Engagement: 5 Pragmatic Solutions to Apply Today

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Employee Engagement|Engagement: 5 Pragmatic Solutions to Apply TodayIt’s not perks and policies that move the dial on employee engagement. It’s the boss’s behavior. If you’re a boss, here are five tools to up your game.

Just about everyone in the U.S. has a cell phone. No news there, right? According to the Pew Research Center, in 2018, 99% of 18- to 49-year-olds, 97% of college graduates, and 98% of people with household incomes of $75K+ owned a cell phone. And nearly just as many people had access to the internet. The upside of these stats is positive, and the pandemic proved it. During long periods of isolation, we had technology to stay connected when we couldn’t physically keep in touch with one another.

But even pre-pandemic, a downside to this connectedness was observed in workplaces across the globe. With more technology—and, as a result, more data—came less face time. Managers and supervisors became glued to their reports, their screens, and their devices. Since technology became our third arm, we’ve gone heads-down and are less physically connected at work. Our leaders at every level have become less visible and their presence less felt.

At least, that’s what our observations from some 30,000 assessments have revealed. The more advanced the company’s technology, the less prone leadership is to be out on the floor, walking and talking with their teams. Even casual connections have become less purposeful. While the boss may still be in the game, using data to report what’s going on, he or she may not be perceived to be so by employees.

It’s time to show you’re in the game

Before the pandemic, engagement scores were terrifyingly low. If you sat in a meeting of 10 people, potentially eight of them were not fully present. Some of them could even have already mentally quit but stayed on. They weren’t engaged in your business, or worse, they may have disengaged and been actively working against you.

Take some consolation in the fact that you aren’t alone. These stats are global and ubiquitous the world over. But clearly, this knowledge isn’t helpful if you’re struggling to make your numbers, trying to achieve that next level of performance, or looking to transform your business. You need to aim for a 10 out of 10 engagement score. You need everyone to be all in.

So, how do you move the dial?

Tip 1: Get in the game. Lift your nose out of your devices, go heads up, and get in the game. Look, listen, and learn about what’s going on around you and how your team is feeling and performing. Prioritize people connections over internet connections. Whether you get out on the floor or attend more team meetings, get visible.

Tip 2: Practice HeadsUp leadership. When you routinely raise your head from your device and connect with people, you start to practice HeadsUp leadership, one of the simplest ways to immediately create better relationships with your teams. Doing so also results in safer, more productive, and engaging workplaces. Why? Because you see and hear things you can’t when you retreat to your reporting and devices.

Tip 3: Build a rhythm into your day. To help your team perform, use what we call “1.5.30.” Every day (1), check in for a quick catch-up. Every week (5), check in for 30 minutes to talk about overall performance progress. Once a month (30) check in for 60 minutes for a deep dive into how the job is going.

When you move this routine into a rhythm, you earn the right to provide performance feedback and to coach and guide people. But you also learn what you need to do to help people be successful by finding out what’s holding them back and developing your own action plans to improve the ecosystem in which people work.

Tip 4: Finetune your management behaviors. Do your own behaviors engage your people and kick-start continuous improvement? Are there clear objectives to your conversations? Do you and your teams plan assignments and agree on how often you’ll review progress?

Executed well, these behaviors enable your team to self-manage the variances out of their day—the difference between what was planned and what was actually achieved—and decide when they need your help.

Tip 5: Adopt the right tools. Do your management tools help you not only report results but also systematically plan and manage them? Are you using your forecasts, plans, schedules, reports, and action-planning tools to know which resources you need to do what, where, when, and how? When you have the right tools, you know exactly where you are and where you need to be. Which enables you to do what’s most important: engage with your teams to close any gaps.

What should be clear from these tips is how closely related engagement is to performance and operational results. Engagement gives you a multiplier. When you manage to engage, you address the healthy side of business (what we call humanize) and the fit side of business (what we call the optimize). Bring the two together, and you balance people, productivity, and profitability. While it’s great to add perks and policies for better engagement, what really moves the dial is when you manage to engage.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Pamela HackettPamela Hackett is the Global CEO of the international consultancy Proudfoot. Throughout her 35 years in management consulting, she has advised, led, and guided some of the world’s most prominent companies and brands through major change. Her new book, Manage to Engage: How Great Managers Create Remarkable Results, is a compendium of ideas and resources that will help any business focus on what matters—their people—to be more productive and profitable. Learn more at pamelahackett.com.

5 Tips on How to Identify Phishing Emails

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Phishing|5 Tips on How to Identify Phishing EmailsLet us begin with defining and understanding phishing; it is a cybercrime in which a target victim is contacted by email, phone call or text message. The contact is established by someone illegally posing as a genuine establishment or an organization to lure individuals into giving out and surrendering sensitive data such as personal information, banking and financial credentials. The goal of phishing is to trick the recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need officially, like a request from their bank or probably a note from someone in their company and click a link or download an attachment that usually contains malicious software. What separates phishing is the attacker’s pretense as a trusted body of some sort to gain the victim’s faith.

Phishing is one of the oldest forms of cyberattacks, but that does not mean it is harmless. It is still one of the most prevalent and malicious types of cyberattacks to exist. Phishing is one of the most common means of cybercrime and what is worrying is that despite how much we think we know about scam emails, there are still people who frequently fall victim to this cyber attack.

Let’s see how to identify Phishing emails, the subtle signs that should help you spot one and how to stay protected from them.

1. Check if the message is sent from a public email domain

There is no chance of a genuine organization sending you an email from an address that ends with a public domain such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. Authentic and genuine businesses would have their own email domain and company accounts. If the domain name matches the sender of the email, the message is in all totality legitimate.

Another way to check a business’s domain name is to do a quick google search making it easy to detect phishing.

Many of us don’t ever look at the email address that a message has come from, which also holds many clues that can help you spot a phishing email.

When cybercriminals create their fake email addresses to lure people into their schemes, they often have the option to select the display name, which does not have to relate to the email address at all. Therefore, they can use a phoney email address that will turn up in your inbox with the display name of a trusted brand or business.

2. Obvious grammar and spelling errors

If you get an email from a big business or organization, but it contains many basic spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, it is an obvious sign that it is a phishing email. Therefore, you should read the email carefully and check for these mistakes because they serve as clues that help you identify a phishing email.

3. Open attachments with utmost care

Email attachments are necessary and carry a lot of vital information, but they are the biggest threat to your device, and you could end up becoming a victim of phishing. This is the reason why it is essential to scan every attachment in your email.

Email attachments, particularly from unknown senders, can have viruses, malware and other malicious programs that could hamper the security of your system and make it easier for an attacker or cyber-criminal to gain access.

So, make sure to scan all attachments you receive from both known and unknown senders to stay protected.

4. Protect your email by using an SSL Certificate

We often wonder is this website safe? The threat of phishing is growing daily, with websites and emails at most risk of this menace. To make emails more secure and resilient to online attacks like MiTM attacks, you should get Cheap SSL Certificate. Secure Socket Layer gives a safe and secure transfer-layer interaction among two end-users, the sender of the email and the receiver.

Installing an SSL certificate warrants that every communication between the server and browser stays encrypted and secured from external threats. In addition, an SSL certificate encrypts communications on websites whenever it is technically feasible, making it harder for attackers to shoot phishing emails.

5. The message has a sense of urgency

If you receive an email giving a piece of essential news or update and asking you to reply and act immediately, it mostly is a phishing email. But a careful study of such email or message makes you realize that the organization doesn’t get in touch with you by that email address, and you learn that they did not send you a document at all. That is why so many scams and phishing schemes request that you act as soon as possible. It is also common for phishing emails to instill panic in the recipient as if you would incur some heavy loss if you do not act. The email may claim that your account may have been compromised, and the only way to confirm it is if you enter your login details, such as username and password. And with this act, you have just given away your details to the scammers. Then again, the email might state that your account will be locked if you do not act instantly.

So, ensure that you take the time to go through the processes mentioned above and check if it is a genuine email and act only if and when, you are sure. If you are unsure, however, contact the company directly through some other means.

4 Tips to Help You Overcome Imposter Syndrome

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Imposter Syndrome|4 Tips to Help You Overcome Imposter SyndromeThe period after accepting a job is filled with a range of emotions. You are excited for what the future holds, but you may also feel overwhelmed by the stress of expectation. This can cause you to experience imposter syndrome, where you believe you aren’t as capable as everyone thinks you are and, sooner rather than later, you will get found out. This can be a debilitating experience that could impact your performance. So how can you overcome imposter syndrome and thrive? Here are four tips to help you.

Gain Experience

Inexperienced professionals are often most prone to experience imposter syndrome, and one of the easiest ways to beat this is to gain experience. Internships, courses, and programs like the HBS 2+2 can all help you prepare for a new role or position and help you understand what a professional environment is like. This approach can settle your nerves and enables you to get a feel for appropriate behavior and decorum within the office. Depending on the type of experience you seek, you can also learn key teamwork skills and improve your presentations to prevent nerves.

Use Positive Self Talk

If you’re someone who uses self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism, it’s time to make changes and overcome imposter syndrome. Understanding the benefits of using positive self-talk will help you believe in yourself more. Although you might not think self-deprecation is doing any harm, it can eventually rewire your brain to doubt yourself at every turn. Replacing this talk with a positive attitude will alter your entire way of thinking, which will give you the confidence you need to succeed.

Recognize Your Strengths

Similarly, it’s easy to highlight your faults and know what you can’t do, which is one of the major issues with imposter syndrome. But, identifying things you are good at and having the confidence to show these skills off is a great way to overcome any feelings that you’re not good enough for the role. It can be even more effective to write these skills down and use them as a ‘Brag Sheet’ that you can reference whenever you’re feeling low on confidence as it can help you refocus.

Have Someone to Talk To

You don’t need to deal with imposter syndrome alone, and having someone to talk to will give you the emotional support you need to cope with any doubts you might have. This support network, whether it be your partner, friends, fellow professionals, or even strangers, is crucial for gaining a different perspective and helps you approach your problems from a new angle. It’s easy to gain tunnel vision when you feel overwhelmed with imposter syndrome, but getting advice from others will broaden your scope and give you positive reinforcement.

Overcome

Often, your biggest enemy is yourself, but it doesn’t need to be. It is natural to feel you are not good enough, but knowing there is a reason you were hired and reminding yourself that you are good enough will help you overcome imposter syndrome and excel in your career.

Top 4 Tips for a Healthy Work-Life Balance

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Work-Life Balance|Top 4 Tips for a Healthy Work-Life BalanceWork is inescapable; it pays the bills and it brings food to the table. Before, the boundaries between work and home were separate. However, with the rise of workaholism, people’s jobs have taken over their personal lives.

Recovering from one’s workaholic habits can be challenging; however, it is not impossible. Here are the top 4 tips for building a healthy work-life balance.

What is Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance refers to finding a happy medium between one’s job and one’s personal life. Examples of a poor work-life balance include working longer hours, cracking under pressure, and/ or suffering abundant responsibilities both at work and at home.

According to Kevin Lucas, co-founder of New Hope Regeneration, “how the body relates to an environment directly impacts the way a patient [lives and] moves.” When a person’s job takes over their life, their relationship to such an environment can result in stress, a weakened immune system, and/or burnout.

Preserving a work-life balance is essential for the human body and brain; it can benefit health and well-being, reduce physical and emotional stress, and encourage positive self-esteem.

Abandon Perfectionism

A lot of overachievers tend to root for perfection in their assignments. As well-meaning as that is, this kind of ambition can also encourage emotional pressure and stress.

Rather than strive for perfection, one should strive to get the job done. By investing too much energy on perfection, it ultimately makes the task at hand harmful and more difficult.

Start Small

It all begins with baby steps. When one attempts drastic changes, like cutting work hours in half or vowing to attend daily family gatherings, the effort often ends in failure. Building a work-life balance isn’t a simple task, but a lifestyle.

Baby steps are preferable as they help make the transition from old habits to new ones digestible and much more obtainable. Rather than cutting one’s work hours in half, one should cut one or two hours. Likewise, instead of vowing to attend family gatherings each day, one should begin with one event each week. Once a person gets accustomed to these small changes, they can then make longer strides without feeling intimidated.

Set Boundaries

Having a lack of boundaries is what enables one’s work to infiltrate their personal life. One should set boundaries for themselves and their co-workers. For example, one should learn how to say “no.” As scary as it is, having the power to reject an activity one can’t or does not want to handle helps one re-assess and evaluate their priorities. When a person says “no” to more work, they say “yes” to dedicating more time for themselves.

Exercise and Meditate

Nowadays, self-care is often misinterpreted as a luxury, not a necessity. The truth is, taking care of oneself is essential in order to reduce stress and keep on living. Exercise and meditation are great ways to preserve one’s mental and physical health. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can improve a person’s mood by promoting endorphins, otherwise known as feel-good hormones. Meanwhile, meditation can help reduce a person’s stress levels through breathing and other peaceful exercises. Meditation does this by activating a person’s parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxing the body. As helpful as exercise and meditation are, they should not be perceived as a chore; reserve at least 3-5 minutes for a quick breathing or meditation exercise, and at least 5-10 minutes for a short workout or stretch.

Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Accepting a Job|Things to Consider Before Accepting a JobNew jobs are a common part of life for many people. There are some cases of people working their first job staying there until they retire climbing up the ranks, but it’s not common. Many people will go through many phases of applying, interviewing, and accepting new jobs. It can be an exciting process. It indicates a new chapter in your life and can often lead to progression in your life.

However, not every job offer you get is going to be a great one. Some companies are better to work for than others, while others will not look fantastic on your resume. Some job roles may also just not suit you in terms of your life. There are so many things that you should be considering before taking a job. However, it can be far too easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new role. Here are some things to consider before accepting the job.

Look at Employee Reviews

Employee reviews are something that wasn’t that common before the use of the internet. Luckily now, individuals get to see how former employees found their experience in the role. This is a fantastic way to gauge what the working environment was like. If you don’t look at reviews, you could accept a very unpleasant job. Many companies are notoriously bad to work for, and don’t even follow basic employment laws. If you find yourself in this situation, you might even require an employment lawyer. A labor attorney in Denver is a good way to get out of these situations should they arise.

Compare it to Your Current Job

When you are accepting a new job, you have to understand that you will be giving up something in return. Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it is any better than your current situation. However, there are some things you should compare between the two jobs to help understand if it is the best decision for you. They are:

If you feel as if the new job offer betters your current role in many or all of these areas, you should be able to feel confident in accepting.

Is There Room for Growth?

Aspiring for growth in a company is a great motivator to work hard and achieve goals. So this should be something you should look at when searching for a new employer. During the interview process, it is recommended that you ask the individual, “what opportunities are there for growth in this role?” This will not only educate you on what sort of future you may have with the company, but it also shows the employer that you are striving for growth. If a company does not have any growth opportunities, that can be discouraging. This would mean that you are going to be in the same role for the foreseeable future. This might be okay if you are approaching retirement. However, it is not recommended. In this instance, you would have to leave to find a new opportunity to take on a better role.