Tag Archives: business

5 leadership tactics that build trust

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by Amy Stanton

“It’s really not about being seen as the person in charge. It’s about learning how to communicate in a way that other people trust.”

You never master the art of leadership.

This is something that seems to be missing from the public conversation around how to be an effective leader. In the workplace, in the world at large, and even at home with family and friends. Leadership isn’t a destination, it is a process: a never-ending practice that takes years to develop, and at any moment can feel like a massive fail.

We all, at some point or another, forget how to be great leaders.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about leadership over the course of my career, it’s that the soft skills are what matter most. It’s really not about being seen as the person in charge, or dressing a certain way, or reminding the people around you that you’re the final decision-maker.

It’s about learning how to communicate in a way that other people trust.

Here are five small ways you can start doing that right now.

1. Change up your feedback style, so people know you mean what you say

If you say, “Good job” to every person you work with, for every single thing they do, those words are going to lose their meaning.

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How to work with every damn Myers-Briggs personality type

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by Jonathan Thompson

We got experts to weigh-in on how classic personality traits translate to remote work.

The shift to remote work has given many of us a new perspective on how we do our jobs. Without the context of a shared workspace or the rhythm of a typical office day, our own personalities are having far more of a say in our performance.

It follows, then, that the best way to maximize our output in a WFH environment is to better know our personalities – and those of our dispersed colleagues.

An efficient (and intriguing) way to manage this personality wrangling is via the tried-and-tested Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Generally regarded as one of the most accurate personality tests out there, the MBTI is widely applied within the business world, with 89 of the Fortune 100 companies utilising it.

“The MBTI is deceptively simple, but it’s also an extremely useful way to see how team members are inherently different, and how you can work together more successfully,” says occupational psychologist John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership at the Myers-Briggs Company. “It’s a means to boost productivity in people, increasing their engagement and making them generally happier in their work.”

In other words, the MBTI might just be the key to turning your remote team into a smooth autonomous unit.

The 16 personality types and their traits

Based on Carl Jung’s Theory of Psychological Types, the MBTI is a self-reported personality survey that has been around in various shapes and forms since the 1940s. Respondents answer a series of simple questions about their feelings and preferences, eventually aligning with one of 16 personality types.

Each of these types is identified by four letters, starting with an E or an I (for extrovert/introvert) followed by S or N (sensibility/intuition), T or F (thinking/feeling), and finally a J or a P (judgment/perception). Each type also has a descriptor, e.g., “the analyst,” to further characterize the personality type in action.

Once you know your team members’ types, the thinking goes, you can better assign them to projects which match their preferences, proficiency, and proclivities. You can also communicate more effectively if you have a better idea of how people process information.

To get started, take the official Myers-Briggs test here (or try a similar free questionnaire, recommended by psychologists here), then check out our expert guidance below on how to work with each personality type. Continue reading →

3 questions to ask a hiring manager to find out if a company really values its workers

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By Stacy Bolger

Many companies brand themselves as “employee-first.” But it’s hard for a job candidate to know if their potential employer will deliver on that promise.

Employee-first means much more than just having high ratings on Glassdoor or photos of fun company events on Instagram. It means the organization appreciates that employees are human beings with diverse goals and needs, some of which they’re achieving in their professional careers and some of which they’re pursuing outside of work (think family time, hobbies, and fitness goals, for example).

An employee-first organization aims to help employees integrate and thrive in both work and life by always considering the whole person, rather than reflexively enforcing one-size-fits-all policies.

This attitude must start at the top, with leaders who include employee experience among their performance goals and invest in ongoing training for managers about the practical application of employee-first values in the workplace.

That’s a lot for a job candidate to suss out and you usually can’t tell how an organization treats its employees from a job listing. The job interview is likely your best opportunity to determine where a potential employer’s priorities really lie—if you ask the right questions.

Your first clue about the company’s priorities will come before the interview itself. An employee-first organization understands that applicants invest a great deal of time and energy in their applications and may be waiting on pins and needles for the company’s response. They’ll reply promptly to your application and set an interview time quickly—or alert you that they’re not choosing to advance you as a candidate.

The interview itself should be a two-way exchange, where you get to learn about the company as much as they learn about you. If and when you get an opportunity to ask the hiring manager some questions, be sure to ask:

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Do people work better without a crowd?

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What we can learn from athletes performing in empty stadiums.

by Ben Lyttleton
On June 20, Manchester United’s star player Bruno Fernandes scored a late penalty to earn his team a draw against English Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the stands at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were empty when he took the shot. It was the first of many soccer games to be played behind closed doors, and afterward, Fernandes was asked if it was easier to take the penalty without the distraction of the opposing team’s home fans. “I like the pressure,” he said. “With the crowd, it would be better.”

With fans across the world mostly forbidden from attending sports venues, it’s been possible to compare performances with and without the presence of crowds. In soccer, for example, there have been more goals, more mistakes leading to goals, more penalties scored, and more away wins. In Germany in particular, one analyst described a “negative home advantage,” as away teams, unaffected by a home crowd (and a referee who may give the home team more beneficial decisions), played with a new freedom.

Players and coaches seem emboldened by empty stadiums: more willing to be creative and take risks (and make mistakes) than they otherwise might be.

Could these benefits also translate to the many lines of work that today are being done at home? And how does the lack of an audience affect our own performance? Can we use it to our advantage?

It’s easier to tally goals on a score sheet than productivity on a time sheet, but there are some indicators that a lack of face-to-face office experiences is also having unexpected effects in business — and not all of them bad. One big fear when many companies made the switch was that employees, away from the pressurized environment of the physical office space and with no one keeping an eye on them, would “shirk from home.”

In fact, the opposite happened. The length of working days has increased; digital presenteeism is on the up, and so is productivity. Many people like working from home — and the majority don’t want to return to the office, at least not full-time.

Coaches have also spoken of players who star in training but choke in front of a crowd. Not every player, it seems, is like Fernandes. As Dan Abrahams, a sports psychologist who works with soccer club AFC Bournemouth has said, “More players than you would think are negatively impacted by a crowd.”

Empty stadiums suit those introverts who, according to Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, feel most alive and most capable in quieter, low-key environments. Cain believes introverts flourish with more privacy.

For those who do flourish in front of others, an audience provides a change in the pressure dynamics that affect performance. In front of a crowd, our working mode changes from “threat state,” driven by anxiety, to “challenger state,” where we are more likely “to have a go,” according to Gary Bloom, a sports psychologist who works with the Oxford United soccer club. “The limbic part of our brain is where our emotions live — our fear, our anxiety, our excitement. That part is aroused by fear/threat,” he told The Athletic website. “I don’t think it is going to be as aroused [without a crowd].” So, perhaps performing in front of others gives a chance for the challenger state to take over, and we feel more comfortable taking risks.

A couple of years ago, researchers from Johns Hopkins University put the “threat state” theory to the test. They asked people to perform a task on a video game with and without people watching: Those with an audience performed better.

In the experiment, being observed clearly served as an incentive to do well — so maybe all those Zoom calls do keep us on our toes. It may also be that the relationship between performer and crowd builds community and cohesion, hallmarks of a successful working environment. It was French sociologist Émile Durkheim who coined the term collective effervescence to describe how people build a group identity. Sport certainly does that, as can any shared experience.

The changes imposed on our social connections by the pandemic forced us to find new ways to come together: rooftop musical performances, drive-by protests, and online author workshops, to name a few of the many examples of creative responses to lockdowns. “Emergencies often prove to be the forge in which new ideas and opportunities are hammered out,” wrote Erica Chenoweth, professor in human rights and international affairs at Harvard University, in the Guardian.

Our professional behavior may still be performative, albeit in a virtual space. However, we can take inspiration from sport, and specifically penalty kicks in soccer. The secret to a successful penalty, as Fernandes might attest, has little to do with crowds. It’s more about developing the right mindset and practicing with purpose. As we grow accustomed to new working models, these are the habits that can help build success.

Source: Strategy+Business

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Remote Work Is Here To Stay

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The question is, how to make it really work for you? A few secrets of success from a company that has been remote right from the start.

This has been a significant year of change across the globe, particularly in the workplace as we have all had to adapt and rethink our workforce strategies. As we look to find the answers to the right, wrong, and most effective ways to move forward in the new normal in 2021 and beyond, one thing is for certain: remote work practices are here to stay. Whether your team is fully remote or is a hybrid of remote and in-office, the workplace has forever been affected. Major companies like Facebook and Twitter have already set a precedent by allowing employees to work remotely, permanently.

As a remote-centric company with 750+ employees spanning 35 countries, remote work has been ingrained in our DNA since Auth0 was founded in 2013. Over the past seven years, we have found success in giving our team the freedom to do their best work on their own terms, regardless of location. Here are a few key lessons we learned on how to make remote work successful.

1. Learn to love remote work

It is important to first recognize that we are in a very unique time and the past several months have not been ‘normal’ remote work settings. People are not only adjusting to new work practices such as working remotely, but there are many other factors to consider right now—in a normal remote setting your kids are at school, your partner is at work, you are not cooking all day, among other things.

For companies forced to work remotely during the pandemic, there is great risk in rushing to  “see this doesn’t work” judgment, not giving it the time it needs, or just thinking remote work is just a thing for tech startups. Be slow to make decisions and have the flexibility to adapt and make changes where needed. There is an adjustment time required if you have not previously been predominantly remote.

2. Hiring for talent unleashes a greater talent pool

The constraints of hiring for one location puts you at a disadvantage. Being open to the idea of a global and remote workforce naturally unleashes a pool of talent that otherwise would not be available. By enabling your team members to do their best work regardless of location, you will be able to hire a diverse mix of people from different backgrounds and skill sets without having to compete with other companies within a certain region; a team that is also naturally closer to your customers across the globe.

3. Remote work is not a cost-cutting measure

At the end of the day, remote work should not be looked at as a cost-cutting measure—a program centered on this thinking is doomed to fail. Remote work requires more work, not less. You can’t just hand out laptops, send employees on their way and join sessions on Zoom. Or randomly except your team to ”collaborate” by chat on Slack. \You have to be deliberate about how you communicate, and how you align teams behind common goals. And you must support the well being of employees from a personal, professional, and regulatory perspective.

4. Communication is your most effective tool; use it

With the obvious lack of face-to-face communication, trust and a philosophy of work based on results and not on chair time are at the heart of a successful remote culture. Multi-directional communication is critical as trust is built from the bottom up and from the top down. And especially during times like right now where human communication is missing and feelings of isolation are high, be aware of different video and communication tools like Zoom and Slack and create virtual spaces that facilitate idea exchanges, bonding, and socialization to keep your team engaged and connected to each other.

5. Create a routine, set boundaries

With remote work, there are many things to take into account and the lines between personal and professional life are blurred. Working remotely requires discipline, structure, and boundaries—you could very easily burn out if you’re not setting good practices in place and creating a routine for yourself. When you work remotely it is important to complement the ‘start/stop’ ceremonies like commuting and leaving the office. It takes effort, but if you do not have discipline, your life is all work, which is not good for anyone. Encourage your team to devise their own schedules, so they can complete their work when feeling most productive and collaborative.

While the benefits of remote work and flexible work options are endless, it is important to recognize that everyone operates differently and you have to figure out what works best for you and your team. As the benefits of remote work continue to be seen, you will realize how a remote workforce can be an integral part to your success within the increasingly competitive industries you play in. Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, remote work will likely be a large part of the future of business—and for good reason. It works if you are willing to put the work in.

Source: Chief Executive