Michelle Ray

Why diversity and inclusion matters in the workplace

June 19, 2019 by Michelle Ray

We do live in a world that is so rich with cultural experiences, with people who are traveling the globe, and are seeking these experiences. And it’s important to understand that when it comes to how people are seeing the world outside of work, how they are seeing the world within the workplace, that really, that delineation is becoming less evident.

In other words, inclusiveness matters whether we are not working or whether we are around our colleagues. We want to have these rich experiences. It’s important to give workers the opportunity to see different sides of the world. And that is all about what’s going on in your workplace, not necessarily outside of your workplace.

You see, people want these experiences, and they’re expecting it. And especially when you think about the generations coming into the work force, it really matters to them to be a part of a workplace that celebrates diversity and inclusion, and as I said at the outset, where there will be a time where we will no longer need to identify it as a topic and a necessity. It’ll be a matter of course.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbLnFz7Db8w&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Michelle Ray (Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Great leaders share success and let others shine

June 12, 2019 by Michelle Ray

One of the biggest turnoffs for just about anyone at work, is to be around a leader who takes all the credit.

It’s very important, if you wanna practice authentic leadership, to share your successes with the team, to share team success, to not be the person who is only focused on yourself, and thinking to yourself, well I’m automatically gonna look good when they look good. Now that’s gonna happen. But when your total focus is on you, and wanting to look good of the sake of looking good, your team is gonna recognize that in a heartbeat. And it really does turn people off. And they notice that about you.

So, remember that getting the team excited about success is an intangible motivator. And that means it’s something that you can’t put a price on. So why would you wanna take all the credit and have people feel like they made no contribution? That can be easily remedied by taking a step back, being humble, and recognizing that people can bask in their own glory of success. And you helped to make that happen.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNVakwUu2hs&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

“Dead Wood” Employees

June 7, 2019 by Michelle Ray

This article was originally posted on November 9, 2016, and has been updated.

“I’m done.” If an employee is telling you this, it means she has reached her limit. For one reason or another.

It could have nothing to do with low morale, lack of opportunity, or a dislike of her job.

She may be ready to move up, move on or begin a new chapter in her life.

All perfectly reasonable reasons to leave a position.

However, she may have shut down or become apathetic. Or maybe she is sucking the life out of her co-workers by being negative day in and day out.

Also known as a “dead wood employee”.

Why humility is important in Leadership

June 5, 2019 by Michelle Ray

When I think back to my career and one of the most influential leaders in my history at work, it was an individual who practiced tremendous humility and I found it to be an incredibly attractive quality. This was a person who was very transparent and always willing to let us know when she had made a mistake and whenever she was successful, she also knew how to be humble and there wasn’t a lot of room for her ego in her leadership style and today people are still craving that humility for their leaders and from their leaders.

You see, humility is not humiliation. Humility is strength. Humility is a willingness to display that you are human and that you do make mistakes, so be the humble leader because when you are the humble leader, you are the authentic leader and that will add to your repertoire of skills that will make you successful for years to come.

One of the most decorated war veterans in Australia was a fellow by the name of Sir Edward Dunlop and he had this to say about humility. He says the ideal leader is the servant of all able to display humility without the loss of authority. Humility as a leader is one of the most desirable qualities that you can posses. It’s what makes you authentic, it’s what makes you attractive to your workforce.

So, remember, humility is something that all of us can tap into. All we need to do is show our true selves and show up in total integrity and honesty.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIOtJBcnoww&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

Passionate Leadership: 12 Key Traits That Distinguish The Best From The Rest

May 24, 2019 by Michelle Ray

This article was originally published on September 7, 2016, and has been updated.

Do you remember your first encounter with a passionate leader?

The reality is that any leader can be passionate…if they know what to do.

But first, let’s look at why this is so important. [Read more…] about Passionate Leadership: 12 Key Traits That Distinguish The Best From The Rest

Leading Organizations: The Ability To Influence (SHRM)

April 25, 2019 by Michelle Ray

So, SHRM identify leadership competencies in three different categories, leading organizations, leading self, and leading others. And when it comes to leading organizations the ability to influence is one that they identify, and something that is so important to you as a leader because it’s not about your title.

Are you an influencer? What does it mean to be able to influence? To be able to influence in your organization is something that everyone of us needs to focus on because when you are able to influence you are able to demonstrate a genuine interest in others before putting forth your own agenda. You are also a person who is setting a trend, who is an innovator, who recognizes that it is important to be one step ahead.

So, you are unafraid to chart a new course. And you are ready to be able to influence a situation by the way that you carry yourself. So, think about your own demeanor. Think about how you come across. People who are influencers recognize that it’s all about who they are in terms of their character, in terms of their passion, in terms of their enthusiasm, in in terms of their conviction.

Great influencers are confident in their position and they recognize that before they can advance their own position they need to be able to listen first in order to then influence. Is that you?

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnSw8btJbNGI on YouTube.

Resilience and Optimism as Leadership Competencies – Be Resilient and optimistic!

April 18, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Two great competencies for an executive are resilience and optimism. Is that you? Are you a resilient executive? Because in order to be successful and continue to have success in today’s economy, we need to be able to hone our resilience muscle.

When you think about all the trials and tribulations of your business, all the change and upheaval that you’ve experienced, that has given you the inner strength to continue to face the next opportunity. Resilience is strength. It is something that we all have the ability to tap into because we have weathered the storm.

We have gone through adversity. We’ve gone through personal challenges, professional challenges, business challenges and that’s what makes us stronger. So it is one of the most desirable competencies that organizations are looking for in their executives, is to know that they are resilient and that they are willing to do what it takes to take on the next challenge and to tap into their inner strength in order to make it happen.

Remember, when you are a resilient leader, you will face the challenges, you have faced them with an optimistic outlook and you know that when you look at the world through an optimistic lens, you are more likely to be able to meet that challenge head-on and rise to the occasion by being the absolute best that you can.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i9Sme8-VZo on YouTube.

Why Conflict Management is an Essential Interpersonal Skill

April 11, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Conflict management is the higher order of interpersonal skills. It is so important as a leader that you are able, that you that the ability, the competency, to be able to manage conflict. You may not always resolve it, but let’s make no mistake that as a leader if we do not address conflict it is an enormous cost to morale.

It is one of the key reasons to why people start thinking about leaving a job. And it actually is one of the biggest demotivators to individuals who were already performing well and were feeling good about what they’re doing, and they notice that their leader has not addressed an issue between their colleagues. So, your ability to manage and resolve conflict if possible, as I said, to be able to resolve it, is something that your individuals who are involved in the conflict are looking to you to manage. And also the rest of your team are expecting that you are able to do that.

Developing these skills is really important because to the individuals having the issue, as I said, if they feel that you aren’t able to address it then where are they going to go? Who are they going to turn to? They’re not able to manage it on their own. So that’s why they’re looking to you to be able to help them to deal with that concern, whatever it might be.

Time and again I’ve had people coming to me, whether it’s through my coaching services, or during a workshop session. I only had it happen the other day where someone said to me, you know what? There is an issue with another manager who is a bully and I know that my senior leadership aren’t addressing that. They aren’t addressing the conflict between us. And as a result of that I’m really at a point where I don’t think I can stay. And that is a really sad thing.

So, this really capable person is considering walking away from their position after 14 years because their management, their senior leadership, aren’t able to deal with this conflict. So, I’m urging you to think about developing your skills when it comes to managing conflict to the absolute best of your ability rather than risk losing great people.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkvJZeSHmBA on YouTube.

Communicating effectively is the Secret to Success

April 4, 2019 by Michelle Ray

Communicating effectively. Is that you? Communication is the secret to success. Without understanding others, without understanding that we, when we send a message as leaders, we are ultimately responsible. Your communication is not something that other people should be trying to figure out.

In any communication, there is always a sender and a receiver. So when we are communicating with others, we need to communicate effectively. We need to be clear. We need for others to understand exactly what they mean. The leader who communicates a message and then thinks to themselves, hmmm, I don’t think they got it. Well, if that’s you, then it’s actually your responsibility.

It’s not the other person’s task to understand what you meant. It’s your responsibility to be clear, and every person needs different communication. Some people, they may not need a lot. They may already have the skills to do the task, but there are others who need more direction, more communication from you. So we can’t communicate with everyone in exactly the same way.

We need to be flexible ourselves, and those leaders who have the ability to communicate effectively understand that one size doesn’t fit all. Being a great communicator is everything because business is all about communication, and business is all about people. So I would suggest if you wanna be a better communicator as a leader, do everything possible to hone those skills to be open to learning to be open to communicating.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIbqu54h2_8 on YouTube.

Valuing Diversity and Difference

February 28, 2019 by Michelle Ray

In leading others as SHRM say, one of the most important things that we can do is value diversity and differences in others. To be able to celebrate those differences is gonna make you successful as a leader, and it’s gonna make your organization successful. Because we want to be able to embrace differences and not to categorize people because they are different. That is the key to having success for our organizations.

It’s never been more relevant than it is today. Do you value diversity? Do you value diversity, gender diversity, cultural diversity, divergent thinking? That is what makes you a great organization. That is what makes you an organization that is separating yourself from the competitors, separating yourself from your competitors. Because people are watching you. They are watching you as a leader. They are watching you as an organization. Make no mistake that you as a leader, when people are assessing your business, are assessing the opportunity to work for your organization. They are looking at your ability to recognize and celebrate diversity. Because if we look at the world through a myopic lens we are in trouble.

We need to be able to celebrate all the differences that are out there in terms of people, in terms of their way of thinking, in terms of the way that they are operating. My hope is that for you as a leader you will always remain open minded.

Because, as a famous poet Anonymous once said, many an open mind should be closed for a repairs.

This article is a transcript from Michelle Ray’s Leadership Secrets at YouTube YouTube.

Michelle Ray

Footer

Head Office