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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
Millennials make up a big portion of our workforce. The most recent Pew Research survey states that they make up the largest portion of our workforce. This new breed of worker has created a new breed of leader, and many of these leaders are changing up their styles in order to work with Millennials and give them the leadership they need. Despite all that, about 60% of Millennials will leave a new job within three years. So why isn’t […]
When I was young, my father was a middle manager at a busy company. While the company offered a generous vacation package, employees also felt discouraged from taking all of their available vacation days. The company did business with a number of clients who were vocal about their long hours at work, and employees were expected to match these hectic schedules. As a result, even when our family was on vacation, my father wasn’t. Once, in the days before ubiquitous […]
Brent, the CEO of a rapidly growing networking firm, knew it was time for a major organizational shift. The flat structure of the company’s earlier years wasn’t suited to their new, bigger footprint. If the company was going to continue to grow and serve its customers, they needed to make some big changes. Brent was worried about moving forward with these changes because many of his best, most experienced employees had been with the firm since the very beginning. These […]
Sarah was enthusiastic as she started her first management role. When first offered the job, Sarah was warned regarding her new reports. They’d had a rough time with the previous manager and many were now despondent, disengaged, and actively looking towards the exits. Being young and inexperienced, Sarah brushed off these concerns. Surely the departmental culture couldn’t be that bad! Sarah was sure that once the staff met her, they’d understand that it was a new beginning in the […]
When Maria had knee surgery, she realized she needed to improve as a leader. The key? Delegation. She had built up her business up from a one-woman firm into a company with five locations and nearly 100 employees. However, as she explained, “I still made most decisions myself. I was intimately involved in every business decision and I made sure that I dealt personally with every client concern. I thought my high-touch management style was what made my business great, […]
As a Gen X-er, I’m not always great at dealing with Millennials. I came of age in a buttoned-down, tight-lipped work environment where, unless you made a huge mistake, most of your feedback came in the form of an annual review. My generation grew up assuming that silence was golden and that the absence of feedback was the same as positive feedback. However, after a brief stint as a teacher, I now have some experience dealing with the younger generation […]
On November 8, a number of Winston-Salem business owners were forced to reevaluate the safety of their stores when two armed robbers entered the local Family Dollar Store, demanding money. While the employees on duty complied with the robbers’ demands, one of the robbers fired his gun anyway. He injured two employees and left an entire local business community shaken. The attack didn’t just affect the Family Dollar Store and its employees. Neighboring business owners also reeled from the shock. […]
The most famous motivational poster of all time is arguably the one picturing a kitten hanging from a branch, emblazoned with the chirpy slogan, “Hang in there!” There’s a chance that when it first came out in the 1970s, some people found it motivating and charming. “If that cat can hang in there, then I can, too, even with all the gas shortages and Watergates,” is what some people surely thought. Of course, much like era-coincident fashion, that poster has […]
We believe that hiring “A” players is the most important job within an organization and it can be one of the biggest challenges. To get and keep your top performers, you have to engage both their current skill sets and their future aspirations while demonstrating a culture of trust and respect. Rather than trying to identify what the exact answer is for you in your industry, we like to use ‘The Rule of 44.’ In four areas, have four different […]