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How Leaders Can Develop Their Imagination Skill Set

Source: www.forbes.com Imagination is a powerful force—it can transport you to the most wondrous places or lead you into the depths of the unknown. The ability to see beyond the present separates great leaders from the rest. However, imagination can also be a double-edged sword—if not balanced with pragmatism, it can lead to unrealistic expectations or impractical strategies.

Mastering Gravitas: 3 Essentials for Standing Out as a Leader

Source: www.inc.com Here’s how to cultivate confidence, credibility, and impact. Gravitas. You know it when you see it. Think Oprah Winfrey commanding a stage with empathy and authority. Remember Tim Cook leading Apple’s global innovation with steady composure. Yes, they’re all incredibly successful. But what else do they share? They radiate gravitas.

7 Steps to Building a Smart, High-Performing Team

Source: entrepreneur.com Here’s the ultimate guide to structuring, training and retaining a winning team. Key Takeaways Success in business depends on building a high-performing team that aligns with your vision, works efficiently and delivers results. To build a high-performing team, you must hire with purpose, implement proper training and onboarding, set clear expectations, create a culture of ownership, address underperformance proactively and reinforce team culture through regular training. You must also recognize and reward excellence. Companies that implement employee recognition programs see higher retention rates and an increase in profitability. Success in business is never a solo act. Behind every thriving company is a high-performing team that understands its mission, works efficiently and delivers results. Just like in sports, where a well-coordinated team wins championships, in business, the right team determines whether a company scales or stagnates. I’ve built and managed teams at Coworking Smart, and one thing became clear: The best companies don’t just hire employees; they build teams with purpose. As Jim Collins famously wrote in Good to Great, “First, get the right people on the bus, and then figure out where to drive it.” Your team must align with your vision before you can achieve great things….

4 Ways Leaders Can Use Discomfort to Drive Success

Source: www.inc.com Uncomfortable? Great. It’s the first step toward your eventual success. The traditional image of a great leader is someone with absolute confidence who moves effortlessly through even the most difficult challenges. At its heart, exceptional leadership is demonstrated by mastering storms rather than avoiding them, which requires navigating discomfort. In short, they become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Business leaders shaping the future of inclusion

Source: www.catalyst.org As Canadian businesses navigate economic shifts and global challenges, the role of inclusive leadership has never been more critical. Leaders set the tone and have the most direct impact on employees’ experiences, with inclusive leaders accounting for 45% of employees’ experiences of inclusion.

The Overlooked Employee Motivation Strategy for Increased Performance

Source: www.forbes.com Employee motivation is critical to performance, engagement, and overall well-being. But many leaders continue to rely on traditional motivation strategies, such as financial incentives, performance-based rewards, employee perks or fear of negative consequences while ignoring a more effective and sustainable approach. While short-term tactics can generate immediate results, they often fail to build long-term commitment and satisfaction.

Halifax company teaches Canadian employees to take healthy breaks at work

Source: www.ctvnews.ca A Halifax business is helping Canadian employees build healthy habits at work. David Howe is the CEO of Bright Breaks, a company that develops wellness programs for the modern workplace. He said they help employees take short wellness breaks throughout the week.

Inclusive Leadership Is About Showing You Really Care

Source: www.forbes.com One of our deepest human needs is to feel cared for. As babies, without others’ care, we would not survive. Because of the energy necessary to develop a human brain, humans evolve more slowly than other animals. We are not capable of being independent until adolescence, and even then, our brains aren’t fully formed until our mid-20s. Because human beings are social beings meant to survive in groups, not as individuals, showing that you care about someone helps them feel included in a group that could be vital for their very survival. At work, inclusive leadership is about showing you care. It helps people feel seen, heard, respected and feel a sense of belonging. Inclusive leadership cannot work if people don’t feel cared for. Feeling cared for is the basis for inclusive leadership.

The new HR playbook: Key tactics for driving employee engagement and growth

Source: peoplematters.in The role of HR has evolved significantly in an environment characterized by rapid transformation and increasing complexity. It has shifted from solely an administrative function to a driving force ensuring organizational success.

Quiet Quitters Vs. Loud Leaders: The New Battle For Workplace Culture

Source: www.forbes.com Workplace dynamics are shifting, and two opposing forces are shaping the future of work: “quiet quitters” and “loud leaders.” On one side, employees are disengaging without leaving—doing just enough to meet expectations but withholding full commitment. On the other, leaders are overcompensating for this disengagement, dominating conversations, micromanaging, and overloading communication channels. Together, they create a workplace culture that feels more like a battleground than a collaboration.

5 ways for leadership teams to move from chaos to cohesion

Source: fastcompany.com Transitions happen, but the adjustment period doesn’t have to linger. Here’s how to become a high-performing unit once again. Leadership teams are often disrupted by major changes: restructuring, acquisitions, layoffs, and executive turnover. These transitions typically lead to a messy adjustment period as teams scramble to regain stability and navigate new dynamics. This phase can feel chaotic and unproductive—but it doesn’t have to drag on.

The Quickest Way to Be a More Likable Manager and Keep Employees Happy, According to Leadership Experts

Source: www.inc.com Here are three conversations managers must have to kick off the new year on a high note. If you want to hit the ground running in 2025 while leading your team, there are three key conversations you should have, according to leadership experts. First off, a little context:

5 Workplace Culture Trends for 2025

Source: www.hcamag.com With research from the O.C. Tanner Institute, the 2025 Global Culture Report uncovers how employees feel about their workplaces, company culture statistics and culture trends currently shaping workplace cultures and includes a wealth of insights to attract top talent, reduce turnover and help employees thrive. 

Why work-life balance still isn’t working for women, especially moms

Source: www.cbc.ca Competing demands of work and home are part of the problem, according to Gallup poll Work-life balance? What’s that? A new poll provides fresh numbers to illustrate what many exhausted working women have been reporting for decades — work-life balance isn’t exactly working for them.

74% of Canadian employees say they’d turn down job offer due to company culture: survey

Source: benefitscanada.com Three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadian employees say they have or would turn down a job opportunity because an employer’s culture didn’t feel like the right fit, in line with seven in 10 global respondents who said the same, according to a new survey by Dayforce Inc.

Manager’s Toolkit – Resolving Conflict

Source: mentalhealthcommission.ca “I know there’s tension on my team, but it’s hard to get to the root of the problem when everyone has the option to simply turn their camera off and disengage, and I only hear about conflict second-hand.” Consider underlying causes of aggressive behaviour If an employee appears disgruntled or even aggressive, consider what other contributing factors might be at play. Whether it’s pandemic-related stress, an especially hectic period at work, or another hardship (which the employee may choose not to share), it’s important to be mindful that you are not likely seeing the full picture.

The role of organizational culture in mitigating employee burnout

Source: talentcanada.ca Burnout is a growing issue severely impacting productivity, engagement and retention. When employees experience burnout, they often struggle to stay focused, feel disconnected from their work and may eventually leave. These factors lead to higher turnover and costly recruitment. In the Canadian workforce, unique challenges such as managing multicultural dynamics make addressing burnout more critical.

Unlocking workforce potential: Addressing the complexity crisis

Source: hcamag.com Panel of experts discuss perception gap between managers, workers, and executives, and the struggles of managers There is a “significant disconnect” between employee and employer perceptions of wellbeing, and the managerial gap may be to blame. “The main disconnect is still between the managers and the executives,” said Alexandra Levit, workforce futurist and author, in a panel discussion on unlocking workforce potential presented by Dayforce.

How to manage change in your organization

Source: hcamag.com ‘There’s an expectation for leaders to drive future states and accomplish the return on investment needed to transform organizations’ As organizations face increasing levels of change, the ability to manage transitions effectively has become even more critical, according to one expert. “Organizations are going through so much change, whether it be cultural, technology-related, or process-related,” says Michelle Haggerty, COO and US president at Prosci, in talking with Human Resources Director.

5 Strategies For More Civility And Less Conflict At Work

Source: forbes.com Whether you’re a leader or an individual contributor, chances are, you’re experiencing more conflict at work—at the same time you’re seeing less civility. This kind of experience can get in the way of your happiness, but also your productivity and peace of mind.

5 Ways For Leaders To Create Effective Cultures

Source: forbes.com When you have a great organizational culture, you’re energized and so is the company. You get results for employees, customers and shareholders. But cultures can be elusive as well, with their complexity, nuance and power.

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