New data is not yet available, but virtually everyone reading this article has anecdotal evidence, earned through hours of peering into a home-monitor-delivered Zoom meeting with a dozen or so colleagues all squinting back in real time, that the incidence of remote working will zoom well beyond that tiny portion of the workforce.

What will the remote working landscape look like in a year or two as the virus fades in the rear-view mirror?

Let’s start with a look back, all the way to June 2012, to an insightful article in the Monthly Labor Review (MLR). The authors offer advantages that still resonate today: reducing commuting time and energy consumption, contributing to improved work-life balance for caregivers and, as evidenced by empirical evaluation, delivering increased productivity, decreased absenteeism and increased employee retention.

With benefits like these, it would seem a slam dunk that as video technology has improved in the eight years since the article appeared, we would see a much higher incidence of remote working, but negative management attitudes about telecommuting have hindered expansion. A 2019 survey, conducted by the talent advisor and recruiting firm MRINetwork, identified some firmly held beliefs about the possible dangers of widespread telecommuting. Pushback ranged from perceptions that productivity would suffer, team cohesion would be lost, communication effectiveness would decline and company culture would be diluted.

“The Covid pandemic pushed all of our clients into a forced test of the efficacy of telecommuting. Initial conversations indicate that many, if not most, of the senior-level hiring decision makers that we deal with every day are actively planning a return to a workplace with a higher ratio of work-from-home hours versus work-in-office hours,” says MRINetwork President and CEO Bert Miller. “I anticipate further study, though, regarding long-term remote productivity and broad sustainability as we go forward.”

There will be challenges to this brave new world. An article in the May 28 Wall Street Journal identifies some real pitfalls with more widespread use of contemporary videoconferencing tools. The author, Betsy Morris, cites the inability of e-conferencing to allow participants to read body language and transmission delays interfering with normal speech patterns, compounded by the absence of important non-verbal and real-time feedback.

A safe bet, in peering into the American workplace in 2021, is that a much higher percentage of knowledge-based workers’ time will be spent working remotely. They will be delivering higher quality results, with no negative impact on company culture or team cohesion. But they and their managers will need to remain vigilant to ensure they hit the right mix of human interaction in an office environment along with the advantages of a work-from-home lifestyle.

The post Working Remotely Won’t Disappear Even After the Coronavirus Does appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

According to behavioral scientists and HR professionals, don’t bet on the death of a powerful multi-billion dollar industry that leverages several basic human emotions, the need to interact with colleagues to stimulate the exchange of ideas through formal and informal discussions during breaks (and yes, even poolside) and the value of face-to-face socialization with others sharing your interests, business concerns and innovative ideas.

It isn’t just the industry behemoths that thrive on in-person meetings. Alyssa Gregory, a marketing consultant for small business notes that, “Live events give you the opportunity to watch and learn from visual cues, body language and the overall atmosphere and environment. These non-verbal elements and the opportunity to see, feel, touch and absorb the information being presented add a level of learning not easily accessed via online events.”

Although it’s true that the meetings industry has crashed as air travel effectively shut down and corporate employees sheltered at home, signs of recovery are emerging.

Marriott International’s President and CEO, Arne Sorenson, reported the first green shoots of recovery in his firm’s quarterly earnings call on May 11 noting, “April seems to have defined the bottom,” in terms of the weeks-long crash of worldwide hotel occupancy that decimated business travel and Marriott’s substantial meetings and conventions business. Sorenson and other industry experts anticipate that meetings activity will be the slowest portion of hotel business to recover. So what will the recovery look like?

Meeting planners have a clear mandate from senior management to resume a decades’ long pattern of bringing people together in productive and compelling face-to-face sessions, but it will be a multi-step process. MRINetwork Director, Meetings & Awards Programs, Kellye McClurkin notes, “Our 400 office Network, with thousands of talent advisors spread across four continents utilizes online tools every day to stay in touch. But we see an incredible value in effectively planned and executed in-person gatherings to recognize success and to generate business growth opportunities, and many of our clients report the same interest in relaunching these vital events.”

According to McClurkin and other planning professionals, employee perceptions of safety will drive an initial return to conducting successful in-person events. First, is air travel perceived as safe? Is there confidence in TSA procedures, airline cabin cleanliness and distancing? Second, are meeting protocols in place to ensure cleanliness of hotel facilities, meeting spaces and food and beverage handling. “Once these basic building blocks are in place,” McClurkin notes, “business leaders can concentrate on creating the agendas, content, and energy that generate productive meetings. Great meetings are an essential part of any firm’s future, and we can’t wait to get to that final third step.”

The post What Will Become of Business Meetings and Conferences in the Post-Covid World? appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

“If we truly believe that people are our most important asset, then we must lead them and communicate with them while providing an organization they can believe in,” says Bert Miller, President and CEO of MRINetwork. “In times of crisis, people need a solid anchor. They need their leaders to distill what’s happening for them so that they understand the why of what’s behind decisions that are being made. It’s important to show that leadership cares for the individual, the company and the community.”

Beyond caring, leaders must show they have a plan. “Timing is important, and you don’t need to have everything determined,” says Miller, “but you do need to be calm, confident and transparent about what is driving decisions. A leadership team that looks ahead proactively, and responds rather than reacts, goes a long way toward helping people in volatile times.”

COVID-19 has already changed the way we live and work. At the same time most companies are still trying to determine the long-term impacts on their business, they also have to inspire trust in their workforces, who are trying to function and perform while struggling to cope with what is happening in their daily lives. “To inspire trust, you have to have something of a trust bank built up in the past that confirms trust as a core value,” Miller believes. “The ability of leaders to address people’s needs, especially in a crisis situation, is the foundation of trust.”

Miller has spent more than 25 years helping companies strengthen their workforces with top-level performers; his advice to companies in crisis today is gleaned from what he’s learned from some of best business leaders in the world:

• Know what’s happening in your organization. Gather feedback from all areas and all levels of the organization.
• Put your most visible leaders on the front lines based on compassion and caring, essentially EQ. Workers will remember the faces and voices you empower to lead during this time. Be sure those voices are not only smart and accomplished, but also compassionate and caring.
• Integrate your company’s purpose and values into every communication and initiative. Shared purpose and values give employees the sense of connection they need right now.
• Tell a story, don’t just circulate the data. People are wired to find meaning and respond best to stories and analogies during times of great stress. They want to have insight into the larger story.
• Make sure all communication is consistent. Leaders throughout the organization have to be on the same page so pay attention to the tone and the principles behind every communication.
• Now is the time to rethink remote workforce capabilities for at least some of your workforce.  Although setting up new ways of doing things might not seem like a good idea during a crisis, the current situation leaves many companies with no other choice. Determine how you can help your people make full use of technology to do their jobs and provide other resources they need as they embrace an altered world of work.

Miller’s final piece of advice to leaders: “Focus your team’s attention – don’t let the current crisis distract them and provide as normal of an environment as possible in abnormal times. Pivot as needed and ensure leadership is aligned on your business’s objectives,” he says. “Consistently focus some of your attention on getting your organization and your workforce to the future.”

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Tips for Creating In-Office Experiences – Virtually!

Act the Part! This means – act like you are going into the physical office. Wake up at the same time, drink your coffee, read or watch the news, dress like you are heading into the office (make up, shaving, showering – the whole normal experience!) before you start your business day – don’t try to slide it in mid-day, it WILL impact your mental productivity. Plus, you never know who may ask you to connect via video unexpectedly!

Keep Your In-office Routine! Keep the eyeball to eyeball connectivity by using video conferencing for EVERYTHING! Create a standing meeting for morning meetings (even if you normally don’t do them) to create a positive, motivating connection each morning. Set up an open video conference over the typical lunch break time to allow the team to catch up on weekend debriefs, the latest episodes of whatever is trending on TV, family health checks and whatever other water cooler chat will be missed. And don’t underestimate the power of video conferencing for deal-review calls, 1:1 meetings, team meetings or even impromptu – all can be done via video conference.  Literally, nothing HAS to change workwise except for the place you are conducting business from.

Take a Break! Allow yourself a scheduled 15-minute break in the morning and the afternoon but keep yourself honest to your time. Productivity is best managed by keeping your office routine and schedule packed.

Practice First! Not everyone is tech savvy and working with video conferencing may take a few trials before it’s mastered. Set up your first meeting with the team for a non-critical event like a lunch break to work out the kinks.

Be Tolerant! Not everyone has a perfect set up for home office working. We may joke about “kitchen table” employees, but the kitchen MAY be the only option for some. For the time being, ask your team to try to ensure the background of wherever they are is as “neutral” and non-distracting as possible, wherever they are. Things to help productivity: natural light, comfortable chair, snag your mouse from the office to avoid carpel issues and if you have an extra monitor at home or at the workplace that you can borrow temporarily, do so! Noise canceling headphones will help minimize “at home” noises just as they do in the office.

Helping your Clients & Staff to Keep Rolling – Virtually!

Face to face meeting don’t have to be cancelled! If you use a VIOP phone service you generally can, offer to host “face to face” meetings for your staff & clients using your meetings app!  If they are more comfortable hosting themselves (or you don’t have capacity to “Host”), suggest they try FreeConferenceCall.com to facilitate interview/meetings during the pandemic. https://www.freeconferencecall.com/online-meetings highlights the great FREE features they can use, such as up to 1,000 participants for audio, video, and screensharing. With a little setup, they can make sure each interviewer has what they need to hold an interview.

Slack is a great “chat” tool that can be implemented for free for teams of less than 250 and there are lots of training resources online.

Exceptional times call for exceptional levels of adaptation. Remember, all of your clients are experiencing the same level of disruption. Use the unique working environment as an opportunity to more deeply probe a client’s special challenges. We will share some of our networks best practices for working remotely as we try to understand how we can best help our clients to bring the best possible talent onboard as everyone gets ready to emerge from the economic storm and back into growth.

The post Tips for Creating In-Office Experiences – Virtually! appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

Notably, the success rate of positive transformation at businesses is low, according to the Harvard Business Review. The publication reports that only about one-quarter of these efforts actually succeed; the rest fail or are abandoned by company leadership. Therefore, it’s critical that you do everything you can to ensure your plan is effective.

To help, here are some winning data strategies you can follow before implementing a change process at your organization:

1. Enhance your organization’s relationship with data

The first step to ensuring you have enough data to effectively improve your company is to implement a sound data strategy. Key aspects of such a strategy may include, for example, putting tools and opportunities for employee engagement in place, so that data is constantly being collected.

According to management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, there are many benefits to becoming a data-driven organization that can positively impact your employees as well as your bottom line:

• Management becomes more forward-looking.
• Employees are empowered by having access to valuable analytics.
• Your company can employ metrics and benchmarks for success.

It’s not easy to make your company more data-centric. A good way to start, according to Forbes, is to implement digital engagement tools for employees so that they can give company leadership important feedback.

These tools include sending out mandatory employee surveys and setting up forums to allow employees to ask questions and give feedback ahead of executing any organizational change strategy.

2. Use social media to collect valuable information from customers

Along with encouraging a culture of participation and feedback to weave data collection into your company’s day-to-day operations, you can also use social media tools to get information about your customers.

For example, you can partner with firms that can scour social media for certain phrases or sentiments to analyze what customers and other key stakeholders think about your company, product or service. As a result, you’ll have more data to better understand pain points, successes, and areas of improvement for the future.

By analyzing this information, your company’s leadership will identify ways to improve its business operations and understand which segments within the organization need to be altered in the coming months.

3. Analyze data to help you make key adjustments to personnel

Finally, data collection can also assist with workforce planning. The Harvard Business Review, for example, explains how companies have used data to select candidates for senior roles.  Increasingly, businesses are using tools to hire staff.

“Applying these tools when building a team could both improve project performance and help to build another new data set,” the article notes. Data can also be analyzed to determine what sorts of personalities and skill sets you will need from current and future employees once you’ve begun your transformation process.

While it’s by no means simple to collect and analyze data at your organization before implementing change, it’s invaluable to your company’s success. Not only can data help you improve your bottom line, it can increase employee motivation and enhance your relationship with your customers.

The post How You Can Use Data To Help Your Change Strategy Succeed appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

In fact, the Harvard Business Review reports that there’s still a relatively low success rate for these types of programs. “Corporate transformations still have a miserable success rate, even though scholars and consultants have significantly improved our understanding of how they work,” the article states. “Studies consistently report that about three-quarters of change efforts flop — either they fail to deliver the anticipated benefits, or they are abandoned entirely.”

This of course can lead to a large waste of time for your organization and deeply impact the company’s bottom line. Therefore, it’s crucial to put a strong change management process in place, so your company and its employees complete the change efficiently and with little difficulty.

Marquis Parker, vice president of business services for MRINetwork, adds that an organization needs to always put employees first during any transformation processes to ensure the best results. “If you want to see the changes at your organization occur smoothly and without fault, it’s important that you always consider how your decisions will affect your employees, the heartbeat of your company,” he says.

To help, here are three strategies your business can use to change effectively and achieve your goal easily this year and beyond:

1. Design the change management program for your company’s needs.

The first step in successfully setting up a change management program for your company is to execute a process based on your business’s unique needs. For example, don’t strive for “quick wins” or make other hasty choices that may end up facilitating a faulty plan of attack. Instead, take the time to think through your process, only after having a strong case for change. You also need to understand three crucial elements of your change management strategy, according to the Harvard Business Review:

1. The catalyst for transformation

2. The organization’s underlying quest

3. The leadership capabilities needed to see it through

Take a step back and ensure that you have a solid understanding of why your organization needs change, which problem(s) change is attempting to solve, and whether you have the leadership resources to be effective. Doing so will greatly enhance your company’s ability to manage a large strategy shift without failing.

2. Communicate with key stakeholders.

As part of any strong, well-organized change management process, you should feel empowered to communicate effectively with your company’s key stakeholders. This is defined as speaking with and proactively alerting leadership, employees, shareholders and others who have a profound impact on your business and who may be affected by these decisions.

In order to communicate with these key stakeholders, you shouldn’t only discuss important change processes with senior staff, according to one Forbes Magazine article about communicating change.

“If you think your company’s strategy conversations should only take place at the most senior level, you could unknowingly be crippling your company’s bottom line,” the article states.

Instead, you need to craft what’s called a strategic narrative. This will serve three purposes: it communicates the upcoming changes, shares the reason behind those changes and discusses the future process for the organization and its key stakeholders.

So, what are strategic narratives? According to Forbes, they are a “form of storytelling, and like all good stories, they need a compelling plot, characters, a climax, and a conclusion. By telling this story, employees and other stakeholders will understand their place in the larger narrative and how they can take an active role in shaping the future of your organization.”

As a result, communicating in this manner will greatly increase the chances of your change management process being a success. It will also position the changes in a clear and concise way, make company leadership appear more humane and create an environment of inclusivity.

“Make sure that you put together a thoughtfully executed communication plan so that key stakeholders feel knowledgeable about the upcoming and already completed transformations at your company,” says Parker. “Let them ask questions too. After all, the last thing you want is someone to feel left out because of a lack of foresight or planning during such a crucial period for your organization.”

3. Identify the resources to lead change effectively.

Along with designing a powerful change process and communicating those changes clearly, you also need to define the resources necessary for success. While this isn’t always easy, it is crucial for the organization’s future.

For example, you need to recognize whether or not you have the human resources function in place to proactively and efficiently implement the decided-upon change management plan, according to Forbes.

“If you do not have the right understanding or team to manage the plan, then you may want to consider an experienced change management consultant, because having the wrong person in this leading role can mean the difference between success and failure in a merger,” the article states.

You should “share financial information, customer feedback, employee satisfaction survey results, industry projections and challenges, and data from processes you measure” to service whether or not any other resources are to implement change, according to an article on thebalancecareers.com.

Once this data has been tabulated and you have a measure of what’s likely to occur as a result, you’ll have a greater understanding of necessary resources. “Spend extra time and energy working with your frontline leader staff and line managers to ensure that they understand, can communicate about, and support the changes,” according to the article. “Their action and communication are critical in molding the opinion of the rest of your workforce.”

By using the above strategies, your company will be ready to manage organizational change in a structured, cohesive and efficient way. “You’ll be thankful that you took the time to brainstorm and draft a comprehensive plan of action, based on these strategies, before enacting any changes,” says Parker. “Your company will be stronger for it.”

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The post Communicate Like a Leader by Leveraging Your Strengths appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

Research indicates a strong link between communication and effective leadership. A study conducted by Weisman Success Resources found that 44 percent of responding business leaders reported they were unhappy with their employees’ work. Of that group, 70 percent said they felt they needed to improve how they communicated with their employees in order to resolve the performance issues and improve motivation. Of the group that was happy with their team’s performance, 70 percent of the managers attributed this to their communication skills.

Effective leadership requires knowing how to communicate with various groups within an organization, including employees, managers, customers and investors. Each group may require a different communication and leadership style, and although leaders must be able to adapt based on the group they are communicating with at the time, there are key principles of effective leadership communication that universally drive collaboration and success. Strong leaders know the value of these qualities:

Clarity

Effective leadership communication is clear and simple. Don’t be vague when discussing what you want from your team. Communicate clearly the goal of the task, how long you expect it to take, any resources they’ll need, and relevant information that might help streamline the process. You lose productivity when staff have to circle back around to you for clarification on important information.

Personalization

Leaders rarely have the luxury of speaking to one person at a time so the good ones learn how to make every single person feel as if he or she is being spoken to directly. They make everyone in a room feel important. Getting to know your employees on a more personal level and making it a point to acknowledge them can also go a long way in getting your team behind your vision.

Transparency

Strong leaders are transparent in their communications. They want their team to trust not only what they say, but what they mean. There shouldn’t be any hidden agendas or reading between the lines. When leaders can’t share certain information, they need to come right out and say it, because half-truth answers breed distrust and anxiety. In good times and bad, honesty builds trust.

Listening

Communication is a two-way street. Listen to the interests of your team and get a feel for their perspective on how to achieve goals. Effective listening helps you build relationships, solve problems, ensure understanding, and improve accuracy. Taking a moment to listen takes less time in the long run, making you more productive.

Feedback

The best communicators never assume that the message people heard is the exact one they intended to deliver. They check in to verify that their message was understood correctly, and, if it was not, they don’t blame the audience. Instead, they change things up and try again. When good leaders make a mistake, they admit it right away. They are accountable for their words and actions, and they do it without drama or false humility.

Inspiration

Perhaps the most important principle of effective leadership communication is the ability to inspire those around you. As a leader, you have a vision of success that you want to achieve with the help of your team. It’s up to you to rally your team around that goal and help them embrace the vision and to work hard toward the goals of your organization.

Great communicators stand out from the crowd. They’re honest. They’re authentic. They listen. They excel in communication because they value it, and that’s the critical first step to becoming a great leader.

The post The Role of Communication in Leadership appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

What are some observations you’ve made about how some major well-known brands hire their leaders? What do these companies have in common and what are the pros and cons of their approaches?

Deborrah Ashley: The big brands are now looking for professionals with diverse experience and the ability to change course at the drop of a hat. Whether it’s stepping into new roles or working alongside existing staff, they want people that are flexible. Before, the focus was on what degree a candidate might have had or their defined skill set. These companies also have a very defined value system surrounding their mission that helps them determine who would be a good leader or a good fit within the organization. This helps ensure they find the right talent who will stay with them in the long-term.

Another thing the major brands have in common is that they look to Millennials to help them advance and change, so they’re not stuck in the “Toys R Us” mentality where they failed to innovate and then fell victim to online competitors like Amazon. Unfortunately this also makes it harder for senior leaders with amazing experience to get into the roles that they have the background for, due to their age.

The pros are that they’re going to get people that fit in perfectly, that they don’t have to spend a lot of time training.

The cons are that if you don’t have an in-house expert in place that can motivate, speak Millennials’ language and ultimately retain them, the company is always at risk of losing these candidates. Many companies claim to encourage out-of-the box thinking, but the way they manage is still very much inside the box, and Millennials don’t really mesh with that.

Who are some of your favorite company leaders and why?

DA: Mark Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey. Oprah, obviously because she is a strong leader and has an extensive business empire and Mark because he has an amazing ability to gather the right staff to ensure whatever he has a vision about comes true.

Both are visionaries and innovators as well as being fearless and driven; they don’t take no for an answer. One thing that is lacking among many leaders today, that both Mark and Oprah have, is emotional intelligence. It enables them to remain calm under pressure, without becoming unraveled. They are also very humble, showing a willingness to own up to past mistakes.

What are some key missteps that companies often make when looking for leadership candidates? What should they be focusing on?

DA: A lot of companies tend to overlook people who are actually brilliant and have great people/persuasion skills, and instead focus on whether the candidates went to a top-tier school, their degree(s) and what they majored in. People skills and emotional intelligence should be prioritized because these are qualities that have the ability to move business discussions forward. These are innate skills that can’t really be taught, and is often the reason that otherwise bright individuals fail.

When I think about Gary V [Vaynerchuk] who is a super successful, business owner who wants to buy the New York Jets, and I think he is nearly there, he focuses on people skills. Some employers don’t really focus too much on people skills, but that’s an innate quality and is something you can never take away from someone. It’s what will always make them a top performer.

Gary V recently hired a chief creative director and the one thing he looked for in this person was emotional intelligence.

How can employers better groom the leadership talent that is within their organization?

DA: Recently I’ve been hearing a lot about executive coaches, not only within companies, but also called in when needed. The hard thing is that these leaders in the organization are given a project to manage, but sometimes there can be a lot of pressure. Sometimes there can be blind spots and the hard thing is that you can either be seen as strong or weak. If you end up asking too many people their opinion on something, then they’re going to question whether you’re really a leader. Yet, strength also comes with being able to get help. So I think access to an executive coach can help tap into the leader’s inner genius to play from their strengths.

What key advice would you give employers about how to attract key leaders into their organization?

DA: Social media and LinkedIn in particular are key. The strategy on LinkedIn you want to leverage is to show the people side of the organization vs. the corporate side. Show some key people; it could be an HR person, it could be someone else in a leadership position. But the goal is to show both the traditional and the non-traditional sides of a person.

You seem to favor LinkedIn over other platforms like Facebook which are seen as being more fun or social, compared to the business discussions on LinkedIn.

DA: Yes, it’s easier to target the leadership base on LinkedIn. They may not always be on Facebook, or may only access it once a week or on the weekend. I remember I saw a study regarding in-house counsel which said 87 percent of in-house counsel go to LinkedIn for information, education and trends on what is happening. So if you show up as a “thought leader” sharing industry update and offering unique views, these in-house counsel, will look for you each time. It all starts with building the relationship.

The post How Top Leaders Hire appeared first on Highland Consulting Group.

Facing the tough questions

According to Inside Intercom, data from a Leadership IQ study revealed that 18 months after hiring 20,000 employees, 5,247 hiring managers concluded that 46 percent of new hires failed, while only 20 percent succeeded. However, as Inside Intercom explained, the idea that nearly half of all new hires would fail to learn or become engaged is unrealistic. Using the phrase “management overconfidence”, the source noted that these higher ups were unable to recognize their own failings when it came to teaching and engaging new hires.

Though they may not vocalize it, each year thousands of employees are moving on to other organizations because of poor leadership. Retention is not only necessary for company morale, continuity and success, it also helps to keep unnecessary hiring and training costs down.

If a workplace has begun fostering a revolving door, the first and most essential step for managers is to face the music and evaluate their own performance. Anyone can be appointed manager. But becoming a strong and successful leader requires a few fundamental traits.

adership qualities among managers are what keep engagement high, retention low and employees happy:

1. Practices strong communication

Inc. magazine cites honesty as the No. 1 management trait for success and top performance among employees. Maintaining open communication through a variety of channels is crucial for production as well as team comradery. When employees are left in the dark, it is that much more challenging for them to feel connected and engaged.

Moreover, communication works as a two-way street. By managing with transparency, you also allow employees to feel comfortable approaching you with their own ideas, questions and concerns. Gaining the trust of your employees sets the entire team and company up for uncapped success.

2. Recognizes individual strengths

Each of your employees have different strengths and weaknesses. One of the best ways to leverage performance is to tap into these individual qualities and personality traits, explained Workforce.

Distributing projects and assignments based on specific talents can help bring out top potential, drive and sense of accomplishment among your employees. When strengths line up with work, the outcomes are much stronger.

3. Fosters engagement

Another finding from the Gallup report indicates that each year, less than 33 percent of employees across the country are engaged in their work. Engagement, according to Gallup, is based on three factors:

-Commitment to their work and organization.

-Enthusiasm about their work and organization.

-Involvement in t

Support and encouragement from management can help employees feel committed, enthusiastic and involved. When an employee can see that a leader truly cares about his or her growth and aspirations at the company, it improves their confidence and drives them to work harder. Even the smallest actions to show you care can improve morale and translate to engagement and success for the company.

As a leader, it is key to recognize your management traits and practices before it’s too late. Incorporating the above attributes now can set both you and your employees up for a long road of success.

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