Every employee comes to work with a choice about how much effort they will contribute. We all intuitively know how much effort we have to put in so others don’t ask us what’s wrong or call us out. We refer to those that rarely go above this baseline level of effort as disengaged employees. Disengaged employees range anywhere from 40-60 percent of the workforce, according to the data collected in our 28-question online engagement assessment. Engaged employees, on the other hand, consistently volunteer their discretionary effort (and lots of it). This is one of the most valuable benefits of a hi ..read more

The term emotional intelligence can be confusing – everyone knows it’s a good thing to have, but they may not know exactly what it means. Emotional intelligence or EQ (emotional quotient) is the ability to identify, assess, and learn from our emotions, and positively influence the emotions of others. I recently had a great conversation with Kerry Goyette, an EQ expert, and E3 Senior Trainer. She says, “EQ is really about the intelligent use of emotions, which influences your decision-making, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to be flexible and agile in shifting environments ..read more

Our schedules can become so full and hectic that it often feels like we’re running from one meeting or presentation to the next. “We don’t really take the time to make sure that every time we do perform, we’re prepared to make it really count,” says Andrew Sykes, the CEO and Founder of at Habits at Work, a corporate training company based in Chicago. “In the world of professional sports, the ratio of practice to performance goes up the better you get. But in the world of work, the more experience you have, the less you tend to prepare,” Sykes highlights. Leaders and the organizations they run ..read more

The most engaged employees in every company we have measured are those who have been hired within the last 6 months. Apparently, they are still in the afterglow of the hiring process where they were they were told of all the company’s virtues and the important role they would be playing. What’s interesting is how steep the fall after those first 6 months. It’s a perilous time for new hires as they try to fit in, find key allies, and decipher the unwritten rules of both the official workplace culture and the more arcane social norms of teams, departments, and office cliques. And let’s not forge ..read more

As a leader, you have to hire new employees to drive growth in your organization. It can be a time-consuming and stressful responsibility. Not only is it critical to fill an open position with an individual who excels in the job role, they also must be a good fit for your organization. However, it doesn’t always happen that way. A bad hire can result in negative consequences, including lost productivity, decreased team morale, and legal problems. According to a survey by CareerBuilder, 69 percent of companies had been adversely impacted by a bad hire in 2012.  It is getting harder to trust wha ..read more

As a leader, you have to hire new employees to drive growth in your organization. It can be a time-consuming and stressful responsibility. Not only is it critical to fill an open position with an individual who excels in the job role, they also must be a good fit for your organization. However, it doesn’t always happen that way. A bad hire can result in negative consequences, including lost productivity, decreased team morale, and legal problems. According to a survey by CareerBuilder, 69 percent of companies had been adversely impacted by a bad hire in 2012.  It is getting harder to trust wha ..read more

Effectively managing promotions is the key to leading your company to success. When you have a strong promotion process in place, it enables you to empower employees to reach their full potential, as well as demonstrate to your organization the behaviors and results that are valued. The Evolving Role of Promotions The role of promotions is evolving and becoming more acute because the velocity of employees being promoted is increasing substantially, primarily as a result of the large number of Baby Boomers who are retiring. It’s leaving several leadership positions open that need to be filled ..read more

When employees collaborate, share ideas, and communicate with each other, they’re encouraged to do their best work. Our most compelling need is for connection. Several decades of clinical evidence and research converge to create a clear picture of a species biologically driven to work together, share the load, and leverage safe and secure connections for mutual benefit. Neuroscientist Dr. James Coan’s Social Baseline Theory points out how those who socialized in clans, groups, and tribes had significantly higher rates of survival and how that reality has shaped the brain’s hard wiring. The wor ..read more

The workplace is more complex than ever before because of the different generations working together. It’s vital for leaders to understand that we do have this multigenerational component. They must customize the way that they lead to meet the needs of each specific generation because they are different. Follow these guidelines for effectively engaging the Millennials and Generation Zers in your workplace: Practice active listening. Use active listening to ensure employees of the younger generations feel heard and that they know their input is important to your organization. Active listening i ..read more

We are in an era of labor scarcity that will last for many years, and this situation creates more complexity for leaders and managers at every level who are keen to lead high-performance teams. When employees don’t need your job (they can get a paycheck anywhere), managers have to be more attuned to the subtle differences between what draws each generation to work. We are at the lowest unemployment rate that we’ve seen since the Vietnam War. There are more unfilled jobs (7.2 million as I write this) than there are unemployed people to fill them. Under these conditions, leaders need to do every ..read more