While this is a golden age of innovation, it’s up to you to determine whether your company glitters from that gold.
Category: Company Culture
How to Develop Leadership Skills in Employees
By Brett Farmiloe
From thinking like a manager instead of like a mentor to understanding your entire team leads, here are 10 answers to the question, “What are your best tips for new entrepreneurs to develop their people as leaders so the employees and organization are set up for long-term success?”
How to develop leadership skills in your team
1. Be a mentor instead of a manager
“In the urgency of starting a business, it’s easy to just manage your people—telling them exactly what to do, making sure things are delivered on time, etc. But if you want to set your company up for long-term success, think like a mentor instead of a manager. What lessons can you help your employees learn? Where can you help them stretch their skill sets? How could you develop them with a powerful coaching session? Don’t think like a manager, think like a mentor, and it will lead to a team that can truly help you build.”
—Logan Mallory, Motivosity
2. Delegate your authority instead of tasks
“There is an old saying that practice makes perfect, and this can apply to developing your employees to be leaders by delegating your authority and preparing them to help guide your organization for long-term success.
“Most owners and managers have experience delegating tasks, but this gives an incomplete picture of what leadership entails. By taking this model one step further, you can provide your team members the chance to acquire the necessary skills to lead. Delegating your authority to team members to organize projects, put together teams, run checks, and calculate eventual results is critical if they are to learn the entire process of taking a leadership role.
“By delegating your authority to team members, you can give them a greater perspective of what total responsibility looks like and help them obtain what they need to ensure your business’s long-term success.”
—Cody Candee, Bounce
3. Guide them through networking
“Though it is important to train potential leaders in the operations of your business, you also have to instruct them how to manage from the outside in, and this means that you must teach your employees networking to build your long-term success. They need to develop relationships, and this requires a more nuanced understanding and approach.
“Showing them the best opportunities to meet people, taking them to events, introducing them to key individuals, and guiding them on how to foster a relationship, is critical to providing your employees the full picture of what drives a business. By going beyond the mechanics of your operations and teaching the intricacies of networking, you can prepare employees to be leaders while setting up your organization for long-term success.”
4. Have a formal training program
“Whether you’re a team of two or more than 10, you should have a formal program in place to train people to take on leadership roles as your business expands. Start soft skills training programs that are scalable, like virtual courses, so that learning isn’t cost-prohibitive. Those costs won’t grow until your needs grow.
“Also, one of the best development assets you can share with a small team is yourself, so offer mentorship to deepen relationships and help guide your employees to become strong future leaders.”
—Ruben Gamez, SignWell
5. Hire colleagues, not employees
“The only way to truly develop leaders in the early stages of an organization is to hire people who are at your level or higher in terms of experience, knowledge, and creativity. You want people who will do more than just execute your vision. They will help create your best practices, build company culture, and ultimately build the foundations of your business.
“If you only hire people early on who do what they are told without question, you won’t experience the kind of growth you would by hiring peers. You will inherently prepare this first round of employees for leadership by being a team of collaborators instead of a hierarchical structure of boss and employees.”
—Gates Little, altLINE Sobanco
6. Emphasize internal mobility
“As an entrepreneur, I know the value of a good team; I wouldn’t have been able to grow my firm nationwide without qualified leaders heading up every branch. My top tip for ensuring companies find the right people for these roles? Emphasize internal mobility.
“Every single person in your workplace should have a path toward a better role. Not only does the promise of internal mobility keep workers motivated and empowered, but it also ensures that when you’re ready to promote, you have access to a slew of candidates who already know the inner workings of your company and are invested in its outcome. Letting employees know that there is room for growth encourages them to envision themselves as leaders from day one.”
—Rob Reeves, Redfish Technology
7. Promote more autonomy
“Micromanagement is the bane of leadership development and general engagement, which is great news for new business leaders who likely already don’t have enough time in the day to complete all of their tasks. As a new business leader, build a work culture of autonomy that naturally strengthens leadership skills and keeps your team a lot happier. Set up your team with the tools and skills they need to move forward with transparent expectations and goals. Provide support, ask for feedback, and offer it regularly—the more you keep two-way communications open, the fewer issues you’ll have.
“When you empower your team to work autonomously and continuously support them with minimal limitations, they’ll naturally become stronger leaders with the right cultural values to help future subordinates do the same.”
—Denise Hemke, Checkr
8. Develop people as leaders
“Ensure that new hires are well-integrated into the organization. By having an onboarding process that can include mentorship programs or onboarding activities, employees will gain access to the resources and skills they need to be successful leaders within the organization.
“Also, periodically invest in workshops or classes related to an employee’s field of expertise, such as software development, marketing strategies, or organizational management. This can allow newer members to stay abreast of changes in the industry while also providing senior staff with opportunities to develop further skills and insights into more advanced topics.”
—Grace He, teambuilding.com
9. Offer professional development opportunities
“The best way for entrepreneurs to develop their people as leaders is to create a culture of mentorship and continuous learning within their organization. By encouraging employees to seek mentors and coaching, entrepreneurs can help them develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to become effective leaders.
“Additionally, it’s important for entrepreneurs to lead by example and model the behaviors and values they want to see in their employees. This means being open to feedback, being willing to learn and grow themselves, and fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration.
“Entrepreneurs should invest in their employees’ professional development. The absence of such opportunities is one of the leading causes of retention issues and burnout.”
—Dominic Monn, MentorCruise
10. Allow employees to lead from the start
“Every business has a wide variety of projects that need to be undertaken or teams that need guidance. By allowing each employee to take charge of a specific project or team, under the entrepreneur’s guidance, the employee will learn to accept accountability and take ownership of their team’s output. They will become empowered to make decisions and solve any problems they encounter, all of which will stand both the employee and the business in good stead as the business strives toward its goals.”
—Jonathan Elster, EcomHalo
About the Author
Post by: Brett Farmiloe
Brett Farmiloe is the founder and CEO of Terkel, a Q&A site that converts insights from small business owners into high-quality articles for brands.
Company: Terkel
Website: Terkel.io
Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Fostering Intrapreneurship Worked for Google—Here’s How It Can Make Your Business Successful, Too
By Adam Rood
Intrapreneurship is the practice of fostering entrepreneurial skills and mindset within an organization’s existing employees. It encourages employees to act like entrepreneurs, pursuing new ideas and innovations, while still working within the framework of the company.
Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs exhibit many of the same characteristics. These include:
- They are creative and have the ability to think outside the box.
- They share a passion for innovation and problem-solving.
- They take ownership of their projects.
- They demonstrate persistence and resilience in the face of challenges.
- They have the ability to adapt and learn from failure.
But there are also some key differences:
- Intrapreneurs work within an existing organization and utilize company resources to bring their ideas to life.
- Entrepreneurs start their own businesses and assume the risks associated with their ventures.
5 reasons you should foster intrapreneurship at your organization
1. Drives innovation
Intrapreneurship fosters a culture of innovation within the organization, enabling the development of new products, services, or processes. This constant innovation keeps the company ahead of its competitors and allows it to maintain a strong market position.
Intrapreneurs offer a unique perspective to an organization, as they understand the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, and by tapping into the creative potential of intrapreneur employees, corporations can identify new opportunities and bring unique solutions to the market, setting them apart from their competition.
2. Encourages employee engagement and motivation
Encouraging intrapreneurship empowers employees and promotes a sense of ownership and responsibility among employees, allowing them to take ownership of their projects and actively contribute to the company’s success. This sense of autonomy and responsibility can lead to higher levels of engagement and motivation, resulting in increased productivity and overall job satisfaction. In turn, this can lead to higher employee retention, reducing the costs associated with turnover and recruitment.
3. Promotes an agile mindset
In today’s fast-paced business environment, the ability to adapt to market changes and disruptions is crucial for long-term success. Intrapreneurship promotes an agile mindset within the organization, encouraging employees to be proactive in identifying and responding to new challenges and opportunities. This adaptability allows corporations to be more flexible, navigate market disruptions, and ultimately achieve sustainable growth.
4. Creates cost-effective R&D and problem-solving
By nurturing the intrapreneurial spirit, corporations can leverage the existing knowledge, skills, and expertise of their employees to solve complex problems and develop new ideas. This can lead to cost-effective research and development, as employees can identify and address challenges specific to the organization, often with a deeper understanding of the existing resources and limitations.
Intrapreneurship can also help corporations identify internal inefficiencies and develop solutions that streamline processes, ultimately improving the company’s bottom line.
5. Attracts top talent
Companies that support and encourage intrapreneurship are likely to attract top talent, as ambitious and creative individuals are often drawn to organizations where they can make a meaningful impact. By promoting a culture of innovation and providing employees with the resources and freedom to explore their ideas, corporations can appeal to high-performing candidates who value autonomy and the opportunity to contribute to the company’s success. This, in turn, can lead to a more innovative and dynamic workforce that drives the organization forward.
Create a culture of intrapreneurship
To encourage intrapreneurship within your organization, consider the following steps:
Encourage experimentation and risk-taking. Allow employees the freedom to experiment with new ideas, even if they might fail. Also provide a safe environment for them to test their concepts and learn from their mistakes.
Provide support and resources. Ensure employees have access to the resources and support they need to develop their ideas. This may include mentorship, funding, or access to specialized equipment and facilities.
Recognize and reward intrapreneurial efforts. Celebrate and acknowledge the successes of intrapreneurs within your organization. Provide incentives and rewards for employees who demonstrate innovation and creativity, such as promotions, bonuses, or public recognition.
Intrapreneurship success stories
Many companies have embraced intrapreneurship and reaped the rewards of nurturing innovation from within. Here are a few examples:
Google
Google is well-known for its
“20% time” policy, which allowed employees to dedicate 20% of their work time to pursue their own ideas and projects. This policy has led to the creation of successful products like Gmail, Google Maps, and Google News.
3M
3M, the company behind the ubiquitous Post-it Notes, has a long history of fostering intrapreneurship. It encourages employees to spend 15% of their time on personal projects and provide resources like the Tech Forum to facilitate collaboration and knowledge-sharing among employees.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace and defense company, has a successful intrapreneurship program called
Skunk Works. Skunk Works is an internal division that operates independently from the rest of the company. It focuses on rapid innovation and development of cutting-edge technologies. This approach has led to the creation of groundbreaking products such as the U-2 spy plane and the F-117 Nighthawk.
Why your company should encourage intrapreneurship
Nurturing the intrapreneurial spirit within your organization can lead to significant benefits, including increased innovation, employee engagement, and business growth.
By creating a supportive culture that encourages experimentation, provides resources, and rewards intrapreneurial efforts, you can unlock the full potential of your employees and set your company up for long-term success.
FAQs about intrapreneurship
Below we have summarized the most important questions and answers on the subject.
What is the difference between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship?
Intrapreneurship refers to fostering entrepreneurial skills within an organization’s existing employees, while entrepreneurship involves starting a new business venture from scratch.
What is an intrapreneur?
An intrapreneur is an employee within a company who exhibits entrepreneurial traits such as creativity, innovation, and risk-taking. They act like internal entrepreneurs, leveraging company resources to develop new ideas, products, or processes that drive growth and competitive advantage.
Why is workplace innovation important?
It drives business growth, enhances competitive advantage, and boosts employee engagement. By fostering creativity and fresh ideas, companies can stay agile, adapt to market changes, improve products and services, and ultimately deliver greater value to customers.
About the Author
Post by: Adam Rood
Adam Rood writes to readers at adamrood.com where he shares insights, tips, how-to guides, and articles about starting a business following his 15 years of experience in the world of entrepreneurship.
Company: AdamRood.com
Website: www.adamrood.com
These 17 Lessons in Leadership Will Help You Guide Your Team to Excellence
By Brett Farmiloe
“What are important leadership lessons you have learned that have helped guide you to excellence?” We posed this question to 17 business leaders to find advice that would help business owners seeking to improve their leadership skills. The responses we got vary from establishing clear objectives and expectations, leading with people in mind, talking less and listening more, and not being afraid to take calculated risks.
Read on to find out what it takes to be a great leader.
How to be a great leader
1. Empower your teams instead of undermining them
“Rather than trying to micromanage every little detail of your team’s work (which is incredibly demotivating and counterproductive), give them the freedom, autonomy, and support they need to make decisions and take ownership of their work. Think about it this way—if you’re offering the best tools, resources, and support they need to excel at their jobs, why wouldn’t they succeed? In fact, by giving them the space to experiment and learn from their mistakes, they will grow as individuals and top performers, too.”
—Jess Rodley, Dialed Labs
2. Establish clear objectives and expectations
“I believe that leaders who establish clear objectives and goals can motivate their team members to collaborate on a single goal. Clear goals and expectations give team members a road map to follow and help them understand how their work contributes to the overall success of the team. Leaders must also provide regular feedback on goal progress and change them as needed to ensure that they stay relevant and realistic.”
—Edward Mellett, WikiJob
3. Assign the right people to the right positions
“The most valuable leadership lesson I have learned (and the most expensive one) is to assign the right people to the right positions. Nothing slows down a team more than an employee in the wrong position. Sometimes, your company might be better off
hiring no one than bringing on a bad hire. The math behind this is simple. When you hire a bad employee, your company loses more than just time, money, and effort—you also sustain indirect losses, such as poor performance, lack of productivity, and a wasted investment.
“The poor performance of a single employee can also cause a knock-on effect on the rest of the team. Your employees can’t be productive if they have to take on extra tasks to cover for someone who is not doing their job. Later when you have to find a replacement, it will involve additional time and expense. In the long run, investing in high-quality candidates, and at a higher cost, is worth it.”
—Tatsiana Kirimava, Orangesoft
4. Master the idea of being a “servant” leader
“Being a ‘servant’ leader means always prioritizing the needs of one’s team over one’s own personal needs and putting the team’s overall success over one’s own personal success. It also requires one to build relationships with each member of one’s team. And this involves taking the time to get to know each team member, their strengths and weaknesses, and understanding what motivates them and how to bring out the best in them.”
—Jonathan Zacharias, GR0
5. Be honest with your team
“The most vital asset in my business is my employees. If they succeed, so does my business. That’s why it’s important to keep them in the loop regarding the company’s vision, goals, hurdles, and overall progress. Transparency is key. It enables you to establish an organization-wide culture of accountability, trust, and respect. As a result, you must be receptive to criticism and feedback. Even if they may contradict your viewpoint, pay attention to the suggestions made by your team. Being receptive to fresh viewpoints will help you gain insightful knowledge that will help your company make better decisions.”
—Stefan Chekanov, Brosix
6. Recognize leadership as a two-way street
“As a leader, it’s important to recognize that you have just as much to learn from your employees as they do from you. Yes, you have more experience and expertise, but that doesn’t diminish the experience and expertise your employees are bringing to your team. Listen to them, learn from them, and let your leadership be a two-way relationship in order to make the most of your employees, and vice versa.”
—Bradley Hall, SONU Sleep
7. Lead with people in mind
“One leadership lesson that I have learned is to lead with people in mind. As a leader, it is important to engage your people and to consider their needs and perspectives. Emotional intelligence is an important skill to possess, as it can help you better understand and connect with your team members.”
—Brenton Thomas, Twibi Digital Marketing Agency
8. Choose to coach instead of direct
“Learning to stop micromanaging and removing some of those controls over a team can be hard, especially for a new leader who is nervous about making a mistake. The biggest shift happened when I switched from giving my team direction to coaching them to choose their own.
“If you’ve built a strong team and helped people develop their skills, you can offer minimal guidance and allow them to find their own best way forward. Often, they come up with approaches, solutions, and workflows that are even better than what you’d suggest because their ideas are suited to their individual preferences and strengths. Give your team the freedom to choose and offer plenty of support to aid them.”
—Shawn Plummer, The Annuity Expert
9. Build relationships as you lead
“There always seem to be new and developing styles of leadership. However, all styles of leadership circle back to the one common denominator: relationships. Any influential leader understands that building a solid relationship with those in their leadership fold is the lifeblood of any effective leader. Think about this for a second. Leadership isn’t about barking orders or directing tasks that to be done. It’s about fostering an environment where people want to follow your lead.
“At the foundation of fostering such an environment is the building of relationships. Yes, I said foundation. Everyone who structures their leadership style with a sound foundation of relationships will always be successful. When building a house, the first thing you build is the foundation, and you build it strongly if you want it to last. With a solid foundation, your leadership house will support the weight of everything that follows.”
—Ed McManus, Relationship Media
10. Talk less and listen more
“Leadership isn’t just about talking, it’s about listening. In fact, one of the most valuable lessons you can learn is to talk less and listen more. True leaders know when to take a step back and hear what their team has to say. By listening to diverse perspectives and taking them into account, leaders can overcome obstacles and make better decisions. It’s not just about being a good listener, it’s about creating a culture of respect and trust. When team members feel heard and valued, they’re more likely to follow your lead and work together to achieve success.
“So the next time you’re in a leadership position, remember to hush and hearken—your team and your success may just depend on it.”
—Jocelyn Bowmaker, The Mindset Development Group
11. Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks
“Leadership is a complex process that involves both the ability to understand and lead people, as well as direct resources. It can be challenging but also immensely rewarding when done correctly. One of the most important lessons I have learned in my time as a leader is not to be afraid of taking risks—even if they might not have expected outcomes.
“My investment in advertising for never-seen-before products allowed us more visibility and created more sales opportunities than ever before. With calculated risk-taking, leaders can set themselves up for success while allowing themselves room to reap the benefits of greater opportunity.”
—Grace He, teambuilding.com
12. Embrace empathy to transform your workforce
“One of the most important lessons a leader can learn is the importance of empathy towards their team. Being able to show understanding and compassion can positively transform the way a team functions together. When leaders show empathy, they create a safe and comfortable environment for open communication, which leads to better collaboration, engagement, and productivity. They also gain their team’s trust, loyalty, and respect.
“There are many practical ways in which leaders can show empathy. For example, they can listen actively, ask questions, validate feelings, and empathize with their team members. They can also give constructive feedback, be flexible with their schedules, and prioritize their team’s well-being.”
—Bridget Reed, The Word Counter
13. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best
“One thing I appreciate as a leader is that things will not always go according to plan. In fact, borrowing from Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will typically go wrong at the worst possible time. Therefore, it is important to prepare your mindset for setbacks. In my years as a leader at different startups, I have learned that it is essential to always plan for the worst and hope for the best. After all, while we are free to strategize and plan as much as we can; many things in business are beyond our control. Therefore, we must expect difficult situations and create plans to deal with them while working hard to ensure we have achieved our goals.”
—Logan Nguyen, MIDSS
14. Understand your own limitations
“Understanding your own limitations is one of the most important lessons I have learned. Regardless of how successful you become, you must always acknowledge areas that need improvement.
“As a newly promoted leader in my previous company, I had difficulty accepting the responsibilities that were imposed on me. I lacked experience in recruiting, hiring, and managing people, and these skills took some time to learn. I attended seminars and workshops, read the latest research, and consulted with experts. I honed my skills and was able to successfully lead after going through this process.
“Successful leaders possess humility, as I have learned from experience. Only by recognizing your weaknesses and overcoming them can you achieve true excellence.”
—Pete Evering, Utopia Management
15. Sacrifice your ego
“One of the most important things I’ve learned is to sacrifice your ego, focus on the people around you, and understand what they need. It might seem contrary to what you believe, but leadership isn’t always about you—it’s about your employees. The more you tap into their potential and help them grow, the more you will grow as a leader. Therefore, it’s important to listen to your employees, as they are a key part of your organization.
“If you do not take their opinions into consideration, you may not hear what the business needs or what their wants are. You will be unable to view differing perspectives, which could enhance your success. Their voice is just as important as yours, and by developing a reciprocal relationship, they can help you meet your company goals and also increase employee morale.”
—Ben Bozzay, Tech Lockdown
16. Trust your team to do the right thing
“Trust your employees 100%! I have always trusted my team to do the right thing and never betray the company’s mission. But conversely, I have dropped them like a hot potato if I get any sign of betrayal. When you trust your people, they have a higher job satisfaction level and focus on getting the best results, and thus, they are more productive.”
—Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team
17. Never ask someone to do something that you can’t do
“Never ask someone to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself or haven’t done in the past. You cannot guide someone to success if you yourself do not know how to complete the task or what success looks like. You must continually strive to be knowledgeable about what you ask of others. A leader must be able to step in and take over any aspect of a project or task when needed. Leaders who are unprepared or who don’t understand what success looks like can’t possibly lead others to successful outcomes.”
—Ben Adams, Web Tools Advisor
About the Author
Post by: Brett Farmiloe
Brett Farmiloe is the founder and CEO of Terkel, a Q&A site that converts insights from small business owners into high-quality articles for brands.
Company: Terkel
Website:
Terkel.io
Connect with me on
LinkedIn.
4 Techniques for Cultivating a Strong Remote Work Culture
By Jared Whittle
Let’s face it, company culture was swept aside by the wave of remote work that has now established itself as the new norm. It’s all too easy for coworkers to become little more than three-inch figures that exist only in a Zoom window, appearing for a mere handful of hours each week. The question is: why does this matter?
Company culture is the set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that define how a company operates and interacts with its stakeholders. It influences everything from employee engagement and retention to customer satisfaction and loyalty. A strong company culture can give your small business a competitive edge and help you achieve your goals.
But how do you create and maintain a company culture when your team is working remotely? Remote work has many benefits, such as increased flexibility,
productivity, and cost savings, but it also poses some challenges for fostering a cohesive and positive culture. Here are some strategies to help you overcome these challenges and build a strong company culture for your small business in a remote work environment.
Building company culture in a remote work environment
1. Communicate your vision and values clearly and consistently
Your vision and values are the foundation of your company culture. They express why you do what you do and how you do it. They guide your decisions and actions and shape your expectations and standards. To create a strong company culture, you need to communicate your vision and values clearly and consistently to your remote team. You can do this by:
Creating a mission statement that summarizes your purpose, goals, and values. This is a crucial step in communicating your vision and values to your remote team. Your mission statement should be clear and concise, and it should capture the essence of what your business stands for. Make sure to involve your team in the process of creating the mission statement so that they feel ownership and buy-in. Once the mission statement is established, it should be shared with all team members, and should be prominently displayed on your website and in your office (if applicable).
Sharing your vision and values during onboarding, training, and performance reviews. During the onboarding process, new hires should be introduced to your vision and values and how they align with their roles and responsibilities. This can be achieved through presentations, videos, or one-on-one meetings. Training sessions should also include discussions around how the work being done supports the company’s vision and values. During performance reviews, you should evaluate how well employees are embodying the values of the company, and how they have contributed to fulfilling the company’s mission.
Reinforcing your vision and values through regular updates, newsletters, podcasts, or videos. You can send out regular emails or newsletters highlighting the accomplishments of your team members who have demonstrated your company’s values. You can also create podcasts or videos that share stories of how your team members are living the values of the company. This type of content can be shared on social media, on your website, or in your internal communication channels. All too often, company culture is established with vigor, only to fizzle out months later. This is a great way to keep your team engaged and informed about your company culture.
Recognizing and rewarding employees who demonstrate your vision and values in their work. Employees who embody the values of the company should be publicly recognized and rewarded for their contributions. You can do this through bonuses, promotions, or public shout-outs in your company newsletter or on your company’s social media channels. Recognizing and rewarding employees for living the company’s values will encourage others to follow their lead, and will help to reinforce the culture you are trying to build.
2. Foster collaboration and connection among your remote team
One of the biggest challenges of remote work is the lack of face-to-face interaction and socialization. This can lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness, and disconnection among your remote employees. To prevent this, you need to foster collaboration and connection among your remote team. Do this by:
Using online tools and platforms that facilitate communication, collaboration, and feedback. One of the biggest challenges of a remote work environment is that team members may feel isolated and disconnected. Using online tools and platforms can help overcome this by creating a virtual space where employees can communicate, collaborate, and give feedback. These tools can range from instant messaging apps to project management software to video conferencing platforms. It is important to choose the tools that fit your team’s needs and preferences and provide training and support to ensure they are used effectively.
Encouraging informal chats and check-ins among team members. Remote work can be lonely, so it is important to encourage informal chats and check-ins among team members. This can be done through instant messaging, video conferencing, or simply scheduling regular one-on-one catch-up calls. These informal conversations can help build trust, rapport, and a sense of community among team members.
Organizing virtual team-building activities, such as games, quizzes, or happy hours. Virtual team-building activities can help create a sense of camaraderie and fun among remote workers. These activities can include games, quizzes, or happy hours conducted over video conferencing or messaging apps. They can be a great way to break the ice, relieve stress, and foster collaboration and creativity among team members.
Creating online communities or groups based on common interests or hobbies. Online communities or groups based on common interests or hobbies can help remote workers connect on a personal level. These communities can be created on social media platforms or internal company platforms and can be centered around topics such as cooking, fitness, music, or books. Encouraging participation in these groups can help remote workers feel more connected to their colleagues and the company culture.
Providing opportunities for in-person meetups or retreats when possible. While remote work is often done from home or other remote locations, it is important to provide opportunities for in-person meetups or retreats when possible. These can include annual or semi-annual company retreats, team offsites, or even casual meetups organized by employees themselves. In-person meetings can help strengthen relationships, build trust, and reinforce the company culture.
3. Promote trust and autonomy among your remote team
Trust and autonomy are essential for remote work. They allow your remote employees to work independently and creatively without constant supervision or micromanagement. They also boost motivation, confidence, and accountability. To promote trust and autonomy among your remote team, you need to:
Set clear goals and expectations for each project or task. Setting clear goals and expectations is crucial for remote team members to understand what they need to accomplish and how to do it. You can do this by creating detailed project plans; breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable steps; and setting deadlines and milestones. This helps your team members stay on track and focused on their priorities.
Provide regular feedback and recognition for their work. Remote team members may feel isolated or disconnected from the team, which can lead to lower morale and productivity. Providing regular feedback and recognition for their work can help them feel valued and appreciated. You can do this by scheduling regular one-on-one meetings, sending emails or messages of appreciation, and publicly recognizing their achievements.
Empower them to make decisions and solve problems on their own. Remote team members need to feel empowered to make decisions and solve problems on their own. You can do this by giving them the autonomy to make decisions within their scope of work, providing them with the necessary resources and support, and encouraging them to take ownership of their projects.
Respect their work-life balance and personal preferences. Remote team members often struggle with work-life balance and may have different work schedules or preferences. As a leader, it’s essential to respect their personal boundaries and preferences. You can do this by setting realistic expectations, avoiding micromanagement, and encouraging them to take breaks and prioritize their well-being.
Avoid unnecessary meetings or interruptions. Remote work can be distracting, and unnecessary meetings or interruptions can disrupt your team’s workflow and productivity. You can avoid this by using asynchronous communication tools, setting clear communication protocols, and scheduling meetings only when necessary. This helps your team members stay focused and productive throughout the day.
4. Cultivate a learning and growth mindset among your remote team
A learning and growth mindset is one that embraces challenges, seeks feedback, learns from mistakes, and strives for improvement. It is crucial for remote work because it helps your remote employees adapt to changing situations, overcome obstacles, and develop new skills. To cultivate a learning and growth mindset among your remote team, you need to:
Provide access to online resources. To foster a culture of continuous learning and development, it’s important to provide your remote team with access to online courses, webinars, podcasts, or books that can help them learn new things or improve their existing skills. This shows that you value their professional growth and want to invest in their long-term success. You can also encourage them to share what they’ve learned with their colleagues, which can help spread knowledge and create a sense of community.
Encourage knowledge sharing. Your remote team members likely have a diverse range of skills and experiences, so it’s important to encourage them to share their knowledge, insights, or best practices with their colleagues. This can be done through regular team meetings, online forums, or informal chats. By sharing their expertise, they can help others learn and grow, and also feel valued and appreciated for their contributions.
Foster a culture of feedback. Constructive feedback is essential for personal and professional growth, but it can be difficult to give and receive in a remote work environment. To create a culture of feedback, it’s important to establish clear guidelines and expectations for how feedback should be given and received. This can include using specific language, focusing on behaviors rather than personalities, and avoiding defensiveness. By creating a safe and supportive environment for feedback, you can help your remote team members improve their skills and build stronger relationships.
Celebrate successes AND failures. It’s important to celebrate your remote team’s successes, but it’s equally important to view failures as learning opportunities. By embracing a growth mindset, you can create a culture where mistakes are viewed as opportunities for growth and improvement. This can be done through regular team retrospectives, where you reflect on what worked well and what could be improved. By acknowledging both successes and failures, you can create a more resilient and adaptable team culture.
Put these principles to work, and who knows? You might just find that your company is a friendlier, more productive place.
FAQs on building a good remote work culture
What makes a good remote work culture?
A good remote work culture is built upon strong communication, trust, and collaboration among remote employees. It prioritizes work-life balance, provides clear expectations, promotes employee well-being, and encourages a sense of belonging and community.
What is remote company culture?
Remote company culture refers to the values, norms, and behaviors that define the work environment and interactions within a remote organization. It encompasses how employees connect, communicate, and collaborate while working remotely.
How do you maintain company culture with remote workers?
To maintain company culture with remote workers, it is important to regularly communicate and reinforce the company’s values and goals. This can be done through virtual team-building activities, regular video meetings, transparent communication channels, recognition of achievements, and promotion of a supportive and inclusive work environment.
About the Author
Post by: Jared Whittle
Jared Whittle serves as the director of operations at Apprentice and the chief revenue officer of Sloungy. His writing spans operations, finance, entrepreneurship, and networking.
Company: Apprentice
Website:
www.chooseapprentice.com
Connect with me on
LinkedIn and Instagram.
10 Ways Leaders Can Build Stronger Tech Teams
For many modern businesses, tech teams are the backbone of operations. Business leaders can support their IT staff in many different ways, from allocating an adequate IT budget to recognizing and acknowledging tech employees. Here, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members share ways set up your tech department for success.
A business’s tech team plays a key role in the company’s ability to operate. What’s one way a business leader can better support their tech team so they can perform their job well?
1. Provide tech teams with necessary resources
One way a business leader can support their tech team is by providing them with the resources they need to do their job well. This might include things like adequate funding for new equipment or software, access to training and development opportunities, and a clear understanding of the company’s goals and priorities. Encouraging a positive work environment is also a must! —Andrew Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings
2. Collaborate rather than delegate
Build relationships with your technology team and share overall business goals and problems that need solving, not just your requests and proposed solutions. If you share more context with your team, they’ll have a better understanding of the problems to solve, come up with more creative solutions, and be more bought into the end results. —Andrew Powell, Learn to Win
3. Allocate a budget
I have allocated a budget to my tech team every year that they can use freely to try various tools to make their jobs easier. It motivates the tech team to find better tools and also makes them feel more included in the company. We are a tech company, so our operational efficiency depends upon the efficiency of the tech team. —Piyush Jain, Simpalm
4. Use Slack and Calendly
A channel on Slack that’s specifically for tech issues will help other team members chime in to share their experiences. It allows for direct, real-time messaging so there are no back-and-forth emails, and communication is both streamlined and efficient. Calendly allows tech support to get on someone’s calendar for 15 minutes to do a screen share or get a two-factor authentication code. —Givelle Lamano, Lamano Law Office
5. Make the tech team feel included
Your tech team might feel that they’re playing a role off to the side, overlooked until needed. Make sure you maintain a strong relationship with your tech team. Make sure they know they play a key role in your company’s ability to operate smoothly. Don’t let them sit in the dark. Share goals and key issues. By understanding the bigger picture, they’ll be better equipped to offer creative solutions. —Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker
6. Connect tech teams with customers directly
A business leader can support their tech team by allowing them to connect directly with customers when it comes to dealing with a customer’s website or other tech issues. Many times a business leader wants themselves or a salesperson to be the sole contact for the customer, but it becomes complicated when trying to convey technical messages and jargon. —Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
7. Standardize the tools your tech team uses
You can support your tech team by ensuring everyone has the same tools and resources. Confusion will quickly ensue if everyone uses different tools and software to do the same job. We make sure our tech team has everything they need to do their best work. We are also open to requests if a team member has a tool that they think is better than what we currently use. —John Turner, SeedProd LLC
8. Set clear goals and be transparent
Business leaders can support their respective tech teams by setting clear goals and creating transparent workflows. This will help leaders clearly communicate their expectations of the team, set the right deliverables, and assess how the efforts of the team translate into outcomes. This also helps leaders fill the gap between what the tech team does and what the company wants them to do. —Chris Klosowski, Easy Digital Downloads
9. Give the team autonomy to make decisions
A business leader can better support their tech team by creating an atmosphere of trust and collaboration. This can be done by actively listening to their ideas and suggestions, and giving them autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work. —Andrew Munro, AffiliateWP
10. Support the team’s growth
A leader can better support their tech team by providing them with need-based training opportunities. Technology is an ever-changing field. So, this can help them be better at what they do and significantly increase productivity. Whether it’s a skill they wish to learn or a tool that makes their job easier, a leader should always be there for the team and help them grow. —Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
Quiet Constraint and Gen Z: Why Young Employees Are Withholding Knowledge at Work
By James Micklethwait
As Gen Z becomes a bigger part of the workforce, employers around the world are dealing with the question: “How can I help young employees succeed so they can help our organization succeed?” Recently,
“quiet quitting” has been the buzzword in conversations about engaging young workers, but new research shows that another Gen Z-led trend is coming to the fore in workplaces: “quiet constraint.”
What is “quiet constraint”?
According to a recent survey of U.S. workers for
Kahoot!’s 2022 Workplace Culture Report, 58% of workers say they hold knowledge that could benefit their coworkers, but they haven’t shared it. This trend is highest among Gen Z workers, with 77% of employees in this group reporting holding unshared knowledge.
It’s easy to see how this could potentially harm efficiency and productivity, as well as limit creativity and problem-solving, as teams experiencing quiet constraint aren’t contributing all they can or fully working together.
When asked why they are holding in knowledge, Gen Z workers pointed to company culture. Among their top three answers, 28% percent say they don’t feel valued at work and that their employer underestimates their knowledge and capabilities; 26% say they have never been asked; and 24% feel their talent and self-expression are stifled at work.
All of these reasons speak to the need to create a work environment where employees are recognized for the knowledge, ideas, and skills they have to offer, and where they have the opportunity to easily share their talent with others.
Why is Gen Z leading the trend?
There are likely a variety of factors that affect why more Gen Z workers report holding in knowledge than their older counterparts. First, in entry-level or junior-level positions, many employees simply don’t have an opportunity to show what they know beyond their limited job description, let alone share it with others.
Also, many Gen Zers have started their careers in hybrid or remote work settings. If their companies haven’t yet optimized their virtual employee experience (and many haven’t—online employee training, virtual team meetings, and virtual presentations are where employees say they most often disengage), then those young employees haven’t had a chance to build strong connections with their colleagues and see the value of collaboration.
How can employers unlock unshared knowledge in the workplace?
While the quiet restraint trend may seem like a big obstacle, savvy employers should actually see it as an opportunity. More than 75% of workers say they would highly value an easy and engaging way to share their knowledge with coworkers. In other words, most employees want to show up as their best selves at work and offer that to their team—they just need the invitation. Here are a few tips for getting started.
1. Recognize workplace heroes who share knowledge
Behind nearly every successful new employee are coworkers who show the new staff member how things work at a company. However, helping new employees, or even informally training them, can be a thankless job. Employees are busy and leading training sessions is not in most workers’ job descriptions.
That means if you want employees to prioritize sharing knowledge with their peers, make sure they are recognized and rewarded for their actions. According to
Gallup, 78% of younger workers say they want more frequent recognition from their managers, and implementing recognition for knowledge sharing is a great place to start.
2. Harness friendly competition—work hard, play hard
Many Gen Zers grew up with game-based learning, so they’re used to a more fluid line between work and play. This is perhaps why friendly competition is Gen Z’s top choice for making virtual meetings more engaging. To encourage collaborative learning in your company, look for opportunities to add an element of friendly competition throughout the workday—in meetings, presentations, and training, both live and on-demand.
You can even scale it up to larger events. Host company-wide product knowledge contests, or upskilling and reskilling relays, where every department team is challenged to teach their colleagues something new and compete for top ranking as star presenter.
3. Give your employees opportunities to surprise you
While many employees say they don’t feel their talents are seen or valued at work, if an employer is underestimating a team’s capabilities, likely it’s not on purpose. Any decent employer would want to know what their employees can do and what they have to offer. What they are often missing, however, is a venue to discover that talent.
In practical terms, this can take many forms—from peer learning sessions to open creative brainstorms to full-fledged hackathons. Invite everyone in the company to take part, and make it as easy as possible to participate; give options to join virtually, share anonymously, etc. This will allow you to uncover fresh new ideas, perspectives, and solutions from places you may have never expected, such as seemingly-unrelated departments or from the most junior members of your team.
Convincing young employees they are valuable is a win-win for any company
Ultimately, a company is only as strong as its workforce. Helping your employees—especially your younger employees—succeed, and convincing them to share their knowledge, will ultimately benefit your overall organization. The businesses that will be the most successful tomorrow are the ones that invest in their employees today and every day.