All Blog Posts - Library Page 18

When should CEOs weigh in on social issues?

The days of CEOs only being asked for comments on their company's status are gone. The combination of a 24/7 news cycle, social media, and the interconnectedness of global economies means that corporate leaders everywhere are not only impacted by social issues but also expected to weigh in with insights and opinions whenever a major (and often controversial) event occurs.Some leaders may wonder when it’s appropriate to speak on behalf of their entire organization or how to balance personal opinion with company values when crafting a statement. Other corporate leaders might wonder why they must comment, especially if what happened doesn’t directly affect their day-to-day operations.People will continue turning to CEOs for public statements amid national and international events, so creating a plan for when and how to comment is essential.The Public Wants Leaders to Speak OutCEOs and other corporate leaders used to lead relatively anonymous lives if they chose to. Social media and the ability to quickly research companies online changed that. Consumers and employees alike want to know that the brands they trust share their beliefs — and if they don’t, people want to know that, too. The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer showed:Today’s leaders understand the current expectations from employees and consumers, which is likely why 70% of CHROs said they’ll continue making public statements on social issues and significant events as they do now. The challenge that remains, though, is crafting a statement that achieves the right balance of personal, professional, and public opinion.Weighing the Pros and Cons of Public StatementsCEOs are accustomed to directing the course of their companies, but important decisions are often made after considering feedback from relevant stakeholders. Speaking out on social issues as the face of an organization requires leaders to think about stakeholders, too. Employees, advisors, investors, and current customers won’t all share the same views. Before making a statement, CEOs must weigh the risks and benefits of potentially alienating any key groups.Employees, in particular, are paying more attention to how leaders respond in times of social unrest. Adam Nash, CEO of Daffy, recently said in an interview with CEO.com, “I think it's a mistake for leaders to ever forget that a company’s value is sourced from the people. If you look at the spreadsheets and the numbers and the margins, et cetera, it’s easy to think that that's where the value gets created, but it’s actually the people and the team.”Millennials, who comprise the largest percentage of today’s workforce, favor CEOs engaging in politics; 51% of millennials even said they make job decisions based on social and political views. However, just as one leader doesn’t represent the thoughts of an entire organization, neither does one sector of the workforce, which is why leaders must rely on some criteria to determine the next best step. Using a predetermined framework can make assessing the pros and cons of making a public statement easier.Who Do CEOs Speak For?Although social issues are often complex, the strategy for deciding whether or not to comment doesn’t have to be. Leaders can’t expect to consider each stakeholder’s opinion, but they should assemble a team that can reliably speak for the most significant relevant audience. At a minimum, this team should include the CEO, CHRO, and head of communications, though an advisory board could also be consulted.A basic set of criteria can help each party think through similar points before deciding whether or not to comment publicly. These three questions offer a good starting point:The questions and criteria may evolve as your organization becomes more adept at evaluating and responding to social issues. Still, the main goal is to have a plan in the first place. Economic, international, and political issues will continue to generate unrest, opinions, and movements. Businesses must prepare to respond when the time is right.

How to steer your life into the right direction

Every week, we share an interesting long-form piece of content to contemplate.Today, we’re reading the essay, How to steer your life into the right direction by Marloes De Vries.De Vries talks about her experience of feeling burnt out and on the wrong path. When the latest psychology magazine she subscribes to landed on her doorstep recently, she came upon an article about Life Crafting. Life Crafting is a tool invented by Michaéla Schippers, a professor of Behaviour and Performance Management in the Netherlands. The purpose, in a nutshell, is to help people steer their life in a direction that aligns with their values. This is done by thinking about your life through writing and thinking exercises, and setting goals to align your time with what matters most to you. Here are the seven steps to Life Crafting:

For Leaders: Avature CEO Dimitri Boylan

Dimitri Boylan saw impressive success during the dot-com boom in the 90s. He had built the online job recruitment website, HotJobs.com, and sold it to Yahoo! for $433 million in 2002.   His next venture, talent acquisition company Avature, has taught him many things about effective leadership.In this episode, Dimitri shares key insights on:You can listen and watch the whole episode HERE.

Introducing a new management approach

A weekly roundup of the most interesting, useful and thought-provoking articles to help you be a better leader. This week we’re focusing on employee empowerment.Freedom and guardrails. This article introduces the concept of employee empowerment and how it can benefit your organization, while also covering its pitfalls.Our take: Employee empowerment is a management approach that balances giving your team enough freedom to take ownership of their jobs, while providing them with clear expectations, adequate training, and productive feedback.For example, it emphasizes a self-employed mentality. When you let your team know that they can affect business outcomes – that their role can influence the bottom line – they’ll be more invested in the business’s success. When you ask for input, they’ll be more likely to offer their expertise and best ideas, as they are motivated to contribute and know that their opinions count. Key takeaway: The employee empowerment approach can drive team members to do outstanding work, initiate new projects, and be a leader to their teammates, affecting the business’s bottom line in a positive way.______________Does it work? The authors of this article analyzed 105 studies on empowering employees to find out if it is helpful.Our take: There are some clear benefits to the employee empowerment approach. It produces creativity in team members and encourages “citizenship behavior” (e.g. voluntarily helping their colleagues, beyond what is expected of them).It also gives employees trust in their leaders: they’re more willing to put in extra effort without feeling like they’re being exploited. Conversely, if trust hasn’t been built, employees can perceive this approach as just a new way for management to give them extra work.Interestingly, how long an employee had been with their company affected how successful this approach was. There was a more positive influence on less experienced or newer employees than those who had been with the company for longer.Key takeaway: Employee empowerment can be beneficial if it's perceived positively by employees. You’re most likely to see results if it’s implemented after building good relationships with your team, based on trust. ______________What it looks like. This article lays out 10 examples of ways to empower your employees.Our take: Allowing individuals to have more autonomy in decision making can be highly effective. Although it seems risky, giving employees the authority to make decisions without consulting a manager gives them a valuable role – one they will less likely want to leave.Sometimes simply recognizing when an employee goes above and beyond can have a huge impact, especially when communicated to the whole team. This builds a culture of appreciation, which often leads to increased productivity.    In order to ensure employee empowerment is implemented effectively, provide training courses to managers. Teaching them how to empower their team will make any new initiatives better thought out and executed.Key takeaway: Unsurprisingly, what employee empowerment looks like should be different in each company. Having conversations about your specific workplace needs is essential, whether through formal management training or leadership meetings.  

Steve Jobs' leadership trick

A weekly roundup of the most interesting, useful and thought-provoking articles to help you be a better leader. This week we’re focusing on fostering creativity.A culture of creativity. Apple CEO Tim Cook talks about Steve Jobs’ leadership “trick.” Our take: Tim Cook admires the leadership tone Steve Jobs set for Apple, calling him a “a once-in-a-hundred-years kind of individual, an original by any stretch of the imagination.”One of the “tricks” Cook learned was Jobs’ expectation that all employees were held to the same high standard of creativity. It didn’t matter whether they worked in engineering, marketing or any other department, the expectation was the same.Jobs’ insistence on this created a culture of creativity that served him well during his reign and continues today. By continuing this leadership approach, Cook was able to “win over naysayers after he became CEO” – maintaining a creative culture allowed him to lean on innovation rather than the product expertise he didn’t have.    Key takeaway: When a leader is able to foster a culture of creativity, they can adapt through changing situations, even if they don’t have the exact expertise to draw on. ______________Churn Baby, Churn. Guy Kawasaki talks about his top 10 tips on how to cultivate innovation in business.Our take: Number eight in Kawasaki’s top 10 is called Churn Baby, Churn. This is a state of creativity where creators take their idea and churn it out into version one, then 1.1, 1.2, 2.0. There’s a kind of denial that’s helpful when others say that something (your product, idea, service or entire business) can’t be done, but you continue pushing anyway. Each new version requires new ideas to keep evolving, a bubble of imagination that propels your vision forward. Key takeaway: Creativity is one of the best ways to get past blocks, obstacles and win over those who don’t believe in you. Prioritizing it and protecting space for it allows you to keep churning out ideas. ______________Don’t fly solo. Hal Gregersen interviewed over a hundred innovators for Forbes and found patterns to how they behaved.  Our take: Gregersen found that these innovators were all doing four things: constantly asking provocative questions to challenge the status quo, observing the world like anthropologists, talking to people who are not like them, and being willing to try anything (and experiment, if needed).When CEOs have this approach, they can’t fly solo. Usually when an individual has this creative mindset, they’re not good at executing their vision. They need to build a team around them who can take their ideas and make them into reality.   Key takeaway: If you’re a highly creative leader, the above four strategies can be helpful to develop. But don’t forget to have people on your team who can translate your ideas into something tangible.  

Leaders' Library

Every week, we share an interesting long-form piece of content to contemplate.Today, we’re reading the book Agility.X: How Organizations Thrive in Unpredictable Times by Christiane Prange and Loizos Heracleous.There are helpful examples of companies that have implemented successful agility programs (e.g., NASA, Ford Motor Company, Siemens, Daimler, and J.W. Thompson), which will evoke ideas for your own company. The top takeaway, though, was what lies behind the strategies. The authors lead readers through a sort of sociological history of agile thinking in business, allowing for great reflection on how this type of thinking could be relevant to you. Learning how to incorporate agile thinking for both yourself and in the way you lead your company can be a transformative journey.