The words leader and boss may have pretty similar dictionary definitions—but in the business worlds, their practical distinctions are crucial.

Just think about their connotations. Most of us think of a boss as someone who makes demands, yells at us when we screw up, and ultimately has the power to fire us at will. A leader, meanwhile, is someone who inspires us, coaches us, rallies the team, and helps everybody move forward.

So which are you? Consider some of the following:

1. Leaders actually lead. By contrast, a boss rules, governs, and dictates. A boss may sit in his office all day hammering out policies and telling everyone else what to do—but a leader is right there in the fray with the rest of the team, guiding everyone in the right direction.
2. Leaders listen. A boss is not known for his acceptance of feedback or his openness toward collaboration. By contrast, a leader wants to hear what her team members have to say and to engage them in the decision-making process.
3. Leaders empower. A boss might throw his employees into a project without much training or guidance—leaving them fearful and insecure. A great leader, meanwhile, does everything to prepare her team members, and to instill them with confidence in their own abilities and in the abilities of the team.
4. Bosses intimidate. Leaders know better than to use fear as a tool for managing their team members.
5. Bosses think of themselves as above the other employees. A leader, meanwhile, is open to constructive feedback from team members, and knows that there is always more she can learn—even from lower ranking employees!
6. Bosses yell at people. Leaders ensure that their feedback is constructive and action-oriented—and that it is offered in private, not in front of the whole team.
7. Bosses focus on hierarchies, i.e., “I’m above you and I tell you what to do.” Leaders focus on relationships, i.e., “How can we improve and move forward together?”

The difference, as you can see, is all the difference. So again: Which are you—a boss or a leader?

Originally posted from RickGoodman.com.

You’re committed to building a work environment of collaboration and teamwork—a work environment in which all your employees work together to reach common goals. The problem is, you have one employee who simply doesn’t share your team mindset.

That’s where it may fall to you to step up and show some leadership—proactively working to bring that employee into the fold and instill in him or her the central fact that, in your business, teamwork is non-negotiable.

But how do you manage these lone wolf employees? How do you show leadership in the face of an absolute defiance of teamwork initiatives?

Working With Lone Wolf Employees

A few basic steps:

1. Make it clear what your corporate values are, and what your values are as a leader. Offer public praise and affirmation to employees who do exemplify the team approach you’re looking for. And for employees who don’t like to work with the team, offer some private corrective counseling. Simply make it clear to them that—again—teamwork is a non-negotiable.
2. Take a firm stand. This doesn’t mean you have to be needlessly aggressive. What it means is that you shouldn’t sit around and hope that the employee will have a change of heart. You’re going to need to address the issue head-on. Explain to that employee that part of the job description is supporting the team—period.
3. Provide clarity on all projects and assignments. Make sure teamwork is implicit in all the work you provide to lone wolf employees. Don’t tell the employee to do X; tell the employee to work with Beth, Dan, and Sally to complete X. Again, the goal is to leave no question that teamwork is mandatory.
4. Listen to the employee. Allow the employee to explain why he or she doesn’t like working on a team. It may be that some additional training or resources are needed, or perhaps just that the person is an extreme introvert—in need of some assignments or projects that better utilize that particular skill set.
5. Ask other employees. Privately approach other employees and ask them for their take on the issue; it may be that the employee in question has been doing solid work, but in a more solitary context—and ultimately, you may decide that there’s no problem with that. Then again, your other employees may feel like they are shouldering too much of the workload, and that’s obviously problematic.

The bottom line is that there will come a time when you have an employee who just isn’t a team player—and that’s when showing some real leadership will be necessary.

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

You’re mindful of the health of your business. You’re mindful of the health of your team. But are you mindful of your own health—the health of your body and of your mind?

Successful leaders understand that they’re going to be most focused, most energetic, most creative, and most positive when they’re feeling their best—well-rested, well-nourished, low-stress. They also understand that good health doesn’t happen by accident. You’ve got to spend some time working on it, investing in it.

That’s a tall order for some business leaders, who often feel as though they simply don’t have any extra time to spare. They give everything to their business and have little left over for themselves. But this is the wrong way of thinking. Investing in your own health is investing in your business, and in your professional success. It ensures that you have the drive and the endurance and the open-mindedness to thrive.

So what are some specific health concerns for business leaders to think about? Consider:

• First, make sure you’re getting enough sleep! You’ve heard it said that eight hours a day is the minimum, and that’s not just some random number: It’s really how long the body needs to recharge itself. Don’t burn yourself out by working all night. Leave your computer and your phone in another room, keep your bedroom a sanctuary for sleep—devoid of all work!—and really make yourself get those eight hours.
• What you do in the morning matters. Get your head right and your mind prepared for the challenges of the day. Start staving off stress early on. Spend a few moments in quiet meditation, or simply doing some deep breathing and calming yourself before the start of the day. I recommend repeating some phrases of self-affirmation, as well.
• Find an outlet for your stress—a creative activity, a physical pursuit, or something else you can do to unleash pent-up energy and take your mind off workplace problems for a few minutes each day.
• Make sure you’re working out! How you want to work out—lifting, running, walking—is up to you. The important thing, and the thing a lot of business-types neglect, is to be intentional about it. Schedule your workout times. Put them into your calendar, or they won’t happen.
• Finally, be careful about what you eat! Find some quick and easy meals you can fall back on, keeping you from eating McDonald’s every day of the week.

Remember: When you invest in the health of mind and body, you’re really investing in the health of your business and your career.

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

It’s tough being the new guy. That’s true when you’re in grade school and it’s still true when you’re a grown-up: Coming into a new workplace environment—especially one with a tight-knit team dynamic—can be challenging, and more than a little daunting.

It’s not just hard for the new employee, though. Leaders and managers can sometimes face an uphill climb in grafting the new employee into the existing team culture. That’s not the employee’s fault. It’s just that it’s hard to step into a program that’s already been established; it’s hard to find your place when everyone else has already settled into their role.

So how do you help your new employees fit in? It takes a concentrated effort. Some basic suggestions:

• Start engaging the new employee early on, scheduling some group activities or some collaborative projects even on Day 1. Also—and I say this all the time, but it’s important—make collaboration implicit to all project assignments: Tell New Hire Bill that his job is to work with Claire and Dan on Project X, and tell Claire and Dan that their job is to work in tandem with Bill.
• Schedule some lunches, coffee breaks, or quick face-to-face meetings with more senior team members. Make these regular, especially at the beginning. Just give the new hire a chance to get to know you, to ask questions as needed, and to offer feedback. Use these meetings to assess the engagement process.
• In keeping with that last point, make sure you view onboarding as a two-way street. Always provide your new hire with a chance to express his or her opinions, and to let you know how things are going.
• Be explicit in communicating your values. What’s your company’s mission? What is its vision? How would you characterize its culture? You can’t just expect new hires to know these things; you must make them plain. This should be the centerpiece of the onboarding process.
• Invest in training! New hires like to be trained because it gives them confidence to do their job better, and it proves that you have an investment in them. Note that training does not always have to be formal, and in fact some more informal opportunities to participate and observe in group projects can be most helpful.

Remember: Adding a new team member can threaten to throw off your entire team dynamic—but working to engage your new employees can ensure a smooth transition.

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

It’s not a shock or a surprise: People who have a positive outlook, who affirm themselves every morning, who visualize success and believe they can attain it tend to be the people who do the best, both in life and in business.

Positive thinking is about more than improving your attitude. It’s about enhancing your ability to achieve. It’s about expanding your capacity for success, however you may define the term. It’s about proactively removing negativity from your field of vision so that you can be singularly focused on getting results in your professional life.

But how? How can positive thinking be not merely understood, but actually embraced?

I have a number of incredibly pragmatic, real-world tips that you can implement starting today. They include:

• Surround yourself with other people who think positively. If you spend all day hobnobbing with complainers, don’t be surprised when your own attitude takes a hit. Instead, try to find friends and family members who will offer you affirmation and enthusiasm. Allow yourself to bask in their positivity!
• Express gratitude. We all have things in our life for which we should be thankful. Take time each day to articulate the things you’re most thankful for, and voice your gratitude to the people who deserve it. Saying thank you cannot help but transform your heart and mind.
• Rather than doubt your ability to make the lives of others better, be adamant about giving where you can—even if it’s just giving some advice. Giving is a great way to orient yourself toward a more positive way of thinking.
• Visualize success. What does success look like for you? What will it feel like when you meet your goals? Take some time each day to think about what success looks like. Visualize yourself achieving it. Make success feel more real and attainable to you.
• Be quiet. Spend a few minutes each morning just being quiet and alone—either meditating or simply doing some breathing exercises. Starting your day with a sense of calm can go a long way toward maintaining positivity through the rest of it.

Harness the power of positive thinking today, and see how it transforms your mindset and your career.

Originally post.

You may have an office full of people who are working hard—but are they working together? Has office-place competition choked out all sense of collaboration? Has the layout and structure of your workforce lent itself to true cohesion and shared vision, or just to seclusion and individualism?

You accomplish more when you work together, uniting to form a team that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. This begs the question: How can you foster a spirit of teamwork in your workplace?

• Make collaboration one of your company’s values. As you communicate your expectations to team members, make sure that those expectations include collaboration. Express to your employees that collaboration and teamwork aren’t just optimal, but that they are an expected part of your daily work culture.
• Define roles in terms of the team. As you lay out the responsibilities for each employee, make sure to define them not just in terms of tasks but also in terms of people. Instead of telling an employee do XYZ, tell the employee to work together with Bob and Sarah on XYZ.
• Assign tasks to teams. Rather than assign a task to one person, assign a project to a full group; they may wish to break down the project into smaller, individual pieces, but even this is a step toward better collaboration!
• Set team goals. You regularly evaluate and appraise the performance of each team member; make sure you do likewise for the team unit as a whole!
• Make your office environment a creative one. Allow for team discussions in which everyone vocally brainstorms and grasps for new ideas, without any judgment or negativity. A creative team is a collaborative one.
• Leverage the strengths of each team member. Teamwork doesn’t mean everyone does the same thing; it means everyone uses his or her unique gifts to propel the group forward. Make sure you know the areas in which your team members shine, and give them projects and roles that play to their strengths.

Teamwork doesn’t happen by accident. You have to grow it. You have to work at it—and you have to do so together!

And let’s get real: EVERY business can benefit from better teamwork, from more unity, from greater focus and drive.

Originally posted at RickGoodman.com.

If you had to describe your company culture in a single word, what word would you choose?

And don’t cheat by saying just good or bad. Think more descriptively. How would you diagnose the fundamental character of your team, your office environment, your company’s values?

Knowing what kind of company culture you have can be invaluable as you try to determine what works and what doesn’t for your team, and how well your organizational values align with your corporate mission. It helps you know where your strengths are and where you might make improvements.

No two company cultures are ever quite the same, of course, but there are some general words and concepts that are useful in diagnosing cultural basics. Which of these words, if any, reflects your workplace culture?

Collaborative. Is your office environment one in which team members band together in open dialogue? Is there an attitude of shared ownership and a passion for problem-solving? Or are your team members isolated and insular, working privately and not together?

Creative. Would you characterize your workspace as one in which innovation is valued and fostered? Do your team members feel comfortable bringing up new ideas or experimenting with the way things are done—or do they all adhere to tradition, to “the way we’ve always done things”?

Controlled. Do you have an extremely formal, rules-based workplace—one in which people feel like they have to do things in a certain way or else face dire consequences? Does your workplace emphasize dependability and hierarchical authority?

Competitive. Are your team members working to outdo one another, to bring in the best results on the company’s behalf? Is there a “survival of the fittest” mentality in your workplace culture? Is your organization unified by a zeal for winning, however you may define that term?

There are many different kinds of company cultures out there—but what’s the cultural style that best epitomizes your business? Are you comfortable with the diagnosis—or is it time to initiate cultural change?

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

You know how to communicate—but do you know how to connect? And you know how to speak—but are you sure you’re listening, and giving others a reason to listen to you?

These might seem like rudimentary skills, but in our age of social media and smartphones, they’re practically endangered! We communicate all the time, and many of us mistake that for connecting. In truth, connecting with people requires a specific set of skills, skills you have to work on and nurture all the time.

Learning how to connect with people requires that you first let go of all the small mistakes that are preventing you from making better connections. Four of the biggest mistakes people make as they try to connect with others include:

1. Trying to connect when you don’t have the time for it. If you’re in the middle of a thousand other things at work and you simply can’t give your full attention to another human, well, don’t. There is nothing wrong with asking to reconvene in five or ten minutes, once you’ve gotten your other affairs under control. This is far better than trying to connect when you simply don’t have the brain capacity for it!
2. Not actually listening. Listening to someone requires more than just hearing the words they speak. It means taking the time to stop and think about what they mean. What are their underlying emotions? What are the needs they’re bringing to the conversation? Key into facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language as well as word choice, and focus on understanding at a deeper level.
3. Ignoring your gut. In the minds of many business professionals, brains are everything; instincts are nothing. In reality, though, you should listen to your gut feelings, which may clue you into issues or complexities that your mind can’t yet wrap itself around. If something about a connection feels off to you, there’s probably something to that, and you may want to stop and reassess.
4. Not giving yourself some space. One way to connect better with people is to connect better with yourself—giving yourself a little bit of quiet “me” time each and every day. It may be as simple as a few moments of meditation and self-affirmation at the start of each day, or maybe time during a workout—but make sure you don’t force yourself to connect with people all day, every day.

Connecting with people is essential for, well, almost everything—for leadership, for sales, and for teambuilding, to name just three. These are skills worth working on, then.

This article was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

It’s important to have goals, but goals don’t mean much if you have no way of tracking your progress. I think that’s the problem a lot of business leaders have with company culture. It’s not that they don’t understand it, nor that they don’t see the merit in making cultural improvements. Often, though, they struggle to know whether their efforts are working—whether their culture is really improving at all.

It’s a hard thing to measure, yet not impossible. In fact, there are several key metrics you can use to track the evolution of your corporate culture.

How to Measure Company Culture

A few of those metrics include:

Communication. Are your employees all on the same page with regard to your company’s mission and values? Do you find that your current communication channels are effective, or are there frequently communication breakdowns in your company? Are conflicts common? Are they dealt with effectively when they arise? Culture fosters clear communication—and if you see obvious communication flaws, that’s a sign that there’s still work to be done in culture building!

Collaboration. In keeping with the last one, do your employees work together well? Do you have to tell them to use teamwork, or does that come naturally to them? Strong work cultures are environments in which teams flourish and people work together in unity.

Innovation. What’s the last great idea your team developed? Are you all adept at thinking outside of the box? Great culture lends itself to innovation, and creates an atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable offering bold ideas for consideration.

Wellness. Are your employees physically fit and mentally able—or are they constantly stressed out or burnt out? Do your employees take a lot of sick time? Are they generally sluggish or inefficient? If your team members are unhealthy, there’s a good chance that your culture is, too.

Support. Do your employees feel like you support them? Do they feel like you’re looking out for them, for their families, for their futures? In a healthy company culture, your employees will feel like they have all the resources and support they need to thrive!

Customer service. Finally: Healthy company culture creates an environment in which customer service is a priority. If your culture is getting better, your customers should be getting happier!

The bottom line for business leaders is that culture is worth investing in—and there are absolutely some ways to track your investment’s progress!

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

Change is one of the few certainties in the business world—or, just generally, in life. The question that successful people ask isn’t whether or not things will change. The million dollar question is: When change happens, how will I respond to it?

You see, good leaders are able to weather change—to survive it. Great leaders thrive on change. They see every fork in the road or ebb in the tide as an opportunity to learn something, to develop their business, and to get better at what they do.

How do you ensure that you’re responding to change constructively? Here are a few quick tips:

• Never take it personally. Understand that change is the cost of doing business. Even if your star manager or your favorite sales leader abruptly quits, or a big client withdraws his business for no apparent reason, remember that it’s just business. There’s no use in allowing it to hurt your feelings.
• Be candid about it. Pretending like change isn’t happening is a mistake, if only because your team members will think you’re being too insular or cutting them out of the loop. Be transparent about the change that’s going on at your company in order to prevent employee confusion.
• Stay positive. Even with a really unwelcome change, there is often a silver lining—a chance for you to learn a new skill, bring in a great new employee, or watch as other team members rise to meet new challenges. Focus on these positives, rather than letting the negatives crush your morale.
• Start planning. Instead of reacting to change—based on your emotions or your impulses—respond to it, thoughtfully and constructively. Formulate a plan to guide you and your team through the change, capitalizing on it however you can.

As the old song says, a change is gonna come—to your business, to your team, to your industry, to your personal life. The question isn’t if or even when. The question is, how will you make the most of it, and show your true character as a leader?

Now let’s get real: EVERY business can benefit from better teamwork, from more unity, from greater focus and drive.

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com

As a business leader, what do you think is your greatest resource? It’s not anything monetary or physical; it’s not your business plan or your posh office space. Your most precious resource is your team—each member of it offering a unique perspective and skillset from which you can cultivate and refine your business.

The question is, are you taking full advantage of this resource? Many leaders, frankly, do not. They sit in their offices and dictate their ideas, rather than rolling up their sleeves, pulling up a chair, and getting down to the important work of collaboration.

But the thing is, collaborating with your team members is the only real way to tap into their great ideas, to nurture their creativity, and to push yourself to be smarter, more effective, and more innovative.

In a word, collaboration is what real leaders do. It’s how you show you’re serious about building a stellar team and a successful business.

But what does a really collaborative leader look like? Some thoughts:

• Collaborative leaders believe that power comes from a team working together as one—not just from one central authority figure.
• Collaborative leaders openly share information rather than hoarding it; information is a tool for the whole team to benefit from, not something to hold onto or to hoard.
• Collaborative leaders are open to suggestions and give team members a voice for making their ideas known. They empower, rather than silence, and they recognize that anyone on the team can have a great ideas—not just the leader or the business owner.
• Collaborative leaders brainstorm solutions rather than dictating them.
• Collaborative leaders are comfortable when roles and responsibilities evolve; they embrace fluidity rather than clinging to rigid structure. Collaborative leaders go beyond their job description!
• Collaborative leaders are not stingy with the gift of their feedback. They endeavor to make feedback constructive. They are open to receiving feedback as well as dispensing it.

Collaboration is the hallmark of an effective team—and it doesn’t come about by accident. It comes about only when the leader embraces, exemplifies, and encourages it.

This article was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

What’s the most important resource you have—as an entrepreneur, a manager, a business leader, or simply as a person? Simple: It’s your time. That’s the one thing you can never get more of, the one thing that’s more precious to you than anything else. And if you really want to be successful, the trick is to use your time well, investing it only in things that add value to your business.

Most professionals tend to think they do a decent job of that, and perhaps you do. We all have our time management blind spots, though. We all have those areas where our time management skills break down, and we don’t really even realize it.

Coming to understand where you’re wasting your time—or perhaps simply not making as much of it as you could—is a key skill for any professional. It will take some thought, some analysis, some introspection, and perhaps some changed habits—but the benefits can be major!

It all starts by being honest with yourself: Where and how could you be doing better with time management?

• For a lot of professionals, the chief time waste culprit is a lack of planning. What are you going to focus on today? What are your goals? What are your priorities? Successful people sit down and draft a road map at the start of each day; this may sound at first like a waste of time, but actually it’s what you do to make sure the rest of your time is used effectively.
• Many professionals feel like they are constantly busy, but simply being busy is not the point. The point is to do things that add real value. What are your long-term and short-term goals? What are the things you want to do to create value, now, next week, and next year?
• Of course, everyday distractions tend to be some of the biggest time management blind spots. Be thoughtful, over the next couple of days, about where your time really goes. Perhaps even keep a log of how each minute is spent. You may be surprised by how much of your time is drained by checking e-mail, social media, and so on.
• Successful people are often friendly and outgoing people—and that’s great! But has small talk gotten to the point where it’s really a problem, draining too much of your invaluable time?
• Finally, the need to be in constant motion can be a time management blind spot. Do you push yourself so hard that you never take a break to recharge your batteries? If so, you may not be getting as much out of your time as you should be—due to simple exhaustion, if nothing else!

Remember: Successful people are deliberate about their time management.

This article was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

A productive team is a unified team—a team in which all the members are able to cooperate and collaborate, despite whatever personal differences or personality clashes they may have. And to be sure: There’s no such thing as a team that doesn’t experience a little tension every now and again. What matters is that this tension never boils over into full-fledged, productivity-halting conflict.

As a leader, it’s your job to minimize conflict, and to deal with it quickly when it rears its head. How can that be done? The critical first step is simply noting some of the things that tend to make conflict erupt in the first place.

So what causes conflict? The answer can vary a bit from one team to the next, just depending on the personalities represented and the nature of the work environment. With that said, there are a few things that tend to be big, conflict-causing culprits in many workplaces.

Among them:

• Miscommunication. Are you clearly conveying expectations to all of your team members—and allowing them the platform they need to communicate their feedback, their questions, and their suggestions for improvement?
• Poorly defined roles. A good leader goes beyond the job description—but nevertheless, it’s helpful when your team members have a clear understanding of their place within the organization, and of the roles held by their peers.
• A lack of goals. Are you all working toward the same end, or are there different goals in everyone’s mind? Without clear, singular goals, it’s difficult to work together in a unified manner.
• A lack of feedback. Do you give your team members the gift of your feedback? Without some form of feedback, team members may feel unsure of their standing in the company.
• A bad company culture. Does your company run on collaboration, or does your management style pit employees against one another? A little competition is alright, but a cutthroat environment does not lend itself well to teamwork.
• Personality differences. All of your team members are unique individuals, which can lead to tension; as a leader, your job is to understand these personality types and to facilitate understanding.

Remember: Conflict can disrupt an otherwise productive team; understanding its sources is the first step toward preventing it!

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

How do you build a strong team when some of the members of that team are simply uninterested in team building? That’s sort of the catch-22 of the entire teambuilding endeavor. On the one hand, there are plenty of ways you can strengthen and unify your professional team. The problem is, those methods are only effective if people are willing to engage with them in the first place, and some employees just aren’t.

You may have some teambuilding skeptics on your own team—so how do you win them over and get them to participate in team activities? A few tips spring to mind:

1. Always make sure there is a method to your madness, and that the method is clearly articulated to your team members. If it seems like your teambuilding exercises are just silly games or wastes of time, then you’re going to find yourself with plenty of skeptics. But if you explain the point, and how it will affect the company’s bottom line and its productivity, some of those skeptics may be more willing to give it a chance.
2. Be mindful of different personalities and talents. The people on your team all bring different things to the table; some may be introverted or more timid by nature, and thus less likely to enjoy group activities. While you should certainly encourage involvement with group activities, you shouldn’t try to change people or cast judgment on who they are personally.
3. Try speaking to skeptics privately and one-on-one. Let them express their misgivings to you, and explain to them why you think teambuilding is important. Ask them for their support and encourage them to be positive about teambuilding, even if they don’t personally understand the value in it quite yet.
4. Publicize the success of your teambuilding activities. Has productivity increased since your last teambuilding activity, in a way that’s measurable? Then let your team know. Make it clear that the team is making progress and that the teambuilding exercises are bearing fruit.
5. Enlist the help of enthusiastic team members to pull others into the fold; let them know you appreciate their appreciation and rely on their support.

This article was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

You’ve hired people to perform certain tasks, and you’ve assembled your team based on the individual talents represented by your team members. Now the question is: Are you actually making the most of those talents? Are you giving your team members the freedom to do the things they really excel at—or are you painting all of your team members into the same corner, forcing them to conform rather than to perform?

Being a leader means recognizing where your team members are weak and where they are strong; it also means focusing on those strengths, allowing each team member to shine, and developing those areas where your team members are truly proficient.

That may sound like a tall order, but there are some strategies that can help you run your team effectively:

• Actually listen to your team members. They all bring unique perspectives to the table, and your business will benefit if you take all of those perspectives into consideration. That doesn’t mean you have to go along with everything everybody says, but remember that you hired them for a reason and on some level you must see value in what your team members think. (If not, you have a hiring problem!) Empower and respect your team members by truly listening to them.
• Believe in your team members. Remind yourself of the reasons you hired every person on your team, of the unique strengths brought to the business. Reaffirm, in your own mind, why you have those folks on the team. This will impact the way you think about them, talk to them, and empower them within the company.
• Be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses. Empower others to do the same.
• Remind yourself that people are different. You may be a strategic planner, and you may have members of your team who are more creative, spontaneous, or intuitive. This does not mean their talents are inferior to yours; it does not make them “wrong.” It just means you have complimentary gifts!
• Invest in on-site training. Provide plenty of opportunities for your team members to develop their existing talents, and to uncover brand new ones!
• Offer public praise when it is due. Offer criticism privately—and ensure that it is actually constructive, not just mean!

More than anything else: Make sure you actually communicate your expectations; transparent communication is the single most important key in facilitating an effective team!

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

There’s an old saying that says sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Of course, we all know that this isn’t really true. Words have power, and when they are wielded carelessly, they actually can hurt. In both your personal and professional relationships, the words you choose and the tone you take can shape the way other people feel—about you and about themselves.

Chances are, you know this from personal experience. Perhaps someone said something thoughtless to you once, and it really hurt. It caused you to lose some of your own confidence or self-esteem. At the same time, people who speak carelessly can also do damage to themselves; perhaps someone says something rude to you and you simply lose your respect for them, finding it difficult to look past their haphazard remarks.

As a leader, the way you talk to your team members can have a dramatic impact on the way your team functions, and ultimately on the very way in which your company works. Here’s something that’s just as important, though, and even harder to implement: The way you talk to yourself also has huge ramifications, and can make or break you in terms of everyday success.

That’s why I think it’s so important to start each day right—looking in the mirror and speaking a few words of affirmation to yourself. These don’t have to be over the top; simply remind yourself that you are capable, that you are hard working, and that you have what it takes to succeed. Build up your own confidence with some positive self-talk.

By no means is this a silly or nebulous exercise. Psychologists agree that the way you speak to yourself can shape your attitudes and your actions throughout the day. Speaking positively to yourself pushes your subconscious to step up, take action, and spur you toward success—whereas speaking negatively to yourself will only suppress your potential.

Getting into the habit of self-affirmation can have other positive effects, too. For one thing, it will build within you a meaningful routine of affirmation. You’ll find yourself speaking negative thoughts—I can’t do this, I’m going to fail, etc.—much less frequently. You’ll be able to shake off those confidence-killers once and for all.

Self-affirmation also helps you stay focused. It allows you to be reminded, each and every day, of what your purpose is, what you’re trying to achieve—and how you’re going to achieve it.

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

In recent years, there has been something of a backlash against team meetings. Do a quick Google search and you will find plenty of articles arguing that meetings are nothing but wasted time—and that they should be altogether abolished!

Of course, this is an overstatement. You need to have a company culture in which communication is paramount, and sometimes a scheduled meeting or a team huddle is simply the best way to accomplish that.

But even when a meeting is necessary, it can still prove overly long, inefficient, and unproductive. And that’s a source of frustration for everyone: Team leaders hate to lose that productive time, but employees are just as annoyed to have their precious hours put to ill use!

How to Know if Your Meetings are Wasteful

All of this begs the question: How do you know if your meetings are simply wastes of time? Some warning signs:

1. You cannot easily articulate why you’re having a meeting. Simply having a meeting is not the same thing as getting something done. What are you trying to accomplish in your team meeting? What are the goals? What are the action steps that you hope will result? If you struggle to answer these questions, then the meeting is likely not needed.
2. You do not provide employees with an agenda in advance. When does the meeting begin, and what are the issues that will be addressed? Tell your employees in advance. If you don’t, you run the risk of latecomers, or of employees who are already checked out and unengaged before the meeting even begins.
3. Your meetings are really just lectures. If you’re just talking at people, rambling on without engagement, then your employees will just be snoozing—and your meeting will absolutely be a waste of time. Instead, foster collaboration. Ask for feedback and input. Ask questions. Move toward action steps. Make meetings really engaging.
4. Your meetings are too long. If your employees are spending five hours of each week sitting in meetings, well, don’t be surprised when they’re burned out and frustrated. Make your meetings as succinct and as impactful as possible. Really prepare for them to make sure they’re quick and, again, focused on action steps, not just rambling discussion.

Are your meetings wastes of time—or are they truly engaging your team, fostering communication, and moving everyone forward? It’s something to think about before your next meeting!

Originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

When you’re a leader, you can’t be afraid of confrontation. Part of your job is making sure that everyone else is doing their job correctly—and if there’s an issue on your team, it’s up to you to address it.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to do that, however, and when it comes time to offer feedback, it’s important to be thoughtful in your approach. The purpose of feedback is to be constructive—to provide scaffolding on which your team members can build better skills and higher achievements. When offered carelessly, however, feedback can simply come across as critical, mean, or rude—all of which can squash confidence and creativity and lower your team’s morale.

The question is, how can leaders ensure that the feedback they offer is genuinely productive, not just critical? Here are a few strategies to keep in mind:

• Constructive feedback is specific. Telling someone that’s bad isn’t helpful, and in fact it’s not even feedback; it’s just nastiness. Real feedback hones in on something specific, and offers a benchmark that is both measurable and achievable. Give your team members a target to aim for, and a timeline to achieve it.
• Constructive feedback is private. Your aim should never be to punish or to embarrass, even if a team member has made a big error. A good rule of thumb is to always praise publicly and critique privately. You may consider following up on your private meetings with something written—a quick email reminder of the feedback you offered and the goals you laid out for the team member. The point here is simply to ensure that the employee doesn’t forget, which is an easy thing to do!
• Constructive feedback is not personal. Saying that a presentation is poorly organized is fine; saying that the person is disorganized is not. Constructive feedback focuses on a concrete situation, not on the traits of the individual.
• Constructive feedback is continuous. Don’t offer a critique and then forget it; make sure that you follow up, and that you make sure the team member knows his or her efforts are not being overlooked. Feedback is a process, and the more you invest in it, the more likely it is to yield the desired effect.

Great leaders are unafraid to offer feedback, and in fact they know that feedback is a true gift—so long as it’s offered in the right spirit, with the right specificity, and with the right level of follow-through.

This article was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

Great teams don’t happen by accident. There are several components that you need to have in place for a great team to emerge. You need to have a vision for everyone to rally behind. You need to have a leader who fosters and encourages teamwork and collaboration. And crucially, you need a work environment that is conducive to working together toward a shared goal.

This last point is one that a lot of companies are starting to pay attention to, and to rethink conventions. Consider the “open office” phenomenon. Consider the number of companies that believe you have to have a big, fun campus like Google’s in order to have a truly coherent and effective team.

Your office environment can certainly have an impact on team dynamics, but it’s not the most important thing. The more important thing is your company culture—something that’s reflected in how you lead, how you manage, how you arrange your office, how you communicate with your team, and more.

The question is, how do you develop an organizational culture that sparks true teamwork and camaraderie?

1. The first thing to remember is that, as I’ve noted in a previous blog, great teamwork begins with, well, a great team. What I mean by that is that you lay the foundations for great teamwork simply by assembling a team of individuals who fit in with your company culture and values, and who bring diverse and complimentary skills to the table.
2. Communication is, as ever, the key. Quiet teams are usually not very productive or unified teams. That doesn’t mean you have to plan a corporate getaway or a team-building activity every day of the week, but do plan 10 or 15 minutes each day just to get everyone together to discuss the team’s goals and progress.
3. Implicit in the previous step is making sure your employees all know what the team goals are. Make sure there is a roadmap of where things are headed, and that you communicate how everyone fits in on that roadmap.
4. Set clear, measurable goals both for the team overall and for individuals. Make those goals challenging, but attainable—and make sure you offer recognition and affirmation when goals are met!
5. Try to avoid anything that stands in the way of effective, two-way dialogue. Everyone on the team should feel comfortable offering thoughts, opinions, and critiques. If there is fear about speaking up or speaking out, you have a problem you need to address!
6. Work to correct performance issues promptly and privately. A team member who clashes with others or doesn’t understand the team goals may just need a little extra counseling or communication.
7. Finally, remember that teamwork begins with the leader of the company. Lead by example. Communicate openly, be accepting of feedback, cherish other voices and opinions, and solicit help when you need it!

Building a great team is something that will require strategy—and real leadership—but it can yield remarkable results.

This was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.

In the workplace, we tend to define ourselves according to job titles and descriptions. Your title establishes what you do, what you’re in charge of, what your responsibilities are—and also what’s outside of your purview. Your job title defines what you need to do and what’s frankly not your concern; it lets you know when you’re fulfilling your obligations and, perhaps, when you’re truly going the extra mile.

But what if we didn’t have job titles?

What if you arrived at work one day and there was no longer any hierarchy, no way in which the members of your team were categorized? Would it be disastrous? Would it mean that work would grind to a standstill—or would people step up to do whatever it took for the team to succeed, regardless of whether it was truly “their responsibility” or not?

I’m not saying this is how things should be. Job titles and hierarchies serve useful functions in coordinating the office and facilitating delegation and project management. However, your response to this hypothetical scenario may be telling. It may speak volumes about your propensity for real leadership.

Real leadership means understanding your job description, and the job descriptions of everyone on your team—but it also means not being bound by those descriptions. Leadership isn’t about doing only that which is part of your job description. It’s about doing anything and everything you can do to elevate your team members to a place where they can succeed, and about ensuring that everyone is working together toward meeting the team’s goals.

Real leaders know that job descriptions can be helpful, but they don’t tell the full story of your team members and their unique talents. You may have someone whose job title technically involves sales and customer service—but what if that person also happens to be an extraordinarily gifted writer? Allowing that team member to write some company blog posts will be a boon to the entire team, and it will also help that team member to feel respected, affirmed, and appreciated. It’s a win for all parties, but to tap into that potential you have to know your team members beyond just their job titles.

And by the way: You also need to know your own strengths and weaknesses beyond whatever your job description entails. Leaders are willing to earnestly assess and appraise themselves and to know where to be hands-on and where to delegate. This may mean coloring outside the lines of your official, formal job description—and if it does, then so be it.

Leadership means understanding your team, its members, and its goals—including, but not limited to, the titles that people hold.

This article was originally posted on RickGoodman.com.