Author Hour: 22 Talk SHIFTs, Krister Ungerböck

This article originally appeared in Author Hour.

Strained and estranged relationships are everywhere in business. Salespeople are frustrated by the finance people, customer service, and operations people are frustrated by salespeople, and for some reason, everyone is frustrated by the IT people. It’s time to shift the conversation. In Krister Ungerböck, 22 Talk SHIFTs, you’ll discover unconventional, sometimes counterintuitive communication techniques that could make your year or your career.

Talk shifts create not only great teams but also create great families. These practical tools include fill in the blank phrases, powerful questions, and provocative exercises that can break the cycle of strained communication and strained relationships. Language changes that and makes a big difference, in business, partnership, and life.

Drew Applebaum: Hey listeners, my name is Drew Applebaum and I’m excited to be here today with Krister Ungerböck, author of 22 Talk SHIFTs. Krister, I’m excited you’re here, welcome to the Author Hour podcast.

Krister Ungerböck: I am excited to be here as well Drew, it’s been a long journey together. Three years in the process, actually almost four now. Before we get started about the book, I have to give a shout out to Scribe because they’ve been with me every step of the way.

I have rarely come across a partner who has given me the candor, so much so, that there were a couple of times in the process, when in so many words, they said, “You know, we’d love to have your money but we just don’t think that’s a good idea, so I think you should spend your money elsewhere.” It is so rare to find a supplier or a partner who is actually willing to say that, and I really appreciate the candor, and this book would not have been possible without the great team at Scribe.

Drew Applebaum: Scribe Media is not afraid to hurt your feelings.

Krister Ungerböck: I didn’t have my feelings hurt but there is something about actual candor, which is kind of talking about the book because the book is a little bit about candor. There’s something about candor when there’s an expectation of candor and it’s set the right way, that it actually doesn’t hurt people’s feelings. Scribe has actually done a pretty good job of setting that expectation that candor is part of how you do your thing and I really appreciate it.

Drew Applebaum: We’re excited and glad you had a really great experience with Scribe Media and why don’t you kick us off and tell us a little bit about your background?

Krister Ungerböck: I was previously CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. And that’s part of the story of the book but about four years ago, a little over four years ago, I found myself at the YMCA, signing up for a gym membership, and the woman asked me who my emergency contact is. I broke down crying. Because at that moment, two weeks before that moment, I had walked out of the CEO job of the company that I helped build and loved. Then two weeks later my wife walked out on me.

I look back on my life and I’ve been pretty successful in business, I’m still an owner, and in that company where we’ve built a hundred million in shareholder value and growth. I started reading leadership books when I was 12 years old. By the time I went to college, I had read more business leadership books than some people read in an entire lifetime.

I went on a journey. Then, I said I’m going to set aside all these business books and I’ve got to find the secrets to leadership that I was missing all these decades. The end result was this book, 22 Talk SHIFTs. It’s really practical, fill-in-the-blanks phrases to give people tools to lead and communicate better, not just in a business context, but also in the context of a marriage. Or in the context of a parent.

So, while the book is a business book, first and foremost, my broader intention–I remember when I first had the conversations with Scribe, around four years ago and said, “Hey, here’s what I want to do, I want to create a business book that is also a relationship book.” They said, “You can’t do that, you got to pick a lane, you know? You can either be a business book or you could be a relationship book.”

Admittedly, if it wasn’t for the team of people that I’ve just been so fortunate to have help me walk the path and some of the amazing coaching, both from Scribe and also behind this book have been people who have been behind over a hundred New York Times bestsellers. Without their help and guidance, we would have never been able to thread the needle and create basically a business book that it’s also a relationship book, I don’t want to say in disguise because it’s not that. We made it somewhat obvious in the introduction what our intention is.

What Is a Talk SHIFT?

Drew Applebaum: Yeah, it’s very much in the book, let’s dive into the book. Tell us what a talk shift actually is?

Krister Ungerböck: A year ago, I was going to publish this book under a different title and then I discovered almost to the day, that the book was going to launch, I did go against the common wisdom and recommendations of Scribe in this particular case, and I actually sent the book out to a couple of hundred people as beta readers about a year and a half ago. Including a lot of people who were strangers and one of those people was a French guy named Ryan and he sent me a bunch of feedback on the book. I read his feedback in an email and I was like, “Wow, this guy is angry.”

He texted me and said let’s just jump on the phone. He gave me all this feedback verbally. It was really harsh feedback. And he said, “Krister, I was trying to take the ‘hater perspective,’ that people are going to give you a one-star review on Amazon and say that they hated your book. But I have to tell you this,” and tears came to my eyes, I didn’t break down crying but when he said this, he said, “Krister, I’ve read thousands of books in my life.” He’s a professor so I guess he reads a lot. But he said, “I’ve read thousands of books in my life and this is the best book I’ve ever read.”

That was what actually prompted me to pull the book back and rewrite it because I felt like I was maybe holding on to something that had the possibility of being something truly great. But I know that what I had sent him wasn’t truly great yet. Interestingly, the date upon which that version of the book was going to be published, I found out that I had a trademark issue with the title. The trademark owner would not sell it to me because she was, I think, writing a book with the same name.

I went into a dark hold because I thought about the thousands of dollars I’d invested in that name and brand and 24 hours later, I said “Okay, we got to come up with a new title.” And Talk SHIFTs was the result. By all measures, it’s a much tighter title than the last one, because the last one was three times as long.

So, a talk shift is really two things–a talk shift is a specific, simple, typically fill-in-the-blanks phrase or question that you can use to create a shift in a relationship. Whether it’s with your boss or a coworker or a spouse, or parent or child. At one level, that’s what a talk shift is. The book is 22 of these talk shifts.

More broadly, a talk shift is a process of shifting a relationship using one or more of these 22 talk shifts because sometimes, the key to shifting a relationship is literally just one of these 22 talk shifts. Then more broadly, what we’re seeing with 2020 and the things that have happened here–this is why I’m so grateful that the book was actually delayed by a year. This book wouldn’t have nearly been as successful a year ago pre-COVID because I’m seeing leadership dramatically change in the last six months. I am seeing people who are more open to communicating in new ways than I’ve ever seen in successful leaders before.

The last part is there’s the talk shift, which is this broader revolution, frankly, in communication, in business, that’s been spurred by the racial tensions in the United States, and there’s COVID, there’s just so many factors that have been building over time. LinkedIn is making it easier for people to find new jobs and escape toxic work cultures, Glassdoor is making transparent which companies have toxic work cultures. Millennials are demanding a new breed of leadership.

There are all of these forces and then you throw the Molotov cocktail of COVID and the racial tensions into that. There’s just this broader movement that is gaining momentum that I’m hopeful to be a part of.

The Compassionate Revolution

Drew Applebaum: I think employers now know that employee engagement is huge in getting results. You bring up something called the compassionate revolution that’s happening now. As you mentioned, there is LinkedIn now so people can find more jobs and be more accessible. Glassdoor will tell you about the culture of a company. Can you tell us what the compassionate revolution is and how it can affect employee engagement?

Krister Ungerböck: One thing we’re actually looking at in the compassion revolution is really the talk shift revolution because what I found when I originally wrote the book and talked about the compassion revolution is that business leaders, unfortunately, if you say, do you want to be a compassionate leader, it’s not something most business leaders will say. I’m really seeing it as it’s really the talk shift revolution. Ultimately, the talk shifts are tools to fuel more compassionate leadership in business.

A good example that I mention a book, is the Microsoft CEO. Bill Gates, the founder and CEO of Microsoft for 25 years, created 500 billion dollars in shareholder value. The current CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadela, has created one trillion dollars in shareholder value in six years. He did it with kindness and compassion. He created more shareholder value than Google, Facebook, and Warrant Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway combined.

I was a tech guy and a tech CEO. When I was 19 years old, I said I wanted to build a billion-dollar company. I modeled my leadership off of people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, these aggressive leaders. Ultimately, I think we took a couple of small data points with people who are wildly successful. And we assume that that was the recipe for outsize success.

We never really asked ourselves, if there is something even better. There’s a new breed of leaders that are showing us that, like Satya Nadela, actually this kind of cut-throat aggressive kind of leadership style isn’t really what gets the big results. It’s more the kind, compassionate style leadership.

Drew Applebaum: You also mentioned in the book to be a better boss, that there is a secret to inspiring people, and it’s as simple as doing something inspiring. Can it actually be that simple?

Krister Ungerböck: One of my coaches, who actually I just talked to on the phone last week, and who shaped some elements of the book, he asked me the question, “Are you inspired by your life?”

If you’re not inspired by your life, why would we expect other people to be inspired to follow us? That’s what hurt me when he first asked me the question. What I realized over the journey of writing this book is that, when I look back at how I led as a CEO, admittedly, we were pretty successful. We created a hundred million dollars in shareholder value–it’s not like my leadership style didn’t get results, it did.

What I realized is that people were following the vision, but they weren’t following me. And if we can actually create leaders where we can create a situation where we have both the vision that people want to follow, and leaders up and down our organizations that people want to follow, then that is the recipe for outsized, revolutionary results.

Drew Applebaum: Sometimes good feedback is just a way to understand how you are doing as a leader, but real feedback is traditionally hard to get. No one is going to tell their boss that they stink, right? So, tell us some of the techniques that you used to get honest answers to difficult questions.

Krister Ungerböck: That is one of the things that I mentioned in the book is that the talk shifts are things that leaders can use, but you can also use them in reverse. I call them ‘reverse talk shifts.’ So, let’s say you’re frustrated with your boss or you can be frustrated with your spouse, we always think it is the other person that is actually the problem.

I also mention in the book that we have actually grown our data. We now have 150,000 data points on the talk shift assessment. Anybody who is listening can take it at talkshift.com/quiz. So, we have 150,000 data points and originally, admittedly, it was a marketing quiz to just get people into the content of the book. About two months ago, I did the analysis. Of course, this is after the manuscript was written, so, I guess it will be in the next book.

We did the analysis and what was really surprising is that we found four specific questions that were most highly correlated with whether people said they had a frustrating relationship at work or at home.

Admittedly, I was very surprised by which of those four questions they were. We call them the ‘core four.’ The second thing that we found is that we were able to predict whether people have a frustrating relationship in their life based upon their words, not the other person’s words. I can predict whether you have a frustrating relationship in your life based upon your words.

So, here is the point, if we can predict that you have a frustrating relationship in your life based on your words, then that means maybe you can change that relationship simply by changing your words.

Somebody told me that when the Chinese came back from quarantine, there was a huge spike in the divorce rate. And divorce lawyers call January, ‘Divorce Month.’ So, I think we can probably look forward to January 2021 as being kind of a record year in terms of divorces. Because people have been cooped up in marriages and now cooped up in the same home and so tensions are sky-high.

We have even seen in the data that the percentage of people that say they have a frustrating relationship has jumped by nearly 20 points pre-COVID versus post-COVID. So, my intention, my hope is that all of those leaders who are looking for tools to be better leaders and have more success with less stress in business, we will see that these tools work equally well with their children and with their spouses.

Start with What or How

Drew Applebaum: I think one of the signs of a great leader is someone who leads people to their solution, not yours, as you say. Tell us about the differences between leading with questions and asking leading questions, and that nothing is more rewarding than an employee thinking they found the answer and walking them to it. How could someone do that?

Krister Ungerböck: Probably one of the simplest talk shifts in the book is simply start all of your questions with the word what or how. So usually, when I lead people to my solutions I say, “Hey Drew, have you tried XYZ and what are the answers, yes or no?” So, it’s basic advice disguised as a question but if I say, “Drew, what solutions have you considered and why? How are you planning to solve this problem?” So now, I am allowing you to come to your own solutions.

The interesting thing is, as a leader or a parent or a spouse, frankly when I ask these questions this way people are actually going to be more open to my suggestions after they’ve had an opportunity to kind of exhaust their own. So, if somebody says, “You know honestly, I really don’t know what I’m going to do.” That’s a good opportunity for me to give you my thoughts. So that’s probably one of the simplest examples of literally how just changing the first word in your sentence and your question can have an enormous shift in all of your relationships.

The most intriguing thing that, admittedly, I didn’t practice as a leader and CEO is that when you ask questions that way it takes so much less mental effort than actually trying to give everyone all the solutions. So, if I’ve got 100 employees and I am trying to get 100 people the solutions, I would be responding to 200 emails a day. But if I allow people to find their own solutions, I can actually ask the same questions over and over again.

What solutions have you considered Drew? What solutions have you considered Bob? What solutions have you considered Sally? And I could just ask those same questions over and over and over again and I will get more engagement, I’ll get better results, and with less stress.

Drew Applebaum: Now, are there any differences in talk shifts in personal relationships versus at the office?

Krister Ungerböck: So, some of them have subtle wording changes. So, in my talk shift 16, there is a statement about I demonstrate love and kindness. Well, I wouldn’t use that phrase in a work relationship, I would strike the word love. But part of what I have discovered on my journey is that I really surround myself with mostly people from outside of the business world and they have a lot of really good ideas but they just need to have subtle changes to the language to actually be workable in business.

I think that is one of the innovations in the book is subtle changes to things that you may discover in marriage counseling or that some of the insights were informed by a peace activist who did peace negotiations. So, taking some of those and tailoring them to more business-friendly language was, I think, one of the innovations in 22 Talk SHIFTS.

Drew Applebaum: Now of all of the talk shifts of the 22 in the book, what do you think listeners can implement first? And what could be the easiest that they could walk away with right now just by hearing you talk about it?

Krister Ungerböck: The easiest is to take the quiz because what happens when people take the quiz, is that we actually tailor the talk shifts we share based upon their responses. So, the interesting thing that I found when I had beta readers read the final version of the book is that I was surprised. I asked them, “What are your three favorite chapters?” And there were probably 12 chapters that people generally gravitated toward, but there weren’t any chapters that everyone had in their top three.

Which means, to me, that people take away from the book different things based on where they are. I really wrote the book, not for one person to read but really for two people to read together and discuss. So, for example, Drew, you and I work together. We read it and we are working on improving our communication with one another because we have some frustration. We don’t like each other or whatever and we start talking about it.

You say, “Well for me, what I would really request that you do Krister is talk shift number six,” and I would say, “You know Drew I think that for me if you practice 13, it would really make a big difference for me.” So that is really the intention is that you read the book together and then specifically ask the other person which talk shifts you’d like.

Communication for All Situations

Drew Applebaum: Now you actually flip the old cliché that actions speak louder than words and you say using words to make commitments that are followed with action. How do you find this? Is there a time in your life where this played out in front of you?

Krister Ungerböck: Well I guess part of it was the vision for the book. When we make commitments, part of it is to tell people but also make them very specific and time-bound. So, if I say, “Hey Drew, a part of my vision for the book,” which really for an author without a platform, delusion might be a better word, but my vision is to create the bestselling business book of all time. I am a big believer that you shoot for the moon because if you miss, you land on the stars.

Les Brown said that, but will I create the bestselling business book of all time? Probably not. However, you know there is an argument to say, with a business book, the total addressable market for a business book is people who are leaders in business. But the total addressable market for a business book that also helps transform parents and marriages is, for the most part, it is everyone.

It is a communication book more broadly than a business book. There is certainly a fighting chance that probably my biggest liability is that my mailing list is measured closer to the hundreds than the hundreds of thousands, but we’ll see how that evolves over time.

Drew Applebaum: Well regardless of book sales, writing a book is no joke. So, congratulations on finishing even if it was three years later.

Krister Ungerböck: Well, I actually joke, I say why write five books when you can rewrite one five times? Which is pretty much what this process has been. So yeah, thanks to Scribe and for continuing to push me to get it out to the world.

Drew Applebaum: Editing and rewriting is part of the process and oftentimes the most difficult process.

Krister Ungerböck: Actually, I find it to be the most fun part because I saw what the book was just like three months before the manuscript was finished versus the actual finished manuscript. I mean it, was light years better just because of the editing. So, I am excited for the book to be born finally, in the world. And even if no one else is excited, I will be excited that I can tell you.

Drew Applebaum: We’re all excited. Now, if readers could take away one thing from your book, what would you want it to be?

Krister Ungerböck: Everyone will take away a different thing. The easiest way is to take the quiz, it takes three minutes, it’s free, and then you’ll get some sample chapters tailored to this specific relationship that you would want to shift. So, if you say you want to shift your relationship with your boss, here are the five chapters. We recommend you read possibly with your boss or share it with your boss. If you want to do it with a spouse, here are the five, six chapters we share, and then if you want to shift a relationship with a child, then here are the seven chapters.

There is some overlap between these two, which is part of the power of the talk shifts is that there are probably six or seven chapters that apply in all contexts, whether it is business or personal.

My relationship with my father was transformed–we had a terrible relationship for over 30 years–when I read him the book and we read it together. That is why I am passionate about it. I mean we are actually going to do a video book with the intention that people can actually watch the video together, whether it is with a spouse or as a family, and then talk about it.

It is time that we start talking about our words because the difference between great relationships and then frustrating ones is often very little language changes.

Drew Applebaum: Krister, this has been such a pleasure. I am really excited for people to check out this book. Everyone, the book is called, 22 Talk SHIFTs: Tools to Transform Leadership, Business, Partnership, and in Life. You could find it on Amazon. Now besides checking out the book, can you tell us your website again and any other places people could find you online?

Krister Ungerböck: My website about keynote speaking and what I do in organizations to create talk shifts is Krister with a K. My first, name krister.com and the website for the book is talkshift.com.

Drew Applebaum: Krister, thank you so much for coming to the podcast today.

Krister Ungerböck: Thank you. I am glad to be here.

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To come out ahead of a crisis, lead with compassion

This article originally appeared in Fast Company.

Our current work-from-home life has torn down the wall between our professional and personal lives. Recently, I was meeting over Zoom with a company’s vice president of operations when we were momentarily interrupted—not by technical difficulties or priority tasks, but rather by her son, who popped on the screen and whispered, “Could I have a hug?” It was clear that our forced compartmentalization of work and life was ending and everyone is juggling a precarious work-life balance. The question now is, will we rebuild those walls between our personal and professional lives?

Empathy for employees’ personal situations is more pressing than ever. COVID-19 is changing people’s lives in very real ways, and the push toward patience, sensitivity, and kindness has had a particularly profound impact on command-and-control businesses. There’s no more room for the aggressive leadership practices of the Industrial Revolution; I believe we’re now on the brink of the “Compassion Revolution.”

I know this shift will be tough. I was once a type A leader who thought that compassion made me vulnerable. However, we can already see signs of the Compassion Revolution taking hold, even in job titles—ask Cory Custer, the “director of compassion” at Brighton Jones, or LinkedIn’s “head of mindfulness and compassion” programs, Scott Schute. If you’re ready to embrace the revolution, here’s how you can keep those walls down:

ASSESS YOUR WORKPLACE’S CAPACITY FOR COMPASSION

The definition of compassion is the desire to alleviate another’s suffering. When was the last time you asked a teammate “What’s keeping you up at night?” or started a meaningful conversation that helped you understand how and why someone else was struggling? Better yet, when did your employees last feel comfortable asking you those questions?

If initiating compassionate conversations with your team feels strange, it’s a sign that your workplace is ready for the Compassion Revolution. Not only does showing compassion to employees build a better workplace, but it can lead to great insights. Recent McKinsey research indicates that, though working fathers report working productively while remote, 17% still feel disengaged.

That’s why it’s important to ask tough questions and foster deeper employee connections. And as your employees open up, you’ll experience a transformation and become an emotionally intelligent leader who makes smarter decisions for all stakeholders.

CHALLENGE YOUR INSTINCT TO JUDGE

Compassionate leaders look out for employees’ anxiety levels by asking them what they need. Try saying, “I’d like to brainstorm useful ways that I can support you.” This light approach introduces your desire to help but leaves the final decision to accept the offer in the individual’s hands.

One caveat to ensure this approach is successful: You must completely let go of judgments. The dialogue between you and the other person should not make them feel morally or ethically judged. Move forward with an honest eagerness. To be sure, not all of your team members will want to share their personal thoughts of fear, embarrassment, and pride. In those cases, you can probe further gently by asking, “Could we shift some of your responsibilities temporarily or adjust deadlines?”

When they agree to allow you to help them, follow through on your intentions. Remember that they’ve given you the opportunity to practice compassion; don’t misuse the opportunity.

LEARN HOW TO REVERSE THE QUESTION

Emotional intelligence in leadership doesn’t extend only to how you treat others. Sometimes, you’re the one who’s awake at 2 a.m. or frantically struggling to finish your work on a Friday afternoon. When you’re under pressure, you have two choices: Shoulder the burden or show yourself compassion by requesting help. There’s no shame in asking, “Can I talk to you about some ways you could support me?”

When you grant permission to show yourself empathy, you grant permission for those around you to do the same. Research shows that asking for help is good for business, so set the example for your team that they can ask you for support just like you may ask them. Just don’t fall into the give-and-take mentality. If you only help others so that they can help you, you’re not practicing selfless compassion.

To fully embrace this moment of increased compassion, you must publicly commit to changing the way your organization operates. Work on developing and exhibiting your own emotional intelligence and highlight for your team the real-world examples of EQ you see to consistently reinforce the effects of compassion in action. Your employees will see that you’re serious about making a major shift.

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How to Create a Psychological Safety Net for Employees

This article originally appeared in HR Daily Advisor.

As we deal with the coronavirus pandemic’s fallout, employees everywhere are craving security. Nearly 1 million people have applied for unemployment benefits each week since March, raising the total number of unemployed workers in the United States to more than 16 million, at the time of this writing. These figures are grim, but they point to an important employer opportunity to improve psychological safety in the workplace.

Psychological safety nets come in a variety of forms. When I started a company in Europe, I discovered the unique approach Germans take in terms of standard severance pay and employee security benefits. There, receiving a formal dismissal entitles most workers to a generous severance package that can last for half a year or longer.

While I don’t necessarily recommend that you offer 6-month severances, I do challenge you to consider how your team would react if they were offered this type of workplace safety net. If employees weren’t worried about job security, would more of them communicate openly in the workplace? From my experience, the answer is yes. And stronger communication, no matter how it’s achieved, always benefits your organization.

The Importance of Psychological Safety in the Workplace

Let’s be honest: Team members won’t tell you what they really think if they don’t feel psychologically safe. But you need their input to make better decisions because companies handle threats and opportunities better when employees feel comfortable saying what’s on their minds. This means you have to help employees feel safe.

This type of give-and-take reminds me of a marriage. When you’re married, you make a commitment to your spouse. You agree to listen and learn so that you’ll be happier together. Leaders can do the same thing with their employees, but the sad truth is that they usually don’t. Instead, they tend to make choices based on how things used to be. They’re not on the front lines, so their mental pictures of the business are from months (if not years) ago.

Under normal circumstances, this is a shame. During COVID-19, this is a setup for disaster. To navigate the mid- and post-pandemic landscape, employers need to know what the day-to-day operations look like and what employees are really thinking. If employees don’t feel comfortable speaking out for fear of losing their jobs, then failure will be imminent.

How to Create Open Communication at Work

Are you wondering how you can overcome the barriers to employee security? Here are three effective ways to communicate with employees and promote a psychologically safe environment:

1. Initiate Conversations with Employees

Don’t wait for an employee to come to you with ideas or concerns. Openly ask questions like “How much do you believe what I proposed is the right choice?” and “On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you think we should move forward with this plan?” If you suspect someone is holding back, set up a time to talk privately.

Start consistently and skillfully asking for feedback. Asking “What do you really think?” is good, but asking for specifics is better. And don’t ignore the hard questions. Your team will be more open to providing personal feedback if you ask questions like “How did this make you feel?” or “Do I do that often?”

2. Control Your Responses

Resist the need to interrupt, go on the defensive, or receive validation. If you start overriding your employees when they speak up, you’ll lose their trust. “You’re the boss!” won’t help you make better decisions for the company. Ask for employees’ honesty, and learn from what they say. Even if you don’t agree with an employee’s interpretation or recommendation, express sincere appreciation.

As you become more skillful and comfortable with this process, your team members will see that it’s OK to lay out the truth. They’ll start to pipe up during meetings without needing a nudge, and you’ll know your processes are working. If what your employees say hurts or angers you, evaluate your reactions later. Own those emotional responses, and leverage them to become a better version of yourself. Just don’t tear into a worker who is willing to be vulnerable.

3. Use an Interrupter Phrase

One of the most effective ways to communicate with employees is to come up with a phrase they can use to break through to you when you’re in full-steam-ahead mode. For instance, let’s say you’re amped up about an idea and an employee can’t get a word in edgewise. He or she can give you a verbal signal—saying an uncommon phrase like “purple elephant”—to indicate that you should slow down.

This type of interruptor shifts the conversation and provides team members with the opportunity to share their voices and opinions. At the same time, it stops you from being so blinded by passion that you miss obvious red flags. The best part is, it’s user-friendly because it’s not as aggressive as “I disagree” or “I’d like to say something.”

Although your employees would likely appreciate hefty severances, you don’t have to change up your benefits to attain psychological safety in the workplace. Instead, encourage workers to feel comfortable by implementing these three leadership techniques.

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3 Ways You Can Lead With Vulnerability and Why It’s Important

This article originally appeared in SUCCESS.

The image of a wise leader pervades popular media, but real-life managers, executives and founders rarely know everything. In fact, people who pretend to have all the answers end up fostering distrust among their colleagues. Instead, successful leaders mentor others by modeling vulnerability-based leadership.

I vividly recall the first time I embraced vulnerability in leadership. I had just moved back to Europe because I thought our office there was about to go out of business. We had lost several key players within a short time span, and despite remarkable growth over five years, the company was on unsteady ground.

During one of my first team talks, I choked up. Being emotional in front of a group of employees felt raw… foreign. But everyone viewed my honesty and openness as strengths. They knew that I wouldn’t lie to them if things weren’t OK. And the business improved.

Integrating Vulnerability and Leadership

You might not like the thought of showing your emotional side. Hesitation to open up is normal, even among those who believe in the importance of vulnerability in leadership. Being open doesn’t come naturally to everyone.

Exhibiting vulnerability requires high degrees of emotional intelligence, self-awareness and humility, so you’ll need to be comfortable admitting mistakes and depending on your teammates. But if you model this leadership style, you’ll reap the benefits of an inspired and innovative workforce.

Employees working for approachable, genuine bosses feel empowered to explore creative solutions. They don’t worry about whether their ideas are too big or too foolish because they’ve seen that it’s OK to make mistakes. This freedom fuels incredible loyalty and production, which contributes to the company’s overall vision and goals.

Another benefit to vulnerability in leadership is the psychological safety it promotes. During uncertain times or crises, teams led by vulnerable leaders feel more grounded and able to cope. As Harvard professor Amy Edmondson notes, leaders who exhibit appropriate candor cultivate work cultures in which employees don’t cut corners, people respectfully speak their minds, and everyone belongs. In other words, vulnerable leadership encourages teams to actively think and participate because they know they aren’t replaceable cogs.

Practicing the Art of Vulnerability-Based Leadership

Want to know how you can leverage the cycle of vulnerability in leadership? Follow these steps to nurture your emotional intelligence and give your organization an authenticity infusion:

1. Say what you’re feeling, not what you think people want to hear.

Has a recent setback scared you? Tell your team. It’s likely that they feel the same way. By admitting your anxiety, you put yourself on the same playing field as your colleagues. Follow up by determinedly saying, “Here’s how we’re going to deal with our fear.”

After that, everyone can brainstorm next steps together. For instance, you might initiate a team-based crowdsourcing session that urges everyone to catastrophize—but only for a moment. List the worst possible scenarios, then evaluate the likeliness of each calamity. Talking rationally about what’s most likely to happen helps bring people out of fight-or-flight mode.

Remember that this exercise works best when you name the source of your uneasiness and then follow it with an action plan. You don’t need to have the answers; just be passionate, motivated and vocal about your desire to move ahead as a team.

2. Talk about yourself and the experiences that shaped you.

Have you clung to the idea that your personal life is off limits to the team? Don’t act mysterious; talk about past challenges that shaped you. For example, I skipped third grade and was bullied until I graduated from high school. The effect was a lifelong struggle with low self-esteem. To this day, I still sometimes question myself because of what happened when I was 8 years old.

Of course, I haven’t wallowed in my lack of confidence. I’m learning from my past and working on my own personal development. The point of opening up about your individual challenges and weaknesses isn’t to make people feel sorry for you—it’s to illustrate your humanness and show your team that growing takes time and effort.

If the thought of spilling your heart out makes you uncomfortable, start with mentioning what you do outside of work. You don’t have to go into detail, but it’ll help to open up now and then. Try chatting about self-improvement activities like taking guitar lessons or reading self-help books. Aim to bring employees into the first ring of your inner circle.

3. Ask for help.

Do you delegate? Be careful with your language. Saying “please do this” sounds different from “could you help me with this?” The former is a command, whereas the latter invites participation and respects the other person’s abilities.

Although it seems like a small difference, switching your verbiage to requesting, not demanding, assistance changes your co-workers’ mindsets. They’ll see their tasks as important, not menial. Plus, tomorrow’s leaders will mimic your vulnerable, sincere approach.

Along these lines, be sure that if you ask for assistance, you accept it gracefully and thoughtfully. Let’s say you have a troublesome project that you can’t figure out. Explain what you’ve done so far, and then request a teammate’s help. They can bring a fresh perspective and more brainpower to the problem. When your colleague returns with potential solutions, listen with legitimate interest and appreciation. Even if you can’t use any of the solutions immediately, you might be able to later.

The importance of vulnerability in leadership cannot be overstressed. You’ll be amazed at how letting go without losing ground can reshape and re-energize your team.

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How To Apologize Without Saying “I’m Sorry”

This article originally appeared in Chief Executive.

Years ago, while riding my bike, I bumped into a man walking in the opposite direction. At the time, I was living in Germany, but I instinctively blurted out “I’m sorry!” in English. Not sure whether he understood me, I corrected myself with the German version, “Tut mir leid,” which literally translates as, “it causes me suffering.”

It causes me suffering. Isn’t that so much more powerful than sorry?

He was probably too far away to hear me at that point, but my first apology was inadequate and meaningless. Not only was it said in the wrong language, but it communicated the wrong sentiment. As leaders, we need to know how to say sorry professionally, using the right verbiage and the right mindset.

This isn’t something you learn in a classroom, on the job or culturally if you’re from the United States or Great Britain. Most Americans and Brits often pepper their speech with the casual “sorry.” A CNBC piece noted that 58% of Americans say they’re sorry when they are trying to do someone a favor but don’t meet the mark—even when it’s not their fault.

This seems innocent, but as a CEO, responses like this are transparently throwaway. Employees and customers know this because it’s a line they use themselves. They expect and deserve authentic, thoughtful apologies when apologies are needed.

Bob was an executive who received some surprising 360-degree feedback. His self-rating was significantly higher than the rating his team members gave him. Upon seeing this, Bob made a surprising admission: “I’ve changed my style significantly over the past three years. The team is rating me as I was several years ago.” One of his colleagues replied, “He’s right. But I’m still angry because he never apologized for the leader he was.”

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How to Combat Workaholic Impulses During COVID-19

This article originally appeared in Thrive Global.

June 2 was National Leave the Office Early Day, but it passed without much fanfare. Why? There was no office to leave, because the pandemic has made telework a reality for millions of people. Pushing back a chair from your dining room table doesn’t feel the same as physically leaving an office. With little divide between your personal and professional lives, it can be all too easy to forgo a work and home balance.

Because of COVID-19, many high achievers and entrepreneurs have fallen into the trap of staying tethered to their companies 24/7. Unfortunately, workaholism messes with your brain and makes your job harder. Even if you love what you do, you start to experience psychological responses when you pressure yourself to perform without breaks. Your amygdala fires off “flight or fight” signals as you become increasingly stressed.

No one wants to feel like they’re constantly on edge. It’s critical to develop a healthy work-life balance and evaluate workaholism causes and effects. I recently facilitated an online executive strategic planning session. During the Zoom call, the young son of one of the executives came in to give his mom a hug. It was a touching moment that highlighted the importance of not making work the end-all, be-all.

Can You Be Addicted to Work?

Of course, admitting that you compulsively work and need help overcoming workaholism isn’t easy. We get a thrill from succeeding professionally, and we don’t want to think that it’s addictive. I talked to an executive I know who is also a veteran struggling with PTSD. His therapist said addiction generally manifested in three ways: drug addiction, alcoholism, and workaholism. Initially, it seemed strange to me to list workaholism alongside the other two devastating problems, but addiction is about altering your mood. You can use a substance, or you can use an experience like gambling, shopping, or working.

Perfectionists, escapists, and status-driven people get a kick from logging ridiculous hours. They don’t care that they’re losing sleep, flirting with depression, or losing touch with loved ones. They’re too invested in the boost they get from all-nighters. It’s easy to see why workaholic leaders are often the last ones to ask, “Am I addicted to work?”

In all honesty, part of the reason my first marriage eroded was that I became addicted to growing my business instead of nurturing an important relationship. Divorce is often a permanent outcome of being addicted to work. Now, I try to be more self-aware. Sometimes I have to put in long hours, but I know how important it is to connect with my family and separate myself from my job.

How to Cure Workaholism

Are you beginning to see a connection between your working habits and the effects of workaholism? Here are three key strategies you can use to promote a healthier work-life balance:

1. Identify the reason why you overwork.

You’ll never learn how to cure workaholism if you don’t get to the root of why you overwork. Ask yourself, “Why do I work 60-hour weeks?” If you are hiding from someone or something, then have conversations with friends, family, kids, or spouses to set expectations and establish boundaries. At one point, I overworked because I felt tremendous pressure to provide for my family, but I alienated them in the process. The way to minimize the effects of workaholism on the family is to identify your addiction’s core so you can face it head-on.

2. Play more.

Overcoming workaholismis impossible if work is the only thing that makes you happy. Find a pastime that gives you the same buzz as making a checklist item disappear. Explore anything and everything that pulls you away from work: weekly volleyball games at your local YMCA, New York Times best-sellers, or DIY home projects. And don’t forget to spend time with your significant other, family, and friends. When you have something else to look forward to, it’ll be easier to ditch work for a while.

3. Delegate effectively.

Just because something needs to be done doesn’t mean that you have to do it. Encourage more collaboration and delegate more responsibilities. For example, I used to spend a lot of time preparing solutions ahead of time for meetings, but then I realized that each meeting attendee also likely spent an hour prepping. Instead of leading meetings with answers, I began leading with questions (which took less time to prepare). By doing this, I emptied my plate of to-dos and shifted solution ownership to others, allowing my team members to shine.

Work and professional success feels great, but too much of anything can hurt you in the long term. Use these techniques to overcome workaholism and watch as your productivity and leadership abilities soar to new heights.

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No One Wants to Fire Employees. Here Are Some Alternatives to Layoffs.

This article originally appeared in Entrepreneur.

Companies around the globe are announcing major layoffs because of the economic impact of COVID-19. Even if you’re a leader who has held onto your staff thus far, you’ve probably considered letting some people go. Before you head down that difficult route, I encourage you to look into viable, sometimes unconventional, alternatives to downsizing a workforce.

It's not just about avoiding a layoff (although that in itself is a strong motivator). Businesses that handle this unprecedented situation well by retaining their superstars will bounce back faster and enjoy increased levels of employee loyalty.

If you're poised to initiate reductions, wait until you have no other option and investigate how to avoid workforce reduction. Getting rid of workers may ease the short-term strain on your budget, but letting go part of your workforce has long-term effects.

Why layoffs leave lasting wounds

Research shows that letting go of just 1 percent of your team can significantly decrease the engagement, performance and job satisfaction levels of your remaining staff. Why? The ones who are left experience survivor guilt and feel they're expendable when it comes to the company making ends meet. Sure, you’ll still have the rest of your workers, but they're apt to lose their sense of faith, loyalty and confidence in your company after saying goodbye to co-workers.

So regardless of what you may have heard or read, you don’t want to trim your workforce. Instead, look at the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity for your corporation to stand out and illustrate humanity and compassion. The best way to do that is to learn how to cut costs without laying off employees (and then apply those cost-cutting strategies ASAP).

In addition to exploring how to avoid workforce reduction, you should encourage open communication throughout your company. Withholding information could lead to employee assumptions: “If that company let everyone go, my employer will, too!” Your employees know you’re trying to figure things out, so the more you communicate as a leader, the less they’ll wonder whether you'll start letting people go. You may even want to announce that you’re actively looking into alternatives to layoffs and downsizing to allay rumors and fears.

It’s time to consider anything and everything, from limited workweeks to changing employees’ pay rates using a sliding scale. Don't resort to saying "no" even if a temporary fix sounds downright bizarre. When the coronavirus pandemic passes, many businesses will have truly unique stories to tell. Who knows? Your company may revolutionize the way we think about crisis management.

How to cut costs without laying off employees

If you're looking for alternatives to layoffs, use these cost-cutting strategies and best business practices to navigate today's difficult business landscape:

1. Reduce hours

Why not shave hours instead of personnel? Reducing work hours according to an employee’s role allows you to retain all of your talent. You may have to lower wages and curtail bonuses for a while, but you’ll highlight your dedication to your workforce. A 30-hour workweek isn’t unprecedented, either; plenty of Scandinavian workers clock in around that level, and their businesses can still compete globally.

How do you divvy up work hours among staff? First, separate your employees into three tiers. The top 20 to 30 percent are mission-critical and need to work at least five days a week. The next 50 to 60 percent of your employees should be considered essential, but you could shorten their workweeks to three or four days without sacrificing business results. Yes, they may net only 60 to 80 percent of their normal compensation, but that’s better than losing their jobs. This leaves the bottom 10 to 15 percent, who may be subject to bigger cuts (more on that later).

2. Buffer employees’ pain

Never make your employees do something that you're not willing to do yourself. Numerous CEOs have announced that they’re taking little to no salary this year. Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger and new CEO Bob Chapek are taking 100 percent and 50 percent salary cuts, respectively. The mass media and entertainment company expects to struggle in the wake of the coronavirus due to theme park shutdowns and postponed movies, so the leaders took a hit to help the company.

Follow in their footsteps and cut back your pay, too. It would be callous to ask your team members to make a sacrifice that you won't. By absorbing some of the economic blow, you’ll actively reduce the fiscal pain points of your personnel.

3. Factor in economic stimulus possibilities

As you work diligently to avoid a layoff, keep in mind that government assistance is on the horizon. Though corporate bailouts raised ire among some in 2008, they’re more welcome this time around due to the medical nature of the COVID-19 emergency. Check here for the latest on stimulus possibilities for your business.

4. Open the floor to suggestions

Brainstorms are needed now more than ever, so give your employees opportunities to voice innovative ideas for limiting losses. Consider how their solutions could help prevent a workforce reduction. What you need right now is a colossal dose of brainpower, and your colleagues are just the people to provide new perspectives.

When opening the floor to suggestions, make sure your mind is open to the suggestions you receive. When I was 17 and working at my father's company, he asked me to come up with a solution to a problem the company was facing. The out-of-the-box solution I pitched addressed the issue in a completely new way, which unsettled my father. He was under a lot of stress, so he was unreceptive to my idea. When brainstorming around avoiding a layoff, you'll need to expand your company's comfort zone when it comes to new ideas.

5. Base cuts on performance

If you can't avoid a layoff, make a deep cut and let the bottom 10 to 15 percent go. This practice was preferred by Jack Welch, who passed away just before COVID-19 took hold. Welch advocated for cutting the bottom 10 percent of performers annually as a matter of course. Though not ideal, it’s more calculated than just getting rid of whole departments en masse. Additionally, making layoff decisions based on performance gives you the chance to reward those who have remained driven and devoted throughout the years.

Consider cushioning the blow by letting the displaced workers keep their company laptops or extending their benefits to cover an additional month or two. More than 3 million unemployed people are concerned about health coverage, so try to ease the blow as much as you can by keeping former workers covered a little longer.

The sudden economic fallout caused by the coronavirus has been nothing short of unparalleled. Every company will be remembered by its leaders’ decisions at this crossroads. If you exhibit never-ending empathy and adopt alternatives to laying off employees, you’ll come out stronger at the end of the pandemic.

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How to Recruit Laid-Off Superstar Employees in the Middle of a Pandemic

This article originally appeared in Recruiter.com.

Only a few months ago, companies faced a huge hurdle when attracting top talent: Superstars weren’t budging from lucrative positions. Now, everything’s changed.

In the wake of COVID-19 layoffs, the resumes of 22+ million Americans are flooding the job market. It’s an unprecedented situation, and it offers employers unique recruitment opportunities and challenges. In light of this fact, organizations must create new recruitment strategies to capture the phenomenal employees who are now looking for work. At the same time, I caution recruiters to remember that not everyone who’s been let go is a plum.

Navigating New Hiring Territory

Consider this management fact: Good companies hold on to great people, even in times of economic uncertainty. Leaders don’t want to endure costly hiring and recruiting processes to bring untested newbies on board if they can retain high performers.

I suspect most laid-off applicants will claim they were let go solely because of the pandemic and not because of underlying performance issues. That may be true in some cases. Even historically successful organizations have had to say goodbye to scores of people. As CNBC notes, well-known unicorn startup Bird had to lay off 30 percent of its employees.

But not everyone who has been let go is a superstar. How are the hiring professionals charged with attracting and retaining top talent supposed to figure out who’s stellar and who’s not?

Resumes sometimes reveal significant clues. For example, being one of the first employees laid off after working for five or more years at a company could indicate a worker wasn’t essential. On the other hand, it might just mean the company’s HR department decided to furlough everyone below a specific pay grade or within certain departments. Clearly, the reason for dismissal matters.

If you’re in a position to onboard winners during and after coronavirus, here are a few tips to help you attract the brightest talent on the market:

1. Ask Pointed Questions About Why Candidates Were Furloughed

You can bet your bottom dollar you’ll hear “COVID-19″ when you inquire about the reason behind a person’s layoff. Go beyond that canned answer to ensure your applicant wasn’t someone the employer wanted to get rid of anyway. Follow up with, “When was the last time someone got promoted or was given a raise on your team? Who was it?” Hopefully, they’ll say, “It was me.”

On the other hand, your interviewee might admit, “Three people were promoted in the organization above me.” At that point, you can chat about those three people. Had they been with the company for a long time? Was it standard that everyone had to work for at least a decade before moving up? Dig deep and don’t take “There were no career options left” as an acceptable response. High performers own their fates; they don’t wait or need to be told how to outwork their peers.

2. Look for Subtle Indicators of Greatness

Another way to figure out whether you’re dealing with an exceptional candidate is to focus on some often overlooked differentiators when screening their resume. For example, even if someone is five years out of college, the fact that they were class valedictorian or maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout school is noteworthy.

What are some other ways to thin-slice and separate the great from the so-so applicants? Look for signs of promotion at least every 36 months; the higher the frequency, the better. If someone’s title was upgraded regularly in a managerial direction, that’s a surefire positive. Even if they were laid off, they were probably essential until the pandemic hit.

3. Find Out What Percentage of Their Company Was Laid Off

Not to hammer this point too hard, but companies are trying to hold on to their strongest people if at all possible. For that reason, I recommend finding out how much of an interviewee’s past workforce was laid off. The best answer is 100 percent or close to it, because that means just about everyone was furloughed regardless of ability or performance.

If someone says 25-35 percent of their team was let go, it could be a red flag, particularly if they worked at a small or midsize company. Unless they were recently hired and therefore fell in the “last to join, first to leave” category, they might not be the catch of the day. Keep sifting through the pile of resumes to see whether someone else rises to the top.

4. Offer Enticements Beyond Money

Plenty of top-notch people have had their careers interrupted by COVID-19 and the resulting stock market instability. Now could be the perfect moment to scoop them up.

Don’t fret about money. Top talent tends to come with a price tag, but these are not normal circumstances. Many employees are willing to temporarily work for less. Data from PayScale indicates the vast majority of job candidates would accept lower wages as long as the employer genuinely explained the reason for those lower wages.

Not convinced you can stir a performer without offering a high salary? Add other creative perks to your recruitment package to woo top-notch professionals off unemployment compensation. You may not be able to pay top dollar, but could you offer a great culture, unparalleled engagement, and more authority and autonomy? Never underestimate how appealing empowerment can be.

The marketplace has recently turned bullish toward buyers. If you’re hiring top talent, be diligent but act swiftly. Tons of high performers are primed to impress you. Find and onboard the gems, and your company will be poised to compete when the coronavirus outbreak ends.

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Why introvert leaders excel during a crisis

This article originally appeared in Fast Company.

In crises, many leaders listen less because they believe immediate action is required. Usually, they are acting from a mindset that using techniques associated extroversion is the only way to get ahead. Unfortunately, those leaders often forget that employees, the people actually taking the action, are key to navigating challenges. During the coronavirus pandemic, when many people are working from home and communicating through screens, adopting the traits of an introverted leader can help.

To build team camaraderie, leverage introverted tendencies to inspire audiences and lead your team to incredible solutions.

I can hear you rolling your eyes. “Inspire audiences? Please.”

But effective public speaking can inspire people. Moreover, a speech’s effectiveness comes down to its delivery. Public speaking isn’t a conversation; it’s a performance. This is why introverted actors like Tom Hanks can take on extroverted roles without changing who they are. Introverts may be quieter in conversation, but a conversation is different from a spoken performance.

Whether you’re naturally introverted or extroverted, no single set of traits will make you the best leader. Instead, it’s integral you’ll need to find a balance. If you are more extroverted, use these tips to adjust your management techniques. If you are naturally introverted and finding yourself in a leadership position, try practicing these habits consistently.

STOP DEVELOPING ANSWERS AND ASK MORE QUESTIONS

People spend the same amount of time preparing for a meeting as they do actually participating, according to 37signals cofounder Jason Fried. This means that if you’re leading a one-hour meeting with 20 people, they’ve likely spent 20 hours collectively preparing for it. As you explore how to use introversion to your advantage, plan to capitalize and tune into your team’s efforts. Spend your own prep time coming up with questions that will prompt everyone to discuss what they’ve been working on.

When I adopted a “questions first” philosophy, my leadership abilities immediately evolved. I used to spend a lot of time coming up with solutions by myself before meetings, but leading with questions took less effort than leading with answers. I spent less time preparing and more time responding. The technique shifted the responsibility away from me, which helped position me as more of a listener and left me feeling less depleted.

Posing questions helps others collectively solve problems. When people brainstorm their issues, they’re more likely to take action without coercion or reminders. Don’t ask questions that are answers in disguise, such as, “Have you turned the computer off and then back on?”

Not sure how to phrase your questions? Start with the “what” or “how” questions. For instance, if your team is struggling to connect the dots ask, “What would you do if you could wave a magic wand?” The question allows a group to think big and potentially arrive at  the “aha” moment on their own.

SPEAK PURPOSEFULLY

A primary advantage of introverted leaders is that they tend to say very little. Go with your instincts in this regard and prioritize clarity over volume when speaking. Tell yourself, the fewer words, the better.

Extroverts frequently give a lot of instructions, immediately going into “Let’s do A, B, C, and D!” This type of intensity can dilute the message and confuse listeners. If you purposefully select what you say, your communication is more effective.

Furthermore, prepare for important conversations by writing down lists of questions. I often have a few ready to prompt objective, innovative responses. At the same time, make sure you’re not speaking too little.

When I want to speak during a meeting, I double-check to make sure the message adds value and guides the conversation along, versus bogging it down. Teams who are led by engaged leaders are 39% more likely to be engaged, too. If you’re actively listening in conversations and speaking conscientiously, your team will respond in kind.

REMAIN PERCEPTIVE AND EMBRACE SILENCES

Why do introverts make good leaders? They spend energy observing what’s happening around them. Instead of blurting out first impressions, they mull them over so they can address the heart of the matter. To lead as an introvert, practice becoming more perceptive.

For extroverts, the trick is being comfortable with silence. Resist making snap judgments or talking through lulls in discussion. Practice resisting the urge to speak by counting to five to see whether someone else speaks first. When everyone has a chance to talk, you’ll hear everyone’s opinions. Feel free to call on people who haven’t shared their thoughts (they might just need a nudge from you). When I tried this, I found that my responses became more comprehensive, and they were built on the initial thoughts of others.

Introverts lead people to their own solutions, whereas extroverts are more likely to ask leading questions that push people toward the solutions they want them to enact. The former approach encourages engagement, which is why introverts make good leaders. Improving the way you communicate with your team increases efficiency in the workplace, ferments trust, and creates a more professional, individual image for each team member, according to career coach Hallie Crawford.

Extroverts may seem like ideal executive candidates, but introverts have the makings of great leaders. They’re able to calmly guide their teams and help them reach new levels of innovation and understanding. No matter the state of the world or your natural personality, you will benefit by adopting the traits of an introvert when leading.

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3 Ways to Lead From Home

This article originally appeared in Real Leaders.

Are your employees working from home? Leading remote teams without resorting to nonstop micromanaging takes consideration and care. Try these tips to balance your need to allow employees autonomy without losing your managerial right to check in when needed.

Amid the coronavirus crisis, plenty of people have discovered that telecommuting is harder than they thought. It’s also more stressful for both employees and supervisors, the latter of whom often have to rethink the way they lead.

How big an issue has this become? CNBC’s All-American Economic Survey indicates that 42% more people are working from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no clear end in sight to social distancing or shelter-in-place regulations, that percentage will likely increase. Unfortunately, working from the couch or the dining room table is hardly without stress.

Working from home stresses everyone, including bosses

According to Arianna Huffington, during a Livestream discussion, remote work is adding to everyone’s anxieties. After the initial newness wears off, the reality of trying to balance a career while juggling the effects of being in your personal living space — possibly with numerous others — sets in. So does a feeling among CEOs and department heads that they’re way out of their managerial comfort zones.

What’s the right management style when you aren’t around your colleagues? How do you foster respectful remote work communication while ensuring that everyone’s jobs get finished accurately and on time? What part does employee autonomy play?

No fast answers exist for any of these pressing questions. If you lead a remote team, however, you do have some options. For instance, if your head is swimming from trying to balance between micromanaging and being hands-off, why not base managerial decisions on the tasks themselves?

Consider this situation: Your administrative assistant is working from home. He’s doing what he’s done a million times before. In this case, he shouldn’t need frequent check-ins. On the other hand, if your brand-new marketing teammate is tackling something she’s never done before, micromanagement could become your best friend — and hers, too.

Giving the nod to effective micromanagement

Micromanagement has become a blasphemous word in American culture, but not all workplace situations thrive under hands-off leadership — especially during the current work-at-home arrangement.

In Andrew Grove’s book “High Output Management,” the author shares the philosophy that you should monitor new processes quite a bit from the get-go to ensure the output aligns with the initial instructions. Just make sure you tell your colleague why you’re so meticulous. While in Germany, I annoyed plenty of German employees who saw my micromanagement of their early-stage project as an indication of disrespect and distrust. My mistake? I failed to give them context for why I felt a little more scrutiny was necessary.

Today’s work-at-home teams deserve to understand their leaders’ choices from a contextual standpoint, just as those German employees did. In Grove’s words, people who have proven “task-relevant maturity” can be given autonomy because they know what they’re doing. Those on the learning curve need more hand-holding, including a heavy dose of asynchronous communications.

What are asynchronous communications? They’re the pings you send on the fly or the quick phone call you make to a co-worker. They’re not meant for formal discussions but to collaborate rapidly in real-time. Because asynchronous touchpoints tend to happen fast, and only when needed, they become essential. When you’re leading a team remotely, you have various collaboration platforms at your fingertips to drive asynchronous dialogue.

The only downside to these moments when everyone’s spread apart is that they tend to vanish quickly. Therefore, if you’re serious about improving your remote work communication, urge team members to document synchronous and asynchronous activities. Doing so helps everyone see what’s happening and keeps the whole group up-to-date. When you’re not in an office setting, preserving team knowledge on a shared calendar or without a communication tool allows everyone access to essential information.

Beyond setting up strategies to keep everyone moving forward and using your micromanager superpowers sparingly, take a few other steps while leading remote teams:

1. Monitor newer initiatives closely during their infancy.

Like a proud parent, check on the status of your team’s just-birthed projects at least once every day or so. You may even want to touch base more often, depending on the nature of the project. Make sure everyone knows you’ll be on them frequently and that it’s not a reflection of their abilities. As the leader, you need to make sure their results fall in line with the project’s original scope — and the expectations of leadership.

2. Ask probing productivity questions during team member check-ins.

Part of your remote work communication should include regular 20- or 30-minute private exchanges with each team member. During the dialogue, ask pointed questions to gauge their productivity levels and needs. You might say, “What things are distracting you now that you’re working from home?” or “How efficient do you feel on a scale of one to 10?” Even if the other person doesn’t respond adequately, he or she will ruminate on the correct responses. Don’t be surprised if your most talented co-workers come to you later for guidance because you took the sting away from them by admitting remote work is tough.

3. Get a sense of how much autonomy your employees believe they have.

Autonomy and micromanagement can be in the eye of the beholder. You might fret that you’re micromanaging a teammate, only to find out later that you came across as perfectly reasonable the whole time. A good survey question to put to your crew is: “Rate your perceived autonomy from one to five, with five being the highest.” If a worker picks the first number because you’ve been so involved in her work, you may need to explain or reiterate the perfectly logical reasons you’ve been Big Brotherish.

Being in charge is complex in a traditional setting, let alone when you’re leading a team remotely. Nonetheless, you can foster a loyal, collaborative, engaged crew if you make a few tweaks to your leadership style and communication.

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How to Empower Employees to Reach — and Exceed — Their Goals

Read the rest of this article in TrainingIndustry.com.

Developing employee performance goals is a key leadership skill that requires a careful balance to maximize results. When chosen strategically, performance goals can motivate employees to reach their full potential — but when settled upon carelessly, they can have the opposite effect on morale; performance; and, ultimately, business outcomes.

3 Signals That a Company Cares About Its People

Have you ever thought you found the perfect job opportunity only to land the position, start work, and discover the exact opposite? Unfortunately, it happens frequently, especially when the company’s values don’t match your own. This article originally published in Careerbright. To read the full article, visit Careerbright.

Nearly half of human resources managers have job openings that remain unfilled longer than they would like, mostly due to a lack of qualified applicants. When that happens, they will do anything to get someone on board. Management hopes that setting up a game room and hosting the occasional happy hour celebration will attract top-quality talent to the organization. While those culture perks may be fun for employees in the beginning, most workers want benefits that truly matter (and they should fight for those).

Companies that not only know their purpose and values but publicly advertise them are the places where you want to work. With increasing frequency, businesses are learning that employees don’t head to work each day just to make a salary: They want to contribute to an effort that they believe in and that helps the greater good.

 Finding a Good Supervisor

For job seekers, it is important to find a company that cares about its employees — and perhaps more important, a supervisor who cares. The best-case scenario is to be employed by both a company and a boss who care about you, because it can be draining to work for a good company with bad leadership.

Smart candidates will make sure they like their supervisors as much as the positions they apply for. You and your potential employer should both walk away convinced that you are the best fit for the job and vice versa.

So when the interviewer asks whether you have any questions, you should absolutely assess and interview in return. Ask questions like, “How many employees have left your team in the past two years, and why did they leave?” Ask about employee engagement, the company culture, and how the company scores itself on living up to its core values. Asking questions serves to help you better understand the job and company and will shift the dynamic of the interview into more of a two-way conversation.

 Signals That a Company Cares

Along with the interview process, you can look for several other indications that a company actually cares about its employees:

 Someone gives you a realistic job preview.

You want the company to give you a realistic preview of the position. Every company has some dysfunction, so look for signs that it’s transparent about areas that need improvement. In the final stages of the hiring process, you want the potential employer to divulge both the positives and negatives about working for the company. You also want the honest, realistic view of your exact position: the work environment, duties, and expectations. Not only will you have the correct expectations regarding the job, but you can also decide whether the position is the ideal fit for you and your skills.

They have implemented a clear onboarding plan for you.

Your first day should proceed without hiccups. A human resources department that has a thoughtful and effective onboarding process allows new hires to settle in properly. Your desk and/or office space should be established, and you should have a working computer ready to go. You should also have a team member who guides you through the first few days and introduces you to the rest of the department. Someone in leadership should interact with you and take you to lunch to get you acclimated.

 They offer mentorship on the job.

These first impressions are critical for employee engagement, and you want a manager who takes extra time and care to ensure that you find friends and at least one mentor during the first day or week of your new position. A survey by Comparably found that more than half of employees in the technology industry have best friends at their places of employment. Friends are vital to a successful career as they make you seven times more likely to be engaged while working. Friends boost your mood and morale and also offer the emotional strength to face challenges and crises.

Companies that take it a step further and offer sponsorship opportunities are an even better place to work: You’ll have a champion focused on your success and career advancement.

When you job search, it’s key to know your worth and not settle for just any open position. Take the time to research, ask questions during the interviews, and look for the signals that indicate the company will take care of you from the very first time you set your foot in the door. That type of company has the values and culture you want to affiliate yourself with.

Ramp up Your Recruitment With Intelligent Job Descriptions

Recruiting great talent is becoming tougher as top performers get their pick of open positions. But with some creative changes to upcoming job descriptions, human resources and recruitment leaders can attract awesome candidates faster, writes Krister Ungerbock, ​​​​CEO, The Language of Leadership. This article originally published in HR Technologist. To read the full article, visit HR Technologist.

The battle for talent has reached unprecedented levels among companies struggling to hire star candidates. Sure, there are incredible people out there, but the vast number of open positions means they get to be picky about the jobs they accept.

According to CareerBuilder, 58% of hiring managers report needing to keep job postings open for a frustrating 12 or more weeks. And 45% say they can’t find adequate recruits despite leveraging technology and digital platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed.

On the upside, 40% of workers admitted to CareerBuilder that they expected to switch jobs. But to capture some of those new workers, human resources professionals must challenge themselves to think differently when it comes to their job postings.

Updating Your Recruitment Strategy With New Job Descriptions

If you’re in charge of creating and spreading a job post for your organization, you need to take a new approach. Instead of thinking like a recruitment pro, try thinking like a marketer. Start with these strategic changes:

1. Write marketing copy, not standard recruitment lingo.

Most job postings contain stale wording that doesn’t turn heads. Instead of writing for yourself, write for candidates skimming job openings. In general, that population of candidates won’t be moved by dull headlines. Wow, them with job titles that captivate their interest. A/B test a more traditional headline with one that uses all-caps and unconventional symbols to see which attracts the most applicants.

Add keywords such as geographic locations or other terms to ensure titles are discoverable. You might also want to reconsider the adjectives and language you use in titles. “Front Lobby Greeter” doesn’t have much of a ring, does it? ”Director of First Impressions and Contracts at Award-Winning Real Estate Firm” is a lot punchier. Your titles must be accurate, of course, but they don’t need to be boring.

2. Keep your job descriptions straightforward and SEO-friendly.

Are your job descriptions long and dry? LinkedIn reveals that short and sweet seems to be the name of the game. In their investigation, job posts of 300 words or fewer got 8.4% more hits than the average, and ads between 301 and 600 words saw 3.4% less interest from seekers. What does that mean for you? It means you need to creatively boil down your postings to their basic elements.

Challenge yourself to say in 50 words what you might have said in 200. Each sentence should naturally whet the reader’s appetite so that he stays engaged until the call to action. If you can’t seem to whittle your wording, consider adding a link to longer copy on your website’s recruitment page. That way, you can have a more fully fleshed-out job description online without cluttering up your general ad.

3. Cut out the abbreviations.

Sure, everybody knows that HR means human resources, an RN is a registered nurse, and a COO is a chief operating officer. But spelling out abbreviations ensures you don’t miss searchers who don’t use acronyms and nets you a little extra keyword love to boot.

While you’re at it, skip the workplace jargon. We all get comfortable using certain phrases after a few weeks on the job, but your ideal candidate might have no idea what you mean — especially if you work in technology or another jargon-heavy industry. Write like a straight shooter and talk to your audience like they’re real people who might be interested in a professional move.

4. Ask for help from your noncommittal job seekers.

Some people like to peruse Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn out of curiosity. Maybe they’re checking out the competition or just want to see what a similar job pays in another industry. Perhaps they’re just bored for the moment or had a fight with the big boss. Regardless, they may never apply to your posting.

Even so, you shouldn’t ignore those passing eyes. Include a line in your job description like, “Job not a fit for you? Help us find our next administrative superhero!” that suggests passersby should send your information to their qualified connections. To further encourage referrals, you can even offer bonuses if your current employees refer people you eventually onboard.

5. Get loyal employees in a meeting with human resources first.

When you’re sifting through incoming résumés, put the candidates who have worked at the same company for at least five years at the top of your pile. Great companies don’t let their people go without a fight, so these candidates’ performances have likely stood the test of time. They’re clearly loyal — and they might be willing to transfer some of that loyalty to your organization with the right motivation.

Remember that some online job board technology allows you to actively source applicants who submitted their information but aren’t aggressively looking for work. Again, try to uncover people who have exhibited longevity and received promotions every few years. When these types of candidates do apply, get back to them ASAP.

It’s time to reimagine the face you present to all those superstars who might want to make your office their new home away from home. Updating your open job descriptions and the titles that accompany them can take time, but setting aside the hours is a must if you want to draw in applicants faster. Shortening your recruitment and hiring cycle by just a few percentage points will enable you to ramp up your operations and reach new levels of companywide success.

How to Shatter the 30-Employee Ceiling

If your team's growth has stalled, examine whether your managers are leading through expertise or curiosity. This article originally published in Entrepreneur. To read the full article, visit Entrepreneur.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, researcher Eva de Mol identified a critical element of startup success: that experience alone won’t make a team successful. And data from Adecco USA confirms that experience isn’t everything, as 62 percent of hiring teams report reducing the experience needed for new hires. In her research, de Mol found that soft skills like shared passion and a cohesive vision are far more important traits to encourage in a startup team.

Yet during early team-building phases, most founders or managers lead primarily through expertise. In other words, founders and entrepreneurs share their vast knowledge stores, leading others to immediate solutions when problems arise. This is akin to sharing the answers to a test, but top performers don’t want or need that kind of hand-holding. Many even find it insulting. Plus, it relies on one person’s experience, depriving the team of more diverse thoughts and ideas, especially as the company grows and encounters new challenges. This leading by experience often causes companies or managers at larger organizations to hit two team-growth ceilings: one at 10 employees and the other at 30. These lags can cause an extreme growth bottleneck, especially at the 30-employee mark. Instead of leading by experience, leaders and managers must completely shift their styles to accommodate further growth. Otherwise, they will languish with fewer than three dozen workers and possibly stall further scaling.

According to Census Bureau research, 89 percent of America’s nearly six million businesses have fewer than 20 people on the payroll. And Guidant Financial data has discovered that small companies say it’s tougher than ever to woo and keep talent. For that reason alone, fledgling operations should rethink old-style management techniques to reduce the likelihood of constant turnover and disengagement. Besides, leading by expertise simply isn’t efficient when one person becomes the go-to authority on everything.

Case in point: For quite a while, I was an expertise leader with a line of people outside the door, hundreds of emails and a ton of stress. A wiser leadership style for a company that’s hit 20 or more team members is leading with curiosity. Questions lead; answers follow. If you aren’t leading with questions, then you’re following with answers. Leaders who put curiosity foremost ask questions to elicit ideas and lead people to their own solutions. Those concepts are often imaginative and fascinating because they come from different mindsets. By revamping my style from authoritarian to coach, I gave my people the freedom to make our company better and break through the 30-person glass ceiling.

If you’re struggling because people leave before you can take your business to the next level, consider whether you could benefit from a leadership style overhaul. Below are several strategies I’ve trusted to move my team from merely existing to prospering.

1. Hand out autonomy raises.

Micromanaging can be helpful in some situations, but across the board, it doesn’t make sense. Plus, overmanagement keeps workers from experiencing job satisfaction. Research from the University of Birmingham in the UK revealed that employees who experienced more autonomy also experienced a number of benefits, such as improved well-being.

Generate a “table of autonomy” outlining which actions or operations require approval and which lie in the hands of the doers. As you work to build a diverse team, you’ll likely find that some employees need different guidelines than others. Once you’ve agreed upon those guidelines, allow your best staff members to have freedom within them. By generating a playbook for your talent to gain more authority, you show that mutual trust is within their control.

2. Start questions with "what" or "how."

Mistakes will happen. Stop asking everyone why they erred when they make a misstep. Instead, present a future-forward approach by treating all experiences as learning opportunities. Ask questions like, “What will you do differently after this experience?” or, “How might this experience change the way you operate moving forward?”

The more you change your approach to snags, the richer and more honest your dialogue with people will be. They’ll begin to model your questions in their own interactions, helping them become better at evaluating their blunders and coming up with innovative solutions.

Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs was known to ask a few pointed questions to help drive the tech giant toward success. Simple inquiries like, “What is not working here?” and, “Why not?” helped him get to the root of problems and encourage employees to offer solutions that would improve the company’s products and offerings.

3. Ask, don’t tell.

When you feel the desire to give your team answers, pull back. Instead, seek to learn what’s in their heads and hearts by asking questions. For instance, when you prepare for meetings, come up with a list of inquiries instead of outlining what you want to tell attendees.

As data culled by Digital Synopsis notes, 95 percent of Google searchers stop at page one. In other words, a lot of people just want to be told what to do. Challenge your people to think for themselves, to value a variety of diverse opinions and to be inquisitive rather than look to you for the right answer every time. The more they hone this skill, the more native it will become.

4. Brainstorm with purpose.

When you encounter a big problem, gather your team. Ask them about their top three options, their ideal outcomes and the resources they’d need to make their ultimate dream solution a reality. Encourage them to identify the true problem source, the assumptions they have about the issue, the lessons learned thus far and what’s holding them back from taking further actions. Ask everyone to participate, because as you build out a team of people with differing backgrounds, you’ll be more likely to hear a variety of new opinions about problems and ideas for solving them.

You should participate little in the activity -- just step in to reiterate your questions if needed. Within an hour, you should be able to gather quite a bit of information that you can use to follow up with key individuals and drive initiatives. Not only will you lead others to answers, but you’ll serve as a mentor rather than an omniscient ruler.

For an example of excellent brainstorming in action, look no further than Pixar’s Notes Day. Once a year, the production company halts all other work to make way for an all-employee brainstorm session. Former CEO Ed Catmull said he views his leadership position as a chance to support his employees, not to get in the spotlight. Offering Notes Day presents Pixar with an opportunity to do just that and ensure all voices are heard throughout the organization.

Worried that you can’t seem to get traction when it comes to boosting your team’s numbers? Investigate your leadership practices. Focusing on leading from a place of curiosity could make all the difference.

Using Audience Mapping to Build a Better Keynote

Working with your event speaker, use these tips to enhance the meeting attendee experience.

This article originally appeared on Northstar Meetings Group, to read the full article, visit northstarmeetingsgroup.com.

Most of your meeting's keynote speakers spend hours perfecting their content and delivery. Far fewer practice what Greg Holder, author of The Genius of One, calls audience mapping, a method of ensuring a speech's maximum impact. 

Audience mapping is a means of creating a mix of visual, auditory, conscious and subconscious cues to manipulate the direction of the keynote presentation. It allows planners and their speakers to create a blueprint for better facilitating the meeting attendees' experience throughout the speech. Working together with your speakers, venue crews and conference staff, you can use audience mapping to create a more beneficial presentation for your audience – one they’ll be talking about long after it’s over.

Audience Mapping in Action

If you’re having trouble envisioning how audience mapping works, put yourself in your keynote’s shoes. You’ve developed impactful slides to display behind you during the presentation, but in large auditoriums, what might end up on the display screen during your presentation is a close-up of your person. 

To maximize the impact of the keynote content, you’ll want to control what the attendee sees and when — the speaker or the slides — thus further influencing their overall takeaway(s). Use the following practices to tighten and maneuver the overall keynote experience for your next meeting.

1. Develop A/V Crew Cues

The folks handling the audiovisual elements of your event won’t have a ton of time to concentrate on complex arrangements, so provide them with all the information up front. Meet with your speaker to map out the supporting elements of the presentation. Develop cues to better facilitate the process as it's happening. For example, you might have the speaker brand important slides with a logo. Then, you can communicate to the A/V crew that, when they see a slide with an embedded logo, cameras should focus on the screen instead of the presenter. 

You might also consider coaching your speaker to use other transitional indicators, such as a repeated code word that indicates the crew should turn the house lights up or activate microphones for a Q&A session. Regardless of the approach, make sure all necessary parties are aware of established cues.

2. Use Visuals to Direct Attention

Rather than using visuals as a crutch, have your speakers use them to inform audience members of their role in the presentation. A slide might include a quote that the audience should chew on for a few seconds, or it could offer a picture that illustrates what your speaker is about to discuss. 

If your speaker asks a question, adding a slide containing a phone number to which audience members can text their answers might increase live engagement. No matter what’s on the slide, give the crowd enough time to absorb what they're seeing. Science shows we (the attendees) can’t read and listen at the same time, so be patient and let silence rule when necessary.

3. Add Blank Presentation Slides

Never be afraid of padding the presentation with blank slides. Empty slides won’t compete for attention, and they’ll help the audience focus solely on your speaker. Instead of freaking out over seemingly blank space, rest assured that blank slides provide a subconscious cue for attendees to focus on whatever the speaker is conveying at that moment in time.

4. Include Verbal Cues

Pretend you’re in the audience at a convention speech. You hear, “If you look at the screen...”  and it gets your attention, right? Using simple, direct language helps attendees know that it’s okay to look away from the speaker. It also sets your keynote up as the person in charge. 

When you’re working with a speaker to construct a new speech, start by defining the core message you want attendees to understand. From there, map out what the audience’s journey should look like throughout the presentation. Use the tips and cues above to better control what your attendees will be focusing on and when, helping to instill the intended takeaways. 

Krister Ungerböck is a sought-after keynote speaker, former CEO of Ungerboeck Software International and author. He’s been featured in national publications such as NPR, Forbes, Inc. and Entrepreneur for his fresh perspective on leadership, business growth, emotional intelligence and employee engagement. He is an expert on the Language of Leadership — communication insights that he discovered while learning to lead in two foreign languages, observing top execs in more than 40 countries and building businesses in six.

Technology Partners Something Extra Podcast Episode 042: Krister Ungerbock

Whether it be with the people close to you at home or those you work with, Former CEO turned Author/Speaker, Krister Ungerböck, shares how the language of leadership is the communication tool that transcends all barriers. This podcast originally appeared on Technology Partners Something Extra Podcast Episode 042. To listen to the full interview, visit Technology Partners Something Extra Podcast.

Bio: Krister grew Ungerbock Software International from a small team in St. Louis to hundreds of employees in 8 countries. On top of that, while learning to lead in two foreign languages, he had the unique opportunity to build businesses on five continents, observe leaders in over 40 countries, and live in three of them. Krister is the Author of the upcoming book, THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love.

Krister’s Something Extra: Words and Empathy

Links and Mentions:
Krister.com
LinkedIn

The Employee Perks That Actually Work

Ping-pong tables are not a recruitment strategy. Yet some members of leadership and human resource teams think setting up game rooms and throwing occasional pizza parties somehow make their organizations super attractive to potential talent. That’s not the case. This article originally appeared on Glassdoor for Employers. To read the full article, visit Glassdoor for Employers.

Establish benefits that will actually matter to your employees, then share them with potential applicants you’re recruiting to help turn them into new hires. It’s tough enough to find good people: About half of human resource managers have job openings that are staying open longer than usual or that they can’t fill because of a lack of qualified applicants.

When you do unearth gems, you want them to feel your strong culture from the first impression. Here are the perks you need to set up to attract new rock stars and how you can showcase them during the hiring process:

1. Hand out authority raises.

At some point, raising paychecks no longer raises morale, and offering your star performers competitive wages won’t be enough to keep them around. Giving them more autonomy through an authority raise can be the ideal solution, and increased autonomy can play a huge role in team success (Australian Leadership Foundation, 2016)

For current employees, consider giving your top dogs wider decision-making berths. Does a stellar sales director need the go-ahead to authorize discounts of more than $5,000? Up the amount to $10,000 to give her a bump in pride and control. And during interviews, turn the tables to let the candidates ask questions — especially questions about salary, bonuses, and raises. This will show that you respect candidates’ time and encourage curiosity. They’ll also appreciate your openness on a typically taboo subject.

2. Provide a taste of luxury.

Most people will never own a Porsche. But what if your company purchased a used Porsche to hand out when employees achieve exceptional successes? The talent would get to drive it for a weekend, showing off to family, friends, and neighbors. It would be a huge ego hike — and a reason to talk up the company as a great place to work. Admittedly, a sports car or exotic Bentley convertible isn’t a cheap investment. If that’s not in the cards for your company, try something else, like giving successful employees a “blank check” gift card for dinner at an expensive restaurant in your city.

Either way, you’re showing employees that you trust them and giving them an experience they’ll remember as a reward for their accomplishments. And while you can’t let prospective employees test-drive a Mercedes, you can give them a tour. Like all exceptional tour guides, you should have a playbook of great ideas. For example, knock on the CEO’s office door and facilitate an “impromptu” chat. How many initial interviews include a warm welcome from the C-suite?

3. Offer on-site fitness training.
Healthy employees feel confident, tend to fight off sickness, and have improved stamina. Offer everyone on your team a comfortable place to work out with a treadmill and functional weight trainer. It will cost less than $5,000 and will immediately show your commitment.

Take it one step further by hiring a personal trainer to come to your facility for a few hours a week. Employees could meet with the trainer in groups or pairs, encouraging them to get fit while meeting people from other departments. It’s a great way to facilitate connections across siloed verticals and hierarchies and to foster company wide camaraderie. Advertise gym and trainer access in every job description you post, and when candidates come in for interviews, ensure your company tour swings by the gym for a sneak peek.

4. Cater lunch and learn sessions.

Sixty-one percent of professionals would hand over work-related data to have the chance to develop themselves on the job (Accenture, Decoding Organizational DNA, 2019). At the same time, most team members don’t think much of the food their companies provide (ZeroCater, 2017). Why not kill two birds with one stone by simultaneously upping your cuisine game and setting up opportunities for whole groups to learn critical new skills?

In my experience, it works like magic. Our office provided lunch one day a week. During the lunch, one employee would teach something to the rest of the group. The topic didn’t have to be a deep dive: We had only about 30 minutes to share. Still, 52 weeks’ worth of content added up. It also forced everyone to take a stab at public speaking, which turned out to be a huge advantage for people who hadn’t done so before. During interviews, mention these sessions to show that your company values professional development. If you ever have an interview at the same time as a session, consider having the applicant sit in. If not, consider connecting the applicant with an employee who recently led a session.

By all means, keep the Pac-Man arcade game by the water cooler. Just don’t rely on it to do the recruiting work of more essential perks aimed at constructing a tight-knit culture in which people can thrive. Learn more about employee engagement and leadership by watching my speeches.

 Krister Ungerböck is the global expert on the Language of Leadership. Krister is a captivating keynote speaker, a coach to high-performance CEOs, and former CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. Based upon his experience observing business leaders in more than 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three, he shares insight into leadership that bridges between business, relationships, and family.

Simple Leadership Podcast: Why Becoming An Effective Leader Involves Changing The Language You Use, with Krister Ungerböck

Being an effective leader is about more than just managing people efficiently. Krister Ungerböck (unger-bahk) joins us today to talk about why being a leader is about changing the language you use. This podcast originally appeared on the Simple Leadership Podcast with Christian McCarrick. To listen to the full interview visit, Simple Leadership.

Krister is a keynote speaker, CEO Coach, and global expert in The Language of Leadership. Prior to retiring at age 42, Krister was the award-winning CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. His expertise in the Language of Leadership is based upon his unique experience as a global CEO leading teams in three languages while observing and doing business with executives in over 40 countries, building businesses in six and living in three.

As a corporate keynote speaker, Krister is passionate about sharing the secrets that his team used to win 5 consecutive Top Workplace awards and achieve remarkable employee engagement levels of 99.3%. His upcoming book, The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, will launch on Bosses Day, Oct. 16

On this episode of Simple #Leadership special guest Krister Ungerböck and I talk about his upcoming book, The Language of Leadership, and how #EffectiveLeadership can #Transform your life! CLICK TO TWEET

Outline of This Episode

• [0:40] I introduce my guest, Krister Ungerböck

• [5:00] The Language of Leadership

• [10:15] Being a leader versus a manager

• [12:15] Why you don’t want to lead with the language of expertise

• [16:35] Employee Engagement

• [20:40] How to “build better bosses”

• [25:50] Why is empathy and emotional intelligence important

• [31:05] How to overcome feeling trapped in your role

• [34:30] Book recommendations & resources

The language of an effective leader

Are you in a leadership position, but often find yourself floundering, unsure of your role? Do people find you domineering or hard to work for? Krister sought to write a book to help you develop and embody a leadership style that isn’t only effective in the workplace, but in your personal relationships as well. A crucial element of effective leadership is the language you use.

Krister shares a story on this episode about a woman who stayed loyal to her company—despite the fact they forgot to pay her multiple times. Would your best employee stay if you were unable to pay them? Does your leadership elicit that kind of loyalty? You’ll want to listen as Krister and I discuss the language of requests and why it’s important to be a leader, not a manager.

Why the ‘language of expertise’ doesn’t work

Why do you think most people get promoted? It is usually because they have proven their expertise in whatever field they’re working in. They’re simply good at what they do. But does being an expert qualify you to be a good leader? Obviously, it’s a great quality to have, but Krister talks about why you do not want to lead from a place of expertise.

It puts you in a position where you are constantly required to give people answers. When you find yourself leading anywhere from 10-30 people, this is no longer a feasible option. There is not enough time in your day to constantly answer questions. Instead of giving answers, you want to equip your staff to be able to answer some of the tough questions and come to their own conclusions. Your goal as a leader is to attract and retain great people and build a company full of top-performers. You definitely want to listen to the full episode—Krister and I cover the key to employee engagement—you don’t want to miss it!

Do you need to be an expert in your field to be an effective leader? Not necessarily! On this episode of Simple #Leadership Krister Ungerböck and I cover why the #Language of expertise doesn’t work for #EffectiveLeadership. CLICK TO TWEET

The importance of asking better questions

Effective leadership requires the ability to ask better questions to get better responses. One way Krister puts this into practice is asking permission to give someone feedback. He does this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it gives the person the opportunity to be honest and state they’re not in the right headspace. Secondly, you want them to be engaged, interacting with you, and be moving towards a solution.

One of Krister’s favorite ways to phrase a question is “On a scale of 1-10 how open are you for feedback?” Or, “What do you think are the top 5 things you need to work on?” You need to ask a question to engage your employee that doesn’t elicit a simple yes or no answer. When someone answers with a number, it gives you the opportunity to follow up with “What can we do to make that seven a nine?” It’s a great tool for better engagement and communication.

Emotional Intelligence: Leading from a place of empathy

I think many leaders struggle with the idea of emotional intelligence and leading from a place of vulnerability. But think about it—you are more connected to people when you actually like them. Being an empathetic leader allows you to build deeper connections and creates a safe environment for your employees where they are not motivated by fear.

In this segment, Krister talks about how the phrases “to feel” or “I feel” have different connotations in different languages. Too often, in English, “I feel” is usually followed by “like” or “that” which takes a feeling and turns it into a thought. Doing so creates disconnect—and tends to make others defensive. The fear that ensures shuts down the creative part of the brain and you’ll quickly lose the ability to get them to problem solve.

So what should you do instead? Convey how you’re truly feeling. “This account is very important, and I am afraid we may lose them if we don’t meet this deadline.” You want to convey that you’re not accusing them or laying blame, but wanting to work with them to reach a solution. This is just a brief part of everything we cover on this episode of Simple Leadership—listen to the whole episode with Krister for more details on effective leadership.

#EmotionalIntelligence is so important! Today on Simple #Leadership my guest Krister Ungerböck and I talk extensively about leading from a place of #Empathy and connecting with your company! CLICK TO TWEET

Resources & People Mentioned

• Book: Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

• Book: Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, et al.

• Book: Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg PhD

• Manager Tools Podcast

Connect with Krister Ungerboeck

• Krister.com

• Krister on YouTube

• Krister on Instagram

Connect With Christian McCarrick and SimpleLeadership

• http://simpleleadership.io/

• Christian on LinkedIn

• Christian on Twitter: @CMcCarrick

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Tweets

On this episode of Simple #Leadership we talk with Krister Ungerböck about the language of an effective #Leader and how it applies to your workplace and your home!CLICK TO TWEETDon’t spend your time answering questions when you can equip your team to #Learn how to come to their own conclusions. Krister Ungerböck and I cover the importance of asking better questions as a #leader and much more on this episode of Simple #Leadership! CLICK TO TWEET

Here's What to Do if Your Glassdoor Ratings Stink

This article originally appeared on Recruiter.com, to read the full article, visit Recruiter.com

Keeping tabs on your Glassdoor reviews makes sense, but dwelling on bad ones isn’t useful. At that point, the die is cast. Unless you have a wayback machine, there’s nothing you can do to change the person’s experience.

However, that doesn’t mean your HR and leadership teams can’t make some changes to prevent future bad reviews.

Cool-headed leaders and recruiters realize how valuable negative Glassdoor reviews can be when used to gain insight into preventing current and future employees from publicly roasting the company again. They also accept they have to make changes quickly. After all, lousy reviews beget lousy candidates. Indeed’s research shows 83 percent of job seekers consider organizational ratings before submitting their applications. Consequently, a low Glassdoor rating could turn off top talent.

Launching New Leadership Strategies After Bad Glassdoor Reviews

From a purely statistical viewpoint, the way to raise your credibility on Glassdoor is to get more positive reviews than negative ones. Happy employees don’t skewer their bosses on Glassdoor, but the only way workers will sing your praises on the site is if you prevent or defuse disengagement and toxicity before they metastasize. As you can imagine, your company’s leaders are in the best positions to take up this charge.

Without a doubt, your higher-ups are incredibly important to the vibe of your corporate culture. As Gallup notes, managers account for 70 percent of the variance in overall employee engagement. The faster managers can identify unhappy employees, the faster they can move to ensure those employees don’t feel driven to take their negativity to the internet.

If your company’s Glassdoor ratings are less than ideal, implement the following tactics to start turning things around:

1. Uncover Why Team Members Are Unhappy

Employees who aren’t satisfied with their working conditions can provide valuable feedback, but only when prompted. Arrange private meetings with unhappy workers, during which you can ask them to rate the way their bosses’ leadership styles affect their on-the-job positivity. Avoid a five-point scale, as it doesn’t give as much room for nuance as a 10-point scale.

Listen carefully to employees’ replies, and respond gracefully if they let their grievances fly. This is their chance to vent, and that might actually relieve some of the built-up anxiety that could otherwise go public. Look at it this way: Instead of turning to Glassdoor, they’re turning to you. That gives you the opportunity to make things right.

2. Ask What You Can Do to Improve Their Workplace Experiences

After you collect feedback on how happy each employee is, you need to ask some follow-up questions. Let’s say one employee rates her happiness as a 4 out of 10. Your next question should be, “What five things could your boss start or stop doing to make you happier?” If she provides more than five options, that’s even better.

This probing question will help put your employee’s numerical rating in perspective, and now you have their suggestions to pass along to company leaders. If leadership does implement some of those suggestions — and they should — the employee will become conscious of the change in her engagement, and so should her bosses. If you meet with the same employee after the leadership team takes action, her self-reported happiness score should increase.

3. Encourage Constantly Unhappy Employees to Find Greener Pastures

Let’s look at another hypothetical. What happens if an unhappy employee resists your attempts to make him happier? In that case, you’ll need to let him know you want him to be happy and will support him in finding another job. Don’t burden him — or your team — by attempting to keep him if the fit isn’t right. He might be stressed by working in your industry and might just need a push to get into a better situation.

He wouldn’t be alone. CareerBuilder’s research found nearly two-thirds of workers are experiencing burnout right now. Helping unhappy employees bring their disengagement to light might cause them to recommit to work, or it may help them realize it’s time to make a change. Whatever the case, you will have a stronger workforce as a result.

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Glassdoor reviews offer a chance for self-reflection. Use this learning opportunity to help your leadership team members do their jobs with transparency, sincerity, and optimism. That way, your company can ensure that everyone on your payroll is working with, not against, its vision and goals — and you’ll have fewer negative Glassdoor reviews to deal with, too.

Krister Ungerböck is a keynote speaker, a coach to high-performance CEOs, and the former CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Absolute Advantage Podcast Episode 190: Learning the Language of Leadership, with Krister Ungerböck

Krister Ungerböck is a keynote speaker, CEO coach, and global expert in the Language of Leadership. This podcast originally appeared on Absolute Advantage Podcast with Kelly Hatfield. To listen to the full interview, visit Absolute Advantage Podcast.

Krister served as CEO of one of the largest family-owned software companies in the world before he retired at age 42. As a global CEO, Krister did business in 40 countries around the world and led hundreds of employees across 8 countries. With truly remarkable employee engagement rates of 99.3%, Krister won five consecutive annual Top Workplace Awards.

As a keynote presenter, Krister’s highly sought and engaging wisdom addresses today’s most pressing topics such as employee engagement, winning the war for talent, retaining high-potential employees, developing leaders, and business growth. He shares the hard-won skills he developed through his time as a CEO, with a particular focus on the importance of emotional intelligence.

Krister’s upcoming book The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love offers business leaders a way to learn a powerful new language of leadership that allows them to speak in a more impactful and emotionally intelligent way. Krister’s methods can help maximize employee engagement, productivity, business growth, and talent retention. The Language of Leadership gives business leaders a simple, straight-forward and practical way to become a better boss.

“It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Think about it, how many times have you heard that expression in your life? Even so, how often do you stop to consider not just your message but how you are communicating it? Are your words being received as you intended them?

My guest for this episode of Absolute Advantage is Krister Ungerböck. Kirster is an award-winning leader, keynote speaker, CEO coach, and a true expert in the Language of Leadership. Kirster believes that one of the most powerful ways we can level up our leadership is through emotional intelligence and in learning to understand how our choice of language impacts and sometimes alters the message we are communicating to our teams. In Krister’s upcoming book The Language of Leadership: Words to Transform How We Lead, Live and Love, he outlines many of the techniques he has used himself to become more aware of his own language and how it impacts those around him, both personally and professionally.

On this episode of Absolute Advantage, Krister shares smart tips and strategies for identifying and altering the language you are using as a leader, and he explains why emotional intelligence and language choice matters so much for employee engagement and morale. He discusses how the language skills he teaches others can be applied to all aspects of our lives, both professionally and personally. And he shares wisdom from his upcoming book on steps we can take to become more conscious of the language we are using in our interactions with others. I hope you learn much from our conversation that you can implement into your own leadership.

Ways to contact Krister Ungerböck:

• Website: www.krister.com/absolute/