Tools and Resources

Blending the 80% Emotional 20% Rational

How Do We Balance the Emotional and Rational Needs of People?

Change is continuous, and in our organizations, leaders have the responsibility of balancing employees’ emotions with the rational side of work.

Creating a Culture of Shared Leadership

Listen to People to Continuously Improve

What happens when an organization committed to improvement has to transform everything they do in five days? People let go of being perfect and rely on their relationships, values, and communication to achieve results.

Transform Culture with Communication

Use Feedback to Drive Culture

What makes employees engage, commit, and connect with their organization? Leaders that listen and use feedback to transform the culture of the organization. Today's podcast guest reminds us that there will always be plenty of work to do — make sure it's the right work.

Feedback is a Gift…or is it?

Provide Specific and Simple Feedback

Reflect on the last time someone gave you constructive feedback... did it feel like a gift? That likely depends on the intent of the person providing the feedback. Listen as Dr. Janet Pilcher describes how to provide feedback as a gift, instead of an insult.

The Power of Pause

Use Pause to Lead with Relentless Resilience

When we are faced with chaos, unexpected decisions, or new challenges, it’s always helpful to lead with a response, rather than a reaction. Leader Coach, Sabrina Hebeler, describes the power of pause and a simple tactic to help you get started.

Different Types of Leaders

Every Leader is Different

Sports and athletics have offered many of us an opportunity to develop critical leadership and life skills. This podcast episode features a special guest who faced a unique set of circumstances requiring him to remain agile and authentic throughout his childhood and young career.

Shifting Workplace Culture

Is Our Culture Off Track?

What are the signs of a workplace culture in need of shifting? Are you noticing a disconnect between what leaders are trying to accomplish and what employees are internalizing? We recommend 6 actions to stop doing and 6 actions to start doing to positively accelerate your culture.

How Can We Build Strategic Agility for Continuous Change?

5 Ways to Lead and Work Differently

A leader's most important challenge is to keep the organization from falling. To continuously improve and continuously adapt to change we need a fluid, dynamic, agile strategy and a workplace focused on continuous learning. Listen as Janet shares 5 ways to lead and work differently as learning organizations of the future.

Education Will Never Look the Same

One team, one mission, one community

When we are faced with change we have an opportunity to respond with creative solutions. Today, our podcast guest shares how her organization is inspired to navigate change by the vision: one team, one mission, one community.

Service in the Relationship Business

Innovation, Creativity, and Collaboration in Rural Districts

Building relationships with people is more important than ever as we shift to more virtual environments. Not only are relationships key, they also help us all get through obstacles and challenges.

Launching a New Strategic Plan

Shape the Future of the Organization

What does it take for an education organization to become a first-choice institution for students? In this video, Brendan B. Kelly, Ph.D., President of the University of West Georgia, reveals a new strategic plan to meet academic excellence in the 21st century.

Manage Disruption: Adjust Quickly & Communicate Transparently

Build Your Communication Around Your Strategy

Some years are more psychologically challenging for leaders and employees than others. At the same time, disruption can be our greatest innovator, and we've all learned important lessons from challenges that we carry with us into the future.

Purpose, Worthwhile Work, and Making a Difference

Take Your Community to the Next Level

Is your workplace culture vibrant? Is it a place where people want to stay and work? Is it a place that attracts top talent? Listen as Quint Studer shares the lessons he learned to help make communities vibrant places to live, work, and play.

How Do We Achieve Team Success?

Clear Systems and Execution

How can our teams reach the goals we set out to accomplish? What does it mean for our teams to be successful? Listen as Janet shares a short cycle process and questions we can utilize with our teams.

Why Do Words Matter?

Word Choice Can Change Perception

Words help us get where we want to go. Our words can make others feel better, or worse. Our words can diffuse difficult situations, or escalate them. This is why effective communication is so vital in every workplace.

The 5 Behavioral Traits for Sustaining Improvement

Avoid Choosing the Status Quo

There is a lot of information out there about continuous improvement and lean thinking. Do we know what is really at the core of those methodologies? Dr. John Toussaint and Dr. Christina Dixon join Janet in this podcast series to dig deep into the core of improvement work.

What is Micromanagement?

Are We Over-Generalizing the Term Micromanagement?

When we think of micromanaging, it typically has a negative connotation. But the reality is, extra supervision and coaching are sometimes necessary before some individuals are ready to leave the nest. What can leaders do to help employees feel supported, rather than micromanaged?

How Can We Help Our Colleagues?

Manage strong work relationships

It takes intentional effort to maintain great relationships with our teammates. Dr. Janet Pilcher shares tips to help us become better, more helpful employees.

The Ritual that Keeps People Aligned

Create rituals that energize

Routines provide structure and comfort within our teams. Rituals go beyond providing structure to instill a deeper meaning behind a sequence of actions. In this podcast episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher shares one of the most important rituals we can instill in our teams along with 6 suggestions to consider.

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3 Changes to the Major Role of Leadership

Ready to level up your leadership?

What skills do we need to cultivate now to lead our organizations into the future? In this podcast episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher challenges the solution of reorganizing the hierarchical structures within our organizations and recommends we focus on increasing agility to manage through consistent and continuous change. As leaders our most important job is to develop and coach employees to work across boundaries, transforming people into leaders.

Becoming an Improvement Organization

Go all-in to get better

In this ever-changing climate, continuous improvement is more vital than ever. In this podcast episode, we discuss how to engage people in continuous improvement, 5 bold steps for implementation, and why it makes a difference in critical times.

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The Little Things Pay Great Dividends

Details matter if you want to make an impact

Have you ever felt a particular duty or aspect of your work was insignificant, small, or maybe even meaningless? In this podcast episode, our host Dr. Janet Pilcher shares a powerful story of the humble beginnings that led to Kyle Johnston becoming the head athletic trainer for the Miami Dolphins.

Words Have Power

Build Understanding with Communication

How can leaders respond when we are bombarded with questions - some of which, we may not have the answers to? In this podcast, we share a 3 part framework to create messages that enhance clarity, build trust, and reduce anxiety.

How Can We Stop Complaining, Comparing, and Criticizing?

Avoid the roadblocks to high performance.

What kind of impact does the energy we bring to work have on others? In this podcast episode, Quint Studer and Janet discuss 3 things to avoid as we try to inspire positive attitudes and productivity throughout our teams.

There is More than One Way to Round

Maximize Rounding in Your Organization

There isn’t a wrong way to conduct rounding – unless you are avoiding it all together. When we round, our goal is to build relationships with our stakeholders. It doesn’t matter if we approach rounding in a formal or informal fashion. Its true value is in the connection itself.

4 Tips to Become a More Vulnerable Leader

What is Vulnerable Leadership?

Vulnerable leadership is not a leader walking around sharing their deepest, most personal secrets with everyone. In this video, Janet shares 4 tips to help leaders become vulnerable in the workplace.

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Are You a Curious Leader?

Great leaders are curious

Curiosity is essential when it comes to great leadership. It increases awareness, allows for innovation, and improves communication. Dr. Janet Pilcher shares how leaders can cultivate curiosity as they lead.

Tailor Your Rounding Questions

Do We Always Ask the Same Rounding Questions?

When leaders round with employees on a routine basis, they harvest valuable information and form a trusting relationship. Although we like to start with 4 specific questions, it can be helpful to personalize your rounding conversations over the course of your relationship.

Take Off The Armor

What does vulnerable leadership look like?

Vulnerability is not a trait of a weak leader. It is a mark of strength that impacts organizations for the better. Dr. Janet Pilcher discusses what vulnerable leadership looks like in action.

The Advantages of Being Yourself

What Do All Leaders Have in Common?

We all have preconceived notions of what a CEO should look like, or act like. But the truth is, the best leaders have a variety of qualities and no two are the same. In this podcast episode, Quint Studer and our host Dr. Janet Pilcher discuss why leadership is an inside job and how we can develop greater self-awareness to remove the baggage preventing us from becoming great leaders.

Supporting People Who Leave

When People Leave Your Team

It’s not easy when employees leave. No matter the reason for the departure, other employees are watching how leaders treat those who leave. Listen as Janet and Quint discuss how we support people who leave by setting an example for those who stay.

all blue butterflies with one yellow butterfly

The Behavior That’s Holding Leaders Back

We All Reach Crossroads

It seems sometimes there are no easy decisions. It can be uncomfortable for us to lead in a place of uncertainty. However, as this podcast guest explains, leadership isn't comfortable. In order to create better organizations and communities, we’ll need to embrace the discomfort of doing what’s right.

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Stories of Purpose

What can "Connect to Purpose" sound like?

In our work and personal lives we all want to feel that what we do matters. Giving, serving, leaning into our values, and thinking about others can all help fuel us with a sense of purpose, as our podcast guests share during their connect to purpose stories.

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Listen for Ideas, Perspective, and Connection

Include People in the Process

There are times where there are no easy choices or decisions. Yet, when we collaborate with others, we can help ease the weight and also discover victories worth celebrating. Listen as Superintendent, Dr. Tim Dilg, shares how their district is accomplishing more by working together.

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Anticipating Community Fear and Building Trust

Leading During Uncertainty

Leaders in organizations are often facing multiple decisions and are balancing serving multiple audiences. As continuous change becomes a more constant reality we are commonly faced with uncertainty. In this podcast episode, a Superintendent shares how their district is proactively planning communication and preparing for the unknown.

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What Do We Do With Customer Feedback?

Collecting feedback is just the first step

When we engage our customers in the process of gathering feedback, we are asking for their time and input. What we do next with the data can determine if they will continue to provide us with input and do business with our organizations.

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Listening to Customer Feedback

What Makes Customers Loyal?

To be an organization that generates and retains loyal customers, we place a high value on service. As a result, we listen to customer feedback and analyze that information for opportunities for improvement. We can’t improve what we can’t understand, therefore we listen.

Continuous Improvement: Where Do You Start?

Jump All-In to Improve

After implementing improvement science, many leaders find themselves wondering if they are, in fact, making any improvements and find it difficult to define and sustain progress. In this podcast episode, Superintendent Ryan Carpenter discusses why his team made a commitment to adopt a continuous improvement mindset and tips for implementing an Evidence-Based Leadership℠ framework across the school system.

Who Hears What When?

Choose your words and the cascade

To respond well to change, leaders intentionally send consistent, transparent messages to their stakeholders. In this podcast episode, Dr. JoAnn Sternke reminds us it’s not just the message, but how the message is communicated that matters.

Make Silos Disappear

How Can Departments Work Together?

How does an organization thrive despite disruptive circumstances? In this episode, two government executives discuss how their county has committed to data-driven decision making and collaboration across teams to break down silos and face disruption.

Wood people figures surrounding one figure with a no sign

Facing Community Resistance to Change

How Can We Lead Change Across the Finish Line?

Change often comes with resistance in both our professional lives and our personal lives. Change is rarely comfortable. Listen as Quint shares the lessons he learned while leading his organization through community resistance to change.

Innovation is Easier Than Changing the World

Innovation Can Be Small

We often get paralyzed by thinking innovation needs to change the world. In this podcast episode, listen as Quint Studer shares his perspective on playing small ball and the innovative thinking that leads to the creation of a sense of place and a vibrant community.

Vulnerability and Teamwork

What Makes a Successful Team?

With substantial pressure on workers and teams to learn new skills, generate innovative and creative products and services, and collaborate to solve complicated problems, we are realizing a need for team members to build deeper connections and take greater risks. To accomplish this, we embrace vulnerability.

Leading with Vulnerability

Vulnerability is a Strength

For years, people have felt the need to “shut off” or conceal their emotions in the workplace. Now, we are realizing, effective leaders tune into the emotions of their employees to provide support, motivate teams, and create deeper connections between individuals.

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Vulnerability is at the Heart of Service Excellence

Cooperate on a higher level

To deliver exceptional service we need to embrace vulnerability and courage. When leaders model this behavior in organizations, employees are encouraged to take risks and know that it's okay to fail.

Why Do We Avoid Vulnerability?

Are You Good Enough?

Are we avoiding the very key to feeling happy, and successful? When we connect with others and embrace vulnerability, we open ourselves up to experiencing emotions in a positive way.

Why-What-How

A Powerful Sequence for Communication

When we start our messages by first explaining why the message is important, we are more likely to see understanding, compliance and execution from our audience. Use this template to plan and organize messages using the why-what-how sequence.

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Build Message Consistency with Repetition

Repetition is your friend

Frequency of messaging is important for leaders at all times. In this video, Dr. JoAnn Sternke discusses how you can build consistency into your messaging with repetition. She offers examples of what this can look like in action.

Leadership Challenge: Simplify the Message

How much is too much?

To increase the efficiency of our communication and the likelihood that our messages will be understood we focus on delivering the right amount of clear information. Can you plan a message that won't overwhelm the audience?

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Clear Communication Template

Deliver your message with clarity and impact

Use the Clear Communication Template to help you get clear about the message you want to communicate to your organization. Record the necessary actions, and then answer each question so that you can create a clear and timely message for the right people at the right time.

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Short Cycle Scorecard Tool

Manage Strategy and Performance

We use the results on the scorecard to determine how well a specific team is executing to the plan to achieve results.

Short Cycle Improvement Process Questions

Questions that guide improvement

It is important to review how results trend every 30 days. Ask these specific questions to achieve greater understanding about actions and results trending at or above goal and to guide adjustments for those areas in need of improvement.

Find Your Path and Pay it Forward

Pursue Your Passion, Not Job Titles

All leaders face challenges, but women in leadership roles experience unique obstacles. In this podcast episode, Janet and Jackie discuss how to find work that brings you joy, the collaboration between genders in the workplace, and the role of mentorship.

3 Ways to Stay Inspired at Work

Find New Avenues for Motivation

Service to students and patients is incredibly rewarding and meaningful work. There are times when it is also exhausting. In this episode, listen as Rich Bluni shares tips from his book, Inspired Nurse, that leaders can put into action to stay inspired at work.

To Innovate, Focus on Value

Innovation Isn't Always What You Think It Is

Innovation is a topic we hear a lot about in the workplace, but it’s often misunderstood. Being innovative means more than just coming up with cool things to do. Innovation doesn’t have to be big and different, and it’s not something only geniuses do. In this episode, listen as Dr. JoAnn Sternke discusses with our host how true creativity and innovation can emerge as we focus on adding value.

The Medium is the Message

What Did they Just Say?

There is more to communication than the words we speak or write. The more aware we are of the influences of the medium and the words we choose, the more effectively we will be able to communicate information to our employees, customers, and leaders.

The Middle is Hard, But it Doesn’t Have to Be

How Can Mid-Level Leaders Thrive?

Mid-level leaders face unique challenges. Lets face it - being in the middle is never easy. In this podcast episode we discuss what it takes to be a great mid-level leader.

Make Decisions That Sustain People and Build Relationships

How Can We Make It Work?

During periods of intense change or uncertainty, leaders may be forced to make decisions quickly and guide their teams through new ways of working. In this podcast, a district leader shares how to focus on what is most important while responding with agility.

Ask the Right Questions

There is Always Time for Feedback

External factors in our environments force changes upon our organizations. In this podcast, a University leader explains why asking the right people the right questions is key to their success.

Communicate Effectively Using the Execution Triangle

Craft and deliver a message that leads to execution

A lack of clear communication or communication that is executed poorly can be highly detrimental. The Execution Triangle is a framework that can help us build clearer, better communication in our organizations, taking us closer to the outcomes we desire.

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Manage Up With Empathy Tool

How do you respond when you don't know all the answers?

Times of change and uncertainty can be unsettling for employees. Have you ever been asked a question you don't have the answer to yet? The Manage Up With Empathy Tool is designed to help you respond in a way that builds confidence in the listener despite the unknowns.

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Short Improvement Cycles

Do you know how well you're doing?

In this video, Dr. Janet Pilcher describes the short cycle improvement process that supports achievement of annual goals. She explains what to do and ask when results are trending at and above goal, as well as how to dig deeper when progress is trending below goal.

Keep Communication Simple

What Do We Really Need to Know?

How can leaders keep communication simple? How much information is too much or too little? Here are 4 steps for leaders to keep messages simple and concise.

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Am I a Perfectionist Leader?

Reflect to avoid perfectionism

Regular self-reflection can be a valuable practice for leaders who struggle with perfectionism. The goal for growth is to become more self-aware so we can make changes that will help us lead at our best.

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Values Guide Resilience

Looking for a foundation during disruption?

An organization’s values help leaders stay focused and on track while leading change and managing disruption. While we know change is something we can't control, we can use our values to provide stability and consistency for our culture.

How Do We Know if it’s an Improvement?

Are We Where We Want to Be?

Before we implement initiatives or changes, it can be useful to engage in a process to clearly define the need for improvement or the problem to be solved. These questions and tips can be used by individuals or teams to question their past and future improvement efforts and problems to set themselves up for success.

Cultivating a Culture of Resilience

How Do Organizations Succeed Through Difficult Times?

Resilient organizations are able to improve faster because they place emphasis on and build disciplined routines around people, service, and alignment. To cultivate a culture of resilience leaders align people to goals, take time to routinely reflect, and communicate transparently with all stakeholders.

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Manage Perfectionism

Is your perfectionism impacting others?

Do you often find yourself noticing what’s wrong? Do you get stuck on the details? If you’re great with details and often notice what’s bad, you may have perfectionist tendencies. If not managed, these can impact relationships.

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Leader Action Planning with 30-45-60-Day Huddles

Get Clear About Action

When we focus on everything, we accomplish nothing. It's critical to an organization’s success that we identify the actions we should focus on that will lead to the greatest results.

Leader Connection Tool

Ask employees these questions.

Ask employees these questions to build relationships and improve engagement.

Reinvent the Organization: Increase Efficiency While Reducing Costs

What Do We Cut and What Do We Keep?

Budget cuts are something no leader wants to have to do. Yet, when the time comes, Quint Studer points out there's an opportunity for leaders to cut costs in practical ways. Listen to Quint and Janet discuss how leaders can seize these opportunities.

Clear Decision-Making

How will decisions be made?

"We have to be crystal clear about two things: How will the decisions be made, and what role will people play in making the decisions," explains Dr. KK Owen.

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Decision-Making Process Key Words

How did you decide?

The use of key words to communicate our decision-making process builds trust and confidence in our ability to lead the situation.

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Decision-Making Confidence

Make a Decision

Avoid the trap of analysis paralysis and feel confident about your decisions. A few practical tips can keep us from getting stuck in the decision-making process.

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Virtual Hiring and Onboarding

Make Virtual Work For You

The shift to virtual comes with opportunity. As organizations make these transitions, many may find a lasting shift for hiring remote team members, which would also mean remote onboarding.

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Conducting Virtual Job Interviews

Find the right candidate in a remote environment

You're ready to start talking to candidates for your open position, but it's got to happen virtually. What does it take to create a successful virtual interview process that leaves candidates and team members feeling positive about the experience?

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If-Then

Are you ready for intense change?

Major organizational change requires next level planning. Whether the change is intentional or is being forced by circumstances out of your control, visioning and planning for multiple scenarios ahead of that change will position you for success.

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After Action Review Process

Look back to move forward

When intense change occurs in an organization, reflective discussions with team members can help guide leaders ahead of making more decisions and more changes. The After Action Review brings a team together to look at and learn from past actions.

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High Level Scenario Thinking

Are you ready for the what-ifs?

To move into change successfully, leaders can prepare their organizations by envisioning multiple scenarios that could occur once the change is in action.

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Connections in Times of Challenge

When times are hard

Resilient leaders use check-ins to build feedback loops for cascading two-way communication and building relationships with employees.

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Anxiety and Leadership

There will be anxiety

Whether onset by sudden and dramatic change, or sustained exposure to stressors, the effects of anxiety can be damaging to organizational progress. Keeping themselves and their teams connected and focused on what matters most can help leaders move forward and build the emotional stamina of the team.

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Improve by Measuring What Matters

Sustain Results at Scale

The work of improvement creates the backbone for real change where it matters. Focus on continuous improvement yields valuable results and radically changes outcomes in a number of fields. In this podcast, Dr. Pat Greco joins us to continue the conversation around improving school systems and organizations so leaders can accelerate results and sustain success over time.

Developing People to Become the Best Leaders

Pave the Way with Trust

The best leaders are always learning. They are curious. They seek to better understand. Listen as Dr. Melissa Matarazzo weighs in on this topic, sharing the valuable lessons she has learned as a coach while supporting leaders and partners around the country

Building an Army of Improvers

We Can't Do Improvement Alone

In this podcast episode, Dr. Pat Greco joins us to discuss how leaders and their team members can keep an improvement-mindset, despite the current obstacles and challenges we may face.

Student wearing headphone learning assessment header image

Learner Reflection T-Chart

Own Your Learning

Ownership of learning occurs as students are given time to reflect, are taught how to self-assess, and have opportunities to adjust their work based on their assessments.

A leader role modeling procedures - header image

Be the Model: Routines and Procedures

Act as I Do

When adults model and consistently hold students accountable to expected behaviors, they send a message about the importance of the routines and procedures.

Think Like a Parent

Improve the Learning Experience

To be a successful organization and ensure students have the best experience, it can be useful to view your organization from a parent’s point of view.

Parent-Teacher Connection Questions

Ask the right questions

When combined with effective follow-up by teachers, the practice of regularly checking in with parents increases engagement and leads to improved student outcomes.

Communication Preference Card

Communicate effectively

Effective communication reduces anxiety and strengthens relationships. Preference cards are an efficient way to share information that is important for the relationship to be successful.

People Deserve Support

How Can Leaders Develop their Teams?

In this podcast episode, listen as Studer Education Leader Coach, Dr. Melissa Matarazzo shares some game-changing practices that have helped her best support the coaches she leads as well as valuable tips leaders can put into action right now to help grow and develop their teams.

Key Words at Key Times for Resilient Leaders

Communicate Clearly During Disruption

During times of high anxiety or confusion, thoughtfully crafting Key Words at Key Times can help align clear and specific communication. Use this tool to assist you in crafting important communication during disruption or change.

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Create Resilient Leaders

How Resilient Are You?

A resilient organization does more than respond to change, crisis, or threats. To establish a culture of resilience, leaders model resilient behaviors, use the language of resiliency, and inspire teams to keep moving forward. Review the four critical characteristics of resilient leaders.

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Huddle for Critical Outcomes

Connect for Consistency

When teams are experiencing immense change or periods of disruption, leaders can bring attention to the priorities by creating routine team huddles to test ideas, monitor progress, and learn as changes are implemented.

Start with Why

Why start with why?

Communicating change effectively is a skill all leaders need. For our organizations to reach our goals, stay productive, and do so with excellence, we need everyone working together. Start with why.

Intentional Communication Starts with Why

What is the Outcome?

In times of crisis or disruption, it's rare for anyone to have all of the answers. The best leaders are most impactful by focusing on what needs to be communicated first and how to be intentional with that message. In this episode, JoAnn explains why your communication should always start with why.

Cultivate a Can-Do Culture

Bring Teams Together

In this podcast, a school district leader describes how his team came together to solve problems amid disruption. Corey credits his team's success to their culture and guiding principles established across the system to make decisions and collaborate for the benefit of their students.

Becoming an Authentic Leader

What Does it Mean to be Authentic?

As a leader, authenticity increases the likelihood that those we lead will believe us and follow our requests. Becoming an authentic leader is not necessarily easy, but the concept is simple. During this episode, Janet connects to the foundation of authenticity: self-awareness. She offers 6 actions to practice if you want to become an authentic leader.

Move Forward by Doing the Next Right Thing

Always Be Forward Thinking

When leaders face periods of disruption, teams count on the leaders to guide them towards success. In this episode, Dr. Natalie Harder discusses how her team successfully navigated through intense change and the effects of a strong culture and values while leading during times of uncertainty.

Leading Change with Empathy

Communicate Decisions by Connecting the Mind and the Heart

Nothing stays the same. In fact, if we keep doing things the same way we’ve always done them, it’s likely our performance will decline. Change is the only constant in our organizations and in life, and for most, change is uncomfortable. Here are 3 leadership characteristics necessary for managing continuously changing organizations.

Focus on the Positive

What Does Success During a Crisis Look Like?

How engaged is your workforce in times of crisis? Have you helped them define what success looks like? When people are feeling anxious and overwhelmed by change, this podcast encourages leaders to be empathetic, trust your team, and make the best decisions you can.

4 Questions to Plan a Meaningful Life

Are you where you thought you'd be right now?

As the decades keep passing by, what can we do to ensure we achieve the goals that will matter to us most in life? How do we know we are living a life we will one day look back on and be proud? Today, Janet Pilcher focuses on what to consider as we set goals for a meaningful life.

Be Bold About Action

Start with the End in Mind

What are the positive characteristics of role model leaders in a crisis? From history to communication, Quint Studer provides valuable leadership advice for those leading teams during uncertain times.

Start Talking to People

Build an Innovative Future Together

In a world where we no longer view human connections as natural, and instead, insist on using technology, even in the presence of others, Dr. Janet Pilcher encourages her podcast listeners to get off their devices and start talking to people.

Give Your Brand a Personality

Increase Customer Transparency

Utilizing social media platforms is a natural way to enhance transparency. On a personal level, people use social media to connect with others and stimulate conversations. In this podcast, a social media expert discusses how organizations can humanize their brand and connect with their communities.

Sample Onboarding Schedule and Agenda

Develop a Personalized Onboarding Agenda for New Hires

As new employees join our organization, it’s helpful to develop a personalized onboarding schedule for their first few weeks on the job. A comprehensive onboarding experience prepares the new employee thoroughly for their new role.

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Developing a New Executive Team

Expectations + Accountability = Shared Vision

Leading an executive team is no easy task. Leading an executive team that's comprised of new executives can be even more challenging. How can leaders of executive teams bring individuals together to execute on a shared vision while also maintaining a focus on developing each individual?

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Building Trust with New Teams

Trust: The Foundation for Successful Teams

As the pace of change continues to increase, the demand on individuals and teams to become more agile is higher than ever. Whether you have a mixture of new and old team members, or a completely new set of people working together, it’s critical to build trust as a team before goals can be accomplished together.

Stop ‘Listening’ and Start Anticipating Your Customers’ Needs

What Are Your Customers NOT Saying?

By studying brands that excel in customer service, this expert found that what customers don't say is often more important than what they do say.

Think Like a Customer

World Class Service Requires a Plan

To be a successful organization and ensure customers have the best experience, it can be useful to view your organization from a customer’s point of view. The quality of service received while interacting with an organization is what brings customers back to organizations.

Embracing the Customer Experience

Are You Meeting Customers Where They Are?

Mandy Gagliardi, the Senior Media Manager on our team joins Janet today to share the way she focuses on the customer experience to guide her work. How do we anticipate customer learning needs as we plan our future system adjustments?

Lead with Courage

Courage Comes from the Heart

Does the path you are traveling have a heart? In this podcast episode, Janet discusses why courage is vital to a leader’s success, what can happen when a leader lacks courage, and what we can do when we find ourselves on the wrong path.

Inspire Others to Achieve

What Characteristics Produce an Effective Leader?

What three leadership skills are most important for executives to have to help their teams achieve results? What are new leaders most pressing development needs? Nannette and Janet discuss these questions and more during this podcast episode.

Don’t Keep Your Customers in the Dark

How can you inspire customer loyalty?

More and more organizations have been making it a priority to increase connection and invite customers to take an inside look. Why? Because increasing transparency between an organization and its customers build trust and credibility increasing customer loyalty.

Working with the School Board

Collaborating with the Board

How can school districts and school boards work together to achieve the goals of the schools and the surrounding community? How can executive leadership work with boards to build relationships that equal success for the organization?

Bringing An Executive Team Together

Drive Strategy & Build Relationships

Sabrina Hebeler joins Janet Pilcher to discuss one of the key tenets of Sabrina’s role; to help everyone understand and follow the strategic direction of their organization. Discover the core actions and specific tactics Sabrina used to support the break down of silos on the executive team to help her organization do the most important things to achieve success.

Tips for Documenting Poor Performance and Non-Compliance

Treat all employees fairly and consistently

To show we have taken all the right steps to support an employee’s success, it’s necessary to document performance problems and conversations. This documentation may not only protect the organization in the case of a lawsuit, it ensures all employees are treated fairly and consistently.

Onboard Beyond the First Day

Commit to Your New Hires

What is the value of onboarding new hires beyond the first day? In this video clip, Donna explains how long onboarding should last and offers four tips for onboarding training and success.

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Welcome New Team Members

What Makes a Good First Day?

An employee’s decision to stay in or leave a new job is largely influenced by first impressions. Does your team welcome new hires so they want to stay?

Onboarding for Success

Invest in an Onboarding Experience

You’ve examined the resumes, conducted the interviews, and selected the most talented individuals to add to your team. When their first day arrives, how can you ensure an onboarding process that will be supportive, engaging, and reflective of your organization’s culture and values is in place?

Low Performers Decrease Morale

How Do We Improve Team Morale?

What happens when leaders don't address poor performance within their teams or an organization? Janet Pilcher explains the result to a crowd of leaders at Destination High Performance in this video.

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Deal with Problems

Who is Causing Problems?

Have you identified the problem people in your organization? This video reveals the hard truth around why leaders avoid dealing with low performers and the consequences of tolerating their behavior.

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The Hardest Decisions

How do you know it's time to let go?

As leaders we care about the individuals who make up our teams. However our reluctance to address low performers can actually be doing more harm than good for our teams. For an organization to become great, leaders need to dig deep, find the problems, who the problem people are, and address poor performance and/or behavior.

Lead Your Work

Be a Leader

Not everyone wants to be a leader in the sense that they manage others, and that’s okay. Everyone can be a leader in their work, however. Organizations need leaders in all roles to continuously improve and be successful.

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Are You Leading Your Work?

Leadership is More Than a Job Title

Even without a leadership job title, it’s likely you are already leading your work in various ways. Ask yourself the following questions to discover where you are leading your work.

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No Excuses

Excuses Can Be Beat

A community college leader explains how their team approaches excuses in the workplace with a "no excuses" policy.

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The Nine Principles for Organizational Excellence

Striving for Excellence?

The Nine Principles® are the guiding principles for improvement work for any organization that intends to be excellent.

9 Out of 10 People Are Willing to Earn Less Money to Do More-Meaningful Work

More than a paycheck

HBR conducted a Meaning and Purpose at Work study. The value placed on "meaning" was surprising.

The Impact of One

Each one matters

The impact of one can mean the difference between organizational mediocrity and excellence. An organization must breed individuals who want to make a positive contribution to the mission.

Nine Principles in Action

Attain desired results

Organizational excellence is achieved when teams commit to strategies that grow a culture of success and a continuous improvement mindset. The Nine Principles for Organizational Excellence provide a road map for attaining desired results.

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Culture & Strategy of Organizational Excellence

Move past pockets of excellence

In this video, Dr. JoAnn Sternke explains that organizations achieve excellence as they become more systematic and deliberate about culture and strategy.

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Organizational Excellence

Better than good

Many on the quest for excellence already understand that it's not exactly a destination. Organizational excellence is an on-going effort to diagnose, adjust, and deliver beyond what's expected.

Why Service Excellence is our Most Important Value

What Does Your Organization Stand For?

What is service excellence? Why is it so important to our employees and organizations?

Excellent Service From the Inside Out

Give People a Reason to Return

Excellent service doesn’t happen by accident. Service excellence is deeply rooted in the culture and values of organizations that outperform their competitors. When organization’s prioritize service excellence as a core value, they ensure it’s infused in everything they do.

Always Be Recruiting

Attract Top Talent

Finding talented and engaged candidates for job openings has increasingly become a challenge due to changes in the workforce. Leaders can lessen this challenge by creating positive cultures, supporting employees, and managing their reputation.

Cascading the Building Blocks of Service Excellence

Define What Excellent Service Means

When we ask our teams to deliver excellent service, it’s important to explain what “excellent service” means for your organization. To build on the explanation and increase the understanding and delivery of service that goes above and beyond, employees benefit from ongoing communication about standards of service.

Aligning Hiring and Evaluations to Service Excellence

Let Service Standards Lead the Way

In this video, Dan explains how his human resources and leadership teams use their standards of service in their hiring and evaluations. When we use the standards of service excellence to evaluate potential candidates, we are more likely to hire a person aligned with our culture and committed to our values.

Tips for Recruiting Top Talent

Hunting for High Performers?

Finding talent isn’t easy in a competitive job market. However, filling your vacant positions with high performers doesn’t have to keep you up at night. Use these 10 tips to support a successful recruiting process.

Increase Employee Engagement with Recognition

How does recognition encourage high performance?

With recognition we are able to engage, retain, and motivate most employees to sustain high performance. Recognition is so important to an organization’s success that it’s our ninth principle and the glue that holds all of our principles together. Recognizing others takes little time and pays great dividends.

what is holding our organizations back from adapting to change?

Identify Barriers to Change

What are 3 Organizational Barriers to Change?

The speed of information and higher demands from consumers forces leaders to shift the way change is approached. Commonly, there is much anxiety attached to change, people like to do things, “the way they’ve always done it,” but that’s not the attitude that will achieve success in today OR tomorrow’s world. How do we shift the way we think about change?

Building Trust in the Workplace

Prioritize Building Trust in the Workplace

Thriving workplaces depend on trust to continue to grow and excel. When leaders start prioritizing trust in the workplace, their teams will follow.

Make Recognition a Habit

What Makes Employees Shine?

When we establish recognition systems in our organizations or on our teams, we focus on employees by understanding what makes them shine and what keeps them engaged. A culture of recognition is powerful and contagious. What can you do to incorporate recognition as a habit for your team?

Innovative Cost Savings & Retention

Innovatively address pain points

In this video, Dr. Heidi Eliopoulos explains how her school district saved over $600,000 in one year by thinking outside of the box. She describes the innovative ideas as key factors in increased engagement and retention.

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Improvement & Innovation

Make way for innovation

As systems get better at getting better, cycles of improvement increasingly include innovations.

Communication & Connection: Forces for Greatness

Working toward greatness

In this video, Dr. Lisa Herring describes the key strategies her team is using to communicate and connect with all stakeholders.

It’s All About Relationships

Communicate & Connect

We don’t get very far in life without positive relationships. When team members connect and transparently communicate about priorities, they stand a far greater chance of achieving the most important goals.

Where’s the Noise?

Ever hear about "initiative overload"?

When we fail to monitor the many initiatives and actions, we risk spending time and energy on things that no longer matter and are no longer aligned to our organization’s goals. It is important for every organization and team to set aside time to determine Where’s the Noise?

Identify Barriers in Action

What's Not Working?

The people who are closest to the work often have the best ability to identify barriers in action. In this video, Dr. Pat Greco explains the most effective way to discover barriers and remove them from our processes.

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Positioning Problems as Opportunities

Bring Problems Forward

What can leaders do to create safe environments for teams to bring problems forward, while avoiding being bombarded by complaints? In this podcast episode, Dr. Pilcher encourages team members use key words, take ownership, and bring complex problems to their leaders for guidance.

Focus on Service Excellence

People Come First

Service excellence is more than just being polite or being ready to offer the unsatisfied customer a discount. During this podcast episode, Donna Kirby joins Janet Pilcher to reveal her top 3 tactics for applying customer service excellence.

Busting Through Barriers

Stop Protecting, Start Sharing

We often hear that people are an organization’s greatest assets, and it’s true. Our colleagues and employees have unlimited potential to solve problems, adapt to challenges, and work collaboratively to achieve positive organizational results.

PDSA Cycles Template

What are we testing?

Plan, Do, Study, Act is designed to run in cycles with the results from the previous cycle guiding the plans for the next round of actions. This template can be used as a tool to plan and guide the team through each cycle of PDSA.

Dealing with Difficult People

Are coworkers driving you crazy?

Many of us are in frequent contact daily with a number of colleagues, some of which are easier to work with than others. Working with a difficult colleague undermines productivity and happiness in the workplace. Learning to deal with difficult people is vital to our success, both individually and as teams.

Anticipating a Difficult Conversation

Refocus the Conversation

As leaders conduct monthly meetings and regular check-ins with the employees that report to them, it may become apparent that some individuals are more difficult than others. If you find yourself dealing with an employee who frequently guides meetings to an unproductive place, anticipate this behavior and develop a plan to refocus the conversation.

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Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Ambassadors of Progress

A Strategic Planning Steering Committee guides and frames the work of developing and finalizing the organization’s strategic plan. They are key contributors to the strategic planning process.

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Strategic Planning Feedback Loops

Consider multiple perspectives

During the strategic planning process, organizations are encouraged to gather input on perceptions and priorities from all stakeholder groups. Focus groups, surveys, and environmental scans are the most widely used methods of gathering this feedback.

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Creating a Strategic Plan

Know where you're going

A strategic plan guides an organization to success. Alignment of organizational priorities, goals, and actions is a key purpose of the strategic plan.

Stressed from Stress?

Check Your Burnout Level

Many successful, hardworking Americans experience burnout more than once during their careers, even people who are passionate about what they do. High performers can be obsessed with achieving excellence and exceeding results to the point of exhaustion. Begin reducing stress by taking small steps to prevent overload burnout.

What’s Under the Rock?

Face the Brutal Facts

Organizations perform at different levels, some are poor, others good, and very few are excellent. What makes an organization excellent? Great organizations are willing to get their hands dirty and face the brutal facts to improve.

Offer Productive Feedback

Motivate Colleagues to Grow & Improve

Moments to provide feedback aren't limited to leader-employee interactions, oftentimes it's necessary to deliver feedback to colleagues while working together. In this video, Mandy and Tatiana meet to discuss a project and engage in a collaborative feedback conversation with a positive outcome.

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Feedback that Inspires

Positively Improve Performance

Think about the last time you received constructive criticism. Did it actually prompt you to change your behavior? Maybe not. Yet we know learning new skills and improving performance is something our peers and direct reports desire. The key is to reshape your feedback conversations to focus on achieving a positive outcome together.

Leadership Challenge: Dissecting Feedback Delivery

"Here's what you should do..."

On the surface giving feedback seems simple; just tell someone what they did wrong and how to fix it. The problem is this type of constructive criticism rarely inspires improvement. The way we provide feedback makes a difference in how people receive and act on the feedback.

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Responding to a Difficult Coworker

Problematic coworkers initiate conflict

While working with other people it’s not uncommon to encounter a difficult colleague. The better prepared we are to handle situations with difficult coworkers, the happier and more productive we will be at work. Use this video clip to practice responding to a difficult coworker.

The Keys to Employee Engagement

Leaders Can't Motivate People...

In this video clip, Dr. KK Owen discusses a leader's ultimate responsibility; to build a culture where people are engaged.

Prevent Survey Burnout

Are We Surveying Too Much?

Superintendent Greg Gibson has a great question for Dr. Janet Pilcher during this video, "Do we run the risk of survey burnout with doing so many surveys?" Watch as they explore what causes survey burnout, and what you can do as the leader to prevent it.

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Owning the Message

Build cultures of accountability

Organizations aiming to build cultures of accountability can teach and support two types of conversations that encourage employees to carry their own messages.

Low or Low Solid Performer?

Is the effort lacking?

In this video, coach Nannette Johnston describes the difference between a low and low solid performer and how leaders should think about and interact with each.

Implementing PDSA Cycles

Commit to Cycles for Continuous Improvement

To continuously improve, organizations and teams need to implement cycles of examining data and planning for future actions. In this video, Jerim Desjarlais, Elementary School Principal discusses how his school has created a transparent system using data to ensure students are getting the support they need.

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Validation as Productive Accountability

Accountability means behaviors matter

Adopting validation practices as a form of accountability helps us know if we are doing what we said we would do. In this video, a school district leader describes her team's validation practices and how they support accountability across the organization.

Accountability

Want success?

No one does accountability to us. We embrace it with full awareness of what’s at stake.

What is a Scorecard?

A blueprint for success

An organizational scorecard is an annual blueprint for success. In this video, Dr. Melissa Matarazzo describes the components of a scorecard and how the scorecard process supports success.

AIDET Explanation & Example

A few words to reduce anxiety

AIDET is a communication protocol that reduces anxiety in a variety of situations. In this video, Dr. Robin Largue describes AIDET and explains how and when it can be used to support the highest levels of service and care.

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Active Listening in Action

Surrender Your Attention

When we practice active listening we move from simply hearing the words someone is saying, to understanding the meaning behind their communication.

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Practice Accountability

How accountable are you?

Accountability is an easy say, and often a hard do. It can be difficult to really know what accountability looks like, making it a challenge to live out.

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Creating Unmistakable Value

More than just a positive experience

The key to making and keeping people loyal to your service is the ability to create unmistakable value for them. The value you offer is so unmistakable that customers will have no desire or need to seek service elsewhere.

Building a Scorecard

To Build a Scorecard

This template helps leaders develop an organizational scorecard. The form keeps teams and leaders focused on one area at a time.

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An Organizational Scorecard

Drive progress with clear direction

An organizational scorecard brings a strategic plan to life. It drives progress by moving all arrows in the same direction and helps our teams understand their purpose and why their work matters.

Tired Young Businesspeople Bored During Meeting

Improve Your Meetings

Are your meetings becoming a drain?

Meetings don’t have to be a drain. If you find yourself going through the meeting motions, it could be time to assess the current state and make some meeting improvements.

The Nine Principles and the Pursuit of Excellence

Striving for Excellence?

The Nine Principles® are the guiding principles for improvement work for any organization that intends to be excellent.

Unmistakable Value

Does Your Organization Stand Out?

How can organizations set themselves apart and provide their stakeholders with unmistakable value? Listen as Dr. Pilcher and Dr. Owen discuss how to set a vision and lead by example to inspire culture change.

Tips for Effective Listening with Teams

Do more than hear

Often group discussions and meetings are places where ideas are generated and decisions are made. Having effective listening skills can be significant if you want to contribute to the ideas and decisions that are being discussed.

Listen Intently

Are You Really Listening?

Did you know, humans spend 70% of their time communicating, in which 45% is spent listening? In other words, effective listening skills are vital for interpersonal communication and, consequently, for successful leaders and aspiring leaders within our organizations.

What Action Can I Take?

Address Employee Needs & Ideas

When an employee reveals a needed resource, barrier to a process, or an idea for improvement, leaders have the responsibility to act on that information. Following-up and following-through after conversations or receiving feedback from employees builds trust and increases engagement and productivity. For this leadership challenge, determine follow-up actions to take as the leader after each leader connection scenario.

Do People Really Want Feedback?

People Want to Improve

There’s a fine line between giving feedback for improvements and leaving an employee feeling criticized and deflated. Few of us respond well to someone telling us what to do or how to fix ourselves. Reshape your feedback conversations to focus on achieving a positive outcome.

Retain New Hires with 30- & 90- Day Conversations

Don't Wait to Start Building Relationships

Research shows that up to 22% of turnover takes place within an employee’s first 45 days of employment. 30-day conversations reinforce that leaders are committed to retaining the new employee.

From Connections to Action

Connections Require Follow-Up

Scheduling and conducting monthly connection conversations with employees is a giant step towards increasing engagement on your team. Just as important as the conversations you’re having, is what you do with the information you collect. How can we ensure employees know they’re supported?

Pursue Performance Excellence

Get Better at Getting Better

Why is a commitment to excellence important as a leader and as an organization? Dr. Janet Pilcher interviews Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award recipient, Dr. JoAnn Sternke, to get her perspective on what it takes to pursue performance excellence.

Man sitting on light bulb rocket while working on a laptop

Boost the Employee Experience

Are Your Employees Excited to Get to Work?

Disengaged employees cost the American economy billions per year in lost productivity. Employees can become disengaged when they're made to feel like they're not listened too, valued, or appreciated. To keep people engaged, leaders must remind them of the meaningful outcomes they help to create.

Analyze the Employee Experience

Is Your Team Engaged?

Sustaining high levels of employee engagement can be achieved by building relationships, affirming the individual’s value, removing barriers, and providing development and growth opportunities to employees. Use the following questions to analyze the employee experience for your team.

Turn Ideas Into Action

Shift from Individual Ideas to Team Ideas

Many employees feel as though they aren't being heard, in fact, more than half of employees say their company fails to act on good ideas, and a third of employees feel their ideas are ignored.

Planning for an Effective Meeting

Ready for your next meeting?

Thoughtful planning in advance of a meeting is the most effective way to ensure efficient use of everyone’s time. What needs to occur before, during, and after the meeting?

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Meeting Evaluation

Improve Meetings with Data

Use a meeting evaluation to inform improvement and ensure effective use of time. Whether a formal evaluation form or a quick discussion at the end of your time together, collecting participant feedback communicates commitment to excellence and efficiency.

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Keep Those Emotions in Check

3 Things to Consider About Giving and Receiving Feedback

Receiving feedback is an emotional experience. It’s often difficult to take in. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, we humans are quick to respond emotionally, sometimes overreacting, even to the point of denying the accuracy of our data. How can we strengthen the use of feedback to help us improve?

Connect Because You Care

Engage Teams While Improving Processes

One of a leader’s greatest responsibilities is to ensure teams are engaged and productive. People are motivated to increase productivity when leaders take time to get to know them personally, make them feel comfortable, and help remove barriers in the workplace.

How Do I Fit In?

It's everyone's job to reach the goal

Organizations perform better when every employee understands how his/her daily contribution impacts the organization’s goals. Draw a through line to the larger aims of the organization.

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Communicate Organizational Goals and Strategies

Does everyone know the goal?

Most of us have a hard time remembering the important goals and strategies we’re responsible for achieving because they aren’t communicated in ways that stick. One of the most effective ways to help our teams really know what we’re asking them to achieve is to draw clear connections for them.

Leadership Reflection on Hardwiring

Where do you stand?

To continuously improve we must reflect on our growth over the past year and assess where we currently stand. Hardwiring the following 9 leadership strategies paves the way for a healthy culture and high-performance organization.

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Define Strategic Priorities

Are Your Priorities Clear?

After a strategic plan is in place, it’s important for the executive leadership team to meet and discuss what the priorities are and what they are not. These agreed upon priorities shape the daily actions of our teams, who work consistently to achieve results.

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3-2-1 Leader Connection Summary

From Employee Input to Action

During leader connections with employees, much data is gathered. Using this tool, summarize the data collected monthly to recognize themes that emerge from leader connections.

Silhouette Fisherman throwing a castnet into the water

Change Management vs. Change Leadership

Harness Change

There is a difference between managing change and leading change. In this video, Dr. JoAnn Sternke tells us her top 3 tips for leading change.

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