Adam Kirk Smith

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Leadership

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8 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

This is a guest post from Cloe Matheson. She is a freelance writer based in Dunedin, New Zealand and has crafted various articles for blogs and businesses, such as About Giving. When she’s not typing away on her computer, she often spends her mornings with a cup of flat white enjoying beautiful scenery.

From Abe Lincoln to Nelson Mandela, history has given rise to many great leaders. Luckily, you don’t have to lead a country through war to be a luminary: having a positive impact on your employees is an endlessly rewarding enterprise in and of itself. So how do you go about blazing a trail in your workplace? Start by making sure that you’ve got the following eight qualities in check, and you’ll be well on your way to being a stand-out leader.

  1. A visionary outlook

Great leaders are visionaries that inspire others to take action. Having a clear vision for the future is at the core of leadership. It’s the thing driving your whole professional mission and should be the thing driving your employees, too. The key is to share your excitement and passion for the future with your team so that they begin to invest in your vision as much as you. In turn, productivity and enthusiasm levels will go up, and you’ll start to see real collective movement towards your goals.

2. Excellent communication

Experienced leaders know that it’s all too easy for wires to get crossed, whether in a face-to-face conversation or over email. Particularly when you’re attempting to manage and connect to a remote team on top of your in-house office staff, it’s vital to send clear messages which won’t leave people floundering in the Sea of Ambiguity.

3. A humble demeanour

People want to be able to relate to you, to see themselves in you. To gain their trust, you need to contain your ego: acknowledge your mistakes, accept success with humility, and even let out a little goofiness every now and then. Human leaders are always the best kind.

4. Intuition 

Say you’ve got a team member called Dave. Dave is a shy person by nature, and often finds the hustle and bustle of the office overwhelming. He’d get a lot out of working somewhere more quiet for half the day, but he’s too scared to pose the suggestion to you. Situations like this require leaders to engage their powers of intuition and observation, and to respond with action if matters need addressing. If you respond with a multifaceted approach to management, you’ll be able to bring out the best in each member of your team, giving each person a sense of individual value amidst the fray.

5. Integrity

People say that if you have integrity, you’ve nothing to fear or hide since integrity always leads you to do the right thing. In the context of professional leadership, integrity means conducting business with honesty and frankness. Even if it’s tough news to receive, people always appreciate truthfulness over deceit.

6. Great self-organization

Great leaders have scheduling skills like no other. Multi-tasking is part of their personality: flipping from client calls to team briefings, project planning to budget management, they’re just about the most organized people on the planet. We don’t just mean in terms of a packed diary; they’re also skilled at the art of psychological compartmentalization, which is a godsend in stressful environments.

7. Positivity

Things go wrong in business; it’s a fact. What matters more than failure, however, is how you pick your team up after it. People who see a glass half full are a lot more fun to follow than those who can’t see the silver lining.

8. Responsibility

Being a leader means learning how to take responsibility for the kinds of failures mentioned above. Say that a business deal falls through, or that one of your employees doesn’t perform well at a client meeting. As the captain of the proverbial ship, both situations are on your shoulders. Reflect on whether you may have let someone or something fall through the cracks, and get to work mending matters ASAP. 

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14 Best Ways for Employers to Develop Their Employees

This is a guest post from Kamy Anderson. He is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He is an expert in learning management system & eLearning authoring tools, currently associated with ProProfs Training Maker.

Employee training is one of the most important factors for organizational success, as it helps a workforce enhance their skills and reach their maximum potential. It is how they continually learn and grow, making them more satisfied with their jobs. And you know that happy employees are productive employees.

Moreover, a 2018 Skills Gap Report by Udemy shows that 51% of employees would leave a company if it doesn’t provide them with necessary training. Facilitating regular learning will also help you retain your employees.

With that in mind, take a look at the top 14 ways to train your employees and help them grow:

1. In-House Classes and Seminars

In-house classes held by professional instructors are helpful in creating customized employee training aligned with your core values and goals. The same goes for onsite seminars.

Both of these learning and development programs are very cost-effective, as you can train your entire workforce inside your company walls.

2. Business Classes at Colleges and Universities

Many colleges and universities, as well as lots of technical schools, provide various business classes for professional learning and development.

You don’t have to worry about your employees missing work because business classes are held in the evening and over the weekend.

3. Professional Associations Seminars and Conferences

Professional association seminars and conferences are useful in furthering your employees’ careers and upgrading their skills.

What’s more, they can stay on top of industry trends, and learn all about the latest methods and principles for better performance.

4. Workshops

Professional workshops are one of the best ways to develop your employees.

Not only will these workshops aid your staff in gaining more knowledge and enhancing their skills, but they’ll also give people an opportunity to network, improve communication skills, and strengthen their professional relationships.

5. Mentoring Programs

Mentoring programs can empower employees in that they get an opportunity to work closely with professionals who can truly help them learn the trade and grow.

Mentors or work buddies can share expertise, and provide the right kind of support that, for instance, new employees need to perform at their best.

6. Coaching

Coaching creates positive work experiences and facilitates open communication necessary for effective employee performance. It pushes workers in the right direction for achieving your company’s goals.

Hire a business coach who knows how to prioritize the goals and select the right path to achieving them. A qualified coach can help your employees complete their tasks efficiently and effectively.

7. Creating a Book Club

Coming up with a book club at work will enable your workers to learn new concepts, and share ideas and knowledge with one another. They’ll strengthen their relationships, improve their communication skills, and practice leadership roles.

You can provide them with business books for improving their skills, but also let them recommend books. Determine the reading deadline, make a schedule for in-person discussion, and make sure everyone’s ideas are heard.

8. Online Training Courses

Utilizing employee training software to create and deliver online training courses allows employees to learn anytime, anywhere.

You’ll also be able to monitor their progress in real time, and jump in whenever someone needs help.

9. Inspiring A Learning Environment

Create a learning environment in your organization that inspires your workforce to learn and grow continually. Communicate your expectations clearly, and motivate your employees constantly to work smarter.

You can also create a relaxing room where they can engage in their book club reading or dive into other resources for training.

10. Access to Professional Resources

Give your employees access to a professional library, or create an online knowledge base that they can access 24/7, on any device.

Making various professional resources available anytime and anywhere will help them learn at their own pace, and save them a lot of time on research.

11. Facilitating Everyday Learning

Make sure you make employee training a part of each workday. Encourage your employees to engage in your online courses every day, and offer them work-time support for learning.

12. Flexible Work Schedule

Enable flexible work schedules so that your workforce can actually have the time for training and development. They will need this time for all the classes, workshops, and seminars you’ve prepared for them.

13. Free Conferences and Professional Association Memberships

If you organize professional association seminars and conferences, make sure you pay for memberships and conference attendance. If you don’t, you may not motivate all your workers to attend. Those events are crucial for their training and development.

14. College Tuition Reimbursement

If you offer your employees an opportunity to attend business classes at colleges and universities, make sure you cover their tuition. If they need to provide any out-of-pocket payments during their courses, you should reimburse those as well after each semester. College tuition reimbursement will motivate your employees to enroll in business courses, which is important, especially if some of them cannot afford to pay for the classes themselves.A

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Seven Effective Tricks to Balance Your Work, Life and Relationships


This is a guest article from Lynda Arbon. She is a passionate and enthusiastic health blogger. You can follow her on Twitter.

The modern lifestyle is all about finding the right balance. In order to succeed at whatever it is that you undertake, you need to strike the perfect balance between your work, your life apart from work, and your relationships, in order to lead a more meaningful life.

Let’s take a look at how we can achieve an amazing work-life balance that helps you excel in both your professional and personal life as well:

1.  Be Grateful For What You Have

Being grateful for what you have is quite evidently the first step in bettering anything. You have to realize that things could be a lot worse for you, but they aren’t. You hold a steady job, and have a person to share your deepest feelings with, which is far more than what most people have.

When you are more appreciative of what you have, you take slightly more efforts to express your appreciation, which goes a long way. Once you are able to appreciate the importance of all that you have, you can eventually prioritize better.

2.  Importance of Having Sound and Positive Relationships

Being in a positive relationship can be incredibly useful for your career and your overall well-being. The main aspect of a healthy relationship is finding encouragement in every endeavour you undertake. It is what pushes you to become better, and accounts for personal growth of character and skills.

When you have a partner that pushes you to be better at what you do, you willingly tend to be braver while facing challenges at work. This sets a positive feedback loop in motion, and helps you find success more often.

3.  Learn to Say No, Politely

Knowing when to say ‘no’ could save you a world of damage. When you realize that either your work or your relationship is becoming a negative influence in your life, you have to stand up for yourself and say “no.” In the end, you need to acknowledge what is working for you, and what is not. Honestly, there is no point making something last that isn’t paying back some sort of dividend. When this happens, you only end up wasting time and energy, which would have been far more productive if put elsewhere.

4.  Spend More Time with Family

In most cases, family sticks with you through the various ups and downs of life. Spending more time with parents or siblings gives you a different perspective on life, many times better. Watching how your parents manage to establish their own work-life balance, or how your siblings are coping with theirs, gives you an opportunity to reflect and manage your own time better. And learning to better manage your time now eventually leads to a better life tomorrow.

5.  Meditation

This is one of the most underrated skills that one can possess. Meditation actually stills your thoughts and allows you to choose the ones that matter. It enhances your ability to focus, increasing your overall productivity.

Meditation is the art of silencing one’s mind, a practice that is forgotten about with the busyness of life. Minds are often otherwise too cluttered with thoughts that bring about anxiety and fear, whereas silence brings reflection and clarity. When you silence your mind, you bring about a certain control of your actions.

6.  Prioritize Better

Many times, you probably find yourself conflicted to find what is truly important. And if you do not give it enough thought, you may end up working hard on the wrong decision, which may be the biggest time waster of all.

That said, prioritizing in no way means sacrificing or compromising. Rather, it is an adjustment you make to strike a balance between your work and your relationships. When there is an understanding between the two, you will eventually find the space needed to function. Communication is key, so make sure you use it to the full.

7.  Maintain Beneficial Hobbies

Creating a full life can take a heavy toll if not careful. However, having a life outside of your office and house is crucial to your well-being. Hitting the gym is one such positive experience that can help you cope with the stress that comes along with a career and family life.

Another beneficial hobby is playing a musical instrument. Scientific studies have proven that music alters the brain structure for the better. Be it solo or in a group, being involved with music can really turn on the positive vibes around you.

Apart from adding good habits to your lifestyle as stated above, the elimination of bad ones, such as any sort of intoxication or smoking habits, can also play a great role for your efforts towards work-life balance building. If you are a regular drinker and/or smoker, quitting such habits today itself can be a very tedious task. So rather than forcing your body to immediately quit smoking & drinking, the best way is to look for better alternatives which can curb your addictions without further harming your body and mind.

Consider non-alcoholic beverages as an alternative to your drinking habits or just motivate yourself to limit your alcohol intake to a bare minimum. Similarly, contemplate opting for nicotine gums, patches, or e-cigs to curb your ever dangerous smoking habit. Research even shows that switching to vaping is a safer option than traditional cigarettes.

Implementing these good habits and kicking the bad ones can usher in a ton of positivity and will help you manage your career aspirations and family commitment better. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be tedious, but the above-mentioned tips should at least start you on the right path. What many tend to overlook is that things don’t necessarily work themselves out on their own, unless we help create opportunities for ourselves. Creating some sort of balance in life is a result of our actions, so producing the right actions is the only thing that will ultimately lead to the lives we want to live.