What is the Right Culture for YOU?

Culture is a word that is thrown around a lot. Many people use it to describe work environments, businesses and organizations. Most people probably have a vague idea of what it means, but not necessarily a concrete idea about how you impact culture. 

In the past I have written articles on culture, which you can find here and here. Both of these are good, if I do say so myself. Today’s article is on the same topic, but I want to shift the focus just a little. Today we will look into how to create the right culture for your business. 

Not all cultures are created equally. They are not one size fits all. When people talk about a company having a good culture or a bad culture, what are they really saying? Simplified, if a culture matches your values and beliefs, you probably describe it as a “good culture.” Conversely, if they don’t align, you likely consider it a “bad culture”. The tricky thing is, everyone’s beliefs and values are different. 

This begs the question – how do you create a culture to fit everyone. And the answer is – you don’t. You create a culture that is right for your company. Then the culture attracts the kind of people who have values and beliefs that align with you and your business. Before we jump into creating a culture that is right for your business, let’s touch on what happens when you don’t work at your culture. 

It Is What It Is

If you do not intentionally create a culture, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have one. Rather, one evolves – unchecked. In this case, the values that emerge often come from the squeakiest wheel or the biggest personality. And that’s not always good. In fact, this is often how toxic, misogynist, and racist cultures come about. 

Without the clarity of company values – which are actively discussed and referenced – one person can start a culture where telling off-color jokes is the norm. Or a culture where the default mode is to complain about everything. Or one where backstabbing and gossip take over. Almost certainly, none of these are the values you want your company to be known for. But if these traits are emerging, it’s a guarantee that people both inside and outside the business describe your culture negatively. 

How To Get the RIGHT Culture

There are a lot of well-known and broadly studied cultures out there: 

  • Zappos is known for being weird, happy, and fun
  • Southwest Airlines employees are silly and empowered
  • Twitter staff are hardworking, smart, and passionate 
  • Google attracts the best of the best with tons of perks and benefits

What all these companies have in common is that they have taken the time to figure out what they value and how they want to be perceived. Then they keep these values and their identity alive. 

What Do You Value? 

There are several ways to determine your values. Everything from multi-day, facilitated leadership retreats to sitting in a coffee shop with a notepad. It’s up to you to determine the right method for your business. 

I’ll share one activity that leaders often find helpful. Think of the employee in your company who represents the image you want people to have when they think of you. List out all of the characteristics that make that person a great employee. Write down everything you can think of. Then add anything else you wish that person possessed. As you review this list, you will start to formulate an idea about what you value. 

Empowered with this description, start to write words or phrases that you would like your company to be known for. Between 3 and 7 is a good list. Take time to connect a statement or story to each value. Your culture should be starting to emerge. Don’t feel like you need to do this all in one sitting. Record your ideas, then let them percolate for a while. Come back to them and see if they still resonate, or if you want to add to or change them. 

One Size Does Not Fit All

This was stated earlier, but it’s worth repeating. Zappos, Southwest, Twitter and Google all sound like fun, cool places to work. If fun and cool is important to your brand, great! Go in that direction. However, many brands need to be taken very seriously. For others safety might be the most important thing they are known for. And others need to have a reputation of efficiency. Those values might not be as sexy as “fun” and “cool,” but they are just right for certain brands. 

Never Stop Talking About Them

Once you have clear values that are just right for your business, they need to be ubiquitous. They should be used in recruiting and hiring. They should be present in decision making and staff meetings. Your values should be posted throughout your facility and included in many, if not all, communications. 

It’s the talking about them that makes them real. Unless you want your values to be a “flavor of the month” initiative, you need to bring them to life. As the leader, you will want to memorize your values, and have several stories and antidotes demonstrating them. Celebrate values in action. Reward the behaviors you want to see. Own your culture by knowing who you are as a company. Be true to your values. And tell everyone about them. This is what will shape your culture.

While this process is simple, it’s not easy. If you are interested in working on creating a culture you are proud of, email me at Kim@Athena-CoCo.com. Let’s connect!

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofits and small businesses.
kim@athena-coco.com

Nonprofit November ~ Week 2

Week 2 of my Nonprofit November project is here! Each weekday in November I am interviewing a different nonprofit agency in our community. I am sharing what I learn with you, in hopes that you learn a little something, and maybe even get inspired to connect with a cause or agency that sparks your passion.

Thanks so much for reading! Please share with others who you think may be interested. Let’s spread the word about the impact these amazing agencies are providing to our community.

Stranded Motorist Fund

When we think of helping those in need we often think of housing assistance, meals or food pantries, or even clothing closets. A safe, reliable automobile is usually not the first thing that comes to mind. But in an area where public transportation is lacking, it can be a huge barrier to accessing work, school, community, and more. 

During the course of 2020, Dan Adam, owner of Adam & Son, saw this need skyrocket. That led to the creation of A&S Stranded Motorist Fund. Through partnerships, internal funding, and customer donations, Adam & Son is helping to make sure there are fewer stranded motorists on the side of the road. By assisting with repair costs and necessary maintenance they are helping low income individuals and families to keep their vehicles up and running.

Scott Gill, the Brand Manager for Adam & Son, shared that their biggest challenge right now is that their need outweighs their current capacity. There are just not enough funds to help everyone who needs it. They are constantly looking for additional funding sources. If you are interested in making a donation or learning more, go to: https://adamandson.com/smf. 

In addition to financial contributions, occasionally the Stranded Motorist Fund has had the opportunity to receive a car donation. They have been able to spruce it up and donate back out to someone with that need. Scott would be interested in visiting with anyone who would like to know more about the incredible impact they are having on our community. Connect with him here. 

 

Kids on Bikes

As a cyclist, I was super excited to learn more about this organization! Having a bit of an understanding of their Mountain Bike Camps and some of their partnerships, I thought I knew what the organization was about. I’ll tell you right now, I was wrong! 

Kids on Bikes was founded to address the childhood obesity crisis in our community. In El Paso County over 58% of kids get less than the recommended 60-minutes of physical activity per day. In fact, the 2015 Colorado Health Report Card indicated that kids average over 7 hours of screen time a day and only 7 minutes of active play outdoors. Childhood obesity has grown by 300% in the past thirty years as the number of kids walking or biking to school has plummeted from 50% to just 13%. 

Earn A Bike is the original, signature program for Kids on Bikes. Executive Director, Daniel Byrd shared their belief that all children deserve the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and independence of riding and owning a bike. Additional programming that supports that vision includes their Mountain Bike Camps, Bicycling Education, the Pedal Station and community rides. 

With a goal of getting kids active on bikes for as long as possible, the biggest challenges they face are staff capacity and a shortage of bikes, equipment and parts. To donate, volunteer, or just learn more go to https://kidsonbikes.net/get-involved or reach out to Daniel directly.

 

Day Break ~ An Adult Day Program

I had the opportunity to tour this Adult Day Program, located in Woodland Park, a while back. I was so impressed with the amazing work they do and care that they provide, that I wanted to make sure I included them in this project. 

Founder and Executive Director, Paula Levy shared that Day Break serves to address two distinct, critical social needs. First, there are the clients aged 60 and older who cannot live independently. Through Day Break they connect with their community, access wellness and self-care services, attend outings, and maintain connections with their peers. 

The second issue they address is providing much needed respite for caregivers, giving them time to refresh, recharge, and regroup. By taking some of the pressure off caregivers, Day Break helps to postpone the transition to assisted living, prolonging health and life for the senior. 

Paula’s passion for serving our older community members is what drives the work of Day Break. Because of that, Day Break is so much more than “day care for seniors”. Staffed with CNAs and numerous volunteers, programming is designed to meet the needs of the aging clients and enrich their quality of life. Services are fee based and supplemented with grants and donations. 

The theme of the day seems to be – more need than capacity. Day Break is no different. As a state licensed care facility they are limited on the number of clients they can serve at a time. Paula and her board are currently working to find a larger space in order to expand their services. If you are interested in getting involved as a donor or volunteer go to: https://www.daybreakadp.com. Additionally, Paula is always seeking opportunities to get out and speak to the community about their work. If you have a speaking opportunity email her directly to set something up.

 

Hope Advanced

Tim and Brownie Richardson work with the Broken, Busted and Disgusted. They connect with folks who are down on their luck and surround them with the resources, support and connections that will help them move down the path of their best life. 

When asked how they do this, Tim said that it’s different for everyone. Everyone’s situation is different, so there isn’t one solution that will help them all. Through intense listening and empathy, clients are able to come to terms with their past, then leave it behind. The goal is to get them focused on their next steps.

For some people this means helping them to access services such as housing, clothing or food. For others they need counseling to help them determine their path. Still others need to surround themselves with people who will support them in a positive way. Hope Advanced provides all of this, with the focus on finding forward movement. 

The vision is to add programming to provide job opportunities, as well as to expand to a nationwide agency serving people across the country. With many funding and volunteer opportunities, you can get connected by going to https://yourhopeadvanced.com or reaching out directly to Tim and Brownie.

 

Becky Baker Foundation

In 2017, Becky Baker lost her battle with Breast Cancer. In her final week’s, Becky made the comment that she was disappointed that no one would remember her name. Since then, Becky’s husband Rick has been on a mission to ensure that no one could possibly forget her.

The Becky Baker Foundation provides access to mammograms and thermograms for low income women, eliminating the financial barriers that could cost them their lives. In the 3+ years since its inception, the Foundation has provided over 2,700 screenings, as well as prevention education programming.

The biggest challenge Rick sees is what he calls “Pink Washing”. Agencies, organizations, and products use this cause to make money, compromising the reputation and integrity of philanthropic efforts fighting breast cancer. Rick encourages people to do their research when considering a cause to support.

If you would like to learn more about the Becky Baker Foundation or get involved, please visit their website. I also encourage you to check out the fundraising efforts associated with #golf4prevention. Lastly, Rick wanted me to close with this plea:

“Please go get your screening!”

 

Want to learn more about how you can have a lasting impact on your community? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to connect for a free 30-minute discovery call or check out this article on how to be a community superhero. In order to save the world, nonprofits need superheroes like you to help them have the kind of impact they exist to deliver. 

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of small businesses and nonprofits.
kim@athena-coco.com

The Great Resignation and What to Do About It

It’s safe to say that businesses that employ staff are struggling right now. There are exceptions, but this is a very clear trend in staffing right now. The easy answer, that many like to point to, is the extra unemployment benefits that have been provided during the pandemic. I’ve heard it said that these benefits have made people lazy, and that they just don’t want to work. I think there’s a whole lot more to it. 

What I believe the extra benefits have done is give people options. Those who used to feel stuck in jobs they didn’t like, have had the opportunity to look for jobs with more money, more flexibility, and more happiness. They are starting businesses, going back to school, or using the financial cushion to find a job that aligns with their passions and values. 

Employees leaving jobs to pursue something new implies a few things:

  • They don’t believe their time is valued by their employer
  • They don’t feel fulfilled by their job
  • Their needs for flexibility and work-life balance are not being considered 
  • They are not happy

Recently I read a report on this very topic (shared with me from my fabulous friend and Coach Beth, Unlimited Potential). What I found most interesting is the connection between people leaving and manager burnout. It turns out, people who are stressed, overextended, and depleted, don’t make great staff leaders. 

In addition, many companies overlook training managers to be supervisors. Often new leaders are elevated to their position because they were good at their previous role. So now they will supervise others doing that job. What a tricky position to be placed in! Especially if the new supervisor has never experienced quality supervision themselves. 

When these two factors are combined it becomes pretty clear why people are leaving their jobs. And it makes it even more important for business leaders to be proactive about taking care of their people.

Right now, the struggling companies are searching for a quick fix to their staff shortage. Some are finding success with things like hiring bonuses and referral rewards. However, I don’t think these will fix the problem long term. In order to do that, leaders need to acknowledge the HUMAN in Human Resources. 

This means acknowledging the following and using it to drive decisions and policies:

  • Staff want to be respected and valued
  • Supervisors need to be trained on how to lead people
  • Employees at all levels should be able to find work-life balance
  • It starts at the top

Respect & Value

Showing your staff that you respect them and value them is a baseline for retaining them. Different positions in a company will be paid different amounts based on the level of responsibility, expectations, and the experience and expertise needed. That doesn’t necessarily make the people at the top of the organizational chart more important than those further down. In fact, businesses who lift up their front line staff for the valuable work they do interacting with customers, experience better retention. “Lifting up” means paying a respectable wage, valuing ideas and input, treating them with dignity, and actively seeking ways to make their jobs better. 

Train Your Supervisors

Some people are naturally gifted at leading others, but even those folks need guidance. Supervisors need to know company expectations regarding how to treat staff, boundaries, communication, and more. I believe the middle manager is often the most important role in a business. They are often young leaders rising through the ranks, and they usually supervise front-line staff who are representing your company to the customer and the world. Great supervisors will grow their staff and develop dynamic teams. 

Work-Life Balance

As presented in the report mentioned above, burnout can play a key role in employee attrition. Burnout is usually the result of a person feeling like they have more to do than they could ever get to, even if they worked 24/7. It is often exasperated by a lack of support. A Work-Life Balance culture is one that ensures:

      • Jobs are “right-sized” – roles are evaluated regularly to ensure the expectations are reasonable for one person to manage effectively. 
      • Staff are in the “right seats” – people are well matched with jobs that utilize their skills and knowledge. 
      • Balance is encouraged – employees know their health, well-being, family, and social life is important to the organization. 
      • Employee health is a discussion topic – leadership is interested in how employees are doing, but individually and as a team.

Leadership Sets the Tone

Companies wanting to improve staff retention by improving culture need to start at the top. Words are hollow if the leadership of an organization doesn’t follow suit. Those at the top can do more to retain staff than any policy or statement they could make. They do this by talking to staff at all levels to learn, grow and improve the company. They do it by role modeling, taking time for themselves and their families. And they do it by investing in their staff on a regular and ongoing basis. 

A while back I wrote about Self-Care for Leaders. This is a good place to start. However, if staff attrition and manager burnout is a chronic problem, it’s time for an intervention. Taking a good look at culture and supervisor training will not provide the quick fix some may need. But it will help create a long-term strategy for the kind of environment where everyone wants to work. 

Need help with creating an environment where everyone wants to work? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to look at how improving your culture and training your supervisors can help your business grow and thrive!

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of small businesses and nonprofits.
kim@athena-coco.com

Communication Conduits

As I mentioned in last week’s article – communication is hard. Unclear communication obviously leads to misunderstandings. Unfortunately, it can also lead to hurt feelings, confusion, mistrust, and a loss of productivity. 

Two major communication pitfalls include: 

  1. The barriers to effective communication. 
  2. The components that make up an effective communication system. 

Last week I dove into the many ways that communication can break down due to internal and external barriers. You can think of this as the quality of the conversations that are happening. In this article we’ll look at structures that can be put into place to improve communication. This can be thought of as the quantity of communication occurring.

On a weekly basis I hear leaders and employees complain about the lack of communication in their company. This is almost always referring to internal communications between staff. Often this is not because of a lack of commitment to quality, intentional conversations. Rather, it’s because everyone is so busy, making it difficult to remember, or take the time to have those conversations. Once you are in a place where quality conversations are taking place, it’s equally important to establish conduits for regular and effective communication. 

Each business needs to decide who needs to know what information. That will be different for every single company based on the size, sensitivity of the information, culture, and more. This article couldn’t possibly explore all of the different scenarios for communication systems. Instead, I’m going to share some best practices that apply to most organizations. 

  • Direct Report Meetings

    On a regular basis, every staff person in a company should have conversations with the person they report to. This should be dedicated time where the supervisor listens, coaches, gives instruction, provides direction, and develops the relationship. 

Frequency varies based on the employee’s role, their experience, and their personal need for support. This is not a one-size-fits-all. I have had staff in similar positions, but very different meeting frequency. Some staff have a high need to process ideas or receive positive affirmations. Others like to be given marching orders and check-in when they come to a challenge. 

  • Regular, Effective Staff Meetings

    Most people hate staff meetings. This is usually because they are ineffective and a waste of time. Yet, this can be such an efficient tool for communication and driving work. If your staff meetings are a source of dread and frustration (or if you just want to make them the best use of time possible), check out this article. 

I want to be clear, a staff meeting should NOT be a time where everyone sits around and tells what they are working on. That isn’t what I mean by communication. Rather, all staff meetings should include a well structured agenda with components designed to provide appropriate communication.

  • Cascading Message

    Including this component in all meetings ensures that important messages and decisions are shared with the appropriate people. This practice can save a great deal of staff time. By using it consistently, you may reduce the number of people who need to attend each meeting. 

Dedicate a few minutes at the end of each meeting to determine what needs to be shared beyond the meeting attendees and who will deliver those messages. If necessary you can create a follow-up on those action steps in the next week’s agenda.  

  • State of the Company

    On a regular basis, company leaders should communicate to the whole organization about how business is going. A minimum of once a year is acceptable, quarterly is better. The entire staff team should know the current priorities and the progress being made. This is also a great opportunity to celebrate, recognize, educate, and build relationships.

  • A Two Way Street

    Quality communication includes gathering feedback from employees. While this can be built into Direct Report meetings and Staff Meetings, it’s a good practice to collect anonymous input as well. This is the best way to learn what staff are really thinking. Hopefully it goes without saying, feedback should not be collected if leadership is not going to address any concerns revealed. Collecting input and ignoring it is worse than not collecting it at all. 

Again, the above practices might not all apply to your company. But when it comes to communication, I always recommend implementing more, rather than less. You can always eliminate practices that are not effective or change things up down the road. 

While I’m on the subject of communication, I want to share a few practices for controlling email communication. Anyone who has email knows that it can completely consume your time and mental energy if you let it. The average employee spends just over 3 hours a day on email, and about two thirds of them are irrelevant! Multiply that by the number of employees in a business, and most leaders will be pretty motivated to make sure that the time spent on email is effective and efficient. 

  • Email Rules

    Critical conversations should not take place over email. Nor should sensitive information or important messages. Email is best for relaying facts, setting-up logistics, or sending out mass communications, like newsletters. A rule might be something like “Any email over 3 sentences needs to be switched to a live conversation.”

Leadership is responsible for creating an expectation for how email is used throughout a company. Telling people how to use email might seem petty. However, without established expectations, people will create their own norms. 

  • Email Coding

    Consider using a coding system for all internal emails. For example, the subject line might start with URGENT, THIS WEEK, FYI, or NO RUSH – letting the reader know how quickly they need to review the materials. With everyone using a similar system staff are better able to prioritize their time. 

  • Email Best Practices

    Here are a few more ideas on how to corral the email beast:

    • Train staff to be very selective when using cc:, bcc:, and reply all.
    • Discourage the drive towards a zero-inbox.
    • Provide staff with training on the lesser-known tools your email system provides. Things like automations, templates, folders, tags, etc. can save time and reduce busy work. 

Once communications systems are put in place, it’s important to monitor them. Otherwise, well thought out systems can deteriorate into annoying tasks. The intentionality of the structures put in place needs to be held high and team members need to be reminded of the purpose behind the process. 

Any business with more than a few people can improve their operations by focusing on communication. Quality communication involves clearly relaying messages back and forth. Creating systems for the appropriate quantity of conversations ensures the necessary communication has a platform. I believe any company that focuses on communication quality and quantity, will go far. 

Need help with creating a communication structure that works for your company? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to find opportunities for growth through improving communications. 

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of small businesses and nonprofits.
kim@athena-coco.com

 

The Problems with Communication

Communication problems

Communication is hard. A large majority of problems are created from a breakdown in communication. And communication is at the root of many, many organizational challenges including stress, strained relationships, low morale, frustrated staff and clients, and more. 

As I see it, there are two major communication pitfalls. I’m going to discuss the first one in this article and you can read about the second one next week. These are:

  1. Barriers that get in the way of sending and receiving messages
  2. Lacking the components of an effective communication system

First up – barriers. In every conversation there are Speakers and there are Listeners. Someone has something they want or need to share. Someone else may or may not want or need to hear the message. For the sake of simplification, this article is going to focus on two person communication; however, the concepts extrapolate out for larger conversations. 

In a two person conversation, where one person speaks while the other listens, there are 3 opportunities for the intended message to become jumbled. 

  1. What is articulated:

    The Speaker has thoughts or ideas in their head, and they want to share them with the Listener. When they go to share their thoughts, what they are thinking might not be what actually comes out of their mouth. Some of the reasons this happens could be: 

    • They may lack the words to articulate the ideas
    • The Speaker might mis-speak
    • If stressed, they may become confused or flustered and have trouble putting their ideas into words
    • Body language that is inconsistent with the verbal message being sent causes confusion and misunderstanding 
    • An accent, language barrier, or speech impediment might make words hard to understand
  2. What is heard:
     Even if listening intently, the Listener may not receive the message correctly. The game telephone is a great example of this. In the game, the barrier is the fact that players are whispering. In regular conversations barriers might include:

    • Surrounding noises
    • Distractions – both mental or exterior
    • Volume or hearing problems
    • If the conversation is taking place over the phone or via Zoom, there might be technical difficulties
  3. Listener’s interpretation:
     Even when the Speaker articulates their thoughts accurately and the message can be easily heard, there are still opportunities for the Listener to receive the wrong message. Some of the reasons a Listener might not receive the intended message include: 
    • They might not know some of the words being used
    • Words mean different things
    • Personal biases may prevent the Listener from accepting what they are hearing
    • If they are not mentally prepared to accept the message they might hear what they want to hear
    • The Listener’s mind might wander or they don’t give the Speaker their full attention and therefore not receiving the entire message

Now, if the Listener switches into Speaker mode with inaccurate information, this cycle of miscommunication continues to grow and become more complicated.

As you can see, in the delivering and receiving of messages, there are so many opportunities for errors. Assuming that we communicate with the intent of being understood, it’s important to close the communication loop holes.  Here are some simple techniques that can help do just that. 

  • Send a Clear Message

    When in the Speaker role, give thought to the message you are sending. Think through the best way to state it. If it doesn’t come out right, try again. Once your message is delivered, ask questions to gauge understanding. 

  • Find a Quiet Place

    Especially for important conversations, make sure you are in a space that is appropriately private, has good sound quality, and minimizes distractions.

  • Reflections

    As a Listener, reflecting back what you have just heard can be a valuable communication tool. Reflecting is not “parroting” exactly what was said. Rather it involves sharing what you understand the Speaker to mean. If you understand correctly, the Speaker feels heard and valued. If you get it wrong, it gives the Speaker the opportunity to clarify their message. 

  • Seek to Understand

    Again, as a Listener, ask follow-up questions. Work to understand their point of view. If a message comes across that puts you on the defensive, feels rude or attacking, or has a negative slant  – ask more questions before jumping to conclusions. When conflict arises, it can often be tied to miscommunication.  

Ensuring messages are sent and received accurately is key to quality communication. If your company has more than a few people, ensuring quality communication is key to smooth operations. On a weekly basis I hear leaders and employees complain about the lack of communication in their company. That is what I’ll tackle in next week’s article. 

Need help with improving internal communication? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to find opportunities for growth through improving communications. 

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of small businesses and nonprofits.
kim@athena-coco.com 

The “I’m So Busy” Competition

What is the deal with this? People compete to be the most busy, the most rushed, and the most stressed. Like it’s an Olympic sport. 

I really love the meme that has been popping up lately that states: 

“We need to stop glamorizing overworking. Please. 

The absence of sleep, good diet, exercise, and time with friends and family is not something to be applauded. 

Too many people wear their burnout as a badge of honor. 

And it needs to change.”

What if, when standing around the water cooler, we bragged about how much sleep we got last night? Or how great we’re doing keeping our lives in balance? Wouldn’t that be a cool paradigm shift?  

To be clear, I’m not writing this from the perspective of someone who has never slipped into this mode. I’ve done it. Especially as a young professional trying to do everything. And as a working mom keeping many balls in the air. As I’ve gotten older and maybe a little wiser, I see how I contributed to the chaos in my life.

This article is not meant to shame anyone who is struggling to keep it all together. Rather, I’m going to share my observations on the topic as well as the importance of balance. A while back I wrote about Self Care, which relates closely to this topic. I also want to look at what we, as leaders, can do to help make this shift. 

So Much to Do, So Little Time

I recently came to the realization that I have more books that I want to read, than I will ever be able to get through in my lifetime. At first I was a little bummed when I recognized this. Then I mentioned this to a friend and he had a completely different reaction. He said: “Isn’t that awesome! There are so many great books in the world and so many options.” The difference a shift in perspective can make! 

While I would love to read all the books on my reading list (and all the books I have yet to discover), I don’t HAVE to get to them. I will read the ones I really want to get to. And I’ll read the ones I need for work or education. Some will just present themselves at the right time and I’ll get to them. 

The book thing got me thinking about all the things we fill our time with. If we were to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, there would still be projects to do or tasks to complete. Just like the book thing. We have a limited amount of time to give and we each have to decide for ourselves how much of it we are going to commit to the different areas of our life. Making this a thoughtful decision is key to balance and self care. 

How to Spend Your Time

First let’s focus on our work time. And the first step in this is deciding how much time you will work – full-time, part-time, project based, etc. If you’re self-employed, clearly define how much time you will commit to your business. 

Next I like to think of our work time divided into three categories: NEED TO, WANT TO, and SHOULD. 

  • NEED TO: There are the things we absolutely have to do. Likely these items are outlined on our job description or they are directives from our supervisor. If our job is important to us, then we have to do these things. 

Items on the NEED TO list can sometimes be subjective. For example, if an employee has a need for perfection, they may triple check their work. Another employee who has the ability to run through a project accurately on the first try might not have that need. 

  • WANT TO: These are projects that we believe will improve the company, culture, product or service. They are initiatives that we want to pursue, but are not required to work on. WANT TO projects provide fulfillment and engagement. Often these are the reasons we enjoy our jobs and make us care about the company. 

Depending on the amount of autonomy you have at work, this might be something you need to negotiate with your supervisor. Being clear about the things on your NEED TO list, and how your WANT TO items will benefit the company will help with your discussion. Also, if the WANT TO projects are the only thing keeping you at a company, they may truly be NEED TOs. 

  • SHOULD: Items on this list are things that are not required from you, and you probably don’t really want to do them either. It’s best to avoid SHOULDing on ourselves. The SHOULDs need to be evaluated to see what’s really going on there. You clearly feel an obligation to the task. Consider why that is and if it really belongs on the NEED TO list. 

An example is a project that you don’t want to do, but that would make you look really good to your boss. If you are actively working to advance at work, then you might want to shift it to your NEED TO list. On the other hand, if you are new to a position and it makes more sense for you to focus on your primary responsibilities, then this item probably needs to be removed altogether. 

Too often we approach everything that comes our way as a NEED TO. By thinking through how to categorize the many demands on our time, we can make decisions that will keep us from becoming overworked. 

Not Just a Work Problem

While at work, the NEED TOs take priority, in our personal life there should be a better balance between NEED TO and WANT TO. Being overworked or overextended is not just a work problem. Homes, family, friends, hobbies, volunteering, and more quickly fill up our non-work time. The problem is usually amplified for women who tend to carry the majority of home and child care duties. 

Categorizing tasks and activities can be applied to our personal time as well. This process can be a useful tool for families to use in order to distribute tasks or to decide what is really important. Having a clean kitchen might be a NEED TO for one person and a SHOULD for another. There might be items on your SHOULD list that really need to be outsourced because no one wants to do them, but eventually they NEED TO be done (hello housecleaning!) 

Evaluating the ways you spend your time can also reveal opportunities for positive change. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, scrolling social media for an hour before bed could be the culprit. When we think intentionally about how we spend our time, we will probably choose quality sleep over looking at cat memes. 

Leading Change

As a leader the categories still do not change. The biggest difference is that you are the one making decisions about what NEEDS TO be done for the company or organization. With this difference comes the power to drive change. As I see it, there are four key areas where today’s leaders can help reduce the glamorization of the overworked: 

  • Create jobs that are manageable – evaluate jobs regularly to ensure that they can be completed in the allotted time. Avoid filling every minute of a staff person’s time. Encourage creativity and staff taking initiative. This can lead to new solutions and  processes, and energize staff. 
  • Ensure NEEDS TO are really needs – your role is to divide the many tasks and projects that it takes to operate your business. As time goes on, priorities change. The leader’s job is to make sure that tasks remain relevant and true NEED TOs.
  • Set a good example – monitor your own use of time. Nothing encourages balance like the leader making it a priority. If you do need to put in extra hours, don’t make a show of it. The leader’s behavior will create the culture.  
  • Encourage balance – beyond demonstrating work-life balance, talk about it. Tell staff why it’s important. Help them figure out how to manage their role in a healthy way. If you observe a staff person engaging in the “I’m So Busy” competition, have a conversation with them. 

In today’s job market, leaders need to provide jobs that people want. This means work-life balance, opportunities for meaningful contributions, personal development, and a culture they will enjoy. Businesses that figure out how to do this will attract the best employees. 

Need help with creating a healthy culture? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to start creating a culture that celebrates work-life balance. 

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of small businesses and nonprofits.
kim@athena-coco.com

Avoid the Shiny Bunnies

Squirrels, shiny bunnies, kitten bombs, Facebook – whatever you want to call it, distractions are everywhere. There are the day-to-day distractions that get in the way of your tasks and responsibilities. Social media, a new show on Hulu, and mundane chores all distract you from the things you know you should be doing in order to effectively manage your life or meet your goals. 

While this type of distraction can be a serious issue for some of us, today’s article is going to focus on the larger version of this problem. Individuals getting distracted is one thing. Entire organizations that get distracted is a completely different problem. 

When an individual is distracted it leads to anything from messy houses to jeopardizing their job. However, it can be much more devastating when a business or organization becomes distracted. It can lead to profit loss, bankruptcy or even total failure of the business/organization. 

For a business or organization, this happens when the leadership loses focus on the mission, vision or purpose. Leaders become distracted in many ways. It could be a flattering offer that comes their way, pressure from partners or other community leaders, or a need to prove something. This article will look at:

  1. How to identify organizational distractions
  2. Strategies for keeping your business on track

Identifying Organizational Distractions

As a leader, you might not even realize when a shiny bunny is headed right for you. You’re going along, doing what you believe is best for your business. By being on the lookout for these distractions, you can save your organization money, time and heartache. 

  • Too Good to Be True: We all know that if something sounds too good to be true – it probably is. As leaders, whose focus is on growing revenue or impact, it can be tempting to chase after this squirrel. A new project, partnership, or endeavor might sound like a fast track to growth. 
  • You Need to Justify: If you find yourself justifying why something is a good idea, it is an indicator that you need to look more closely at your decision. Anytime it’s not completely obvious how a decision connects to your mission/vision/purpose, you might be pursuing a distraction.
  • Secrets or Hiding Things: Keeping secrets or telling different “stories” to different groups of people should be cause for reflection. This is an indicator that you are hiding something, or that you are moving in a direction that is not consistent with your core focus. 
  • Outside Pressure: Leaders from other businesses, agencies, or entities will always have an ulterior reason for wanting to partner with you. Even if they give you 100 reasons why they believe it would be a good move for your business, they still are pursuing the partnership for their own gain. 

To be clear, there are definitely times when new business opportunities make sense. This article is not meant to prevent growth and innovation. Rather, it’s meant to keep you from losing your focus on what is most important to your organization. Being aware of what these distractions look like is the first step. Next we’ll look at how to deal with and minimize distractions.

Maintaining Your Focus

  • Know Your Vision

The first step in maintaining your focus and minimizing distractions is to know your vision. This article goes into detail about the importance of having a crystal clear vision. Without it, you are much more susceptible to distractions. When your mission/vision/purpose are foggy, leaders grasp at straws. When we don’t know where we are going, we welcome (and sometimes even look for) distractions. 

  • Communication & Trust

In tandem with your vision comes building up your communication and trust. This involves sharing your mission/vision/purpose over and over, solidifying the importance and ensuring all staff, volunteers and stakeholders understand. In addition, creating open and honest communication systems builds up trust. 

  • Ask Questions

Building trust among your team members is key to this next step, which is to ask questions. Big decisions should not be made in a vacuum. Get input from those you trust, and who also trust you enough to be honest. Brutally honest if necessary. Ask tough questions about who has the most to gain, what is the downside, and how the opportunity might change the focus, culture, and direction of your business. 

  • Be Completely Honest

In order to make the best possible decisions for your company, you must be 100% honest with yourself about your motivation. Otherwise, ego can easily get in the way of taking action in the best interest of the organization. Making decisions that make you look good is obviously a goal, but it shouldn’t be the only goal. If your own self advancement is the primary factor behind a new endeavor, you need to be able to step back and objectively look at how it will impact the business. 

  • Strategy Screens

Creating strategy screens can be very effective in keeping your business on track. A strategy screen is a list of questions or criteria against which you can test potential new opportunities. By working with your board, stakeholders or leadership team to create a list of 5 to 8 criteria, you can proactively protect yourself from distractions. 

  • Operational Plans

Solid operational plans will keep you moving in the right direction. This includes annual goals, quarterly action steps, accountability, and regular measurements. By establishing goals designed to move you towards your mission or vision, breaking them down, assigning accountability and regularly measuring your progress, you stay on track. This structure can serve as an insurance policy protecting you from distractions. 

As leaders, you are constantly faced with opportunities and decisions to make. You absolutely do not want to be risk adverse or your business may become stagnant. However, at the same time, you want to focus your energy on opportunities that will help you meet your business goals. By being able to quickly identify organizational distractions you will be able keep the shiny bunnies at bay. 

Need help creating your vision, communication system, strategy screens or organizational plans? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to find out how to lock out the squirrels! 

Kim Stewart

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofits, small businesses and leaders.
kim@athena-coco.com 

 

You’ve Got the Power!

Choices

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for any amount of time, you may notice a recurring theme. I have written about several different topics. Something that comes up in a lot of them is the importance of choosing your mindset. In order to make positive changes in just about any aspect of your life, your business, or your career; it starts with the right mindset. Here are some examples: 

  • Building a Positive Culture = first you must decide that this is important to your business, READ MORE
  • Staff Leadership = this requires a leader who thinks about and genuinely cares about their staff, READ THIS or THIS
  • Effective Communication = starts with making it a priority for everyone in your company, READ
  • Problem Solving, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Self-Care, the list goes on and on!! 

Today I want to talk about the power you have to create a mindset that will take you where you want to go. 

So often in life things get busy and we just move along from one day to the next, handling all the things. It’s so easy to do! An article from Forbes on Brand Success states that we are exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ad messages every day. In addition, experts estimate that we have between 35 and 55 thoughts per minute. So every second or two we have a new thought rushing through our mind. Think about that for a second! 

With all these messages coming at us and all these thoughts we’re experiencing, it’s hard to be focused and intentional. It’s much easier to go with the flow and simply react to what is happening around us.

Intentionality

Intentionality is defined as the act of being deliberate or purposeful. A good way to understand intentionality is to consider what the opposite looks like. Perhaps you have experienced a leader, coach or teacher who goes about their role in a way that seems almost accidental or unconscious.

  • The leader runs the department or business, but they don’t think much about how they do it or why. They just think about the bottom line or the outcomes. 
  • The coach leads the practices, but doesn’t make adjustments based on the strengths of the individuals or the characteristics of the team. 
  • A teacher might be teaching the same curriculum they have taught for 20-years, not considering the need to change as society evolves or as the needs of their students change. 

The unintentional leader (or coach or teacher) leads from a point of status. Things are done a certain way because they are the boss, and so apparently they know best. In my observations, this is an example of ego getting in the way. Decisions are being made based on the leader’s ego rather than what’s best for the organization, the business, or the people involved. 

The intentional leader has a markedly different mindset. They make decisions based on what is best for the company or organization, even if it’s not necessarily what is immediately best for them personally. When making decisions the intentional leader considers the impact that it will have on the clients and staff. Additionally, this leader is keenly aware of what is going on in the community, the country or the world, and how those factors impact their decisions and the perception of those decisions. 

Selflessness

As stated above, an intentional leader considers how their actions affect others. But really, it’s more than that. It’s making the decision to be considerate of others; that the leader isn’t better or superior just because of their position. This comes from a leader’s mindset. 

A selfless leader sees everyone on their team as having the ability to contribute to the success of the business. They seek input from those at all levels of the organization. They see the power in the team as whole, rather than the power created by their leadership. 

Selfless leaders realize that by helping staff succeed they are supporting the company, and in turn probably reaching their own goals. To help staff succeed the selfless leader:

  • Supports each individual in the way they need to be supported. 
  • Creates an environment where staff enjoy their jobs and respect the company.
  • Learns about the goals of their team members and helps support achieving them.

Mindfulness

Intentionality and Selflessness are two key components to being a great leader. The question is, if those are not things that come naturally, how do you get to that point? That’s where mindfulness comes in. 

Here is a definition of mindfulness that I like. It comes from Jon Kabat-Zinn: “The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding experience moment-by-moment.” This is a great definition when it’s all together, but it’s also interesting to look at it in chunks. Breaking it down helps us understand the value of mindfulness for leaders.

  • awareness emerges – The leader doesn’t have all the answers. (No one does.) 
  • through paying attention on purpose – By taking the time to thoughtfully observe, we learn.
  • in the present moment – The leader is fully engaged in the current situation, not what’s coming next or whatever happened before. 
  • non-judgmentally – There are no preconceived notions clouding our thoughts, we take things at face value.

With all of the messages and thoughts we have going through our brains all day, it’s not easy to remain aware, present and non-judgmental. We have to work at it. Just like you practice cooking or yoga or Portuguese, mindfulness takes practice. 

The good news is that you can practice anytime and anywhere. Here are 5 super simple activities for practicing mindfulness. 

  • 4-7-8 breathing: Breathe in for a count of 4. Hold for a count of 7. Exhale for a count of 8. Repeat 5 times. 
  • Mantra Meditation: Find a quiet place. Choose a word or phrase you would like to focus on (such as “peace” or “I am present”). Close your eyes. Take deep breaths and repeat your word or phrase (out loud or in your mind) with each breath. If your mind wanders, notice it and draw your thoughts back to your word or phrase. Practice for a minute or two.
  • Mindful Eating: While eating, pay particular attention to all of your senses. How does the food look? How does it smell? How does your body/mouth react to the smell? How does it feel when you put it in your mouth? How does it change as you chew it? Chew twice as long as you normally would. How does that experience feel? Practice this for the first few bites of your meal or snack. 
  • Nature Walk: You don’t have to be in the woods to observe nature all around you. Even in a city there is weather and wind, clouds, birds, bugs, smells and more. Take a few minutes each day to observe nature. This can happen while you walk from your car into your office building or by taking a fresh air break. Simply take the time to notice the natural world. 
  • Body Scan: Start at your toes. Wiggle them. Spread them wide. Flex and release. Move to your whole foot. Do the same. Work your way up your body. Moving, rotating, flexing and releasing each body part or muscle group. Finish with a few deep breaths. This can be done at your desk or anywhere.

Practicing mindfulness helps train our brain to stay present when we might otherwise want to be reactionary. It allows us to be intentional in our thoughts. Through mindfulness we decide how we feel about things and how we react. 

The kind of leader you are should be a conscious decision, not something left to happenstance. What kind of leader do you want to be? 

Want to explore mindful leadership? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to find out how you can Calm the Chaos by choosing your mindset! 

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofits, small businesses and leaders.
kim@athena-coco.com

Starting a Workplace Wellness Program

National Employee Wellness Month

June is National Employee Wellness Month. Why should you care? Workplace Wellness improves on-the-job time utilization, decision making and productivity. It improves employee morale. Reduces turnover. Improves disease management and prevention, and creates a healthier workforce in general, both of which contribute to lower health care costs.

So, in other words – supporting the well-being of your employees is not just a nice thing to do. It’s great for business in so many ways! Imagine the difference in the service provided between a staff who feels good, versus one that is struggling with their health.

Usually employers think first or only of physical activity when they consider an employee wellness initiative. Sometimes they throw in nutrition too. I’ve seen Employee Wellness Day celebrated by having a walk and replacing the usual cookies in the break room with fruit cups. While these are nice gestures, they do nothing to support behavior change or impact the health of their employees. 

There are 8 dimensions that make up our well-being. They include:

  • Physical
  • Emotional
  • Financial
  • Social 
  • Occupational
  • Purpose
  • Intellectual
  • Environmental

This, combined with the fact that a one day event cannot effect change, is why I’m happy that National Employee Wellness has shifted from one day to a whole month. Companies who care about their employees take it to the next level by giving workplace wellness attention throughout the whole year. 

Creating a Workplace Wellness Program 

With eight dimensions to choose from, there are literally thousands of things you can do to support the well-being of your team members. Most people want to jump to the fun part – the programming. Providing meaningful programming that meets the needs of your staff is obviously super important. However, in order to be successful it’s smart to take these steps first:

  1. Make it a Priority. Before anything else happens, the leader or leaders need to decide that employee wellness is important. This isn’t just a matter of “getting buy-in”. It’s really caring about the well-being of your entire team. If it connects in some way to your company values, even better! Without this foundation, any program implemented will become a flavor-of-the-month and will go away as soon as the next trend pops up. 
  2. Establish a United Front. If one or two leaders are the passion behind this initiative, then the next step is to get the entire leadership team on board. There are tons of statistics out there on why employee wellness makes great business sense. In addition, done well, this is one of the best ways to show your employees that you genuinely care about them as human beings. So whether you appeal to their business sense or their compassion, make the case and move forward as a united front. 
  3. Talk Before Action. Once you’ve made the decision to create a workplace wellness initiative, start talking about it with your teams. Don’t come out of the gate with a big launch before you have engaged your people. Talk about your ideas and gather input. Consider forming an input team to learn about the challenges staff are facing and the kinds of programs they would like to see. This can be a great way to engage employees who are looking for a challenge and want to be more involved. 
  4. Try different stuff. See what works. Doing some pilots to find out what kind of a response you would get might make sense for your company. Experiment with different formats, times, delivery methods, and levels of engagement. Continue to gather input to determine where to start with programming. 

After you have built a solid foundation, you can begin thinking about the fun stuff – programming and launch events. As stated above, there are thousands of things you can do to promote wellness at work. A simple google search will give you more ideas than you know what to do with. Below I have listed some of the categories that programming can fall into. You may want to go down one path to start out with, or choose to implement ideas from several categories. 

Programming Categories:

  • Policies and Practices – As you get started, a review of your policies is a good place to begin. You may find that you have policies in place that make unhealthy choices the easy option. Some simple changes can have a big impact. Think about some of your commonly accepted practices. Are there opportunities to shake things up? Consider changing short meetings to “walk & talk” meetings. Or changing doughnut Friday to a once a month event rather than a weekly one.
  • Awareness/Education – This can be anything from posters showing the benefits of taking the stairs to classes on financial management. Most doctors, chiropractors, eye doctors, and other clinicians love to educate. If you give them a platform, they will come out and speak. Often they will provide snacks, lunch or prizes. 
  • Classes – These can be on-going or single events. Draw from the talents and passions of your people. Have someone who teaches yoga? See if he would do 20-minute mini-classes for the staff. Know of someone who loves vision boards? Find out if she wants to lead a session for employees. 
  • Challenges – Everyone loves a challenge. These are usually on the honor system, but you can get as complex as you would like. Challenges can be around whatever you (and your employees) see as important. Tracking steps, glasses of water, gratitude, saving, and book reading are just a few ideas. 
  • Incentives – Providing a prize can be a good way to build excitement. Drawings for wearable trackers or gym membership can tie back to your overall program goals. Cash incentives are obviously very motivating, as are reductions in health insurance premiums for those meeting certain goals. 

Last, but not least, you may want to plan a launch. One day events can be good for kicking off an initiative, making your commitment clear, and rallying support and excitement. You just need to be sure that the event is not your whole program.

Again, there are tons of ideas on how best to launch your initiative. The best option for your company is one that will be relevant to your people and get them excited about the investment you are committing to. Ensure that the focus is on helping people make positive and healthy changes that will produce long lasting results. 

Don’t despair if you didn’t start an employee wellness initiative at the beginning of June! Your staff won’t care that you missed the first week or two (or the whole month all together). What they will care about is your commitment to supporting them on their healthy living journey. 

Need help putting the pieces in place to support the well-being of your staff. Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to discuss how I can help you create a culture that will grow your business and increase your impact! 

Workplace Wellness

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofits and small businesses.
kim@athena-coco.com 

Wanna Grow Your Business? Grow Your Staff

Staff Success

Unless your business is completely run by robots or other automatons, you likely rely heavily on staff. Employees are probably the ones creating your product, communicating with your customers, delivering your services, and managing your processes. Your staff are your direct connection between you and your customers. They are responsible for executing your vision for how your business serves your customers or your community. 

In many businesses staff salaries are by far the largest line item in the budget. Yet, oftentimes things like equipment, inventory, and facilities end up getting much more attention and financial resources than the staff. Think of the time, energy and money that goes into maintaining a company vehicle. This important resource likely receives regular oil changes, preventative maintenance, and routine TLC cleaning. Imagine if the same amount of planning, time, energy and financial investment went into our people! 

When a company hits a wall in terms of growth, or a nonprofit organization becomes stagnant in the impact they are providing, it almost always comes down to culture. A stagnant business can be traced back to a dysfunctional, negative, toxic culture. Changes to other facets of the business may deliver short-term improvements. However, in order to make real progress for lasting growth and impact, the culture must be fixed. 

Healthy cultures boil down to two things: 

    1. How a company treats their people 
    2. A commitment to clear and honest communication

A business that masters these two components is well on their way to success. Obviously, attention needs to be given to financial management, quality processes, strategic planning and more. But without a healthy culture, those other things will only take you so far. 

Benefits of Nurturing Your Staff

There are hundreds of benefits a company can reap from lifting-up, valuing and honoring their employees. This article will not list hundreds of benefits. Rather, it will focus on a few key benefits that will help your business grow or your agency impact to expand. 

  • Staff who feel valued become loyal team members. Nothing beats a loyal staff member! Loyal employees do more for the PR and brand of your company than any marketing campaign ever will. When someone loves their job, they tell everyone. They attract customers, potential employees, and prospective donors for nonprofit organizations. That kind of messaging is genuine and captivating. Thus appealing to people who otherwise may have never given your business a second thought. 
  • Another benefit of loyal team members is that they work harder, are solution oriented, and care about the quality of work they do for you. These folk have a vested interest in the success of the business. They embrace the direction you are taking your company or the impact your agency is striving for in your community. Loyal employees do their best and work with the company’s interest top of mind. 
  • Supporting your staff looks good on you. Companies that invest in their employees, foster their growth, and help them pursue their career goals are companies that people want to work for. Recruiting, hiring, and training staff can be extremely expensive. Imagine if prospective employees came to you because they want to be part of how you grow your staff! Additionally, the level to which you respect your staff comes right back around. Want to be respected at work, be the leader in demonstrating what that looks like. 
  • Valuing your staff creates a positive culture. As stated above, how a company treats their staff is foundational to creating a healthy culture. And nothing fosters growth and increased impact like a healthy and positive culture. If growth and increased impact isn’t motivational enough, great cultures are fun to be part of and to lead. Since most people spend at least half of their waking hours at work, a positive company culture will improve the collective and individual mental health of the entire staff team. 

As there are hundreds of benefits to nurturing your staff, there are just as many ways to lift-up your staff. The best way to do this is to use your unique personality and leadership skills to genuinely value your staff. Still not sure how to get started? Here are some tips to get the ball rolling. 

Getting Started

  1. Listen. Take the time to listen to your staff. Fully listen. Approach conversions with a listening mind-set. There is no greater gift you can give someone than to listen to them with an intent to understand. You can read more about this topic here and here and here. 
  2. Build real relationships. Just like “Employees don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses”, staff also stay with bosses they like, enjoy being around, and respect. Listening is a great way to start down this path. Couple it with asking really good questions and you’ve got this one made! 
  3. Give them what they need. There are the basics. Workstation. Computer. Stapler. These are the obvious things – you give them whatever equipment they need to do their job. Beyond that – training and a safe environment to learn is also expected. What about those employees who need a lot of positive reinforcement? Or the ones who need to chat with you for a few minutes each day? And what about those who need to check-in regularly to make sure they are on track? Do you give them what they need? Giving employees these things (essentially your time and acknowledgement) may be challenging when you’re busy. However, when you think about the value of a loyal employee, it seems less like an interruption to your day and more like a crucial part of leading people.  
  4. The Golden Rule. It turns out that your company’s human resources are made up of HUMANS! Who would have thought? And do you know what humans like to be treated like? You guessed it – humans. This one is very simple. When interacting with an employee, think about how you would like to be treated in that interaction. This usually includes values like respect, dignity, caring, trusting, and maybe fun. If team member interactions can be tied back to company values, it’s even better. 

Before closing this article, I want to be clear that I am not suggesting tolerating staff who are not a fit for your company, your culture, or the jobs you have available. I believe wholeheartedly in hiring slowly (to ensure a good fit) and firing quickly. Rip that band-aid off if that’s the right decision. Your job as the leader is to make sure you have provided everything staff need in order to be successful. If you are confident you have fulfilled your end of the bargain and it’s still not working out, decide and take action quickly. 

Need help elevating your organization’s culture? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to discuss how I can help you create a culture that will grow your business and increase your impact! 

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of small businesses and nonprofits.
kim@athena-coco.com