Mike Kublin President of PeopleTek Coaching interviews Alexa Carlin, Founder and President of Hello Perfect. Hello Perfect provides programs that empower adolescents and adults to have confidence in themselves, overcome obstacles and struggles, live a healthy lifestyle, and accomplish their wildest dreams! Hello Perfect became a Non-profit in September, 2014.
Learn more about Alexa Carlin and Hello Perfect at http://www.helloperfect.com/.
Humor in the workplace has been found to increase both productivity and results.
It’s linked with our emotional intelligence competencies, and according to Daniel Goleman, (EQ author/expert):
Research on humor at work reveals that a well-timed joke or playful laughter can stimulate creativity, open lines of communication, enhance a sense of connection and trust, and, of course make work more fun.
Herb Kelleher, former CEO Southwest Airlines, said his focus was on “fun and profit … and know how the two go together.” A winning combination!
A study by the Bell Leadership Institute in Chapel Hill, NC, found that “sense of humor” and “work ethic” were mentioned more than any other phrase when employees were asked to describe the strengths and weaknesses of senior colleagues in their organizations.
Great managers go way beyond insisting on a safe work environment. They work to create a positive, team-like and productive atmosphere which includes the gift of laughter.
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As a leader, it’s all too easy to maintain a focus limited to meeting goals and deadlines. Our daily activities can be overwhelming and challenging, and we aren’t always aware of the pressure we put on ourselves and our co-workers. We need to be aware when stress levels begin to rise, and we need to know how to lessen it.
A happy workplace not only improves productivity, it’s also been attributed to increasing loyalty and energy levels, and reducing tension, absenteeism, tardiness, and attrition.
Self-deprecating humor enhances perceptions of leadership ability because it tends to minimize status and title distinctions. Researchers at Seattle University found that project managers who used self-deprecating humor tested highest for transformational leadership in areas including likability, trust, consideration, and intellectual stimulation.
Like any leadership behavior, the use of humor requires skill. For some, using humor is a natural talent, for others it’s awkward.
Tip: Avoid humor that is sexist, ethnic, political, or religious since this is usually at someone’s expense, and is likely to be disruptive and ill received.
How are you incorporating humor in the workplace?
PeopleTek’s Strategic partner, E-Coach, specializes in online coaching tools.
QwikTip for Team Etiquette
And for those with a QwikCoach license, refresh your existing skills and acquire new skills by visiting the QwikTips library for leadership ideas and techniques.
If you don’t have QwikCoach, it’s an excellent resource for growing your leadership skills remotely that you should consider.
Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!
Change is a constant. Re-organizations, re-structuring, lay-offs, and looking at ways to cut costs are likely to continue. Knowing this, it’s more important than ever to have the right person in the right job.
Hiring that “right person” is a challenge faced by all leaders. It’s important to be clear on job functions, responsibilities and behaviors to help grow results. It’s also equally important to spend sufficient time looking for qualified candidates that would be a good fit for your organization.
In the early days if we had made the wrong hire just once, we would have been done. Hire good people who are a lot smarter than you are. Treat them well, love them, and embrace them.
–Jay Stein, CEO Steinmart
Your hiring options may include both external and internal candidates; both have benefits, both have disadvantages. High potential employees will already be familiar with the culture, and it saves hiring costs, but you may need someone “fresh”. We once worked with a senior leader who believed in alternating internal/external hires so he could promote from within and inspire existing employees, and then hire externally to create greater diversity among his team.
And just to be clear, we’re using the term “diversity” to include not only race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc, but to also include a variety of personality styles and leadership behaviors.
The candidate obviously needs to possess the technical skills/expertise required for the position, but you also want a well rounded team. Many of you are familiar with Myers-Briggs and DISC profile results which highlight style preferences.
Ideally you’ll have all the styles represented on your team. These differences create a balance for obtaining and driving results while ensuring sufficient analysis and due diligence is conducted before making decisions. You want direct styles to be balanced with reserved styles, you want individuals that are “people” people and take into account feelings and concerns, while others are deep thinkers and focus on the business needs. If everyone has the same behavioral strengths, innovation and growth may be stifled.
As leaders, we need to understand the skills, talent, and passion our staff brings to the table, and we must leverage these skills to support achieving our organizational goals.
“Hiring hard” will position you to have the right person in the right job and will prevent you from spending countless hours of “managing hard”!
PeopleTek’s Strategic partner, E-Coach, specializes in online coaching tools.
QwikTip for Becoming a Leader With a Vision
And for those with a QwikCoach license, refresh your existing skills and acquire new skills by visiting the QwikTips library for leadership ideas and techniques.
If you don’t have QwikCoach, it’s an excellent resource for growing your leadership skills remotely that you should consider.
Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!
Authentic leadership is a topic that continues to be examined in the workplace. How does improving individual and team performance impact profits, employee satisfaction levels, and relationships? Should the emphasis be on the people, or on the profit?
There have been conflicting studies about the results, but one thing that is clear is that authenticity does impact the work climate.
When you hear “authentic leadership,” what does that mean to you? One definition is:
Authentic leaders are positive people with truthful self-concepts who promote openness. By building trust and generating enthusiastic support from their subordinates, authentic leaders are able to improve individual and team performance.
To Bill George, author of Authentic Leadership it means “genuine, worthy of trust, reliance, or belief.” He also says authentic leaders demonstrate the following qualities:
To self-assess, ask yourself:
To be truly authentic, validate what’s important to you and align your personal and professional lives accordingly. We also suggest having clearly defined vision, mission and goals, and ensure all your actions support your ability to achieve them.
Are you authentic? How are you improving individual and team performance?
PeopleTek’s Strategic partner, E-Coach, specializes in online coaching tools.
For those with a QwikCoach license, refresh your existing skills and acquire new skills by visiting the QwikTips library for leadership ideas and techniques.
If you don’t have QwikCoach, it’s an excellent resource for growing your leadership skills remotely that you should consider.
Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!
