There’s no denying that 2021 has been a year of great change, one that tested leaders across the world and presented numerous challenges to the traditional methods of doing business and building teams.
At FiredUp! Culture, it’s also been an opportunity to see the foundations of the FiredUp! model in action, spurring growth and evolution. We had the opportunity to work with many great leaders as they put their principles into action and successfully navigated this changing landscape. We’ve also published many new leadership resources on our blog, with the goal of providing you with the information you need to become the most effective and compassionate leader you can be.
Below are our most trafficked posts from 2021. I encourage you to take a look and get inspired for 2022!
How to Show Your Employees You Care During the COVID-19 Crisis
COVID-19 is on everyone’s minds these days and it’s no wonder. The pandemic has shaken every facet of modern life and, during uniquely difficult periods like this one, it’s easy to become reactive and entirely focused on survival strategies.
In this post, I shared the ways you, as a leader, must broaden your scope and turn your attention toward your team members. This is the time to demonstrate compassion and tell the truth, while also providing hope. Practical, step-by-step tips are included within the post, illustrating the best way to support and accommodate your team.
5 Steps to Building a Culture of Excellence
There’s something especially enticing about the concept of a culture of excellence. In a culture of excellence, team members step forward to achieve amazing results, share innovative ideas, and encourage each other to grow. Leadership and team members both take ownership of work. Relationships are based on genuine compassion and collaboration. But, it doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen on its own.
In this post, I shared five commitments you can make as a leader to cultivate a culture of excellence in your workplace.
How to Set Clear Expectations for Your Team
Does your team know exactly what you expect from them? Do they understand how their efforts will be weighed? A study by ComPsych found that 31% of respondents cited “unclear expectations from supervisors” to be the single most stressful part of experiencing changes in the workplace. Stress in the workplace is a big issue, causing people to be less creative, productive, and efficient. Stress also affects relationships, as stressed-out workers are less engaged and more negative when communicating with their team members.
Yet, transparency can still be difficult for leaders. Perhaps your plans aren’t finalized, or you need more information before communicating with your teams. In this article, I share five practical strategies for setting clear expectations.
Book Review: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
When’s the last time you read a really great book with useful information you were able to apply to your own life? I recently read and reviewed “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable” written by founder and president of The Table Group, Patrick Lencioni. In it, he explores the dynamics of dysfunctional teams, then shares advice for transforming your own team into one that is cohesive and high performing.
Here at FiredUp!Culture, we find this book to be endlessly helpful and rely upon its philosophies when creating our team-building workshops. I definitely recommend checking it out!
How Intuition Can Inform Your Decision Making
Have you ever dismissed your intuition in favor of what logic might dictate? Intuition is actually a powerful tool for leaders and honing in on what your gut is telling you can give you invaluable insight.
And, yet, the human gut isn’t infallible. Intuition has the power to lead you toward great achievements and self-destructive failures. This post helps you identify the moments you should take the leap and trust your intuition.
Thank you for reading the blog this year, for sharing our posts, and for investing in your own growth as a leader. The FiredUp! Culture team is excited to keep publishing lots of great content in 2022!
It’s time to break the mold and build a new leadership culture. Purchase “Own It” today.
Author, Speaker, and Change Agent.
Chris leads a dynamic team of passionate change agents who are dedicated to partnering with organizational executives to create cultures that inspire, engage and ignite the best in people. Our work is dedicated to harnessing the power of culture to equip leaders, build amazing teams and align operation practices to delighting the customer and drive breakthrough results.
