A.G.I.L.E. Leadership: Success in a Post-Pandemic World

To succeed in a post-pandemic world, today’s professionals must be A.G.I.L.E. in their leadership. Beyond Limits Initiative Founder & Forbes Council Member, Juliet Ehimuan, describes this ‘responsive and adaptable’ leadership style as imperative for genuine camaraderie and cross-functionality to be entrenched in your organization. Join us as we review Juliet’s timely advice and provide some input of our own:

Approachable

Presenting yourself as easily and comfortably approachable in a work setting promotes inclusion and diversity and puts people at ease in their communication. Becoming approachable is not achieved simply by extending an open-door policy or by being friendly in the office. To be an approachable leader, you must first master the art of listening and meet them at their level. Let your colleagues know you are invested in what they have to say by asking lots of questions and not attempting to multitask in the process. Understand that whenever they vent to you, it does not mean they are awaiting a solution. Many leaders choose to remain closed off in their approach, but choosing to be accessible and attentive is fundamental in great leadership.

Grounded

With the chaos that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, people are looking to their leaders and management team to provide stability now more than ever. The demand of a true leader encompasses holding your ground through trying times (not just when it is easy). Has your recent decision-making been in alignment with your organizational goals and purpose? Staying balanced and realistic is critical to portraying both authentic and confident leadership. Through difficult times and high-stress situations, you can illustrate sound guidance by choosing to be proactive rather than reactive. 

While worry and tension are often imminent, holding tight to your vision and staying flexible to get there is imperative to maintaining strong leadership through uncertainty. Choosing to ‘trust your gut’ is often the intuitive route taken by today’s great leaders, but sometimes that intuition involves taking advice from a co-worker! Not every decision will be the right one, but staying accountable as a leader can quickly diffuse any consequences and setbacks that arise. 

Innovative

Successful leaders recognize the importance of “brave new thinking,” says Ehimuan, by “challenging existing norms and assumptions, finding more cost-effective ways of doing business and exploring alternative supply chain management models or new customer channels.” In short, seek new perspectives from your team and new ways to use your employee’s unique skill sets.

When you become a more collaborative unit, you are making a path for your team’s creativity to bolster innovations. While mistakes are still likely to occur, the miscalculations and risks you take will be more fruitful in your development. Exploring this insight will provide new inventive solutions to your company and enhance the individual’s personal growth. Without an innovative mindset and contributions from your team, your competitors will certainly pass you by. 

“Successful people do not think outside the box. Successful people just make a bigger box.” -CC Sales Pro.

Leverager

COVID-19 brought a new, emphasized meaning to the phrase “Do more with less.” Large corporations, small businesses, stores, and restaurants across the country all took on the challenges of downsizing and limiting their budget. Additionally, they needed to adjust to new safety protocols and travel restrictions. As a result, this spotlighted the innovative thinkers and the new ways to leverage technology resources to upkeep their brand. 

Leveraging your resources and relevant data requires thorough research and levelheadedness. With the support of your team, you must stay open to strategic consultation and quick to act. Being a ‘leverager’ is not to say ‘take advantage of your relationships with people,’ but to tap into the resourceful, authentic relationships of people you believe in. When you have laid the groundwork and have genuine connections within your industry, the relationships will leverage themselves. 

Furthermore, you should never attempt to leverage skills or assets you do not have, as the misrepresentation can dramatically impact your reputation. Instead, build awareness of your team’s skill-sets and the confidence they have in their respective crafts.  

Empathetic

The employees remain the backbone of any organization. Showing that you value their happiness will have a tremendous impact on your company’s overall productivity. Exhibiting empathy and compassion to your team will let them know they can trust you with the bad news as much as the good news. Creating this bond goes a long way in developing healthy relationships and unity. Over time, they will be more inclined to share new information with you because of your ethical approach. 

Remember that you are not the only one experiencing new challenges. Provide an outlet for their problems, and you will prevent employee burnout and limit stress takeover. In your nurturing maturation, you will develop an incorruptible loyalty that is supplemented with respect. To continue this growth, seek honest and open feedback from your colleagues and accept it with gratitude rather than disdain. 

Wrap Up

Staying A.G.I.L.E. in leadership is not exceedingly difficult to achieve but takes quite a bit of effort and intentionality. When you are approachable, you enable yourself to receive valuable criticism and developing trust. In addition to being an active listener, being an active learner keeps you open to new perspectives and shifts your work culture into a collaborative, unified group. Keeping yourself focused on these five leadership behaviors will produce a high-performing team despite any additional ‘curveballs’ that will be thrown your way.

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Recruitment Marketing: Get Top Talent To Your Active Listings

Nearly one year ago, Americans saw the unemployment rate hit a high of 15%. Today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we sit at 6.2% (~ 10 million Americans). While the unemployment rate continues to creep back towards its original 3.8%-3.9% baseline, there is still some progress left to be made. According to Monster’s Future of Work Report, bright times are ahead as 82% of U.S. employers reveal plans to hire in 2021.

However, with the influx of job seekers eager for a new opportunity, it is an arduous process filtering out the underqualified candidates and luring in the elite ones. From employer branding and paid advertising to candidate engagement, your recruitment marketing strategy plays an essential role in building your candidate pipeline with top talent. With the help of the team at Pragna Solutions, we reveal their four stages to a well-rounded recruitment marketing model:

1. Entice

The virtual aspect of the hiring process brings difficulties through candidate assessments and pre-interview screenings. Not to mention, the most qualified candidates may be carrying a different job while passively looking for the ‘right opportunity.’ When you do find that all-star candidate, chances are that other employers found them too, and they are weighing multiple offers. However, the right features can turn any passive candidate into an active one. 

In a recent survey from Monster, they uncovered the five job features candidates want out of their employers:

 – Flexible Work Schedules (38%)

 – Salary Protection (35%)

 – Health Policies & Protocols (30%)

 – Training staff to the new ways of working (29%)

 – Shifting to a more remote work environment (25%)

Showcase your company as a great company to work for by spotlighting your recent successes, awards/recognition and offering a taste of the company’s culture.

2. Engage

Outside of simply posting your job to your website or sharing it on Facebook or LinkedIn, there are other means to finding great candidates. Be sure to utilize the networking tools across social media to begin a direct conversation. Don’t wait on job-seekers to make the first move on an opportunity that may have never crossed their screen. Utilize features such as LinkedIn’s ‘Open to work’ tab or LinkedIn Groups to make personal connections. 

As conversations with qualified candidates progress, you will learn the specifics they are looking for in their next job and let them know they are attainable. The more candidates you converse with, the more you will uncover the employer persona you need to match. Through these intentional recruitment marketing efforts, the highly qualified candidates will start coming to you rather than the other way around.

3. Convert

When the candidate has expressed interest in your company, now it is time to make the final push. Stay gently persistent as you keep them engaged. If you start overselling the job, you will create an uncomfortable situation that may cause them to back out. Provide specific details to the job opening, the growth they can achieve (and be a part of), and how the opportunity matches up with other jobs in the market. When you are just moments away from that signed contract, you can reveal all the compensation, bonus, perks, and benefits that come along with the role. 

4. Hire

Maintain the mindset of a marketer for your recruitment success. The employees you want as a part of your team will be resourceful and selective in their research, so you must do the same. Don’t continue to view candidates as just another resume, but rather as consumers wanting to be impressed and won over. To receive the best-of-the-best, you must place yourself in their shoes and cater to their desires. 

Job Description Insight

Conduct research into the jobs available in your shared location, industry, or job title. From the position title, opening hook, and company insight to the role’s ins and outs, bringing in the best candidates demands relevant keywords and compelling language. In the end, ask the difficult question, “Would I apply for this job after reading this?” If you answer ‘No’ and can point to a reason, you know where to begin. If you are struggling to construct the perfect job description, here is a brief guide for you.

Want more tips? Check out these 15 ways Forbes Coaches Council recommends you ‘switch up’ your hiring strategy to attract the ideal candidate.

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Building A Positive Team Culture

“Individual commitment to a group effort: That is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” — Vince Lombardi

It takes real leadership to establish a vibrant, uplifting work culture where your employees can feel a sense of authenticity and fulfillment in the workplace. When this kind of working climate is achieved, the foundation for employee satisfaction is secured. Here are a few things you can do to ensure your company’s culture is one that fosters growth and attracts future ‘all-star’ employees.

Hire the Right People

Identifying the ideal ‘fit’ for your active job listings goes beyond hiring the most intelligent individual. Recently, I spoke with a friend in the recruiting industry who revealed that his company ranks ‘culture fit’ as their No. 1 priority in candidate analyzation. He shared a story of turning away a highly qualified IT professional due to his arrogance, smug, and ‘my way or the highway’ mentality. Despite all his accolades and capabilities, it appeared inevitable that his presence would cause strife and disrupt the chemistry within the department. When you establish core company values, your goal should be to identify the same values in individuals before you hire them. 

Relationship Building

When there is limited interaction between colleagues or departments, the challenge of instilling a sense of unity and camaraderie is intensified. So, what steps can you take? Stay intentional when it comes to including others and intermixing your departments. Courtesy of our friends at Inc, here are five leadership tips to help you strengthen relationships and build a sense of community, inspired by Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life.

  1. Speak the truth out of respect.
  2. Think of yourself less.
  3. Practice uncommon courtesy.
  4. Maintain confidence.
  5. Focus on frequency rather than intensity.

Check out the full breakdown from Human Capital Specialist, Michael Schneider here.

“Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.” -Patrick Lencioni

Establish Goals

Every employee wants to feel heard, valued, and like they made a difference. Setting new goals with your employees, both from an individual standpoint and as a team, offers the chance to make that happen. Additionally, challenge your employees to step out of their comfort zones and set some new objectives for themselves. It can be daunting, but excelling in an area outside your specialization brings a level of job satisfaction that cannot be measured.

Track the progress of these goals and encourage them throughout the way. Advocating for your employees will renew their motivation and yield feelings of importance and purpose. However, make sure that the goals set forth are ones you believe are attainable and align with the employee’s strengths. Falling short of a goal can put your employee in a rut, but completing these goals will build a sense of job security and loyalty.

Be a Role Model

If you have expectations for your employees to follow company values or act a certain way, you must understand those same guidelines apply to you. If you have core values of integrity, honesty, and fairness, you must demonstrate those values and lead by example. Choosing to put your team before your objectives is one of the most manageable steps to creating a positive culture. 

Make yourself readily available. Being in the building is not enough. If you want your brand to have a positive correlation and message, it starts at the top. Show respect to your employees and allow them to feel comfortable approaching leadership with any questions, concerns, and frustrations. Mastering ‘The Art of Listening‘ will establish a healthy work culture through trust, empathy, and complimentary exchanges. When you choose to empathize with them, trust is established for both parties.

The Benefits of a Positive Culture

Employee satisfaction is the driving force behind a business’ success. When your team sees value in the work they are doing, there are enhanced levels of joy and loyalty that can become contagious throughout your company. Courtesy of our friends at Forbes, we take a look at a few of the top benefits that a positive work culture ensues: 

Recruitment
People want to work for organizations that are thought highly of by their peers. A toxic work environment can be picked up on by candidates right away, so having a positive culture is a real competitive advantage for employers.

Collaboration
When there is a sense of authenticity and fellowship, it gives way for more social interaction. Workplace acquaintances develop into genuine relationships, and fruitful ones at that! When there is open communication and teamwork, amazing things can happen.

Reduced Stress
A strong corporate culture tends to boost employee morale, health, and work performance. When employers are dedicated to seeing their employees achieve a healthy ‘work-life balance,’ you will find increased focus, communication, and interest in their work.

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