Leaders Are Readers

 

As I think of 2021, I think of growth and a new era of leadership. The world has grown, shifted and adapted to what is. 

Leaders had to decide how to make themselves different from their competitors. They had to be innovative and quick in order to set themselves apart from others. Today’s leader has had to learn a new skill this year - virtual management. Running a team virtually requires increased communication, trust and the art of delegation and inspecting what was expected.

In 2022, I foresee an increase in the ability to show empathy, compassion and foresee a new trend in mastering video communication and a new genre of leaders that are excellent at disruptive change management. 

As we wrap up one year and head into another, you might have some time to read over the next few weeks. 

Here are 10 leadership books that can help you expand your thinking of what will be expected of great leadership in the new year.

1. Ruthless Consistency: How Committed Leaders Execute Strategy, Implement Change, and Build Organizations That Win 

2. Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity

3. The EQ Deficiency: How Emotional Intelligence and Compassion Can Cure an Emotional Pandemic, Solve Our "People Problems" and Be a Catalyst for Positive Change

4. The Gumbo Coalition: 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite, and Achieve

5. Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them

6. Around the Corner to Around the World: A Dozen Lessons I Learned Running Dunkin Donuts

7. The Ends Game: How Smart Companies Stop Selling Products and Start Delivering Value 

8. How to Lead: Wisdom from the World's Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers

9. Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone

10.  Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work

Best, 

Manal

Leadership View: Taking Time Off

People are feeling less secure than they have in the past. 

Why is this? 2020 and 2021 have been tough mentally, emotionally and sometimes physically for people. Naturally the human tendency is to do more. 

As we enter the last few days of 2021, I would remind you of the importance of taking time off. 

Leaders that have the best influence, take time off and encourage others to take time off. 

Not only do vacations help with mental clarity but it gives your team space between work and life. With people working at home, that separation of work/home is a little more difficult right now just based on the terrain of the world.

Travel is less available to everyone than it has been. Some people are traveling still but as a society, the travel industry is down overall.

When working from home, encourage your employees to consider “vacations” as tools for focused family time, caregiving, and self-care. Down time is likely to be devoted to supporting good mental health rather than recreation or travel. Don’t expect them at meetings or to be checking email. Time off should be that, time off.

As a leader, you need to model behavior that you want. You will need to demonstrate through your own actions that you’re serious about time off. Most people think it is important to take time off, but they are also personally reluctant to unplug. What you say is less important than what you do.  

So how as a leader can you encourage your team to really be off and communicate their security at that same time?

This is where the communication skills of today’s leaders must be dialed in. Know what your people are doing, where they are excelling and communicate to them early and often if you see gaps in performance. Encourage time off to stop burn out and ensure they know how valuable they are to the team (even if improvements can be made).

As you lean into the last few days of 2021, rest, renew, restore connection and be present with those you love most. You doing this will allow your team to do it too.

Happy Holidays!

Best, 

Manal

The 2022 Leader

When the COVID-19 pandemic first happened, everyone was in a new place of figuring life out. Leaders had to shift quickly to provide a higher level of providing digital or convenient experiences. The new mantra in business was fast, easier, seamless and convenient.   

Consumers were initially forgiving of companies struggling with pandemic related disruptions but people are no longer as tolerant as we move forward.  Just think about you and your own family. You can now get instant access to entertainment, refill prescriptions online and get same day groceries with Amazon Fresh. The era of digital transformation has come and gone. It is now passe and expected.

This expectation will impact both careers and business survivorship. The 2022 focus will be human centered technology initiatives. All this rapid response technology, innovation and mass adoption has replaced and will continue to replace a lot of human workers. Essentially dehumanizing the customer experience and making us all crazy mad and irritated along the way. It is already starting to happen with automated phone voice systems, chat message bots, self-serve checkouts, and the inability to reach a well-trained human being who cares and who is actually empowered to solve your problem.

If you want to be at an advantage in this brave new world ahead, then you need to learn to lead the way and deliver what the automated robots and systems cannot. You need to lead in delivering the essential value of the human touch, the human heart layered on top of these new high tech solutions. 

Let’s look at the future consumer. Consumers rapidly increased their technology adoption and their usage demands and expectations for immediacy and instant gratification will only accelerate in the year ahead. Consumers have much higher expectations that not only will digital experiences work well but they will expect them to be seamless across communication channels. They want a consistent experience across every touchpoint and they expect relevancy, personalization and speed. Speed is the new currency in business. Consumers are now surrounded by speed. The world's information is at our fingertips in nanoseconds. You can bark at Alexa or Siri for anything that you want. You can order any size car you want, with a few clicks of your phone and it will magically pull up in front of you in under three minutes. You've got to be ready to meet these new expectations this new year. 

If you haven’t started thinking about how you can provide your same service faster, easier, seamlessly and conveniently in 2022, start there. 

Leadership will look like it has never before looked as we enter a new year.

Best, 

Manal

Leading A Team During The Holidays

 Are you singing loudly “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” right now? Or are you stressing over everything that needs to be done before the end of the year?

Leading a team during the holidays can turn anyone into a grinch, but here are four of my favorite end of the year tips to keep you joyful, hopeful, and productive.

 It’s okay if “Ho, ho ho” sounds like “No, no no”. Extra business deadlines and extra out-of-work obligations can wear you out and wear you and your team thin. Instead of saying yes to every activity and project that comes your way, be realistic. Focus on what is most important for you and your team to complete and say no to everything else. You and your team will feel rested and ready to go after the holidays are over to get all those non time sensitive projects complete.

Spread that holiday cheer! Celebrate the year’s accomplishments loudly and often. Give specific examples of how your team has excelled over the last year and remind them how much you are looking forward to the following year’s successes.

Be like Rudolph and lead the way! While holiday festivities are important, the holiday season can lead to some serious workplace procrastination and slacking off. Set an example for your team at the kind of work ethic you expect to see in them and get involved. Is your workload light? Pitch in and help employees with their project list. Reward your team for their dedication by bringing in holiday treats, offering early finishes, and shout outs with glee.

Give the gift of time. Recognize that your team may have family vacations planned and let them enjoy it. Respect their time off, encourage them to turn their phones off and set their emails to away. Make sure you follow your own advice and enjoy your time off too. Silent night should be silent day too, at least when we’re talking about that work cell phone!

Holidays are stressful but for your business, they don’t have to be. Make a priority list (check it twice), keep work ethic and the joyful spirits of your entire team high, and most importantly, take some time to really enjoy the gift of the holidays. 

Best, 

Manal