We hope you’ll enjoy these deeper dives into key leadership topics by Enerpace’s network of experts:
How To Deal With Bullying at Work
Companies should respond immediately because this type of behavior damages the psychological safety that’s so integral to a healthy company culture. In most cases, this type of behavior is also violating company values, whether implicitly or explicitly. Other employees observing this behavior will logically question if they want to remain associated with a firm that tolerates this type of behavior. At a time when companies are having such difficulty attracting and retaining employees, behavior like this can seriously negatively impact your brand as ...
Writing a Letter of Resignation
When you are ready to resign, the #1 rule is to remain professional at all times. Write a short letter of resignation and express appreciation for the opportunity to work with the firm and the people. Bring that letter to your direct manager or supervisor if you are physically located in the same office. Otherwise, email is fine with a follow-up phone call letting your boss know it has been sent. Start the conversation with a simple statement - "While I greatly appreciate the opportunities and learning I've ...
All About Cultivating Team Accountability
I define team accountability as shared ownership of team goals. In fact, what differentiates a team from a mere group of people IS their common interest in shared objectives. Let’s say a group of VPs report to a SVP. Even though every VP may not have a huge role to play in a project, if it’s a goal of the SVP, the entire team is responsible for doing whatever they can to achieve it. Sometimes that means sharing resources, brainstorming ideas, or transferring ...
Signs It’s Time To Quit Your Job (And Move On)
How do you know when it's time to leave your job? It's time to quit when you wake up dreading the day. When you're depressed every Sunday at the thought of the week ahead. When you are bored daily. When your health is suffering. When you don't see any room for advancement or when your boss or coworkers are abusive. It's usually easier to tell that your job is in jeopardy in merger/acquisition situations. For instance, if you work in corporate finance and your ...
Identifying Your Blind Spots As A Leader
I love this topic – it’s so important and one that’s not usually addressed. Some topics I see over and over again! What I wish all leaders knew is that they actually HAVE blind spots. It’s impossible not to. Even the best of intentioned, most self-aware leaders can be unaware of how they’re being perceived or how their actions are impacting others beyond their immediate circle. We ALL see the world through our own point of view, and our brain filters out information that disagrees with that ...
Employee Accountability (and the Manager Too)
How do you hold your employees accountable? Accountability best practices apply just as well when folks are working remotely as when they’re in the office. Here are some key things to remember: Make sure to define what success looks like. Is it solving a problem? Creating something new? Writing a business plan? How much leeway does the employee have in terms of what the result looks like? Make sure the goal contains all of the “SMART” criteria – it’s specific, measurable, attainable, rewarding and has a ...
Toolkit for the First Time Manager
Things I wish I knew before becoming a new manager – That my success depended on making my employees successful My real job is to make sure my people have what they need to do their jobs Coaching skills so I could “teach them to fish instead of giving them the fish”. A good manager asks the questions that helps folks think their way to the right answer. That being a manager entails being part coach, part parent, part therapist, part teacher, part cheerleader, ...
Your Essential Team Member Quits, Now What?
During my corporate career, I often said “Nobody is irreplaceable. It’s just a matter of how inconvenient it is.” I still believe that now, after 19 years working with leaders across many top firms and industries. Hopefully, the company has a talent management program that helps them align a people strategy with their business strategy. Those that do have identified successors for all key roles and have put development plans in place. When we do this work with leadership teams, we place potential candidates in buckets: ready now; ...
Addressing Why Your Boss Shuts Down Your Ideas
If your boss keeps shutting down your ideas, it is absolutely appropriate to investigate a bit. Try the following approaches/words that work: It seems like my idea wasn’t appropriate here. What would make my idea a better fit? (OR More realistic? OR Work for our team?) Many times when I offer ideas, they don’t seem to be well-received. What would make them more valuable to you? How do you like to receive suggestions? I love brainstorming and generating new ideas. I notice that mine don’t seem to fly. Would you provide ...
Employee Productivity & Team Collaboration – a Challenge During this Time of Remote Work
Many are challenged working remotely with too much information between Zoom and all the other platforms and apps for remote employees. This is a real problem for both the company and employee. By the end of the day, folks are exhausted from having to switch their attention so frequently. And, also frustrated from feeling they accomplished too little or weren’t able to produce their highest quality work. There are costs to productivity levels with this pull between individual and team over many platforms. Research ...