Firing Someone with Class
27 Aug
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Productivity, Team Management

We’re Letting You Go. How to Fire Someone with Class (and the Least Pain Possible)

Introduction

Firing an employee is undoubtedly one of the most challenging tasks a manager or employer has to face. The process can be emotional, complex, and, at times, overwhelming. However, handling the situation with empathy, professionalism, and respect can make the transition smoother for both parties involved. In this blog, we will explore the art of letting someone go with grace and compassion while minimizing the pain associated with such an event.

The Personal Connection

I remember the time when I had to let go of an employee, let’s call her Sarah, due to restructuring within the company. It was an experience that taught me valuable lessons about how to approach such a difficult situation with empathy and care. Sarah had been a dedicated member of the team for several years, and her performance had always been commendable. However, due to changes in our industry, her role was no longer aligned with the company’s evolving needs.

1. Preparation is Key

Before breaking the news to Sarah, I spent days preparing for the conversation. I made sure to have all the necessary documentation and performance records to back up the decision. This not only helped me feel more confident about explaining the situation but also ensured that Sarah would receive a clear and comprehensive explanation.

2. Choose the Right Setting

Understanding the importance of a private and respectful setting, I chose a quiet meeting room for our conversation. I wanted Sarah to feel comfortable expressing her emotions without the fear of being observed by others. This allowed us to have an open and honest dialogue.

3. Be Direct and Compassionate

As I sat across from Sarah, I knew the importance of being direct. I started the conversation by acknowledging her contributions and dedication to the team. I then explained the situation, expressing how difficult this decision was for both of us. My goal was to be honest while also conveying empathy and understanding.

4. Provide a Clear Explanation

I shared with Sarah the reasons behind the decision, emphasizing that it was not a reflection of her skills or commitment. I used specific examples to illustrate the company’s changing needs and how her role was no longer aligned with our direction. By presenting clear facts, I aimed to help her see the bigger picture.

5. Active Listening

As I delivered the news, I saw a range of emotions flash across Sarah’s face. I gave her the time and space to express her feelings. She shared her concerns, fears, and thoughts about the situation. Through active listening, I ensured that she felt heard and validated during this challenging time.

6. Offer Support and Resources

Understanding the uncertainty that accompanies job loss, I offered to assist Sarah in her job search. I provided information about job placement services, networking opportunities, and even offered to write her a strong recommendation letter. This gesture reassured her that her well-being mattered to me beyond her role in the company.

7. Respect Their Dignity

Throughout the process, I focused on treating Sarah with the utmost respect and dignity. I made sure that our conversation remained confidential and that her departure was handled discreetly. This was a commitment I made to ensure she retained her self-esteem throughout the transition.

8. Maintain Confidentiality

Understanding the sensitivity of the situation, I refrained from discussing the details of Sarah’s departure with other employees. This was crucial in maintaining a positive and respectful atmosphere within the team.

9. Follow Up

After our initial conversation, I followed up with Sarah a few days later. I wanted to check on her emotional well-being and offer any further assistance she might need. This follow-up showcased my genuine concern for her as a person, not just as an employee.

Conclusion

My experience with letting go of Sarah taught me that firing someone with class and compassion is an art that requires careful planning, empathy, and respect. By preparing thoroughly, choosing the right setting, and maintaining open communication, you can navigate this challenging process in a way that minimizes pain and preserves dignity. Remember, the way you handle these difficult moments can define your organization’s culture and leave a lasting impact on the individuals involved.

If you’re seeking more guidance on handling tough workplace situations with confidence and empathy, I invite you to visit my website at AllisonTodd.com As a dedicated confidence coach, I’m here to provide support and resources to help you navigate such challenges and foster a positive and respectful work environment. Together, we can learn and grow, ensuring that each interaction, even the difficult ones, becomes an opportunity for growth and compassion.

Why You Should Building Teams Around the Talent Not Based on the Confines of Traditional Roles
23 Oct
Business Coach, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Team Management

Why You Should Building Teams Around the Talent Not Based on the Confines of Traditional Roles

At the start of the pandemic, over 120,000 businesses temporarily closed and left over 30 million US workers unemployed. Though job openings have steadily increased, millions of Americans left the labor force in the Great Resignation.

As the labor shortage seemed to rebound, we faced the Great Reshuffle. People quit jobs in droves to pursue dreams, seek better opportunities, or enjoy better work-life balance.

Employers need positions filled, however. Attracting and retaining talent is no small feat, especially at a time when candidates are in high demand.

Pay and benefits are a big part of the equation, but they’re not enough. Employees are seeking opportunities where they feel valued, respected, and invested in – and that starts with the hiring process.

Stop Hiring Based on Traditional Roles

No matter the company or position, the hiring process is usually the same. The position needs to be filled, HR writes a job description, and it’s posted on a job board. Candidates apply and are screened based on impersonal algorithms or required fields, narrowing the list.

The candidates that make it through are interviewed to narrow the list further, sometimes over the course of several interviews, before they’re sent an offer. These interviews often include the same tired questions like “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” or “why do you want this job?”

Are these questions the best way to find out if a candidate is a good fit for your company? They may offer some insights or show creativity, but they may not be effective for getting to the ideal candidate.

But still, you send out offers and rejections, hire an employee, onboard the employee, and put them through training. This could take weeks or months, on top of all the time spent in the hiring process.

That’s a lot of money and time. The employee will take time to adjust as well, which could add about six months to the process before you see return on that investment.

If the employee doesn’t work out, then it was all for nothing. You have to start the whole process over again.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

Why Do Employees Leave Jobs?

As of February 2022, self-employed workers made up about 11% of the 157 million employed workers in the US. This is a dramatic increase over the past two decades.

These workers left their stable full-time jobs and took the risk to get more job satisfaction and control. They wanted the opportunity to develop skills and tackle challenges, which they didn’t have in their current positions.

Employees don’t want to go to work, take orders, and go home. They want to take on new challenges and find opportunities for growth in their careers. If they don’t have a role they can grow into, they move on.

And it all starts with the hiring process. Instead of always being behind the problem, you can get ahead of it and attract talent by providing the satisfaction they’re looking for.

Find a Better Way to Hire

The traditional hiring process isn’t ideal. Here’s another approach.

You have a role you need to fill, general requirements, and a benefits package and salary range to create a job listing. It’s that job listing that prompts a change-up.

Instead of outlining arbitrary requirements, focus on what you really need for the role. Some positions will need licensing or education, but not always. Think about whether you’re eliminating possible candidates based on requirements that are really more preferences.

For example, do you need 5+ or 10+ years of experience? Is a degree required for the role, or just a nice bonus? Do you need just that specific degree, or would related degrees provide a lot of the same information?

Most importantly, are any of these requirements so set in stone that you’re willing to prescreen based on them, never seeing a portion of the applicants?

The years of experience is a particularly tricky one. If you need a mid-level employee and ask for 5 years of experience, you’re getting an employee who’s squarely in the middle of where they need to be. That shortens your training time, but how much can you get out of the employee before they outgrow their role?

If you hire someone who’s approaching that experience level, you have an opportunity to help them grow into it. Remember, the skills that can’t be taught, such as adaptability, teamwork, and personal engagement, are more important than teachable skills like proficiency with a specific software.

Once you figure out what you really need, you can screen candidates effectively and start your interview process. And here’s where you really change things up.

Instead of asking the standard questions, consider a new approach that tests creativity and gives you an idea of how they’ll perform in the position.

Present them with a problem your company is currently facing and ask how they would solve it. For example, tell them you’re struggling to attract a certain audience and ask what they would do differently.

The answers they offer will showcase their creativity, how well they understand your company and the role, and how they can be an asset to your team.

Revamp Your Hiring Process for Long-Term Success

Talent has a bit of an upper hand in the job market now. The interview goes both ways, so if you want to attract the best talent, develop a better hiring process that tests creativity. 

16 Oct
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Team Management

Compassionate Leadership: Why Putting Your Employees Well Being and Mental Health Is Vital to Long-Term Business Success

Compassion comes from the Latin word compati, which means “suffer with.” Showing compassion has been a key component of nearly every religion as a way to connect with others and spread harmony.

In psychology, compassion is an action more than an emotion. It combines elements of love, care, and empathy with the intent to alleviate the suffering of others or share in it with them.

Recently, research has indicated that compassion is an important aspect of a productive work environment. Showing compassion to managers, colleagues, and employees is essential for job satisfaction and motivation.

Understanding Compassion

Showing compassion for others depends on three factors:

  • – We must feel that the troubles causing suffering are serious.
  • – We expect that the sufferer’s troubles are the result of external circumstances (not self-inflicted).
  • – We must be able to empathize and picture ourselves in the circumstances.

Compassion isn’t a give and take. In most cases, the person showing compassion rarely expects to receive the same or get something for their expression. Basically, compassion is “empathy in action.”

In the workplace, showing compassion can lead to reduced stress and more job satisfaction for employees. It also inspires more loyalty, dedication, and engagement, reducing employee attrition and low morale.

We can express compassion in the workplace by:

  • – Actively listening without judgment
  • – Noticing when colleagues are experiencing personal stress or pain and making an effort to help them feel more comfortable and secure in the workplace
  • – Accepting criticism and addressing underperformance or failure without unnecessary harshness

Showing compassion in this manner not only benefits the people involved, but it has a positive impact on the company’s performance culture. Empathy and kindness upgrade the value system of the employees and they feel more involved with the team.

Benefits of Workplace Compassion

Employee Retention

One of the key benefits of a compassionate workplace is employee retention, especially with compassionate leaders. Employees who receive empathy and support from their colleagues and leaders regularly are more likely to stick around and put effort into the organizational goals.

Conversely, if employees are treated poorly or receive no professional cooperation, they will eventually lose motivation and productivity will suffer.

Stress Reduction

Compassion creates space for active communication. Employees in compassionate workplaces can vent out their professional stress (appropriately) and socialize to improve productivity. Compassion can also help with managing work stress and burnout in fast-paced environments.

Physical Well Being

Feeling compassion not only offers psychological benefits but physical ones. Employees who spend time interacting with their colleagues show steady blood pressure and heart rate, according to studies.

Less stress also means better immune systems, reducing the number of sick days and illness. Employees can better manage their work-life balance and enjoy a healthier work and social life.

Interpersonal Bonding

Leaders who take compassionate approaches to work have employees who are likely to reciprocate and work harder for the company. They form healthier and stronger professional relationships and feel that they are part of a team, contributing to better work performance and satisfaction.

What Is Compassionate Leadership?

Compassionate leadership is focused on the individual and their needs, as well as the needs of the team. These leaders can inspire a journey of personal growth and development, no matter how tough the challenges get. They understand that no one is perfect, but they see potential in others and help them reach it.

Modern-day leaders who want to navigate their people and organizations toward success require compassionate leadership. In the past, compassion was seen as a weakness – compassionate people were “soft.”

Now, leaders must treat their colleagues and teams with care and kindness to help them succeed, as individuals and as a team.

Tips for Showing Compassionate Leadership at Work

If you’re wondering how you can apply these skills to your own workplace and teams, here are some tips:

Self-Compassion

Positive vibes start with yourself. You must prioritize self-care and kindness to yourself before you can show it to others. Forgive yourself for past mistakes, focus on your strengths instead of your weaknesses, and pay yourself compliments.

Effective Communication

The key to being compassionate at work is communicating effectively. No matter who you’re speaking to, communicate openly and clearly to avoid confusion. You should also listen to employees or colleagues who feel comfortable confiding in you and show patience and neutrality.

Appropriate Contact

Touch can be powerful when you’re expressing empathy. Physical contact is minimal in the workplace, but you can use it appropriately with a light touch on the shoulder or holding a hand while listening to a story.

If physical contact isn’t appropriate or comfortable in the situation, show nonverbal cues that express compassion and empathy like eye contact or turning your body toward the person speaking.

Initiation

It takes one person to make the first move and show compassion. Whether you do it with personal support, feedback, or an open discussion about opinions, you can set an example to the entire team and teach them to be more open and empathetic to each other.

Thoughtfulness

Being in tune to the emotions and thoughts of others is an important aspect of compassion. Consider how your words or actions may affect your colleagues, subordinates, or managers and think about how you’d feel in their situation.

Encouragement

Compassion in the workplace is most often reflected by verbal encouragement and motivation. You can show compassion in the workplace by supporting your colleagues and cheering others on for their work and achievements. This type of positive reinforcement can bring about favorable changes.

Flexibility

Compassionate leaders need to have an open mind and realize the power that small changes in daily routine can influence productivity. Instead of being “stuck in their ways,” compassionate leaders are ready to tweak their leadership policies, lifestyle, or strategies to benefit an individual, team, or the entire organization.

Learning

A compassionate leader never stops asking questions, prompting feedback, and learning from others. Gaining new perspectives helps you get closer to others and remove any barriers to their success.

Mindfulness

Leaders have an array of tasks to complete in one day. Taking a moment to slow down, breathe, and observe can help you gain the mindfulness of your team and work environment. If there are stressors or tension, you can identify and address them more readily.

Gratitude

Everyone wants to feel like they’re positively contributing to their workplace and that they’re appreciated. When leaders show gratitude, they earn respect from their employees. This can be done through mentoring, guidance, or merely recognizing a job well done or work put in.

Team Spirit

In the past, workplaces thrived with employees that came to work, did their jobs, and went home. Employees don’t want to just take orders anymore, not feeling like their work contributes to anything important. They want to feel valued, appreciated, and most importantly, useful.

Promoting team spirit makes a workplace more appealing and helps everyone involved in a project or team feel like they’re working toward a shared goal. This not only motivates better work, but it promotes healthier interpersonal relationships.

Top Examples of Compassionate Workplaces

Compassion is slowly working its way into modern companies. These three companies show how compassion can contribute to success:

The Hospital Corporation of America

The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) is a leading healthcare organization in the US. With over a hundred hospitals and a vast number of employees working at different levels, it’s incredible that HCA has a strong track record of a supportive, positive environment.

In fact, the HCA’s codes of conduct include policies for compassion toward colleagues and clients. The company is proud of its emotionally rewarding culture and strives to provide everyone – from top to bottom – with equal kindness and empathy.

The UnitedHealth Group

The UnitedHealth Group is an American healthcare company that ranked fifth in the most successful companies in Fortune 500 rankings in 2018. The company’s tagline even encourages empathy by stating: “Walk in the shoes of the people we serve and those with whom we work.”

The Autism Research Center

The Autism Research Center (ARC) is an initiative of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom to promote awareness of autism, the benefits of early prevention, and the importance of extensive research.

Despite having a huge team of scientists, professionals, and support staff from all over the world, the ARC has a strong commitment to the principles of empathy and kindness. Education, collaboration, and support are the foundation of ARC and attract researchers, educators, and parents to the cause.

Compassion Is the Key to Success

If you want to be an effective leader, it’s essential to have compassion for the people who work with you. Compassionate leaders are not as common as they need be, but they’re an asset to the workplace.

Compassionate leaders listen, invest in their people, and create a collaborative culture with a positive attitude to help employees feel valued and appreciated. Through compassionate leadership, you can spread joy, connect with others, and resonate positivity in your organization.

Should You Hire Your Family? Let’s Settle the Debate
04 Jul
Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Start Your Business, Team Management

Should You Hire Your Family? Let’s Settle the Debate

Hiring family. Some people swear by it, and build entire businesses upon it. For others, it’s an absolute no-no and a fast-track to drama and problems.

Whether your business is a startup or a large organization, there’s no doubt that the possibility of hiring family members will come up at some point. So, should you hire your family? The answer isn’t quite so simple.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiring Family

There can be many advantages to hiring family members. They’re less risky than strangers since you know them, and if you have a good relationship, it can make the day-to-day more fun and interesting. Family members are also more likely to be invested in your business’s success.

Hiring family comes with significant disadvantages as well, however. Family members can expect special allowances or privileges that a regular employee wouldn’t, and they may treat you the same in the workplace as they do at home. If you’re the boss, that could be a problem.

In addition, some people won’t work with family because issues at work could spill over at home, and vice versa, and may permanently impact the relationship. For example, think of how your next holiday gathering may go if you had to fire your nephew or aunt.

Is Family a Good Fit for Your Business?

As mentioned, there are a lot of advantages to hiring family. If you have family members who are a good fit for your company culture and genuinely good workers, hiring them may be the best thing you could do for your business.

Be sure to consider all the factors you’d consider with a regular candidate, however, such as qualifications, values, experience, stability, and skills. This isn’t a favor or an impulse – it’s a fit for both parties.

If you believe your family member is a good fit, that can be a huge asset for your business. Don’t just hire family to do someone a favor, or just for the sake of making it a “family business.” Someone not invested in the position or well suited for it won’t serve your business in the long run.

Another thing to consider is the potential impact hiring family can have on other employees. It’s vital that you treat family like any other employee to avoid any conflict. You may want to have a nepotism policy in place to protect you and your family member from any issues of favoritism.

Tips for Working with Family

If you do decide to bring family members into your business, you can keep the working and personal relationships strong and separated. Here are some tips:

Keep it professional.

  • No matter how close you may be out of work, address each other professionally in the workplace.

Show respect.

  • Family members should always show respect appropriate for their position at the company, even if the dynamic is different in the family. For example, your uncle may be a perceived authority figure in normal life, but if you’re his boss at work, he should treat you like a boss.

Keep work at work.

  • One of the biggest challenges is keeping professional and personal lives separate when you work with family. Vow to keep work at work and home at home, so you can maintain your previous relationship dynamic outside of the office.

Looking for Business Support?

Navigating the ins and outs of business can be challenging. Whether you need help with hiring, growing and scaling, or other aspects of your business, a professional coach can help. Work with Allison Todd directly and set your business up for success! 

The Lean Growth & Scale Plan by Coach Allison Todd
17 Oct
Business Coach, Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Productivity, Team Management

The Lean Growth & Scale Plan by Coach Allison Todd

  • 1. How To Grow Your Brand Without Losing Its Voice Or Values
  • 2. The Simple Way To Grow Your Brand Without Losing Touch With Your Values
  • 3. Don’t Focus On Brand Growth Without Reading These Essential Tips First

Want to grow your brand but struggling to figure out the best way to go about it? Developing and expanding your business should be an exciting time. But often, information overwhelm turns it into a stressful one. 

By getting back to the basics of who you are and what you want your brand to stand for, you can create a growth strategy that feels authentic and real—two things customers love. 

Sometimes Less Is More 

These days we want everything all at once. When it comes to business, this translates into developing a blog, building up social media, starting a podcast, creating a YouTube channel, and writing a book. 

It’s easy to convince yourself that you need all the bells, whistles, and TikTok followers to be successful online. But ditching some of the “clutter” will help you focus. 

Growth by subtraction helps business owners zero in on the areas they want to develop.By taking some of these plans away and focusing on one step at a time, your business will grow at a steady rate. 

Make Technology Is Your Friend—Use It Effectively

There many intuitive tools and platforms out there that can help your business. But not all of them will suit your business needs. So choose the software wisely by only using technology that: 

  • – Segments leads and customers so you can create highly targeted marketing content and campaigns.
  • – Measures prospect engagement with your website and marketing campaigns to focus resources on those prospects showing “buying signals.”
  • – Generates leads with premium content offers embedded on your website and marketing content.
  • – Tracks your sales activity and follow-ups with CRM software.
  • – Manages and monitors your sales pipeline to keep you on track towards your business goals.

Tech makes growing a business easier if it fits. It should never make life more difficult. 

Turn Your Website Into Your Online Sales Guru

Humans ask Google a LOT of questions. So if you want to get discovered online, invest in a decent website. Make sure it has strong SEO and the copy and content are well written. 

To grow a business, it’s not enough to leave a website to stagnate. It needs to be updated regularly and checked using online analytics tools. If it’s not working, figure out why and make it right. 

Mix It Up With A Variety Of Marketing Channels

Cold-pitching may have worked 10 years ago, but unless you’re at the top of your game on how to cold-pitch, it’s a limited marketing strategy.  

And when it comes to blogs, writing generic listicles bombarded with CTAs and hoping they’re going to bring in leads isn’t going to work. Get creative with your blogs, mix it up with education, entertainment and value (hey, just like this one.) 

Evolve your business development approach to keep up with the evolution of the buying process.

Embrace Video Marketing

Cisco predicts that “by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017.”

Miss out on video, and you’re missing out on a HUGE number of marketing opportunities. 

Not a fan of being on camera? Good news. Not all videos have to feature you. They can be: 

  • – Tutorial videos
  • – Case studies
  • – Customer support and how-to videos
  • – Social media posts like reels and IGTV

Get Yourself A Business Coach And A Supportive Community 

Business can be a lonely old world sometimes, especially if you’re the one at the top making all the decisions. 

Reaching out and joining a community of other entrepreneurs provides a system of support. And hiring a business coach shows your keen to invest in yourself and your business. 

The Business Growth 90-Day Plan is an effective way to boost your brand without losing its integrity. Click here to learn more and discover if it is a good fit for your business.

What Leader Style Are You?
01 Jun
Grow Your Expertise, Inspiration, Team Management

What Leader Style Are You?

If you’re ready to lead your business and team to success, it’s essential to identify what type of leader you are. Do you lead by experience? Use tough love? Or lead through inspiring words? Whether you’re an established leader or new to the position, understanding the top four styles of leadership types will help you pick up some tips and lead with confidence. You can then mix and match qualities to develop your unique leading style.

What Leader Style Are You?

The Four Styles of Leaders

Use this guide of the four most powerful leader types to determine which type of leader you are and collect new techniques for leading your team to success.

Inspirational Leader

The inspirational leader doesn’t just use inspirational quotes to motivate their team, and they help team members grow by fostering confidence and passion with them. They are optimistic, compassionate, motivating, and not afraid to take risks. Occasionally, their attempts to motivate their staff might appear too complacent. Although inspirational leaders bring cheer to the workplace, they tread a fine line between cheerleader and leader.  

Authoritative Leader

This type of leader is the manager who declares, “I’m not a follower, I’m a leader.” They create their own life path and lead with big results and goals in mind. They are known to follow the rules and create highly structured workplace environments guaranteed to promote productivity.  Occasionally, these types of leaders can feel compelled to make all business decisions on their own without employee input. They can have trouble delegating.

Minimally Involved Leader

The minimally involved leader, also referred to as Laissez-Faire, is one that only gets involved in the team dynamic when necessary. They don’t put many rules in place and rarely enforce penalties unless extremely necessary. These leaders ensure that the business and team’s overall function runs smoothly but does little to motivate or guide employees. With limited check-ins, reviews, or progress reports, team members may not understand what is expected of them and likely don’t perform up to their greatest potential.

Coaching Leader

The Coach knows each of their team members top to bottom and can easily identify everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. They motivate team members to improve their skills and create personal goals as well as professional ones. Coaching leaders lead through education, guidance, and support. They promote confidence within their team and often lead through example. This leader style is incredibly powerful and effective but is also challenging to master without help.

Develop Your Unique Leadership Style

After understanding the most common leadership styles seen today, you may have an idea of which category you fall into. If you’re unhappy with your result, you have the ability to modify and adapt your leading techniques to develop your own unique style. Discover what you look for in leaders and imagine the leader you hope to become. If you need support in developing your leadership style, development and business solutions can help. Find out how I can help transform you into a successful leader.

If you want to learn more on how to become the best leader, read the additional article below:

How Bad Manager Prepared Me For Entrepreneurship

How To Be an Excellent Leader of an Excellent Team

Team Development_ How Your Team Is Keeping You Broke
26 Apr
Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Team Management

Team Development How Your Team Is Keeping You Broke

Your Team Is Keeping You Broke: Tighten Your Team, Bolster Your Bottom Line

You’ve put your heart into your business, and it only makes sense that as a purpose-driven entrepreneur, you put your heart into your team, too. Loyalty and enthusiasm are hard to find, and it can be difficult to recognize when you need to let go of an employee or if the people on your team are coachable. Unfortunately, underperforming team members can force other staff to pick up the slack, and if the entire team is ineffective, that leaves you to bear the burden. To prevent your team from keeping you broke, it’s important to understand how you can optimize your workforce.

4 Team Member Archetypes Keeping You Broke

If you’ve assessed your cash flow and determined that you, as a business owner, are not taking too much from the honey jar, it may be time to look to your team. Although your team members likely aren’t blatantly stealing from you, they could be keeping your business from thriving. By identifying potential points of weakness, you can either help these employees improve their work ethic or ultimately cut them loose.  Keep an eye out for these signs of team members who need some extra guidance or correction:

The Chaotic or Distracted Team Member

If an employee serves as a source of distraction to the entire team, they are likely negatively affecting your bottom line. Distractors may sing out loud with their headphones on or hit reply-all with unnecessary memes. This chaotic teammate may not realize that what they’re doing is intrusive, but others have noticed. And it’s making them cranky. It is your responsibility to approach the distractor for the sake of your team’s sanity and your revenue. 

The Lazy and Nonchalant Employee

The service that an employee provides is of financial value to the business. If a team member is producing mediocre or subpar services, it costs you money. This employee may fail to meet deadlines, call in sick too frequently, or have a poor attitude toward customers. Quickly address these behaviors to ensure other team members don’t follow suit.

The Financially Ambiguous Teammate

A financially ambiguous team member isn’t outwardly stealing from the company, but they are vague regarding business funds. They may not return unused funds left over from a trip or order the most expensive wine when using the company card for a lunch meeting. Financial ambiguity is challenging to catch. Be sure to keep an eye out for your team’s spending habits if they are on the company’s dime.

The Bad Manager

Unfortunately, this category is likely directed toward you, the entrepreneur. You are still a member of the team, and your business decisions significantly impact the business. Be sure to differentiate between personal finances and business-related funds, as this is a problem that most entrepreneurs face. Although you may need to take a salary cut during a slow month, try to avoid giving yourself unnecessary bonuses. This can quickly lead to you and your business going broke.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Although you may care for your team members as if they were family, you must still protect yourself and your business. By identifying these potential weak points in your workforce, you can provide your employees with the coaching they need. If you need support in developing your team, work with me. Reach out to learn how I can optimize your team’s productivity. Interested in reading more about why your team could be keeping you broke? Download the e-book here.

25 Jan
Productivity, Team Management

How To Manage Your Team Remotely?

Right now, “working from home” or remote working has become more of a necessity than a trend. It is an emerging necessity for most companies across the globe. Due to this, several team leaders or managers have to manage a complete team remotely.

This work setup could be turn out to be a slightly challenging task –especially if you are not preparing for the same.

Allison Todd, Operations & Digital Growth Strategist and Founder of SiMar OR Allison Todd and Team SiMar – explains the importance of working from home and how business organizations can manage the respective teams remotely effectively. 

Managing Your Team Remotely.

If you wish to run your business seamlessly while being on the “work from home” mark, here are some useful tips by the experts:

Ensure Daily Check-in

Whenever it is possible, you should organize the face-to-face, one-on-one video conferencing with the respective teammates. You should see your entire team.

The good news is that the advent of high-end video conferencing tools has made it relatively easy to ensure checking in daily with your teammates. This strategy’s primary purpose is to set the daily plan while providing the necessary resources or feedback required by your team members.

Ensure Maximum Communication

There is no denying that whether you are working in-house or remotely, ensuring ongoing communication with the team members is of utmost importance.

One of the most challenging aspects of working from home –especially if you are immensely used to working in a typical office environment, is the feeling of loneliness or isolation that might creep in.

To add it all, it increases your woes in modern times when individuals out there are practicing social distancing. In this situation, continuous communication with the team members would help them feel connected and motivated.

Make Maximum Use of Technology

When you are the team manager or leader, it is your responsibility to ensure that the entire team is well connected. Several high-end communication tools serve to be a simple way of ensuring that everyone in your team is engaged.

While messages and emails might appear to be a short-term solution. Advanced tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack for improved collaboration and communication. To top it all, most of these interactive collaboration tools are available for free now.

Emphasize Outcomes, Not Activities

When working with a remote team, it is impossible to manage each aspect of the work completed. Moreover, you should not control every part of your remote team –especially when the team is spread across multiple locations.

As such, rather than focusing on the hour’s works or activities completed, you should aim at focusing on the outcomes while measuring your team accordingly.

Conclusion

Ensure that you are working efficiently while managing a remote team. Remote working has become the essence of the hour. Therefore, you should make the most of it.

20- Minute Discovery Call

The discovery call is the most important call in our relationship. It sets the tone for our connection and allows us to better understand one another. Plus, you get a business challenge addressed with actionable steps toward solutions. The phone call is making a comeback! Let’s connect?

How To Manage Your Team Remotely?

22 Jan
Team Management

What Does it Cost When You Don’t Onboard Your Team Properly

Many make this misnomer that proper onboarding means a detailed orientation; instead, it focuses on employees’ success and productivity. As a business owner, the continuous review and development of your team is a prerequisite for success. But what does it cost when you don’t onboard your team correctly?

Team Development

Team development is crucial in ensuring the efficiency and improved productivity of your team. If your team isn’t well developed, you will find your workforce operating far below its full potential.

It is one thing to know the benefits of team development and identifies it as a necessity. However, knowing how to go about developing your team is even more critical. Without proper knowledge of organizing and implementing your team’s development, you might end up wasting your team’s time rather than improving cooperation and attaining synergy.

Stages of Team Development

The first thing to note about team development is that there are stages. Identifying the stage your team currently occupies, and the next step in your team’s progress would give the process of your team’s development focus and direction. As an entrepreneur, you are the captain of your team. Therefore, knowing your team’s roadmap and destination is necessary for taking your team to greater heights.

Team development is known as the effective process of learning to work together. According to Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, there are five stages of team development, namely:

Forming

Forming is the first stage in team development. Here team members are just getting to know each other; This is when the team members find out their roles and other team members’ roles. During the stage, your team’s basic structure is developed; This is crucial in your team’s development. It would be best if you orientate your team regarding their duties and how they fit in with the responsibilities of other team members.

This is also your first time of proving yourself as a competent leader. This stage requires you to convince every team member that you have a plan and their careers are in good hands. If you are working with an old team, then a structure would have been established. In a situation whereby your team’s structure isn’t optimum for productivity, you might have to go back to this stage and make some necessary reforms.

Storming

Storming is the second stage of team development. In this stage, your conflict resolution skills as a leader would be put to the test. This stage is filled with conflict and competition. The initial politeness fades, and your team members reveal their real personalities. This stage is quite problematic, and in most cases, production is greatly affected negatively. It is your job to ensure that no conflict or clash goes unresolved or unaddressed. Seeds of discord that lead to long term damage in the team are sown at this stage. Failure to address disagreements at this stage would stunt the growth and development of your team. Most business owners find it challenging to handle this stage of team development. However, once you cross this stage, your team would develop at a fast pace.

Norming

This stage involves your teammates adjusting to their roles. Unity and cohesion begin to emerge as team members find it easy to corporate. They are familiar with their roles as well as the personalities of their team members. However, this isn’t a guarantee of peace and progress. The norming stage is a stage of fragile peace and unity. Now and then, little spats might spring up, and old conflicts might reemerge. It is important to note that the norming stage is not a guarantee that a team cannot fall back to the storming stage. The norming stage marks the beginning of synergy. However, this fragile stage must be protected and guided with care and intention.

Performing

At this stage, you have finally developed your team into the dream team. Production is at its peak, and cooperation is smooth and seamless. Few issues might arise, but at this stage, your team has developed simple conflict resolution strategies. All efforts of your team members are geared towards the success of the firm. Productivity and efficiency are rarely affected by distractions and conflict.

Adjourning

This isn’t a stage in the usual sense of the word. We can tag the adjourning stage as the review stage. There should be a scheduled meeting in which the team’s progress is evaluated; This usually entails acknowledging the team’s progress and awarding praises to team members that had performed exceptionally well. This is also the perfect time to discuss ways to move the team forward and new strategies for further development. The Adjourning stage is necessary to keep your team performing at optimum. Neglecting this stage could lead to your team slipping back into a state of chaos and storm.

New Hire Onboarding Digital Tool

New Hire Onboarding

Conclusion

Team development is a continuous process that requires constant and intentional effort. Properly developing your team ensures that your team members work at optimum capacity while enjoying happiness and fulfillment in their careers.

scaling your business
18 Jan
Grow Your Expertise, Team Management

How to Be an Excellent Leader of an Excellent Team

There are numerous aspects to building and developing a team. However, the success or failure of your team is heavily reliant on your leadership skills. It is not enough to get the most skilled people in various fields. Without proper leadership and human resource management skills, you might end up wasting your team’s talent.

The team should be greater than the sum of all its members. There are many benefits in synergy, division of labor, specialization, and good old teamwork. However, these benefits would be unattainable if you are a terrible leader.

As an entrepreneur leading your team is part of the job; However, the fact that you are the de facto manager and boss doesn’t mean you should take the job for granted. As a leader, you must make serious efforts to manage the talents and skills of every member of your team.

How to be an excellent leader

How to Be an Excellent Leader of an Excellent Team

Here are a few tips on how to be a good team leader.

1.     Be a good listener

A true leader is someone that listens to more and talks less. He is garnering information from the great minds he has gathered around himself. Therefore a good leader makes informed decisions at all times. He isn’t harmful or argumentative but positive and patient. Teammates find it easy to make their opinions and suggestions known to a good leader. A good leader understands the value and importance of every member of the team. You don’t know everything, therefore do not hesitate to learn from the views and perspectives of your team.

2. Generals aren’t the best soldiers, but the best leaders

A good leader surrounds himself with people smarter and more skilled. A general doesn’t recruit weak soldiers to stroke his ego. A good leader employs talented people who would perform their given roles excellently. It is best to hire people who are better at doing one aspect of your business than every other team member. Synergy is achieved when you employ a wide range of talents that fit and work well together.

3. Be a source of inspiration

Another tip on being a good leader is to be a source of inspiration. Sometimes it is not all about money and benefits. As a team leader, you must paint a vivid picture of your business’s future and how your employees fit in. The best employees are those who have seen their goals and objectives and are focused on achieving it. Inspired employees are the best and most driven teammates.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a team must be made up of the right parts that fit together and an excellent leader. The combination of skill, synergy, and leadership is what would make your team productive and your business successful.

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