by Brian Epstein | Articles
To be a successful leader who excels in your industry and cultivates the best employees, it’s important to look both to the past and to the future. The new year is to be a good time to think about, for example, time-management techniques. After all, don’t you want your business environment and employees to be as efficient and productive as possible?
Maybe you’re also thinking about refining your digital presence and sharing the wealth of wisdom you’ve accumulated as a corporation. Are you doing a SWOT review? Perhaps a thorough examination of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats can help you prepare going into the new year.
As a Business Coach that helps companies review their end-year results and look ahead, I have found this to be true. One of your most strategic initiatives is the people who make up your workforece. I believe that the success of your company comes directly from treating people well. Here are a few ways
Happy Employees = a Successful Leader
Happiness, rather than technology, is the key ingredient in a unique workplace experience, according to a global study of 7300 workplace employees in 12 countries; Workplace—Powered by Human Experience http://humanexperience.jll/global-report/
There are easy ways to instill loyalty and keep your employees happy. Send brief personal letters to employees thanking them for their particular achievements can be a great holiday gesture. It maybe even more important in the new year, when the festivities have wound down, and normal/abnormal business life returns. Humanity in the corporate world can pay great dividends, and definitely show a strong ROI.
Mentorship
Consider being a mentor when you can – sharing the gift of your years of experience to help someone just starting out. Take time to develop corporate mentorship programs. When done right, these programs can highly benefit employees, their managers and the bottom line.
The year-end is also often a great time to find and hire top talent. It’s equally a good time to think about creating and developing leadership training. Professional development is what leaders, management and other employees want. Investment in professional development is the kind of ‘gift’ that lasts year-round and beyond. A dedicated leadership program will help your business grow and create those happy employees.
Even the most successful leader, manager, company owner and CEO can also benefit from expert coaching. A seasoned, versatile outsider who understand your business and its people. They can help give you valuable perspective and input you that you may be too close to see.
As it’s the season of gift-giving, I have the perfect item for you: my free downloadable e-book, ‘The Top 5 Advantages of Hiring A Business Coach.’ Set up an appointment with me to help focus on and define the guidance you need to be the best leader of the best people. Think of it as a gift for the future.
Here’s to a great new year of success – for all of us!
by Brian Epstein | Articles
A car accident that I had recently, gave me the opportunity to observe how some parents model behaviour for their children. At the same time, it gave me better insight into the genuine concern and caring of people and how that may translate into business leadership. This accident gave me the opportunity to observe how a business leader in Canada, presents one public image, while in his private time, shows a lack of empathy and disregard for others. This leader has sold billions products and services to Canadian businesses and consumers. He is from one of the top managed companies in Canada,.
The Accident
I learned how a young man, who was coached by his father, behaved after this accident. I observed how this leader mentors others, how his moral compass and behaviour does not align with the public profile that he seeks to present. Through his son’s actions, This father and leader modeled inappropriate behaviour, lack of honesty or concern for others.
On June 5, 2017, I was in my car with my mother at a red light. It was 10:00pm and I waiting patiently, behind another car. Soon the light turned green. Without any reason the car ahead of me, backed up towards my car with my mother and I inside, rather than go forward as you should when a traffic light changes to green.
How it Relates to Business Leadership
Obviously, this small accident was not a pleasant experience. It could have been resolved quickly and amicably. However, the accident gave me the opportunity to observe the business leader’s behaviour. The emails that his son sent showed a disregard for others.
Leaders need to model good behaviour and actions. This is important for their children and their teams, whether it’s during business hours or during their private time. Failure to show concern for others during their private time, demonstrates a real lack of leadership skills. Leadership is not only carried out Monday to Friday, during company hours. Good leadership qualities can and should be modeled by leaders tin their private time, and not just during business hours.
To learn more about the behaviour that a leader models, contact me for a consultation.
by Brian Epstein | Articles
In a few days, there will be an election in the Province of Ontario. As Kathleen Wynne conceded over the weekend, that means there will soon be hundreds of Liberal political staffers, and a few MPPs, looking for work. That is part of the real aftermath of an election.
Now, if you’re not a fan of the Ontario Liberal government — and not a lot of people are right now — you’re probably not going to lose a lot of sleep if they’re voted out of office. If you’re a Liberal political staffer, you’ve probably already lost sleep — and you’re about to lose a lot more as you try to figure out what to do next. But, if you’re an employer, you should probably be excited because a lot of talented people are going to be available for hire soon.
That’s because political staffers come with a skill set that are valuable to companies and leaders. Unlike officials in the bureaucracy, political staffers don’t have job security. Rather, they serve a minister or premier and get fired when their party loses an election. After an election loss, these highly skilled people all hit the workforce at the same time creating a temporary smorgasbord of talent.
While private sector employers may not be aware of the qualities that political staffers bring, they are incredibly valuable. They include:
Work ethic:
When your job depends on the government being re-elected, you have a built-in incentive to work as hard as possible to help your party succeed at the polls. Political staffers are used to working long hours and being on call — and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.
Communications skills:
Politics is one of the biggest employers and incubators of communications talent. Again, when your job depends on persuading people, you get pretty good at crafting a message, managing issues and dealing with the media.
Analysis:
Every day, even very junior political staffers give advice or make decisions involving millions of taxpayer dollars. To do this properly, staff need to be able to analyze the risks and rewards of a project from all sides. As a result, people who have made a career in politics usually have excellent decision-making skills.
Flexibility and adaptability:
Consider all the government portfolios – education, health care, infrastructure, transportation, natural resources, environments Each of these has its own dedicated ministry. Most political staffers have worked for multiple ministries, meaning they can quickly adapt to new files, people and new projects.
Fearlessness:
Immediately, political staffers are thrown into morning briefing meetings with government ministers and senior leaders. This can include the premier or prime minster. Even the most junior staffer has a lot of experience dealing with big personalities and high-stakes meetings. Policy staff, in particular, are used to high-level meetings with companies, governments and other stakeholders.
Networks:
Though you might think it was more advantageous to hire staff from the current governing party, it is even smarter to hire staff from a party just out of power. In Ontario, where one party has been in charge for 15 years, staff turnover has meant that many former staffers now have key and senior positions in organizations all over Ontario. These people — thousands of them — are all connected through LinkedIn and Facebook. This massive and very loyal network can be helpful when you’re looking for a vendor or a contact or information about an issue — and they all have relationships with senior government bureaucrats.
In the next few weeks, when these talented people hit the market, some private sector employers will gloss over their resumes, thinking that they’re typical “government” workers. But that’s a mistake your competitors are going take advantage of. Bankers – take a good look at Finance ministry staff. Corporations and startups – kick the tires on some Economic Development staff. Run a clean-tech company? Environment staff. Universities? Education staff. And on and on it goes.
Originally published in the Financial Post.
Image: Financial Post
To find out more about how to choose the right people, contact me.
