Change is here to stay, and to a certain extent, it is always disruptive. Regardless of whether you are planning a large change or an update of some kind, engaging employees through effective communication is key. It can compress the transition and minimize the disruption. Check out our tips for navigating change here: http://bit.ly/298p7Nf. What would you add?
For more information about leading change and communicating to engage your employees, email me at tracy@on-the-same-page.com.
Here are our favorite magical moments from the 2016 WBENC National Conference and Business Fair: http://bit.ly/28VDzbn. Thanks to all for your inspiration.
The largest conference of its kind for women business owners in the U.S., this event is attended by representatives of woman-owned businesses as well as diversity and procurement representatives from Fortune 500 organizations and the U.S. Government. These government agencies and partner organizations have missions that align with WBENC’s vision of expanding women’s business opportunities in the marketplace.
On the Same Page is proud to be certified as a Woman-Owned Business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and honored to support our clients’ commitments to maintain a culture of diversity – inside their organizations and with their external partners.
As a leader, you may not have all the answers. That’s okay. Leadership is about building a vision, informing employees and simplifying so people know what to do. Leaders create clarity out of ambiguity, simplify the complex, convert challenges into opportunities, and make strategy come alive… inspiring and motivating employees to action.
Tell the Story
Articulate a story that inspires and aligns employees within the organization around the vision. The story explains where we’re going, why and how, and importantly – what employees can do to help achieve the vision.
Provide Tools
Next, the leader must provide managers and supervisors with tools so they can engage their employees in conversations about the vision and their role in achieving it.
When faced with the unknown, let your vision be your guide.
As the workplace landscape continues to evolve, here are some key trends to watch for. Are you prepared? For more information about employee engagement and leadership communication, contact me at beth@on-the-same-page.com.
For more insight check out ADP Research Institute’s ® 2016 Evolution of Work study, a global look at workplace trends across 2,000 individuals in 13 countries: http://bit.ly/1p393QV.
We see in many companies evidence of change fatigue – both in individuals and across entire organizations. As many people are now fond of saying, change is the new constant. Leaders need to understand and embrace an approach to managing through change that sustains their people and their company.
The On the Same Page team has helped companies through hundreds of mergers, acquisitions and transformations. From this experience, we’ve developed these 10 tips to help leaders navigate change. For more information about employee engagement during times of change, email me at kim@on-the-same-page.com.
It takes courage to move your business in a new direction, and change can be difficult. Change is also an opportunity for great success — individually, as a team and as an organization. Here’s what else you need to change direction. For more information on communicating change, email me at tracy@on-the-same-page.com.
One of the most practical, highest return on investment activities is communicating to engage. A Dale Carnegie infographic on employee engagement states that companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. The infographic goes on to list tips for employee engagement and each tip is directly related to leader and manager communication.
“People leave managers, not companies,” writes authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. The best leaders understand that engaging people’s hearts and minds is the only way to compel them to action. Your employees – and your customers – will thank you for it. Here are four tips to help you engage your employees through more meaningful communication. For more information on Communicating to Engage, email me at tracy@on-the-same-page.com.
Corporate communications is no longer just about talking TO employees. It’s also about building internal digital communities that facilitate communication AMONG those employees. In today’s world, we have to be able to foster and maintain effective virtual communities to help connect employees in different business units, geographic locations and time zones.
Here are five things successful communities have in common: http://bit.ly/1U6IrM5. What would you add?
For more information about employee engagement and leadership communication, contact me at elizabeth@on-the-same-page.com.
Saying ‘no’ to a colleague, boss or customer can be difficult. It can also build trust and strengthen your business (and personal) relationships. How? What’s more important than the words you use is the intention behind them. Try these problem-solving tips the next time you have to decline a request. For more information on Communicating to Engage, email me at tracy@on-the-same-page.com.
Functional experts are often promoted into bigger and bigger roles without preparation for the adjustments they need to make to truly lead. Essential to bridging the gap from technician to leader is building and sharing a vision that stirs employees’ passion and creativity.
Top leaders align their vision around the organization’s strategy. They:
Develop a story that engages employees in the organization’s strategy, inspiring and motivating their teams and employees to action.
Improve relationships with boards, shareholders, partners, their team and critical stakeholders by providing a vision that’s simple, clear and memorable.
Simplify the link from their vision and the organization’s strategy to the impact on customers, clients or products.
If the idea of creating or telling stories has you tied up in knots, check out this article for the 4 essential types of stories leaders tell to engage their people.
What is an introvert? A lot has been written about this topic over the years, though many people mistake being an introvert as shyness. In spite of being quite outgoing, I am an introvert — a concept that was a bit perplexing prior to deeper understanding of introversion. Although I enjoy my work, the back-to-back demands of consulting, meetings and conference calls result in socialization burnout.
Here are conversation highlights from the interview
Tracy made a career around establishing not only more effective, but genuine communication. In spite of being quite outgoing, she identifies as an introvert. She made the decision to start her own consulting firm and make the best out of her introverted qualities. She began to notice that many people who were involved with similar work were introverts as well.
It’s important to properly communicate the mission and goals behind your business. Clear communication is not only a necessity when it comes to potential customers and partners, but also quite useful for rallying employees and fostering a meaningful company culture. Tracy introduces the concept of storytelling as a means of helping people to make connections with your business. Ever-shrinking attention spans mean that it is more important with every passing year to establish a meaningful, emotional connection with others. There are several key components ranging from storytelling and active listening to crafting a call-to-action that encourages input. It is of the utmost importance that people feel that you, and your brand by extension, are trustworthy. Tracy offers her best advice on establishing trust and explains why it plays to introvert strengths.
With planning season upon us, it’s time to plant the seeds for the next big idea. In the world of transformation, there is a way to go slow and fast at the same time to achieve the desired lasting outcomes.
We came across this concept of go slow and fast – “Design for Action” – in the September issue of Harvard Business Review, which brings to mind three key thoughts:
1. “If a (leader) simply imposed his own ideas, buy-in would depend largely on authority – not a context conducive to social transformation.”
2. “Understand the “participative approach to strategy making.”
3. “The answer is iterative interaction with the decision maker.”
You’ll want to click on this link to read the “Design for Action” article. Save it for the weekend because it’s that good and deserves the time.
Change is here to stay, and to a certain extent, it is always disruptive. Regardless of whether you are planning a large change or an update of some kind, engaging employees through effective communication is key. It can compress the transition and minimize the disruption. Check out our tips for navigating change here: http://bit.ly/298p7Nf. What would you add?
Here are our favorite magical moments from the 2016 WBENC National Conference and Business Fair: 
ou may not have all the answers. That’s okay. Leadership is about building a vision, informing employees and simplifying so people know what to do. Leaders create clarity out of ambiguity, simplify the complex, convert challenges into opportunities, and make strategy come alive… inspiring and motivating employees to action.
Corporate communications is no longer just about talking TO employees. It’s also about building internal digital communities that facilitate communication AMONG those employees. In today’s world, we have to be able to foster and maintain effective virtual communities to help connect employees in different business units, geographic locations and time zones.
nctional experts are often promoted into bigger and bigger roles without preparation for the adjustments they need to make to truly lead. Essential to bridging the gap from technician to leader is building and sharing a vision that stirs employees’ passion and creativity.
What is an introvert? A lot has been written about this topic over the years, though many people mistake being an introvert as shyness. In spite of being quite outgoing, I am an introvert — a concept that was a bit perplexing prior to deeper understanding of introversion. Although I enjoy my work, the back-to-back demands of consulting, meetings and conference calls result in socialization burnout.
With planning season upon us, it’s time to plant the seeds for the next big idea. In the world of transformation, there is a way to go slow and fast at the same time to achieve the desired lasting outcomes.