First, I set completely unreasonable goals for myself, forgetting the intricacies of my life and the unexpected obstacles that I may face. Second, as I fail to meet my goals, the negative self-talk starts further preventing me from reaching them. 

So this year, I’m using a new strategy and I encourage you to do it with me! 

Rather than focusing on those big lofty goals, start by establishing larger intentions and building them into behavior through smaller habits. Basically plant little positivity seeds and let them grow. 

You can do this in your personal and professional life. Since company culture and employee well being are at the top of my mind, I’ve created a list of 15 tiny habits you can implement for yourself (and encourage your employees to do the same). These are small but mighty ways to create a civil, inclusive culture in your teams. 

Intention #1 – Live the company core values 

Core values are the crux of behavior in any organization (and if they aren’t they should be). Try these five tactics for incorporating core values into your daily routine and see if other employees follow suit: 

1. Add a core value at the top of each meeting agenda. 
2. Put your favorite core value in your Zoom name each day. 
3. Ask one person on the team each week how they lived a core value. 
4. Use one core value in a sentence every week.
5. Write down a core value you’d like to give attention to on a sticky note each week and attach it to your monitor. 

For more around core values, check out our list of 50 ways to ingrain core values into your organization. 

Intention #2 – Build positive relationships

Positive relationships are a key factor in company culture and in successful leadership. Building connection can come from small acts like:

1. Provide one full compliment a week to an employee. 
2. Each month pick one employee to have a one-on-one lunch with (in-person/virtually).
3. Think of one relationship building question to ask in every meeting.
4. Spend 5 minutes before each Monday meeting discussing the weekend.
5.  Say hello to each employee you see walking down the hall.

Intention #3 – Celebrate the little things

In a challenging business landscape it can be easy to forget about all the things you and your team accomplish along the way. After a small win you and your employees can:

1.  Give yourself a high five (or air five someone else).
2.  Throw imaginary (or real!) confetti. 
3.  Play the song Celebration! By Kool & The Gang.
4.  Say “good job” to yourself outloud. 
5.  Imagine yourself in your happy place (for me it’s on the sands of the Amalfi Coast). 

These are just a few of the many ways you can start creating positive habits that bleed into your teams and the organization as a whole. All of these small things will add up, and you can keep adding to your list as habits form and become second nature. 

Remember, think tiny! 

Sincerely, 

Rebecca & The Civility Partners Team 

The post 15 Tiny Habits To Kick Off Your New Year appeared first on Civility Partners.

We are so thankful to our clients, friends, families, pets, and awesome blog readers like you! We are thankful you take the time to read our content, and even more importantly, deliver on positive and thriving workplaces in your own ways. We are thankful for anyone who believes in our mission to create happy and thriving workplaces. 

We also want to give a huge shout out to our partners who, like us, are working to make a positive difference in the world, one of whom is Mindletic.

Instagram – @civilitypartners

Mindletic is focused on bringing wellness to employees’ fingertips through a digital mental gym. They work with organizations of all sizes to help their employees increase their mental fitness and psychological resilience.

Lastly, we are so thankful to have each other here at Civility Partners. We consider each member of our team passionate, hardworking, and collaborative. We are unique individuals with our own strengths, but one thing we all have in common is that we are dedicated to the work we do. Each one of us truly embodies our core value, “Be Extraordinary.” 

Cheers to a safe and happy holiday season! 

The Civility Partners Team 

Let’s create a plan to build a positive workplace! | Invite Catherine to speak 

The post Tis’ the Season of Thanks! appeared first on Civility Partners.

One answer to this issue is delegation. By entrusting other employees with important day-to-day tasks, leaders can be free to focus on strategy.

Of course, the managers beneath the leaders also need to be focused on strategy – and thus delegation – as good leaders push the strategy down the ranks so that managers are executing it through their teams. 

Unfortunately, we most often see managers also caught up in the day-to-day management of tasks and performance of their team – without their employers offering any real training on managing people. So, managers aren’t great at delegating either. In fact only 30% of managers believe they can delegate well.

Time to execute on strategy isn’t the only benefit of delegation. It allows managers to provide growth opportunities for subordinates and themselves.

Subordinates can be assigned stretch goals, for example; meanwhile managers develop their skills in communication, mentoring and coaching, motivating, and building a trusting relationship with their team. 

In turn, the organization is more productive and efficient. Everyone is thriving as they feel empowered, satisfied, and engaged. With delegation being so important, I’m sharing this neat video from one of our partners, Consilio, who are experts in helping managers develop skills like delegation.

Watch this video to see ways to level up your delegation skills.

You can follow along with the job aid here at this link.

If you’re interested in more topics like this one on delegation you can check out Consilio’s Leadership Labs program, which is designed to help take leaders and managers to the next level. 

Sincerely, 

Rebecca & The Civility Partners Team

Let’s create a plan to build a positive workplace! | Invite Catherine to speak 

The post 4 Ways to Level Up Your Delegation Skills appeared first on Civility Partners.

Between generations having different expectations of work, COVID, #BLM, political divides, and everything else that’s come our way these last few years, the world of work has shifted dramatically. In short, people have seen the light – they know they can find a place of work that will pay them a better salary, give them more work/life balance, and align with their personal core values. It can’t be unseen. 

Therefore, it’s important you’re sending the right message to both current and potential employees about your organization. Company culture is your best defense against turnover and your greatest asset in recruiting and hiring.

Over the years, we’ve brainstormed a million different ways to ingrain culture into organizational systems, including recruiting and hiring. 

And, while we won’t have time to share every single amazing idea we’ve had (that’d be a long webinar!), we plan to provide you with some actionable strategies to implement in your organization. 

Being an Employer of Choice means that your organization is considered a preferred destination for talented professionals seeking employment. It’s not just about offering competitive salaries; it’s about creating an environment where employees thrive both personally and professionally. This designation is not achieved overnight; it’s a long-term commitment that requires consistent effort and dedication.

Key Elements of Becoming an Employer of Choice

1. Strong Company Culture: A positive and inclusive company culture is a cornerstone of becoming an Employer of Choice. Employees want to feel connected to their workplace, aligned with its values, and recognized for their contributions. This culture should promote open communication, collaboration, and mutual respect.
2. Career Development: Providing ample opportunities for professional growth and development is essential. Employees want to know that their skills and aspirations are being nurtured, and that their career path within the organization is clear and attainable.
3. Work-Life Balance: A healthy work-life balance is increasingly important to employees. Flexibility in work hours, remote work options, and policies that encourage time off can greatly enhance job satisfaction.
4. Employee Benefits: Beyond salary, comprehensive benefits packages, including health insurance, retirement plans, and wellness programs, demonstrate a genuine concern for employees’ well-being.
5. Recognition and Rewards: Regular recognition and rewards for exceptional performance reinforce employees’ sense of value within the organization. This can be through promotions, bonuses, or even simple gestures like public praise.
6. Inclusive Diversity: Fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace is not only ethically important but also contributes to a richer and more innovative work environment. Companies that prioritize diversity and provide equal opportunities stand out to potential candidates.
7. Effective Leadership: Strong leadership that listens to employees, offers guidance, and leads by example is crucial. Leaders who are approachable and supportive can inspire loyalty and dedication.

Join us next week on September 14th for the first installment of our FREE Culture Forward webinar series, Ingraining Company Culture into your Recruiting & Hiring Process. We’ll start at 11am PST and spend a full hour giving you everything we can in 60 mins.

Plus each webinar is worth one SHRM PDC!

See you there!

The post Want To Be An Employer of Choice? appeared first on Civility Partners.

Though it may seem like another burden on top of the many things leaders are tasked with,  building relationships with frontline staff is an absolute necessity for creating a positive workplace culture. 

Leadership visibility creates a feeling of transparency and trust which in turn increases job satisfaction and employee engagement. 

In our line of work, we often work with a leadership team that is quite removed from the workforce. This creates a feeling of secrecy and takes a toll on morale and the work environment as a whole.

We’ve brainstormed a ton of ideas over the years with our clients to help bridge the gap between leadership and employees, so we thought we’d share a few with you:

1. 1. Engage with staff in fun ways. One of our clients is launching a coffee cart for their employees and assigning people from the executive team to serve people for a couple hours. Imagine getting served a cappuccino by your CEO! Not only will employees get face time with key leadership, they’ll feel more valued by the organization. 
   2. Put leadership and frontline staff on the same team. Organizations often include some sort of interactive game at events or icebreaker exercise in meetings. Why not put people in teams and mix up the hierarchy? It encourages bonding and creates a shared goal between leadership and employees. Plus, at the office the next day, employees will have something to talk about with the leadership team. 
   3. Create a reverse mentorship program. A reverse mentor program provides opportunities for younger, less seasoned employees to provide their insight to those higher up in the organization. Not only does this foster new and innovative ideas that benefit the company, it also can help break the barrier between staff entering the workforce and those who are more established. 

A final piece of advice is to start the relationship building process when an employee is first onboarded. This is the time to send the message around how leadership interacts with staff – you want them to know leadership is on their side. 

We’ll be sharing a ton of ways to communicate company culture through your onboarding process on our upcoming free webinar, Using Your Employee Onboarding Program to Reinforce Company Culture. It’s on October 11th at 11am PST. 

It’s part of a Culture Forward webinar series we are hosting starting September 14th,  to share anything and everything we know about ingraining culture into organizational systems to attract and retain valuable staff. Plus, each webinar is worth one SHRM PDC! 

Click here to learn more about our other programs and, of course, register for any or all of them! 

We hope to see you there! 

Sincerely, 

Rebecca & The Civility Partners Team 

P.S. As a bonus for our folks in CA, we are offering a free California compliant Harassment Prevention Training as part of the series, to ensure your workforce is all up to date. 

The post 3 Ways for Leaders to Engage with Frontline Staff appeared first on Civility Partners.

In particular,  the Great Resignation highlights the importance of employer branding. Employer branding is how organizations portray themselves to the world around them including the community, clients, customers and potential employees.

Though some employees switched careers completely, many were simply looking for positions that fit better with their personal goals, needs, and values – such as jobs with greater work/life balance or that have less toxicity (see this article).

As job candidates do their research on your company, you face the challenge of exemplifying company culture and other attractive attributes to an external audience – that is, developing and maintaining your employer brand. Given the internet rules the world, it’s vital to have at least a webpage that showcases current employees; a clear organizational vision, mission and core values; and a sneak peak of what the company culture is really like. 

Of course, employer branding is much more than that, but this is a great place to start. To show you what I’m talking about, below are three organizations rocking the employer branding game. 

Hubspot 

It’s clear via Hubspot’s website that company culture is important to them. They have a dedicated career page with statements about the work environment and even took it a step further by developing a “Culture Code”. This 128 page culture code not only details the approach Hubspot takes to the work environment, it also sets expectations for current and future employees by acting as an employee handbook. Plus, the tagline at the top of the page reads “Let’s grow together” – who wouldn’t like that! 

Home Depot 

Did you know that they go above and beyond to meet the needs of employees? According to their website, “ From support for you, your family and your pets, to performance bonuses and discounts on things from cellphones to childcare, taking care of our people is a job we do well.”  Small statements dedicated to treating employees well and providing value go a long way. Plus, they showcase real employees on their website, which adds a ton of authenticity and insight into their hiring practices.

Netflix 

The first statement on Netflix’s careers page is “Our core philosophy is people over process.” It’s simple but impactful. From there you can go to a page dedicated entirely to their vision, mission, values and goals for the culture. Though the page is a bit lengthy, it does send the message that Netflix has put deep thought into defining how they want the work environment to be. Their page communicates autonomy, empowerment, and innovation, amongst other things. 

Once you’ve got your webpage up, follow through on your promises. This means ingraining company culture into your organizational systems so culture bleeds into everything you do. By doing so, you’ll increase engagement, productivity and retention. 

To help you on your journey, we’re hosting a Culture Forward webinar series. We’ll showcase all of our tips and tricks for creating an awesome company culture. The first webinar is on September 14th at 11am PST and we’ll focus on your recruiting and hiring strategy, which will of course include some employer branding tips. 

We’d love to see you there. Click here to register.

For now, start thinking about how you want potential – and current – employees to see your organization! 

Onward, 

Rebecca & The Civility Partners Team

The post 3 Employers Getting Employer Branding Right appeared first on Civility Partners.

You can also plant seeds and leave them to their own devices. You may grow some flowers, but you’ll also grow weeds that will likely take over.

Like the garden, company culture exists whether the organization is intentional about it or not. When organizations don’t make culture a part of their strategic initiatives, a negative culture can grow. 

Culture manifests through a multitude of things that go on in your organization. Through day-to-day interactions, processes, procedures and more, your cultural norms are established, and send  messages to employees on how they are expected to behave.  

Over the years of executing climate assessments and defining  company culture, we’ve found that culture can be broken down into five key dimensions, each with their own set of dichotomies: Job satisfaction, employee engagement, internal communication, inclusion and relationships. 

From manufacturing plants to hospitals to nonprofits and more, these five dimensions and their corresponding dichotomies are key to understanding your organization’s culture. 

Take a look at our list and mark where on each spectrum, or dichotomy, your organization falls. 

This exercise can tell you a lot about the team or company culture you’ve fostered, either intentionally or unintentionally. 

We also suggest taking the Five Dimensions of Culture to your team for discussion, as it provides some vernacular to lean on as you discuss culture and what it looks like in your team and organization as a whole.

And, use these buzzwords to communicate company culture in everything you do – recruiting, for example. Job candidates want to know what it’s like to work for you and how the culture can be described, and now you can deliver a clear and concise answer. After all, a 2022 Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial survey found that “Gen Zs and millennials are willing to turn down jobs and assignments which don’t align with their values.”

The more you ingrain company culture into everything you do, the more likely you’ll be to attract and retain employees that make your organization successful. 

Take the first step! 

The post 5 Dimensions of Company Culture appeared first on Civility Partners.

It got me thinking about the power of compliments at work – something so simple that can make a huge difference in employee engagement, job satisfaction and company culture. As if the stars aligned, I’ve been working on developing my own leadership skills, including a recent training exercise in giving compliments.

I learned there are two types of compliments, a half compliment and a full compliment.

A half compliment sounds something like, “good job,” or “excellent work.” And while it, of course, is positive to tell your employees these things it doesn’t intentionally reinforce the behavior.

A full compliment has two parts. First, it involves naming a specific behavior. It sounds like, “great job using a calm demeanor and tone with that difficult customer today!” The second part is including how it benefited you, the team or the organization as a whole. It would sound something like, “great job using a calm demeanor and tone with that difficult customer yesterday, you were a great example to the rest of the team and how they might navigate a similar situation moving forward.”

See the difference?

Providing a full compliment is also another way to reinforce your company’s core values. One of our core values at Civility Partners is “Learn a Lot”, meaning we are always looking for new ways to expand our knowledge and grow. So, a full compliment with core values attached might look like, “Rebecca, great job sharing what you learned around compliments on our blog. You’re really embracing our core value of Learn a Lot and it makes a huge impact on the organization as you’re able to apply your learning internally.”

By utilizing core values in your recognition, you are actually bringing them to life in your organization. So rather than being words on a website or wall, they are actually being valued and used by employees internally, which is a driving force for building a positive culture.

It’s human nature to seek recognition for a job well done and studies show that recognition is key to job satisfaction and in turn company culture. In fact, a recent study by the Cicero Group found that, “50% of the employees believe being thanked by managers not only improved their relationship, but also built trust with their higher ups.”

So I challenge you to practice giving full compliments to your staff, peers, and even your boss. Then, reflect on how they respond to it and watch the magic grow.

I’m sure you’ll notice a difference in their job satisfaction and overall engagement!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Del Secco & The Civility Partners Team

P.S. This post is inspired by Leadership Labs, hosted by Consilio!

The post Is Your Recognition as Impactful as it Could Be? appeared first on Civility Partners.

What I’ve found is that while most of the leaders I work with are highly intelligent and well versed in the technical aspects of the position and organization, they’re lacking other skills that have become key to personal, employee and organizational success.  

I see it all the time. Employees are advanced upwards through the organization because of their ability to do the job itself, but are not given proper training around managing performance, empowering employees, navigating conflict, coaching poor behavior, stress management, and other necessary skills (we don’t call them “soft skills”).

When these skills are lost or forgotten, it can result in toxic behavior and negative workplace cultures. 

Emotional intelligence is what I’m talking about, and it’s the “capacity to be aware of, control and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.” It’s an imperative part of successful leadership from the CEO all the way down to first level supervisors, especially in this evolving business environment. Employee expectations are changing due to the generational shift, political climate, and the Great Resignation, for example, and staying in tune with workforce needs is key.

Emotional intelligence can be broken down into five scales. Address each scale with tangible action items, and you could increase your emotional intelligence. 

Self-perception is the awareness of our own emotions, strengths and weaknesses and drive to improve. Some strategies for increasing awareness might be to take an assessment, observe those around you, or journal your own emotions throughout the day to understand how you respond to certain triggers.  

Self-expression is how your emotions dictate your behavior. It’s the ability to express your feelings verbally and non-verbally in a nondestructive way and be independent of the emotions of others. One great way to improve self-expression is to simply practice how you might respond in certain scenarios at work, something we have employees do in virtually every single one of our training sessions. 

Interpersonal is the level at which you can practice empathy, social responsibility, and ultimately foster positive relationships with others. More and more, employees are looking to build mutually beneficial relationships with their supervisors and leadership. Leaders can do so by actively listening, showing employee opinions are valued, and getting curious about what motivates their employees. Try implementing informal 1:1’s to check in and get to know your staff. 

Decision making is our ability to control our impulses, remain objective, and solve emotional problems. Often, negative interactions at work are a result of failure to step back in emotional situations. For example, sometimes when things go wrong, we tend to connect the problem and the person, thus influencing our interactions with that person moving forward. The next time an issue arises, reframe your internal dialogue to address the issue itself, rather than who did it and why. 

Stress management can be broken down into three factors: Flexibility, stress tolerance, and optimism. In simpler terms, it’s the ability to adapt, cope and remain hopeful in difficult situations. One of our previous blog posts has a ton of tools you can use – for example, practicing 4-7-8 breathing. 

Leaders can use emotional intelligence in a number of different personal and professional scenarios. And, those with higher emotional intelligence have been found to make better decisions, handle high pressure situations, motivate employees, take in constructive feedback and use it to their advantage, and more. 

Bottom line is that leaders with emotional intelligence encourage more positive work environments, better motivate employees, and increase retention. 

The post The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership appeared first on Civility Partners.

As I spoke with staff both from the airport and the airlines, I felt I was met with curt tones, lack of eye contact and dismissive communication. 

In the moment I thought, “wow all these people have been so rude, all I’m trying to do is get on a flight to see my family.”

As I collected myself, I reflected on my interactions and the state of the airport that morning. What I realized is that all these people were overworked, and the airlines were understaffed – and frankly everyone was simply STRESSED OUT. 

Now, I’m juggling my own workload and feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to make everyone happy. I’m stressed too – finding myself feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and struggling mentally (I’m not afraid to admit it!)

I started doing some research on tactics for managing and alleviating my stress and what I found shocked me. According to the American Institute of Stress, 73%-77% of people experience stress that affects their physical and mental health. 

So, I decided to share some tactics for managing stress both in the moment and long-term, figuring I’m probably not the only one in the world feeling this way. 

Here are five tactics I found:

• Practice deep breathing: The 4-7-8 breathing technique is my personal go to. Start by finding a comfortable position and close your eyes. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and then exhale for 8 seconds. Repeat for a total of 4 cycles. 
• Explore company provided resources and benefits. Some employers provide an an employee assistance program (EAP) that offers stress management resources. Depending on the EAP, there may be online information, available counseling, and a database of mental health professionals.
• Have an open conversation with your supervisor. Discuss what has been creating stress for you and work with your supervisor to build a plan for mitigating that stress, whether it be through delegating, making changes to your physical workspace to reduce strain, or anything else.  
• Ensure you’re meeting your body’s basic needs. I know when I’m stressed, I forget to eat throughout the day. To function as your best self, you need to meet inherent needs such as getting enough sleep, obtaining nutrients through a healthy diet, and drinking lots of water. Regular exercise can also help relieve tension and stress. 
• Reframe your internal voice. When you’re stressed out your internal monologue might sound something like, “I don’t have time for this,” or “I can’t do this.” Be kind to yourself and try to reframe your language in a positive way. You might say something like, “I can do this, I just need to work with my supervisor on what to prioritize.” A simple twist in words can do wonders! 

At the end of the day, we are all trying to make it through, and we can’t do it all. Whatever your stressors may be, the ultimate message is to remember to take care of yourself! 

Take care, 

Rebecca and the Civility Partners Team 

The post 5 Tactics for Managing Stress appeared first on Civility Partners.