In order to accomplish greatness, you must win hearts and minds of people who are on your team. You must find unique ways to motivate each of them individually while simultaneously building a cohesive team capable of great accomplishments.
Leaders set the culture
Leaders set the organizational culture and that will never change. Accept it and choose your leaders wisely. On the other hand, if you happen to be a leader, it is equally as important to take your responsibilities seriously and act in such way that promotes quality, accountability, and communication across all areas you lead. Whether you like it or not, …
Don’t hold grudges, they limit your success
Holding grudges will hurt you as much as the other side. At times, some actions or words can’t (and probably shouldn’t) be forgotten, but in business it is nearly pointless to hold grudges. Disagreements of the past should not determine your partnerships, collaboration and mutual success of the future. Put egos aside and work together towards achieving your organizational vision …
Be mindful of the present, but staff for the future
Build your teams thoughtfully. As opportunities open up to add new staff, carefully consider both your team’s and organizational needs then staff accordingly. Don’t simply replace “like for like”, but rather focus on both current needs as well as your future strategic direction you are planning to take. Each member of your team has a role to play and is …
Look ahead of the curve and focus on possibilities
Leading others is a great honor and responsibility, and as such, it should be approached with great care and attention. As a leader, one of your responsibilities is to get out of the weeds and focus on the vision and possibilities ahead. It is your responsibility to empower your team to believe in the vision and mission; to empower them …
Organizational mission sets all calendars
Business side of your organization sets the calendars of all others. This can happen directly or indirectly, but all functional areas need to be aware of the core mission of their business and act in support of it. In my particular case, in higher education, academic calendar sets our IT calendar and has a significant impact as to how and …
Focus on your personal strengths and hire your weaknesses
Focus on your personal strengths and hire your weaknesses. Each of us have different skills and talents and we should leverage them for our success. These qualities will complement qualities of others as you build or join teams and with everyone working together towards a unified vision, success is guaranteed. Contrary to what you may have heard in the past, …
Ways to retain top talent
Attracting and retaining top talent is one of the main concerns on minds of many executives across various industries. Finding amazing people who are organizational rock stars in a sense is not easy which is why it is important to establish an environment which promotes retention. Here are some guiding principles of how to retain your top talent: LISTEN to …
Is your team providing strategic value?
Every once in a while do a complete assessment of your and your team’s contributions to the overall mission, vision and purpose of the organization that you work for. During this process, ask yourself, are you providing strategic value? Are you contributing (directly or indirectly) to the main cause and main reason why all of you are there? If the …
Clear responsibilities and structure
Individual responsibilities for each employee must be clearly communicated and understood by both sides, employee and supervisor. These responsibilities mush also be shared with the entire team as well as with other teams they regularly interact with. People need to know who does what and how they contribute to the entire team and the entire organizational mission, strategy and vision. …