Build a Strong and Effective Team

 

As a leader, one of the most important responsibilities is to build and grow a strong, effective team. Whether you're leading a small startup or a large corporation, your ability to attract and retain top talent, and foster an environment that promotes collaboration and growth, will be key to your success. In this article, I will explore some of the key strategies and best practices for growing your team as a leader in 2023 and beyond.

First and foremost, a leader must be able to attract and retain top talent. This means creating a compelling vision and mission that resonates with potential team members, and being able to communicate this vision effectively. Additionally, leaders must be able to create an attractive, competitive compensation and benefits package, as well as opportunities for growth and development.

Once you have attracted top talent, it is essential to create an environment that promotes collaboration and teamwork. This means fostering a culture of open communication and transparency and encouraging team members to share their ideas and perspectives. Leaders must be able to provide opportunities for team members to work together on projects and initiatives, and to build relationships across different teams and departments.

Another important aspect of growing your team is investing in the development and growth of your team members. This means providing opportunities for training and professional development, as well as mentoring and coaching. It is essential to recognize and reward the contributions of team members, and to provide opportunities for leadership and advancement.

Creating an inclusive and diverse environment is key. This means fostering a culture of respect and understanding, and actively recruiting and promoting team members from different backgrounds and perspectives. Additionally, it is essential to provide opportunities for team members to connect and collaborate across different teams and departments, and to create a sense of community and belonging.

A leader must be able to lead by example and be a role model for the team. This means leading with integrity and authenticity, and being able to inspire and motivate others to do their best work. Leaders must be able to lead with empathy and emotional intelligence and be able to understand and respond to the needs of team members.

Growing your team as a leader requires a combination of skills and strategies, including the ability to attract and retain top talent, foster an environment that promotes collaboration and growth, invest in the development and growth of your team members, create an inclusive and diverse environment, and leading by example. By implementing these strategies and best practices, leaders can build and grow a strong, effective team that will help drive the success of their organization in 2023 and beyond.

Best,  

Manal

Taking Care of Yourself Right Now

 Everyone is trying to take care of themselves these days. Rightfully so.

At any moment you can turn on the news and hear how you might protect yourself in our environment through such things as face coverings, washing or hands, etc. This news is everywhere. There are signs on store windows, end caps are filled with supplies of this same nature. It is hard to not hear about taking care of yourself.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this. 

The focus of today’s media is on the outer view of minimizing the spread of COVID-19. All of these things are important. As a leader, you will help people keep social distance, remind them to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, wear disposable masks and gloves, and sanitize areas/things. This first line of protection is important but I believe there is more than that. 

Let’s teach ourselves and our tribes how to protect ourselves with immune support. 

Today’s leader will typically educate their team on things of this nature that maybe have been left out of their communication before this time. 

A strong immune system translates into resilience - the capacity to restore balance, bounce back and maintain wellbeing whether you are faced with an infection or not.  The immune system can be strengthened so it functions optimally and helps you deal with everyday stress responses. 

The strategies to strengthen the immune system may seem simple but simple is not always easy to do in our busy lives. For a while in Corporate America, there was an emphasis on wellness programs. I don’t know this for sure but it seems like this may be the new thing we see happening in Leadership. Today’s leaders must care for the whole person - their work capacity/quality, their emotional state as well as their physical health and wellbeing.

Leaders should encourage their teams to take pause, take notice of their environments, and often most challenging, take care of themselves.  Teaching valuable skills helps minimize one of the greatest insults to any infection: fear. This is where open, honest and ongoing communication amongst teams, families and individuals can play a vital role in inner and outer wellbeing. 

Be well is the new leadership motto. 

Best,

Manal

Taking Care of Your Tribe's Mental Health

 

In the world we live in, leaders must care about their team with mental health too. In the past, mental health was a very taboo subject everywhere—in the home, in schools, and especially in the “professional” workplace. The common misconception was that, if someone is experiencing mental health issues, they must be unstable, or volatile, or of unsound mind. 

This has all come into extreme focus in the last year and a half with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, “at the end of March and in early April, [a] nonprofit organization, Mind Share Partners, conducted a study of global employees in partnership with Qualtrics and SAP. We found that the mental health of almost 42% of respondents had declined since the outbreak began.” 

Check in with your people. Show them that you care by consistently checking up on them in meaningful ways. Try to understand their context and the struggles they might be facing. Uncover those, and offer support in those areas. Just knowing that you’re there for them can make a huge difference. 

Be honest about the situation. As a leader, it’s typically a no-no to show fear to your team, but in cases like these, it helps your team when you as a leader can be vulnerable. Be honest about the struggles you’re facing as a company, and don’t sugarcoat things. However, make sure you infuse a spirit of hope into your messages, so that you’re “shooting from the hip” doesn’t turn into being a cynical realist. 

Be honest about YOUR feelings. You’re not impervious to emotions, and you’re certainly not impervious to stress. Show your team that you’re a real person, too, who is having difficulty in facing these issues. There is solidarity in knowing that people aren’t alone in suffering. It doesn’t make it hurt any less, but it helps to let your people know you’re in it together. 

Offer resources to your employees. Include in the health insurance plan options for mental healthcare providers. This also helps with the next point.

Open the dialogue. Let your people know it’s alright not to feel okay, and that there is no shame or stigma in that. Let everyone in the company know that resources are readily available to them and that they’re not alone. 

With these strategies, we can each try to be a little bit of a better, more empathetic boss, and make sure our employees are taken care of in their mental health.

Best, 

Manal

The World Has Forever Changed

One thing that is clear from the world we live in is that the world has forever changed. There are businesses who had their worst year in 2020 and there are others who had their best year. Besides industry, let’s look at what leadership traits helped those leaders have their most successful year in business. 

Businesses that thrived during the pandemic are those that have been led by leaders who prioritized their people. 

They used traits like flexibility, vulnerability, empathy and openness to lead their teams. These have always been vital leadership characteristics but 2020 required a more attentive focus to these attributes. 

Many leaders had never led a remote team before this. They had to keep abreast of the context in which their people were working, and pay close attention to their energy, efforts (and extra effort) and capacity to do a job well done. 

As we move through business during a pandemic, it is vital to know that most people just want to connect, be seen, understand and be appreciated for work that is done behind a monitor. This is especially true when all communication is done digitally. People crave connection. 

According to Simon Sinek, “The leaders who get the most out of their people are the leaders who care most about their people.” 

We won’t be in a pandemic forever. In fact, some states and parts of the world are more open to people gathering than others. The lessons of leadership during a pandemic are clear. Recognize the effort as well as outcomes so that you can build a high performing, highly engaged team. Take the time to show your team you care about them as much as you care about the outcomes they are producing for you and the business. 

This may require you to use new skill sets like curiosity, collaboration, shared learning and the use of ever-so-valuable technology. 

ADP Research Institute did a global study of engagement in 2018 that reported that people who trust their leader will be 12 times more engaged. Trust as a leader is built when you show you genuinely care about the person working with and for you. 

Go make it happen and show your people that you care!

Best, 

Manal