Sometimes we think we aren’t good enough. We doubt ourselves. At times we can’t understand that we can make a difference, but we can, we all can. I leave you with the below thought.
Source: New you
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A startup takes flight
Today I read through a four part series on Crunchbase called ‘A startup takes flight‘. The series walks you through the journey of startup from initial setup, to the various rounds of funding and an eventual sale. It explores various provisions to look out for and helps give you a better understanding of what could happen at various rounds of funding. I’ve walked away knowing more about the VC (Venture Capital) world and with a better grip on some funding basics, especially with all the jargon out there. I found being able to walk through scenarios and see the impact on shares and valuation provided great insight.
I hope you will find this useful too!
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Why most employees want to work flexibly
In this post we learn about the increasing cry for flexibility in work and how the search for flexibility led to one person going on to co-launch Timewise in an attempt to grow the part-time and flexible jobs market and campaign for change.
The below infographic highlights some of the drivers behind the increased demand for workplace flexibility. Personally, I used to love working from home when I was particularly busy just to cut down on the commute time.
By having a flexible working strategy, organisations are able to tap into a bigger pool of talent. But more than that, it promotes work life balance and can ‘alleviate some of the causes of stress, anxiety and poor mental health’.
I’m pro working flexibly, how about you?
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Does your organisation have a powerful social conscience?
In the below image, Kerry Topp points out that thinking about social impact in your organisation is a great way to attract talent. In fact this is one of the qualities people look for when looking at organisations they would like to work for.
Is social impact intertwined in your business? In light of the difficulty faced by many businesses in attracting talented employees, it may be necessary to think about your social conscience.
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Listening barriers
One of the key marks of a great leader is their great listening skills. This post talks about the 5 most common listening barriers for leaders:
- Mind reading – sometimes you may spend more time figuring out how someone is really thinking or feeling and in the process miss important cues
- Filtering – you may find yourself picking and choosing what you remember as you filter out the bits you don’t like
- Judging – in some instances you may have made your mind up about someone before they even say anything and as a result dismiss anything being said
- Advising – you may not have a a good grasp of an entire situation yet and your head is probably already off thinking about a solution without really knowing all the facts
- Being Right – you may actually be wrong, but the thought of being wrong is well beyond you
How many of these points sound like things you do? I know I’m guilty. So what can we do to improve our listening skills? Paraphrase! Focusing on paraphrasing will hopefully mean you spend more time trying to understand what the other person is saying rather than blocking it out.
So let’s get paraphrasing folks!
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Delegate
I stumbled on the following quote and thought it was interesting. I don’t know the origin of it but here it is:
“To get to 10 employees, founders must delegate activities in which they are weak. To get to 50 employees, they must delegate functions in which they are strong”
To delegate in areas you are weak makes sense and you probably wouoldn’t have a problem with that, but it’s the second part of the quote which is harder for people to come to terms with.
Would you delegate in areas you are strong?
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Gender Diversity
Being International Women’s Day, it’s fitting to talk about gender equality. Grant Thornton in this post talks about ‘Women in Business’ and has published the following findings.
You would think with how far the world has come, that surely gender equality wouldn’t even be an issue; the unfortunate truth however is that it is. When you hear the word diversity being thrown around these days, do people think they are truly diverse when they don’t have woman in their businesses and particularly in senior positions?
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Are you creating deep connections with your people, customers and communities?
Kerry Top shared the below infographic stressing the importance of businesses creating deep connections by focusing on their ‘why’. In his words “creating purpose and positive social impact are powerful attracting, sustaining and motivating forces.” Keeping such thoughts at the core of business is said to be good business.
So ask yourselves, are you focusing on your why and creating deep connections to drive business? If not, it’s time to think about how you can bring this into your business strategy.
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5 ways to boost grit
In this post, grit is said to be the one thing that can help you on the road to success. Its all about your ability to stick with something despite things not working out.
The post outlines 5 ways to boost grit:
- Focus on positive self talk – this could help you get through the tough times
- Find people who are also searching for success and stick with them – you can help boost each other
- Be focused on your goal, but don’t be attached to the path that leads you there – focus on the “what” instead of the “how”
- Take baby steps – work towards smaller goals that contribute to a larger goal
- Make sure to take time to celebrate the little wins you have on a regular basis – don’t forget to reflect on your journey as you move along it and appreciate it and the little wins along the way
Give these things a try and hopefully they will help you on your success journey!
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The mark of a great leader
I came across this quote from Simon Sinek and thought it was a great reflection of true leadership:
“The greatest contribution of a leader is to make other leaders.”
Are you making leaders?
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