What will make a future leader successful? I explored this in my piece, *Portrait of a Future Leader, published as part of Upwork’s Work: Reimagined series on Medium. Really getting down to the nitty-gritty of how major workforce trends will affect leaders was exciting. But I don’t know everything. What will make a future leader successful? I […]
Can Eliminating Workplace Bias Be as Simple as Interrupting It?
Despite continued diversity efforts from the United States Government and organizations around the country, minorities are still largely underrepresented in the United States workforce. When looking at the statistics presented by “well meaning” companies, the picture is painfully clear. For example, Google reports that 6.4% of their employees are Hispanic and just 4.4.% are Black. […]
How to Merge Creativity and Business
Business is so much more than ROI and numbers. It is also about creativity and compassion. The truth is, you cannot run a successful business if you are not creative. Bringing creativity into your leadership is more than just supplying the Playdough at a company retreat. It is about fostering innovation and allowing mistakes to […]
Leading Collaboration in a Virtual World
In the blink of an eye, the new normal has become working from home. The expectation is to become a high performing team that is able to collaborate remotely and successfully achieve all of its goals. This means that overnight, leaders are expected to become experts in how to lead collaboration in virtual teams. New […]
Competency Database Management
A well-defined competency database is an organizational game changer. Why? Because organizations with this database optimize performance. First, what is a competency and an organizational competency database? A competency is defined as a knowledge, skill, ability or interest. Many groups of competencies are inherently difficult to measure, such as strategic analysis or complex pattern recognition. […]
Seven Tips for Managing Unconscious Bias
Bias—a tendency to believe that some people and ideas are better than others—wrecks havoc in the workplace. It keeps women and people of color out of the boardroom, limits job opportunities, prevents organizations from the true monetary and cultural benefits of a diverse workforce, makes it difficult for Baby Boomers to get tech jobs, and […]
It Takes Courage To Use EQ
Emotional Intelligence. We hear the term all the time, thinking it’s some abstract leadership model that only the elite use to improve themselves and their teams. I’m here to tell you that EQ is real and the opportunity to use it occurs many times a day, if you’re willing to listen and use it. Here are three […]
How To Manage Change At Work
Perpetual change is the one constant in the business landscape. Revolutionary scientific discoveries, breakthrough technologies, updated regulations, new leadership, shifting job roles, and relocation are just a few examples of major change in the professional world. The fact is, change is inevitable and necessary. Yet many employees aren’t prepared to embrace change. Why is change […]
Why Conflict at Work is a Good Thing
When Gabriel visited headquarters from his Milwaukee office, everything seemed great. Members of the team welcomed him warmly, invited him to lunch, and had his workstation set up. Gabriel would be there for a week to transition the team to a new software platform to track their hours, request vacation days, check benefits, find employee […]
Why Accountability is a Must For Teamwork and How To Create It
“Courtney really gets on my nerves,” Mario said to his coworker Amira. The two were sitting in the commissary, trays of food in front of them, ready to eat lunch. “She has to be ‘miss perfect’ and flaunt finishing her projects,” Mario continued. “Yet getting her work done before everyone else doesn’t satisfy her—she continually […]
