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Do you control your smartphone—or does your smartphone control you?

All of us probably feel like it’s the latter and not the former sometimes, but being too dependent on your mobile device can be bad news—especially when you’re in a leadership position. Your device can sap your productivity and sabotage your peace of mind, which is why I highly recommend that all leaders institute some smartphone rules for themselves.

Now, I’m not necessarily saying that all these rules are imperative for everyone —but I am saying you should think about your smartphone habits, and consider some helpful limitations you might place on yourself.

With that said, here are five specific rules I’d recommend.

How to Get Your Smartphone Use Under Control

Never Check Your Phone in the Middle of a Conversation

This is largely just a matter of good manners, but it’s also a matter of respect: When you can’t maintain interest in a conversation without checking your device, it’s a clear signal of disrespect to the other person in your dialogue. What’s more, it significantly diminishes the quality of your interactions; when you’re not engaged, you’re not listening, learning, or offering value.

Turn Off Alerts When You’re Trying to Get Work Done

I advocate for at least two hours each day where you do uninterrupted work—and uninterrupted means turning off all the email and text and social media notifications on your phone. Train yourself to shut down your device altogether during those productive periods of your day.

Don’t Use Your Phone in Meetings

Leave it on your desk or out in the car. Seriously. Be present in your meetings. Be alert, dialed in to what’s being said, without worrying about what’s going on with your phone.

Take a Break—Without Your Phone

Instead of playing games or scrolling through Facebook for 10 minutes, give yourself a little break by getting up and walking about, perhaps even talking with a co-worker face-to-face. Learn how to refresh your body and mind without the use of your smart device.

Don’t Let Your Phone Interrupt Your Rest

Finally, don’t allow your phone to disrupt your healthy sleep cycles. Instead, put it on Do Not Disturb mode while you get those eight hours. Your text messages and notifications can wait until morning!

Take Back Control

As an executive leadership coach, I’m always telling clients to take back control from their smartphones—and hopefully these tips will show you how.

It’s a common misconception—the idea that if you can burn the midnight oil, working a few hours later each evening, you’ll get more done.

I’ve never found this to be the case. On the contrary: Giving your mind a break—and allowing your body the sleep that it needs—boosts your energy level, your creativity, and your productivity.

Simply put, getting a good night’s sleep isn’t a waste of time. It actually helps you to make the most of your time and get more done.

So how can you improve the quality of your sleep in a way that enhances your workplace productivity? That’s what I want to talk about with you today.

Hack Your Sleep, Get More Done

As a motivational speaker, I’m always telling people about the benefits of better sleep. Here are some of the specific recommendations I’d make for achieving that.

• First, change your way of thinking about sleep. Think of it as an investment. Every hour of sleep you get is an investment in your productivity, and you need to maintain that investment at a certain level—roughly eight hours a night—to function at your best. That doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally work into the night and get, say, five hours and be perfectly fine. Overall, though, that eight hours/night number is an average you want to maintain.
• Routine is everything. You have to condition your body that, between these hours, it’s sleeping That means trying to go to bed at the same time each night, and also waking up at the same time each morning. Sleeping in until noon on Sunday morning may feel nice, but it can actually disrupt that careful rhythm you’ve developed.
• Recognize which parts of the day tend to be your most productive, and plan the rest of your day accordingly. If you really do your best work at 10 PM, by all means work late—but then allow yourself to sleep in a little later, making sure you get those eight hours. Working into the evening means you don’t need to rise at the crack of dawn. Make that investment in sleep!
• Finally, I urge everyone to spend some time making the best possible environment for sleep. That means a comfortable mattress, a cool temperature, comfy pajamas, and an absence of light (including smartphone emissions) in your room. The time and money you put into this are well worth it for improved health and productivity!

The bottom line? Your sleep is something to be serious about—and with these steps, you can really make a meaningful investment into your own wellbeing.

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Culture is the glue that holds your team together. It’s the set of values and goals that aligns everyone within your organization. Culture is unifying, which is part of what makes it so important—especially in workforces that might otherwise be disparate or divided.

Case in point: Virtual/remote teams. When your team is spread across different homes or offices, it can be incredibly hard to make everyone feel like they are part of something bigger. That’s where culture comes in—but how can you unify a remote workforce around a common culture?

As a motivational business speaker, I get that question a lot—and today, I’m going to offer just a few potential solutions.

Bring Culture to Your Remote Team

Always consider the needs of your specific employees. Get to know your team members well enough to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable. Do you have a lot of big, outgoing personalities? Then regular, in-person get-togethers are a must. Do you tend to have a quieter, shier workforce? Then internal chat tools can be crucial.

Do fun stuff. I call my business coaching services Focused Fun, and there’s a reason for that: Fun is really important! When we’re having fun together, we’re bonding; we’re getting to know one another; we’re learning to trust one another. Make sure you’re providing opportunities for your team members to have fun together as your in-person meet-ups and retreats. It doesn’t have to be all business all the time.

Encourage collaboration. Ask different remote employees to consult with one another on a project, perhaps using video chat—or, if they live close by, have them get together at a coffee shop or library to do a project together. Collaboration is so crucial to tight-knit, unified culture.

Keep your mission front and center. A good culture aligns everyone to a bigger, broader sense of mission. Make sure your company’s values, goals, and objectives are kept visible, and reiterated routinely. Leave no doubt what you’re all trying to accomplish together—as a team.

Bring Your Remote Workforce Together

Remember: You’ll accomplish more when you all work together as a team—and that’s exactly what culture can facilitate.

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Earning some favorable buzz from the media can be a real boon for your small business. Just one problem: How exactly do you get that buzz?

It isn’t always easy, especially since trying too hard to get media attention can make your business seem a bit desperate. With that said, there are some tried and true strategies for earning media coverage that I believe you should consider. See if any of these holds promise for your small business.

Build Media Buzz for Your Business

Establish thought leadership. One way to earn coverage is to dispense wisdom or insight that the press believes to be quotable. This means casting yourself as a reputable authority within your field. The best way to do this is to blog—and to do so consistently. Also consider publishing on LinkedIn Pulse and Medium, and maintaining an active social media presence.

Become a source. Reporters are always looking for industry experts who they can quote in their articles. At PR Newswire, you can sign up to be a source. Just make sure that you only respond to queries that directly relate to your field—or else, you’re just wasting your time.

Get active in the community. The local press will cover any big festivals or charity events that are held in your city or town—so establishing a presence at these events can be a great way to earn favorable mentions in the press.

Send press releases. If you have a new product, service, or charitable event, consider writing and distributing your own press release. If it’s newsworthy enough, you may find that the release gets picked up by local publications.

Start Building Buzz Today

None of these strategies are guaranteed, of course—but they can all help to position you strategically, increasing your chances of winning coverage by reporters and bloggers. Start laying the foundation today, and reap the benefits of media attention later.

As a Florida motivational speaker, I get to meet entrepreneurs and learn about businesses of all shapes and sizes. One thing I’ve been struck by over the years is just how many small businesses experience seasonal ebb and flow—a lot of busyness during one part of the year, followed by a relative lull.

Maybe your company notices seasonal spikes in its activity—and maybe your business, like many others, encounters something of a lull during the summer months. A summer lull can actually be a really positive thing—an opportunity to do things you just don’t have time for during your more hectic seasons. Let me offer just a few quick examples of how you can use the summer slowdown to your advantage.

Make Use of Your Summer Lull

Expand your knowledge base. Consider it your own personal form of summer school! Enroll in some classes through Advantage Continuing Education Seminars. Watch YouTube tutorials. Sign up for a local class, or simply get some good books to read! Teach yourself some of the skills or disciplines you’ve always wanted to master, but have never quite had the time for.

Get busy on social media. Rewrite all your company’s social media bios, optimizing for keywords and search phrases. Also take some time to write and schedule some upcoming posts, maintaining a healthy presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other valuable platforms.

Revisit your goals. Think about what you want to accomplish in the coming months and the coming year. Refine your goals, and list out concrete steps toward meeting them. Get input from your team, and make sure everyone’s aligned toward the same vision and objectives.

Invest in your team. Speaking of your team, the summer slowdown is an ideal time to engage them in a team-building exercise—a seminar or in-house learning opportunity, or simply a fun group activity. Do something to build team cohesion and culture.

Get ready for tax season. Really. Don’t wait until the last minute. Spend some time getting documents together now, and make your life that much easier come next year.

Reach out to your most loyal clients. Summer’s slowdown is a great time to send emails reconnecting with old customers and simply express your appreciation for their ongoing business.

Take time for you. Spend some time exercising, being with your family, or simply getting out of the office to restore your mental health.

Don’t Waste Your Summer Slowdown

Even when business tapers off a bit, you can still get plenty done. Use your summer slowdown wisely, with any of the suggestions I’ve offered here.

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Nobody’s perfect. We’ve all heard that old saying, and of course it’s true. But it also comes with an important implication: There is always an opportunity for us to get better. People can grow and improve every day. So can companies—but for that to happen, the company must have a culture that lends itself to continual learning, evolution, and betterment.

Do you have that kind of culture at your company? Let me lay out some of the hallmarks that you should pursue—some of the indicators that your company culture promotes ongoing learning and improvement.

Signs That Your Company is Built for Everyday Improvement

A culture of constant improvement will usually have these hallmarks in place:

No one at the company assumes they have all the answers. Everything you think you know about your industry or customer base could be turned on its head tomorrow, and you’re always ready to pivot, to dialogue with your customers, and to respond to changes. This attitude starts with leaders and works its way down!

Failure is accepted within your culture. People won’t grow or try to improve if they feel like they’re going to be penalized for every error they make. Make sure your culture leaves some wiggle room for noble failures—for trying new things even if they don’t quite work out.

Your employees are comfortable taking initiative. Basically: Don’t micromanage! Give your employees the freedom to take initiative and to be creative. Let them develop their skills; if you don’t trust them to do this, you’ve hired the wrong people.

Focus on decisions. Don’t have a culture where you talk everything to death. At each meeting, make sure there is some action taken or decision made—even if it’s a small one. You want to keep momentum going.

Foster collaboration. Don’t just suggest that your people work together. Specifically assign inter-team, cross-department collaboration. Allow iron to sharpen iron!

Set Yourself Up to Get Better

You don’t want to stay the way you are forever—and you don’t want your company to fall into a rut, either. Practice constant improvement. These tips are a start.

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I’ve been a motivational speaker for a number of years now, and I have to say: So far, I’ve not met many people who actually like receiving negative feedback. It can be truthful, and it can be necessary, but that doesn’t mean it’s welcome. Sometimes, negative feedback can feel too personal, too nitpicky, or just too mean—and when you feel that way about a piece of feedback, you’re not as likely to implement it.

So how do you give feedback that people will actually listen to? How do you get a response? How do you make your negative feedback constructive? I have a few ideas to share with you.

How to Make Negative Feedback Meaningful and Constructive

Set the right expectations. Make sure that, before you provide negative feedback to an individual, you hold a meeting with your team to let them know why feedback is important. Allow them to see why you invest in evaluations and performance reviews in the first place, and make it clear that even a negative observation comes from a constructive place.

Make feedback a regular rhythm. An annual performance review really isn’t often enough for your employees to learn how to receive feedback. A 10-minute weekly check-in, with each employee, is much better.

Separate negative feedback from salary/raise questions. Make these two separate topics, to help diffuse some of the emotions that come into play when money is on the line.

Ask for self-evaluations. Before you get going with feedback, ask your employee to share their own thoughts on how they are doing. Ask them to prepare their evaluation in advance.

Ask for permission. “May I share some feedback with you?” This simple phrase instills respect and trust in your conversation—and can make what follows go much more smoothly.

Bring specific solutions. Feedback that is vague often feels unhelpful, or simply spiteful. Make sure you are specific in what you propose to your employees, and show them ways they can make improvements.

Be open-minded. Listen to your employee’s side of the story—and be willing to change your mind, if necessary. It’s possible that your feedback can be off-base, and it’s critical to admit that.

As a motivational speaker, I know a little bit about encouraging people to take action—and I hope these feedback tips will make you a more inspiring and motivational leader.

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There’s a reason why company culture has become such a big focus for companies both large and small. Studies show, time and time again, that culture can make or break performance, team cohesion, employee retention, and recruitment.

So if you’re thinking about making a proactive move to enhance your company culture, that’s certainly not a bad idea—but wait. You have to be strategic, and to lay a foundation for long-lasting cultural change. Trying to implement big cultural changes overnight can backfire, causing too much tumult or simply not producing results that endure.

Therefore, what should you be thinking about as you are considering reshaping culture? Here are a few recommendations.

How to Rethink Your Company Culture

Think about cultural visibility. Culture isn’t just a set of buzzwords you write down on a sheet of paper. Culture should be something your employees and customers can see through your daily actions and behaviors. How do you as a leader show what your culture is? And how does your team embody those same values? Think practically, not just abstractly.

Think in terms of why. Why do you want to change your culture? What are the results you’re hoping for? What are the values you want everyone aligned with? Before making a big change to your culture, be clear with everyone about why you’re doing it, and try to get the full team on board with your decision.

Think about the past. Not everyone likes change. In fact, some employees may be reluctant to let go of company traditions or habits. Be respectful of this, and try to recognize and affirm the good things that your company should hold on to.

Think about emotions. A good culture should provide a space where everyone in the organization can express themselves freely, without fear or dread. As you think about cultural changes, make sure you’re leaving space for people to think and speak openly.

Think about engagement. What will you do to get everyone at the company involved in the new culture? How will you ensure that it’s widely adopted? That’s always a key concern when thinking about changing the values or vision of your workplace.

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The last 15 minutes of your work day are among the most important—because in a very real and direct way, they can determine your success and productivity for the following morning.

So let me ask you: Do you leave your office in a mad dash each afternoon, eager to get home to your family? Or do you allow yourself just a few minutes of extra time and discipline to organize your schedule and your office space for the next day’s endeavors?

If you’re not in the habit of ending your day well, don’t worry: I’ve got some tips you might find useful.

Make the Most of Those Last 15 Minutes

A few things to do before signing off for the evening:

• Update your to-do list. Whether you have an actual paper list or you use an app, go through and check off today’s completed activities, then roll over the ones you need for tomorrow.
• Review tomorrow’s line-up of meetings. Are you prepared for all of them? If not, allocate time to get ready the next morning. And, are there any non-essential meetings you could cancel? If so, by all means do so, and free up some more productive time.
• Clean up your desk area. Organize it in such a way that you have a clear, blank work space to begin your next morning. Related tip: Schedule any PC updates that need to be done over night, or else just power down.
• Say goodbye to your team. Don’t just rush out. Actually take a minute or two to thank employees and colleagues for a good day.
• Turn off work-related notifications before you leave, including email. Allow yourself some time to truly engage with your family life and to simply decompress once you get home.
• Pause to reflect. What was your day’s biggest accomplishment? What are you most thankful for? What are you most looking forward to tomorrow?

By completing this brief checklist, you can end each day on a high note—and begin each new one with a bang.

All of us need a little encouragement from time to time—and as a team leader, one of the most impactful things you can do is provide your employees with a pat on the back every now and again.

To clarify: Encouragement is not the same thing as praise. Praise comes when your employees achieve success. Encouragement is offered on the basis of effort or improvement—and it can actually motivate your employees to gain success.

So how can you provide encouragement to your team members as they try, as they hustle, as they strive to do better and better jobs? I’ve got a few tried and true tactics, all of them very effective and not at all over-the-top or corny!

The Best Ways to Encourage Your Team Members

Offer to help. Pay attention to cues that a team member may be getting frustrated or discouraged—body language and facial expressions will usually give it away. When you observe this, simply ask if they need help. That question shows that you’ve got their back—and even if there’s nothing you can really do for them in that moment, it can be encouraging for your employees to remember that they are not alone.

Take time for coaching. When an employee is stuck in a discouraging place, sit down with them and ask them to walk you through their thought process thus far. Unpacking the choices they’ve made along the way can often reveal a way forward.

Recognize little victories. You don’t have to wait for major milestones to acknowledge an employee’s hard work. Often, showing that you notice the little things can be just as meaningful.

Say thanks. It takes so little effort just to thank your employees for their hard work at the end of each day—yet that little effort can often make a big, encouraging impact.

Allow your employees a chance to stretch. You don’t necessarily want to give them more responsibility than they can handle, but you can gradually push them to take on just a little bit more—showing them that you truly do have confidence in their abilities.

These are all meaningful ways to let your employees know you believe in them—and to goad them on toward greater success!

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Over time, teams tend to develop their own vocabulary—their own shorthand. This is a natural occurrence, but it’s not always beneficial—especially not when the company’s internal lingo becomes cluttered with jargon; and then, when that internal lingo spills over into dialogue with customers.

What are some examples of modern-day business jargon? I’m thinking of phrases like incentivize. Ideate. Sales funnel. Deliverables. Paradigm. The buzzwords at your business may be a little different, but you get the idea.

The Problem with Jargon

To be clear, I’m not saying these turns of phrase are “bad.” What I’m saying is that, when your internal communication hinges on these buzzwords, it can be alienating not just to potential customers, but also to new members of the team, who may find this language to be impenetrable.

Something else to consider is that, when it’s abused and overused, business jargon can defeat its original purpose. Often, these words make their way into company culture to help describe abstract situations, and to provide the team with a common vernacular. The problem is, the meaning of these words can drift over time, and they can lose the power of their specificity. A word like actionable can very quickly come to mean different things for different people.

One more point to consider: When you use jargon in a presentation to your peers or to potential clients, it can make you come across as insecure—like you’re trying to use “big words” to mask your small ideas. And that’s never the impression you want to give.

The Solution for Jargon

The question, then, is what can your business do to minimize the (mis)use of these buzzwords? I have a simple yet effective tip: Develop the habit of probing deeper. Ask why and what do you mean in your meetings, in email chains, and anytime you hear another member of your team using jargon.

To put it a little bit differently: Develop a culture that challenges vagueness, and seeks clarity and precision in its communications. Maybe your team members won’t stop using words like deliverable over night, but they can become better at explaining precisely what they mean—and that specificity will be a huge asset as you communicate with customers and clients.

It’s worth taking stock of your own company’s reliance on jargon—and taking small steps toward a more straightforward communication style.

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All of us have days where we’re not feeling as motivated or as energetic as usual. That’s perfectly normal.

But when that aimlessness lasts for days or for weeks, the only name for it is burnout—and when burnout starts spreading to your employees, it can derail the productivity of your entire team.

Now, to be clear, leaders cannot always prevent burnout from happening. Sometimes, employees will experience burnout due to factors beyond your control. Indeed, your team members each have their own responsibility to remain engaged.

With that said, you, too, can help your employees keep their hearts and minds focused and committed to the work at hand. And engagement really is a big part of it.

Engagement is the Cure for Burnout

What I mean by that is that the way to prevent burnout doesn’t necessarily have much to do with throwing big parties, or going on team retreats, or letting people wear jeans on Fridays, or installing an air hockey table in your break room.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things—but to prevent burnout, the best thing you can do is show your team members where they fit into the puzzle, and why their individual contributions matter so much.

See, that’s why people start to feel burned out: They worry that their own role doesn’t matter, or that there’s nothing they can do to truly make a difference. To keep them engaged, you have to show them otherwise.

How? Here are some simple strategies:

• Make sure each team member has a clearly defined job description, one that emphasizes what they bring to the big picture.
• Regularly communicate with your team members what the mission and values of your company are; make sure everyone knows what the company is trying to achieve, and how they can play a part in that.
• Share results. As your team makes progress toward big objectives, show them how the work they are doing matters.
• Regularly touch base with individual employees to remind them of how they fit into the big picture, and address any questions they have about the company vision.
• Welcome feedback from your team members, allowing them to have a sense of ownership in our team’s endeavors.

You can do much to safeguard your team from burnout—and it starts by simply helping them see themselves within the broader vision of your company.

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Feeling unmotivated this summer? Like you just don’t have the stamina or the focus to get anything done?

It’s all in your head.

No, really. Your brain plays tricks on you, and sometimes it tries to trick you into being unproductive. But as I tell people all the time, in my role as an executive coach, there are ways you can beat your brain at its own game—actually tricking it into being more efficient in the workplace.

Let me offer a few practical suggestions.

Telling Your Brain to Get More Accomplished

Play the part of the observer. Have you ever asked yourself what’s stopping you from getting things done—what’s truly standing in your way? There is a lot of value in playing the role of an outside observer, stepping back and assessing what motivates your lack of motivation.

Break down your big projects into sprints. A sprint is when you focus solely on one small part of the puzzle—completing one specific, measurable goal as quickly as you can. Breaking big projects into sprints can be a helpful way to get through them without becoming overwhelmed.

Race against yourself. Set a timer for 30 minutes, and try to get as much done as you can in that span of time. Compete with yourself; make it your most productive half-hour ever. Promise yourself 15 minutes of break time if you can get something significant done.

Make a not to do list. In addition to listing the items you need to complete today, also make a list of the things that can wait—the things you don’t even need to think about just now. This can be liberating, and allow you to feel better about tackling your more pressing tasks.

Outthink Your Own Brain

Your mind can sometimes be your own worst enemy—but there are ways to stay one step ahead of it. I hope you’ll find some of these simple strategies to be impactful!

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You may have a lot of exceptional talents in your company—but if those talents aren’t working harmoniously, you don’t truly have a team.

The good news is, there is much you can do to bring those talents together into something cohesive and effective. In fact, I’d argue that this is exactly what great leaders do.

So what steps can you take to build a more cohesive team? Let me make a few recommendations.

What Can Great Leaders Do to Build Stronger Teams?

Get in the weeds. Nobody likes a micromanager, but at the same time, nobody likes a leader who is distant and aloof. It’s vital that you work closely with your employees, talk with them individually, are visible throughout each department of the company, and never ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.

Be candid. Always tell the truth to your employees, including the truth about your business. Be honest about obstacles, and regroup with your team when something doesn’t go as planned.

Have a sense of purpose. It’s not enough for your company to have a mission; you also need to make sure your employees know that mission, and understand their role within it. Articulate this to them often.

Listen. Your employees will want to provide you with feedback about the company and perhaps about your leadership style. You may or may not agree with them, but what matters most is that you allow them the chance to express themselves. Make sure they feel heard, and valued.

Support your team. Make sure everyone on your team has the resources needed to do the work you’ve asked for. When employees come to you with needs, listen to them, and look for practical ways to help them.

Praise your team members. When the team has a triumph, make sure you are very public and very effusive in celebrating everyone’s achievement.

Great leaders invest in individuals, but more than that, they work to build stronger teams. These suggestions will get you started doing exactly that.

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I’m a big believer in teams—and generally speaking, when we talk about workplace teams, we’re talking about employees. In some cases, though, the best way to build a team is to augment it with contractors and freelancers. Just depending on your need and the stage of company growth you’re in, working with a contractor may make the most sense.

But how can you know when it’s smartest to go the contracting route rather than hire someone full-time? Let me offer a few points for you to ponder.

Why Pick Contractors?

You have a fluctuating workload, and need some flexibility. It can be costly—and demoralizing—to be in a constant cycle of hiring and firing employees. If you find that your workload is highly variable, or perhaps that it has seasonal spikes, bringing in contractors can help you manage the work without having to do so much internal pruning.

You need something highly specialized. If you’re looking for a jack of all trades, you may want to bring someone on full-time—but if you need one very specific skill set covered, a contractor can likely provide it without the need for any training. This can lead to greater productivity.

Your resources are limited. Simply put, contractors usually cost less than employees, as you won’t have to cover things like insurance, office space, etc. That’s not to say that employees can’t be totally worth it sometimes, of course—but if you are severely limited in your staffing budget, a contractor may enable you to get more bang for your buck.

There’s More Than One Way to Build a Team

There’s no one way to create a team, and even with contractors in the mix you can work toward a common goal. Keep this in mind the next time you have a staffing need arise!

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The way you motivate your employees can vary greatly according to the size of the company. For example, let’s say you’re running a small family business, and you have just two other people on your team. You probably know them well, have direct relationships with them, and have a pretty good idea of what makes them tick. You don’t necessarily need a big, complicated program to motivate them; simply communicating with them on a daily basis can be all that’s required.

Growing Companies, Changing Needs

As the company grows, and your team expands, motivation can become a little trickier. Relationships with your team members become diluted; you have roughly the same amount of time to spend on team building, only now you have dozens or even hundreds of employees instead of just the two. You don’t want anyone on the team to feel like they’re not getting attention, or that they’re not being appreciated, yet it’s simply not possible to spend huge amounts of one-on-one time with each employee.

Motivating Your Expanded Team

But if you can’t sit down and have lunch with each employee every single day, you can take other actions to motivate your team.

One is to provide everyone who works for you with a sense of autonomy. Give employees projects of their own to tackle, and when they prove themselves, give them more and more responsibility. Back off of the micromanaging, and instead empower—always with clearly defined goals, structured job descriptions, and plenty of educational resources.

Allow each team member to see where he or she fits into the big picture. Nobody at your company should ever feel like they are doing busy work. Instead, they should know what the mission is, and how their particular role advances that mission.

For all of this, I should say that personal check-ins are also needed. You may not be able to meet with every employee every day, but do make it a priority to get as much face-time as possible—and not just in annual performance reviews.

As your team grows, motivation may become more challenging—but not unattainable! Use these tips to start down the right path.

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What characterizes a transformational leader? As a motivational speaker and executive coach, this is a question I field time and time again. One of the simplest ways to think about it is this: Rather than merely managing employees, a transformational leader inspires them to excel, to innovate, and to succeed.

This is no small distinction, and it stands to reason that there are certain things transformational leaders handle differently than their peers. Today, I want to highlight just a few of the identifying habits of transformational leaders. Consider how many of these characterize your own leadership style!

The Habits of Transformational Leaders

Transformational leaders listen. This is crucial. A lot of people see leadership as a way to grab the megaphone and make their voice heard—but actually, listening to the feedback of others is a key part of it. A transformational leader will make a habit of courting insights from the other team members; considering these insights seriously; and making sure all team members feel like their voices are being heard.

Transformational leaders act. Notice that I didn’t say transformational leaders are rash, or hasty, or fly off the handle, or make decisions based on too little information. At the end of the day, though, transformational leaders know that every meeting needs to point them toward an action step, and that the decisions they make should be made confidently.

Transformational leaders share vision. One of the hallmarks of transformational leaders is that they not only have a good sense of the big picture, but they help team members to see themselves within that vision. Know what your mission is, and be ready to show your employees how their work fits into that vision.

Transformational leaders admit when something’s not working. When faced with a project that’s just not coming together, transformational leaders are prepared to acknowledge their errors and move on to the next thing.

Transformational leaders are always learning. Investment in ongoing education and industry awareness is a key habit of the transformational leader.

What Kind of Leader Are You?

To conclude, I’d just ask the question: Do you consider yourself to be a transformational leader? If not, it’s never too late to become one. Give me a call to ask about executive coaching, and transform your own leadership style—starting today.

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There are different ways for companies to gauge the level of motivation their employees receive—and for a long time, the predominant model has been employee engagement. Recently, though, there’s been a shift in focus, with the term employee experience steadily gaining steam.

What do these two concepts mean? How are they similar, and how are they different? And which one makes the most sense for your team? Let me address some of those questions here.

Comparing Employee Engagement with Employee Experience

There was a time when businesses viewed employees, essentially, as resources—ways they could create more products and make more money. A few decades ago, that thinking began to change, with more leaders adopting the mindset that they should be offering benefits and value to their employees, not merely extracting value from them. That’s where the concept of employee engagement started; by engaging employees, it has long been assumed, companies can actually get better performances out of them. When done right, the focus on employee engagement is win-win.

So why the shift to employee experience? Well, the basic reason is this: Employee engagement, for all its virtues, tends to be focused on the short-term. It’s about making little changes that can impact employee motivation in the here and now. Employee experience is more long-term, and more big-picture. It’s about fundamentally changing how the workplace functions.

More About Employee Experience

Really, employee experience is just a way of considering what it’s actually like for someone to work at your company. Another way to think about it: Employee experience is the daily workplace reality for your employees.

The focus of employee experience should be creating a reality where your employees feel truly empowered—not micromanaged. Providing easy access to resources and tools, streamlining communication, offering flexibility for things like lunch and coffee breaks—all of this is encompassed by employee experience.

The bottom line is that all employees have an experience at work each day—whether you realize it or not. Smart companies will be proactive in ensuring that the experience is a good one—not just in the sense of being positive and pleasant, but in enabling employees to do their work in the best, most satisfying way possible.

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There are many ways in which leaders can motivate their team members, some more obvious than others. Certainly, offering bonuses or paid time off can be a great way to keep your employees happy and engaged—but while there’s a time and a place for that, it’s clearly not something you can do every day.

That’s why it matters to have other means of motivation, and a lot of them won’t cost you a thing. Simply being better at communicating with your employees—offering them praise, constructive feedback, and a broader sense of vision—can go a long way toward boosting their motivation.

But are you communicating in a way that truly motivates? Let me offer you a few points to consider before you answer that question.

Good Communication is Specific

For one thing, it’s always good to offer specific affirmation. If you just give all your employees a blanket encouragement—good job today, everyone!—that doesn’t really show that you’re engaged with their work, nor does it inform them of where they’re shining.

Instead of offering vague encouragements, be precise. Say something like this: “Sarah, your presentation at the meeting today was really well-prepared and well-delivered. I think it gave everyone some compelling data points to consider, and will result in good action steps. Keep up the good work!”

That level of specificity will motivate Sarah much more than if you’d just given her a generic pat on the back.

Good Communication is Personalized

When I say that good communication is personalized, I don’t just mean the message. I mean the delivery method, too.

You may have employees who really thrive on public affirmation—on being praised in front of the group. Others may really prefer text, email, or something one-on-one. As you get to know your employees, you’ll get a better sense for how you should communicate with each.

Good Communication is Missional

One more point I’ll make is that, as you communicate with your employees—whether offering praise or constructive criticism—everything should be relative to the mission. Always make sure your team members know what the big picture is—what the company is trying to achieve, and how each team member plays a role in that.

Through the right forms of communication, you can give your employees the sense of motivation they need—and if you’d like an extra push, I’m always happy to chat with you about my services as a motivational speaker!

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Today’s employees are overworked and overstressed. That’s just not my opinion: There are statistics to back it up, including recent reporting from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, plus plenty of anecdotal evidence from business owners around the country.

It’s an important issue, not least because it impacts the bottom line of your business: Overwhelmed and burned-out employees simply aren’t as productive, as energetic, or as creative as problem solvers.

The way to beat burnout is through engagement—bringing your employees into a better understanding of the big picture and their place within it. Employees won’t feel like they’re drowning in thankless work when they see what the vision is and how their part makes a difference.

How Leaders Can Curb Employee Burnout

Additionally, let me recommend three specific ways to help your employees stay engaged rather than burned out.

1. Give your employees someone they can talk to. Employees who feel alone are more likely to struggle with burnout. Create small discussion groups in your company to help employees feel connected to one another, and to a broader sense of community. Make sure these discussion group are true safe spaces where anything can be said.
2. Don’t neglect the little things. Encouraging employees to go for a quick walk around the building, allowing them to cut out an hour early on Friday, offering an afternoon to decorate the office for the holidays—these little things add up, and help stressed employees to feel a little bit more appreciated.
3. Keep the focus on productivity. Things like how many hours your employees spend at the office don’t really matter; these aren’t meaningful metrics. Instead, focus on how much they are accomplishing toward your broader goals and objectives. Again, emphasize the big picture, and how each employee fits within it.

Burnout Can Be Beat

As an executive coach, I see burnout all the time—and I also see team leaders beating it, reinvigorating and re-engaging their teams. I hope these tips will help you to do exactly that.