Book Buzz on Mental Health in the Workplace - "Wellbeing at Work"

We get it. You do not have time to read all the books you need to. That is why we are here to break this important one down in the area of "mental health at work." 

Picture this scenario: I take 10 of your employees to lunch without you there (where they felt safe to respond honestly) and ask them this question: “On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your wellbeing at work?”

What do you think they would say? 

In a Gallup poll in 2022:

• Only 33% of Americans said they were thriving in their wellbeing

• 41% said they experienced sadness every day

• 50% said they experienced daily stress

• Only 20% of employees like what they do everyday

If I were a betting person, I would bet that for the next 5 years, the largest topic related to your employees will be this – Employee Wellbeing. Your employees can only be productive when they have wellbeing. Since people spend so many hours a day at their job, what they do at your company has a profound impact on their personal wellbeing. As CEOs, we really are not trained or equipped to handle that type of responsibility. 

“Wellbeing at Work'' helps you learn more about this as an owner, manager, or any type of leader. It helps you understand the things that you can do to make people have better wellbeing as it relates to their work day. It also helps you understand the factors to someone’s wellbeing that you have NO control over.

Wellbeing has several key elements:

• Career wellbeing

• Social wellbeing

• Financial wellbeing

• Physical wellbeing

• Community wellbeing 

Some of my favorite takeaways from the book in the career wellbeing section are:

- This book encourages you to learn how to have “wellbeing” conversations between employees and their managers. It doesn’t spell out exactly what these should look like but they might involve asking the employee if they love what they do every day and talk about career development as well as how they are doing in their personal life.  

- It also talks about making your managers move from bosses to coaches. This is a trend we are seeing with our clients as well. The reason for quitting or staying is really how great their manager is at coaching them.  

- Other items to help with career wellbeing that are discussed:

• Setting clear goals with your people

• Providing adequate resources

• Lead goal setting sessions

• Set clear expectations

The one thing I don’t like about this book:

- The back half of the book is really a regurgitation of Strengths Finder profiles. I do love Strengths Finder, but I do not believe it was necessary to print it again at the back half of this book.

Overall, I recommend the first half of the book for CEOs and owners who are struggling with retention, hiring, or truly wanting to know how to make their workplaces great places to work for their people.

I’m convinced that if a CEO spent just 2 hours a month on the strategy and execution of employee “health”, that organization would have a better workplace and many less HR issues on the back end!

Please forward this to someone you know who would benefit from it. Thank you!

Resources: "Wellbeing at Work" by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter

Sales Pitch of the Day:

The HR Audit is a tool designed for small businesses in any industry to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their HR function. We evaluate the 14 areas of HR from compliance to retention. We develop an HR strategy to make your employees proud of where they work. Watch the video to the right for more information or visit our HR Audit Page on our website.

Looking for a good business book?

Need a recommendation for your next great read?  Cindi Filer, CEO of Innovative Outsourcing, offers her thoughts on what she and her staff have been reading lately.  She calls this her "Book Buzz," and she would like to offer you this reference of what's on the IO shelf right now.  Click on any book shown below to read the review and learn how this book may benefit your business.  Then please provide your comments in the section below so we can get the conversation started!

A Billionaire wants to mentor YOU!

Imagine this! You just received an invitation to meet weekly for coffee with one of the 100 wealthiest people in the world, a billionaire investor and philanthropist. He is taking a special interest in you, and he wants you to fully grasp all the important things he has learned in his 68 years of life and work.  He will mentor you by tracing his footsteps and missteps, his successes and his failures.  When your mentoring sessions are completed, you will be equipped to carry that spark as a blazing torch, enlightening your personal life and your business.

While it may not be an actual “talk-over-coffee,” Ray Dalio’s #1 New York Times bestseller Principles: Life & Work is the ONE must-read book this year, both for your business and your personal growth. Even if you are not a “book” person, there is just too much great stuff here to let this one slip by another day.

RAY DALIO is the founder and co-chairman of the best performing hedge fund in the world.  He’s made the list of the most influential people in the world by Time and Bloomberg Markets. Even if you have not a stiff of interest in hedge funds or investing, the stories he tells and the life principles he shares will keep you hanging on his every word.   

There are two overarching themes that ooze through the richness of Dalio’s wisdom.  

• Principles are ways of successfully dealing with reality to get what you want out of work and life, so identify and use your principles as a measuring stick for all you do.
• In applying these principles, be radically open-minded and radically transparent.  This will assure that you learn quickly, and that you don’t get hung up on what things “should” be like, but what is reality.

It is impossible to highlight the favorite parts of this book, but from a staffing perspective, let me jump right to Part III where Dalio hits the very heart of building a business based upon solid work principles.  Because there is just so much rich information, Dalio does us a tremendous service, and begins this section with a summary and table of these principles, indexed to the pages where each topic is covered in more depth.  He begins by saying, “An organization is a machine consisting of two major parts:  culture and people.” Then he proceeds to itemize how to get the culture right, and how to get the people right.  These are not pie-in-the-sky ideas, but instead he outlines specific steps.  For example, to support his principle that you need to create a culture in which it is okay to make mistakes, but unacceptable not to learn from them, Dalio provides five specific steps any business leader can follow to assure this happens. 

After learning how to get the culture right, my favorite section explains how to get the people right:

• Remember that the WHO is more important than the WHAT
• Hire RIGHT, because the penalties for hiring wrong are huge (then he adds eight steps to assure you succeed in this)
• Constantly train, test, evaluate, and sort people (and he gives you very specific strategies to accomplish this)

As a reader and a business leader, you are challenged to manage your business like someone operating a machine to achieve a goal. Just as a machine operator knows the components that produce the product, “…know what your people are like and what makes them tick, because your people are your most important resource.”

Ray Dalio admits that he is no different from you. "Whatever success I’ve had in life hasn’t been because of anything unique about me—it’s because of principles that I believe anyone can adopt."

So grab a cup of coffee, open the book, either hardcopy or audio, and enjoy a few moments each week as Ray Dalio fills you with the inspiration and wisdom that may make you think differently about your life and work.  Oh, and Part III of Dalio’s book — that’s our sweet spot, so Innovative Outsourcing would be honored to come along side you to put these principles in motion as you build your team at your company.

Listen to Ray Dalio’s Ted Talk 
Watch the Animated Series (30 minutes divided into 8 short episodes) 
Book Summary Outline 

Book Buzz: Killing Marketing

You’ve grown a successful business based upon sound marketing principles. So what if you came to realize that all you know about marketing could actually be holding you back? Marketing is on the brink of change, and those businesses that can successfully pivot their marketing strategy now will reap the rewards, as those businesses less progressive scramble to play catch-up.

Killing Marketing, by Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose, provides a new and shocking perspective that could change how you market your business. Through the insights of these authors, you may consider how actually “killing marketing” as we know it could be the start of a whole new way you grow your business. These two authors are the world’s top marketing experts of our age, and they begin this book with an alarming realization. Over the past two decades, we have seen a dramatic shift in both B2B and B2C buying and brand loyalty, yet the way we market has remained the same. 

Using the traditional marketing strategy, we grow our business by climbing to the top of a mountain and screaming, “Look what I have. Here is why you want to buy it.” By seasoning this message with thoughtful features and benefits, we hope to bait anyone who will listen into becoming a customer. According to Pulizzi and Rose, this is old-school, and if we continue to market this way, the world is going to move on and leave us screaming from our mountain top while no one is listening.

To beam our marketing strategy into the 21st century, the authors begin by asking three questions:

• What if what we’ve been taught or experienced in marketing doesn’t show us the full picture?
• What if we’ve limited our view of marketing to one area (what we know), and that is not allowing us to see the full potential of what can be accomplished (what we do not know yet)?
• What if placing marketing solely in the marketing department is killing the approach of marketing as a strategic business process?

When you consider marketing, what comes to mind? Advertising, product brochures, sales support material? According to Pulizzi and Rose, marketing focused solely around the product or service that your business provides is what needs to be “killed.”

Through a series of very progressive examples, we read stories of how companies of all sizes are using this new strategy.  Whether it is a small business with expertise in raising chickens or a large, well established business like Red Bull or Lego, there is a clear benefit of growing an audience by offering great content.  Build an audience, and then get to know them long before you ever consider introducing a product or service. Once you really know the heartbeat of your audience, then sales will follow by a natural extension of meeting the need. 

How does this apply to my business?
So what could your business benefit from the radical marketing ideas this book presents? First of all, if you are in a small- to medium-sized business, chances are good that you ARE the marketing department. The good news here is that you have the flexibility to give this a try. With all the digital marketing tools available, it has never been more cost-effective for you to reach your target audience. Imagine potential customers flocking to your weekly blog because the content is so compelling and valuable to them that they would even pay to receive your information. Next, consider an in-person event where you are a featured expert, providing your potential customers with industry expertise that only you can succinctly and conveniently provide. Once you have this relationship with your potential customers, selling a product or service is simply a natural extension of your established customer outreach. This is how the authors propose we begin “killing marketing.”

Where do I start?
Moving forward, it’s going to be all about FIRST getting the ear of a consistent and growing audience using content that draws them into a relationship with your company. Once you have consistent two-way interaction, through digital media and in-person events, then the sales from well-positioned products and services that address the needs of a customer base you already know and who knows you will follow naturally. Over the past two decades, Pulizzi has successfully counseled businesses through this process. Begin by identifying what information you have that is of great value to your potential customers. Next, create a consistent and measurable strategy to communicate that to your target audience. Make sure that the communication is two-way, and includes both digital and in-person components. But don’t focus it on your product. Focus on your expertise and the unique way you can provide information to your audience.  

Create, Communicate, and Deliver Value to a Target Market at a Profit
As defined by the famous marketing professor Philip Kotler, this pure definition of marketing still rings true. Pulizzi and Rose are not suggesting that the principle of marketing changes. Instead of making the product or service king, the marketing of the 21st century must focus on curating the audience from which product or service sales will naturally follow. Pulizzi and Rose finish by showing how this strategy can even turn marketing into a profit center for your business.

Download a free preview of Killing Marketing.

Are you thinking of “Killing Marketing,” but you don’t feel like you have the right staff to make this happen? Innovative Outsourcing can help. Contact Kelli Kochs to get the conversation started, 404-271-1592 kkochs@innovative-outsourcing.com

Thumbs Up! 

I absolutely recommend this book for you and your marketing team.

How Long? 

Allow about 5 to 6 hours to read this book. Because much of the book includes stories of great marketing examples, make the most of your commute time by listening to the Audible version.

Read This Book! 

These inspiring stories may be the catalyst that opens your mind to new opportunities using this progressive approach to marketing.

Book Buzz: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

What if you took a “crazy idea” and made it one of the most successful brands the world has ever known? What if you had no idea how to do something but surrounded yourself with the right people to reach that dream? This is what Phil Knight did as he took a love for running shoes and created one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

In his autobiography Shoe Dog, Nike founder Phil Knight weaves an inspiring tale of what began as a “crazy idea” for a class at Stanford and developed into a worldwide apparel bonanza. This compelling story of a young man with a passion to change the status quo and do what he loves is simply inspiring. In this book, Knight weaves his journey of how he turned a $50 loan from his father into a company with annual sales topping $30 billion. The reader is inspired to learn how Knight achieved the improbable, building a wildly successful company from scratch out of his parents’ garage in Portland, Oregon.

The three essential themes Knight outlines in this book can serve as guideposts and inspiration to all types of business leaders:

• Begin with a passion-filled idea
• Build the right team
• Fuel success with grit

A Passion-filled Idea:
Knight had a simple company mission: Import high-quality, low-cost running shoes and sell to runners in the global marketplace. Phil Knight ran track for the University of Oregon, and running had always been his passion. This “crazy idea” was a perfect combination of business and his passion. It was what got him going in the morning. Ask yourself, “What do I have a passion for, and how can I apply that to my business every day?” 

The Right Team: 
To put legs under a passion-filled idea, Knight surrounded himself with a team of talent. He relied upon many decisions made by his partner and track coach Bill Bowerman, and also a compilation of marketing misfits who became united with a purpose of birthing the swoosh as an icon. Putting the right people in the right places was an ongoing challenge. Knight describes how he made hard personnel changes when a team member’s skills could be better utilized in another position, even if reluctant relocation was required. (This sounds like something to which we all can relate!) Change is often met with resistance, and it is certainly not the easy path, but having key talent in the right roles keeps your business firing on all cylinders. 

Grit: 
Possibly the most admirable attribute about Phil Knight has always been his drive to see quality shoes on the feet of worldwide athletes. For example, in the first five years of business, he visited manufacturing facilities in Japan nine times to make sure the shoes were being made properly and that his relationships with companies over there were solid. Setbacks were a common thread in his story, as his tale includes multiple lawsuits, bankers that suddenly refused support of his little shoe company, and doubters who questioned the potential of his ideas and innovation. The roller coaster of risks and rewards was also peppered with stories of narrow escapes, yet through it all, his passionate vision and talented team fueled his success. As a business leader, there will always be people who doubt your ideas, your innovation, and your passion. However, with grit and teamwork like Knight’s, you can envision your long-term success and keep pressing toward the goal.

So what is this book’s takeaway for your business? Consider these questions:

• Am I fulfilling a business need rooted in my passion?  If I’m not, how can I incorporate my passion in my work?
• Have I made the tough decisions I need to ensure that I have the RIGHT people on my team?  Is there someone that I have tried to train, but is still a drain on my business?  Am I making the hard decisions to get the RIGHT people in the RIGHT positions?
• How do I perform when the times get challenging? Do I find comfort in the easy path, or do I push through toward the goal? Am I a leader with GRIT, and do I foster an environment where gritty leaders thrive?

Are you considering the possibilities, but don't know where to start?  Please call me for coffee, and together we will set a few next steps.  No charge – and the coffee is on me! When it comes to the teamwork piece, that is our expertise at Innovative Outsourcing, and I'd be happy to steer you in the right direction.

Thumbs Up! 

I absolutely recommend this book for your and your managers. It is an easy read that tells a captivating story about guy with a dream. His memoir is humble, intriguing, and surprisingly funny. 

How Long? 

Allow about 10 hours to read this book. Because this is easy and inspirational, make the most of your commute time by listening to the Audible version.

Read This Book! 

After reading this book, you will be motivated to grow your business through passion, great teams, and grit.

Book Buzz: Dare to Serve

What would happen if we fundamentally changed our leadership style? What would happen to our companies if we chose to serve those we lead? These are the premises of Cheryl Bachelder’s Dare to Serve. 

As the CEO, Cheryl was instrumental in turning around Popeyes over just 7 years, with restaurant sales up 25%, profits up 40%, and market share up 7%. What was the key to this success? It was the direct result of making a conscious decision to lead in a new way. Do we want different results than we had last year? In my experience, Cheryl’s experiment here is real, and if we choose to lead this way, we will see tangible bottom line results.

I know that you are thinking, “Of course Cindi feels this way, because she is an HR person.”  But honestly, this applies to you, too. I'm suggesting that you may want to take some time during this holiday season, when it just seems right to turn our focus to relationships, and read this book. I believe it will be worth your time.

The premise is simple:

• Decide to think positively about the people you lead
• Decide to be a leader who serves others over self-interest

The book is full of very practical ideas you can apply in your business right now such as this one interesting take-away.

Dare to Serve leaders create work environments that bring out the best in their people.  Cheryl says if you have an underperforming team, the easy approach is to say, “I need new people.” As a staffing person, I hear this all the time. So these leaders fire the people they have now, then take the time and incur the expense to hire replacements, only to have this new crop disappoint them as well. Cheryl contends that the work environment can inspire boldness, innovation, and excellence, or it can strangle the capability and productivity of the team. It is the work of the leader to create this environment. Popeyes created half-day retreats once a year to produce teamwork. The retreat exercises focused on using the workers' strengths to help solve business problems. Employees were empowered to think outside the box in role play scenarios where the leaders could be the "students." This was a great opportunity to for leaders to identify their employees' strongest skills. In the end, everyone emerged from this retreat ready to make changes in job requirements based on these newly discovered strengths. 

I’m so sure that this is a problem in our companies that I will make this bold statement: 

I think if we CEOs could embrace this servant leadership model, then 80% of the problems with our teams would be fixed. 

I love this quote from Cheryl  - “Your leadership actions will change lives for the better, leave them unchanged, or regrettably, leave them worse off.  Which will it be? You have some important decisions to make.”

• In 2017, will I humbly serve others over my own self-interest?
• In 2017, will I help others find meaning and purpose at work?
• In 2017, will I teach others the guiding principles of serving others well?

Or in 2017, will you continue to grumble and complain about your employees never measuring up to your expectations?

After reading this book, you may consider the possibilities, but not know where to start.  Please call me for coffee, and together we will set a few next steps.  No charge – and the coffee is on me! This is important, not only to your bottom line, but for how you are impacting the people’s lives that you have been given the opportunity and responsibility to lead.

Thumbs Up! 

I recommend this book for you and the managers on your team. 

How Long? 

It's an easy read, requiring 6 to 8 hours.

Read This Book! 

After reading this book, you will be empowered to begin the steps to create a work environment that brings out the best in those you are leading

Book Buzz - 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time

Do you have a work/life balance issue?  Does your spouse often remind you that you are present but not “present?" Is it challenging to get ahead of your email inbox so that you can really be productive. How are your outside-of-work relationships?

These days, it seems like work consumes us.  Our phones and laptops have allowed us to be “on” right up until we go to sleep and at the first minute we wake up.  In this new electronic world, perhaps we need to learn how to make good boundaries between where work ends and life begins.

5 Gears, by Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram, offers practical solutions to help you find these boundaries. While I’ve read many books with this focus, this one just seems to work. As you might know, I started my business 22 years ago with small kids in tow. I had to have boundaries so that I could be a mom, working only 5 hours a week at the beginning, and until last year (when our last left for college), I never worked more than 25 hours a week. Not everyone can do this, and I know I was blessed to be able to make this happen. But needing to run a company with sometimes up to 75 employees in 25 hours a week, I needed to learn boundaries. The wisdom from this book would have certainly been welcomed.

5 Gears breaks our life into gears, or the parts of our daily lives between which we are constantly switching.

• 1st gear - Recharge Mode - Personal recharge, completely unplugged
• 2nd gear - Connect Mode - Being present with family and friends without work
• 3rd gear - Social Mode - Present with people and can shift up or down easily
• 4th gear - Task Mode - Multitasking, working hard in various ways
• 5th gear - Focus Mode  - Task-centered, fully-focused, and moving quickly
• Reverse - Responsive Mode - Backing up or apologizing when necessary

One of my favorite chapters provides tips on how to shift from work to home successfully.  The authors give a couple of examples, and then conclude with an important point: It must be intentional, and it must be practiced in order to do it well. 

Another great chapter covers being intentional with leadership versus being accidental:

• Hope that their kids grow up to be responsible.
• Hope that they will have income to retire on.
• Hope that their business takes off one day.
• Hope that the new employee that they hire is a rock-star.

If we are intentional with these things, we plan and act with a purpose.  Then this book gives you a plan to make it happen.

Thumbs Up!
I recommend this book for you and your team to become healthy in all areas of your life. 

How Long?
It’s an easy read that can be done in around 8 hours - and would be good to do with you team - or with your spouse.

Read This Book!
After reading this book, you will have a new understanding of what gear each life circumstance demands, and you will be better equipped to switch between gears as necessary.  In the end, the goal is that your life will start feeling a little more under control to you and to those around you. 

Book Buzz - 5 Voices: How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead

My team and I hire and place people at companies in the Atlanta metro area. That is what we do every day.  Sometimes, they stay on our payroll, and sometimes they go directly onto our clients' payrolls.  But regardless of which type of hire, our staff and I get to hear from these placed employees about “how things are going."  We hear not only how they like their responsibilities, but how it “feels” to be on that client’s staff.  In so many cases, you would be surprised to hear what they say.  

After 22 years of consulting and placing employees at our clients, I am convinced that many of these companies have a COMMUNICATION issue between staff members.  Leaders are doing the best they can, but they don’t have the tools they need to know how to communicate effectively with their team.  And the team members don’ t have the tools they need to communicate with each other.  

Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram have written the book 5 Voices and created an assessment tool enabling us to better communicate with our teams. When we communicate better, we have more productive employees, which generally equates to improved profits. This book provides an essential tool to help move toward this goal.

It is important to understand how all teammates process information, make decisions, and understand the unique contributions each person makes to the team.  We rarely take the effort to consider this as we simply see it through the daily tasks at hand. Some people bother us, and we like others.  With some people, we find it harder to collaborate, and with others, it's easy. There are people who seem to always challenge our ideas, and others who seem to dream all the time.  Some like to focus on details, while others seem to lack this ability.  Yet do we take the time to evaluate this aspect of our team?  If we did, perhaps our companies would benefit.

How do we take a step to understand our team members better?  One easy step is outlined in this book.  The authors give us a free online assessment and the book explaining the results.  We all possess five voices.  One is foundational (with which we resonate most), and the other four follow in an order unique to the individual.  By knowing the order of your voices and that of your team members, you can plan more effective meetings, assemble work groups that contain all voices, and provide encouragement and correction in ways that lead to better results.

What are those voices?

• The Nurturer 
• The Creative
• The Guardian
• The Connector 
• The Pioneer

For each voice, we are presented with these qualities:

• A general description of each person who has the voice as their top foundational voice
• What they are thinking
• What they bring at their best
• What they are really asking
• What is the potential negative impact
• Insights if this is your foundational voice

I’m a Pioneer - My Discovery:
First identify your own foundational voice. It is hard to lead others and help them unless you truly know your own strengths and weaknesses.  Sometimes, we don’t look at ourselves with a critical eye.  When I was introduced to this, I found out my foundational voice was Pioneer.  I learned that this is the reason I am always coming up with new ideas and trying to “fix” everything.  I was faced with looking at the negative side of this voice which is that I tend to be critical of others' ideas very quickly and very vocally.  Once I was forced to look at this fact, I asked those around me if that was true.  It will always be my tendency as a Pioneer to critique (which is also a strength), but I now know myself better. I am trying to STOP myself before I critique unkindly or without deference to the other person.  There is nothing wrong with critiquing, but there is something wrong with being short or unkind when I do it.  I can be cognizant and attempt to change this tendency.  

Do you know what people on your team are saying about you?  This book might help.  Maybe we should take some time to find more about what people on the other side of us think about us so that we can grow in our influence and effectiveness.

I recommend this for your summer reading coupled with the free assessment to complete with your employees. Would you like for me to make a visit to discuss the findings with with you (or you and your whole staff)? I would love to show you how this tool can help your staff work together and respect each other, creating a more high-performing team.

Take the free online assessment here.  Then reply, and let's discuss the impact this could have on your business.

Book Buzz: The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

Your day starts like an empty pitcher into which you pour your time and talent.  At the end of the day, do you really feel like you have found that perfect blend for your business?  How does your day “taste?”

Do you feel like you spend too much time and money on your employees?

Do you feel like you spend a disproportionate amount of time handling employee issues, and this frustrates you?

• Most business owners feel the same way.  The statistics are alarming:
• 50% of CEOs say they spend too much time handling employee issues
• 65% of performance problems are the result of strained employee relationships
• 80% of employees say they will leave their company when the economy improves
• 42% of employees say that they will leave when they find another company with a better management structure
• The cost of losing and replacing an employee is up to 150% of the departing employee’s annual salary
• Because Innovative Outsourcing is committed to keeping you informed, I’m sending you this edition of Book Buzz to share three great takeaways from a book I found fascinating:

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business

By Patrick Lencioni

Mr. Lencioni makes a premise that there are two sides of an organization: the SMART side and the HEALTH side.  Imagine as you pour hours into your “business pitcher” each day, how much of each of these “sides” you pour into your company.

The SMART side of an organization revolves around the following:

• Strategy
• Marketing
• Finance
• Technology

CEOs spend almost 100% of their time focusing on these important business components.

The HEALTH side of the organization revolves around how employees relate to each other and to the organization.  CEOs often negate the importance of the HEALTH side:

• Minimal Politics
• Minimal Confusion
• High Morale
• High Productivity
• Low Turnover

The book purports that “being SMART is only half the equation.” Being HEALTHY organizationally isequally important to the overall blend of how emphasis should be placed.

Most companies focus on SMART organizational strength, putting their resources and money into improving these tangible business areas.  Lencioni believes that a business with good organization HEALTH will naturally get smarter, as the focus can shift away from company politics, low morale, employees working against each other, and replacement of key employees.  Lencioni’s advice helps you determine your company’s organizational health.  Through his compelling advice, you will understand why putting together a great leadership team is key, and you will gain tips to effectively create and communicate vision clarity.  I love how this author spends time explaining how to achieve alignment within a leadership team by removing any impediments to that alignment. Putting these tips into practice has helped my own business as well as some of my client’s organizational lead teams.

 

KNOW EACH OTHER
If your leadership team is going to work together effectively, you need to be transparent and really know each other.  How do you emphasize this? Share life stories and using personality testing.

PROMOTE GOOD CONFLICT 
Good conflict can be a benefit in the workplace, carving a path upon which great ideas can be debated and decisions can be made.  A lack of conflict or bad conflict results in a less productive workplace.  A strong leader needs to foster good conflict in meetings and seek to extinguish the root of bad workplace conflict, (evidenced by symptoms such as yelling, no sharing, hurt feelings, bad relationships, etc.)

GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE
To grow effectively, all the employees must achieve goal alignment directed through two very important questions: “Why do we exist?” and “How do we behave?”   Much work should be done on these questions, and consensus must be achieved to ensure that the leadership team and all employees are guiding the ship in the same direction.

So think about your day, and how you are pouring your time into your business.  Are you happy with the blend of SMART-time and HEALTH-time?  Start down the path to organizational health by reading this book.

I will call this book worthwhile for any CEO who has the VISION to improve his company and who has more than 5 employees.  It is more important for CEOs to read this book than HR people, because the CEOs create the culture.  If you don’t think culture and organizational health are critical in your company, then these next 5 years could be difficult for you.

This book will take 5 hours or longer to read, and I recommend it be read over several weeks.   Strategies need to be implemented over time.  This would be an excellent book for you to do as a group in staff meetings over 2 months.

I recommend you take notes as you read or highlight the book because you will want to do some exercises, and it will help to outline this as you go.

Remember that Innovative Outsourcing wants to be your staffing resource. Consider calling us for a free consultation. It would be our pleasure to have conversations with you about this information, or any staffing issues you may have.  We even can come in and do fact-finding “interviews” with your employees to see how “healthy” your organization is, and what needs to be addressed. Call on us for a fresh perspective. With over 20 years of HR experience, we love to help our clients with their employee issues. If you are interested in learning about our services at Innovative Outsourcing, please contact us at 404-906-9497, or email us at moc.gnicruostuo-evitavonni@syehs.