Your Morning Commute

Have you ever been more comfortable telling your coach or a stranger for that matter, about a conversation you should have or you are avoiding all together instead of actually having that conversation with the person or persons that you need to? If so, you aren't alone. I hear this ALL the time. What we should be saying is being sad to the wrong person...when I am coaching someone and they are...

Clear expectations can make a world of difference...do you agree? I am more likely to hit my mark if I am clear on what the mark is and where it is...do you agree? So when I say employees will respect what the leaders expect - I mean when leaders are clear on expectations themselves in the simply form can be started and are stated to the employees - then and only then can the employee respect (hav...

Decade after decade the data shows the direct correlation between employee satisfaction, engagement and retention to how well we train and development our team members. When they see the roadmap of grow and development on a continual basis - starting with day one onboarding and for years to come - they are more likely to stay with you for the long term. Today's longer term goes past 2 to 3 yea...

We are a few months into 2023 and these 5 Culture Trends are becoming more and more evident. How are you doing with these trends? Do they hit home with you and your team? Something else showing up on your end? How are you managing / developing / leading through this trends - walls - barriers - change in workplace culture needs? Trends: 1. Employees want more from work 2. We all want a community; i...

Managing is hard period - managing up is or can be even harder. Going up stream is far more difficult than swimming downstream - wouldn't you agree. Today's episode I discuss 3 challenges and suggestions to push through those challenges as you pivot with more grace - not to mention creating a deeper path towards a team with psychological safety.

How strongly do you believe that you can speak up with out fear of being punished or humiliated for sharing your ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes at work?  If you take a deep breath, pause or shout out NO then psychological safety probably isn't present in your workplace culture.  If you answered with a resounding YES, then you and your team are above the norm and BRAVO - keep doi...

Ep 536 brings you a special edition mash up The Culture Hour - Your Morning Commute - Raw Leadership called Saturday Morning Leadership with Elizabeth Veliz and myself, Shelley Smith. We discuss the world today and why we are still talking about lack of retention, clear expectations, accountability and of course all things workplace culture and leadership. AND the intentional intersection of life...

Change is a constant and I know you know that...how we tackle change is what can make or break a person or a team though. Usually we don't call it out as direct as we should and that's when things start to go sideways. Instead we have to get ahead of it and decide our intent and desire impact right from the beginning so we will know if the 'change' we started is yielding the 'change' we intended....

Why is DEI so confusing? The answer is not simple. DEI encompasses a wide range of topics, perspectives, and concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It can be difficult to understand the nuances and complexities of how these issues intersect with each other and our lives. There are often different interpretations of what DEI means in various contexts. This makes it difficult to creat...

How do you define being professional? Have you ever thought that being professional at times means showing up NOT as you?  Stay with me here, last week I spent some time with an intern discussing this very topic.  Authenticity can be a tricky topic to negotiate in the professional setting. It is important to be true to ourselves and our values, but sometimes it can come across as unprofe...

How are you applying your leadership, on - the - daily? Application Leadership is the equivalent of enrolling leadership school. Sure, you can watch all Youtube videos on the topic and there are books galore to read, but when it comes down to it, Application Leadership is applying what you’ve seen and read in real life situations. To me, Application Leadership means taking all the knowledge you’ve...

Talk talk talk... Many times that's what we do, when we need to listen, listen, listen It's hard to find solutions when you are doing all the talking - are you a leader that talks or listens? Today on the morning commute, I am asking just that, in hopes that more leaders will do less talking and more listening. I kept it simple today - but listening can be hard...how are you doing in that arena? T...

There isn't enough time in the day...perhaps but can we, should we better manage the time we have? Listen, I get it the days move fast and tasks pile up on the daily. But how often do we stop the madness and get off the hamster wheel to take a deeper look at the things keeping us 'busy'?  Today on the 520th episode of #YourMorningCommute I speak on this topic and offer up 9 ways to better man...

What role does or can scarcity play in your workplace culture? It begins with how you define it and does it scare you.  You mind does play tricks on you if you let it. What is perceived as scarce could be an opportunity knocking. It depends on how you and your team approaches it. While it may be tempting to focus on abundance when running a business, it is also important to consider how scarc...

Is the great resignation a myth?   Now that I have your attention - what I mean is - do people really not want to work anymore, or do they just don't want to work for you or the organization? Today on the 518th episode of #YourMorningCommute I go on a big of a rant to challenge what you are being told or hear, or chose to hear about why team members resign or become disengaged or even - dare...

A nationwide air-traffic shutdown by the FAA - talk about a public crisis - well there you have it. I was one of the unlucky caught in that travel nightmare recently. After 15 hours that was supposed to be 5 hours, I witnessed a lot and reflected on how well leaders do or do not prepare their staff for things when it ALL goes wrong. This of course on the heels of SouthWest Airlines holiday breakdo...

Chit Chat - Small Talk - does it get in your way or help move you forward???? Some say it isn't necessary and we don't have time for that - hog wash - we do and we must. Continuous Improvement often happens through those small and impromptu connections.  Today on the 516th episode of #YourMorningCommute I talk about this and the connection to your #workplaceculture and how we educate, engage...

For the past 5 years I have chosen a word of the year to focus on. This year is no different. I have chosen Kaizen this year. Keeping it simple, it means continue improvement - going broader it means so much more especially in our workplace culture. What is your word of the year? How will you stay on track with it?

Why is being vulnerable such a scary action? Why is listening so hard? I am often asked why is external vs internal coaching often more effective. Keeping the answer simple, it's the ability of the external coach to encourage vulnerability, being non-judgmental and coming to the table without any biases with a final layer of listening all around. Those are the ingredients of effective listening th...

Learning and development matters—it keeps our workforce agile and gives them the skills they need for success. The team is also more likely to be motivated and inspired when they have access to training AND training done RIGHT. We don't want training that is draining. Hee, Hee, but rather moves our skills (hard or soft) forward. Increases our momentum - not one that puts us to sleep or left frustr...

There are two powers of NO and today the NO that is on my mind is when we get in a rut of what won't work instead all the things that might work to move through the barriers.  Is it easier to say no that won't work or to think through all that could work. Where are you and your team spending your energy? On No's or possibilities?

How many of you develop your entire team - all levels - intentionally - ongoing? I hope many, if not all of you - if not, there is your opportunity - seize the day.  Your employees have a significant impact on every aspect of your organization; from company culture to productivity and profitability, the people you hire help determine the success of your business.  I hear leaders state th...

Power and Leadership - not sure we should pull those together in one thought. I say that as many in 'leader' positions use their position itself, their title for 'power' vs influencing, motivating, listening, and leading for the good - to enhance others - to guide others - to help others grow. With that in mind, today's 510th episode of #YourMorningCommute is about the Power of Leadership and aski...

Are you more Honey or Vinegar with your leadership style? I am not talking about being overly sweet anymore than overly direct - but rather pointing out the obvious about attracting more bees with honey. We know it is true, but at times our hurried ways, get in our way and come across as more vinaigrette than sweet.  I was reminded of this recently by a colleague pointing out the differences...

How do you define communication? How does the rest of the team define it? Are you positive you will define it the same? Here is an easy way to get started and answer that question. If you haven't done this exercise before - it is simple and always enlightening. Grab some index cards and ask everyone to define communication and then compare notes. From there you will see similarities and difference...