Welcome to the Let’s Grow Leaders Frontline Festival! This month, our contributors share their thoughts about building stronger human connection and relationships at work. We’ve expanded the Frontline Festival to include other formats such as podcasts and artwork and are always looking for new thought leaders to join the party. Thanks to Joy and Tom Guthrie of Vizwerx Group for the great pic and to all our contributors!
The March Frontline Festival will be about inspiring creativity and innovation on your team. Won’t you join us? Send us your submissions here!
Now, on to the February Festival!
The Power of Effort and Investment in Building Relationships – Going the Extra Mile
Julie Winkle Giulioni of DesignArounds gives us The Magic of Making an Effort. Given the complexity of today’s workplace, the frequently competing demands, and eternally moving targets, leaders might want to dedicate some attention toward the effort. In fact, “mining the magic of effort” just might be the next big leadership competency craze! Follow Julie.
Shelley Row of Shelley Row Associates offers Three Ways to Shift Your Perspective to Get a Kaleidoscopic View. To have better relationships at work, you should be willing to look at them in more than one way. Shelley’s encouragement to invite a variety of perspectives can lead to healthier workplace relationships. Follow Shelley.
Diversity and Inclusion
Dr. Artika Tyner of Planting People Growing Justice Leadership shares The Future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Embracing diversity and inclusion is essential for building stronger human connections at work. Our workplaces are more diverse and our communities are becoming increasingly diverse. Despite these demographic shifts, organizational culture and practices may limit the ability for all members of a team to thrive. Follow Artika.
Artika’s favorite quote on this topic is
We should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry and we must understand that all threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. Dr. Maya Angelou
Chery Gegelman of Simply Understanding asks, Are You Defending Your POV or Listening? Even the most dedicated, energetic, compassionate and growth-focused people struggle with one of the habits of highly effective people. Are you one of them? Follow Chery.
Chery’s favorite personal thought on this topic is:
Everyone comes from a different life experience and has witnessed, researched or considered something you have not.
Building Effective Teams
Chip Bell of Chip Bell Group provides Partnering for Innovative Service. What can a pack of wild dogs teach us about collaborative teams and partnership? Lions are greedy; wild dogs share. Learn more insights for stronger relationships at work. Follow Chip.
Chip’s favorite quote on this topic is:
“It takes two flints to make a fire.” Louisa May Alcott
Eileen McDargh of The Energizer gives us The Care and Feeding of Virtual Teams. The good news about technology is that teams can be spread throughout the world, offering a rich background for global enterprises. The difficult news is that time zones and the absence of visual interaction can cause teams to stumble or even fail to start at all. Follow Eileen.
Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provides The Team’s the Thing and the People are the Team. On the most productive teams, it’s all about the people and relationships. Follow Wally.
Rachel Blakely-Gray of Patriot Software, LLC gives us Why Building Relationships at Work Matters (and 5 Ways to Do It). Improve retention and engagement by prioritizing relationships in the workplace. Use these five tips to encourage camaraderie among your employees. Follow Rachel.
Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited offers an infographic, 12 Science-Backed Reasons You Should Make Friends at Work, compliments of GetVoip. There are a number of ways to decrease work stress, but one lesser-known one is surprisingly simple: make friends with your coworkers. Follow Beth.
Laura Schroeder of Working Girl offers Great Leadership Isn’t about You. No one succeeds in isolation and teamwork drives innovation, community and great culture. That means that one of the most important things managers can do for their teams to ensure it’s a safe and inclusive place for everyone, so they bring their best selves to work. Follow Laura.
Measuring Relationship and Connection
S. Chris Edmonds of Driving Results through Culture provides a three-minute video Culture Leadership Charge: Measure and Reward the Important Stuff. In this short post and crisp video episode, Chris shares one client’s transformation into a purposeful, positive, productive work culture by measuring, monitoring, and rewarding results AND respect. Follow Chris.
Communication
Robyn McLeod of Thoughtful Leaders Blog offers How Long Will You Tolerate that Bad Work Relationship? Five Questions to Turn it Around Today. Opening the door to having a conversation is an important first step in resolving a conflict or improving a difficult work relationship. Follow Robyn.
Jesse Lyn Stoner of Seapoint Center for Collaborative Leadership gives us Self-disclosure, Leadership and Trust . Don’t underestimate self-disclosure as a leadership trait as it humanizes a leader and increases trust. Self-disclosure does not mean baring it all. Skillful self-disclosure is about taking ownership of your thoughts and feelings. Follow Jesse.
Ronni Hendel of InsightOut Leadership shares Career Conversations in Complex Times. Navigating careers in an increasingly complex landscape requires that employees and employers engage in organic and dynamic conversations in which personal and profound questions are explored. Ronni shares insights from her conversations with Julie Winkle Giulioni, co-author of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go, which presents a powerful way of thinking about and conducting career development conversations that can change the way employees feel about their work as they are encouraged to bring more of their humanity to work. Follow Ronni.
David Grossman of The Grossman Group offers Help Employees Get to Know You with These Tips. When you ask employees, they want to be able to connect with their leader—today more than ever before. Employees want to know what you have to say; they also want to know what you stand for. Apply these tips to help your employees get to know you. Follow David.
Your Turn
What are your favorite tips for building connection and relationships at work?
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