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5 Ways Appointment-Based Businesses Can Contribute to Sustainability

By Hunter Meine | Business Tips | No Comments

As someone who owns or operates an appointment-based business, you have myriad responsibilities and expectations. At the top of the list is providing quality services to customers and establishing a profitable business that can support you and your employees. While these concerns are of utmost importance, they shouldn’t be the only ones on your list. Sustainability also needs to be in there somewhere.

Sustainability is a topic that many businesses skirt around, choosing to place their focus elsewhere. The reality is that a sustainable business can not only be profitable, but it’s also one of the best ways to benefit your company and its surrounding community. We only have one world to share, and our collective efforts to promote sustainability will improve the quality of life for everyone. Here are some ways you can make a difference:

1. Go Paperless

One of the biggest changes you can make is to go paperless. Businesses use a lot of documents every day. If you’re logging data and completing tasks the old-fashioned way, you’ll burn through a lot of paper. More paper means more deforestation is needed to supply business needs.

There are other obvious benefits from going paperless besides being more environmentally friendly. By going completely digital, you no longer have to pay for reams of paper. Digital storage and search capabilities also mean less time spent filing and retrieving documents. The time savings will be quite significant and can be devoted to additional sustainability measures.

There are a lot of ways you can eliminate paper usage if you continue to look. For example, rather than printing menus, many restaurants are using QR codes that enable customers to pull up menus on their phones. Other businesses can mirror this tactic by using QR codes to share service options, replacing pamphlets in waiting rooms.

2. Embrace Recycling Programs

Recycling programs have been in place for many years. However, not enough people seem to be participating in them, especially in business settings. This can be due to a lack of interest, accessibility, or information on how to do so.

Your business can embrace recycling programs, helping both employees and customers take part in the effort to make the world more sustainable. Start by placing recycling bins in appropriate areas in your building. Then, if there’s no scheduled municipal pickup, make sure the collected materials get taken to the proper locations for processing. This will give customers the opportunity to recycle used containers and paper without having to worry about the logistics.

3. Reduce Energy Usage

Electricity comes from many sources, but a lot of it is still produced by burning fossil fuels. It’s no secret that fossil fuels aren’t great for the environment. You probably can’t dictate the method your local electric utility uses to generate electricity. But you can shrink your personal carbon footprint by reducing your energy usage.

One way to do this is to become more energy-efficient. Replace old light bulbs with more efficient LEDs that don’t run your electric bill so high. Smart thermostats, updated appliances, and a new HVAC system will all contribute to more efficient energy usage.

The next thing you can do is remove the need for energy in certain instances. Turn off lights in rooms that are not occupied. Unplug appliances that aren’t in use, like the microwave in the break room. While these actions might seem small at first, they add up over time.

4. Enable Remote Solutions Where Possible

Speaking of fossil fuels, a lot of emissions come from employees commuting to work or customers driving to your place of business. In an appointment-based business model, this is often unavoidable. However, there are ways that you can reduce driving time to save people money and reduce overall emissions.

Start by looking at remote work arrangements for your company. Phone systems can be set up in an employee’s home, enabling them to answer calls during business hours without actually driving to the office. They can save time and money by working from home and enjoying casual Fridays all week long.

Certain remote solutions can be extended to your customers as well. While most appointments require in-person interaction, there are instances where things can be done digitally. For example, you can complete a quick check-up with the doctor via video call rather than an in-office appointment.

5. Donate to Sustainability-Oriented Causes

Corporations commonly make donations to different causes and charities. They often do this as a tax write-off, but some business owners genuinely want to help make a difference in their local communities. Your company can do the same by making donations to groups that are focusing on sustainability.

Begin by looking for local sustainability projects that may be in the works. If a local nonprofit is installing solar panels on behalf of low-income homeowners, for example, your business can be one of the sponsors. If you don’t find suitable projects at a local level, expand your scope to state or national endeavors. There are myriad worthwhile environmental organizations to which you can make a contribution.

Sustainability efforts reflect well on your business, which will contribute to its success. But these actions go so much further than that. You’ll be helping make the world a better place for the next generation at the same time.

Calendar Full? 5 Ways To Maximize Your Meetings

By Deanna Ritchie | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

No company operates in a vacuum, and very few businesses are one-person operations. Even if you’re a solopreneur, you’ll likely need to coordinate with clients. In short, business means collaboration. Working with others translates to the necessity of meetings. And meetings can either be a drain for your schedule and productivity. Or, when you maximize meetings, a chance to ensure you’re on the same page with your collaborators, work out kinks and develop actionable plans for your projects.

Most of us have experienced those meetings that we know by the “could have been an email” trope. They’re the ones that seem to have no clear direction, in which the group collectively spins its wheels. This might be due to participants getting sidetracked or simply because the content of the meeting is redundant.

It’s not a great feeling to sit through an entire hour while silently stressing about the tasks we could be doing instead. Packed calendars are ubiquitous; no one wants or deserves a time-wasting meeting. If you’re in charge of periodic or regular check-ins with your team or clients, everyone involved will thank you for running smooth and effective meetings that support their tasks.

A great meeting should help participants resolve stuck points, get team members on the same page, clarify project next steps and generally save time and energy. Carefully planning your meetings and sticking to the plan will help the members of your team get the most out of face-to-face time.

Related: How to Stop Meetings From Killing Your Startup

Remember that time is money and budget meeting time accordingly.

It’s important to periodically evaluate the frequency and time demands of your team’s meeting schedule. Ask yourself:

Do you need a weekly or bi-weekly face-to-face to stay on track?

Can some meetings be skipped if no pressing concerns need to be addressed?

How will holding a meeting impact your team’s productivity: will it enhance it by alleviating stuck points, or will it hinder it by pulling people out of their zones?

Related: Too Many Meetings Suffocate Productivity and Morale

Evaluate whether your team requires standing meetings.

Try not to get stuck in the mindset that meetings, especially standing meetings, are necessary to keep everyone moving forward together. Sometimes, it really can be an email. Being thoughtful about when and how you conduct your meetings could translate into significant cost savings for your business. Remember, you’re paying for everyone’s time during that meeting. You’re also potentially losing productive time on tasks if you’re meeting unnecessarily. It might be enlightening to get out a calculator and run the numbers for your company’s spend on weekly meeting time.

Related: What I Learned About Great Meetings from Steve Jobs

Have a clear meeting agenda and stay on task.

When you and your team have determined that a gathering is warranted, whether virtual or in-person, it’s vital to have a clear action plan. Before each meeting, clearly identify what you want to accomplish, who needs to be involved and how you will organize the time. Try not to require attendance from teammates if you don’t need to take up their time. It’s essential to create and share an agenda for each meeting – and stick to it.

“If I don’t have an agenda in front of me, I walk out,” Annette Catino, chief executive of the QualCare Alliance Network, told the New York Times. “Give me an agenda or else I’m not going to sit there, because if I don’t know why we’re in the meeting, and you don’t know why we’re there, then there’s no reason for a meeting.”

Tips for Maximizing Your Meetings

Developing a plan ahead of time will help everyone involved know what to expect, keep discussions corralled and save everyone time.

Here are five tips you can implement today to help you and your team ensure efficiency and that you all get the most out of your collaborative time.

1. Have a meeting agenda available for your team before you get together.

A well-thought-out meeting agenda is the heart and soul of effective team collaboration. Think of it as a playbill for success, a guide that sets the stage for smooth performance. Your agenda should include the essential who, why, what, and how information.

Your team should know who is attending. Communicate expectations to each attendee for their contribution to the conversation. You should also have a clear goal established, even for standing meetings. What are your team’s pain points and how will you address them during this time? If you can’t answer the big “W” questions, you may want to back up. Assess whether your team needs to meet at all.

The agenda does not need to be a fully fleshed-out document, with paragraphs of explanations or instructions. Instead, simply identify the items that need to be dealt with, in an order that makes sense, and note who is invited to contribute to each point. You may end up going off script at times, but having a clear outline will go a long way to keeping everyone on task.

2. Use your meeting agenda to stay on task and ensure efficiency.

To help maximize any meeting, it’s vital for every participant to receive a copy of the agenda beforehand. If possible, allow enough time for feedback and questions. You might find your team helps you improve on your plan beforehand.

If you’re a traditional brick-and-mortar operation, you could distribute hard copies of your agenda before you meet. But that isn’t a viable option for hybrid or remote gatherings. Emailing an agenda document to everyone is a possible solution. Or, you might consider tech tools that can help organize the process from start to finish.

One tech tool option to maximize your meetings is Fellow. Fellow’s software includes meeting templates, so you don’t have to start with a blank page when organizing your agenda. The agendas also allow you to keep your team accountable and informed about key decisions. Having a multi-feature tool for your team is one way to keep everyone on the same page and keep track of needs and progress at a glance.

3. Stay on task and cut down on distractions.

Depending on your culture, you may want to spice up your meetings a little to keep your team engaged. But if you do, it’s a good idea to keep everyone otherwise focused and on task. Make sure everyone has the space to contribute and you’re working to help with pain points or sticking points.

If you’re running the meeting, strive to serve as its moderator. Foster open communication. Be ready to step in when it’s time to redirect or move the meeting along to the next agenda item. As you tick down the list, stick to a rhythm of communication, brainstorming, and settling.

Talk about where you’re stuck or what needs to be addressed about a particular point. Allow the team a reasonable amount of time (given your schedule and the meeting length) to discuss approaches and then commit to a strategy to address it before moving on. If something doesn’t work, you can revisit it later.

4. Encourage note-taking and active listening.

Meetings can be rich opportunities for teams to work through roadblocks collaboratively. If you plan them out thoughtfully, stick to the plan and allow participants to bring their challenges and solutions to the table, you can accomplish workplace miracles.

Coaching your team on active listening (listening to understand vs. listening to respond), and good note-taking will help participants maximize the benefits they reap from each face-to-face meeting.

Some form of note-taking, whether by hand or with a digital device, will help team members remember next steps and other action items. If you meet online, you might consider creating a digital recording of important meetings. Attendees can review details asynchronously later.

5. Go forth and turn those bullet points into action.

You want your time to be used to maximum efficiency when you gather your team. As a result, make sure your meeting allows for planning and the next steps. You could have a recap at the end of each session, quickly summarizing each relevant topic, outlining how the team will address the issue, and clarifying who is responsible for what.

To maximize your meetings, you could also work this into each agenda item as you move through the meeting itself. Everyone should leave the table (whether it’s in your meeting room or virtual meeting space) with a clear understanding of actions they will take to move forward. If each attendee leaves the meeting empowered with the knowledge of what and how to do next, you can save significant time and energy as a project progresses.

Whether you and your team operate in person, remote or hybrid, meetings are likely a staple of your weekly or monthly scheduling. You need to collaborate, and sometimes face-to-face is the best way to do that. These steps can help you ensure a smooth and productive meeting online or in person, and help you avoid wasting your and your team members’ time.

In short, great meetings involve a lot of clear communication, from beginning to end. Start by evaluating whether you should have a meeting and who is essential to the process. Clearly outline points to be addressed in a succinct meeting agenda. Keep the meeting flowing on task. Ensure everyone walks out knowing what to do next. A little extra planning and preparation will save your team a healthy amount of time, cost and stress.

Calendar Full? 5 Ways To Maximize Your Meetings was originally published on Calendar.com by Deanna Ritchie. Featured Image Credit: Christina Morillo; Pexels.com. Thank you!

4 Ways to Inspire and Motivate Employees

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips | No Comments

Managing a team of employees is one of the greatest challenges when it comes to running a business. Workers can’t be consigned to a spreadsheet and assigned responsibilities that are fulfilled without question. To motivate your employees, they need considerably more care — which they deserve! — but they’re also the backbone of your business.

Given the continued tight labor market, businesses throughout the country have taken a variety of approaches to retaining critical employees. Some have offered creative benefits such as reimbursements for streaming services or discount programs for local restaurants. Others have provided onsite services such as an in-house coffee shop or a company gym.

What often succeeds better than any of that is striving to keep your employees engaged and motivated in their work.

You should be constantly seeking different means of motivating, inspiring, and empowering your workforce. If you’re always looking for ways to keep them engaged, you won’t encounter as many productivity ruts. The following are a few motivational tips you can try out to give your team a push forward.

1. Encourage Days Off

When trying to motivate your employees to work harder, encouraging them to take time off might not be your first thought. Yet this is exactly what you should be doing.

Employees who are able to consistently take time off tend to be happier and more well-rested. This equates to more engaged workers during the hours they are clocked in.

Numerous studies have shown that the best-performing employees usually have a healthy work-life balance. They’re not as worried about their families or disappointed that they are too busy to pursue hobbies.

When an organization enables this sort of balance, it gets repaid by maximum effort when employees are at work.

There are several ways you can encourage your team members to take time off. Give your employees vacation time and urge them to use it annually. Improve your workflows so that they don’t have to work nights and weekends. Conduct cross-training so other colleagues can pick up the slack when employees take some time for themselves. These efforts will enable employees to return to their tasks with greater focus and energy.

2. Host Team Events

If your employees work in a team environment, you should always be trying to encourage team bonding. Team members who understand and trust each other work more effectively. Additionally, having a close relationship with co-workers can make work days feel shorter and more enjoyable.

Team lunches and group training sessions will allow employees to grow closer together. Trusting that your teammates are capable and will pull their weight can be quite encouraging. Team training can help each worker feel like they can perform their job properly and feel motivated to do so.

Perhaps more valuable than work activities are team events held outside of the office. These are opportunities for your team to connect without everything being about workplace responsibilities. Consider taking employees and their families to the park or buying baseball tickets for the entire team as an outing.

3. Spruce Up the Office

The environment in which your employees work has a great effect on their motivation. Bland, bare walls won’t be cause for much inspiration. A little additional light and color can go a long way toward boosting employee morale.

You don’t have to resort to a new paint job to lighten up your office, though. Start with your actual lighting. Do you have natural light coming in? Have you lit your rooms well, or do you need to install some new fixtures? Even an additional desk or floor lamp can brighten the place up.

Other ways to spruce up your office include a colorful paint job, some green plants, or new amenities in the break room. Employees who feel comfortable at work will have more energy in the office they spend so much time in.

4. Offer Incentives

Even with a gelled team and a convivial environment, a little extra push every now and then won’t hurt.

Employee incentives are a great way to spur some extra motivation within your team. They give team members something to strive toward, which is very helpful when the routine nature of work begins to wear them down.

Arranging a friendly competition is a common and effective way companies can offer incentives. Whoever is able to close the most sales or complete the most project tasks can win a prize. If this is the route you choose, make sure everyone feels fairly treated, or their momentum may quickly hit a wall.

Individual development incentives require a more hands-on approach but may be even more motivational. Set benchmarks and incentives for each individual employee to reward them for exceeding past performance. Competing against themselves can be just as inspiring as competition with others.

Remember that your employees are human beings with needs and desires. If they feel like these aren’t being addressed in your workplace, they’ll be willing to look somewhere else.

To retain your best people, seek to motivate all of your employees and make sure they feel fulfilled in their work. They will reciprocate with improved productivity, making your efforts well worth the investment.

Image Credit: Fauxels; Pexels; Thanks!

The Power of Simplicity: Avoiding Workplace Complications

By Abby Miller | Business Tips | No Comments

It’s not always easy to achieve simplicity. What does that mean, and why? We make most things in our lives difficult, and they don’t have to be. Life is simple, but we persist in making it complicated. — So said Confucius in 500 B.C.

Firstly, life may be more difficult for you because of the tremendous flood of information and technology. Simplicity has become impossible, especially in businesses. For instance. Try scheduling a Zoom meeting at the last minute — what happens?

How We Complicate It All

Consider the daily barrage of elements: calendar invitations, metrics, measurements, methods to account for things, technology, too many permissions, paperwork, unnecessary tasks, etc. We often generate complication instead of simplicity. We generate it by over-correcting and creating exceptions — and staying in meeting-mania-mode.

Secondly, some people make up for poor performers with crazy workarounds. We frequently over-engineer solutions to make people feel better about participating in a process. Much of it is superfluous — but really, it’s us.

The technique of complicated workarounds has several drawbacks: weariness, lack of results, dissatisfaction, shattered passion, execution expenses, and employees leaving companies.

Or could this be you? Talk for about a half-hour, then send a letter of agreement to finalize the sale.

What is the cost of making that choice in any company? Multiply that amount by all of their choices. And all of their meetings.

Why Simplicity Helps Businesses

Businesses that aim for simplicity have an edge. Here is one lesson learned in the 1990s. The mortgage application procedure was excruciating for prospective customers. Consequently, the banks and lenders just blew up the process, making it more client-friendly, and they were able to see tremendous growth.

Use a Devotion to Simplicity

The evidence backs this up. Heidrick & Struggles studied Fortune 500 “super accelerators” and discovered devotion to simplicity. They incorporate simplicity as a way of living, thinking, and working — and this allows them swiftly identify and reallocate resources to the essential opportunities, the report’s authors wrote. Teams who followed these rules fared better financially. Simplicity pays.

Think: Fast. Simple. Good. Done.

This is the foundation of a “Fast. Simple. Good. Done” mentality with clients and employees and a game-changing mentality that combines these four interconnected components to boost performance. Change to this motto and see the results.

How To Be Simple

Experts frequently tell customers to act as a private equity business. History or connections do not bind customers, so they may make various simple judgments about how they do their tasks. However, this is a liberating and powerful perspective for your work. Moreover, many of us feel the influence of our emotions trickle into our actions and choices.

Think: Simplify now or sink later.

To meet simple, we must think differently. Many experts typically have groups of ten people pass a ball around in a circle, stressing it must contact each person’s hands.

Try this game with your team.

Managers schedule their first round and give them some planning time. Some experts have many groups do this little exercise simultaneously to make it competitive. Then we celebrate the winner. When the advice is to reduce their time in half, the room erupts, and they experiment and typically succeed. Next, some experts instruct the team to double their time.

Now they say the manager (boss) is insane. Finally, the victorious team should join hands and have one person sweep the ball around, touching the hands (this is what you want the team to finally come to.

Think: We must alter our mentality. Simplicity will win, hands down.

How?

1. Take a figurative weed-whacker to your old methods. Be brutal as you simplify.

That is to say, don’t hold back simply because that’s how you’ve always done it.

2. Communicate concisely.

Moreover, say anything you want to say on a bumper sticker.

3. Consider your audience.

The point of reference is usually a bright, retired 95-year-old mother. However, is it basic enough for her to grasp even if she has no prior experience?

4. Simplify all decision-making.

Who is the lowest-level decision-maker?

5. Aim for outcomes. Simplicity goals.

However, time is money, so act appropriately.

6. Define your requirements.

Do we need it? What can we do? How can we speed up? Re-purpose the surplus for good.

7. Get a review of your processes.

Examine it with a neutral party. One who believes in simplicity.

8. Be brave in the scene cuts. No excess talk or processes at work.

Say no to complications.

9. Accept flaws.

The pursuit of perfection is costly. One and done is a good motto. Or, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

10. Lastly, review your to-do list and prioritize chores.

That is to say, remove meetings, reports, etc., and observe whether anybody notices/needs them.

Defend simplicity.

Expert opinion advises that your firm, workers, and shareholders will benefit greatly from shaving down the minutes needed on processes, in meetings, and on perfect projects.

Think: Like a Zen Master.

How simple can you make scheduling a meeting? And then, how can you introduce disruptive simplicity into each meeting? Impossible? Unproductive? UnAmerican? Nonsense. Decide to be one of the greatest business executives — and think like a Zen master.

Think: Like Henry Ford.

For instance, Henry Ford set an egg time in meetings. Ten minutes. When it went off, he left. Anything left undecided or unexplained went to him as a memo. Ford executives were known for the brevity of their meetings. And Henry laughed all the way to the bank. You can do the same.

Image Credit: Anna Nekrashevich; Pexels; Thank you!

The Power Of Simplicity: Avoiding Workplace Complications was originally published on Calendar by Abby Miller.

5 Tips for Encouraging Team Collaboration

By Jason Barnes | Business Tips | No Comments

Collaboration has become a popular trend in the workplace, especially as it offers many benefits. For one, it helps employees feel more connected to one another. Working together as a team can also breed new ideas and enhance creativity, positively impacting your business and employees.

With that said, collaboration doesn’t always come naturally.

Not every company is set up to make working as a team a priority. Not to mention, with remote working, it can be difficult to connect in a meaningful way. This brief article can help. Here are five tips to encourage team collaboration.

1. Integrate the Right Technology

In today’s remote work environment, there’s a good chance your workers are spread out. Because of that, collaborating might not come as naturally.

It makes sense; communicating and forming connections can be difficult virtually. But there are ways you can make this easier for your team. Consider integrating technology that can help teams come together regardless of where they’re located.

For example, a communication platform, like Slack, ensures employees can chat, call, and even video call one another from anywhere. Project management platforms, like Asana and Monday.com, make it easy for teams to track and manage their projects online.

Having the right technology can go a long way in encouraging your team to work together. It can also help streamline tasks, and in turn, help your business grow.

Just make sure you do your research before adopting any type of technology to ensure it’ll work for your team.

2. Focus on Company Culture

Do you want your team to work together? Make sure that’s reflected within your company culture.

According to research, almost 50% of active job seekers say a company’s culture plays a role in why they’re looking for a new job. Creating a company culture that focuses on collaboration, honesty, and transparency can help you attract and retain the right employees.

There are several reasons why employees might not work jointly.

Sure, working remotely can play a role. But if your employees don’t feel valued or important, they’re less likely to share their ideas. On the other hand, when employees feel like their opinions matter, they might welcome the chance to collaborate with their teammates.

One way to create this type of company culture is to lead by example. Make sure you’re cooperative with the rest of the leadership team as well as your employees. Have an open door policy, and make it clear that you respect and want to hear from your team.

3. Set Clear Expectations

The first step to encouraging team collaboration is to set clear expectations.

You need to make it clear to employees that you expect them to work with one another. After all, how can they make this a goal if they were never told to?

Consider discussing the importance of collaboration during the interview process or while you’re onboarding new hires. The sooner you prioritize teamwork, the more likely your employees are to adapt to this mindset.

Integrating technology, as mentioned above, is a great start. With that said, having this software is just one step.

It’s also important your employees know that software exists and how to use it. This might mean scheduling a meeting with your team detailing how to use the technology. You could also create a step-by-step guide and send it out via email.

It’s crucial employees have the resources and the education needed to collaborate effectively.

4. Encourage Team Bonding

On a scale of 1 to 10, how comfortable do you feel working with people you don’t know? Many people answer that question with a low number. That’s often because it can be scary to share ideas with strangers.

To help your employees feel more comfortable, consider hosting regular team bonding events.

These could be company-wide or something you request supervisors do with their specific teams. Either way, it’ll provide employees the chance to connect. And don’t worry, these events can be also hosted virtually thanks to video calls. All you have to do is find a time and send an invite to get everyone together.

If you’re struggling to come up with team bonding activities, keep it simple. Your employees are busy, so having hour-long team bonding activities multiple times a week isn’t a good idea. On the other hand, scheduling a team bonding activity for an hour each month could work well.

5. Offer Praise

According to research, about 80% of employees say they feel better when recognized in the workplace.

It’s no secret that praise can help employees feel happier. The happier an employee the more productive they are at work.

You might be wondering exactly what this has to do with team collaboration. It’s simple really.

If you want your team to work together more often, consider praising those who do. For instance, maybe a group of co-workers got together to brainstorm an idea that ended up working well. Take the time to congratulate them.

You could even do it publicly, as that can help employees feel more recognized. This could be during a team meeting or on a designated board. This can boost morale and reinforce the importance of collaboration with your other workers.

Having a team that successfully works together in the workplace is an essential part of helping your company succeed. However, it’s not always easy to enforce, especially in today’s work-from-home environment. Luckily, the tips above can help.

Image Credit: Jonathan Borba; Pexels; Thanks!

What Leaders Can Learn From Great Teachers

By John Rampton | Knowledge Base | No Comments

“The best teachers are leaders, and the best leaders are also teachers,” says Harvard Business School Professor Thomas DeLong, who has taught over 20,000 MBAs and executives across the globe since 1997. According to him, teachers, as with leaders, “should be like a mad scientist who can’t wait to get to the classroom to share the experiment. If you adopt this mindset, students will remain intellectually and spiritually in the classroom with you.”

With that in mind, as parents are rejoicing their children are returning back to school, here are some leadership lessons they can learn from teachers.

Have the ability to influence.

Leadership ability is often measured in the context of business performance in many organizations, Will Fan, CEO of NewCampus, writes in Forbes. However, there is more to it than just a focus on the bottom line.

“I’ve found it’s actually the ability to inspire individuals with their own agendas and cause others to rally behind a common goal that makes an effective leader,” he adds. “In a single word, it’s influence.” Efficiency gains follow.

“If you think about it, influence is largely about communication,” says Fan. “It’s about casting a vision so clearly that people get behind it with the full extent of their talents, abilities, and strengths.” Then, like teachers, the most influential leaders allow their team members to reach their full potential.

Keep your eyes on the big picture.

There are times when learning can be tedious, complex, and even dull. And, yes, great teachers are aware of this. However, by acknowledging their feelings, they help students see the bigger picture. Which, in turn, helps them move past these moments.

They know that challenging times are necessary to reach the ultimate learning goal. Moreover, they have a perspective that students cannot have and use that perspective to help people overcome challenges.

Successful leaders have a similar perspective. And, because of this, help those they lead through the mundane by raising their eyes towards the future.

Offer incentives.

“To keep my students on their toes, I give extra credit points every day,” says Dawn Bevier. “I offer three points to students who raise their hands and correctly answer simple questions during class discussions.” For difficult questions, I award five points.

“And when the school year begins, I make it clear to them that there are no extra credit points to beg for at the end of the semester,” she adds. “I tell them they have to gather them in the here and now.”

The semester ends with some students having seventy-five points or more.

“I think this ‘on your toes and in the moment’ extra credit opportunity is initially successful for obvious reasons,” Bevier explains. A student’s grades are important to them — and grades make a difference in their lives.

However, as time passes, it subconsciously motivates for reasons beyond extra credit points, which is ironic (and wonderful).

The reason for this is twofold.

It becomes a competition. In order to prove their intelligence, a student wants to “one-up” each other.
It is a source of pride. The more difficult five-pointers they get, the more confident and assertive the students become.

In what way does this teaching strategy relate to your business?

“When I offer these small incentives and competitive aspects to my instruction, students are constantly engaged — always thinking, listening, and working,” Bevier states.”And isn’t this the behavior every business owner wants their employees to display?”

What’s more, research shows that incentive programs “[increased] performance by an average of twenty-two percent,” and when “team incentives were offered, performance was improved by as much as forty-four percent.”

Best of all? These incentives don’t have to be cash-based. You could, for example, offer time-based rewards like leaving early on Fridays. But, most important, incentives should be based on the individual interests of your team members.

Turn expertise curriculum.

To attract and engage their target market, businesses engage in content marketing by sharing highly valuable resources and tools online, states Scott Barron, Founder of Yabwi. Getting the attention of key decision-makers is an essential part of business development. Why? There are too many competitors on the market, and people are distracted by so many media sources.

“Business leaders would be wise to tap into the expertise of educators in order to utilize modern approaches to curriculum design to build engagement internally (with employees, managers, etc.) and externally (with clients and communities),” Barron adds. “Understanding how people learn and how to craft instructional experiences that strengthen relationships offers a unique marketing advantage.”

“We’ve proven that such a platform of influence works through our own growth strategy, Barron says. “And we’ve shared this expertise with companies like 3M, Johnson Controls, and many others.”

Inspire trust by practicing empathy.

The job of an educator involves working with a whole bunch of different people like administrators, parents, community members, and students. They come from varied backgrounds, hold multiple priorities, and express their ideas in diverse ways. Because of that, educational leaders don’t make assumptions or dismiss anything anyone else has to say.

Similarly, leaders should also foster strong relationships with business partners, employees, stakeholders, and shareholders by developing emotional intelligence. Leaders should learn to value different perspectives and respect others’ points of view. It is important to remember that every individual sees things differently, so leaders can take the opportunity to use compassion in most situations. Compassion is a large part of emotional intelligence — and you can learn it.

Additionally, trust plays a crucial role. Despite a certain degree of authority associated with teaching, good teachers instill a sense of trust among learners. Leaders can also use the same method to support their teams.

Care about others’ success.

Students’ success is the top priority of exemplary teachers. They’re patient, and they’re willing to go the extra mile. And as a result, they do whatever it takes to help the student succeed.

Even though they understand and are willing to play their roles, they understand ultimately; that students are responsible for their performance. But, they still set up their students for success through knowledge, support, and guidance.

And this is true among business leaders. In the words of Stephen Covey, “An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.

Plan purposefully.

As a teacher, planning is a must. After all, by planning lessons in advance, teachers enter the classroom prepared to teach new concepts and facilitate meaningful discussions rather than winging them. In the absence of a lesson plan, it is easy for students to lose focus, and teachers are left scrambling for ideas.

In addition, when teachers and students are both engaged in the educational process, every day can be transformational.

Moreover, teachers use purposeful planning to identify where students are headed, what success looks like, and what is the most efficient way to achieve that success.

This is precisely the same (in all its variety) with successful leaders. It’s an imperative skill as planning archives the following:

Helps you determine future goals.
Expands decision-making.
Establishes abilities and expectations.
Encourage your team to develop new skills, engage them in new and challenging activities, believe in them, and take an interest in their career development.
Encourages creativity and innovation.
You will be able to identify your resources, who is currently available, track time, and manage time effectively.
Focus on what truly matters. In turn, this reduces overlapping and wasteful moments.

Learn to be flexible.

It’s not uncommon for educators to have a tough time getting students to understand lessons and concepts. A variety of factors can cause difficulty in understanding lessons. For example, those without basic math skills may struggle to comprehend complex formulas. There’s also a chance the teacher delivered the content in a way that was hard for students to understand.

There’s no way a great teacher would overlook this issue. So instead, they analyze their teaching methods and identify the underlying problems. As a result, they adjust their teaching styles to fit the needs of their students.

There are times when business leaders become too consumed with their projects. Despite not getting the desired results from current strategies, they refuse to acknowledge they aren’t working. The business world would benefit from learning from educators. Specifically, being ready to change directions at any time. Leaders can experiment with different approaches and see if they work for their teams.

Bonus tip: It can be almost impossible to be flexible if your calendar is too cluttered and rigid. So, just like teachers have a prep period, I would leave some white space in your calendar. For example, you could leave the block from 11:30 am to 12:30 am open for a prep period. Then, we can use this time to grab some food, return emails, or plan for an afternoon meeting. Or, you can simply relax.

Embrace teachable moments.

A teachable moment occurs when a teacher offers their classrooms a unique insight into a topic that has captured their attention. To seize teachable moments, the teacher or parent must sense and seize them when they occur. In most cases, it’s a brief tangent from a lesson plan or conversation about something relevant or interesting. Kids are inherently more interested in topics they can relate to and feel how they apply to their day-to-day lives.

“When leaders teach is almost as important as what they teach,” writes Sydney Finkelstein, the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College for HBR. “The successful leaders I studied didn’t wait for formal reviews or check-ins. Instead, they seized and created opportunities to impart wisdom.”

For example, Costco Wholesale co-founder and retired CEO Jim Sinegal knew lessons could appear at any time when working with Price at Price Club. Apparently, Sinegal “spent day and night teaching,” whether advising on retail tactics or making himself a more effective manager.

Likewise, Chase Coleman III, a protégé of hedge fund CEO Julian Robertson, said that Robertson was similarly “out to teach you a lesson” by showing “how to do things and how to run a business.”

“Some leaders ensure on-the-job learning by working in open offices that allow them to observe employees, project accessibility, and encourage frequent conversations,” adds Finkelstein. “Others opt for more-conventional offices but make a point of maintaining open-door policies and spending lots of time circulating among their staff, which means they can offer lessons on the spur of the moment—when people can best process and embrace them.”

Image Credit: Max Fischer; Pexels; Thank you!

What Leaders Can Learn From Great Teachers was originally published on Calendar by John Rampton.

Meetings Should Be Run Effectively To Be A Successful Leader

By Hunter Meine | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

Leadership is shown in a variety of ways and locations. But, the most visible day-to-day expression is frequently how leaders conduct meetings.

The criteria for leadership may not be fair and maybe unduly simple, but the fact remains that excellent leaders conduct good meetings and terrible leaders have awful meetings. Period. It all boils down to who controls your schedule?

While they are not the same, leadership and management are strongly related. Meetings tend to be more about control than leadership, but management and leadership are tightly correlated. Both jobs are complicated and include much more than just gatherings, to be sure.

Most of a leader’s responsibilities occur behind closed doors, away from the confines of a conference room. So when asked whether a manager is an effective leader, it’s not unusual for the reply to take a few moments. But do you consider how that individual conducts meetings in the first place?

Meeting Leader and the Questions to Ask in Advance

Is the meeting leader someone who can organize a productive and efficient meeting? Are they able to keep a meeting interesting? Are the appropriate individuals in attendance? Do folks feel like they have a voice in the meeting? Do they take part in the game? Are you able to complete the agenda? Are you respecting the time of attendees? Is the meeting scheduled to begin and conclude on time? Is the group capable of generating ground-breaking concepts? Did you consider a healthy exchange of ideas and debate? Can the group come to terms with the leader’s efforts and reach a consensus? Is action taken, or are choices made due to the discussion?

The higher one’s position in an organizational structure, the more people are likely to add the meeting to their schedule. So, for example, someone working in the mailroom often has fewer meetings than a mid-level manager. But the CEO, on the other hand, will have more meeting needs than executives higher in the organizational hierarchy. It is what leadership sometimes refers to as their pound of flesh.

Indeed, according to some estimates, managers and executives spend anywhere from a quarter to a half of their time in meetings. Moreover, even at meetings, they are absent from other arrangements because they have been double- or triple-done

Is there an excessive number of meetings taking place inside organizations? Is it possible to limit the number of meetings? Should individuals attend fewer meetings than they now do? Yes, this is true virtually universally across all industries.

There will, however, be meetings as long as organizations can’t find ways to opt-out of them. And they will be led by managers and leaders who employees will evaluate based on how well they conduct themselves in meetings — or let’s get real — the “meeting evaluation” is really about how much power or authority that leader has over the employee.

More Productive Meetings

So, do you advocate for more productive meetings or more excellent skills? The most straightforward argument is to add up the number of hours spent — or squandered for any given task. And, depending on the situation — how much time is spent in meetings and multiply that total by the hourly cost per employee.

Adding together all of these figures always gives astonishing results. Each company may squander millions of dollars each company, and maybe billions of dollars are spent in aggregate. To no one’s surprise, unproductive meetings are one of the most significant sources of time, money, and productivity loss inside businesses. Furthermore, a less apparent but possibly essential indicator to consider is the decline in morale resulting from attending poor meeting sessions.

Although the loss or decline in morale is somewhat perplexing, new managers (let alone experienced ones) receive little training on conducting good meetings. To be sure, this is a symptom of a bigger problem. Leaders promote individuals into new positions without obtaining enough training for the new work in question.

If managers are fortunate enough to get a short training session on the necessity of drafting agendas, that would be lucky. And that’s all; now go out into the world and manage your team, and best of luck.

Significance of Leader Training to Conduct Meetings

Consider the enormous significance of meetings. In terms of time, money, and morale, a close look is warranted, especially when considering the beneficial impact that even basic training can have on employees and leaders. Indeed, businesses should prioritize teaching managers effective meeting management techniques.

What are the long-term benefits of managers being responsible for leading meetings for hours weekly, year after year? What if each event is 30 or 50 percent less productive than the last? That high percentage may seem like negative thinking — but consider how many managers are out there without formal training.

Various other skills are essential to other professions, and learning to conduct meetings and bring value to the table is a learned skill. Up-skilling for this job saves time, effort, and money. Considering that bookkeeping and code writing are carefully cultivated and developed through many years of education and training, you can see it makes more sense that managers shouldn’t be left to fend for themselves. This is true with all critical aspects of their jobs, including meetings.

As for managers, whether new or with experience, if your firm does not train for meeting skills, your company’s investment in top management and leader may not return the benefits you are hoping for.

Image Credit: Elevate Digital; Pexels; Thanks!

Meetings Should Be Run Effectively To Be A Successful Leader was originally published on Calendar by Hunter Meine.

How to Set Up Your Employees for Success

By Gunjan Saini | Business Tips | No Comments

Managing a team can be incredibly rewarding, but it’s a challenge that must be taken seriously. As a manager or team leader, it is your responsibility to set your employees and team members up for success. Their performance will reflect on your capabilities as a leader.

There are many ways for you to help your employees reach the next level, but is there a best way? That largely depends on your team and their needs. Consider implementing these ideas to help your employees be more successful than ever.

Provide Easy Access to Helpful Resources and Guides

There are so many advantages you can extend to your employees beyond a regular paycheck. To set them up for success, providing additional resources is a must. For example, many full-time employees get access to benefits packages, such as health insurance and retirement contributions, so they don’t have to seek out these things individually.

The resources you supply to your employees can go far beyond the basics. Consider making safety and training manuals easily accessible to your team. Referring to this information may help employees improve their job performance without the need for a formal training meeting or direct supervision.

Set Them Up With Project Management Software

It’s amazing how the addition of one simple tool can completely transform how your employees work. Implementing project management software may help your team increase productivity and improve efficiency. Using this program will make it so much easier for your employees to succeed every single day.

Project management software became more popular during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. With many companies shifting to a remote workforce, this tool allowed team members to effectively communicate and collaborate even when working from separate locations. The same software is helpful for teams that are hybrid or in person, too.

With project management software, you can store important documents, send instant messages to anyone within the organization, and plan out projects in detail with assigned roles, deadlines, and to-do lists. These functions will streamline so much of what your employees are already doing.

Help Them Manage Their Time

No one likes to be the person who snaps at employees to get back to work. Instead of resorting to such behavior, try teaching your team members to manage their time more effectively. Higher efficiency, due to improved time management, will allow for more lightheartedness in the office, along with many other benefits to job performance.

Team scheduling software is an easy place to start. This will make shift scheduling simple, which is especially useful for companies with numerous part-time employees and inconsistent schedules. Team calendars, scheduling links, and time management training are other measures to take into consideration.

Provide Excellent Hiring, Onboarding, and HR

Setting your employees up for success begins the day they are hired. Your hiring and onboarding process determines how quickly new hires can hit the ground running and how supported they feel right out of the gate. A good onboarding process will also help you maintain higher retention rates, allowing you to continue working with the same team long-term.

When hiring, be sure to establish fair expectations during the interview process. Be honest about the nature of the job and what you expect from the role the new hire will fill. Being transparent about your company and its operations also helps new employees be better prepared when gearing up for their first day.

Onboarding is the process of getting a new member of the organization trained and acclimated as quickly and effectively as possible. A great way to do this is to run a mentorship program. A veteran employee can take a new hire under their wing to answer their questions and teach them how to complete tasks efficiently. Mentorship also enables new team members to create friendships early on for quick team-building and camaraderie that will lead to your team’s success.

Keep in Touch

In addition to everything else you do, it’s important to check in regularly with each of your employees. Implementing weekly or monthly check-ins will help with accountability and progress reporting. It also gives you numerous opportunities to touch base with each team member and ask for their feedback on various topics.

Your employees have a pretty good idea of what they need to help them succeed and can share with you a different perspective on workplace matters. For instance, you might have no idea that the breakroom microwave needs to be replaced because you never use it. While that may be a small and silly example, the point still stands. Keeping in touch with employees will allow them to communicate these types of concerns and other more important issues.

Constant communication between management and employees is essential for success. Listening to your employees’ feedback can lead to innovative ideas that improve your business and increase the trust shared between both sides.

When your employees succeed, you succeed. Give some of these tips a try and watch how your employees grow and improve within your organization.

Image Credit: Alexander Suhorucov; Pexels; Thank you!

How Industry Leaders Manage Their Time

By John Hall | Time Management | No Comments

Focusing on your primary responsibilities, like driving sales and moving your company forward, can be a business owner or industry leader struggle. Because of this, it’s crucial to manage your time well.

Does this mean you need to get everything done? Nope. That’s not realistic. Instead, at the end of the day, you feel accomplished and satisfied without being burned out.

You’ll find some fresh ways (or reminders) to balance your responsibilities with this list of time management tips for leaders.

1. Keep your calendar fresh.

Leaders often find it very difficult to refuse an invitation to a meeting. It might appear that you’re violating the norms if you decline invites. You might be surprised at how many meetings you attended the previous week were useless upon further reviews.

The same concept can be applied to all of your calendar entries. For example, it made sense to attend local industry meetups to network two years ago. But, with more on your plate, this conflicts with your top priorities. Or, maybe you used to wear multiple hats as your business was growing. However, you can now offload some of your less important tasks with a larger team.

Regularly review your calendar and purge any entries that just aren’t priorities. This way, it won’t be as cluttered. You may even be surprised that you’ve unlocked some free blocks of time. And, as an added perk, it makes saying “no” to time-wasters much easier going forward.

2. Be agenda-driven.

In this Harvard Business School study, 27 top-performing CEOs of publicly traded companies worth, on average, $1.3 billion were followed around the clock. They tracked over 60,000 hours across three months with the help of their executive assistants. The study’s purposes were to analyze and provide recommendations on how time could be more efficiently spent.

I’m not going to go over the results of the entire study. However, I want to highlight the fact that these individuals are agenda-driven.

“CEOs oversee many organizational units and workstreams and countless types of decisions,” note Michael E. Porter and Nitin Nohria. “Our research finds that they should have an explicit personal agenda and that most executives have one.” A clearly defined agenda helps a CEO maximize their limited time. The loudest constituencies will take precedence without one, and the most important tasks won’t get accomplished.

Having a good agenda will help the CEO determine their priorities for the coming months, sometimes years. “But it is not unidimensional; rather, it is a matrix including broader areas for improvement and specific matters that need to be addressed. It combines time-bound goals with more open-ended priorities,” they add.

“Keeping time allocation aligned with CEOs’ top priorities is so crucial that we suggest that every quarter CEOs look back at whether their schedule for the previous period adequately matched up with their personal agenda,” the authors advise. “They should also update the agenda to reflect current circumstances.”

3. Think about tasks in terms of debts and assets.

“The key to time management is thinking about your tasks in terms of debts and assets,” Sujan Patel told RescueTime. But, what exactly does that mean?

“In other words, which tasks give you time, and which ones take it away?” Nico Prins explains in the article.

The cost of setting up time assets is usually low, and you’ll gain more time in the future as a result. You can accomplish this by streamlining processes, automating work, or delegating work, Prins adds.

The problem with time debts is that they are harder to calculate. In most cases, there are two kinds;

Tasks that take up time without freeing up more down the line. These will have to be done in many cases, but they can be automated or delegated. An example is answering emails.
Tasks that create more work for you later on. This is a classic example of starting over if you don’t get something right the first time.

Sujan says potential assets should be recognized before they turn into debts. This includes delegating tasks without sufficient instructions.

There is a tendency to assume that everyone has the same knowledge base, Prins states. However, doing so may result in vagueness and ambiguity.

To avoid this, Sujan recommends creating briefs that are detailed and precise. Then, with just a little effort, a potential time debt can change from being a liability to an asset.

4. Tackle tasks in the right order.

We all tend to fall into the same trap: spend too much time on the easy stuff. You might feel productive answering all your emails, organizing your computer files, and cleaning your desk, but maybe those things aren’t the most important and urgent.

For this reason, so many people believe that they should identify their most important task (MIT) first thing in the morning and tackle it first. As many people are the most alert and energetic in the morning, it’s the perfect time to work on your most pressing issues.

You can then slowly work your way through the “would-be-good-to-do” activities once you’ve completed all the “must-do” ones.

5. Reduce phantom workload.

“The words phantom workload was coined by Marilyn Paul, Ph. D., and David Peter Stroh,” writes Deanna Ritchie in another Calendar article. Phantom workload “is the unintentional work created when people either take expedient but ineffective shortcuts or avoid taking on such as essential.”

These include complex tasks such as:

Clarifying mission, vision, and values
Asking questions that challenge what is ambiguous or unrealistic
Identifying and resolving conflicts
Clarifying and streamlining decision-making processes
Providing candid, constructive feedback
Differentiating people with sanctions and rewards
Launching innovative projects
Making decisions that require disinvestment in programs or projects

“When not addressed, the phantom workload leads to various consequences such as rework, unproductive meetings, organizational conflicts, and fractured relationships,” Deanna. Moreover, the phantom workload is also a leading cause of wasted time since you have to deal with “the same problem over and over again.” Eventually, phantom work “leads to greater stress and a further reluctance or inability to engage in difficult tasks.”

How can you fight back? Deanna suggests the following;

Set a limited amount of realistic goals.
Plan for tomorrow the night before.
Be protective of your time, like eliminating distractions and not accepting all time requests.
Ask for help through delegation.
Use the right tools. Calendar, for instance, streamlines the scheduling process by eliminating back-and-forth communications.

6. Limit small decisions.

“Making decisions uses the very same willpower that you use to say no to doughnuts, drugs, or illicit sex,” says Roy F. Baumeister, a psychologist who studies decision fatigue and the co-author of “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.”

As with lifting a weight, you can only lift the weight so many times before your muscles give up on you when you decide or avoid a temptation.

“It’s the same willpower that you use to be polite or to wait your turn or drag yourself out of bed or hold off going to the bathroom,” Baumeister told the New York Times. “Your ability to make the right investment or hiring decision may be reduced simply because you expended some of your willpower earlier when you held your tongue in response to someone’s offensive remark or when you exerted yourself to get to the meeting on time.”

Some of the best entrepreneurs and leaders wear the same outfit every day to keep their brains sharp by avoiding small decisions. Although you don’t need to go to that extent, focus on the big picture by letting go of small details.

7. Avoid the 25-minute meeting rule.

“People are regularly in meetings that last too long, often with little that directly involves them,” writes Rebecca Newton in Forbes. “One response can be to instigate a 25-minute maximum (or similar) meeting rule.”

“But this seeming quick fix can undermine collaboration and creativity, which typically requires longer, giving people space to brainstorm,” she adds. Take action against the root of the problem by challenging managers to constantly check and ensure that the right people are in the room and encourage them to take some conversations “offline.”

8. Stay DRY.

In 1999, Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas introduced the phrase “don’t repeat yourself” in their book The Pragmatic Programmer. According to their definition, DRY requires “every knowledge piece to have a single, unambiguous, authoritative representation within the system.”

Code repetition can be reduced by using DRY techniques in software engineering. When appropriate, coders streamline coding using reusable sources, aka “snippets.” This is why the name “don’t repeat yourself” is used, explains Calendar co-founder and CEO John Rampton.

“As well as saving time, writing the same thing multiple times means that there is less room for human error,” he adds. “After all, if you make a mistake once, you’ll probably make it twice. Plus, if you decide to make any changes, you only have to do this one time.”

In summary, less code is better. This conserves time and energy. Maintenance is much easier as well. And there’s less risk of bugs arising.

How can leaders use this concept to better manage their time? By identifying where you’re repeating yourself — like with phantom workload.

To start, write in a journal every day for a week or two. Then, for a better picture, track your time for at least a month. That way, you can see how you spend your time. Additionally, you should be able to identify less common occurrences using this method as well.

“Hopefully, you now have a bird’s-eye view of your tasks,” states John. “Next, you need to decide which tasks are best suited to DRY.” Ideally, you want to be on the lookout for bottlenecks, pain points, time-consuming tasks, and activities that you repeat. After that, you can create templates, automate routine tasks, and delegate specific tasks to others.

9. Create “if-then” rules.

It’s not unusual for a leader’s day to include constant interruptions. What’s more, your schedule is likely to change at the last minute because you need to put out fires. And, since your position carries so many responsibilities, it’s tempting to divert your attention from your top priorities.

As a result, setting if-then rules automates what you should do in any circumstances mentioned above. Why? These rules reduce your workload and allow your employees to work independently. And, by asking your team to find a solution, you can avoid reprioritizing your entire schedule.

For example, a high-profile client is threatening to take their business elsewhere. If this happens, then you can ask your business partner to take over the scheduled team meeting.

10. Don’t robo-check your email.

Don’t let your email inbox control your life.

I’m sure you’ve heard that piece of advice numerous times. But, it bears repeating. After all, an Adobe survey found that people spend an average of 3.1 hours a day sending and checking emails alone. So, that comes out to 15.5 hours a week and a staggering 20 weeks a year!

It’s essential to set a regular time each day in your calendar when you read and respond to messages. And more importantly, avoid being distracted by the constant pings and pop-ups that you’ll encounter throughout the day. Personally, I do this three times: in the morning before work, after lunch, and right before closing time.

Furthermore, turn off push notifications and other alerts if you’re unable to stop checking your inbox during the day. And, to avoid checking your phone in the middle of the night or early in the morning, turn off your phone when you go to bed.

Also, make sure your coworkers and employees know when you will be available electronically — sharing your calendar and creating automatic “out-of-office” messages will make this easier. Don’t forget to inform them that you’ll only be answering emails during the specified hours. During your “offline” hours, you’re only to be contacted for “urgent” issues.

11. Design delegation in advance.

As a leader, delegation is an essential part of managing your time. Leadership is about determining what they are uniquely qualified to do, and prioritizing those tasks while delegating to others. Always consider your employees’ strengths and competence when delegating tasks to them.

Another consideration? Don’t micromanage. When you hand a team member the ball, let them run with it — even if it’s not how you would do it.

Experts like Don Jacobson recommend arranging any check-ins or follow-up conversations during the initial delegating meeting to optimize time management. Consequently, both you and the employee can plan your schedules accordingly, so you both know when to talk again.

Image Credit: Pixabay; Pexels; Thank you!

How Industry Leaders Manage Their Time was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

7 Tips for Firing an Employee Gracefully and Ethically

By John Rampton | Business Tips | No Comments

As an empathetic leader, I couldn’t help but cringe when I read how Better.com let go of 900 employees…over Zoom. Not only is this a PR nightmare. It can drain morale and create a toxic work environment.

But, could it get any worse? Well, here’s what an employee, who wasn’t fired, had to say about the experience to Business Insider.

“You’re the lucky ones,” CEO Vishal Garg told them. “Garg said the people he laid off had been low performers — and then he set the bar even higher for those of us left, telling us it was time to work even harder than before,” the employee added. “It was pretty scary to hear that from someone who had just fired 900 people.”

“This wasn’t my first time being at a company going through layoffs, but this one was different,” they stated. “There was absolutely no warning, and in the aftermath, Garg belittled the laid-off workers to the rest of us and told us there would be no second chances from now on. The whole thing was demoralizing.”

“Since the layoffs, everyone has been on edge,” the employee elaborated. “We’re all looking behind our backs, expecting to get fired next. It’s not a healthy environment.”

While the optics are bad, we don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors. So maybe Garg did have a valid reason for letting these employees go. In my opinion, though, he went about it the wrong way.

Why you might have to let an employee go.

One of the most challenging decisions we have to make is to part ways with a team member as a leader. Of course, sometimes, this is inevitable. Examples would be incidents of;

Acts of discrimination
Assault and harassment
Criminal activity
Insubordination
Lack of competence
Constant absenteeism

While the hiring process is intended to weed out unprofessional individuals, sometimes they slip through the cracks. And, in some cases, they may not actually display these characteristics until they’ve settled into their roles.

Additionally, you may have to downsize to improve efficiency or reduce costs. Or, you may have to pivot and change direction to respond to market changes.

Whatever the reason, if terminating an employee is inevitable, here are seven tips to carry this out gracefully and ethically.

1. Offer opportunities for improvement beforehand.

When an employee’s performance is in question, the chances are that a series of events have led you to need to make this difficult decision. That’s why it’s recommended that you might frequently consult with each member of your team individually to discuss their progress and offer feedback on where they can make improvements. You may also want to conduct performance reviews twice a year.

Generally, termination should only be the last option if the employee has violated the company’s policies. However, an employee can use a performance improvement plan (PIP) instead of firing them. This can help them track their progress, reach their goals, or discourage destructive workplace behaviors.

If you’re unsure whether your employee is performing well, ask your other team members for their perspective. For example, you could ask them about their attendance if they’ve missed deadlines or have difficulty communicating or collaborating with others.

If you document other members of the team’s experiences, this strengthens your case for why and how an employee must improve. In short, employees should never be caught off-guard when it comes to being fired. Instead, you should give them a chance to improve.

2. Inform human resources of the employee’s behavior.

The Human Resources department should be informed of all actions taken before terminating an employee. At the minimum, this should include implementing an improvement plan and how the employee progresses. In addition, documentation provides evidence and reasons for an employee’s termination by tracking the employee’s incidents and behavior.

HR can ensure that termination is a fair decision and that the proper procedures and protocol are followed. It’s also essential for both employees and the workplace that termination procedures comply with state and company requirements.

3. Create a transition plan.

“Choose the day and the time for the termination deliberately,” advises management consultant and author of How to Be Good at Performance Appraisals Dick Grote. “While experts disagree on when a firing should occur, all acknowledge the importance of having a rationale — a good business reason for your choice of time and day for dropping the ax.”

“Doing it early in the day, early in the week, encourages the employee to get right to work on finding another job,” he adds. Furthermore, this reduces the chances of them spending the weekend planning revenge. “Friday afternoons, on the other hand, often create the minimum amount of disruption to the rest of the staff,” stays Grote.

Whether or not firing an employee is the solution, always put your company interests first. You probably put up with a subpar performance for months hoping the situation would somehow improve. As the end nears, make sure that the transition goes seamlessly not to harm the company or your colleagues.

“Check the succession plan for an internal candidate,” he suggests. For example, if you need to terminate someone, you may want to start recruiting and wait until you find a replacement. Sending these subtle hints to clients, customers, and even your team that staffing changes are imminent could ultimately work in your favor.

4. Be clear and concise.

When it comes to firing an employee, winging it is never the best course of action. You need to know actually what to say and how you’ll deliver the news. That’s why it’s suggested that you also practice the conversation you will have with the employee.

“Make sure you know exactly why you’re firing a worker, have specific examples, and bring the proper documentation, writes Kathryn Vasel over at CNN. “That includes copies of performance reports, any write-ups, and applicable financial forms like unemployment insurance and health insurance and 401(k) options.”

You should be clear and firm about the termination and the next steps. “There is no room or need to get into a protracted discussion,” said Dan Ryan, founder of Ryan Search & Consulting. “It is what it is; there is no productive discussion that can take place after.”

5. Don’t humiliate the employee.

“If I must fire an employee, I treat them with dignity because I don’t want to humiliate them,” writes Mike Kappel, founder, and CEO of Patriot Software, LLC in Forbes. “I will always fire someone in private behind closed doors.”

“Employment termination isn’t just bad for that individual— it’s also bad for the other employees,” he adds. “Other employees don’t know if or when they’re going to be on the chopping block.”

It’s also possible for your employees to have relationships with the fired employee, such as being friends outside of the workplace. As such, you could “risk draining the morale of the others if you fire someone in front of” the entire team.

He suggests it might be a good idea to fire the employee after the other employees have left for the day. In that case, the terminated employee does not have to leave their office (or wherever you fired them) in front of their coworkers.

Always have a witness.

“When you need to fire an employee, you and someone from Human Resources should be the only two people in the room with them,” Kappel continues. “If you don’t have an HR department or representative, grab a witness, like a trusted employee or even your business’s lawyer if applicable.”

In the event that the employee sues you, having someone else in the room with you is imperative. Why? Because this individual can confirm your firing of the employee was legal and ethical.

During the termination of an employee, a police escort may be appropriate in very rare situations. That may sound excessive. But, if you feel that they may become aggressive or violent, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“I once had to fire an employee with a police escort,” recalls Kappel. “She threatened to beat up another employee.” She also engaged in cage fights on weekends. So, when the officer arrived, the employee was let go — and thankfully without incident.

6. Keep documentation of the entire process.

Documentation is essential for the company’s reference — both during the termination process and afterward. These documents may include records such as a written notice of termination. As a rule of thumb, you should always document any actions taken, such as implementing a Performance Improvement Plan and its results, before firing an employee.

In general, the more documentation you have, the more straightforward this process can be? Why? Because it ensures that all work procedures are followed based on your employee handbook and pertinent labor laws. And, if the employee dispute the firing, you can use these documents to validate your decision.

7. Handle paperwork and tie up any loose ends.

In addition to termination documents, you should also bring the employee’s final paycheck with you. If you offer a severance package, explain what’s included. Review any noncompete or nondisclosure agreements with the employee, along with if they’ll continue receiving benefits like health insurance.

“After learning of the termination, the employee will most likely feel confused and upset,” writes Amy DelPo, attorney, for NOLO. Prepare to assist the employee by answering questions such as;

“Do I work the rest of the day or leave immediately?”
“When can I collect my belongings?”
“Do my coworkers know this is happening?”
“What should I tell my clients?”
“I have appointments scheduled for the rest of the week; what should I do about those?”

It would also be helpful if you developed a plan for ongoing work before the meeting to address the following;

Are these projects going to be assigned to someone else?
Are there any tasks the employee needs to complete?
Is the employee required to assist with the transition?

What to do after terminating an employee.

The following steps may be necessary after firing an employee. However, doing so may avoid terminating another employee or helping the department fill the vacant position.

Educating employees about workplace expectations. You can accomplish this by sharing employee handbooks and having one-on-one meetings. As a result, this could be enough to prevent additional firings.
Keeping employees in the loop. The law outlines specific guidelines about when and how to discuss an employee’s termination. However, being transparent about an employee’s termination openly and discussing any behavior that may still exist within the workplace will discourage rumors from being spread.
Posting a new job to fill the existing position. Reassign tasks to other employees after terminating an employee’s employment, or have managers temporarily take on those tasks to account for the departed employee. To avoid overburdening other employees with work and responsibilities, create a new job posting for the vacant position as soon as possible.
Strengthening your existing team. Host team-building activities if you need to bolster morale and encourage team bonding. You could also celebrate your team’s achievements or have some fun in the workplace, like throwing a pizza party.

Image Credit: Sora Shimazaki; Pexels; Thanks!