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The Leadership Vacuum: What to Do When Your Ship Has No Captain
Throughout my 25-year career, I’ve witnessed quite a few leadership vacuums. It’s what happens when a team lacks clear, accountable leadership or chain of command. Sometimes it’s a physical absence where leadership unexpectedly resigns or retreats with poor succession planning in place. But sometimes, it’s a much slower burn where leadership might technically be present,…
Organizational Grit: The Foundation For Perseverance & Sustained Success
In Corporate America, those who have reached the highest levels of success are the ones who are not content with being average. The ones who avoid complacency, holding a deep-rooted desire to improve themselves in all aspects of life. Oftentimes, they’ve turned their passion into a profession, and remain committed despite multiple challenges, obstacles or required sacrifices that arise over time.
In essence, they are in love with the process. Not just the results.
Understanding Generation Z In the Workplace
A new generation of workers is upon us.
It’s time to meet Generation Z, the nearly 61 million individuals born between 1997 and 2012, who are entering our workforce at a rapid rate, bringing with them an entirely new set of skills, values, ideas, priorities and traits to the workplace. Don’t feel like you know this generation well? Consider, that by the end of 2019, Gen Z is expected to overtake Millennials as the largest generation in the world. It may come as a surprise, but a majority of Millennials are now young adults, some as old as 38, who are well established in their professional careers. At UPMC, Millenials make up 46% of our workforce, while Gen Z accounts for nearly 7%. Though each year, the make-up of these two generations at work continues to grow.
You Don’t Need to Be Rich to Contribute to Charitable or Philanthropic Efforts
With the holiday season on the horizon, there is no better time than now for you to get into the spirit of giving. Building a culture of giving within your organization is an effective way to impact lives beyond office walls while simultaneously enriching the lives of your own employees. Through charitable giving and philanthropic endeavors, we can all do our part to make a difference for the greater good of society by helping those in less fortunate situations. And by doing so, companies can create a unified culture that promotes inclusiveness, selflessness and positive workplace environments.
Think Pink: A look into Breast Cancer Awareness as we Conclude October Breast Cancer Awareness Month
For the past month, you’ve probably noticed an infusion of the color pink intermixed throughout your day-to-day life. You know, the pink signs and posters in storefront windows. The pink clothes on sale in retail stores at the mall. The pink cookies at the grocery store. The pink apparel worn by NFL players during Steelers games. The pink pins, ribbons, and bracelets your friends and family proudly wear each day.
Because in October, pink is all over.
As you likely know, pink is the color associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which annually comes to the forefront throughout the month of October. It’s a staple over the 31-day span, signifying an effort to take steps toward finding a cure for a disease that takes the lives of over 41,000 women each year in the United States. Most of us probably know someone who has been affected by breast cancer in one form or another – whether it’s their own diagnosis or the diagnosis of someone close to them – and have been forced to face the battle head-on.
Tackling Tough Workplace Conversations
Regardless of your position or title, participating in tough conversations at work comes with the job. As an engaged employee, it is your responsibility to address and rectify these challenges as they arise to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
Tough topics are diverse in circumstance. Anything from poor work performance, inappropriate workplace behavior, emotional reactions, mental health stresses, verbal/sexual harassment and layoffs or terminations call for serious conversations that require effort and an effective communication strategy.
Although tackling tough topics in the workplace comes with the territory of being a servant leader, it isn’t always an easy task. Use these four tips to constructively handle these conversations in order to maintain a healthy and productive work environment.
How to Practice Servant Leadership
Leadership is a unique skill. It requires confidence, poise, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, industry expertise, accountability, passion and drive to be a great leader. When all are combined, leaders are able to act as a resource others can rely on – both from professional and personal standpoints.
There are various forms of leadership, some producing better results than others. An effective strategy I’ve experienced throughout my professional career is the concept of Servant Leadership.