When you get hired at a company, you rarely expect to have to fight for limited resources. But employment is unpredictable and weird. Scarcity can happen to any department for different reasons and for varying timelines. Maybe the company had to cut back, and now employees must share office space. Or perhaps the purchases are running late, so things like stationery are limited. Perhaps management has yet to hire more people, so the team is overworked and struggling to keep up. Some also have to deal with outdated technology, insufficient training, and even a lack of necessary tools or software.  Sadly, team members may not handle scarcity well. As the…

Whether you are a team leader or a CEO, eventually, you will have to deal with recognition and rewards for your people. So, how do you go about it? I remember when a pizza party was all the reward employees would get from their employers and managers. But right now, companies realize that recognition and rewards should be thoughtful. It came on a little late, but companies now see their employees as people contributing to their vision. And it is important to keep them motivated. And before you ask, salary is not motivation. Think about it from the employee’s perspective: someone is paying you a certain amount of money to…

If you’ve worked for a major corporation in the last ten years, you’ve probably been wrangled into participating in some sort of team-building activity or event. (Some of you are rolling your eyes about now.) Admittedly, team-building events can be a bore, but do they serve a purpose? As a boss, community leader, or coach, should you be incorporating these activities in your game plan? Let’s take a look at the concept of team-building, explore the benefits, and find a few options that might work for you. Benefits of Team-Building Activities… As a community leader, teacher, and football coach, I’m frequently looking for innovative ideas to get my people on…

As an employee, I always prided myself in doing things perfectly. I had a system, and it gave me results. Striving for perfection in your work is a good quality when working under someone. But when you are calling the shots, it’s one of the things that will not help when trying to avoid micromanaging. That’s what happened to me. The first time someone put me in charge of other people’s work, I became the ultimate micromanager. It’s not like I wanted to, but it was my first ‘command,’ and I wanted to make a good impression.  I wanted my superiors to know that I could lead others to do…

As a leader, it is only natural to want to build a legacy in your role or other positions of power. Who doesn’t want a great legacy? To be the guy employees still speak fondly about even though they started years after you left the company. So, what kind of leaders build a great legacy? I bet a servant leader was not your first answer. But it’s okay; the term does not always scream ‘destined to be great’. Yet it offers a great chance to build a legacy that will keep shaping the company long after you are gone. Leaders who build legacies may not be that different from the…

If you are a leader, then you have probably had your fair share of struggles with work engagement. Keeping employees engaged is not easy. And I’ll tell you right now, a pizza party is not going to cut it. Some companies keep a rather low priority for work or employee engagement. The small HR teams, low-cost solutions to employee problems, and zero effort to challenge how things have always been are dead giveaways. Despite what people think, work engagement is not an HR issue; it’s a leadership issue. Why? The way you lead sets the attitude for the whole organization and, thus, employees.  So, if you are the kind of…

If someone had told me when I was younger that finding your passion is the key to leadership, I would have been skeptical. But not for any other reason than I thought about leadership differently back then. You can probably relate. I used to think that once you become a leader, that’s all you had to be. Your passions, values, and beliefs are replaced with what I imagined was a leadership bubble. You had to think, believe, and be passionate about what the role told you to be. I’m not sure if this is how other people viewed leadership, but when I became a leader, I realized it was wrong.…

Volunteering in a conflict zone was one of the biggest leadership and people skills tests I have ever undertaken. My experience in Ukraine, during the first few weeks of the current war, taught me a truckload about leadership and how immense stress can be channeled into a laser-focused desire to uplift and support others. My wife and I were traveling in Estonia when the first bombs were dropped on Kyiv. We quickly decided that we had the time, abilities, and responsibility to help out in any way we could. We signed on with an American crisis relief team that my wife’s family had former affiliations with. We started as team…

Building trust in any relationship can be tough and takes time, and it’s even worse in work relationships. Ever since the pandemic revealed leaders’ ‘true colors,’ many people have had way less trust in them. As a leader, you want your employees to trust you in important moments. Some people believe that trust is not at all necessary for professional relationships. However, having someone trust you as a leader cannot lead to harm. You will feel motivated to do what’s best for them and be the leader they think you are.  In addition, studies have shown that people who trust their employers are less stressed, have more energy, and have…

Let’s dive into something that’s crucial but often a bit tricky to master – balancing employee needs with company goals. You’re a servant leader. That means you’re all about putting your team first, making sure they feel seen, appreciated, and catered to. It’s like being the ultimate host at a party, ensuring everyone’s having a great time. But here’s the catch – just like at any party, some folks might start pushing boundaries, and you don’t want the higher-ups thinking you’re just the “nice guy” who’s not focused on the company’s bigger picture. Being a servant leader is awesome, but it can sometimes lead to whispers behind your back –…