Gone are the days when a paycheck, the employee of the month award, and the gold watch at retirement were sufficient motivators for people to perform at their best or to remain loyal and dedicated to the organization.
Just as technology has increased the borders of our markets, it has also increased competition for the best and brightest employees. Employees today seek to work for a company and leaders with whom they feel proud to be associated and who treat them like active contributors, not passive producers. They want to work for leaders who appreciate the value they add and rely on their passions and talents to every extent possible. An ‘influential leader’ is a leader with or without rank or position who leads with a positive mindset and is versed in the behaviour competencies of Self-awareness, Collaboration and Connection.
As such, influential leaders engage their employees in various ways, to include:
• Communicating effectively and regularly
• Sharing appropriate information
• Soliciting feedback
• Rewarding and recognizing good work
• Responding to personal and professional needs
• Providing timely and adequate resources and guidance
• Inviting then into decision making, problem solving, and the brainstorming process
All of these tactics have a behaviour component to them and require a behaviour awareness of the individual leader for their employees. All of these tactics, to be effective, require the skill of Positive Presence. Your behaviour makes the difference. As leaders you make a purposeful decision to engage your employees. Although engagement is a personal matter, as a leader, your power of influence is directly related to your ability to acquire and practice daily, a behavioural skill set that will create a culture that promotes a sense of personal ownership, accountability, and responsibility among their team members.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.