Coaching your employees requires commitment. It must be planned in advance, not done off the cuff.
Management today is really about enabling people to succeed and that means providing them with the guidance, resources, feedback and support they need to do their jobs.
Coupling feedback with expectations is the foundation of manager-to-employee coaching. It’s also the method by which managers can help employees and teams get the work done and promote higher levels of engagement and productivity. (read more…)
When I tell people that I am a creative director, a few things pop into their mind, and they usually ask, “So, are you like Don Draper?” To this one, I usually answer that I don’t think so; I think I am way better looking. Or so my mom says.
Then, the big one pops up, “You’re lucky. I am not creative at all. I don’t think I could ever be. Do you?” The answer is, “No, you can’t. Just kidding. Of course you can. Anyone with half a brain can.”
Here’s some advice that I think will help those of you who think of yourselves as non-creative people. That’s right. I’m talking to you, account executives of the world. Or you, the bored receptionist. Or even you, the overconfident junior writer who lacks experience or self-confidence. That’s right, even you.
A curious pair of eyeballs.
Be an observer and try to understand the world around you. (read more…)
“God bless entrepreneurs! They built our nation and will continue to keep us strong!”
AOL founder Steve Case has not lost confidence in American entrepreneurialism and its ability to access capital and then succeed. Other panelists at Tuesday’s “Fueling American Entrepreneurship” session at the Milken Institute Global Conference were more reserved, but if there were a one-sentence theme, it might have been, “How can we get to where we need to be?”
And where do entrepreneurs need to be? As Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said, “What America has to be for entrepreneurs is what Canada is for hockey. … If you’re born in Canada and you’re a gifted hockey player, you will be found.” Similarly, he said, talented entrepreneurs with smart ideas in the U.S. must be able to be found and financed.
Financing has been an uncertain proposition for years now, panelists said, but entrepreneurs and small businesses can have particular trouble finding capital, whether as loans, venture capital or seed and angel funding. (read more…)
Whether you’re in the fashion, food or financial industry, innovation is imperative. It’s the fresh thinking that keeps your business relevant. It’s creativity packed with a competitive edge. And it’s the superpower on which you can build success. But, like any superhero, innovation has its enemies — and to beat them, you have to know them. Here’s what you are up against:
- Initiative overload: It’s easy for organizations to bite off more than they can chew — especially if they don’t realize exactly what type of dish innovation is. When attempting innovation for the first time, they simply treat it as another initiative to manage. But innovation is a direct response to the strategy of an organization; if a company has no strategy, it has no basis for saying “no” to anything in the enterprise. Innovation is then easily shoved aside. Instead, innovation should be an ongoing operational focus.
- Business as usual: Business as usual is all about protecting and maintaining the status quo to minimize change and maximize efficiency.
Managers and team leaders should know better than anyone the value of change agents within an organization. They are the “entrepreneurs” within your company, they are the drivers of organic growth, and they make great leaders. Because of this coveted capability, if they aren’t given room to build and grow within a company, it’s easy for them to take their talents elsewhere.
Because there isn’t one title for these “corporate entrepreneurs,” they’re found embedded within many teams (thank goodness). Once you spot them, here’s a brief how-to guide to help keep them inspired and ensure they stay:
Seven ways to keep your change agents happy
- Don’t confuse change agents with their siblings — the “Change Management Guru” or the “Big Ideas Person.” Change agents know this isn’t your mom’s change management, where solutions are predetermined and change management mollifies the troublemakers. Instead, today’s change agents build solutions socially by sincerely listening to and collaborating with the “Big Ideas Person.” While some may blow this person off or see them as inefficient, the change agent recognizes that promoting these ideas stretches the team’s thinking and helps create a winning solution.
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