JENNIFER GUTWENGERJennifer Gutwenger is Principal Consultant at #HR and draws upon aseasoned background and credentials in corporate HR, deep workingknowledge of best practice and an inclination to muse. She is the driver of#HR’s game-changing service offerings and the principal generator of itsunique content and thought leadersh...ip.Jennifer is an author at Smallville and writes for the Chamber of Commerceand Industry QLD – platforms where top professionals share their ideas,advice and knowledge with business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere. More

How to Build a Successful Team That Can Run Your Business For You

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If you’re a business owner or at the helm of an SME or a corporate department, checking out for a holiday or one of those situations when life throws you a curve ball, can be tricky. If you’ve made yourself indispensable and the business can’t function without you, everyone feels it when you’re not there - you, your team and the clients!  

Life has ups and downs and sometimes you need to be away from the office. And if you’re a good leader, you should expect your business to carry on as usual.

How so? Easy - if you’ve got a team who’ve got your back. With a few well placed protocols your business can be ready to keep calm and carry on - even when you’re not there.

 

1. TRUST YOUR TEAM

Recruiting right is imperative. When you’re faced with challenges that keep you away from the office, you must be able to trust your colleagues to carry the can. To make the decisions with confidence. To keep projects rolling and balls in the air. And to know what’s sensitive or complex enough to go on hold. They pull together, and rely on each other. You’ve led them so well they have the tools to function brilliantly even when you’re not there. It’s the ultimate compliment for a leader.

 

2. BE REMOTE

Capacity to work outside of the office is crucial for most of us.  We don’t just mean checking emails on your smart-phone, but the greater capacity of a compact but truly portable office – notebook, transportable wifi, updated contacts.  True, you don’t want to feel the demands of your business on a family holiday. But if you’re called away unexpectedly, or unexpected demands and decisions arise back at the office, it’s smart business to be portable. Technology rules. Use it.

Andrew Griffiths, an influencer for entrepreneurs all over the world, is said to have a portable wifi device from most leading Australian service carriers.  When asked why, he says ‘because you just never know when you will need them.’  It pays to be prepared.

 

3. PUSH THE WORK DOWN

Micro-managing and the old hierarchical ways of managing down have gone the way of the dinosaurs. If you’ve got great team players on board, they’ll relish opportunities to use their initiative and act autonomously. They don’t want to be managed. But they don’t mind being led.  

If there’s a task you can do, but the same could be done by one of your direct reports, then push the work down. Their work might not be an exact replica of yours, but the quality is likely to be close. Their sense of achievement from being trusted with the task is a powerful thing for you. Because next time you’re not around, and a decision must be made or a task actioned, they’re right across it.

As a leader you have a greater depth of experience than those around you. But you recognise that those on your team have great ideas to. And if they’re different from yours, that’s a strength. Kindle it, and keep it on your side!

Simon Sineck, author and coach to world class leaders, believes, ‘We’re not good at everything, we’re not good by ourselves.  Our ability to build trust and relationships is the key to our survival.’

So prepare your business today.  So that when you’re there and when you’re not, your team’s got your back.

 

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How The Kindness of Strangers Builds a Better Workplace

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Kindness is on trend right now. Writers, coaches and consultants everywhere are drilling CEOs and leaders on the importance of the simple act, the kind gesture, and the largesse it brings to the business landscape.

Acts of kindness and ordinary humility are the stuff of life. We sometimes wish we could bottle them and mist the corporate offices of our clients and colleagues with this precious and aromatic vapour!

Because simple courtesies are noticed when given and received on an individual level. But when they’re built into the collective mindset and everyday habits of a workplace community, they can really pack a punch - in the nicest possible way!

Try these - and see if you start a new trend.

SMILE

Children need little encouragement to smile or laugh, but sadly this often eludes us as we grow older! One of our most basic human gestures, it’s a gift we can bestow upon anyone - friends, work colleagues and strangers alike. In some workplaces it’s a dead set must - think what a difference a smile makes in retail. Everyone from Lily Allen to Tony Bennett urges us to do it. We think they’re onto something.

BE PATIENT

It’s a virtue, most definitely. Waiting in line? Service isn’t getting any faster just because you’re rolling your eyes. Practicing acceptance actually makes the wait bearable. Try to remember that time isn’t only our own, but something shared by us all. And some people need more of it than others. In everyday life that could be the elderly gentleman who’s taking his time to get on the bus. Or his wife, who’s paying for groceries in coins. We take our collective hat off to the shop assistant listening to the details of his regular customer’s medical condition. He asked ‘How are you today?’ and he meant it. Patience should be a way of life. Let’s bring some of it to work with us too.

LISTEN

We’re full of stories, our life is made up of them. And sometimes it’s our turn to listen. It’s a fine art to be able to lend an ear to a colleague or friend who needs to be heard, whether they’re sad, happy, disgruntled or inspired. We have much to learn - beyond the realms of the story. The details of what we’re hearing are, in a way, immaterial. What we’re learning is to give of ourselves. What we’re exercising is empathy. Both have an essential place in life, and in the office. 

BRING YOUR HEART TO WORK

True helpfulness sees us engaging with people beyond the call of duty. It means we do more than just give assistance when asked. It means we give it warmly and openly, making sure the beneficiary of our wisdom truly understands and is confident in getting on with the task! What’s more they might have enjoyed the connection they’ve just made with us.

And perhaps when we hold the door open for the person behind us, we linger long enough to make sure it doesn’t clip them when we let go. 

Do that for someone at work, and you’re team building just as assuredly as if you were collaborating on a project. Do it for a stranger outside of the office, and you’re building a community.  

We have our failings as a species. Let’s bring some of our more precious human qualities to work with us. Kindness is one of our greatest and most intuitive. It’s what sets us apart.

That’s better than being on trend anyday!

 

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5 Powerful Changes That Will Make You Stand Out of the Crowd in Your Workplace

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If you’re looking to get ahead, now is the time to stand out from the crowd. Standing out is crucial to business success, but it is key to succeeding as an individual, as well. If you’re looking to set yourself apart in your workplace and as a leader, check out these 5 simple but effective ways that will help you do exactly that.  

 

TIP 1 - GET ENOUGH SLEEP

 

TIP 2 - PUT DOWN YOUR DEVICE

 

TIP 3 - ALLOW RISKS AND MISTAKES

 

 

TIP 4 - THINK ABOUT OTHERS

 

 

TIP 5 - RECRUIT SMART

 

 

And there you have it, 5 simple ideas to help you stand out in a positive way and become a game changer in your workplace. Do you have any tips? Share them with us in the comments section below.

 

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4 Reasons Why Empathy is the Most Effective Leadership Skill in The Workplace Today

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Leadership is a matter of great complexity, with room for many different types of leadership style.

In the past, authority and responsibility were the two crucial elements defining a leader. It was simple: a great leader had the presence to direct people and make decisions.

In the 21st century, leadership styles are changing.

Author and speaker Simon Sinek, believes that professional competence and presence are not enough. Good leaders inspire trust and must truly care about those around them.

He identifies four simple means of inspiring others and finding our own leadership capabilities.

 

1. TRUST

Great leadership is about looking out for those to your left and right, above and below you - creating a circle of trust. ‘We’re not good at everything,’ says Sinek. ‘We’re not good by ourselves. Our ability to build trust and relationships is the key to our survival.’ Building relationships and trust generates an environment where people share values, and work cohesively for one cause.

 

2. INNOVATE 

Managers become leaders when they are encouraged to learn, and leadership is a quality that can be taught. But look beyond training and certification programs, says Sinek. Universal online access to the best of contemporary thinking, gives us access to more innovative solutions that can translate to any workplace.

 

3. THINK ABOUT WHY

Sinek believes that very few people know why they do what they do. Most leaders know what they do and how they do it; but few really understand why they do it, and what really inspires them. Those who have a strong grasp of all three - what, how and why - are the ones who outperform the others.

 

4. CONNECT 

Relationships are built through conversation – and that means getting rid of devices when we’re talking to coworkers. Great leaders take the device out of the equation at crucial times. Holding a phone or even having it alongside you during a meeting sends a message to those in the room that they do not have your full attention.

Create an environment where a meaningful exchange can take place. Put your device in a pocket or a drawer. This sends a strong behavioural message which says you are listening and completely engaged.

 

In a changing world, it’s not so surprising that our leadership styles are evolving. Great leaders recognise that the concept no longer revolves around a lone figure of authority or a hierarchy.

Instead it’s an integrated team of individuals, brought together by a very human instinct - the urge to build relationships and trust. And that oldest of leadership qualities – the capacity to care.

 

 

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Successful Business Strategies and Why it Pays to be Nice

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One of Forbes magazine’s ten most influential business gurus, Richard Branson began his new year blog on an unexpected topic: kindness. ‘Over the break, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can all make this a stand-out year of happiness and positivity, and one of the best ways I can think of doing this is through kindness.’ The Importance of Kindness.

Most of us are taught the golden rule as children, of treating others as we would like to be treated ourselves. It’s what creates peaceful, harmonious and mutually supportive communities. This seems straightforward enough, right? Apparently not. Branson reflects that kindness is on the wane, lost within the chaos of our busy daily lives, sidelined in favour of more appealing and immediate agendas.

We like Branson. Not just because he’s a good chap but because he’s given the world a string of useable philosophies while building his eight billion-dollar businesses. One of his mantras is that running a large business is similar to running a small one, and it’s equally possible to do it in a way that is responsive, kind and friendly to those around you. ‘Kindness is such an important characteristic … we should all work on being more friendly, generous and considerate,’ he says.

In his post, Branson challenges us to complete fifteen random acts of kindness within the next twelve months. He makes some suggestions - tell a joke, call a friend, give a compliment, leave a happy note, smile at a stranger. Hardly an arduous challenge. One and a quarter random acts of kindness each month should be easily achieved, right? Then again, if Branson is going to all this trouble to challenge us to be kinder, maybe it’s easier said than done?

He is not a lone voice in urging us towards greater kindness. Once you start looking, there’s a multitude of leaders, writers and influencers who would like us to make this vintage value new again. Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval made it to the top of the advertising industry by exemplifying their simple but powerful tenet that it pays to be nice. They believed, contrary to the outlook of many who surrounded them, that nice people finished first. They wrote about it in their book, ‘The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness’ and continue to campaign on the enormous impact of small gestures.

Seth Godin, who is best described as the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age, writes, ‘You've had a hard day, it's raining out, the world is changing, your boss is mean to you, the checking account is overdrawn, you're on deadline... But... Does every need have to be filled, every emotion in place before we're capable of being kind?’

Simon Sinek, a visionary thinker, motivational speaker and author says, ‘Kindness begets kindness, it's holding the door for someone, making a new pot of coffee, and letting someone into your lane. Putting others ahead of yourself - that is the practice of leadership.’

And within Australian shores, Hugh Mackay in his book The Good Life addresses the ultimate question: What makes life worth living? You guessed it, kindness figures highly. ‘We may aspire to lead a life animated by kindness and based on respect for others, but, for all kinds of reasons to do with our personalities, our temperaments and our circumstances, our life often falls short …’

Running a business could easily wipe the kindly smile off your face on some days. There are lows to be endured as well as euphoric highs. It can be hard to visualise let alone plan for a smooth road ahead. And on this roller-coaster ride you’re additionally responsible for bringing your team with you through every twist and turn, and guiding your customer experience as well.

What every leader and influencer appears to be saying is that kindness, at every stage of the game, is what makes all the difference to the journey - and the outcome.

Habitual kindness seeps through our interactions like warmth into our being on a summer’s day. It’s a strength, often underestimated and easily undervalued. As a code of behaviour, it’s less about leverage and more about nourishing relationships. Once you benchmark such a behaviour, it builds the kind of engagement that really makes your workplace stand out from the crowd.

Whichever guru or influencer you favour, we’ll wager they’d look kindly upon your following in their footsteps on this.

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How to be Creative in Recruitment and Why the Top CEOs Diversify

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Recruitment is big business for small business, whatever the means by which you go about it - outsourcing or in-house, behavioural assessments or gut-feel, five long-winded interviews or just one snappy half hour with a top pick.

A candid chat we had with a senior executive from a national government department recently revealed much to us about his employer’s priorities. ‘I tick the box of the mature aged worker,’ said the sprightly 45-year old. ‘My manager ticks the box of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander, and my co-worker ticks the box of graduate.’ It stood out as an unusual paradigm and had me wondering: are they really recruiting on merit, or just by numbers?

As business leaders we should be aiming for the right mix - a strong crew of capable and engaged people who like each other and love the brand. Some might say this is a tough call. We agree. That’s why recruiting well is tricky business.

Fortunately, the country’s smartest corporate minds are working together on this very subject. The collective board of Australian Chief Executive Women and the members of Male Champions of Change are a highly regarded coalition of decent, powerful men and women pooling their ideas and challenging the way we think about recruitment and diversity in the workplace. The individuals making up this coalition hold the top CEO jobs in the country.

Their latest dispatch to fire the synapses of our business world is a 15-page report packed full of ideas. In the Eye of the Beholder – Avoiding The Merit Trap is gaining traction everywhere – and rightly so.

Perceived wisdom, it says, is that we recruit similar, like-minded people in the belief that this creates workplace engagement and naturally cohesive teams. Not so. In fact what we get is a bias of sameness - in gender, ethnicity, taste, thinking - and everything else.

This doesn’t lead to creativity, great dynamics and good business. It leads to stagnation.

Characteristics and qualities tend to cluster within organisations. When recruiting, we often pick up on this pattern subconsciously and replicate it - without thinking. We might tweak our processes and try hard to recruit smarter, but our un-interrogated thinking limits the talent search, and the same problems manifest within our organisation. This is the Merit Trap.

President of Chief Executive Women Diane Smith-Gander explains. ‘Too often, decision-makers think they're selecting the best person for the job on the basis of merit, but in fact they're favouring people who look like them or think like them, and ignoring the organisation's future needs,’ she says. ‘When this happens, they've fallen into the merit trap.’

At the other end of the spectrum, a brand which has side-stepped the Merit Trap and recruited smartly, exhibits a culture of diverse minds and inventive thinking. Employees engage with each other not because they’re able to cluster together comfortably with people who think similarly, but because they see their business being stimulated and enhanced by others who think differently.

Hard-wiring this new thinking into our strategic planning is a big and brave step – but an essential one. It takes collective acknowledgement at the uppermost level that future challenges might not be answered in the same way as past ones – by relying on the same minds, and the same answers.

‘Roles are changing quickly.’ Says Shayne Elliott, CEO of ANZ, ‘I need people for the roles of the future. This means hiring for core capabilities – not technical capability which can be taught or bought. I need agility, broad- mindedness, ability to operate in an unknown environment.’

When our top CEOs voice misgivings about standard recruitment processes, we should surely listen. And if their thinking is different from our own – there’s a red flag worth noticing! With collected wisdom from the uppermost echelons of the corporate world, this is a source worth watching.

And if what they’re saying is that different viewpoints, life experiences and professional knowledge within the workplace brings enhancement which is not just a benefit but a core player in our business’s survival and success, that’s a rationale worth adopting. The beauty is that it’s not hard. The thinking has been done for us. It’s the smartest there is, and gives us the best platform to leverage from. All we have to do is follow suit and recruit. Diversely, creatively, daringly.

 

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Successful Leadership Tips in 2019 and Why it's Cool to be Quirky!

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Let’s be honest. As leaders we are all too aware of colourful workplace quirks. We all have at least one quirky trait that others might find challenging. It could be a glass-half-empty outlook. A bad habit of backstabbing absent colleagues in the lunchroom. The grunt involuntarily over a sandwich? Or sigh when given a task? An over-achiever with a tendency to brag? Or a know-it-all with whom every conversation is a competition? Heaven forbid – does someone smell?

With a little authentic and sensitively delivered feedback, these are all traits that can be reversed – as long as our clever self is open to changing for the better.

On the flip side are the more personal aspects of our makeup that we can’t do anything about. They’re the characteristics we’re born with, our makeup as a person, or conditions we develop through no fault of our own. The way we look, move or behave.

From behaviours to birth marks, mild obsessions, twitches, even comb-overs, height and weight. These aren’t just foibles – they’re features that can make others seem different to our own perception of what’s normal. But they are that person’s normal. If you’re not careful, these things can play out with awkward moments in the staff room, dead air in the conversation, averted gazes.

But no-one is perfect, and those attributes can mean a person brings something unique and highly valuable to the workplace.

We applaud leaders who look beyond these traits and recruit on merit. You know best practice is to create a culture of diverse minds, where employees engage with each other not because they can cluster together comfortably, but because they see their business being stimulated and enhanced by others who think differently. You know that looking different has little to do with a person’s smarts.

In this digital world, where enlightenment is merely a moment’s Google away, there’s no excuse for uninformed ignorance.

Here are 3 strategies to help you lead your employees to put embarrassment aside and embrace the characteristics that make us unique.

 

1. BE CURIOUS NOT INQUISITIVE

Curiosity leads to understanding. It’s the desire to explore, investigate and draw intelligent conclusions. Inquisitiveness is more about questioning things pointlessly. It can be prying and annoying. It’s also really un-cool.

If having a better understanding of the way in which someone is different will provide real value to your working relationship, then be curious. Ask them. Do it sensitively, and they might just appreciate your authenticity. It could make for a better working relationship and - who knows - all-round productivity.

 

2. SHOW DIPLOMACY

Even if a person’s behaviours seem obvious, it’s possible they are expending untold energy to try and control or mask them. Respect that. Okay, you might be taken by surprise by an outbreak of twitching, but the lunchroom or coffee station might not be the best place to ask about it. This isn’t theatre sports. Don’t make them feel like a performing poodle.

Keep your thoughts to yourself and show tact. People with different behaviours are used to a variety of reactions. Diplomacy is the one they like best.

 

3. BEWARE OF YOUR EGO

Sometimes our ego gets the better of us, leading us to make assumptions or draw conclusions without getting our heart involved. Don’t act on this impetus. It won’t be your best moment.

We all have our own quirks. Whether they’re intrinsic features we can’t help, or character traits and habits we’ve developed over time, it’s easy to forget that we’re all different in some way.

So, if you find yourself having an awkward moment, be mindful of the way you like your own differences to be handled by others. Overhearing about your third nipple, bald spot or portliness on the grapevine is probably not what you would prefer.

Authenticity is important, and candour can deepen a working relationship. But slowly and gently does it. You can change the habits of a lifetime if they really need changing. But only by looking beyond the quirks and foibles will you see a person’s true colours.

Be an awesome leader by role modelling the best leadership qualities and your flock will follow well. 

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Diversity in the Workplace - How to Attract The Right Kind of Talent! (PART 2)

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One of my recent posts Diversity in the Workplace - How to Attract The Right Kind of Talent! was an interesting piece that seemed to strike a chord with many readers.

The article focussed on encouraging small business owners to keep an open mind when recruiting – to actively engage with potential employees who present special and different abilities. It mentioned in particular those on the Autism spectrum whose mindset may see them achieve brilliance in particular areas where neuro-typical employees would be stumped.

A good stereotypical fit for a role is not always the best one. Today’s solutions are increasingly about thinking of diversity and the different skillsets different individuals can bring to a business, including those who sit just outside society’s perception of ‘normal’.

With all the interest in this article, it seemed noteworthy to explore this idea a little more. And to share with small business owners everywhere, the value of looking beyond difference to see the true potential of a person’s smarts - what new ideas, fresh thinking and exceptional abilities can bring to any business table.

On Australian shores, President of Chief Executive Women Diane Smith-Gander explains ‘… the challenge is not to find who’s best for the job. Rather look for the best team for the task. If your team is not diverse then “being different” needs to be part of the selection criteria.’ She continues, [Recruiting on] ‘merit is a concept that has been hijacked to justify lack of diversity by applying a “best person for the job” principle.’

Unfortunately, when applied dogmatically as it often is, that ‘best person for the job’ principle often leads not to creativity, great dynamics and good business, but to stagnation.

When recruiting, it’s not unusual for managers and business owners to go through the same process and jump through the same hoops without thinking, replicating the same mistakes again and again. They might tweak things here and there in the interests of recruiting smarter, but un-interrogated thinking limits the talent search, and the same problems often manifest all over again.

Three years ago, Penny Andrews showed that autism didn’t hold her back. She became a library graduate trainee at Leeds Metropolitan University, having beaten 200 applicants to the job and proving that different smarts count. "Sometimes I feel people think I should be grateful that I have a job but I'm performing a useful task and doing it well, so they should be grateful to me," she said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports enormous growth in the number of people with autism, with data it collected in 2009 and again in 2012 through its Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers. This represents a vast pool of untapped talent within our communities. As small business owners we are ideally placed to think laterally, rethink the way we conduct our business and our recruiting, and potentially change both lives and our future fortunes.

Autism Speaks has already cemented in some of the groundwork, making it easier for small business owners to embrace new thinking, and access new expertise. Their Employment Toolkit: Employer’s Guide to Hiring and Retaining Employees with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is the go-to for any employer wanting to gain further insight and experience in recruiting, hiring and supporting with diversity.

As a society, it’s time to be mindful. What makes a difference within any workplace is not just professional knowledge, but different viewpoints and life experience. The enhancement this rationale brings is not just a benefit but a core element in a business’s survival and success. That’s a rationale worth adopting. All we have to do is recruit diversely, creatively and daringly. For both parties, there is nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Standing on our principles here is a matter not of charity or social responsibility but rather the empirical benefit of taking on unique skills and diverse minds.

To view the initial article, which sparked over 600 social media shares, click here.

 

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Diversity in the Workplace - How to Attract The Right Kind of Talent!

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Whether you favour baby boomers or millennials when it comes to recruiting, most employers feel some pressure to revolutionise their workplace as new generations seep into the workforce. Today, ‘normal’ is at least three generations bundled together and working cooperatively, making for a truly diverse workplace.

The tricky part is not falling back on our perception of stereotypes, when it’s time to recruit again, in how we perceive and subconsciously categorise applicants. Maybe we make judgments without realising it about ear piercing or age, education or lack thereof. Even worse, our shutters come down when we see the ‘wrong’ suburb on a resume, or hear an accent different from our own.

Giving credence to stereotypes and our expectations of them can be damaging, in that it can set unfavourable limits to a small business’s growth capacity.

At #HR, we applaud leaders who look beyond stigmas and don’t mind breaking the mould to recruit on merit. Best practice is to create a culture of diverse minds, where employees engage with each other not because they are all the same, but because they see their business being stimulated and enhanced by others who think differently.

In such a culture, looking different has little to do with a person’s smarts.

Brett Davies, a computer design technician from County Durham in the UK, was the victim of just such misconceptions. After being turned down for hundreds of jobs, his hidden genius for all things visual finally landed him a two-week trial at Peacocks Medical Group. Coincidentally, the BBC was filming a documentary series featuring Davies at the time. They recorded his journey, in securing the trial position, and then landing his dream job – by solving a technical problem that had defeated every other employee who’d tried.

Davies, who had been out of work for eight years said, “I have autism. There isn’t anything different about me, I just think differently. Somehow the unwritten rules of social communication have eluded me.”

Stereotypical perceptions are often unfounded, such as those which the phrase ‘Autism’ inspires. To be a progressive business owner in progressive times, it can pay dividends to front up and get some understanding of how best to leverage qualities that are different from our own.

De-stigmatising and challenging stereotypes is proving beneficial for many companies, as their willingness to break ground brings them not only enlightenment, but profitability – and a highly motivated and fulfilled workforce.

Dave Kearon, Director of Adult Services with Autism Speaks, says...

‘This is not about charity or about what businesses can do for people with autism; it’s about what individuals with autism have shown they can do for businesses’

Research by Autism Speaks suggests that companies employing people with autism consistently give reports of extremely dependable and loyal employees, who follow company rules, arrive on time and are absent far less. Other strengths mentioned include intense attention to detail and a desire to get things right – perfectly right. One employer noted that the turnover rate of his employees with Autism was one third of his neuro-typical workers.

Challenging the status quo – although the status quo is fluid these days - takes grit, for sure. But all the research suggests that for those running a small business in today’s market, thinking openly and diversely offers many opportunities.

Employers who are on the hunt for employees with specialised skills are increasingly wise to the benefits of diverse minds. They remember that no-one is perfect and believe that looking beyond a stereotype can bring something truly unique and highly valuable to a workplace.

 

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What You Need to Know About First Aid Compliance in the Workplace

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When in the thick of productivity, small business owners tend to get caught up in day-to-day core business and urgent affairs - it can take some grit to get the ball rolling on those other stickier, more time consuming tasks. The tasks we put on the back burner and bank for another day. Confidence can get in the way too, hoping that unlikely events don’t occur and hedging bets that luck is always on side.

Managing a workplace in this way can be really risky business. It’s no surprise that this type of mindset doesn’t stand well when things go wrong. Especially, when it has much to do with keeping people safe at work.

Let’s take first aid as an example.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the Work-Related Injuries Survey, Australia, 2009–10 reported the average annual injury rates are 57.9 per 1000 workers. The top industries who were markedly higher than the overall average were accommodation/food services industry at 83 and manufacturing at 76 per 1000 workers.

The implication of these numbers for businesses – big and small - is huge. Lost time, reduced productivity, increased stress and anxiety are just a few. Of course, there are other much larger pitfalls too. Breaches to legislation or codes of practice quickly come to mind.

In February, 2016 Safe Work Australia released a Code of Practice on first aid in the workplace. This Code of Practice was approved under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act (the WHS Act). A big piece of legislation that is relevant to any business with a duty of care.

As an employer, this Legislation makes it pretty clear that your duty of care in relation to first aid goes beyond band aids in the lunchroom or an incident log at reception.

Following, are the top three things employers must consider for first aid risk management and meeting compliance standards – how well does your business stand up against these?

 

FIRST AID KITS

All workers must have access to a first aid kit. Its contents should provide basic equipment for providing first aid for injuries like cuts and scratches, burns, broken bones and shock. Some workplaces are assessed as high risk, so it’s best to check-in with Safe Work Australia to have a full understanding of your requirements.

St John Ambulance Australia says, “Treatment in the first five minutes after a first aid incident can dramatically change the outcome. Workplaces should have the appropriate equipment and signage in place to allow for a quick response and ensure the safety of workers.”

 

FIRST AID TRAINING

Duty of care includes training all employees in basic procedures and protocols to follow in the event of a first aid emergency. Training should include information on the location and composition of first aid kits, communication channels to use in an emergency, and the identity and location of accredited first aiders. Yes, that’s right, accredited first aiders – every business requires at least one.

The statistics say that less than one in three Australian employees (31%) currently feel confident to perform first aid in an emergency, reasons ranging from ‘a lack of training’ through to feeling ‘personally responsible’ if something went wrong.

 

AWARENESS

This is key. Sure, we must work through the Code of Practice, order first aid equipment and head off to training providers like St John Ambulance, but the final step is always to communicate protocol to staff. Best practice implementation should be done through procedural documents, regular first aid drills and instigating mock emergencies.

Don’t feel over-whelmed, there are many resources available to help employers implement best practice and meet compliance. Safe Work Australia is an excellent place to start looking for on-line resources governed by Australian legislation, as well as St John Ambulance Australia for documentation that’s useful when compiling procedures, purchasing compliance equipment and meeting legislative training requirements.

It’s about tackling the hard stuff early – managing first aid related issues in retrospect, with no supporting policy or go-to guide, is complex, stressful and costly. Being proactive and having best practice in place from start-up onwards is most certainly the way to go.

Making these arrangements a priority might seem daunting and quite rightly so. But it’s best to be wise and not run a risky business – the law counts on us to get it right from the get-go!

First aid compliance is important to your business. Ensuring that you meet the requirements make your workplace safer for your employees and avoid hefty legal WHS fines. We have first aid resources that you can use in your workplace. It has first aid signs and posters (all downloadable and print-ready), how-to guides to workplace emergencies all for FREE!

 

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Business Networking and 3 Simple Tips From our Heroic Farmers

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Small businesses touch many lives, whether they’re in one of our great Eastern seaboard cities or in a remote location across our big dry land.

Workplaces and commodities might vary, but there’s usually a champion or two in place – either at the helm with the vision and the drive to carry it out, or pushing production and making things happen behind the scenes.

Across Australia, those in business deliver goods, serve them, buy and sell commodities and properties and create, build and facilitate in the digital world and the built environment.

Nowhere other than on the land has the army of workers keeping the wheels oiled, the workers fed and the livestock tended been at the heart of their sector and their community.

Recently in Tasmania, a long-standing group of hard-working agricultural women celebrated a milestone in their history – the twentieth anniversary of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture, a group which came together to support one another in the mid-1990s when times were really tough.

Their stories were documented in a book to celebrate the anniversary, and capture the journey of those farming women and the contribution they have made to agriculture in their state - changing the culture of farming, and the way in which farming women were perceived. Their stories are the journey from invisibility to acknowledgement of the roles they have played, carrying the baton on from their hard-working predecessors.

Fiona Stocker, author of the book A Place in the Stockyard says, ‘These women farmers were called the invisible farmer and classified as ‘unproductive’. There were no photographs of women on the land in government archives and no mention of them in the media.’

The stories told in the book document the myriad ways in which the farming women of Tasmania changed that in their state: getting off their farms and meeting with others, sourcing courses to educate themselves, taking key roles on industry boards, running farm safety campaigns and foundations, winning funding and lobbying government on issues affecting them.

I spoke with the author Fiona Stocker about what she learned from the stories she has brought together for the book, and the top three lessons any small business owner might take away from the experiences of this heroic bunch of women farmers. This is what she said.

 

1. THE NUMBER ONE LESSON IS DON’T DO IT SOLO

Get a network around you. Get out and meet people running similar operations to yours, and learn from them, be inspired by them, take succour and encouragement from them when you need it, and give it back when you can. Women particularly are amazing at generating what it takes to run a business, but we’re not wonder women, and it’s not good for us to do it alone.

 

2. GET BACK TO YOUR ROOTS

The connection between grass roots and those in power is vital, whether you’re talking business or government. It’s vital that those representing us in Parliament stay in touch with what’s happening on the land at grass roots level. You can see the mighty fall when it’s perceived that they don’t genuinely have the best interests of ordinary working people in mind! The same principle, that of leaders needing to have an authentic connection at every level, applies in the business world too.

Before moving to rural Tasmania, Stocker worked for one of the world’s top executive search companies placing CEOs in major national and multi-national corporations. The best candidates were always those who had the ‘common touch’, who could relate to anybody at any level of the business. They had real understanding of what drove people to turn up every day. Only then was that leader perceived to have the deep understanding they needed to be truly effective in the Boardroom or as a strategist.

 

3. ALLOW FOR DIFFERENCES

Some in your sphere of influence will want to work quietly and diligently in a role they’re good at, make their contribution and gain a working lifetime’s worth of satisfaction from that. Others will want to move upwards, challenge and educate themselves, take on new responsibilities, perhaps represent their industry. You’ve got to allow for all comers, and recognise that what everybody puts in must be cherished.

 

Through their endeavours together, she adds, these women gave meaning to and gained energy in their working lives, and eased the way for younger women moving up through agricultural education and into roles in the sector today. By any account, it’s an incredible legacy.

 

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How to be a Great Manager and Keep Your Tribe in a Safe Circle and Why

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Charlie Kim is an unusual guy. One of those standouts who starts something in their college dorm and grows it quickly and exponentially. That dorm-room startup was Next Jump, the New York based mentoring platform that is dedicated to ‘changing workplace culture’. Not just his own workplace culture, you note. Yours and mine too. Everybody’s.

As CEO of Next Jump he leads his company in exceptional ways. Crazily, his 200-some employees are offered a Lifetime Employment Policy – they will stay with Next Jump for life. Performance related issues related issues are countered with coaching and skills training, and termination for under-performance is unheard of.

“Think about when you adopt a child,” says Charlie. “You don’t give the child away when she turns truant or has problems. You work with her to fix them. We treat each hire the same way.”

By taking away the threat of termination, he says, we create a safety net of openness and trust - a platform in which misgivings and inexperience can be owned and faced up to. Employees in this environment are more likely to challenge themselves and take risks, ask for help and be authentic.

Protocol like this can’t exist without an exceptionally considered and well-thought-out recruitment process, as well as innovative follow-through in all the company’s policies. It’s a game-changing commitment – but according to Charlie Kim it brings results. The profitable kind.

Simon Sinek, author, speaker, and leadership consultant, supports this kind of innovation. When an employee feels safe and has a deep sense of trust for an organisation, he says, they are more likely to be collaborative – joining their talents and strengths with colleagues, and working tirelessly to face external dangers together.

This form of behaviour can be traced back 50,000 years to the Paleolithic era, Sinek believes, when the world was full of danger – literally. When things were out to kill us. ‘Nothing personal,’ he says, ‘whether it was the weather, lack of resources, maybe a sabre-toothed tiger, all of these things working to reduce our lifespan. And so we evolved into social animals, where we lived together and worked together in what I call a circle of safety, inside the tribe, where we felt like we belonged.’

That sense of belonging was built on inherent trust and safety. Inside the circle was a tribe of social creatures collaborating for survival – pitching in with all their skills and instincts to keep the cohort thriving.

Modern day is no different, Sinek says. ‘The world is filled with danger, things that are trying to frustrate our lives or reduce our success… It could be the ups and downs in the economy, the uncertainty of the stock market. It could be a new technology that renders your business model obsolete overnight. Or it could be your competition that is sometimes trying to kill you.’

The passage of time has not changed our inherent need to feel safe, to collaborate for survival, to belong to a tribe that works together to protect every individual from danger. The only difference is that when you work in an organisation, it’s the leader who matters the most. It’s the leader who defines the culture, who drives those strong systems of engagement, safety and trust.

Just as Charlie Kim is doing at Next Jump.

Kim’s exceptional approach works because his employees feel safe. The elimination of a very real danger – that of termination - allows his staff to feel secure and protected. There’s an atmosphere of trust. When things are going not well, the support is there to guide employees through – not weed them out.

To Sinek, great leadership is about looking out for the person to your left while supporting the person to your right, and not forgetting about the people above and below. These are the leaders that stand-out. Those who make you feel safe, who are aware of the instinct for a circle of safety. We trust them inherently because they give us no reason to feel otherwise.

They’re the ones who understand that we’re a tribe, and we want to belong.

 

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How to Revitalise Your Brand in 2018! The 6 Things You Need to Know Now!

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With every new year or calendar marker, most of us try and take a break don’t we? Whether it’s for a laid back holiday by the pool, a mud bath and exfoliation, or an all-out sense of enlightenment with a super-chic Balinese ritual at a mountain resort.

Whatever form your recharge pleasures take, eventually it’s time to rise from the yoga mat and get back down to business.

If you’re looking for means of re-entering the management world with strategies that will keep your people engaged, happy and loving your brand in 2018, here are six quick, free and slightly out-of-the-box strategies that bring a holistic rejuvenation to your pursuits.

 

1. SAY THANK YOU

All those things your mother told you about the magic words are true. A Podium Designs survey found that only 16% of employees had heard the words ‘thank you’ from their boss in six months. Not a great statistic! Saying thank you is a meaningful and powerful strategy. It motivates people and lets them know they’re appreciated. A small gesture that goes a long way.

 

2. PUT DOWN THE DEVICE

Human relationships are what make people truly happy. Great leaders know how to send subliminal messages to their employees which indicate, ‘I am listening to you and I am completely engaged with what you have to say.’ Body language is key. When your phone pings, buzzes, flashes or beeps, this subtly says that your device is eventually going to take precedence over the flesh-and-blood person vying for your attention. So don’t hold it or have it beside you while you’re in conversation. Remove it completely. Put it on silent, and place it well out of reach. Be seen to do so! Hell’s bells, you could put it in a drawer. This way, all temptation to be distracted by or fidget with it disappears, allowing you to be completely attentive to the person in front of you.

 

3. GET SOME SLEEP

Whether you’re the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company or the administrator of a 24hour distribution plant, the psychological demands of running a business are equally exhausting. Our bodies each have the same basic needs. And sleep is a big one. Every element of our lives is enriched if we get enough of it. Nurture yourself and don’t be afraid to start pushing up more zeds – you may find that this makes you far more interesting and engaging!

 

4. KINDNESS

Authentic and consistent kindness is a truly powerful thing. Grow the ability to be nice without expecting something in return – or calculating the leverage you’re gaining! Kindness has to be habitual and firmly felt. Strangers are important too, and niceness shouldn’t be reserved for only those you know. Treat every person you meet as if they are the most important person in the world - because they are. If not to you, then maybe to someone else.

 

5. FRIENDLINESS

Friendly behaviour involves smiling, giving encouragement, conversing and laughing - attributes that studies have shown are appreciated, respected and often admired by those we work with. Friendliness requires neither agreement nor approval and is rarely offensive if it is authentic. Best of all, most people have learnt this skill well before they have met you. So friendliness is something you need only role-model, rather than teach. ‘Don’t wait for people to be friendly, show them how.’ Wise words, if anonymous.

 

6. PERSUASION

Building agreement when points of view differ around the table can be tricky. Sure, sometimes an authoritative approach or executive decision may be required, but simply insisting it’s your way or the highway without bothering to get buy-in from your team can be really unsettling. To get others to buy into the way you see things, you’ll need to ask the right questions. Asking your colleagues to think about things - by asking the right questions – often allows them to arrive at the same conclusion themselves. This is the art of persuasion.

 

Building good relationships with the people around you is guaranteed to achieve great results. Favouring a natural blend of professionalism and humanity brings a new lightness and enjoyment to our workplaces year in, year out and creates something truly magical.

You need only keep it kind and simple and you will soon find that you are fostering an awesome platform for that deepest workplace joy - employee engagement.

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How to Motivate Your Staff and Increase Productivity in the Workplace

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In the throes of a new role, new-starters can be depended upon to burst onto the scene with a bucket load of excitement. Meeting new people, gaining exposure to fresh ideas and new challenges, it’s incredibly exciting and pumps us up.

Recently, I caught up with a chap who was in just this zone. With a spring in his step and a jovial demeanour, he oozed the energy that we all wish we felt every day on the way to work, and which our employers would like us to feel too.

This guy had more bounce than Tigger. So what accounted for it? Well he’d changed jobs and was past the drone of on-boarding. A project manager, the serial contract nature of his career means he changes employers more often than most. And as a top performer, there’s never any shortage of high profile companies lining up engage him on their next big development.

Having worked with the best on contemporary and ground-breaking projects, he always has insights to spare and share, and this time was no different. His new employer was leading big changes in the Australian market, he said, launching innovative concept stores across the nation. A small business doing big things. The job, he said, was awesome. But it was everything that went with it that put the spring in his step.

Here’s his top 6 of why this job stands out from all others:

 

1. ACCOUNTABILITY

When recruiting, the CEO asked every new starter a very direct question. ‘Will you let me down?’ His directness and ambition made it crystal clear from the on-set that he preferred his people full of grit and prepared to take accountability for their actions. My friend liked that. It gave him a pleasingly high benchmark to reach for.

 

2. CLARITY

Job title and seniority was paid scant regard by his new employer. From CEO to administrator, everyone sat on the same chair, typed into the same technology and wrote with the same kind of pen. No one was precious about anything and anyone suffering a momentary ego outburst was swiftly reminded to pull their head in.

 

3. FUEL

With only super-expensive café-style choices available in the company’s locale, my friend had opted for the supermarket for cheaper lunchtime choices. Ready-made salads and other heathy snacks – paleo, organic, no sugar, low fat – all the staples were there, in a battery of choices, good to go and ready to eat. Lower carbs and sugar put paid to the 2pm slump many of us experience, and he no longer needed an early afternoon caffeine pick-me-up.

 

4. LOCATION

A small, cramped workplace made him more likely to head outside at lunchtime. Since the office was opposite a beautiful iconic beach, this meant he was straight into the freshest air in the southern hemisphere. The excuse to get away from his desk and out of the office was a golden opportunity, and sent his afternoon productivity levels soaring.

 

5. TRANSPORT

The out-of-city-centre location changed his commute from train to bus. Such a small thing, he said, but with surprising impact. Dedicated bus lanes and express services were surprisingly efficient. There was always seat, and a chance to relax and catch up on podcasts and the newspaper - a novel change from strap hanging on a city commuter train.

 

6. INTELLIGENCE

Every person in the team was hand-picked. Not just in how they fit the job criteria or for their technical skill, but for their outlook. As a team they were all very different, he said, but the difference worked for them not against them. Good solutions were arrived at fast. They all came at things from different perspectives and sometimes there were odd viewpoints on the table, but there was also no pretence – and all opinions counted.

 

Six simple things. Unremarkable in isolation, but collectively they made a tangible and refreshing difference in both pleasure and productivity. My friend was engaged and relaxed, and completely satisfied that he was in the right job with the best group of people.

Sure, some of these changes were self-led, others the result of solid leadership. What that demonstrates is that engagement is a partnership. Both employer and employee need to get it right. That’s the springboard from which amazing things can happen.

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Want to Be More Successful in the Office? You Need to Get More Sleep!

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There is perhaps nothing more captivating than a sleeping baby. Watch their perfect face relax, see the rosebud lips twitch and their delicate chest rise and fall with each tiny, delicious, languorous breath. As that brief moment of adoration passes and the demands of the day still remain, your mind turns to envy.

Yes, envy - as you push that same infant around in a stroller through endless supermarket aisles, ducking and weaving, your basket overflowing and your burden increasing! Every so often you glance down to see your tranquil companion is still enjoying the ride and cooing at the bright lights and sounds. If only the experience were as restful and restorative for you!

As infants, we’re nurtured and cared for. Sent to bed after a day of play, and fed well so our legs grow long and our brains grow healthy. Time passes. We lose our milk teeth and pass through puberty, maybe graduate with a cap and gown. Then begins the slog of a career, and if we’re lucky we squeeze in a partner and family. A remarkably common feature amongst all the variables here is that slippage occurs, and we do much less of one particular thing. Sleep.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Arianna Huffington fainted from exhaustion. She hit her head on her desk, broke her cheekbone, and had to have five stitches in her right eye. ‘And I began the journey of rediscovering the value of sleep,’ she says.

Huffington, the founder of The Huffington Post, CEO of Thrive Global and author of 15 books, is not surprisingly the go-to on many subjects, However, driven from her own personal experiences of utter exhaustion and lack of sleep she is extremely passionate about sending one very specific message…

‘When you’re burned out and exhausted, it’s much harder to see clearly the dangers or opportunities ahead.’

Huffington knows that whether you’re the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company or the administrator of a 24hour distribution plant, the psychological demands are equally exhausting. Our bodies each have the same basic needs. And sleep is a big one.

 

HOW DID IT GET SO LATE, SO SOON?

Two things stood out in Huffington’s research. One, every element of our lives is enriched if we get enough sleep. And secondly, our biggest mistake is in measuring our success by the time we invest in it, rather than the quality of work we put in. Bill Clinton, who was renowned for sleeping only five or six hours a night throughout his presidency, observes…

‘Every important mistake I have made in my life, I’ve made because I was tired.’

If only he’d been thinking more clearly that day in the oval office with the cigar. Of course, getting more sleep is easier said than done - especially when our culture thrives on 24-hour data streaming and play-on-demand TV.

 

SLEEP - YOUR NEW STABLEMATE

The tricky part is finding the golden number – how many hours of sleep do we need to be mindfully present and completely engaged in our day? Everyone is slightly different, so once you have found yours, it’s time to get committed.

Here are three strategies Huffington has lived, breathed and made work:

  1. Tell people – own up to it. If everything you do could be done better on a really good night’s sleep, be candid about it. Let those around you know that you will be far more interesting and engaging tomorrow if you have the right amount of zeds.
  2. Schedule a meeting – it’s simple. A fee-paying client would find tardiness completely unacceptable. Treat your sleep the same way. Here’s the formula – the time you need to wake up minus your magic hours of sleep. BAM. This is the time you need to go to bed. Set a really annoying reminder if you have to.
  3. Stop temptation – turn all devices off. No beebs, blings, horns, swooshes or sweeps. Not only does this give your body a physical signal that it is ‘shutting down’, it prevents any middle-of-the-night temptation to check devices or be woken by their alluring vibrations.

There’s no doubt that Huffington is onto a good thing with her ideas on sleep, and we all know in our hearts that she’s right. It’s good to be reminded that as the years advance, we may not be as captivatingly beautiful while sleeping like a baby, but our need for rest has not changed. Nurture yourselfyourself and don’t be afraid to start pushing up more zeds!

 

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The Most Effective Leadership Changes you Need to Make to be Successful

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To say that Marshall Goldsmith knows a thing or two about leadership is understating on a truly epic scale.

Rated #1 Leadership Thinker and one of the Top Ten Most Influential Business Thinkers in the World. Top-ranked Executive Coach at the 2013 biennial Thinkers50 ceremony, and twice a New York Times best-seller. 

Appearing in Australia this year, he gave a series of media interviews – all highly compelling and motivating. There was no shortage of insights for all types of heads - for anyone keen to learn how the world’s top CEOs achieve positive change and continue to achieve great things for themselves and their brands.

Here are just three of his top insights – because even the briefest moment of understanding can change things for you for good. And curiously, that’s one of his points.

 

DON’T BECOME A HAMSTER ON A WHEEL

Goldsmith shares the advice given to him very early in his career by Dr. Paul Hersey, co-creator of the highly influential management model Situational Leadership™. “One day he told me that I was very good at what I did, selling days and speaking, but that I was making too much money and complacent in my success,” Goldsmith says. 

“He told me that I was just a hamster on a wheel not going anywhere, that I would probably make lots of money and have a good life, but if I continued doing what I was doing I wouldn’t become the person I could be.”

Goldsmith was quite comfortable coasting on his success. People were happy and business was lucrative. So he ignored Hersey’s advice. Fast forward twelve years, and he finally got it. To go from good to great, you can’t rest on your laurels, even if you are dancing with a cash cow. You have to be truly engaged with the things that get you most excited. Ultimately, Goldsmith realised this was original thinking, writing, creating and research.  

His gold nugget was “I would never have known that coasting on our achievements can be one of the biggest flaws of very successful people!”

 

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU

The trickiest part of transitioning into leadership is managing your ego.  It’s tough, says Goldsmith. You dedicate your entire career to winning, but as you get promoted and move up the ladder, winning should no longer be about you - it should be about the team. This, he says, can be a very hard transition for many leaders to make.

For those who are brave enough to put their ego aside, Goldsmith says the rewards are prolific. We all have wisdom: we know a lot, have great qualifications and a desire to help. A good leader has the capacity to put their own over-confidence on the bench, and look to others for answers.  They’re inclined to listen to what the others are saying and recognise that by doing so they understand all perspectives and not just their own, and become a well-rounded leader – and person – with authenticity and the backing of those around them. Self-awareness, says Goldsmith, is critical to success. 

 

YOU HAVE TO WANT IT

Counter intuitive it may be, but the clients Goldsmith spends the least time with are the ones who improve the most, he says, and those he spends the most time with often improve the least.  Great leadership emerges in a person not when they are told they have the potential to be better, but when they realise it for themselves – and want it.  You need drive and self-awareness to create change in yourself.

This is probably one of the reasons, Goldsmith jokes, that he will never be asked to coach Donald Trump!

As leaders of teams and small businesses, we have much to learn from Goldsmith’s approachapproach, valuable lessons which are simple but highly effective. ‘The less we focus on ourselves the more we benefit. It’s an interesting equation: Less me. More them. Equals success. Try it.’  So says Goldsmith and it’s hard not to agree!

 

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Enjoy the Benefits of Getting Friendly in the Workplace

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Good business is not a quiet thing. It hums. Healthy banter between colleagues is a sign that your workplace has a balanced culture - of productivity, friendliness and candour. It’s a place where employees share, float ideas and contribute. And it has a natural energy all of its own – generated by motivated people working together. 

Historically, this type of banter happened in the nooks and crannies of our office spaces - between partitions, over the water coolers. But as workplace design has evolved, the engagement we now experience with our colleagues hasn’t necessarily kept up.   

Sadly, the statistics say that meaningful engagement isn’t happening as often as it should. Only a few organisations truly know how to connect employees and create great environments that balance productivity, natural energy, motivation.

Getting along and liking each other seems to have become a really tricky business. 

 

STATS OF ENGAGEMENT

Gallup research shows that only 13% of employees worldwide are engaged in their jobs. – they’re interested in working for you and they love your brand.  The other 87% are not engaged. At worst, they’re completely indifferent. Quiet, inattentive and highly likely to move to another brand that they perceive will offer them more.

Gallup tells us it’s difficult to create environments where people can connect with each other, understand your brand and engage beyond set tasks.

Although our clever-selves might intuitively know that employee engagement is what drives real business outcomes, it’s clear that even the big guns are struggling to do this well. 

 

TRICKY BUSINESS

At #HR we know that engagement is unique to every business. What may work for one may not work for another.  It’s about doing many things in the right way and at the right time.

Stay with us over the next few weeks as we roll out posts which tackle the basics – and get your people and your business really, authentically engaged.

 

LET’S BE FRIENDLY

Let’s not brush over the simple things. 

Mark Horstman, co-founder of Manager Tools and author of The Effective Manager writes about being friendly.  There is, he says, a distinction between being friendly and being friends. 

Friendly behaviour involves smiling, giving encouragement, conversing and laughing.  ‘They are things that are appreciated, respected and often admired by those who struggle to get along well and easily with others.’

Friendly behaviour is not about building a sense of obligation or favouratism.  

Friendliness requires neither agreement nor approval and is rarely offensive if it is authentic.  Best of all, most have learnt this skill well before they have met you.  So friendliness is something you need only role model, rather than teach.

‘Don’t wait for people to be friendly, show them how.’ Wise words, if anonymous. 

Horstman has a really neat set of rules rules for friendliness with staff:

  1. You can’t be friends with anyone you employ;
  2. You can be friendly to everyone you employ;
  3. You can’t be friendly to some without being friendly to all.  Be consistent.

Once you benchmark these behaviours and begin to use them, they build the kind of engagement that really makes your workplace stand out from the crowd. 

For those who need more convincing, it turns out that kindness is fuel for our brains.  Judith Glaser, the CEO of Benchmark Communications explains its benefits through neuroscience.  'When someone is kind and respectful to us,' she says, 'our brains produce more oxytocin and dopamine, which helps us relax, feel open to others, and be more sharing and cooperative.'

Friendliness is just one element of employee engagement. Yet it plays a big part in how well your staff get along with each other - and a pivotal role in office dynamics and productivity.

‘Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.’ So says Richard Branson. We’re with him. Let’s get friendly.  

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How to be a Successful Entrepreneur in 3 Easy Ways

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Taking the helm of any business is a leap of faith and a little like strapping yourself in for a roller coaster ride. As you head up the first rise born aloft on a stream of ideas and energy, you feel the wind in your hair and the euphoria of healthy business growth.

Cameron Herold, business coach to successful entrepreneurs calls this the ‘uninformed optimism’ stage – when you’re bursting with excitement, aware there are challenges ahead, but not really able to see what’s beyond that first big rise. A tower of terror or a smooth cruise to early success?   

As you continue to round corners and defy the force of gravity, it can turn out to be a wilder ride than you anticipated. Sure you get to enjoy the euphoric highs. But you’ve got to endure the lows as well.

These twisters can come at you right out of the blue. The moments when you revisit the high start-up costs against the low early revenue. The days when programming or development efforts are unproductive. The time when your partner’s positivity is on the wane and it’s up to you to keep things on the up.

On days like this it’s hard to visualise a smooth road ahead. Clear thinking is gone with the wind. You’re pinned to your seat, paralysed and screaming all the way down.

The way Herold tells it, the roller coaster of entrepreneurism has a one-way ticket and there’s no getting off. And how you weather the highs and lows will determine your success.

So let’s talk strategy:

 

1. BREATHE 

Grab the safety rails and remember the basics. When your mind is whirling with misgivings, your anxiety levels are heightened too. This affects your ability to make smart choices.  So take time out for a breather. A walk in the park, pounding it out with boxing gloves - whatever your chosen medium is. All the science shows that connecting with nature and taking a short burst of exercise are essential for resetting that mind, reducing stress and staying healthy.

It helps you reconnect with your inner adventurer – the one that got you started on this voyage.

When your calm, centred-self returns, revaluate any decisions you made. Make sure they were meaningful, sensible and insightful. The secret to weathering the ups and downs is staying on track.

 


2. CONNECT

With your feelings.  Strange advice for a business owner? Not so. Understanding your feelings and being ready for them when you round a corner and see what’s ahead, is essential. 

Talk to your team, partner, spouse. Identify the scary moments, and be open to feedback about managing them. Bring people inside the volcano and get them to support you. You’ll find out who’s got the strengths to last the distance, and ultimately, it will build resilience in those around you.

Herold asserts that highly driven episodes are a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey – they drive growth and makes things happen.  However, times like this must be managed efficiently and used to an advantage, or crisis is unavoidable.  

 

3. JOIN A FORUM

The feeling that you’re ultimately alone on your journey is one familiar to many entrepreneurs. Share those moments with like-minded individuals and you offset the force-of-gravity vulnerability this loneliness can turn into.

Choose the right forum – one that’s less about advice and more about sharing experiences on the road travelled. Mo Fathelbab, angel investor, corporate culture advisor and Founder of the Forum Resources Network, believes that forums are an important tool in dispelling feelings of isolation and learning from your peers.

Forums connect you with people you can confide in, trust and turn to. If direction is what you need, they can link you with services - legal, financial, planning and support.  These can help you put the brakes on or accelerate as required - reducing risk and guess work, getting the pivotal business moments right.

Membership is generally free, so this becomes a cost neutral exercise with big impact!

And when you get back in the front seat, keep in mind that the thrills and spills are part of the ride. It’s a blast one moment, and a dead-stop the next. Your responses will help you stay on track.

Surround yourself with people who can help you tame the beast, and keep your strategy fixed in place. That way, whether you’re racing downhill, pulling out of a lull, or cresting a rise, you’ll stay in motion.

Then put your hands in the air and wave! Because it’s all about enjoying the journey.

 

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How to Manage Stress in the Office in Two Easy Ways

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The cut and thrust of business can feel like a high octane trip round a race track some days. There are the long straights and the pacey chicanes. By the time you make it to the chequered flag, you’re exhausted!

So how to make it seem more like a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive every day? The sort your granny and grandpa used to take. But with better outcomes and higher profit margins.

Stress can be the element that pushes you across the finishing line on a tank of pure adrenalin. It’s not all bad. But you definitely need a map of the route fixed in your head, plus a safety belt and a five point harness.

 

1. SHOW ME THE SCIENCE

When we’re stressed our body releases hormones that provide a highly powerful boost in energy. Cognitively, you’re ultra-sharp, you think fast and you remain alert. All of your senses are switched on and heightened, and you react swiftly.

This stress-response system is self-limiting. Once the perceived crisis has passed, hormone levels return to normal, lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. You go back onto cruise control, and the rhythmic hum of your business resumes.

There’s plenty of research telling us that harnessing the stress response can be highly valuable. Here are two strategies on how to leverage this super-fueled state.

 

2. FORESIGHT

Jack Dorsey knows about stress. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square. His opinion is that stress only becomes unmanageable when things that are unexpected. ‘The more you can set a cadence around what you do and the more ritual and the more consistency you can build in your schedule, the less stress you are going to have’

Foresight is what helps us plan for the unexpected – and manage stress well. People who get good at strategic planning tend to notice the unexpected sooner. And they’re prepared.

When a crisis arises, such people take advantage of the hormone rush. Rather than react to the event negatively, they shift up a gear – smoothly – using their increased energy to manage the crisis meticulously, as planned. Once the crunch time is past, a performance review can take place and plans can be changed according to what worked.       

Crises managed this way tend to be temporary and brief, and handling them becomes effortless over time.

 

PREPARED IN MIND AND BODY

John Howard, former Australian Prime Minister (1996-2007) is a man of habit. After taking office as Prime Minister, he made a point of walking almost every day, whether at his residence or in a bustling foreign capital.  He believes the ritual of exercise was a boost to his mind as well as his health. And he’s not the only one.  President Obama also credits morning exercise for his ability to keep a calm demeanor in high-stress environments.

Research from Princeton University in New York shows that walking briskly or jogging calms you, sparking nerve cells in the brain that relax the senses the senses. Professor Elizabeth Gould says physical activity re-organises the brain so that anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal function.

You’d always wear a helmet on the race track, right? And your brain needs protection in the workplace too! Regular rhythmic exercise can minimize many symptoms of stress. Nurture your brain with fresh air and a brisk walk, and your ride will be smoother next time a challenge looms around the bed.  

Hardwiring foresight into your business, and keeping thing fresh with regular exercise – two simple measures that can be implemented at any time and cost very little.

Your granny and grandpa would have appreciated the wisdom.

 
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The Dangers of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Workplace

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Drugs, alcohol and work are not a cocktail we recommend. In your small business, we suggest you keep things clean from the very start with a suite of procedures and best practice in place.

If you’re a numbers person, you’ll be interested and not a little alarmed at the statistics released this month by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW), telling us that around one in two-hundred people in this country sought treatment for alcohol and drug use in 2014–15.

For the last ten years alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines and heroin have been the drugs causing most concern. The Institute’s spokesperson Tim Beard advises that for their clients seeking treatment aged thirty and over, alcohol was the most commonly used drug, while for clients aged twenty-nine and under, it was cannabis.

Some of those people work. It’s possible they work for you or might do so at some point. Are you ready to handle the consequences?

Let’s not be naïve. This is clearly an issues that touches workplace culture both directly and indirectly.

The Australian Drug Foundation reports that alcohol and drugs cost Australian workplaces an estimated $6 billion per year in lost productivity, with 2.5 million days lost annually.

The cost to co-workers is just as significant. One in ten workers say they have experienced the negative effects of a co-worker’s misuse of alcohol. That might include reduced capacity in doing their job, causing an accident or near miss. There can be an expectation that colleagues will cover for them, even extending their own hours of work to do so.

Whatever the size of an organisation, all employers have a legal obligation to address alcohol and drug related issues in the workplace. Reasonable or practicable steps must be taken to ensure the health and safety of all staff, as well as contractors or clients.

Which brings us back to our recommendation that you keep things clean from the start.

Managing alcohol or drug related issues in retrospect, with no supporting policy or go-to guide, is complex, stressful and costly.

At #HR we know that being proactive and having best practice in place from start-up onwards is most certainly the way to go.

There are many resources available to help employers implement best practice. Safe Work Australia is an excellent place to start looking for on-line resources governed by Australian legislation, as well as the Australian Drug Foundation for documentation that’s useful when compiling your procedures.

If you have any doubts at all, contact a professional like #HR, who will be able to support you through this process. We are an influence upon whom you should be counting.

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