Review. Frazier, Fainshmidt, S., Klinger, R. L., Pezeshkan, A., & Vracheva, V. (2017). Psychological Safety: A Meta‐Analytic Review and Extension. Personnel Psychology , 70 (1), 113–165. Gallup. (2020). State of the American Workplace Report.