Applying lessons from sport to leadership

Keywords

Resilience – Sport – Leadership – Intentionality – Perspective – Success - Purpose

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Stu Crum talks about how after an injury interrupted three-year career in the NFL and USFL, transitioned to a highly successful career in business. Stu realised early in his athletic career that his athletic abilities would not last forever and he needed to plan for life after sports. He focused on his studies and after graduation, he joined Texaco and quickly climbed the ranks due to his operational focus, leadership skills, and intentionality.

Stu attributes his success in leadership to the lessons he learned from sport and how he applied them to his business career. He also explores the importance of perspective in life and the role of intentionality in achieving success in various areas.

 Main topics

•  How Stu’s experience as a kicker taught him about perseverance, resilience, and leadership

• Why people who reach a professional level in sports or the performing arts may feel lost or without the same rush as before when they decide to stop

• Learning from failures and the significance of perspective in sports and life

• The importance of perspective in life and how it is developed over time

• Why losing perspective, particularly in today's social media-driven world, is dangerous and can lead to making bad decisions and a false sense of reality

• The evolution of the CEO role and the importance of being a generalist with a deep understanding of various functional areas

• Having a sense of purpose, making conscious choices, and being accountable for the consequences

• The concept of intentionality including purpose, priorities, distractions, harmony, self-reflection, responsibility, grit, and a smile

 Action items

 You can find out more about Stu at www.stucrum.com His book is "Aim for the Uprights: The Intentional Playbook for Success in Faith, Family, and Business," which offers a playbook for success based on his personal experiences.

  You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

Building relationships for success and impact

Keywords

Resilience – Relationships – Connection - Success – Impact 

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Patricia Bathory, a psychotherapist and the founder of a thriving import/export business, talks about how our connections influence our achievements in both business and life. With master's degrees in business administration and counselling psychology, coupled with advanced training in psychoanalysis and family dynamics, Patricia has a blend of experience that gives her unique insight into the personal and professional problems that entrepreneurs and leaders face every day.

For the past eight years, she has also been researching and studying interpersonal dynamics, including how our relationships directly affect our ability to succeed in business and in life and she believes that by improving our relationship skills and strengthening our connections, we feed the wheel of good and position ourselves to make a lasting impact.

In this podcast Patricia discusses the importance of personal growth, cultural awareness, and understanding diverse perspectives in building better relationships. She also explores the potential of therapy to reimagine and re-engineer relationships, and the concept of a "Happy Ever After Contract" for outlining the terms of a relationship.

 Main topics

• The significance of personal growth and self-improvement in building better relationships

• The complexity of relationships and the value of diverse perspectives

• How some relationships may seem dysfunctional but can work well for the individuals involved.

• Why trying to impose our own perspective on others can lead to problems

• The importance of cultural awareness and the ability to adapt to different situations

• Bringing together different perspectives, experiences, and cultures to lead to a better understanding of ourselves and others

• The importance of action in utilising these differences to improve relationships

• The challenge of diverse generations and the importance of building a supportive "village" of connections

• The need for a variety of relationships

• Investing in relationships to combat the "loneliness epidemic

 Action items

 You can find out more about Patricia at https://reconnect.dev/ Her book is Connected: Building Relationships to Achieve Success and Make a Lasting Impact

  You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

The most in-demand skills for the AI work environment

Often, the soft skills that help to build the connection between an employee, their job, their organisation, and their colleagues have been seen as less important than the more tangible, technical skills that connect employees to the physical function of their jobs. Now through, LinkedIn’s 2024 most in-demand skills data shows that soft skills make up four of the top five skills and that 92% of UK business leaders believe soft skills are more important than ever.

While AI technologies excel at data analysis and automation and can connect employees to the physical function of their jobs, they still rely on human involvement for their development, deployment, and application. Soft skills that complement the technical aspects of AI by fostering effective communication, collaboration, critical thinking, ethical considerations, creativity, and user-centric approach all then become essential in building the connection between employees and their job, organisation, and colleagues. 

The rapid development of AI means the skills needed for jobs are expected to change at least 65% by 2030 and soft skills will be needed to manage these changes Ensuring employees are equipped with the right skills for their role is therefore essential in developing greater understanding and positive working relationships that improve overall workplace culture, improve teamwork and job satisfaction, raise morale, and increase efficiency and performance.

The requirement for soft skills is likely to increase over the next five years with 69% of UK hiring managers believing the fast-paced changes in the work environment will increase the skills gap. To mitigate against this and to make the most of the opportunities presented by AI, organisations are prioritising the development of both AI and soft skills with 34% of UK HR professionals looking to increase AI literacy though online training and development and 29% implementing guidelines on how generative AI should be used within the organisation.

Generationally, 70% of UK hiring managers said Gen Z employees needed additional workplace support to develop soft skills such as communication and collaboration but that Gen Z professionals were keen to learn, with 47% saying they’re spending more time on learning and development to help them in their careers.

The most in-demand skills for 2024 are:

• Communication

• Customer Service

• Management

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Project Management

• Analytical Skills

• Sales

• Problem Solving

• Research Skills

By combining uniquely human skills with the potential of AI, leaders can give their organisations an edge and contributes to improving overall business performance and organisational success.

Trust. Essential for individual and organisational success.

Trust is the foundation which successful organisations are built on. Whether it’s the relationship between employees or the one between employees and their leaders, trust creates a culture that allows organisations to become high-functioning, accountable and outcome-driven, with improved employee retention and increased commitment and loyalty.  

Without trust, organisations suffer from office politics, infighting and a lack of communication that slows down decision-making and reduces effectiveness. It breeds fear, disengagement a lack of loyalty and reduced productivity. Team performance suffers, and employees will have trouble making decisions or admitting mistakes, fearing negative repercussions if they do.

The role leaders play is therefore pivotal in creating a culture where trust is at the forefront. By being transparent, authentic, and reliable they can help to create an environment, where open communication is encouraged, and staff can seek guidance and support without fear. An environment where employees feel able to own up to mistakes and bring solutions to the table, limiting the fallout of an error and allowing the employee to see the mistake as a learning opportunity.

When employees feel inspired by senior leaders and see their actions leading to business success, they start to trust their leaders. They become empowered to own their success. They feel able to share their ideas and opinions and because they aren’t afraid to speak up, different perspectives, ideas or solutions are put forward. When employers own their success, they can push through adversity, take responsibility for their performance and results, and enhance their skills.

Trust is also necessary to drive organisational performance and plays an important role in implementing change or navigating uncertain situations. It fosters ethical decision-making, promotes loyalty, and increases the willingness to remain with a company. It also plays a vital role in reducing stress levels and hostility in the work environment so developing and nurturing trust within the workplace is essential for a healthy and productive work environment.

Building trust as a leader is a gradual process that involves consistent actions and behaviours. It takes time and effort to build and it’s hard to win and easy to lose but It’s the foundation of a healthy and thriving workplace. Leadership development programs and ongoing support for leaders to ensure that trust remains a priority are therefore essential because in an uncertain business landscape trust is needed more than ever if individuals and organisations are to succeed. 

Managing change effectively

In the modern business world, the one constant is change. It’s essential for growth, adaptability, and long-term success. Organisations that embrace change with a well-thought-out strategy that involves key stakeholders are able to unlock new opportunities and overcome challenges more effectively. This was undoubtedly true during the pandemic when organisations were tested as never before. Some showed how well and how quickly they could navigate change, but many others found the fast-moving circumstances far more difficult to deal with.

Organisations that thrive are ones that can respond to an ever-changing environment but the ability to change has to be built into an organisation so it can deliver and adopt to change both in the present and future.  This requires change capability, the comprehensive and dynamic way organisations adapt, learn, and innovate, to manage change effectively. Combining leadership, culture, engagement, and strategic alignment it ensures an organisation remains resilient and responsive in an ever-changing business world.

Change capability is not just about dealing with occasional changes, it reflects a more fundamental and ingrained capacity to continuously evolve and thrive. It means an organisation can navigate its way through different types of change and respond to internal and external shifts. It shows how capable an organisation is of delivering long term change with minimal disruption to its operation and its stakeholders.

This of course makes the ability to manage and adapt to change an essential skill for any business leader. Driving change requires leaders who are adaptable and able to prepare their organisation to withstand external pressures and then come out fighting. Leaders who can’t deal with a rapid rate of change quickly lose their credibility and fail to achieve the required results. Its therefore imperative that organisations ensure that the critical capability skills of its leaders are competitive and relevant.

In today’s complex business environment organisations and leaders need the ability to navigate change. Building sustainable change capability can ensure that changes made to the structure, operation, or culture of an organisation are accepted and long-lasting, that leaders are proactive, innovative, and resilient in the face of uncertainty, and contribute to the long-term success of their organisation.

Productivity – balancing consistency and intensity

We’ve always been told that the harder we work the more successful we’d be. However, the definition of what success is and how we achieve it changing, and one of the ideas now being considered is whether working consistently gets the same results of working longer and harder - but without the burnout.

It’s younger members of the workforce who are driving this, by recognising that you can achieve goals without having to compromise your own physical and mental wellbeing. That being consistent, even for short periods each day, can be as important as intensity in achieving longer term goals. In terms of productivity, it’s a relationship that varies depending on the individual and the context.

Finding the right balance is the key. Consistency is often associated with establishing habits and routines. It helps create a stable and predictable work environment, making it easier to plan and manage tasks. Regular, small efforts over time can lead to significant progress. An overemphasis on consistency alone though may lead to a lack of innovation or the ability to tackle big challenges that require bursts of intense effort.

Intensity, or focused and concentrated effort meanwhile can be highly effective for tasks that require deep concentration or creative problem-solving. It can lead to quick progress and breakthroughs, especially for complex or challenging projects. But relying solely on intensity can lead to burnout if sustained for long periods and may also make it challenging to maintain a consistent level of productivity over the long term.

Combining consistency and intensity can provide a solid foundation for productivity. This might include setting regular work hours, creating a dedicated workspace, consistently prioritising tasks, identifying key tasks or projects that require intense focus and dedicating specific periods of time maybe through time blocking techniques. It’s also important to recognise the importance of rest and recovery. Balancing intense work periods with breaks and time away from work can help prevent burnout and maintain long-term productivity.

Ultimately, the right balance between consistency and intensity will depend on individual preferences, the nature of their work, and personal circumstances. Experimenting with different approaches and being adaptable to changing needs can help you find the most effective productivity strategy for yourself and also ensure you stay physically and mentally healthy.

Focus right now

Keywords

Resilience – Hypergrowth – Focus - Customer Behaviour – Success – Building Brands – Brand Promise

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Jeffrey Hayzlett, a global business celebrity, speaker, best-selling author, and Chairman and CEO of C-Suite Network, talks about hypergrowth and the importance of capturing customer behaviour and input. He also talks about building brands particularly the importance of a brands promise and of delivering on that promises.

A recurring theme for Jeffrey is that of change, adapt or die and the importance of learning from previous change. He uses the downfall of companies like Kodak who forgot their true purpose and were too focused on past successes to illustrate this. Jeffrey feels it’s important to strive for success and to be persistent until success is achieved and highlights that times of crisis such as COVID-19 can present opportunities for growth for organisations with a defined strategy and investments.

Main topics

• Why its important to capture customer behaviour and input.

• How businesses can adapt and evolve to avoid becoming outdated like Kodak

• The importance of striving for perfection

• Finding opportunities in a crisis

• Learning from past change

Timestamps

1: Introductions - 00:00-00:28
2: Jeffrey's background as a former Fortune 100 officer and TV personality. Jeffrey's current work with the C-Suite Network. Jeffrey's executive consulting work in hypergrowth - 02:26-04.12
3: Capturing Customer Behaviour. Jeffrey's approach to capturing customer behaviour. The importance of asking customers for input - 05:02-06:42
4: Lessons in Change. Jeffrey's recurring theme in his books of "change, adapt or die". The importance of learning from past changes - 14:14-16.22
5: Strategies for Success. The importance of striving for perfection. The importance of persistence and surviving until success is achieved - 17:54-18:57
6: Finding Opportunities in Crisis. The importance of thinking about strategy and investments during a crisis. Examples of companies that found opportunities during past crisis - 21:08-23.15
7: Conclusion. Jeffrey's final thought on focusing on the things that will lead to success. Closing remarks and goodbyes - 23:26-23.53

Action items

To find out more visit https://c-suitenetwork.com/ or  https://hayzlett.com/ Alternatively follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn

   You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

Navigating Leadership and Finance: Smart Budgeting Strategies for Success by Katie Pierce

Leadership often occupies the limelight, but there's an unsung hero in the room—finance. Yes, while charismatic leaders receive applause, smart financial management hums quietly in the background, keeping the gears of the business turning smoothly. 

Through success or failure, understanding finances will help you navigate the rocky seas of business. In this article, we’ll break down the importance of finance, the pitfalls many leaders face, and how to overcome them. 

What is the importance of finance for business leaders?

The criticality of finance transcends industry sectors. Whether you manage a tech start-up or a local bakery, the rules are the same. Understanding your balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow gives you a dashboard view of your business health. Money talks, and when it speaks, leaders listen. It informs you when to expand your team, scale your product, or maybe pull the brakes on an aggressive marketing campaign.

In essence, financial mastery equips leaders with foresight. You forecast trends and navigate challenges before they escalate into crises. Furthermore, investors and stakeholders have an affinity for companies with sound financial management. It builds credibility and attracts investment, so make it a priority.

Do You Need Advisors?

Advisors can bridge the gap between financial literacy and strategic application. Unless you're a finance wizard who moonlights as a CEO, chances are you'll need some guidance. Advisors handle complex taxation, help with asset management, and even manage risk. They bring expertise that extends beyond crunching numbers.

However, advisors come at a price. Make sure your business genuinely requires this level of expertise before investing in an advisory team. Sometimes, a robust finance software package and a talented in-house team will suffice. But if you decide to seek outside counsel, choose advisors who understand your industry, your scale, and your growth aspirations.

Common Pitfalls

Now let's talk about the dark alleyways of financial management—the pitfalls you want to avoid. 

Avoid poor cashflow management.
First on the list is poor cash flow management. Without adequate cash, you'll find it difficult to cover basic expenses. It's like trying to run a car without fuel; it simply won't work.  Keep personal and business accounts separate to make bookkeeping straightforward.

Keep your invoices in order.
Don't overlook the significance of unpaid invoices either. They look harmless but can rapidly escalate into a financial bottleneck. Have a systematic invoicing process and make sure to follow up on unpaid dues aggressively. Invoices are evidence of expenses within your company and are crucial for knowing how well your financial plans will go. 

Ignoring the state of finances
Ignoring financial metrics is another misstep. Net profit, gross margin, and customer lifetime value are not just fancy terms. They're vital indicators of your business health. Keep an eye on these metrics and adjust your strategies accordingly. Finances are quite literally how you’ll stay afloat, so it’s important to take it seriously.

Best Strategies

Solid strategies act as the scaffolding for your financial architecture. Let's delve into some proven methods. 

Zero-Based Budgeting
Start each budgeting period with a clean slate and consider every cost anew. Effective budgeting will start with identifying your assets and liabilities, and it’s much easier when there’s nothing from last year to distract you. This approach instils a culture of cost-consciousness throughout your organization. Rolling Forecasts

Ditch the static yearly budgets.
Markets are dynamic, and your budgeting should be as well. Adopt a rolling forecast method, wherein you constantly update your budget based on real-time data. This keeps you agile and prepared for market fluctuations. This pairs really well with zero-based budgeting strategies because there’s never the expectation of the budget getting more complex over the long term. After all, it’s resetting every year.

KPIs and Benchmarks
Utilize Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure your financial performance. Identify industry benchmarks and strive to meet or exceed them. This not only gauges where you stand but also directs your strategies effectively. With rolling forecasts, it’s even more important to know these benchmarks for better planning. 

Strategic Outsourcing
Consider outsourcing non-core functions like bookkeeping, payroll, or even customer service. This saves costs and allows you to focus on your core competencies. Alternatively, implement automated finance solutions to streamline your processes. Automation minimizes manual errors, reduces the burden on your team, and most importantly, enables real-time tracking of your financial data.

Liquidity Maintenance
Liquidity equates to survival in the business world. Ensure you have enough cash or easily convertible assets. Don't tie up all your resources in long-term investments; keep a part of them liquid. Investments are smart, but they are not great for immediate emergency expenses. If you happen to be caught between investments,  utilize small business loans, to at least build up some credit for your business instead of cashing out a young investment.

Regulatory Compliance
Adhere to financial regulations and norms diligently. Non-compliance doesn't just result in penalties but also tarnishes your reputation. Maintain a compliance checklist and review it regularly. The one thing consumers will never forgive is their money being mishandled.

Final Thoughts

In the complex maze of business leadership, finance serves as your compass. The integration of sound financial planning and adept leadership cultivates a fertile ground for business growth and sustainability. Avoid pitfalls by being proactive rather than reactive. By following these fundamental strategies, you can make your finances flourish.

Guest Author

Katie Pierce is a teacher-slash-writer who loves telling stories to an audience, whether it’s bored adults in front of a computer screen or a bunch of hyperactive 4-year-olds. Writing keeps her sane (most of the time) and allows her to enjoy some quiet time in the evening before she walks into a room of screaming kids (all of whom she loves dearly) the next morning.

Be inspired by success ... and failure

Keywords

Resilience – Success – Failure – Vision - Goals

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled, Dr Russell Thackeray talks to Jim Harshaw, a personal performance coach and host of the Success Through Failure podcast. Despite humble beginnings as the son of a construction worker and secretary, Jim became an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and later the youngest Division I head coach in the country.

Jim initially struggled to achieve his goal of becoming an All-American wrestler but on the eve of his last season as a senior wrestler, he gave up on obsessing over the outcome and instead focused solely on putting in his best effort without worrying about whether it would lead to achieving his goal or not. This mindset shift allowed him to perform at his best and enjoy competing more than ever before.

Now as president of The Harshaw Group, his performance coaching firm, he has helped CEOs, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 leaders, and athletes from the NFL, UFC, NCAA, and Olympics maximize their potential, build high- performing teams, and increase resilience by leveraging failure for successim. Jim emphasises that while having a vision and goals are important for success, it's equally crucial to let go of any fear or fixation on outcomes so that you can focus fully on performing your best in each moment without being held back by anxiety or pressure.

Main topics

• The elements of the four-part framework for success

• The importance of mental focus, hard work, and inspired action.

• The importance of focusing on the process rather than the outcome.

• How creating a vision in all areas of life (relationships, self, health, and wealth) is critical for setting goals that align with one's purpose

• The importance of failure in personal growth

• The need for infrastructure to support resilience in real-world situations

• The difference between hard work and inspired action and the significance of having both in alignment with one's vision.

• The importance of having a clear vision and values to create an environment of excellence.

• Why having goals, micro-goals, coaches, and people around you is essential for achieving success consistently.

Timestamps

1: Introduction to Resilience Unravelled - 00:00-00:33
2: Four-part framework for success - 05:35-11:11
3. Applying the framework - 11:11- 17:57
4: Mindset and Performance Psychology - 18:22-22:43
5: Learning and Growth - 25:17-26:32
6: Conclusion and Call to Action - 27:39- 34

Action items

Visit Jim’s website, jimharshawjr.com/resilience to schedule a 30-minute conversation about how the framework applies to your life, or to listen to some episodes and access the action plans from those episodes.

 You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.  

The five rules of failure

Andrew Thorp King is an executive fintech banker, spy novelist, speaker, punk rocker, podcaster, ex-bodybuilder, cigar lover, and serial entrepreneur. He founded two independent record labels, Thorp Records and Sailor’s Grave Records, and has invested in many spaces, including online lending, fitness, lead generation, and independent music.

He is also a serial failure. Many people see failure as a single cataclysmic event but the definition of failure is a lack of success. It doesn't meet you’re finished forever it just means that whatever you've done hasn't been successful. There is a lot of drama about failure but it's really the best chance we have in our lives to learn.

Andrew thinks that failure sucks but that after that it rules. It’s something we want to void but if its unavoidable and part of the parcel of doing something that is difficult you need to predmeditively think about how you handle, leverage and optimise failure when it occurs. In his book Andrew outlines his five failure rules.

1. When failure happens it can purify and in that empty space its burns off something that needed to die, an old way of thinking, being or doing. The phoenix can emerge. Handled correctly you can become an objective observer of the failure and then take the experiences and gain from it – you’re not just resilient but more than resilient.

2. Nothing is safe. The impediment to living a bold courageous life in line with our true calling is clinging to safety. This doesn't mean taking unnecessary risks but placing safety first means it is probably something that will inhibit you from doing what you should be doing.

3. Money is spiritual. Used properly money is a tool. If you avoid greed and envy it can be a measurement of your usefulness in the world and also how you measure your thankfulness to others.

4. Build thing 1 and thing 2 dependency. This is the scaffolding, stable structure or platform that enables you to get where you want to be. You can’t just go head on with your dreams, you need structure to get there.

5. You are not your failure. You need to remove failure from yourself as failure is often something we cannot control.

Failure and success can be defined in many ways. We are all constantly evolving and failure is part of the journey. People often don't even know what success looks like for them because it is different for everyone. There is more than one indicator of success and Andrew defines success as finding a way to join yourself with your calling, by identifying and using your talents to their highest impact not necessarily monetary.

Many people feel a unique calling means you need to be an entrepreneur but that's not necessarily the case. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur and we need to understand our success to know our limitations. The challenge is the comparative aspect.

You can find out more about Andrew at https://www.andrewthorpking.com/

   You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.  

Training and development – just as important for older workers

With the UK government making plans to try to attract the over 50’s back to the workplace, it’s essential that businesses are ready to give older workers more training and development opportunities.

The UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently stated there are currently 6.6 million “economically inactive” people in the UK, with one million of those aged between 50 and 64. Whilst getting some of these people back into the workforce may well help reduce the current number of vacancies, a large number of the over 50’s already in the workforce are suffering a form of ageism through a lack of training and development opportunities.

Ceridian’s 2023 Pulse of Talent survey shows that as a worker’s age increases, their chances for workplace learning and development opportunities decreases with 31% of respondents aged 45 – 54 and 54% of those aged 65+ saying they hadn’t received any such opportunities over the last year.

Although employers often assume it’s more important to invest financially in training younger staff, on average older workers stay in their jobs longer which provides an extended period for employers to see a return on the initial cost of training. Additionally, many older workers require training that builds on their existing skill set and this can considerably improve the productivity of experienced staff. There is also the loss of a vast amount of information, both technical and organsiational, that older workers possess so it's a huge missed opportunity if their knowledge and experience isn’t passed on.

There are significant returns for companies that invest in growth opportunities for older employees. These can include greater productivity, higher engagement, and less customer turnover through the stronger business relationships older workers often build. The key to achieving this is to have an inclusive approach that makes the most of training resources and having employees of all ages participating fully in the appraisal programme.

No matter what their age, all employees require learning and development opportunities throughout their working life. As the population’s median age increases so too will the average working life. Its therefore essential that older workers are supported and encouraged to stay in the workforce for their personal growth and for the organisation's success.
 

Soft skills. The key to productivity, staff retention … and success

In the past, soft skills such as communication, teamwork and emotional intelligence have often been seen as less important than more tangible, technical skills. Although this perception has been changing, at times of recession or when budgets start to be cut, training in soft skills is one of the first things that organisations axe. But in the longer term, cutting back on soft skills training can be being detrimental to your organisation as these are the skills that can improve productivity and help to create a workplace culture that improves staff retention.

A study by Boston College, Harvard University and the University of Michigan, showed that soft skills training in areas like communication and problem solving boosted productivity and retention by 12 %, and delivered a 250 % return on investment based on these increases. A further study of over 2,000 business leaders and employees by Ethical Angel revelled that 9 out of 10 of the business leaders surveyed believed that their businesses would be more productive if their staff had better developed soft skills.

Whilst technical skills connect employees to the physical function of their jobs, soft skills help to build the connection between them and their job, organisation and colleagues. Soft skills help to create an environment of belonging and purpose that increases employee engagement, something that is also known to directly impact on business outcomes such as productivity. 

To work effectively with one another, we need the soft skills that allow us to understand and interact with other people and emotionally navigate situations.  Ensuring employees are equipped with the right soft skills for their role is therefore essential in enabling them to communicate and collaborate more effectively and also to develop greater understanding and the positive working relationships which improve the overall workplace culture. This in turn can improve teamwork and job satisfaction, raise morale and increase efficiency and performance which all contribute to increased productivity and better employee retention.

As UK business faces the possibility of economic slow down and recession, organisations will need to be on top of their game as they navigate through enforced change.  Emotionally intelligent employees with soft skills such as resilience, empathy, communication, problem solving, teamwork and self-confidence, will needed more than ever to make a real contribution to improving overall business performance and ultimately an organisation's success.

A work in progress. Resilience to evolve and succeed.

Martha Aviles is a marketing executive based in Austin, Teas. She has 20 years of high-tech marketing experience in SaaS, semiconductor, networking, and network security at start-ups, private, and public companies and has focused on impacting high-growth companies with innovative, measurable marketing strategies. Martha’s dynamic background is in leading and building high-performance marketing teams that include demand generation, integrated marketing, product marketing, digital marketing, public relations, brand management, analyst relations, and crisis communications.  

Martha parents were Nicaraguan immigrants who arrived in Miami Florida in the 1970s. They didn't speak the language but they both worked really hard and became college graduates with her father becoming an electrical engineer. Martha was born and grew up in Miami before moving to southern California and then Austin, Texas in the early 90s primarily because it was developing into a tech hub. She didn’t want an engineering career for herself so became involved in technical marketing, the career she has pursued for the last twenty years.

When she was a child many people didn’t know that Nicaragua was a country let alone where it was. People would ask her if it was in Africa and when she said it was in Central America she would be told there was no such place. She got very tired trying to explain it so often just said she was from Cuba! Martha felt she didn't really fit in anywhere. In Miami she grew up with many Nicaraguans. Her first language was Spanish and she didn't even speak English until she was six but she always felt there was an American edge. Now though she feels she is a third culture child – she doesn't totally fit in either Nicaragua or the US but rather can fit in anywhere.

In Miami a lot of Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Nicaraguans stayed together. There were Nicaraguan restaurants that had been run by families for generations and these became gathering places. This was not the case in some of the other places she lived in. Her family moved a lot before she was twelve and when they eventually moved to Austin she realised there were not a lot of Nicaraguans in Texas.  Martha feels that you can’t build that type of community and most of her friends were from other ethnicities such as Philippine or Vietnamese with immigrant parents and being a first generation American.

Houston is a very diverse ‘international’ city but other parts of Texas are far less diverse and are very ‘Texas Proud’. Martha found it a struggle because many people thought she was Mexican and that was particularly frustrating because it felt as if Mexican was only Hispanic culture. When Martha moved to Texas in 1986 she lived in a small town for a couple of years called Harper Heights where she got beaten up at school every day because she was the only brown kid. It was very challenging but she knew she was resilient as a child – she didn't know the terminology but knew she couldn't quit and that there was something better waiting on the other side.  

Martha feels she had tenacity and stubbornness and that this built over time by having to deal with a lot of challenges. It’s something she still work on though - things keep getting thrown at you as you get older although you think you’re resilient enough and don't need another challenge! Children are often very resilient and Martha feels that there is an immigrant work ethic that tells you that you don't quit. She was also an oldest child so knew the pressure was on her to blaze a trail for the family in the US. This was difficult at times because her parents didn’t know what she was going through for the first time. She often asked why didn't they know about this or why didn't they give me the heads up about that until she realised it was up to her to make it easier for her family and sisters. Not wanting to disappoint her younger siblings did help build her character though.

Some parents expect their children to feel gratitude towards them. They say ‘look at what we’ve done for you’ but Martha’s parents used to tell her to remember her name and that she shouldn’t tarnish her reputation. Martha always felt this was very negative and not a good pressure and sometimes when she was a bit down her parents would say she was setting an example her sisters.

As an adult she now feels that what was a difference and a negative when she was a child is now her superpower and that it has given her an advantage in the real world. At college when she decided she was not going to be an engineer she realised she had a knack for people. She grew up feeling it was unsafe being who she was because of her skin colour, her language and lack of English and that to survive she had to figure people out very quickly. She had to adapt to stay safe so now feels that it really helps her in marketing – she can listen to people’s stories and get in their heads at a different level to other people. As she gets older she finds that she embraces her story and finds it empowering – it was a hard road to get there and to understand who she was and that's she’s OK with it.

Martha thinks that it she could go back and talk to her ten year old self that she would say a couple of things. One that its going to be OK because there were many times she couldn't see the path forward and two that she shouldn’t care so much about what other people think. However much you try to be a good person, you’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and that you shouldn’t waste a lot of time trying to get people to like you because it's a real waste of time. To navigate this path you need to understand what parts are mine to own and what parts can I lose. Martha still struggles and wants to be liked but different challenges and life has helped her realise that being a people pleaser doesn't work long term and that you will still get through even if everybody doesn't like or understand you.

To try to get ahead some female executives have developed social fluency, others a ‘bitch from hell’ persona whilst others try being a woman in a man’s suit. All are legitimate strategies but social fluency and being able to get on with people in a more adult and honest way of getting on. If you are agreeable it can be easier to get on in life but then people can be shocked when you do disagree about something and find it hard to take you seriously.

Martha feels that life is work in progress. Her background gave her goal metrics and an idea of where she was meant to be going and the points she needed to hit but then she realised that once she hit the goals there were still more challenges. Life is about evolving and facing challenges and continuing to broaden your knowledge to be a better person. This is a process that continues until we die so we need to look at it as a process and try to enjoy it rather than consider it a mountain to climb and once you reach the top its over.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

Why neurodiversity is good for your business

It is suggested that around one in seven of the UK population are neurodiverse, the term used to describe someone who thinks differently though conditions such as ADHD, autism, Asperger syndrome, dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia.  These “spectrum” conditions have a wide range of characteristics, but share some common features in the way people learn and process information. Increasingly , it has been shown that these characteristics can bring a variety of strengths to the workplace, such as problem solving, pattern identification and enhanced visual spatial thinking.

In the workplace neurodiverse people can use their unique qualities to excel in specific areas and provide new perspectives to old challenges. For example, people with autism tend to be logical and data-driven and do not fall into confirmation biases easily. People with dyslexia are often inventive and creative with around 20 per cent of the UK’s entrepreneurs being dyslexic, including Richard Branson, Lord Sugar and Jamie Oliver.

Whilst there are tasks and roles that neurodiverse people are well suited to, there are others that may not be right for them or environments that don't play to their strengths. Workplaces and work patterns are generally designed by neurotypical people and the ways of working that help neurodiverse people perform may be seen as out of place. Bright office lights or computer screens, noisy open-plan offices, and a lack of personal organisation could prove very difficult but are relatively easily adjusted. Strengths-based management that focuses on enabling people to do what they can do and love to do (whilst avoiding the things they can’t do) and aligns these abilities to what the organisation is trying to achieve, can also help get the best from neurodiverse employees.

Aspects of good support and management are equally applicable to all employees - giving clear instructions, ensuring staff are not overloaded and providing a working environment that is free of distractions - but specific knowledge about neurodiversity should also be shared. Teams can then understand and accommodate co-workers and provide help where needed. Neurodiverse staff also won’t necessarily pick up on any ‘unwritten rules’ of your company, so HR departments and line managers should be aware of each member of the team’s strengths and weakness to alleviate any workplace issues.

Provided ways of minimising any areas of weakness can be put in place, there are great benefits for employers having employees who think differently. Creativity, lateral thinking, bringing a different perspective, the development of highly specialised skills and the consistency in tasks once mastered are all skills that allow companies to be more innovative, spot solutions others may have missed and make better decisions as a result. Ultimately though, neurodiversity in the workplace is about helping everyone thrive and seeing everyone as talent no matter how their brain works.

Why businesses need resilience

Recent research by MHR International shows the challenges mid-size UK and Irish companies are facing in today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. Over 500 senior leaders from businesses employing between 500 and 5000 people were interviewed to find their views on the importance of resilience in dealing with change and challenges. The major threats they saw were the expectations surrounding their businesses growth as they compete against multinationals and of staying ahead of agile start-ups.

Recessions and financial crisis are of course not strangers to long-established companies but the pandemic brought unforeseen and previously unknown challenges. Now, businesses face another set of problems including the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine. 

Many businesses came though the pandemic and will now deal with these new challenges because they are resilient and have the ability not only to deal with change but also to use the experience as a catalyst for further development.

So, in the short term, a resilient business will get through challenging periods but then in the longer term they will start to see a positive impact on productivity and work quality as well as improved employee engagement, performance and an inclusive and secure work culture.

There is no doubt there will be tough times ahead but a resilient business will not just survive, it will thrive.

Setting a vision for success

Paola Knecht is a certified leadership, transformational, and self-development coach with fifteen years of experience working in leading-edge global corporations, including Viatris and Syngenta. She has recently published her first book The Success Mindset: Take Back the Leadership of Your Mind which challenges the mainstream view of success and asks her readers to redefine success so it is truly meaningful to them.

In her research, Paola looked at the difference between people who are extraordinary and reach things no one thinks are possible and people who don't achieve everything they want to. She feels that many people are living against an externalised idea of what success looks like rather than what matters to them and that they are following a definition of success that was not really defined by them but comes from external sources.

Paola thinks the first thing to consider is what success look like for each individual. For her, success is about discovering and following a vision and really thinking about what makes life meaningful. Not in terms of houses, cars or money because even though you may have reached certain milestones in the corporate world, it doesn’t mean you were successful in your own terms. You may have achieved all of the things you think you should have done but you still feel empty or stuck, don't find meaning in your life, feel bored or fall into the trap of never ending consumption. It’s about who you are rather than what you have.  

At different points in your career there is a chance to reset. Paola left Mexico because she wanted to travel. When she was a child her father gave her a globe which she used study. She graduated in engineering so when she had to choose where to continue her studies study she choose a Masters programme in Switzerland which gave her the opportunity to see more of Europe. Paola’s vision was that she wanted to see more of the world.  She feels we all need to set a vision for ourselves and that one way of doing this is reflecting back on what we enjoyed doing when we were children, before we took on responsibilities, followed other trends and disconnected from activities we loved. This can still be relevant as you get older. Not everyone will be clear on what they want, others are still not sure or discover they aren’t happy doing what they are doing and don’t know how to make the changes they need.

Paola thinks that resilience is something we are all born with, that's an inborn trait. This resilience muscle provides us with a self succeeding mechanism but as we get older and grow out of our inner self we tend to listen and comply to other people.  We forget our resilience muscle and don't ‘train’ it any more so become people pleasers who try to live in a world were we are liked by others and fill their expectations, Then, when a big challenge comes along we find ourselves helpless, asking ourselves ‘what do I do next’, ‘I don't want to fail and my self image be ruined’.

A way of growing resilience is to stop people pleasing. Always working to be liked gets in the way of understanding yourself and having your own sense of self. We need to learn to let go of peoples perceptions of us -  if we don't have our own vision, everyone’s else version of us becomes important.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.

You can find out more about Paola at www.my-mindpower.com

Her book is available at https://www.amazon.com/author/paolaknecht

How our narrative determines our choices.

The latest episode in our Resilience Unravelled series has now been released, Resilience Unravelled – How our narrative determines our choices.

Kimberly Spencer is an award-winning high performance coach and trainer, who is currently based on the Gold Coast of Australia. Originally from Los Angeles, Kimberly is also and Amazon best-selling co-author, international motivational speaker, and founder of CrownYourself.com where she helps visionary leaders build their empire and stand out in their full potential in their bodies, businesses, and relationships.

Kimberly’s uses her personal experience to inspire, motivate, and coach her clients using what she has learned from her personal development to help others to find their truth. She feels very strongly that we learn from different experiences and that in every problem there is an opportunity to grow.  The narrative we feed ourselves is incredibly important - the old adage of whether the news is good or bad comes back to the news being how we view it and what we decide it is.

She feels this also equates to the narrative of whether we see ourselves as a success or a failure. We all have successes and failures but we don't tend to share our failures so other people only see the successes. The link running through all our successes and failures is having the resilience to pick ourselves up and carry on. Our narrative also determines the choices we have and ultimately the control we have over our lives. We might not like some of the choices we are given and would prefer different options but we all have the ability to choose the attitude we take in that space. No one can take away the way we respond to a choice.

This power of personal choice is especially important to Kimberly as she grew up in a household with an addict father, which made her early home life very difficult. She realised she was a people pleaser so had to learn the importance of self-love. The pressure to be perfect can be overwhelming and cause people to blame themselves for just being human.  Often we link our personal value to something tangible. We need to get away from this external validation and external pleasing and not live our lives at the behest of other people.

Kimberly also talks about identity and how people attach it to things such as bank balances or weight. By attaching identity to the number on the scale, we are looking at it as the effect of choices that have been made. Having these choices allows us to be ourselves and, equally, making a choice not to do something is incredibly empowering because we’re cleansing ourselves and getting rid of things we don't want to do.

You can listen to the podcast in full here. Our previous podcast episodes and upcoming guest list are also available and there is an option to sign-up to receive our podcast episodes on release. Our full blog archive is also available and you can sign-up to receive these on a weekly basis.

You can find out more about Kimberly here.