Category Archives: Organizational Effectiveness

How To Be A Compassionate Hybrid Leader

Although it’s not a particularly new concept, hybrid work setups have become a growing trend in industries across the world. In fact, because most offices have resumed normal operations, up to 74% of companies have said they’re either already using or planning to adopt hybrid setups. This comes as no real surprise considering that studies prove that organized hybrid work is beneficial to output and creativity. These comprehensive studies were based on a diverse range of industries and business scales, which further underscores how hybrid work is the happy medium for both companies and workers.

That said, hybrid work is not without its challenges. For most office leaders, one of the top concerns they have with this model is the lack of access between themselves and their teams. This has led some bosses to worry that their team culture may suffer or their employees will feel isolated. Conversely, 77% of surveyed company leaders have found that compassion can benefit both people and profits. Therefore, while hybrid does reduce face-to-face interactions, leaders can (and should) still exercise compassion through this particular medium. And here’s how:

Image ref: Pexels

Show your employees you appreciate them

While you shouldn’t just toss out empty praises for the sake of it, you shouldn’t hold back on showing your employees appreciation either. This shows employees that you value them and recognize the adversity they’ve overcome so that it empowers your hybrid team no matter how challenging the transition may be. That said, to underscore the sincerity of your appreciation back up your words with actions. This is especially impactful for teams that work mostly remotely as it shows that you appreciate everyone fairly.

To show employees appreciation virtually, say “thank you” through meaningful gestures. This can include sending decorations for home offices, planning a virtual hangout to unwind, or gifting food delivery cards. Through such well-thought-out executions, you show that your appreciation comes from a place of compassion which is inspiring for many workers. In fact, surveys reveal that while 46% of employees left jobs because they felt under-appreciated, 79% said feeling appreciated gave them a boost professionally and personally.Continue reading→

3 Leadership Lessons I’ve Learned From Making All The Mistakes: Lesson 1 – Complete Communication

Guest post in our leadership series. I met Paul Pickard, CTO for Korrus, a few months ago, and am so impressed by his appreciation of the human aspects of leading technical teams. Enjoy! – Kimberly

I’ve been meeting people on LunchClub for the past year or so, and it’s given me the opportunity to connect with people with diverse interests and backgrounds from different locations around the country and world.  I was recently speaking with an early career software engineer who was mulling over an opportunity to move into a position where she managed people.  She asked me for my “top of mind” things to I’ve learned about managing people in my career.  After explaining that anything I could relate would come from having made all the mistakes – some of them repeatedly – I came up with three core intentions that I’ve adopted over the years and passed them along.  I say intentions because I don’t always exhibit these behaviors, but it is certainly my aspiration to do so.  This post covers the first intention.  I’ll follow up with the other two in subsequent posts.

#1: Communicate Completely

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Common Roots: Shifting Context – Leadership Springs from Within

What does a rubber chicken like this one? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have to do with a book like this one?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, Kimberly Wiefling (rubber chicken lady) met Linda Alepin (now author of above book) when they started their study of generative leadership as young professionals.  

Kimberly was inspired by the principles of vision, listening, and dreaming to become widely known in the leadership arena, particularly working with innovative Japanese companies.  

Linda took the same principles into industry, academia, founding a not for profit that worked with hundreds of people around the globe and, finally, to this book.  

Join Linda as the author (and Kimberly as a participant) on Friday, February 4 from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM PST (GMT -8).  You will hear stories of people from around the world who are featured in the book. 

It’s FREE.  Register at bit.ly/shifting-context-launch.

Shifting Context:  Leadership Springs from Within is available for pre-sale at Amazon https://amzn.to/3IHdJFS.  

Here is what Rayona Sharpnack had to say about the book:

“Shifting Context: Leadership Springs from Within is an important book at an important time in history. Research consistently shows that countries who seriously invest in women’s and girls’ empowerment get a dramatic return on their investment financially, socially, and in all ways that matter for a civil society. 

The women featured in this book are exemplars of that important investment! 

The book will inspire you, move you, and remind you of the hidden power that women have to make all of our lives better. Kudos to Linda and Barbara for their essential leadership in this movement for social entrepreneurship!”

 —Rayona Sharpnack, Founder/CEO at Institute for Gender Partnership and Women’s Leadership, Inc. 

These true stories of sheroes and heroes from around the world will inspire you.  They demonstrate how leadership that springs from within brings about real social change. 

If you are a passionate leader who wants to create greater impact do not miss this book launch and be sure to read the book. 

5 Simple Tips On Choosing The Best HRMS Solution For Your Business

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Having the right Human Resources Management Software (HRMS) solution is essential in modern businesses. As more organizations move away from traditional business models and embrace the flexibility of remote work, a streamlined system is a necessity.

If you’ve been trying to evaluate which software you need for your growing organization, keep it simple. Here are five simple tips on choosing the best HRMS solution for you.

Define Your Needs

The first step to choosing the right HRMS solution for your business is to define your needs. Different options will have a variety of capabilities. Some organizations will require a robust user interface that supports a large enterprise while others need something simple and streamlined for a small team.

The primary focal points of HRMS includes payroll, recruitment, and onboarding, scheduling, self-service, benefits, and performance (source: https://www.hrpayrollsystems.net/hrms/). Figuring out which components your company requires now, as well as in the immediate future, is the key to choosing the right system.Continue reading→

Why Team Building is Necessary for a Good Working Culture

If you care about having a great working culture, Real Simple’s Maggie Seaver shares that you need to ensure that every employee feels a sense of belonging — and one great way to do that is through team building. And with everyone from the world’s largest corporations to the smallest of startups investing in team building, is all the hype about it justified?

What is team building?

At its core, team building is any action or process that aims to turn a group of employees into a cohesive team. It helps with the employees’ transition from having an individualistic to a collaborative mindset. And this is important because when employees focus on tasks and results on an individual level only, Forbes points out that the whole organization misses out in terms of productivity and effectiveness.

Team building ranges from small activities like bowling or a game night, to big activities like a sportsfest or a three-day retreat at the beach. However, it still has a bad rap for a lot of employees, many of whom see it as some mandatory “fun” activity where they must put on a happy-go-lucky face. But if done right, it doesn’t just serve as a stress reliever for the whole team. It also brings serious benefits and advantages to the whole organizational culture of the company.Continue reading→