25 Apr
Overcoming Leadership Challenges in Today's Stressful Business Environment
marketang Uncategorized

Overcoming Leadership Challenges in Today’s Stressful Business Environment

As a leader, what challenges are you experiencing? The role of a leader has evolved over the years, and while that’s a good thing, today’s leaders are experiencing higher levels of stress with negative impacts for business relationships, effectiveness, and influence.

Per a Gartner Report, here are the top 3 leadership challenges:

Goal Conflict

45% of managers are spending more time managing projects than managing people

Stress and Fatigue

54% of managers are suffering from work-induced stress and fatigue

Lack of Confidence

Only 1 in 2 employees is confident in their manager’s ability to lead their team to be successful in the next two years

Employees place an importance on having the support of their leader, yet the leader has to struggle with balancing the “tactical/busy” work they must do with the time required to support their team members and for building and sustaining relationships.

The four key components identified for leadership effectiveness are:
  • Project and work management
  • Performance management and goal alignment
  • Coaching and development
  • Collaboration and building a positive team environment.

When items 2, 3 and 4 are neglected (or the desired time to work on them is lacking), the ability to lead effectively suffers as does morale, goal attainment, and career growth.

Workloads for leaders are impacting their ability to be effective, and 20% of leaders report that they would prefer not being people managers if given a choice.  How sad!

It’s not easy, but as leaders we must make every effort to address the challenges that are impacting our ability to be effective. Why?

Employees who feel they report to effective leaders are:
  • 15 times more likely to be high performers
  • 13 times more engaged
  •  3 times more likely to not change jobs
  • And, their physical and mental well-being is more than 12% higher than those that feel their leaders are ineffective.

What can change?
  • Clarify (or totally reset) leadership role expectations
  • Align priorities
  • Remove processes and procedures that are a burden for leaders (versus a value add)
  • Make people management and development a priority
  • Set realistic expectations of what leadership entails and build a pipeline of future leaders

What changes would make you a more effective leader and reduce your challenges?

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determinations.
— John Seaman Garns

At PeopleTek Coaching, our expertise lies in guiding IT visionaries, propelling them to the zenith of their capabilities. With a potent combination of bespoke coaching sessions, forward-thinking methodologies, and deep-rooted insights from the tech sector, we empower both individual tech mavens and cohesive teams to thrive in the dynamic world of IT.

Our state-of-the-art coaching model hones leadership skills and bolsters team unity, aligning them with a shared technological mission. This steadfast dedication to fostering teamwork has cemented our standing, making us the go-to consultancy for myriad tech corporations over our distinguished 20-year journey.

Beyond just business achievements, our aspiration is to mold IT spaces that resonate with positivity, creativity, and mutual respect. We champion environments that catalyze individual advancement and heighten productivity. This visionary approach forms the cornerstone of PeopleTek’s ethos.

At PeopleTek, we invite you to reshape your IT leadership path and lead with unmatched accuracy and enthusiasm. Delve into the nuances of our tailored approach by visiting PeopleTekCoaching.com. Boasting a comprehensive array of tech-focused services, we are primed to refresh your ascent to tech leadership excellence and collaborative success.

21 Apr
How Procrastination in the Workplace Impacts Your Career and Relationships
marketang Uncategorized

How Does Procrastination Impact Your Career and Relationships in the Workplace?

Procrastination in the workplace is real. Joseph Ferrari, PhD, professor of psychology and international researcher in procrastination studies shares that “20 percent of U.S. men and women are chronic procrastinators. They delay at home, work, school and in relationships”.

There are many reasons (excuses?) for procrastinating as well as impacts to the business:

Reasons:
  • Feelings of being over-whelmed
  • A task being too large
  • A task taking too much time
  • A task viewed as unpleasant
  • A task viewed as difficult
  • Unclear expectations
  • Indecisive approaches for completion
  • Fear of not getting the task “right”

Impacts:
  • Relationships
  • Trust
  • Missed deadlines
  • Productivity
  • Promotions
  • Goal attainment
  • Stress!

We all suffer from procrastination at some time or another (some of us more frequently than others). This basically means that we choose to postpone doing a task or action and instead make the decision to ignore priority items and choose to spend our time on tasks that require less time to complete or ones we find more enjoyable.

Tips that help:
  • When procrastinating, the best thing you can do is to admit it 
  • Next, understand the priorities of your business
  • Assess what causes you to put things off
  • Control distractions/disruptions
  • Do the toughest tasks first (or the ones required to attain goals)
  • Break the unpleasant tasks into small pieces
  • Delegate the task to someone who may enjoy doing it
  • Don’t be a perfectionist

Addressing procrastination requires awareness; reflect on your reasons for your delays and create a plan that will move you forward (and don’t hesitate to engage your leader for guidance).  

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

You may delay, but time will not.
–Benjamin Franklin

At PeopleTek Coaching, our expertise lies in guiding IT visionaries, propelling them to the zenith of their capabilities. With a potent combination of bespoke coaching sessions, forward-thinking methodologies, and deep-rooted insights from the tech sector, we empower both individual tech mavens and cohesive teams to thrive in the dynamic world of IT.

Our state-of-the-art coaching model hones leadership skills and bolsters team unity, aligning them with a shared technological mission. This steadfast dedication to fostering teamwork has cemented our standing, making us the go-to consultancy for myriad tech corporations over our distinguished 20-year journey.

Beyond just business achievements, our aspiration is to mold IT spaces that resonate with positivity, creativity, and mutual respect. We champion environments that catalyze individual advancement and heighten productivity. This visionary approach forms the cornerstone of PeopleTek’s ethos.

At PeopleTek, we invite you to reshape your IT leadership path and lead with unmatched accuracy and enthusiasm. Delve into the nuances of our tailored approach by visiting PeopleTekCoaching.com. Boasting a comprehensive array of tech-focused services, we are primed to refresh your ascent to tech leadership excellence and collaborative success.

16 Apr
How Does Your Influence Shape Your Leadership? Discover the Power of Everyday Actions!
marketang Uncategorized

How Does Your Influence Shape Your Leadership? Discover the Power of Everyday Actions!

When you read John C. Maxwell’s quote: Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less, did it strike any nerve with you, and did you take a second or two to consider how you influence others?

At PeopleTek, one of our slogans is that “everyone is a leader” (which is not always readily accepted), but our reasoning is that everyone has the ability to influence others, which is a key trait for leadership.

Our behaviors, how we communicate, how we manage differences, and our ability to build relationships are all part of our influencing skillset.  Do you:

  I
        Consistently display and lead with INTEGRITY

  N    
        Identify the developmental NEEDS of your people and organization

  F    
        Reflect on FEEDBACK that is given to you, and provide meaningful
            FEEDBACK to help others grow

  L       
        LEVERAGE differing styles and preferences to obtain goals and desired
            results

  U       
        UNDERSTAND that not everything goes as planned; don’t punish yourself
            (or others), rather learn from what went wrong and consider how it
            could be improved upon

  E      
       ENGAGE others with both similar and opposing views. What have you not
            thought about? What more can be learned?

  N 
       Invest in both NEW and tenured leaders and commit to continual learning

  C       
       Genuinely CARE about how others think and feel

  E
        EFFECTIVE leaders build and maintain authentic, lasting, relationships

How did you score? Any area(s) you can improve upon?

As leaders, use your influencing skills to align team members to achieve goals, to have open and healthy feedback, to strengthen relationships, and to grow.

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Never mistake the power of influence.
–Jim Rohn

At PeopleTek Coaching, our expertise lies in guiding IT visionaries, propelling them to the zenith of their capabilities. With a potent combination of bespoke coaching sessions, forward-thinking methodologies, and deep-rooted insights from the tech sector, we empower both individual tech mavens and cohesive teams to thrive in the dynamic world of IT.

Our state-of-the-art coaching model hones leadership skills and bolsters team unity, aligning them with a shared technological mission. This steadfast dedication to fostering teamwork has cemented our standing, making us the go-to consultancy for myriad tech corporations over our distinguished 20-year journey.

Beyond just business achievements, our aspiration is to mold IT spaces that resonate with positivity, creativity, and mutual respect. We champion environments that catalyze individual advancement and heighten productivity. This visionary approach forms the cornerstone of PeopleTek’s ethos.

At PeopleTek, we invite you to reshape your IT leadership path and lead with unmatched accuracy and enthusiasm. Delve into the nuances of our tailored approach by visiting PeopleTekCoaching.com. Boasting a comprehensive array of tech-focused services, we are primed to refresh your ascent to tech leadership excellence and collaborative success.

08 Apr
Boost Leadership with Strong Relationships - Learn How
marketang Uncategorized

How Can Strong Relationships Elevate Your Leadership?

Not only do strong leaders invest in their interactions and business relationships with others, they also help others understand why it’s important to do so.

Here’s how to enhance interactions and relationships:

  • Truly care about others and their career
  • Make others feel valued
  • Listen to new and perhaps opposing ideas
  • Be respectful and mindful of the needs of others
  • Live your life with integrity and without hidden agendas
  • Do not portray a sense of self-importance or superiority
  • Provide meaningful feedback to help others grow and improve
  • Accept feedback for your own growth and improvement 
  • Be a role model and set the stage! Others learn from us and will emulate the actions and behaviors they see in us (and like).

As leaders one of our main goals is to help others grow in their career, and building strong relationships is a great way to start.

Sincerely,

 

Mike and Jan

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more,
do more and become more, you are a leader.
–John Quincy Adams

At PeopleTek Coaching, our expertise lies in guiding IT visionaries, propelling them to the zenith of their capabilities. With a potent combination of bespoke coaching sessions, forward-thinking methodologies, and deep-rooted insights from the tech sector, we empower both individual tech mavens and cohesive teams to thrive in the dynamic world of IT.

Our state-of-the-art coaching model hones leadership skills and bolsters team unity, aligning them with a shared technological mission. This steadfast dedication to fostering teamwork has cemented our standing, making us the go-to consultancy for myriad tech corporations over our distinguished 20-year journey.

Beyond just business achievements, our aspiration is to mold IT spaces that resonate with positivity, creativity, and mutual respect. We champion environments that catalyze individual advancement and heighten productivity. This visionary approach forms the cornerstone of PeopleTek’s ethos.

At PeopleTek, we invite you to reshape your IT leadership path and lead with unmatched accuracy and enthusiasm. Delve into the nuances of our tailored approach by visiting PeopleTekCoaching.com. Boasting a comprehensive array of tech-focused services, we are primed to refresh your ascent to tech leadership excellence and collaborative success.

02 Apr
Understanding Workplace Biases for Better Leadership
marketang Uncategorized

Breaking Down Biases: A Guide to Fairer Workplaces

. . . and we all have biases

Like it or not we all have biases and they impact our relationships, our interactions, our work culture, and our life. What’s key is understanding what they are and how to manage them.

Per NeuroLeadership:

Simply put, bias is what happens in our own brains, while feelings of inclusion or exclusion are what happens in other people’s brains.

Unconscious bias, or implicit bias, is an assumption or belief you have in favor of or against a person or a group of people. These prejudices are unintentional; they happen outside of your awareness.

Common Workplace biases include:

 

1.    Ability
2.    Affinity
3.    Age
4.    Appearance (weight/grooming)
5.    Authority
6.    Confirmation
7.    Conformity
8.    Gender
9.    Race/heritage/accents
10. Religion

When you look at our COMPASS you can see that all the components have the potential to be impacted by biases, and these components are critical for effective leadership and career growth.

Biases can lead to: unfair assumptions, preferential treatment (by the boss and others), discrimination, harassment and bullying, and exclusionary behavior. They can also stifle a person’s ability to leverage their “magic dust”® (their special talents). As leaders we need to recognize that everyone excels in a variety of things, and that although some colleagues may excel at certain tasks, others will be more effective in other roles and actions.

How can we improve? We can start with expanding our competencies by learning more about others that are different from ourselves, supplemented with the intent to appreciate those differences.

What biases have you observed in the workplace? Have you ever felt stifled because of biases?

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Recognizing that you have a bias and blind spots is essential to personal growth.
― Mikaela Kiner

At PeopleTek Coaching, our expertise lies in guiding IT visionaries, propelling them to the zenith of their capabilities. With a potent combination of bespoke coaching sessions, forward-thinking methodologies, and deep-rooted insights from the tech sector, we empower both individual tech mavens and cohesive teams to thrive in the dynamic world of IT.

Our state-of-the-art coaching model hones leadership skills and bolsters team unity, aligning them with a shared technological mission. This steadfast dedication to fostering teamwork has cemented our standing, making us the go-to consultancy for myriad tech corporations over our distinguished 20-year journey.

Beyond just business achievements, our aspiration is to mold IT spaces that resonate with positivity, creativity, and mutual respect. We champion environments that catalyze individual advancement and heighten productivity. This visionary approach forms the cornerstone of PeopleTek’s ethos.

At PeopleTek, we invite you to reshape your IT leadership path and lead with unmatched accuracy and enthusiasm. Delve into the nuances of our tailored approach by visiting PeopleTekCoaching.com. Boasting a comprehensive array of tech-focused services, we are primed to refresh your ascent to tech leadership excellence and collaborative success.