employees
Put Yourself in Your Customers’ Shoes
If your company is looking to innovate, don’t waste time analyzing market research reports and delving into customer data. What customers say they will do is not necessarily what they end up doing. Instead, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Observe them using products and watch for frustrations they may not even notice. Don’t delegate .. read more
Jul
Develop the 4 Qualities of an Inspirational Leader
Leaders need vision, energy, authority, and a natural strategic ability. But those things don’t necessarily help you inspire your employees to be their best and commit to you as a leader. Here are the four qualities you need to capture the hearts, minds, and spirits of your people: Humanness. Nobody wants to work with a perfect .. read more
Jul
Meet another member of our team – Aisling
Aisling Lambe Aisling joined the team at Avid Partners early 2011. Having qualified as an Accountant Technician in 2003, Aisling then furthered her studies at Griffith College and qualified as a Certified Accountant in 2007 having trained in a medium size practice in Naas. Aisling has over 9 years experience working in an accountancy practice. .. read more
Jul
Get Your Colleague’s Attention
To capture any audience’s attention, you must frame your message properly. Whether you’re making a presentation, composing an email, or talking with your boss, here’s how to convey your idea: Start with what you want – Busy colleagues don’t want to wait for the punch line. Provide the most important information up front. Explain the .. read more
Jul
3 Ways to Quietly Promote Change
A leader who pushes a change agenda too hard risks building resistance and resentment, or even alienating his people. Here are three ways you can challenge the prevailing wisdom and make change happen quietly: Model the change. Demonstrate the way you want things to change through your own language and behaviour. Often, seeing a leader do .. read more
3 Ways to Drive Real Change
Getting people to change their behaviour can feel like an impossible task. Even when the change is positive, it’s often difficult for people to embrace something new. Here are three ways to approach change to make it more palatable: Focus on joy, not fear. Fear may seem like a powerful motivator but it actually can make .. read more
Jul
Ask Your People for Growth Ideas
Growing your business is difficult in this economy, but absolutely essential to survival. Seek growth ideas from an often overlooked source of innovation — ask your people. Start by laying out a vision of where you want the organization to go. Then list the company’s assets, map its capabilities, and identify new trends in the .. read more
Jul
Create a Simple Strategic Principle
Helping employees understand a strategy while simultaneously motivating them to achieve it is a dire challenge for many leaders. Creating and sticking to a pithy, memorable, action-oriented phrase can help. When designed and executed well, a strategic principle gives employees clear direction while inspiring them to be flexible and take risks. A powerful strategic principle .. read more
Jun
3 Ways to Keep Good Employees in a Bad Economy
High performers are in high demand these days; all companies want to keep their best people while facing the intimidating task of recovery. Here are three ways to retain your competent and committed people no matter what the economy is doing: Create a thriving environment: High performers want to be in a high-performance culture. Give .. read more
Jun
3 Don’ts of Persuasion
In today’s business environment, it’s not enough to tell employees to do something. You need to also explain why they should. This is why people who’ve mastered the art of persuasion rise to the tops of the ranks. When trying to influence others, avoid three of the most common mistakes: The hard sell. Being .. read more
May
3 Classic Strategy Mistakes to Avoid
With the recovery under way, many companies are starting to feel less defensive and more strategic. As you gear up for what’s next, be careful to avoid these common strategy mistakes that have hindered many a company in good times and bad: Keeping underperforming businesses. Most companies have businesses that they should not be in. Put .. read more
Think Before You Reorganize
Managers love to reorganize, but few employees like being reorganized. Structural changes provoke anxiety and confusion. Before you decide to redraw the org chart, consider these two things: What problem are you trying to solve? Are you trying to focus more on customers? Do you want to reduce costs? Has structure become overly complex? There might .. read more
Communicate Your Company’s Values
Most corporate communication plans fail to convey something fundamental to a company’s operations: its values. This is a missed opportunity to influence and energize employees. Here are three ways to communicate values in a meaningful way: Establish values across the company, not just at the top. If everyone doesn’t feel ownership over them, the .. read more
Apr
3 Components for Preventing Crises
Not all disasters can be prevented. Companies often face unforeseen or unpredictable circumstances. However, leaders need to ensure that their organizations are equipped to stop most crises before they happen. Prevention requires three things: Pattern recognition. Encourage your people to share information and make connections so that you can recognize when a problem is forming. Broader .. read more
Apr
4 Things Your Employees Want from You
Figuring out what your people want can feel like an intricate puzzle, especially when different employees require different things. Here are four things most employees need to be successful: Role clarity: Tell your employees what their roles are, what you want them to achieve, and what the rules are for getting there. Autonomy: People want something interesting .. read more
Mar
Involve Frontline Employees in Creating Strategy
Even brilliant strategies fail if they aren’t executed well by frontline employees. Still, many leaders struggle to help their front line understand and buy into new ways of doing things. Next time you change your company’s direction, don’t relegate strategy creation to a handful of executives. Involve as many of your employees as possible, especially .. read more
Mar
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