Self-Advocacy is Self-Care

Recently a friend mentioned that she has been hearing from several people seeking advice on their jobs. Specifically, women are asking things like:

  • Are they being paid what they’re worth?
  • How should they ask for more money?
  • Is their title appropriate for the work they are doing?
  • How to ask for support when not being given the resources to do their job effectively?
  • Should they negotiate? How? 

This conversation got me thinking about self-advocacy as a component of self-care. While self-care is an extremely fast growing industry, only 32% of women and 39% of men report making time for it.

Self-care is defined as: 

The practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, 

in particular during periods of stress.

Most people think of self-care as taking bubble baths with scented candles while sipping green tea. That is definitely nice and one way to pamper yourself. Today I want to talk more about protecting one’s happiness during periods of stress. 

Self-Advocacy can be defined as: 

The action of representing oneself or one’s views or interests.

Whether at home or work, if we’re not representing ourselves and our best interests, we are likely compromising our well-being and happiness. Not asking for (or insisting upon) what we need for our well-being or happiness is going to create stress. When we think about self-advocacy as a form of self-care, we see the importance of advocating for ourselves. 

The Great Resignation

We are in the midst of what has been called the Great Resignation. Employees throughout the country have become fed-up with their current situations. Whether it’s their pay, the culture, or they have visions of something more for their career, people are leaving the workforce at a tremendous rate. Employers are struggling. Businesses are being forced to reduce their hours, limit their services, or compromise the quality of services or products they deliver. Everyone is hiring and struggling to find the staff they need to run their business. 

As a result of the Great Resignation, employees are in a very good position. Employers do not want to lose the quality staff they have. While they may have previously been closed-minded when it comes to accommodating their employees, supervisors (who want to keep staff) are listening and compromising. 

When, Why and How

When it comes to advocating for ourselves, it’s worth considering these three questions – When does it make sense? Why is it a good idea? And how do we do it? Let’s walk through each of them.

When: Generally speaking, there are a few conditions that should exist before you start pushing for more in your job. These may not be true 100% of the time, but when they are you will have a better chance at success. 

  • You’ve been in your position for six months or longer. If you have not had the opportunity to prove your value, it might not be the best time to ask for more. Leaders who have a traditional mindset may look negatively upon those who expect more when they haven’t really “cut their teeth”. Those who have been doing quality, results-driven work for a while will be in a better position to negotiate. 
  • You’re delivering quality work that is respected. Employees who are struggling to meet expectations or manage their workload, need to focus on improving their quality of work before they start negotiating for more. Staff whose work is recognized and driving the business towards their goals are in a good position to advocate for themselves. 
  • You are providing skills or services that are valuable to the business. If the company could get along without your position, you’re not in a great negotiating position. In fact, in this situation, you may want to consider taking on more responsibilities. Seek out ways to make yourself indispensable. 
  • BONUS ~ You are willing, and able, to walk away if you do not get the response you are hoping for. This situation gives the employee all the power. Knowing you could easily find another job, or survive without one for a while, helps you become extremely confident. Confidence is a great tool when self-advocating. This is your ideal situation. 

Before asking for things like more money, additional flexibility, or position advancement, make sure the conditions are right. Otherwise you run the risk of appearing as if you are disconnected from reality. 

Why: When conditions are right, there are many reasons to advocate for yourself. We usually think of pay, position, or titles, but there are several reasons to start a conversation representing your views or interests. 

  • Speak-up for yourself – Now is a good time to start speaking up if you haven’t been. Share your ideas and push to be heard. Bring up the challenges that make it difficult for you to be productive and effective. Find your voice!
  • Gain access to information – It is also a great time to push for additional transparency. Having access to the right information can make a big difference in your ability to do your job well. Transparency empowers employees to be better advocates for the company, and strengthens their commitment. Ask lots of curious questions and push to expand your understanding. 
  • Gain additional support – Good employees often find their workload expanding. As they produce quality work and as other staff leave, more and more may be allocated to the ones who stay. This can provide the opportunity to demonstrate your skills and your commitment to being a team player and advancing the company. However, there comes a time when you cannot take on more or where you are being taken advantage of. Consider requesting additional staff, technology or outsourced services to help you manage your workload. 
  • Asking for help – There may be any number of things that could make your job more manageable. Flex time. Job sharing. Additional training. Mentorship or a sponsor. Skills development. If it’s going to help you to be more productive and happier at work, bring your ideas forward. 
  • Rally for advancement – Advocating for your personal advancement can be great for your career. It alerts leadership to your desire to grow with the company. Quality management develops a deep bench. It’s very helpful for them to know who is committed to being included in their plans. If you are ready for your next step now, this is an excellent time to state your case and gain a position on management’s radar.
  • Request a salary and/or title increase – There are a few conditions here that are key to a successful conversation. First, if the organization is struggling to make payroll, asking for a raise will make you appear out of touch with reality. A sinking ship will not be in position to give raises or promote their staff. Second, if you are already at the top of the pay scale or compensated better than your peers, you run the risk of presenting yourself as self-centered. On the other hand, employees not compensated consistently with others doing the same work can justifiably start these conversations. 

How: Once you determine that conditions are right and you have good reasons for self-advocacy, the next step is to process how best to move forward. 

  • Mindset: The very first step in advocating for yourself is knowing your worth. Challenge your own thoughts of self-doubt. Know that you are worthy and deserving of the things you are asking for. Additionally, know that everything is negotiable. Leaders expect these conversations. Lastly, realize that if you don’t get everything you ask for, that is part of the negotiation process. It’s a give-and-take. 
  • Organize Your Thoughts: Think through what will improve your situation. Process how the changes will also benefit the company. Organize your thoughts in a way that communicates both your needs and speaks to the needs of the organization. Leaders make decisions based on what is best for the business. That is their job. Help them see how your proposal is good for the bottom line. 
  • Practice: Practice with a friend if possible, and ask for feedback. At a minimum rehearse in a mirror. Along with practicing, think through the various scenarios that could arise. For example, if your boss is known for interrupting, practice refocusing the conversation. 
  • Focus on Facts: Women tend to tie our emotions to everything. This isn’t at all a bad thing; however, some supervisors view it as a weakness. By focusing on the facts we keep the conversation on track. 
    • For example: I have taken on X, Y, and Z, yet have not received a raise in 2 years. 
    • Rather than: I’m frustrated and don’t feel appreciated. 

If emotions do bubble up, it’s appropriate to ask for a moment to collect yourself, so you can refocus on the point of the conversation.

There is a lot that goes into self-advocacy. Frankly, there isn’t one right way to go about it. Every situation is different and everyone’s personality varies. The act of self-advocating is a success, regardless of the progress you make towards your requests. This content is meant to give you a framework for increasing your self-advocacy. And as a result, expanding your self-care. If you would like to read more about why self-care is so important for leaders, back in February I wrote this article. 

Want to discuss your opportunities for self-advocacy? I would love to help! Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to connect for a free 30-minute discovery call. Also, I am hosting a discussion on Women’s Self-advocacy on Wednesday, November 17th at 5:00 pm. Email me if you are interested in joining the conversation. 

Kim is a mom, wife, lover of being active and the outdoors,
and helper of nonprofits, small businesses and leaders.
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

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

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 

 

Too Busy to Lead

perfection is the enemy of success

Are you running your business, or is the business running you? Do you spend your days putting out fire after fire and never getting to the tasks or projects that you want to work on? Is there so much on your plate that you barely have time to answer your staff’s questions, let alone provide valuable leadership? If your answer is an annoying little “yes” to any of these, it’s time to talk about delegating.

FACT: Running a business (or a nonprofit) is hard work. There is always more to do than what you have time for in a day. As the leader, you feel responsible for making sure everything gets done, and gets done right. And the more successful you are, the more work there is to manage.

FACT: Every successful leader in the world has had to figure out how to delegate. And they have likely all struggled to figure out what and how to delegate. Effective delegation is key to managing your business while also leading your team.

The idea of delegating might seem impossible. After all, don’t you have to have everything organized in order to delegate it to someone else? The answer to that is no, and we’ll talk more about that later. Effective delegating is one of most important skills you can learn as a leader. In order to learn the skill, it helps to have some basic structures in place to make delegating easier. These three components create a solid foundation for effective delegating:

  1. Establish the right structure

  2. Hire quality staff

  3. Understand your strengths

Structure

Finding the right structure for your business not only helps with delegation, but it sets you up for success in many other ways as well. This means establishing and communicating a clear chain of command, thoughtfully creating positions and departments, and ensuring everyone knows what they are accountable for and how their work impacts the success of the company. You can read a lot more about this topic by reading Structure – Getting it Right to Grow.

Quality Staff

Quality staff does not always mean that you pay the very best or you provide the most glamorous jobs. Quality staff are those people who you trust. Those whose values align strongly with yours and those of your company. Those who have a positive attitude about the success of your business. In order to have confidence in delegating, you need staff who are willing, able, and motivated to help advance the work.

We all know that solid staff don’t grow on trees. And I’m not suggesting that this is a simple step. However, I do have a few tips to help. In addition to creating the right structure (mentioned above) for your business, here are some proactive steps you can take to create a breeding ground for quality staff.

  1. Communicate your vision. All. The. Time. When staff do not see the bigger picture vision for your business, then all they have is a job. But when a picture is painted of the direction you are taking the company, and their role in helping to get there, then it becomes much more. They see the work they are doing as valuable. They want to help accomplish goals. And they understand better why things need to be performed a certain way.

  2. Communicate your values. All. The. Time. Use your values when you talk about the big picture of your company. Use them to make hiring decisions. And use them in performance conversations. The first step is obviously to establish your values and to ensure that they truly reflect who you are as a company. Then, the more you use them, the more closely your staff will align with the values you hold dear. Staff will either self-select out if they don’t have the same values, or they will be drawn in if your values resonate with them. Both of those consequences create a stronger team.

  3. Practice your listening skills. People want to be heard. Even if you cannot accommodate their requests, people feel better when they have been genuinely listened to. When we truly listen to someone, they feel valued and respected. What a great gift to give to someone! And don’t you think that staff who feel valued and respected will also be motivated to help you and your business? Listening is one of my very favorite topics, you can read more about developing these skills here and here and here and here. (Clearly a favorite topic.)

Your Strengths 

This part isn’t just about understanding your strengths. It’s also about understanding the things you love to focus on; as well as the things you’re not that great at or don’t like to spend time on. Here is a fairly simple exercise to help you determine what you should be delegating. Take a piece of paper and divide it into 4 quadrants. Label the boxes as follows:

  • Top left = enjoy, not great at

  • Bottom left =  don’t enjoy, not great at

  • Bottom right = don’t enjoy, great at

  • Top right = enjoy, great at

From there, insert all of the tasks, responsibilities, and relationships that are on your plate. Look back at your calendar for a few weeks to make sure you capture everything. Once everything is recorded, it should be pretty easy to see which items would be good to delegate. Additionally, by practicing your listening skills, you will hopefully have an idea about staff who would enjoy or be good at the things you don’t like or don’t excel in.

Just Do it

Back to the point at the beginning of this article. Leaders often feel like they have to have everything in place, just right, before they can give a project or task to someone else. As the quote above states, perfection is the enemy of success. Perfection is an illusion, and if you keep waiting for everything to be perfect, you will never be able to let go. By creating the right structure, nurturing quality staff, and communicating consistently you will create a culture of trust. When that exists, you can trust your staff to handle projects and ask for help when needed. Also, your staff will trust that you will support them, even when they get stuck and need additional guidance.

The last point that I want to share on this topic has to do with the fact that you cannot be an effective leader if you are running from one crisis to the next and never taking the time to “work on the business”. A good leader spends time thinking about the direction they are taking their company. They spend time strategizing on how to reach their goals. They focus on how to lead and develop their team members. All of those things take time. Time spent away from the doing and fixing and scrambling. So as you consider what and how much to delegate, make sure you are giving yourself enough time to lead.

Need help establishing the right organizational structure for your business, creating a strong culture, or figuring out how to effectively delegate? Email me at kim@athena-coco.com to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to see how we get you moving on the path to growth.