Empowering Employees Through Constructive Criticism: The Art of Giving Feedback

April 7, 2023March 16, 2023 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

If you’re able to effectively provide constructive criticism that empowers employees, you can make a real impact on any organization. After all, there’s nothing more powerful than a team of motivated and invested employees who are inspired by their leaders to do the best work of their lives.

Of course, providing effective feedback is easier said than done. It requires sophistication, empathy, and courage; it’s an art form that must be developed and refined with practice.

In this article, I’ll take you through the process of how to give feedback in a way that inspires growth and empowerment within your team. We’ll discuss what effective feedback looks like, as well as how to appropriately offer critiques and helpful observations in a way that leads to productive conversations. By the end of this article, you should have all the tools you need to become a masterful leader and empower your team through constructive criticism.

What Is the Purpose of Giving Feedback?

When you think of giving feedback, what comes to mind? Is it a dreaded process, or a powerful tool to help drive growth and development? The answer is both. If done right, feedback can be an incredibly powerful tool for motivating employees and inspiring them to achieve more.

The purpose of providing constructive criticism is twofold. First, it’s about building a trusting relationship between employees and their managers based on mutual respect. By taking the time to craft thoughtful, personalized feedback, you show your employees that you value their opinions and that you care about their professional development. Second, feedback helps facilitate growth and development by giving employees specific targets to work towards and aiding them in understanding how their performance is measured within the team or company.

By taking time to thoughtfully craft and guide your employees through this process, you can build a strong culture of collaboration and support—one that can serve as the backbone of any successful business.

How to Create an Environment of Trust and Support

Constructive criticism is an art form. The key to successful feedback is to ensure it’s framed and presented in such a way that your employees feel supported and motivated, not belittled or discouraged. Creating an atmosphere of trust and support is the foundation for this to take place—it’s where the safe space needed for giving meaningful feedback can be built.

To create this kind of positive environment, start by empowering your employees with clear expectations and communication. Make sure they understand their roles, their objectives, and how they fit into the big picture. They should know they have the freedom to take risks, make mistakes, and ask questions without fear of criticism or judgment.

Be open-minded when giving constructive feedback—seek first to understand before you provide suggestions for improvement. Take time to listen rather than jumping in with solutions right away, and encourage dialog by asking questions that foster creative thinking and problem solving. Also strive for balance—positive reinforcement can go a long way in motivating your team to recognize their strengths and further develop any weaknesses identified.

Establishing the Right Tone

Speaking of being respectful, the tone of your feedback is key. If you come across as hostile or condescending in any way, your employee will naturally be more likely to become defensive and not internalize your critique. So, how do you make sure to strike the right tone when giving constructive criticism?

The best way to do this is to give feedback in a way that demonstrates respect for the employee. You want to ensure that your words are coming from a place of wanting them to grow and get better at their job—not from a sense of superiority. It’s also important to frame the conversation in an inquisitive way instead of one that sounds accusatory.

Here are some tips for making sure you maintain a respectful tone when giving constructive criticism:

Speak in an even, calm voice.

Structure your comments using clear, concise vocabulary.

Ask questions that help promote dialog rather than shut it down.

Avoid using exaggerated language like “always” or “never”.

Focus on solutions and strategies rather than dwelling on past mistakes or failures.

Be mindful of body language; it can often say more than words can!

By taking these steps and having conversations with your employees that are positive and supportive, you can make sure they feel respected during the process while still giving them helpful advice and knowledge they can use going forward.

Addressing Criticism With Respect

It is important to remember that constructive criticism shouldn’t be a personal attack. No matter how difficult the situation, it should always be delivered in a respectful and supportive manner. When giving constructive criticism, it is also important to make sure that the specific issue being discussed is addressed without generalizing it or making assumptions. This will ensure that the individual understands the feedback being given and can use it to their advantage.

By using respectful language and focusing on specific issues, employers can ensure that their feedback will be perceived as helpful instead of intimidating. Additionally, employers should take into account their employees’ feelings when providing constructive criticism—for example, by asking how they are feeling about their performance or if there is anything they need in order to improve. With this approach, employers can create an environment of trust and understanding that encourages employees to continue growing and developing their skills.

Providing Examples and Evidence to Support Critiques

When giving feedback, it’s not enough to just say what you think. It’s also important to back up your comments with tangible examples and evidence. After all, nobody wants to just get called out without understanding why they’re being called out in the first place.

By providing examples and evidence to support your critiques, employees can understand why their performance isn’t quite up-to-par and what needs to be done to make improvements. Here are some tips for using specifics when giving feedback:

Make sure your meetings are focused on the desired outcome instead of simply pointing out mistakes or issues.

Provide a clear before-and-after example of the desired outcome so that employees have something tangible to strive for.

Consider creating a timeline outlining specific milestones and goals that will help employees stay on track with their progress and measure success.

Offer resources or training materials that will enable employees to further develop their skills or improve certain processes if needed.

Evaluate results regularly to ensure that employees are taking the necessary steps for improvement and growing in their roles.

By providing examples and evidence along with constructive criticism, you’ll be able to guide employees through their challenges in an effective and efficient manner – allowing them to reach their full potential!

Strategies for Encouraging Growth Through Feedback

Providing constructive feedback to your employees is a great way to empower them and encourage their growth. But giving feedback isn’t always easy, especially if your goal is to be constructive and productive. To make sure you’re providing effective feedback, there are a few strategies you should consider.

Start with Positive Reinforcement

It’s important to begin your feedback with something positive. This can be anything from recognizing your employee’s hard work or acknowledging an idea they had that was successful. Starting on a positive note will help ensure the rest of the conversation remains focused on finding solutions and motivating growth.

Focus on Solutions

Providing solutions along with constructive criticism can help ensure that employees are given the tools they need to succeed. Offer viable solutions that can help employees reach their goals and empower them to take action towards implementing them.

Be Specific

When providing feedback, it’s important to be as specific as possible so your employees understand exactly what you’re saying and how it applies to them. This will also help them distinguish between areas of improvement and areas where they’re excelling, allowing them to focus on further developing their strengths and striving for better performance in certain areas.

Giving effective feedback requires practice and patience, but following these strategies can certainly help encourage growth amongst employees — after all, empowering them is one of the best ways to create an environment where everyone succeeds!

Constructive criticism is a powerful tool for managers to ensure their teams are working efficiently and productively. When done correctly, it can be a great way to empower employees, creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and collaboration. While it can be uncomfortable at first, with practice and an open mind, it can become a powerful tool for giving feedback that inspires growth and improvement.

When providing constructive criticism, it is important to give feedback in a respectful and supportive manner. Make sure to focus on the behavior or process that needs to be improved, not the person, and strive to offer solutions to any issues that arise. By taking the time to actively listen, ask questions and provide thoughtful direction, you can help build trust between employees and managers, and create an atmosphere where everyone can feel empowered to do their best work.

How to Create a Culture of Inclusivity and Foster Diversity in the Workplace

April 6, 2023March 16, 2023 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

We all know that diversity and inclusivity are important in the workplace. But do we really understand and practice what it takes to create a culture of inclusivity and foster diversity? Everyone plays an important role in fostering a culture of acceptance and respect, regardless of the team size.

Creating an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and included is more than just a nice idea — it’s essential for any business to thrive. But how do you create a truly inclusive workplace? It starts with understanding the concept of cultural inclusivity and what is needed for its success.

In this article, we explore how to create a culture of inclusivity that celebrates everyone’s background, values, ideas, and contributions. We will look at why diversity is important for businesses and provide tangible tips on how to foster it.

What Is Inclusivity and How Does It Benefit the Workplace?

Creating a culture of inclusivity and diversity involves more than just the hiring process. It’s about creating a safe and equitable space for anyone who works with or within your organization.

Inclusivity is the practice of actively acknowledging, respecting, and celebrating the differences among all people. This means promoting equity and fairness in all aspects of your organization, from recruitment to decision making to career development. When done correctly, an inclusive culture can be beneficial in many ways.

A diverse team encourages more creative thinking and different perspectives. When everyone brings something unique to the table, it makes for an environment that’s open to new ideas and solutions. Additionally, diversity builds trust with customers and partners—when customers feel represented by a company’s workforce, they are much more likely to trust their products or services. Finally, an inclusive workplace can help retain top talent through employee satisfaction—making it much easier to stay competitive in a tight job market.

Ways to Foster Diversity in the Hiring Process

When it comes to creating a culture of inclusivity, fostering diversity starts with the hiring process. After all, the best way to have a diverse workplace is to have diverse people making up your team!

Here are some ways you can make sure your hiring process is truly equitable and open to people from all walks of life:

Understand the Need: First and foremost, it’s important to recognize the need and value of having a diverse workforce. Every person brings unique experiences and perspectives that can contribute to a better working environment.

Expand Your Network: Reaching out to a broader network can help you attract candidates with different backgrounds and skillsets. Consider expanding your outreach beyond traditional job postings by attending job fairs or posting on social media platforms.

Be Open-Minded: Keep an open mind when looking at candidates’ resumes and during interviews—you never know who might be the perfect fit for your team! Having strong hiring criteria helps ensure candidates are qualified for the role, but don’t let preconceived notions about who’s “right” for the job limit your view of potential new colleagues.

Developing a Culture of Inclusion and Respect

Cultivating a culture of inclusion and respect in the workplace is key if you want to create a diverse business. This means building a team of employees who understand and appreciate the value that each individual brings to the table. How do you do this?

Setting clear expectations

It’s essential for employers to set expectations for employees when it comes to inclusivity and respect. Explain what behaviors are not acceptable, such as offensive or discriminatory remarks or actions, and provide resources for how employees can report any inappropriate behavior they witness or experience. It’s also important to provide information on the organization’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment.

Prioritizing diversity at all levels

Ensure that there is diverse representation among all groups within your organization, from top management positions to entry-level roles. Create equitable recruitment strategies and foster an environment where everyone feels welcome and respected by offering job postings on non-traditional outlets, such as minority-focused job boards, so that you can reach a more diverse pool of applicants.

Celebrating differences

Celebrate cultural holidays at work and recognize contributions from people with different backgrounds in order to demonstrate that diversity is welcomed and valued in your workplace. Having events, such as potlucks or educational forums on topics related to diversity can help foster appreciation for different cultures within your organization.

Establishing Clear Policies and Procedures for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Creating a culture of inclusivity starts with implementing policies and procedures that ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. From hiring to onboarding to general conduct guidelines, employers should ensure that there is a clear understanding of expectations when it comes to how each individual should be treated in the workplace.

These policies can include:

Establishing a clear anti-discrimination policy that includes harassment and bullying

Providing appropriate diversity training for all employees

Ensuring equal pay for equal work

Implementing a diversity recruiting process

Creating an inclusive culture that celebrates differences

Providing resources for employees to find support if needed.

Having these policies and procedures in place will create the framework for a successful diverse workplace. It will also communicate to potential and current employees that the company values diversity and inclusion, fostering a welcoming environment for everyone.

Educating Employees on Inclusivity and Diversity Best Practices

Creating an environment of inclusivity and embracing diversity can be tricky. But by educating employees on inclusivity and diversity best practices, organizations can ensure they are creating a culture that celebrates differences.

Here are some tips for educating employees on inclusivity and diversity best practices:

Ensure everyone understands that diversity and inclusion initiatives should be applied to all aspects of the organization, from recruiting to team meetings to mentorship programs.

Utilize anti-discrimination policies to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page when it comes to expectations of behavior at work.

Promote education through training sessions, seminars, or online courses tailored specifically towards ethical collaboration, understanding one another’s differences, and how to effectively work with a diverse group of people.

Make sure there is open feedback available for employees as these programs are implemented; it’s important to ensure that everyone feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions on how these initiatives might affect them.

Celebrate successes and encourage positive reinforcement when members of the team come together across boundaries (race, gender identity) for a common goal!

With these tips in mind, organizations have the tools they need to create a culture of inclusivity and foster diversity within their workforce!

Making Sure Efforts Are Sustained Over Time

When it comes to creating a culture of inclusivity and fostering diversity in the workplace, sustaining your efforts over time is key. It requires consistent effort and a commitment to making sure that everyone has an equal opportunity.

Here are some helpful tips on how you can sustain your efforts over time:

Make sure that decision-makers understand and embrace the value of diversity.

Monitor results and assess progress regularly, educating staff on unconscious biases that can lead to less-than-optimal results.

Develop an inclusion plan backed by clear roles and responsibilities, including metrics for success and defined accountability mechanisms.

Facilitate integration of new hires in meaningful ways so they feel supported in their new roles, including assigning mentors and sponsors to help guide them along the way.

Train managers on what it means to be inclusive so they can serve as champions for diverse hiring practices throughout their departments.

Celebrate successes in fostering diversity and make sure that everyone’s voice is heard when making decisions or creating policy changes at the organizational level.

Reward individuals, teams, or departments for inclusive excellence across the entire organization.

Reexamine goals for diversity periodically to ensure no one gets left behind as expectations evolve with changing circumstances and demographics overtime.

Foster an environment where all employees feel respected, appreciated, and valued regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation – starting with leadership demonstrating those values from day one!

By making sure that your efforts are sustained over time you’ll be well on your way to creating a culture of inclusivity and successfully fostering a diverse workforce!

Diversity within the workplace is something that should be applauded for its vast benefits. Not only does it create a more inclusive culture, it also increases productivity and morale, helps break down stereotypes, and sparks new ideas and perspectives. To foster diversity within the workplace, celebrate differences and actively create a culture of inclusion. Equip and empower your team members with the necessary tools to ensure everyone can thrive, and create and implement policies that demonstrate your commitment to inclusivity. Finally, recognize your team members’ leadership and celebrate their successes. Even the smallest gestures can go a long way in creating a culture that embraces diversity and inclusivity.

Strategies for Building Resilience as a Leader: Don’t Let Setbacks Stop You

April 2, 2023March 16, 2023 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

As a leader, it’s your job to stay focused, motivated and resilient—even when faced with challenges and setbacks. That’s because resilience isn’t just a mental attitude; it’s an essential leadership skill that can determine the success of your initiatives.

We all go through times of difficulty and adversity, but how we respond to these moments makes all the difference. For leaders, this means having the right strategies in place to help you bounce back from difficult times and stay determined and focused on achieving your goals.

This article will look at what resilience is as a leader, how you can build up your own resilience skills to handle challenging situations, and give you practical advice on how to avoid getting stuck in a negative feedback loop when failures happen. Let’s get started.

What Is Resilience and Why Is It Important for Leaders?

Highly resilient people have an amazing ability to take on anything and come out on top. If the definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, leaders must absolutely embody this quality. After all, if you plan to manage a team and lead them successfully, you need to be able to manage setbacks with grace, learn from failures and keep moving forward.

Why is resilience important for leaders? First and foremost, leaders are tasked with motivating and inspiring their team. This requires leading by example—if as a leader, you give up easily or appear flustered by small setbacks, your team is likely to follow suit. Having a highly resilient leader fosters an environment of innovation, development and growth by setting the tone that it’s ok (and even beneficial) to take risks and be adaptable in the face of change.

Additionally, it helps boost performance: research shows that resilient people have better problem-solving capabilities and more effective coping mechanisms when faced with uncertainty or adversity. Finally, resilience strengthens relationships since it helps us handle negative emotions better.

Understanding Your Own Resilience Levels

When it comes to being a resilient leader, it’s not just about bouncing back from the hard times—but also understanding your own resilience levels. Building resilience starts with understanding where you currently stand, identifying your unique strengths and weaknesses, and then taking steps to make sure that you are ready for whatever comes your way.

The first step is to learn how to observe and recognize the signs of stress in yourself and others. This includes noticing physical tension, changes in energy levels, communication styles or emotional reactions. This can give you insight into when it’s time to take a break or shift focus towards something that is more manageable.

The next step is to build up a toolkit of strategies that will help you stay resilient during tough times. This could include meditation, breathing exercises, making lists or venting in a safe space with trusted friends. Knowing which techniques work for you will ensure that you remain calm and focused when faced with challenges or setbacks.

Challenging Your Beliefs About Setbacks

It’s human nature to want to avoid or deny hard times when they hit, but you don’t have to get stuck in a rut of negativity. Instead, you can use your setbacks as an opportunity to grow and develop.

One way to do this is by challenging your beliefs about setbacks. When faced with a challenge, it’s easy to label it as a “failure” and think about it in terms of what you didn’t achieve. But if you take a step back and look at the experience more objectively, you may find something of value in the lessons learned along the way.

For example:

Instead of seeing a setback as an ending point, view it as a springboard for taking further action.

Embrace the idea that becoming resilient is all about looking for solutions and questioning whether the setback was actually such a bad thing after all.

Change your perspective on failure by seeing it as an opportunity to learn and build on your current skillset or knowledge base.

Use your experiences – whether they are “successes” or “failures” – as stepping stones and create incremental changes that can lead you on to better things.

By challenging your beliefs around setbacks, you will be developing an essential life skill that will give you the resilience needed to continue pressing forward with your goals no matter what comes along!

Developing Strategies for Coping With Setbacks

One of the keys to developing resilience as a leader is understanding that setbacks and failures are inevitable. No matter how well you plan, sometimes things just don’t go your way. It’s OK—it’s part of the journey, and it’s how you choose to handle it that matters.

Here are some strategies for coping with a setback:

Acknowledge the failure or setback, but don’t get too hung up on it – take stock of what happened; reflect on what you learned and what could have been done differently; make an action plan for moving forward; and then focus on execution.

Reframe the situation – if something doesn’t work out, look at it as an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your goals, rather than simply a failure. This will help you stay focused on what needs to be done in order to move forward.

Prioritize self-care – when setbacks happen, it’s important to take time to process the situation and take care of your physical and mental health so that you can remain resilient throughout the process of rebuilding and continuing forward progress.

Reach out for help – don’t be afraid to ask for support from family, friends or mentors who can help provide perspective or resources needed for bouncing back from a setback.

Learning how to cope with obstacles and setbacks is an important part of developing resilience as a leader—learning not just how to survive them but how to become stronger from them is the key to success in the long run.

Modeling Resilience for Your Team

Being a leader isn’t just about dealing with your own struggles; it’s also about modeling resilience and strength to those that follow you. You need to be a role model, showing your team how to bounce back from setbacks.

If you’ve suffered a setback, how can you help lead by example and motivate your team? Here are some useful strategies:

Use humor

Humor can go a long way in helping people deal with difficult situations and find hope in failure. If you’re able to use humor as part of your response to setbacks, it will help lighten the mood and allow people to move forward with greater mental clarity.

Celebrate small victories

No matter how small the progress is, celebrating successes along the way will give everyone on the team something positive to focus on and remind them that there are still opportunities for growth amidst the setbacks.

Remain optimistic

The power of optimism is especially important during times of adversity when morale may be lowered across the board. Having an optimistic outlook can be contagious and often elevates everyone’s spirits as they try to tackle new challenges despite past failures.

Leading by example and modeling resilience is an essential part of being a successful leader—after all, if you don’t have the motivation yourself, who will? Keep pushing forward and maintain a positive attitude even when facing tough times—that’s true resilience.

Practices for Building and Sustaining Resilience as a Leader

Another key element for building resilience as a leader is cultivating practices that sustain resilience. This is important for any leader, because strategy and flexibility are needed to prevent an unexpected setback from derailing progress.

Here are some things that you can do to sustain your resilience as a leader:

Find support from family and friends: Support can come from many sources, including loved ones and trusted colleagues. It’s important to find people who can provide emotional support during difficult times.

Take breaks: Taking time off can make a big difference when it comes to staying resilient as a leader. Breaks help you step away from the intensity of the situation and regain clarity and focus on the tasks at hand.

Develop coping mechanisms: It’s normal to feel overwhelmed or frustrated when things don’t go your way — develop strategies for dealing with these feelings, such as deep breathing, yoga or even just taking a walk around the block to clear your head.

Be mindful of your wellbeing: Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself so that you’re in the best position possible to weather any storms that might come your way — eat healthy, get enough sleep and exercise regularly — this will help keep your mind and body in balance

It’s inevitable that you’ll hit setbacks as a leader, no matter how experienced or prepared you are. The key to succeeding is to find the right strategies to help you build resilience and stay focused on your goals.

Your resilience will be tested, but you can use strategies such as giving yourself space to process emotions, surrounding yourself with a supportive network, having a growth mindset and cultivating self-compassion to help rise above the issue and keep making progress. Remember that setbacks are never the end of the story—they’re just an obstacle to overcome on the journey of success.

Be kind to others

March 2, 2022 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

How kindnesss changed my life.

I was sitting in front of my computer for an hour thinking about what to write. While I was staring at a blank screen, I got a message from a high-school classmate. That message gave me the seed to this article.

1985 was the year that changed my life. Jan 1985. two months before graduating from high school, my father left us. I did not know the reason then. Until the day he died a few years ago, I did not find out the reason. I would not want to ask my 75 year old mom about something that long been buried in memory.

A month after my dad leaves, my two brothers, mother, and I had to go separate ways to survive. My mom did not know how to apply for a job since she has been a housewife all her life. She went back to her parents home. My brothers and I started to look for work in our teen age years.

Primo, a classmate in Colegio San Agustin, where I attended school, asked me to go to the top floor of the Citibank building in Paseo de Roxas. He said that I should look for Atty Antonio V. Agcaoili. The senior partner of Agcaoili and Associates. Apparently, his dad works for the law firm. I took the bus the next day to the law firm.

I was asked to wait by a beautiful mestiza receptionist in the waiting area. I flipped through several old editions of Fortune magazines. After 30 minutes, I was led to the office of Atty Anva. The office smelled like cigarette smoke. It was a spacious office filled with picture frames.

Atty. Anva was a heavy smoker. My interview was just Atty Anva asking me what happened to my family. After a few minutes of sharing my personal story, he hires me. There was no job opening, but he hired me.

Atty. Anva then stepped our of his office for a few minutes. I can see him talking to his office manager. He comes back and says that I can photocopy documents for the eleven lawyers in the firm for the minimum wage of P1, 500 a month less government dues. On the side, I will also clean homes that they reposes on behalf of a Bank client. That will earn me an extra P100 for every home I clean with the company messengers and drivers.

The job may not be too glamorous or impressive. However, my photocopying job led me to other jobs, which landed me a computer programing job for FEBTC. The job in FEBTC landed me an IT Management job in Saudi Arabia. That IT Management job led me to other executive roles in the Bank with a career lasting 20 years. My last job was SVP for Strategy and Transformation before I decided to go back to the Philippines.

A few months after I came back, I went back to Atty Anva to thank him. I dropped by a wine store in Makati Avenue to get him a bottle of wine. It was his kindness that changed the course of my life. I was eagerly looking forward to seeing him again.

It was unfortunate that when I went up to his law firm, I found out he had passed away many years ago from lung cancer. His son sadly delivered the message.

However, his son said something interesting. When news of his dad’s passing away came out in the newspapers, hundreds of people dropped by their law firm to pay their respects to his dad. Hundreds of people, like me, were in gratitude to this remarkable man. Atty Anva touched the lives of hundreds of people even without the knowledge of his family.

What did we all have in common? What did Atty. Anva do that was so amazing? It was simple. He showed us a random act of kindness. He showed us the power of kindness. Kindness to a total stranger.

In today’s world, it’s easy to be sucked into selfishness. It’s effortless to cover your actions under the guise of a good cause. It is effortless to focus on our needs and ignore other people’s needs. It is effortless to justify our actions even if they are hurtful.

However, it was kindness that changed my life. It was kindness that changed the lives of hundreds of people touched by Atty. Anva.

Being kind to others is so powerful that it can change opinions and even lives. So, in this very challenging and sometimes painful pandemic, let us remember to be kind to one another.

Be kind no matter what.

A Wonderful Workplace

October 28, 2021October 29, 2021 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

Almost every day, I am reminded of how God has blessed me by placing me in PIMS. Cathy, the Executive Chair and owner, is such a great leader and person. She gives people the opportunity to grow. For her, having a family culture in the company is something that is taken very seriously. Family culture is at the core of everything we do.

Cathy reaches out personally and encourages her team members that are sick. She encourages them through scriptures that she shares. She makes it a point to check on them every day.

She would even go so far as to give struggling employees a second, third, fourth chance. In addition, she welcomes back former employees that have left her nest. In the last few months, I have witnessed great employees that left years ago come back to the company.

Cathy encourages leaders with Bible scriptures in group chats regularly. However, openly sharing scripture is not very common, especially coming from the highest executive in a company. Because of this example, other leaders openly share scripture in group gatherings and group chats. It is the norm rather than the exception.

The leadership team also lives this family culture. They are true servant leaders. There is not a single trace of arrogance in them. Everyone is treated fairly. Respect for each other is also the norm. The resulting performance in delivering the KPIs set by our clients is next to phenomenal. Commitments are executed on or before time. Productivity is very high.

People from different departments rally together to help solve an issue. Everyone is given equal opportunity to attend training. Development and succession planning is taken very seriously as well. The leadership team fully supports the execution of world-class frameworks, such as the 9box grid and balanced scorecards. It’s so supported that we rolled out the 9box grid in less than eight weeks for nearly 800 employees.

At the center of the culture-building is where I am seated. The function is aptly called the Corporate Management Office or CMO. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to help bring culture building, people development, preparing future leaders, automating processes, developing existing and new businesses to the next level.

Leading the shared services and business development is such a blessing. I am surrounded by a great team whose heart is to bring the group of companies to the next level.

This Tagalog term I recently heard resonated with me from a good friend of mine when I shared my experience with her – ‘Sana lahat.’ In English, this loosely translates to ‘I hope all companies are like yours.’

Let’s count our blessings instead of our challenges. Then, make a positive difference in our company.

A Family Culture in the workplace

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

Several companies claim that their employees are their most significant assets. In addition, many companies claim that they have a family culture. However, what does a company centered on family culture look like?

Let me share with you how it looks like.

These companies will do everything to avoid laying off employees during the pandemic lockdown.
They physically check on their employees when a calamity strikes. Their leaders call on employees that live around the area of a catastrophe. They check up on their employees to see how they are doing.
They put learning and development at the center of their plans.
They systematically identify high potential employees, future leaders and put them on a leadership development track.
They hold monthly get-togethers to inform their 1,400 employees what is happening in the companies.
The individual companies hold engaging townhalls on a consistently regular basis.
The leadership openly shares leadership quotes and Biblical verses.
They are courageous enough to have 360-degree appraisals.
They are open to new ideas regardless of what level in the organization it is coming from.
Anyone may politely provide an alternate view to any leader, and it is not taken personally.
They emphasize the importance of work-life balance.
They help employees put their children through a scholarship program.
They provide scholarship programs to key employees.
The leadership is truly a group of servant leaders.
Even after their impressive growth, the leadership is still open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
The leadership is not afraid to challenge the status quo.

I can keep going on, but I hope that you get the point. Family culture helped catapult this company from a 30 employee workforce to a 1,400 strong organization.

Yes, actual companies out there walk the talk when it comes to having a family culture.

I want to honor these companies for genuinely recognizing the value of their people. So here, let us celebrate a particular company I used as an example. They have a strong family culture and core values of Respect, Integrity, Service, and Excellence. So may you continue to R.I.S.E. in the coming years. God bless you!

Why is mediocrity common in most organizations?

May 16, 2021May 16, 2021 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

“GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT. AND THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY REASONS WHY WE HAVE SO LITTLE THAT BECOMES GREAT. WE DON’T HAVE GREAT SCHOOLS, PRINCIPALLY BECAUSE WE HAVE GOOD SCHOOLS. WE DON’T HAVE A GREAT GOVERNMENT, PRINCIPALLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A GOOD GOVERNMENT. FEW PEOPLE ATTAIN GREAT LIVES, IN LARGE PART BECAUSE IT IS JUST SO EASY TO SETTLE FOR A GOOD LIFE.” -JIM COLLINS.

What I noticed after returning back to the Philippines.

“Good enough is not enough” was screaming at the back of my mind a year after returning from a 20-year overseas contract. In our language, this is translated as ‘Hindi pwede ang pwede na.’

I am blessed with the opportunity to work with different companies back here after being away for a long time. A few months after my return, I was catching with a high-school classmate over coffee. Most people my age tend to harp about how great our high-school life was. We also compare notes on what our classmates are currently doing. We updated each other on the lives of our classmates from the same batch.

My classmate suggested that I go into the “slash” business – “training slash mentoring slash management consultant.” He said that I could use the knowledge and experience I gathered working abroad. It took me some time to land a few clients. I was away for so long that my social media followers are mainly from the Middle East.

As I gradually got into management consulting work for small to large companies, I noticed a pattern emerging among employees. What I saw was not particular to the rank and file only. My observation applies to management as well.

I am not generalizing. Some employees genuinely live up to their fullest potential. Sadly, that is the exception instead of the norm. I am confident that several readers will react to this article. I apologize, but I am writing things as I see them. We can either be defensive or take it as constructive criticism. Of course, I am praying that most of the reader will take the second path.

Many employees, staff and management, like to appear “busy,” particularly in front of their superiors. However, they are using only a tiny part of their full potential. For short, they are contented with mediocre work.

That has always puzzled me until today. I had the chance to work with other nationalities for twenty years. Certain nationalities try their best at everything they do. They also make sure to work on their personal development so they can keep raising their performance bar. On the other side of the fence, some nationalities are okay with mediocre work. Work that’s just good enough to submit to their superiors.

I am not making a sweeping generalization. The majority of certain nationalities do their best most of the time. In comparison, others do their minimum most of the time.

I am not saying that try and do everything perfectly. That will result in the ‘analysis paralysis’ effect. Jeff Bezos of Amazon used the famous 70% rule in decision making. When he has 70% of the information he needs to decide, he goes ahead and decides. Getting all 100% of the data takes a lot of time and effort. The delay in the decision-making process causes more harm to organizations than good.

Why is that?

Having meals with employees during my consulting engagements prove to be informative. Chatting over lunch or a snack reveals the true heart of people. Here are some of the ‘water cooler’ comments.

“Go ahead and submit that report; that’s good enough for sir …’

“Why do I need to do my best? It’s not like my manager notices anyway.”

“I’m just here until I find a better job, so why bother?”

“Last time I suggested an idea, I was publicly humiliated. It’s better to agree with what my boss recommends.”

“I did not finish my college education. I don’t have that kind of skill.”

“I have so many things assigned to me. I do not have time to work on improving that.”

There are as many excuses as employees, if not more.

Most people think that it’s safer to let others make the decision. This is particularly true for employees that got burned making the wrong decision. Instead of being processed with empathy by their leaders, the leader uses the mistake to flex their superiority. The employee will never take it as a learning opportunity. An employee that’s publicly humiliated will refrain from trying to do extraordinary work. This is also true for people who witnessed the public beating. They would not want to be in his shoes.

Sometimes, the work is not explicit. Employees are thrown into an assignment and expected to swim like an Olympic champion. We promote people to their level of incompetence if we do not empower them. People need the tools of the trade.

If your boss promotes you to be a highly paid carpenter but does not provide you with the proper tools and knowledge, you are bound to fail. Why do we throw a subject matter expert on one topic to fly with another job requiring a different skillset? It simply does not make sense, yet it happens a lot of times.

Then there is the round peg on square holes. These are employees that are placed in roles outside their level of expertise simply because they were available.

Some employees are not satisfied with mediocrity. Some people I had the chance to work with believe their work is their worship. They think that running at full potential is an excellent way of thanking God for their skills and opportunities. Employees like these probably make up 10% of an organization.

These are the people who are not afraid to jump ship. They are confident in their skills. They give their work everything they have. To top it off, they make sure that they continuously sharpen their saw even if the company does not invest in their development.

How about the rest? How can we help the others get out of the mediocrity shadow? Let’s see.

Make sure that our employees are round pegs in rough holes. Employees should have the right skills for the right job.
Make sure that they have psychological safety. Employees should be able to suggest ideas or give their opinion without fear of a public backlash.
Make sure that high-performing employees are publicly recognized.
Make sure to process mistakes or low performance in private. Keep the discussion on the event. Do not attack the employee’s character.
Assign your best leaders to mentor your high-potential employees.
Develop your direct reports.

These are only a few examples of what we can do to help move our employees from mediocrity to greatness.

Do not let employees wallow in mediocrity. It is our responsibility to develop them.

“A LEADER’S JOB IS NOT TO DO THE WORK FOR OTHERS. IT’S HOW TO HELP OTHERS FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT THEMSELVES, TO GET THINGS DONE, AND TO SUCCEED BEYOND WHAT THEY THOUGHT POSSIBLE.” SIMON SINEK.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
Visit my website for more articles www.servantleadersph.com
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

My Origin Story on Leadership

May 13, 2021 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

I am fortunate enough to witness several kinds of leaders through the ’80s, 90’s until today. Leaders I had the privilege to work for comes in different colors, sizes, and shapes. They come from diverse backgrounds, education, and temperament.

For over 30 years in the workforce, I have witnessed how the different leadership styles affected employee morale, productivity, and the organization’s success.

I started work during the Theory X era. Theory X states that “employees require heightened supervision, external rewards, and penalties.” A few elderly leaders would even go to the extent to say the employees are generally lazy. If their boss does not drive them, they will not work. They claim that employees only work if someone is watching over them.

It’s incredible to watch time go by and see many leaders in todays world still having that old Theory X mindset. It’s like they never moved forward with the times. In the past, most works were labor-related. In todays work, jobs require “knowledge” workers.

Stuck in the past, I call them. However, it’s not only the “seasoned” leaders that think this way. Younger Gen-X and the more experienced Gen-Y also carry the notion that employees are simply company tools. These tools will not work correctly if not closely supervised. Employees need supervisors looming over them.

From an employee’s perspective, this is a living hell. Employees are not propertly managed. Meaning they are not developed for their potentiality. They are the first to be blamed when something wrong happens, even if it was a leadership shortcoming. Employees are required to work at all times despite their struggles. Employees are not properly compensated. In the confines of meeting rooms, leaders sometimes talk about them like they are disposable commodities. In public, employees are heralded as the companies most important asset.

You will see employees waiting for the highly paid leaders to leave before they can call it a day. They fear that the bosses will think they are not busy. They will wait for an extra hour or two before heading off home and missing the chance to play with this child before bedtime. They miss tutoring their children because it was already traffic when the leaders go home in their expensive cars. The employees will have to fall in line to take the public transport going home.

They hold back on properly paying their best people. They will wait until a high-potential employee submits their resignation before offering them higher pay or better benefits. Employees put up with this simply because most of them think they do not have options.

I am not generalizing. Do not get me wrong. However, it is unfortunate that this is the situation in most companies. A great workplace should be the rule and not the exception. As Simon Sinek said, “people have the right to love coming to work.”

The sad workplace environment sparked my obsession to study great leaders I came across in my career. It is my mission to learn, apply then teach others the best leadership styles. It is why I am writing articles about great leadership. This is why I run leadership workshops.

I believe that most terrible leader is bad at leadership because they do not know better. It was something they learned or observed from previous bad leaders they had. A former manager used to say, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

Terrible leadership is like a genetic disease that is passed down from one generation to another. Of course, there are still a few genuinely evil leaders in the mix. However, most of them do not know better.

I have witnessed in so many instances employees promoted to leadership positions that are not properly equipped. Newly minted leaders are expected to “magically” morph from a great employee to a great leader. Really? Is it that simple? Come on, guys!

Almost everyone can list several excellent leadership competencies; having a clear and communicated vision, focus on their people agenda, developing direct reports, recognizing outstanding work in public, reprimanding in private, and so on. Yet, very few leaders behave this way.

I know that mentoring future leaders, educating them on leadership competencies, writing articles and books, blogging may not make much of a dent. However, I am at peace that I am trying to do my part.

I will always say that Great Leaders develop people. Great people build great organizations. Only with this can we have great workplaces. I would love to see this one day.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
Visit my website for more articles www.servantleadersph.com
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

How to process wrong decisions

May 10, 2021May 13, 2021 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

There are two types of leaders when it comes to dealing with their subordinate’s erroneous decisions. On the one hand, you have leaders quick to punish direct reports that make the wrong decision. On the other hand, there are the leaders that genuinely care for the learning of the direct report. The servant-leader is the second one.

When I worked as the head of Banking Operations a few years ago in Saudi Arabia, I made an erroneous decision. Actually, I made several but different wrong choices in my career. However, I also experienced different ways of processing by my direct manager.

Back then, I was reporting to a British direct supervisor. One of the departments reporting to me was payment processing. The responsibility included fund transfers both local and abroad. It also carried the responsibility of payroll processing for our corporate and government clients.

When I took on the new role, I was utterly dependent on my direct reports to walk me through the critical processes of their function. I depended on my manager in charge of payroll processing.

The department was in charge of processing over 700 entities. The payroll we processed was a combination of corporate and government payroll. It was a sensitive process. We could not afford a single mistake.

When we started offering the service, we only had about 20-30 payroll clients. The process involved the client preparing and sending a payroll file in a physical CD. The CD was delivered three days before the actual payroll run.

As the number of clients grew, I should have questioned the manual process that the department was following. Manually processing payroll for 700 entities is different from processing 30. I had a feeling that the process might blow up one day. However, I decided to rely on the current manual process. I asked my payroll manager about the scalability of the process. He said that it still works.

One payroll day, we got a call from an angry CEO of one of the biggest companies in Saudi Arabia. He accused us of debiting his payroll fund twice. After the CEO investigated, he found out that his 18,000 employees received their payroll TWICE. Yes, twice. Everyone thought that they were given a bonus on that payroll run. We are talking about millions of Saudi Riyals in duplicate payment.

We quickly tried to resolve the issue by debiting their employees’ accounts. We can only do this with employees who had their payroll account with our bank. If the funds were already withdrawn, the system would automatically transfer any income fund to our bank account until the amount was fully recovered.

The problem was with employees with accounts from another bank. We do not have control over their system. The only thing we can do is practically beg the payment operations of the other bank to retrieve our funds.

In the end, it took us a grueling three months to recover 95% of the overdrawn funds. The bank took the hit for the 5%. We needed to pay back our corporate client.

Through this entire ordeal, my direct manager was calm. The priority is to come up with a recovery plan. As we implemented the recovery plan, he talked to me in private. We spoke calmly through the series of events. As expected, I took responsibility for what happened. I decided to trust my payroll manager and stay with the status quo. My British manager highlighted the flaws in the decision-making process and the lessons learned. We also agreed on preventive measures. The incident did not happen again.

The beauty of all this is that my manager did not look at my performance from a single event. He used the event as a learning opportunity to show me how to make better decisions. I respected him more after that incident.

Let me compare that to another event. This friend of mine was slowly rising in his company. He was getting more assignments. However, instead of deciding to push back when the load was too much, he decided to keep accepting them. The challenge was that he was expected to excel in his additional assignments quickly. Years of experience from the previous manager must be rapidly learned in a week or two.

One day, the load was too much, and he made a mistake with two decisions. His direct manager was a very successful entrepreneur that he looked up to. My friend also wished that one day he could be like his manager. He learned a lot from his direct manager with the time he worked with him. He was ever so grateful for everything.

The decision to keep accepting new assignments was flawed. My friend should have requested a gap between appointments to have the time to assimilate the added responsibility. The resulting two erroneous decisions have stripped him of his additional responsibilities. My friend was fine witb the reduction of responsibilities. He understood his limitations. The sad part was that the fault sidelined him. He no longer has a bright future in the company. All the potentiality he previously showed does not matter anymore.

These are two different approaches to processing wrong decisions. Indeed, failure is part of success.

If I may add, a failure correctly processed is part of success. Not only do we learn from it, but we also build others with it.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

We don’t have a monopoly of great ideas

May 4, 2021May 3, 2021 ~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

	jordan on Your Website Is Not Your Brand…
	Topiko Hyd on Your Website Is Not Your Brand…
	Chris Bale on Your Website Is Not Your Brand…
	jordan on The Rise of Home Workouts: Emp…
	jordan on Lead with Empathy: The Secret…