As much as it’s cool to have exposed brick, a foosball table, catered meals, and lattes at 3pm, those won’t ensure your company has engaged employees who will do passionate work. Culture is much deeper. It’s a feeling and an instinct that can’t be forced or faked. And it requires daily upkeep from everyone.
Here are seven considerations to make your company a great place to work;
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of authentic respect and trust.
Then watch what happens.
__________________________________________________________________
Showing posts with label together. Show all posts
Showing posts with label together. Show all posts
March 3, 2020
January 29, 2018
Collaborative Culture
As much as it’s funky to have exposed brick, a foosball table in the lunch room, and lattes at 3pm, those won’t ensure your company has engaged employees who will do passionate work. Culture is much deeper. It’s a feeling and an instinct that can’t be forced or faked. And it takes work to upkeep. Every day. From everyone.
Here are seven areas to consider in making your company a great place to work.
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or work on your foosball skills
__________________________________________________________________
Here are seven areas to consider in making your company a great place to work.
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or work on your foosball skills
__________________________________________________________________
December 14, 2017
Calendars and Reflections
I'm not sure about you, but I get reflective this time of year. I know we can make plans in April and course correct ideas in August, but it's the end of a year and it's as good a time as any to take stalk and get clear. 2017 was a year for confusing elections, technological advances, straight talk about harrassment, and all the events in each of our lives.
As we look back on the year that has almost passed, let’s reflect on the most important element of our lives – our relationships with each other. Money comes and goes; jobs and homes change, but nothing can replace the important people in our lives, love, home, and family. For me, this was a year of challenges, successes, strong career work, and spending time with people I love.
Cheers to you and yours!
__________________________________________________________________
As we look back on the year that has almost passed, let’s reflect on the most important element of our lives – our relationships with each other. Money comes and goes; jobs and homes change, but nothing can replace the important people in our lives, love, home, and family. For me, this was a year of challenges, successes, strong career work, and spending time with people I love.
Cheers to you and yours!
__________________________________________________________________
December 13, 2016
Great Culture in Seven Steps
As much as it’s funky to have exposed brick, a foosball table in the lunch room, and lattes at 3pm, those won’t ensure your company has engaged employees who will do passionate work. Culture is much deeper. It’s a feeling and an instinct that can’t be forced or faked. And it takes work to upkeep. Every day. From everyone.
Here are seven areas to consider to make your company a great place to work.
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or you could order the latte machine and hope for the best.
__________________________________________________________________
Here are seven areas to consider to make your company a great place to work.
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or you could order the latte machine and hope for the best.
__________________________________________________________________
September 22, 2015
Keeping Healthy Relationships
The stats are grim; more than half of our relationships don’t work out. Is it because the reason we started them isn’t solid? Could it be because they don’t meet our expectations or we fail to meet those of others? Yes. Maybe. No. Who knows.
We change constantly over our lifetime. Our goals shift and our desires alter. My theory on relationships – at work or at home, with lovers and friends – is it requires two willing participants to keep it going and remain healthy. We all mess up but with kindness, openness, and trust, we can get through a lot together.
Silos and Departments
You can see it when team members disengage. It is at that intersection where the work is required to repair and save a relationship. Resentment and scorecards can damage companies and personal relationships faster than losing a big contract or letting a customer down.
It’s the work we do in our relationships that creates great stuff. When the proverbial chips are down is when we find out what we’re made of and how strong we are together. It’s easy to get along when the sun is shining. We grow most during stormy weather. It's been said a thousand ways but experiences make us better. And those experiences aren't always rosy and fun.
Being Right. Being Kind.
Humility is tough to hold on to when we’re upset or stressed. When we hurt those closest to us, it hurts us too. I’m no Pollyanna but we need to do all we can to repair our mistakes and save the connection with a wonderful person in our lives, or gather our teams to solve a business issue.
The release we may get from storming out of the room or throwing our phone over a silly argument will subside before we get to our car. Getting quiet and figuring out why a relationship is in our lives is the key to resolving most – if not all – of our conflicts.
Our most valuable resources are our time and each other.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!
We change constantly over our lifetime. Our goals shift and our desires alter. My theory on relationships – at work or at home, with lovers and friends – is it requires two willing participants to keep it going and remain healthy. We all mess up but with kindness, openness, and trust, we can get through a lot together.
Silos and Departments
You can see it when team members disengage. It is at that intersection where the work is required to repair and save a relationship. Resentment and scorecards can damage companies and personal relationships faster than losing a big contract or letting a customer down.
It’s the work we do in our relationships that creates great stuff. When the proverbial chips are down is when we find out what we’re made of and how strong we are together. It’s easy to get along when the sun is shining. We grow most during stormy weather. It's been said a thousand ways but experiences make us better. And those experiences aren't always rosy and fun.
Being Right. Being Kind.
Humility is tough to hold on to when we’re upset or stressed. When we hurt those closest to us, it hurts us too. I’m no Pollyanna but we need to do all we can to repair our mistakes and save the connection with a wonderful person in our lives, or gather our teams to solve a business issue.
The release we may get from storming out of the room or throwing our phone over a silly argument will subside before we get to our car. Getting quiet and figuring out why a relationship is in our lives is the key to resolving most – if not all – of our conflicts.
Our most valuable resources are our time and each other.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!
September 7, 2015
Relationships Take Work not Labor
It’s Labor Day in North America, the day when most people take the day to breathe before the busy fall hits and kids go back to school and the stuff we pushed away all summer become realities again.
As we reflect on the summer that has almost passed and the upcoming fall, let’s reflect on the most important element of our lives – our relationships with each other. Money comes and goes. Jobs and homes change. But nothing can replace the important people in our lives in love, home, family, and work.
Cheers!
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!
As we reflect on the summer that has almost passed and the upcoming fall, let’s reflect on the most important element of our lives – our relationships with each other. Money comes and goes. Jobs and homes change. But nothing can replace the important people in our lives in love, home, family, and work.
Cheers!
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!
January 28, 2015
Accepted Behavior
Glen is late again for the weekly sales meeting. It’s the third week in a row. He says there’s a lot going on in the morning with day care and school buses and making lunches for the kids and traffic. So the sales manager surveys the team and discovers four other members are dealing with similar issues. She carefully asks the entire team – so to not hinder those who don’t have kids – whether it would help if the meeting was moved to 8:30. Everyone agrees.
8:42 Tuesday morning – four weeks later
Glen is late for the third time. What would you do as sales manager? Most fall into two categories – yell at Glen or ignore it and hope it goes away. Neither is wise. People have kids, families, life outside of work as they should, but the sales meeting is 8:30 Tuesday mornings – moved because Glen couldn't make it for the original 8am time – and if everyone else can make it, so can Glen. There will always be exceptions, but the sales manager and Glen should deal with it and not inconvenience the team again. Or Glen may need to have his future freed up to find somewhere else to meet.
I was speaking with a colleague this week about deadlines. She says a member of her team is habitually late on projects. I asked for clarification whether it was every deadline and she said yes. Every time her colleague is given a target, she misses it.
Several Options
First, you could fire her, which is a bit rash. Second, you could create fake deadlines that are ahead of the real ones so the rest of the team isn't negatively affected by the person who is always late, which is a bit ridiculous. Third, talk to her and tell her if she is late again, refer to the first option. Or fourth, dig deeper on why she’s late – what is the deep rooted reason for this behavior?
It’s easy to say she doesn't respect the fact she’s holding everyone up by being late, but there could very well be a deeper issue here. One thought, she may have never been reprimanded for missing deadlines so her motivation isn't there. It's hard to believe she simply doesn't respect the rest of the team but that can't be ruled out either. Or she may think deadlines are for others and not her.
Two Perpetrators
The person missing the deadline and the person who accepts the behavior own this situation. We don't have difficult conversations because they are difficult but while avoiding a firm chat with one member of the team, the rest will know you’re avoiding the issue and may decide to miss a deadline or two themselves since it doesn't seem to be important. That would be a shame and create a much bigger issue.
Years ago I had to finally let a team member go after he was late seven times. He showed up on that last occasion with a fresh take-out coffee which was a nice touch.
The behavior we accept is often what we continue to receive.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Progress
pretzellogic
December 25, 2014
Happy Christmas
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann
Pogues | Kirsty MacColl
Kneale Mann
Pogues | Kirsty MacColl
November 29, 2014
Seven Ideas for Great Company Culture
Here are seven areas to consider to make your company a great place to work.
Give
No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define
What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value
What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open
Not all decisions can be made by committee, in fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch
Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead
From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together
Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or you could order the latte machine and hope for the best.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
deviantart
December 19, 2013
Thanking Your Team
While everyone is egg nogging and fruit caking, take a moment today and thank your team. They actually are your biggest asset and appreciating they show up every day and give their best is what sets your company apart.
Two simple words go a long way – thank-you.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.
istock
April 19, 2013
The Media of Our Culture
The news this week is filled with updates on the Boston bombings, explosion in Texas, and the killing of police officer Sean Collier at MIT. It’s been a horrible week. We live in a time when a person can film an event on their mobile device, send to local authorities, and within a week suspects are found. That’s amazing. But that same technology gives us the ability to share or send misinformation.
The Human Network
As updates fly at incalculable speed, I guess it’s not surprising to see global news agencies getting it wrong in their quest to stay ahead of the Twitterverse.
Let's always remember Krystle Campbell, Martin Richard, Lingzi Lu, Sean Collier, and the hundreds affected by the explosion in Texas. As well, thank-you to the law enforcement, medical community, and local heroes.
Hug your kids, call a friend, say thank-you, help a colleague, keep perspective, and stay strong.
Kneale Mann
James Wilkinson
December 25, 2012
A Day to Celebrate
Generous estimates put the number of people who celebrate Christmas at about a third of the world’s population. Some extend their celebrations to boxes of chocolate and elaborate meals, brightly wrapped gifts and a cup of good cheer. While others pay respects in a more religious way. And of course, many do a mix of both.
If you celebrate, please make it a safe and fun one!
Kneale Mann
Pearl Jam
If you celebrate, please make it a safe and fun one!
Kneale Mann
Pearl Jam
April 4, 2012
44 Years Later - His Dream is Alive
April 4, 1968
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was just 39 years old when his life was ended in Memphis. His inspiration continues more than four decades after his tragic passing. Dr. King's words remind us that we can do it, we can put forth change, and we can have a dream.
• A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
• A right delayed is a right denied.
• At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
• Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. We must straighten our backs and work for our freedom.
• Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
• I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
• Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.
• You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
• Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
• Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
• Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
Kneale Mann
image: mlk memorial
