Year: 2021

Categories
Thought Leadership

Why is thought leadership important?

thought leadership
1,487 Views

Unlocking the Benefits of Thought Leadership

Whatever your industry, there are some voices that you cannot ignore. When an industry leader tweets or blogs, you will drop what you are doing and pay attention. You may not always agree with the person’s conclusions, but you will take them seriously. This kind of influence demonstrates the power of thought leadership. 

What is thought leadership?

The definitions of thought leadership vary. Thought leaders are often social media influencers, but they are not primarily concerned with self-promotion. They are experts in their fields, but they garner more attention than the average analyst or researcher. 

Thought leaders have a reputation for sharing new ideas and predicting trends. Although they have an expansive knowledge of an industry’s past and its current state, they are predictive voices that point out the direction of the industry. When businesses want insight into the future, they will turn to the valued opinions of thought leaders.

The Benefits of Thought Leadership

Being regarded as a thought leader brings several advantages. Thought leaders regularly share content through blogs, articles and speaking engagements. If you engage in these practices, you have already created a relationship with potential clients. They know your voice and way of thinking, and they will have respect for your opinion.

As you grow as a thought leader, it will become easier to make connections. Industry leaders will look to you for opinions and advice. These relationships will benefit everyone involved.

Secrets to Developing as an Influential Thinker

All definitions of thought leadership give priority to the act of thinking. People expect this person to add valuable content to industry discussions. Before you become a thought leader, you must learn to develop creative ideas.

Know Your Niche

It is difficult to be a generalist and a thought leader. In most industries, there is too much information for any one person to follow. Find the portion of your market that you are most passionate about and put your focus there. As you develop relationships with other leaders, your ideas will make connections across the industry.

Keep Learning

Education is essential to this path. People trust your voice because you can demonstrate your expertise. You will need to spend time looking for the latest information about your niche.

Develop Your Point of View

As a thought leader, people are not seeking you out simply because of what you know. Online research will give them the information they need. They are looking for someone who can put the pieces of the puzzle together. While you will use data to inform and support your point of view, people look to deep thinkers for their ability to share a vision.

Make Connections

To become an industry leader, you must gain the respect of other industry leaders. In the early stages, you will want other leading thinkers to cite your content. They are more likely to follow you if you have made a point to connect with them at conferences or through social media.

Secrets to Engaging in Thought Leadership

Thought leadership must be more than deep thinking. If your innovative ideas never make it off your desk, you may be a thinker or a dreamer, but you are not a leader.

Consider Practical Applications

You have combed through the industry literature and developed a new way to think about your niche. Now you must consider the practical applications. How can a business owner put your ideas to work beneficially? When you share your thoughts, it is a good practice to include steps for implementation.

Model Your Approach

If you are an entrepreneur, your business can be a laboratory for practical innovation. Explain the nature of your experiment to your team members so that they can share feedback about new processes or organizational changes. This will not only help you refine your ideas but will also encourage a culture of innovative thinking in your workplace.

Develop Regular Content

Regular content is the main way that thought leaders share information. With online publishing forums like eBooks, blogs and social media, it is easy to get your thoughts into the world.

However, being recognized as a thought leader takes time. It may take a series of blog posts or articles before people start paying attention outside your local area. Developing a regular publishing schedule will create a sense of anticipation in your audience. 

Invite, Don’t Sell

In several surveys, top business leaders have shared their opinions about online content. Their common desire is to read innovative thoughts that are specific to their industries. They will skip past generic copy that does not add anything new.

Self-promotion is another issue. As soon as the article becomes focused on the author, they will set it aside. As a thought leader, your opinions and vision are your calling card. When you share information that gives value to the reader, the content will market itself.

Growing as a Leading Thinker

What is thought leadership? It is turning your passion and knowledge into valuable industry insights. If you are looking for ways to improve your thinking process or share your ideas, contact the Productivity Intelligence Institute. I would be thrilled to work with you and help you unlock the benefits of thought leadership.

Categories
Entrepreneurship

Do You Have An Entrepreneurship Mindset?

entrepreneurship mindset
1,220 Views

The world is fascinated by modern entrepreneurs. Stories of successful start-ups bring to mind the California gold rush of the 1850s. If only I can be at the right place at the right time, I will discover the genius idea that will make me rich.

There is always a measure of luck involved with business success, but a growing body of research shows that entrepreneurs share several characteristics. The entrepreneurial mindset is what carries these business leaders through repeated failures. It is also the inspiration that keeps them thriving after they find a measure of success.

What is the mindset of entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurs are often experts in their fields. However, it is a set of entrepreneurial mindset characteristics that set them apart from other leaders.

Growth and Goal-Oriented Attitude

Psychologists make a distinction between growth and fixed mindsets. A fixed mindset assumes that everything should continue as it is. A great deal of effort goes into maintaining the status quo. 

A growth mindset assumes that things can always be better. Processes can be more streamlined, and products can be improved. To achieve this growth, entrepreneurs set actionable goals and work toward them without distraction.

Decisiveness

Neuroscientists have noticed the fast pace of entrepreneurial decision-making. It turns out that such leaders do not make snap decisions, but they are more efficient at making informed decisions. They combine their knowledge and experience with a gut-level response to make choices that move them forward.

Accountability

Decisions do not always pan out as expected, but successful entrepreneurs do not play the blame game. When they experience failure, they accept responsibility for their choices and try to learn from what happened. A growth mindset accepts personal responsibility for both success and failure.

Resilience

Almost every well-known entrepreneur has as many stories of setbacks as positive outcomes. These individuals always know that failure is a possibility, and they work hard to prevent it. They also learn when to let go of a failed idea to start something new.

Improvisation and the Entrepreneurship Mindset

As a professional musician and business consultant, I see parallels between the mindset of entrepreneurship and playing in a jazz ensemble. Over the years, I have seen naturally-gifted musicians who make improvisation look easy. However, I have also played with instrumentalists who had to work hard to find their sound.

Taking in the Music

A big part of successful improvisation is paying attention and listening. What can you pull from the melody, and what can you add? How have the other musicians set up your solo? 

Entrepreneurs must also pay attention to what is going on around them. They are problem solvers who figure out how to meet consumer needs. When they look at what is in front of them, they are always thinking about how to make it better.

Riding out Your Decision

Improvisation is about experimentation. Of course, you can stay in the safety of a familiar rhythm and melodic line, but the real fun is in searching for possibilities. A few sour notes will let you know that you may have gone too far. However, a real jazz musician does not put down the instrument and walk away. She will adapt the melody and bring the music back on track.

Business leaders will also make imperfect decisions. Their plans may fall apart due to forces beyond their control. A common sign of the entrepreneurial mindset is the ability to recover, adapt and grow.

Making It Look Easy

When a great jazz ensemble plays at a club, it feels like they are doing something easy. Most audiences do not recognize the amount of effort that goes into learning and perfecting an instrument. It is the hours in the practice room that make the performance look like its second nature.

Entrepreneurs have a reputation for taking advantage of unexpected opportunities. However, they can only do so because they have done the hard work that sets them up for success. There may be luck involved, but tenacity and diligence are also necessary.

How to Share the Mindset of Entrepreneurship in Your Business
To move from a start-up to a full-fledged business, you will want to cultivate the entrepreneurship mindset in your team members. Inspiring this kind of permission-giving culture will help you grow in unexpected ways. For your leadership, this transition will require humility. You are moving from being the main soloist to becoming an interdependent ensemble. For your team members, this change will require education and freedom.

Provide the Necessary Tools

To gain confidence, your need your team members to grow in expertise. Make education a priority. Expect that your team members will always be learning something new.

Let Them Play

It can be tempting for the most experienced musicians to take all the solos, but your team will never learn that way. Allow them to pursue new ideas and take risks. 

Keep Things Light

Musicians who are afraid of making mistakes will never learn to improvise. If an honest effort results in a failed experiment, use it as a learning opportunity. When your employees are walking on eggshells around you, they will be too scared to take risks that lead to growth.

Growing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

You and your team can learn to adopt many entrepreneurial mindset characteristics. When you do, you will create a workplace that is innovative, exciting and fun. If you are looking for a partner on your entrepreneurial journey, I would be delighted to work with you.

Categories
Managing Virtual Teams

Announcing a Painless Way to Manage Virtual Teams

Manage Virtual Teams
1,283 Views

Communication: Managing Virtual Teams without the Pain

Managing teams has always been a challenge. When you bring a group of people together, there is a constant possibility of disagreement and conflict. Different works rates and communication styles also muddy the waters of collaboration. When you take those challenges and put them online, it can be even more difficult to get things done.

Most professionals assume that a virtual team is less productive and efficient than an in-person group. However, with the right management style, virtual teams can exceed the performance of onsite teams. Clear communication is the key to managing virtual teams to success.

Successful Strategies for Managing: Communication

Before the 2020 pandemic, businesses were experimenting with the possibilities of remote teams. Using online tools, a group can include people from across the country and around the world. This ability increases the diversity of team members and creates new opportunities for innovation and unexpected connections. The arrival of COVID-19 made such remote teams a necessity.

Many of the typical strategies for managing teams are not as effective in remote settings. They rely on establishing a team culture through the many small daily encounters that happen in a shared space. For a remote team, there must be an intentional focus on communication and connection.

Provide Resources for Tech Proficiency

Online communication begins with a shared platform. The team members must not only have access to the same communication software, but they must also know how to use it. There is nothing more frustrating to an online meeting than participants who cannot unmute themselves or share their screens at the right time.

The group must also agree on how to communicate outside of regular meetings. If you are managing global virtual teams, you may be dealing with several time zones, and phone communication may not be feasible. You also want to establish expectations about person-to-person versus group emails and texts.

Establish Trust

In an office setting, team members learn to trust one another through casual interactions. They make connections over shared interests or family situations. Developing this kind of rapport can be difficult online.

A growing number of remote teams are using unstructured coworking models to develop closer relationships. At a designated time, team members join together online. However, it is not a formal meeting. Each person works on a piece of the project in the same virtual space. Sometimes, these sessions may involve no talking at all or only brief moments of consultation. It seems that being available for one another over an extended period helps create professional trust.

Establish Accountability

The most effective teams know that they can rely on one another to get the pieces of the project done. As the manager, you must foster a culture of accountability. Remote team members may not feel as much pressure to accomplish tasks. Having them share progress reports in an open forum creates a social pressure to achieve.

Communicate the Company Culture

In a remote group, the team members may not all come from the same organization. Managing global virtual teams may involve freelancers and contractors as well as regular employees. By helping each person feel like they are part of the larger organization, you are encouraging them to work toward a shared goal.

Virtual managers should also communicate their expectations about issues like deadlines and participation early in the onboarding process. They should understand the group’s style of communication. Some teams prefer a free-for-all discussion style, while others work with a turn-based method for input.

Evaluate the Process

Participating in virtual teams is new territory for many of your employees. It will take time to learn what is and is not working. Dedicating time to regular evaluation will help streamline the team’s process. In a global team, are there barriers to communication beyond time zones? Are there cultural assumptions that prevent dialogue? Addressing the blind spots of a diverse team will lead to greater trust and enhanced cooperation.

Celebrate Progress

Communicating in a virtual team does not just need to be about deadlines and status reports. It should also focus on positive progress. 

Acknowledging excellence and celebrating completed project milestones help the team focus on the final goal. Giving a weekly shoutout to an outstanding member will also cultivate respect. As the team hears about positive achievements, they will have a better sense of one another’s capabilities.

If it is possible for your team, you might consider hosting an occasional in-person gathering. A retreat that celebrates the completion of one project and launches the next provides in-person interactions that will sustain the virtual work.

Meeting the Challenge of Managing Virtual Teams

Helping managers develop effective teams is one of the goals of my organization. I can provide tools and advice that will help you get the best performance from your group. Whether you are working with a traditional in-person model or stepping into the world of virtual management, I will work hard to help you succeed. Contact the Productivity Intelligence Institute today.

Categories
Creating High-Performing Teams

Stay One Step Ahead of the Challenges of Virtual Teams

Challenges of Virtual Teams
1,364 Views

Overcoming Roadblocks to Effective Virtual Teams

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses were offering their employees more flexible, work-from-home options. The sudden switch to lockdown life made virtual teams a necessity for businesses used to an in-person model. Remote collaboration brings a host of challenges. However, virtual teams are an asset when treated as an effective tool rather than a temporary substitute.

Changing Your Point of View

As a management and productivity consultant, I have seen many clients struggle with the effective implementation of virtual teams. A big part of the problem is that they are trying to recreate the experience of an in-person team in an online forum. Collaborating with colleagues on a screen or in a chatroom will never be the same as an in-person meeting. As soon as you give up that expectation, you are ready to unleash the potential of virtual team management.

An effective virtual team can be productive and efficient. According to the American Psychological Association, remote workers have a higher level of job satisfaction. Their performance is at the same level as in-person colleagues and often slightly better.

Handling the Challenges of Virtual Teams

Remote groups involve a unique form of teamwork. Once you embrace it as a working model, you can address the challenges of virtual teams. The common roadblocks that most virtual managers encounter include:

  • Team trust issues
  • Communication
  • Problems with technology
  • Personal support
  • Team accountability

Developing Team Trust in the Virtual World

Your team members must rely on one another. In an in-person setting, trust develops over time as people see completed projects and have positive interactions with one another. As a manager, you will need to take steps to help your team develop trust. Some of the techniques that I find work best for virtual groups include:

  • Highlighting the gifts and relevant experience of team members.
  • Pointing out individual moments of excellence.
  • Providing time for social interaction.

Improving Team Communication

Virtual team communication can be a challenge. In an in-person meeting, team members can see non-verbal cues such a facial expressions and body stance. It is also easier to gauge differences in tone. Sarcasm works with people in the same room, but it can create confusion in a text.

Managers must take a different approach for virtual meetings. Most online meeting platforms work best when only one person speaks at a time. This setup can be frustrating during a brainstorming session. Some managers have all participants stay muted unless they are addressing the group. Others use a round-robin meeting style where team members speak in order one at a time.

Another way to improve communication and increase trust is to make each team member responsible for a portion of the meeting. The online forum makes it possible for some team members to coast by allowing more talkative members to dominate the time. In some cases, tech-savvy employees have figured how to automate their virtual presence. An effective virtual manager will make certain that every voice is heard.

“Evelyn Wood wouldn’t do it this way,” wrote Boston Globe

Using Technology Effectively

Some people are more excited about technology than others. When a virtual team begins, everyone must be on the same page. Each team member may have different computer hardware and internet speeds. If technology gets in the way of productivity, you may need to help your employees upgrade their systems.

Using technology effectively will involve training. First, you must confirm that team members are accessing the right resource for their virtual meetings. You may have to spend some time helping employees learn the basics so that they can share their screens, mute themselves and send real-time messages.

Supporting Remote Employees

If you are working with a virtual group used to working in an in-person mode, they will need support as they adapt to the change. Newly remote employees can struggle to maintain appropriate boundaries between their work and home lives. They may find that they are tackling work projects long after their official work hours, a practice that can lead to burnout.

Virtual managers cannot control the work practices of their employees in the same way that they can in an office. However, they can set examples and clarify expectations to maintain a healthy work culture. Some ways to support virtual team members include:

  • Using hour-tracking software to make certain employees are not working too much or too little.
  • Offering tips for creating a home office workspace.
  • Enforcing a policy of no after-hours emails or work-related communication.
  • Help employees with accessing the right resource for mental and emotional support.
  • Setting an example of appropriate work/life boundaries.

Setting Goals and Expectations

Determining the effectiveness of a team is different in an online setting. You might walk through an office and see your employees at work. You can receive an immediate response about project progress. For virtual teams, breaking larger goals into smaller pieces offers a better assessment tool. Developing clear expectations and timelines will help increase productivity while working from home.

Consulting for Both Virtual and In-Person Teams

At the Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute, it is my goal to help managers develop effective teams in every setting. Whether you manage a team that is in-person, virtual, or somewhere in between, I would be thrilled to work with you.

Categories
Creating High-Performing Teams

How to Build a High-Performance Team

High-performance team
2,092 Views

How to build a high-performance team 

Being a great team member can improve a job that you love or make a job that you don’t love bearable. When people love their team, they want to come to work each day. They may even choose to spend time with one another outside of the office. Great teams are energetic, and they get things done. High-performing teams require outstanding leadership. How can you build a high-performance team? Research shows that leaders of great teams have these five characteristics. 

1. They Inspire Rather than Micromanage 

Teams that perform at a high level generally have leaders who create energy and excitement within the team. This inspires members to do more. It helps them feel that what they’re doing is important. When people feel special, they tend to work harder and feel happier. 

Inspire your people with continuous learning. High-performing teams appreciate feedback and use it to learn and improve. Create a work environment that welcomes feedback, one that doesn’t become defensive when constructive feedback is shared. 

Be sure to implement a reward system that emphasizes good performance. Make sure that you are collecting data to see what is working and what isn’t. This will help you improve your managing techniques.  

2. High Performing Teams Have Managers Who Set Stretch Goals 

When managers set stretch goals, they encourage their teams to push themselves to achieve something that may seem impossible. People don’t want to arrive at their workplace to labor at something that other teams could do easily. They want to stand out and perform tasks that make a difference. 

Performing important tasks will help your employees see that they are necessary and special, increasing their job satisfaction. This will help their work engagement and job pride grow.  

Teams that perform at an elevated level celebrate their successes together. They also express appreciation for each team member’s contributions to their successes. United celebrations inspire a strong collaboration culture, and it helps every person on the team feel linked and valued. 

3. Great Teams Have Trusted Leadership

 

Great teams trust their leaders. If a manager isn’t trusted, they cannot inspire people to perform at their highest level or resolve issues. Leader insights include developing the ability to get a team to believe in stretch goals and trust in their everyday communications. 

Research shows that there are three main supports that form trust. The first one is developing relationships. People trust those they like. For this support, establish relationships with your team members. The second support is knowledge or skills. People trust those who can help them resolve issues. The last support is to be consistent. If you tell someone that you’ll do something, then be sure to follow through. This managing technique develops trust. 

Management insights include promoting someone to the position of team lead who other people on the team turn to naturally for information or guidance. Also, pay attention to each person on your team to locate those who naturally create unity within the group. These are the humans who you should promote.  

4. High Performance Requires Leaders who can Handle Conflict

 

Conflict within a team will turn a high-performing group into a dysfunctional one in record time. To keep your team performing well, act quickly when conflicts arise. Accept that anytime there is a group of people working together, conflict is bound to happen. 

It’s easy to assume that adults will manage disagreements effectively on their own. If this were the case, then there wouldn’t be wars or divorce. To keep your team working well together, you will need to step in when members aren’t getting along. 

Work to streamline your team’s communications. Teams that perform at a high level must be agile and dedicated. You can accomplish this with streamlined communications. Ensure that every member of your team is on the same page with clear employee expectations and work processes. This step may help diffuse situations that could become challenging. 

Some workplaces encourage competition between teams, but cooperation almost always works better. When your team labors together, they’ll be more likely to achieve excellent results. 

5. Focus on Communication

 

High-performing teams have leaders who focus on communication. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself by reminding your team about the company’s vision and your group’s direction. To be an effective team leader, it’s important to stay on message. 

People are easily distracted. Help your team focus by reminding them of their goals and what they need to do to accomplish them. Keep your team up to date on how they are doing and each project completion timeframe. 

Today’s technology is amazing. As a leader, you can use it to communicate with your team members more frequently, but keep in mind that the human brain is designed for in-person connections. To communicate well, the human brain considers body language, facial shifts, and pheromone signals. These things are mainly lost when people interact with each other through technology. 

Inspire your team by encouraging connection. To help your people feel connected to a group of their fellow employees, establish unified purposes. Do this by creating transparent goals that your team can accomplish with connection and alignment. 

Managing a high-performing team requires you to assess work priorities and goals to make sure that they align with your company’s values and are effective. Be sure to communicate with your team regularly and check in on progress.  

High-Performance Teams Will Help You Succeed

 

Build a high-performance team by embracing management skills that excite, inspire trust, and resolve conflict. When people are members of high-performing teams, they’ll feel proud of their work and a greater sense of self. For tips and guidance on how to become a beloved leader, visit us at Productivity Intelligence. 

Categories
Managing Virtual Teams

How to Manage Virtual Teams

Virtual Teams
1,568 Views

Utilizing Multiple Techniques That Can Help You to Manage Virtual Teams

While you manage virtual teams, you may implement strategies that will increase productivity, improve communication, promote teamwork and reduce numerous types of expenses. Ideally, you should frequently schedule virtual meetings, and the company can create long-term goals, cultivate a professional environment, provide various incentives and customize a detailed schedule.

Creating a Flexible Schedule That Could Increase Productivity

Many studies have suggested that a detailed schedule can improve the efficiency of employees, and once you develop a custom schedule, the representatives could evaluate necessary tasks, upcoming meetings, important notes and several types of projects. You may also utilize project management software that can frequently provide important notifications. Generally, these strategies could help the team to accomplish many types of goals.

Evaluating Games That Can Improve Teamwork

Recently, multiple neuroscientists studied complex games that can improve virtual team building, and during each game, the employees will learn to trust their colleagues. The virtual team building games can enhance communication, stimulate creativity and improve the interpersonal dynamics of each group. If you organize games for virtual teams, the activities will also help the employees to evaluate the skills of their colleagues.

The games can significantly improve the morale of the employees, and the productive activities could considerably decrease chronic stress. Moreover, the complex games may reduce the production of cortisol. This stress hormone can affect the neurons, the dendrites and each person’s metabolism. Once the activities decrease levels of cortisol, the games could prevent fatigue, increase the self-esteem of many employees and stimulate the production of serotonin.

Managing Virtual Meetings

During each meeting, the employees can share innovative ideas, evaluate the efficiency of each team, describe numerous achievements and ask important questions. The professionals may also examine the challenges that could affect the business, and the employees should create comprehensive solutions that can help the company to overcome these obstacles.

The team could also provide detailed presentations, and the employees may evaluate relevant statistics, the performance of each team, long-term goals and predictive forecasts. According to neuroscience research, these techniques could consistently enhance innovation, improve communication and increase the productivity of a cross functional team. The meetings can also help the employees to cultivate professional relationships.

Simplifying Important Tasks and Increasing Efficiency

Once you create a cohesive team, you may use a cutting-edge software program that could improve automation, reduce the complexity of many tasks and decrease the duration of each project. Typically, these tools can increase the productivity of every team, and the software program may significantly reduce a company’s expenses.

The managers should clearly describe each task, and the supervisors can also explain the responsibilities of every employee. When the team manages a project, the team may create a detailed timeline that could allow the employees to evaluate upcoming milestones.

Avoiding Distractions and Improving the Workspace

The team can provide guidelines that could help the employees to reduce distractions. Usually, the workers should avoid distracting websites, noisy environments and online videos. Each employee can also create a home office that features a useful desk, important accessories and adequate storage space. Generally, a home office can prevent distractions, and the custom office could also decrease stress, provide a private sanctuary and reduce various types of expenses.

Sharing Important Information

The project manager should encourage the employees to share valuable information, and when the employees discuss personal topics, the colleagues may increase trust, improve social bonds and evaluate the needs of other employees. If you organize games for virtual teams, you could select games that will allow the colleagues to discuss important information. While the employees are enjoying the games, each worker can evaluate the personalities of colleagues, the goals of other employees and each colleague’s ideas.

Providing Important Incentives

Once you create a virtual team, you can offer multiple rewards that will incentivize the employees. If a team achieves major goals, each employee could receive a one-time bonus, or the manager may increase the salaries of the employees. These incentives could improve motivation, optimize the morale of the employees and promote innovation.

Each business should create a clear-cut plan that describes the company’s goals, the available incentives and the achievements of many employees. Usually, this technique could increase the competitiveness of each team, and consequently, the employees may complete necessary tasks, accomplish important goals and motivate their colleagues.

Reducing Chronic Stress and Improving Well-Being

Multiple studies have suggested that chronic anxiety may affect more than 50 percent of employees who work at home. If you would like to relieve stress, you could frequently participate in extracurricular activities, and you may enjoy high-quality workouts that could increase the production of endorphins. Neuroscience research has indicated that the training sessions can augment the level of norepinephrine within the brain. Norepinephrine is an important neurotransmitter that could substantially increase attentiveness, and the natural compound can improve critical thinking, reduce anxiety and stimulate creativity.

Learning More Information and Contacting Our Business

The Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute is a well-known business that provides consulting services, and the company can help project managers to create successful teams. If you manage a cross functional team, you could examine detailed guidelines, several types of courses and project management tools.

Categories
Increase Productivity

Avoid These 5 Unproductive Habits

Unproductive office worker
1,868 Views

An Amazon search for books about habits produces around 60,000 results. Apparently, people take this topic seriously.


When it comes to increasing productivity, it’s just as important to identify bad habits as it is to adopt good habits for success. However, the line between the two is often blurry. Many habits formed from good intentions turn out to be counterproductive.


If you’re not sure what’s holding you back productivity-wise, you’ve come to the right place.


Bad Habits to Track — and Eventually Kick


You’ll find yourself getting more done in less time if you kick these five habits for good. One or two of them may surprise you, so keep an open mind.


1. Overrating Busyness


Multitasking and taking on too much at once are the enemies of productivity. The very people who seem constantly busy get surprisingly little done in a day. The neuroscience research backs this up.


The University of Michigan recently studied multitasking. Researchers found that juggling two tasks at once results in both tasks taking up to 25% longer to finish. Not only that, but errors and omissions are more common.


As impressive as the human brain is, it does not have limitless capacity. You and I can still create mental logjams. The MRIs of participants in a study at Vanderbilt University bear this out.


Be realistic about how much work you can handle at any given time, and learn to say no.


2. Being an Obsessive “Checker”


Scientists observing employees at Microsoft found that each distraction from a task, like checking email or answering a text message, wound up taking 15 minutes on average. Activities like those come with a built-in temptation to waste time.


The wrong thinking goes something like this: Since you’re already on your phone, you might as well check for breaking news, fantasy football updates, or the number of likes to your Facebook post.


Obsessive checking is definitely among the bad habits to break. Even an activity that doesn’t consume much time can make it hard to get back on task.


Turn off your cellphone. Block out time in your daily schedule — for example, 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon — for answering messages and clearing your inbox. As a rule of thumb, don’t check anything until you have the time to respond.


3. Failing to Prioritize


Your daily to-do list should have a handful of meaningful tasks rather than a long list of tasks that won’t have much impact one way or another. Again, staying busy and staying productive isn’t the same thing.


C. Northcote Parkinson was a British author who satirized government bureaucracies. Parkinson’s law of triviality asserts that a chore will take as long as the time allotted to complete it. It’s just as important, then, to set deadlines as it is to set priorities.


The second part of Parkinson’s law addresses “bike-shedding,” the tendency to let a trivial issue take up a disproportionate amount of time. Parkinson used the analogy of a design team for a nuclear power plant spending most of its time planning the employee bike shed.


Don’t let bike-shedding hold up an entire project. Prioritize.


4. Thinking You Know It All and Can Do It All

Lots of people in positions of leadership overlook these habits for success:


  • Stay humble.
  • Remain teachable.
  • Be willing to delegate.
  • Be passionate about developing people.

Have you lost enthusiasm for a job you used to love? Does your workplace culture seem stale and uninspiring?


If so, attend a seminar. Research industry trends. Explore emerging technology. There’s nothing like continuing education for boosting morale and sparking productivity.


A true entrepreneurial spirit inspires teamwork and collaboration. Great leaders have a vested interest in continuing to learn, in leveraging feedback to improve, and in developing others. Not every brilliant idea has to be theirs. In workplace cultures with high-performing teams, there’s plenty of credit to go around.


Be a lifelong learner. Celebrate your successes, but embrace your failures too. Every setback is an opportunity to learn and grow.


5. Neglecting Your Personal Well-being

All the experts agree that physical and mental health have bearing on job performance and productivity. Consider these benefits:


  • Exercise triggers the release of feel-good endorphins that boost energy, improve concentration, and keep stress and depression at bay.
  • While you sleep, your brain organizes every random thought that came and went during the day. It consolidates the things you need to remember immediately, like the conference call at 9 a.m., and files away or discards the things you don’t.
  • If you’re sluggish and unfocused in the afternoon, rethink your lunch menu. Too many carbohydrates will drain your energy reserve dry.

There’s no shame in getting mental help if you need it. A case study published in Psychology Today described a bright young woman and gifted strategic thinker with nothing standing in her way. Even so, she was laid off from one job after another.


The woman and her psychologist agreed that depression was at the root of her inability to hold a job. She resolved to exercise more and get back to activities, like singing in a choir, that used to give her joy.


Of all the bad habits to track and avoid, this is the only one with life itself at stake.


Get on the Fast Track to Increased Productivity


As someone who has had bad habits to break me, I love helping people identify the tendencies that hold them back.


Reach out to me at Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute. I’m committed to helping entrepreneurs like you be more productive on the job and in life.

Categories
Entrepreneurship

7 Things All Entrepreneurs Have In Common

Entrepreneur Mindset
1,609 Views

Understanding the Entrepreneur Mindset: Seven Common Entrepreneurial Traits

For every story of entrepreneurial success, there are hundreds of tales of woe and disappointment. Yet, people still wake up each morning with a brilliant idea and a desire to start something new. The difference between triumph and failure may be found in developing your set of entrepreneur skills.

1. Creative Vision

Creative vision is a hallmark of successful entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are curious by nature, and they are always on the lookout for innovative ideas. However, a fascination with novelty is not enough to start a business. One critical trait of an entrepreneur is the ability to take new information and make unexpected connections. This creative view allows a leader to realize unmet needs or imagine new applications for existing technology.

2. Passion Coupled with Expertise

Successful startups begin with passion. Part of what sustains new business leaders during challenging times is their love for what they do. When you are excited about your tasks, work can be a joy.

At the same time, the passion of entrepreneurs leads them to become experts in their fields. These leaders are always learning, seeking to improve their skills and looking for the latest information. This knowledge puts them in a much better place to make informed decisions.

3. A Growth Mindset

In 2007, psychologist Carol Dweck made the distinction between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. People with fixed minds assume that their world will remain the same despite any extra efforts. They are less inclined to seek personal growth. Instead, they try to remain content with the way things are.

An entrepreneurial mindset is a growth mindset. For these individuals, hard work and education are tools that can change the world. They believe that things can always get better and are willing to work to make it so.

4. Discipline

People who try to turn a vision into reality quickly understand the value of discipline. Especially in the early stages of a new business, leaders must stay on task. If you struggle with self-discipline, there are steps you can take to live with greater intentionality.

Research points to the importance of habits in developing self-discipline. Habits simplify making the choice to get up earlier, avoid distractions, or exercise to get your blood pumping. Every time you choose to delay a reward, it takes up some of your daily reserves of willpower. Establishing a habit bypasses this by making such choices automatic.

Another school of self-discipline teaches the importance of choosing mild discomfort as a way to greater discipline. For example, choosing to start the day with a cold shower gives you the knowledge that you can endure some discomfort. This trait can be an advantage when you must work through lunch or put in extra hours.

5. Organization

Every person has a different organizational style. Some leaders may have a clean workspace, and every file on their laptop is in its proper folder. Other people know exactly where every document is in the loose piles on their desks. Whatever your style, organization is a key trait of an entrepreneur.

The ability to stay organized becomes even more important as your business grows. Your team needs clear goals so that they can help you work toward your long-term vision. Without direction, they will have trouble meeting your expectations and lose trust in your leadership skills. Defined goals give them something to shoot for and celebrate. As the banker J.P. Morgan put it, “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you will be able to see farther.”

6. Adaptability

One of the facets of a growth mindset is the ability to adapt to change. A million things can happen on your way to starting a business. How do you react when someone launches a competing product? What do you do when a supplier falls through on a contract? The best entrepreneurs recognize that they may have to shift their business plans quickly. Often, this switch is easier at the beginning when your business is small. However, even the largest companies must deal with the unexpected.

7. Resilience

Your great idea for a business is not a guarantee of success. Most entrepreneurs do not succeed on the first try. It took a failed candy shop in Philadelphia before Milton Hershey got the idea to manufacture sweets in rural Pennsylvania. Elon Musk has watched a few of his SpaceX rockets explode. Resilience in the face of failure is a necessity for an entrepreneur. When the vision comes crumbling down, entrepreneurs learn something new from the failure and move on to the next project.

It is difficult not to take failure personally. However, many businesses falter for reasons that a leader could never have predicted. Working with soft skills like mindfulness and self-compassion can help you and your employees avoid being paralyzed by a negative outcome.

Sharpening Your Entrepreneur Skills

For those who love a challenge, becoming an entrepreneur offers an exciting way of life. By developing creativity, discipline, and passion in yourself, you will serve as an inspiration to your team. If you are looking for support on your entrepreneurial journey, feel free to reach out. I would be honored to work with you.

Categories
Brain Hacks

Is Your Brain Motivating You or Holding You Back?

What Motivates You
1,741 Views

What Motivates You? According to researchers from the nation’s top schools, there is an element of the brain that prevents people from tapping into their full potential. Instead of being programmed to achieve success, your brain is wired for basic survival, and this can prevent you from navigating change to reach your goals.

When Your Brain Is Stuck in Survival Mode

When the brain is in survival mode, it shifts into a condition referred to as negative bias, which is focusing on negative things more than positive ones. With negative bias, you’ll feel more emotional pain from rejection than joy following a compliment.

You’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to be stuck in survival mode. You can rewire your brain to focus on maximum success. Keep in mind that when you’re dealing with negative bias, it will diminish your chances of reaching a higher level of achievement.

You can be optimistic and positive about your future, but at some point, it’s likely that you will sabotage yourself by allowing your brain to keep you from going all-in on one of your dreams. When your brain is in survival mode, your uncertainties and fears overcome your inner dreams and desires, resulting in good ideas becoming disasters.

Shifting the Brain Out of Its Negative Bias

The trick to gaining access to your full potential is to replace the incapacitating negatives that you experience on a regular basis with ones that are positive. It takes practice to do this initially, but it gets easier and more automatic as you work at it.

The first step is to realize that you have a negative thought. Then, replace it with something positive, an idea that will empower you and inspire you to reach success.

It’s likely that you’ve been invited to do something that you were unable to pick up easily. Did you continue to try it or give up and admit defeat? If you gave up, then your automatic mindset is one that is fixed. When you continue to think this way, it will be hard for you to accomplish your dreams. If you keep trying, then your mindset is in growth mode. This means that you believe that if you work at something hard enough and practice your skills more, then you can develop your abilities, making success possible.

Focus on a Single Goal

Your brain might be languishing in survival mode because you have too much happening in your life. When this happens, you probably feel tired and unmotivated. Notice if you have several goals that you’re trying to tackle at the same time. Eliminate one and focus on a single critical skill or goal.

While it might be tough to choose one skill or goal and give it your full attention, doing so will make it easier to shift out of your negative bias and put all of your brainpower toward one thing. After accomplishing your first goal, shift your attention to the next one on your list.

Find What Motivates You

There are many places where you might find inspiration. Look to people who have already achieved your goal. Read books, magazines, and blogs. You can also research success stories to pinpoint each step others took along the way. In addition, search for information about your goal on the internet. The internet is a great place to discover different paths to your goal.

Do You Let Yourself Off the Hook?

While it’s good for your mental health to avoid negative self-talk, if you let yourself off the hook too easily, you might need a little more stress to accomplish your goals. Try to create balance between emotional gliding and feeling overloaded. Positive stress can shift how you perceive the way things are. It also helps you avoid underperforming.

Are You Too Hard on Yourself?

On the other hand, if you’re too hard on yourself, it will be tough for you to get past negative thoughts and try new things that will help you grow and become successful. Often, when people experience a setback, they overreact. To see if you’re dealing with a setback in a way that’s healthy, consider how much the experience will matter to you a year from now. Then, plan your next step.

Don’t Let Your Brain Hold You Back

Successful people put a great deal of time and effort into improving their talents and leadership skills. There is a popular quote that says, “Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now.” Is your brain motivating you or holding you back? Once you’ve determined your brain’s mode, you can take steps toward achieving your goals.

At the Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute, I can help you tap into your unique skill set. To learn more, contact me today.

Categories
Reduce Stress

Coping with Stress

coping with stress
1,650 Views

When your job involves managing projects, planning events, and meeting impossible deadlines, you are under some degree of stress every day. Because of your success, others may not be aware of how stress is affecting you. However, stress may be evident in your home life, your job at the office, and your relationships with others. In this article, you will find ten ways to reduce stress tips.

What Is Stress and What Are the Symptoms?

When you’re under a lot of pressure and things become unmanageable, your body releases the hormones cortisol and adrenaline to protect you and keep you safe. Stress will manifest as a physical response of fight or flight, rescuing you from a potentially dangerous situation. You might start to shake, sweat, breathe heavily, or have trouble breathing. Other stress symptoms include irritability, lack of concentration, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart problems, and physical and mental fatigue.

Recognizing When Stress Becomes Debilitating

Dealing with individuals with diverse backgrounds, completing complex assignments, and managing social expectations can make the workplace stressful for anyone. When the effects of stress are overwhelming, you can feel as if you can no longer cope or handle life’s pressures. Unaddressed compounded stress can keep you from functioning in your daily life, including the workplace.

Effects of Stress in the Workplace

When you experience anxiety at work, you might go to great lengths to hide your fears from others. It doesn’t matter if you’re in management or have a highly visible job assignment. You may give excuses for not attending office parties when the fact is that you become too anxious when around others socially. Stress can also cause you to refuse to travel for training opportunities, work on group projects, or accept a more responsible position.

Ways to Deal With Debilitating Stress

Experts suggest several ways to reduce stress activities and deal with debilitating stress.

1. Learn About Your Body

Understanding how your body reacts when you’re stressed can help you manage your anxiety. You will be able to recognize when you’re about to have a panic attack and take action to care for yourself.

2. Practice Good Time Management

Set mini-deadlines for yourself to be sure that you can complete the overall project on time.

3. Talk With a Trusted Friend

Knowing that someone cares about you, who won’t judge you but supports you unconditionally, can help reduce your work anxiety.

4. Stay Away From Toxic People

Toxic people can steal your time. Every workplace has its share of toxic employees who make it their duty to gossip and spread negativity in the workplace.

5. Expect the Unexpected

Whether you call it Murphy’s law or bad luck, things will happen that will compete with the time you are scheduled to work on an important project. Because you anticipated the unexpected, these things won’t derail your ability to complete the project.

6. Prioritize Your Assignments

Don’t be afraid to discuss conflicts with your superior: that you have more than one project with a deadline approaching, for example. Find out which one has the most priority, so you can put your efforts into completing that one first.

7. Learn to Set Boundaries

If all you do is focus on work and never recharge, you will quickly burn out. During your off time, don’t answer work emails or spend time working at home when you can be enjoying time with your family.

8. Take Care of Yourself

Maintaining good eating habits, exercising, and getting enough sleep are things you can do to stay in good health. When your body is healthy, it has a positive effect on your mind.

9. Seek Professional Help

Your health care professional can prescribe medication to help with anxiety, recommend therapy, or a combination of both. The American Disability Act protects employees who have a physical or mental disability from discrimination in the workplace.

10. Develop a Stress-Enhancing Mindset

According to a study conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University, some people see stress as an enhancement. They believe it facilitates their ability to learn and grow, perform better, and be more productive. Therefore, stress has a positive rather than negative effect on their health and vitality, and they thrive on it.

The impact of stress in your life depends upon your perception. The choice is up to you. You can see stress as debilitating or use it as a motivator to work at a high-performance level. Changing your mindset and practicing other stress-reducing activities will help keep the effects of stress from becoming debilitating.

Contact me today for more information on how to cope with debilitating stress.