Author Archives: Larry Janis

Could Living Near the Office Make You a Better CEO?

 

 

 

 

by Morten Bennedsen, INSEAD; Mario Daniele Amore, Bocconi University; and Birthe Larsen, Copenhagen Business School

 

 

 

Besides enjoying a shorter commute, living close to the office may allow CEOs to boost ties with employees and the firm’s bottom line.

Be it offering more career development opportunities, better work-life balance or bigger bonuses, companies are constantly experimenting with ways to boost employee morale and improve the work environment. Prior research shows that 84 percent of US executives believe their firms must strive to improve corporate culture, with 92 percent reckoning that achieving this would help increase company value.

Regardless of the firm, CEOs often have an outsized influence in shaping corporate culture. This can’t be written down in a contract, nor can it be adopted by simply emulating successful organisations. Instead, intangible and cultural factors related to a CEO’s personal traits are likely to play a significant role.

We set out to study how “neighbourhood CEOs” – which we define as CEOs with an affinity towards their local community – shape workplace conditions. What is the impact of having a CEO who lives closer to their office on the work environment, employee productivity and firm profitability? (more…)

The new work–life balance

 

 

by Adam Bryant

 

The phrase seems increasingly outdated, given how much our work and our lives are now intertwined. It’s time for a new framework.

 

If you look up the history of work–life balance, you’ll find different takes on the concept’s origins. Many people give credit to Robert Owen, a Welsh manufacturer and the “father of British Socialism,” who decided that labor practices in the early 1800s were too demanding, and so started advocating for a balanced workday of “eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.”

In the 20th century, work–life balance became more of an aspirational lifestyle goal. For anyone who has ever juggled a busy job and raising kids (not to mention taking care of a house), the notion of work–life balance always seemed like a distant dream: a stress-free mix of rewarding work and plenty of quality time for the family, exercise, and sleep. But that’s not how life works, and, in some ways, this idealized sense of balance created a mirage that only served to frustrate people who tried to attain it.

The pandemic seemed to render work–life balance a laughable concept. As white-collar workers set up workstations at home, there was no longer a separation of job and personal time or space. So we need something new, something more useful, to help us think about balance in our lives.

Here’s an alternative model. It starts with the idea that every moment falls into one of three categories: want, should, or need. It seems to me that every decision we make starts, implicitly or explicitly, with a sentence that begins “I want to…,” “I should…,” or “I need to….” (The last one includes its close cousin, “I have to….”) If you accept these buckets, you can then start creating a pie chart of your life based on this categorization.

How much of your typical day, week, or month falls into each of those three categories? How much of your job is spent doing the things you want to do—ideally creating that state of flow in which your skills and talents are well-matched to the task at hand—versus the things you just muscle through because you should do them or need to do them. (more…)

LEADERSHIP

 

 

Early in the pandemic, Bersin called it the Big Reset: “The Coronavirus is accelerating one of the biggest business transformations in decades.”

As the business landscape evolves and employees reassess their priorities, leadership is changing as well. To reset thinking on what it means to be a leader today, we asked Josh Bersin and other thought and business leaders for their perspective.

 

I hear collaboration used more than teamwork now a days. Professionals need to work not only with their team but others in the organization too.  Empathy is a very strong theme with the employees having a larger pull and due to the pandemic. It’s a sign of the times and one I hope remains important for years to come.  Great leadership is effective when it is trusted and loyal. I think communicating a vision, establishing attainable and challenging goals, then rewarding them is a big part of being a leader. Great leadership is effective for the people and in turn the business.

-Jenny Illum, Director, Executive Recruiting and Diversity Recruitment. Bath & Body Works

 

A Leader cares about people, sets high standards and goals and thrives on the responsibility to bring their vision to life.  A leader is humble and takes input but isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions and make hard decisions.  A leader gives credit for success to their team, not themselves.  Finally, A leader is willing to put in more effort than she/he would ask of their team. 

-Jeff Goldstein, Partner, Monomoy Advisors

 

I believe what is key to great leadership is a servant-based leadership mindset grounded in authentic leadership values of integrity and humility. This creates inspirational leadership which enables high performance teams. It is all about self-less behavior…

-Kathleen Williams Vice President, Cap Gemini

 

Great leadership is about having empathy and inspiring teams to achieve goals they did not necessarily think we’re possible, at first.

-Dale Durrett, VP Partnerships Bombora

 

 

If you’re inspired by these perspectives on leadership today, stay tuned…there’s more to come!  And if you are interested in crafting your own contribution, please email me at janis@issg.net

This is the secret to transform a bad boss into an effective leader

 

 

 

 

BY EBONY MCCLINTON AND JOHN FALLON

Equipping leaders with a mastery of critical people skills through simulation and practice is key.

 

 

 

We’ve all heard about them, and many have had the unfortunate experience of working for them—a bad boss who creates a negative environment for those around them. Fortunately, there is something that can be done to help transform an ineffective manager into a leader, or weed out those who simply don’t have leadership potential at the start.

But what exactly constitutes a bad boss? We’ve found they share similar on-the-job characteristics.
  • They don’t empower employees to have full autonomy. In fact, they’re micromanagers who peer over their employees’ shoulders, not trusting them to do their task.
  • They fail to provide feedback, whether praise or opportunities for improvement. They solely provide negative feedback and miss the opportunity to motivate and coach. As their purpose is to drive employees—not sharing what the employees do well, not acknowledging them for a job well done—it leaves the employee feeling beaten, as if a failure. That, in turn, impacts engagement, performance, and a general lack of satisfaction.

Leadership can fall short in its mission to uplift and provide support and direction to employees in other ways. That can be exacerbated by the lack of critical conversation skills. And, while a common trait in high-performing people is drive, when the high level of drive is not matched with a high level of emotional intelligence and empathy, it can lead to problems. So can a boss focusing too much on actively managing a team rather than on developing high performers so they can truly delegate.

We’ve also seen instances where managers withhold information from their employees due to a power struggle or ego, which then trickles down to employees not sharing with their colleagues and/or customers. Employees are left asking themselves, “Who should I trust?” A toxic environment ensues, one that leads to attrition, of particular concern with the Great Resignation underway. Individuals are less forgiving of bad bosses. “One bad encounter and I’m out” is the modus operandi of the day.

(more…)

Want to attract the best people? Try candor and curiosity

 

 

by Ken Blanchard

The often-repeated adage, “People don’t leave organizations, they leave managers,” is as true as it ever was.

 

Here, in the second half of 2022, the Great Resignation is still going strong, job hunting is still a buyer’s market and organizations are still struggling to attract and retain good people. Organizations must find a new way to set themselves apart — because a good salary by itself isn’t the most appealing offer in today’s hiring market.

Many of today’s best candidates are looking for more than just a paycheck. They want truth. Trust. Respect. A sense of belonging. Give and take. They want to be seen and heard. To this end, the most important skill for every leader to develop right now is the ability to engage in quality conversations with their people.

My son, Scott, has demonstrated this skill frequently since he took over as president of our company in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdown. Frequent and transparent communication from the top has been a key part of shepherding our people — and our organization — through this most challenging time in our history. The vulnerable, forthright approach Scott has modeled has given our people the confidence to know that together we will continue to make progress toward a successful future.

(more…)