Communication Archives

High Employee Expectations Drive Performance

Why is it important to communicate employee expectations? How does setting high expectations for employee performance help drive better results for your organization? Your expectations of your team affect how they perform: when you expect people to do well, they tend to follow suit. Conversely, when you expect people to fail, they probably will. Your employee expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy—how you see them is how they will see themselves. Here are three ways to show your team you have high expectations.

The Importance of Gratitude and Listening in Leadership

Why is it important to always show gratitude as a leader? How do listening and leadership go hand-in-hand? Leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith says that expressing gratitude and listening to others are two essential skills for managers to have. However, many managers tend to hold on to these two bad habits: 1) not saying thank you and 2) neglecting to listen to others. We’ll discuss both of these principles below.

Practice Exemplary Leadership—Encourage the Heart

What do Posner and Kouzes mean by “encourage the heart” in The Leadership Challenge? What can a leader do to “connect with the heart” of your team members? “Encourage the heart” is one of the core leadership principles in The Leadership Challenge by Barry Posner and James Kouzes. There are two guidelines for connecting with the heart of your subordinates 1) recognizing contributions, and 2) celebrating values and victories. We’ll take a look at each of these concepts below.

6 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills

Looking to improve your leadership skills? What steps can you take to become a better leader? Improving leadership skills can help you move up the corporate ladder, get a raise, gain the respect of your colleagues and employees, and more. In the process, you may even find that you’re not only improving as a leader, but as a person as well. Here are six ways to improve your leadership skills.

How to Create and Maintain a Healthy Sales Culture

What makes a good sales culture? What can you, as a sales leader, do to foster a healthy culture in your business’s sales department? A healthy sales culture is one in which salespeople feel respected, passionate, and happy in their roles. They communicate openly and respectfully with their manager and each other, and they’re willing to help out their colleagues in the pursuit of shared goals. In this article, we’ll take a look at some tips on how to create and maintain a healthy sales culture, according to sales expert Mike Weinberg.

6 Principles of a Healthy Startup Culture

How does a company culture develop in a startup? How do you ensure a healthy company culture in a new business? A startup company culture develops over time through consistent positive actions, not by installing foosball tables or espresso machines. Once established, company culture solidifies and becomes very difficult to change. Therefore, it is important to keep your eye on its evolution and intervene when necessary. Here are six principles to cultivating a healthy startup culture in which staff members do their best and enjoy their jobs.

Stop Giving Unsolicited Opinions to Your Colleagues

Why is giving unsolicited opinions to colleagues a bad habit you should break? How can you use observational feedback to improve your workplace demeanor? When you give your unsolicited opinions to your employees, you may be doing more harm than good. This type of feedback may lead to frustration, shame, and even outbursts. Here is why you should keep unsolicited opinions to yourself.

Service-Oriented Selling: To Sell Is to Serve

In what ways do selling and service go hand in hand? What are Daniel Pink’s two rules to the service-oriented selling approach? In his book To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink explores the connection between selling and service. He says that the two things you must do are make the sale personal, and make it purposeful. Keep reading to learn more about Pink’s service-oriented selling approach.

Feedforward Feedback: How to Request and Practice It

What is feedforward feedback? How does requesting feedforward feedback from your colleagues help you improve as a manager? “Feedforward” is the opposite of “feedback”—it is practical advice on what you can do to improve your behavior even further moving forward. Requesting feedforward from your colleagues can help you improve as a manager and foster a stronger relationship with your employees. Here’s how to request and practice feedforward feedback.

Performance Recognition: Make It Personal

Why is it important to recognize job performance? What is the best way to recognize employee performance? When you recognize the performance of your team members, they will strive to function at their highest level. For maximum impact, you should always personalize your recognition to each team member. Personalized performance recognition lets them know you’ve noticed them in particular for a specific accomplishment. Here are three ways to personalize employee performance.