Michelle Ray

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Workplace

Understanding Political Skills in Great Leaders – Office Politics

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Let’s talk about political competencies as a leader. I’m not talking about you being an elected official, someone that has all the votes, but when it comes to your business, it’s all about understanding what is going on with the people dynamics, understanding when people are trying to get their own agendas heard. This is something that really does come with time and experience. When you are honing your skills as a leader and you get to understand the games that people are playing and how they’re trying to advance their own agendas, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

However, for you as a leader, it’s really important for you to understand that we need to manage these kind of office politics, business politics, because if we don’t, it could result in your team being very dysfunctional, and people are playing that game of trying to one-up each other, and of course, that could lead to disaster because people are constantly trying to advance their own agenda, but at what cost?

You as the leader need to really be cognizant of people trying to advance their own agenda, play the political games. What is that all about? How you manage that is really essential to keeping harmony, high morale, high engagement, and a fully functioning organization.

This article is a transcript from Understanding Political Skills in Great Leaders – Office Politics YouTube.

(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

On-boarding new Talent (Part 1)

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As leaders, your most pressing challenge is staying ahead of the curve. When it comes to your talent management strategy, the key to gaining the strategic advantage is your people. No matter how high tech the world continues to be, the success of your business, no matter what industry you work in, is dependent upon retaining the best talent.

Name any segment of the market right now that isn’t feeling he impact of a talent shortage. How did this happen? Well, there are many reasons that can explain the panic mode that businesses are experiencing. The retirement of millions of baby boomers and the availability of millennials to replace them, it counts for much of the struggle. Although, interestingly, organizations have known for some time that they will need to have a strategy in place to attract new talent.

Unfortunately, many haven’t fully anticipated the global competition for talent. In addition leaders at many levels are unaware of the impact of their own reputation. Personally as well as the reputation of their own employer brand on a new hire’s decision to stay.

In this series we’re gonna look at the key elements that you need to have in place to attract and retain the best people.

We need to be asking ourselves, if we’re leading ourselves, are we being the best possible example that we can be?

We manufacture a lot of our fear. All of us should look at leadership as being a mindset. It’s about being the leader of your own life and we have all have to choice to be able to do that.

You know there’s an old adage, people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. And this has total applicably for so many of you who are grappling right now with the talent shortage. Gallop research has found that 50 percent of employees leave because they’re frustrated with their boss. Now why are they frustrated? They’re frustrated for a myriad of reasons. Lack of direction, they can’t see the opportunity path, they feel excluded from the decision making process, or a lack of communication or maybe it could be because they feel that their boss is arrogant or narcissistic or even worse, they’re an egomaniac who takes all the credit when they do a good job.

Now what does this do? It creates a total lack of trust and it makes us feel insecure and start to question what we are doing in this position. So think about how many times you have left a position because of poor leadership. Or maybe the opposite is true. You’ve stayed because of an inspiring, caring leader who validates your work and makes it a priority to build a relationship with you. Every one of us wants that and we also want to feel like we’re doing purposeful, meaningful work and we want to see that connection between what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

So ask yourself, as a leader, are you demonstrating this? You see, leading by example is the one aspect of your talent management strategy that you can control. Jim Clifton, the CEO of Gallop, references the fact that one 10 percent of people have the god-given talent to lead. That is an amazing statistic. You see, for years Gallop has surveyed more than two million people in more than 30 countries on the topic of leadership and while there’s a great deal of emphasis on employee engagement, Gallop research also shows that more than 30 percent of leaders are disengaged. Now that is alarming. So consider the link between a disengaged leader and a disengaged employee.

What this means, and is a reminder for all of us, is that leaders profoundly influence the atmosphere and the direction of an individual’s career path. How can we be inspired to stay when our leaders are disengaged? There is a direct correlation between talent retention and a leader’s motivation. How they are engaged at work is gonna impact your team.

In summary, let’s remember that leaders profoundly impact an employee’s decision to stay or go. Also that leaders who are engaged themselves can engage others. Positive energy is infectious and the key is to remember that you want to be the leader that they stay for.

This post is a transcript of the content of a new video series on YouTube. Check it out here!

(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

Three Ways To Have More Fun At Work

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“It’s not fun anymore”… words I was not expecting to hear from the CEO of a highly successful enterprise. Was he referencing the state of his industry or the workplace in general…or both? The CEO was lamenting the fact that everything has changed: Shareholder expectations, demanding clients and a new generation of employees. Sadly, he was losing his passion and belief that work could once again be as enjoyable as his first five, ten, or twenty years had been. Please don’t suggest that he “should” retire. There are many individuals at every level of an organization who feel similarly, regardless of one’s age or position. [Read more…] about Three Ways To Have More Fun At Work

Three Ways To Sustain An Extraordinary Workplace Culture

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How often does one hear a president of a company open an event for his leadership team with the words: “Mom and Dad, I want to thank you for all you do”. Not only were his Mom and Dad in the audience, they were interacting with everyone throughout the entire meeting, from start to finish. The Founder (aka “Dad”) joined both his sons on stage to answer questions from attendees, holding nothing back. More than 300 people hung on his every word; laughing and at times moved to tears, as Dad told stories about the early days, his reasons for starting the company, as well has his vision for future success.  As I witnessed the smiles and animated conversations that ensued during coffee breaks, lunch and the reception afterwards, it was clear that this was no ordinary company. What made it so special? In a word: Culture.

The ability to sustain an extraordinary workplace culture while growing at an unprecedented rate is a scenario that many organizations would like to have. At the same time, preserving the unique attributes that make an enterprise successful can present its own set of challenges. The solution to maintaining an outstanding culture lies in consistently applying the following principles: [Read more…] about Three Ways To Sustain An Extraordinary Workplace Culture

Out Of Control: Three Reasons Why We Can’t (Or Won’t) Get Off The Work Treadmill

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“There aren’t enough hours in the day.” …The catchcry for the busy professional who laments the fact that if it were possible to cram more hours into a day, he or she would make it so. When will the “crazy busy” (workaholic) lifestyle give way to a more “sane” way of being? If you were to ask most people to answer this question, the likely response would be “perhaps never”. Or, you may hear complete denial regarding the reality of life spinning out of control. [Read more…] about Out Of Control: Three Reasons Why We Can’t (Or Won’t) Get Off The Work Treadmill

Workaholism – A Sanctioned Addiction: A Message For Dedicated Slaves…And Slave Drivers

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How do you extricate yourself from an unhealthy work situation? Is it more difficult to do when you relish a challenge? Can you tell the difference between being a workaholic and a hard worker? If you are an employer, are you treating your best people with respect, or are you rewarding hard work with more work? [Read more…] about Workaholism – A Sanctioned Addiction: A Message For Dedicated Slaves…And Slave Drivers

The Value Of Business Relationships: One Constant In A Changing World

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“I’m not a people person.” I will never forget hearing those words during a leadership workshop I was facilitating, nor will I forget the newly appointed manager who uttered them. The shocking truth is that according to the extensive Gallup study of 2.5 million manager-led teams in 195 countries, organizations fail to select the right person for the role of manager over 80% of the time.

Imagine the consequences for your employees, customers, and overall business success when a leader lacks critical acumen regarding the value of human-to-human connection. [Read more…] about The Value Of Business Relationships: One Constant In A Changing World

The Usual Suspects: Three Reasons Why Difficult People Win… And What You Can Do About It

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“She’s not happy unless everyone around her is panicked, nauseous or suicidal.” One of the unforgettable lines from Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) describing her boss, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”. Fortunately, Andy realized that she didn’t need to play her boss’s game, refused to be a doormat and ultimately rose above Miranda’s outrageously dysfunctional behavior. Not only did she gain her respect, she learned to respect herself, succeeded in detaching from the drama and set impenetrable boundaries. Sadly, the same cannot be said for many individuals who work with difficult people. How are they able to push every “hot” button with ease? Why do they win? And what can be done to minimize their negative impact on morale, productivity and workplace cultures? [Read more…] about The Usual Suspects: Three Reasons Why Difficult People Win… And What You Can Do About It

It’s Not You, It’s Me. Four Reasons Why Some Leaders Need to Look In The Mirror

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“Mirror Mirror on the Wall. Who’s the Fairest of Them All?” And the Wicked Queen would wait for the magic mirror’s expected response:  “My Queen, you are the fairest in the land.” And so it was, until one day the mirror shockingly revealed that times had changed:  “My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Snow White beyond the mountains at the seven Dwarfs is a thousand times more beautiful than you.” Instead of facing the truth, the Wicked Queen vowed to poison Snow White, plotting revenge at every opportunity. [Read more…] about It’s Not You, It’s Me. Four Reasons Why Some Leaders Need to Look In The Mirror

Understanding unconscious bias: Your perception becomes your truth

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Spanish philosopher George Santayana said in the Life of Reason: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (1905-1906) If there is any truth to the notion that history repeats itself, then Santayana’s prophetic insights are as relevant today as they were more than 100 years ago. [Read more…] about Understanding unconscious bias: Your perception becomes your truth