 | Gregory P. Smith
Lead Navigator
President
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| Greg's Speaking at SHRM Atlanta
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Catch Greg at the Atlanta Society for Human Resource Management's 2013 HR Conference!When: Tues., April 30 Time: 3 p.m. Where: Cobb Galleria Centre For more information click here, or call us at 800-821-2487 or 770-860-9464. |
 Did you miss our webinar, "Seven Reasons Business Fails to Retain Good Employees"?
You watch it on our website!
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Tough times call for strong leaders. The New Leader offers businesses a practical three-step change management plan that unleashes organizational innovation and facilitates change. Order your copy today! |
(Live Webseminar) Our DISC training programs and assessments help you identify individual personality styles so you can hire the right people, reduce conflict, improve communication and unleash team performance. (Classes are conducted in four, 90-minute sessions) Dates: May 6, 8, 13, 15 June 10, 12, 17, 19 Time: 3:00-4:30 E.T. Cost: $1295 per person Register now! Your registration includes over $900 in DISC training materials! Call or email us for more information. 800-821-2487 or 770-860-9464 |
|  | | | PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP We had a great turnout for our webinar, "Seven Reasons Businesses Fail to Retain Good Employees," this week and want to thank all of you who participated. Employee retention saves businesses time and money, and an engaged workforce is key to a business' success. For those who missed the webinar, click here to listen. On the horizon, I'll be speaking at SHRM Atlanta's 2013 Conference, so please stop by if you are attending. It's always a great networking and training event. Also,our thoughts are with the people of Boston and West, Texas, and all those affected, as they rebuild and recover from the recent tragedies. Wishing you a safe and productive May. Helping you Chart Your Course!  Gregory P. Smith President and Lead Navigator     
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| Five Ways Leaders Turn Doubters into Doers
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| This past February Yahoo!'s fledgling CEO Marissa Mayer made her first misstep. In a company-wide email, she announced Yahoo! was changing its telecommute policy. Effective June 2013, all employees were required to work in the office. The email shortly went viral as the modern workforce gasped at her audacity. A former Google executive- wasn't Mayer supposed to bring new energy to Yahoo!, and maybe some of those famous Google perks? How could she possibly hope to retain and/or attract top talent with such draconian policies? As blogs and news columns debated the pro and cons of the move, a thoughtful article in Forbes pointed to some other facts. Of Yahoo!'s roughly 12,000 workers, around 500 worked remotely. And of these remote workers, insiders said they were largely disconnected from Yahoo!'s business, and not contributing to its resurrection. Mayer enacted the policy because Yahoo! needed to reinvent itself and establish a shared mindset and vision as a company. This collaborative effort required workers' interaction on a day-to-day basis. So the real misstep was not revoking the telecommute option at Yahoo!, but was improperly communicating the message so that employees would understand the change. Part of being a leader is managing change. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus." Innovation has always been what makes good businesses great. And innovation does not happen without change and risk. Great leaders know this. Great leaders turn, "I can't work from home anymore," into, "I'm part of company that is preparing for greatness." Here are five ways to turn your doubters into doers: - Communicate new opportunities. Whenever changes are made at work- an employee is given a new task or a new way to do a current task- there will be resistance. It's human nature to resist new responsibilities or rules. Respond to that resistance by outlining and reinforcing an explanation and list of payoffs.
- Focus on the positive. Most employees, especially engaged ones, care about their work. When presenting a new process, task or policy, also present how this change will solve problems. Your business is adding a new time-management system, which requires employees to log their hours on specific projects. Initially, it's seen as a burden, however point out that the system will help workers and the business streamline its tasks and pinpoint areas that can be improved.
To finish reading this article click here! |
| Industry Facts and Figures |
While most experts agree leadership skills can be learned and developed, a study underway at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point suggests brain chemistry is also key. The findings were published in an April article from the Journal of Applied Psychology. Researchers studying 103 volunteers- from cadets to majors -identified a cognitive pattern that correlated with a person's ability to adapt to change, and modify their decisions. This cognitive pattern, when combined with years of experience, equaled better leaders. The study is ongoing, and its finding could improve current leadership assessment, enhancement and development programs. For the full article click here. |
| |  Like the Navigator? Pass it on to your friends! The Navigator Newsletter is received by over 35,000 subscribers in 49 countries, in addition to other websites and magazines. Reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: "Chart Your Course International, by Gregory P. Smith, Copyright 2013." Sign up and receive free articles, tips and newsletters at our website or call us at (770) 860-9464 or (800) 821-2487. |
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