Present the company's key objectives for the next six months and ask your team members how their expertise and interests can help the company reach these goals. Without tying goals to the company's overall strategy, it can feel like employees are just doing something for the sake of doing something.
Managers should refrain from creating goals for employees. You can dictate the objective but not the goal. It's best if the employees come up with the goals themselves.

Show Employees How They Can Have An Impact

Encourage employees to talk about their personal goals, and help them see how working toward these goals can also support the company in achieving its objectives.During an end-of-year, one-on-one conversation, ask employees to consider how they can use a certain interest or a skill they're trying to develop to fill a gap on the team.Invite employees to talk about their unique skills, what they are good at and what is challenging to them, and then set goals that allow them to optimize the skills they have and develop new talents.

Find Common Ground Between Employee and Company Goals

Use experiences from 2021 to help employees consider what they could have done differently at work, and then develop goals to address those issues. Ask each employee, "If you were able to make changes, what would you have done differently?Helping employees set goals that will get them to collaborate with colleagues in other departments. This will give them the opportunity to learn something new, increase their visibility and help them form new relationships that have the potential to advance their careers.

Consider New Possibilities

The process of goal setting had gotten a negative slant because of the focus on documenting goals.Goal setting can also be termed as "expectation setting" to put more emphasis on the conversation and less focus on the process. Under this new concept, managers talk to employees about what is expected from them based on their role, job level and projects from three angles—what the firm expects, what the team expects and, finally, how the employee hopes to grow in the coming year.

Change The Name

Give employees time to reach their goals. Perhaps employees take a half-day every Thursday to work on their goals, whether that means taking online training, meeting with a mentor or thinking through a stretch project.
Work with employees to break their goals into bite-sized achievements that can be celebrated. Building in milestones is a win-win. If you don't achieve the entire goal, at least you hit a milestone and we're still miles ahead than we were before.

Help Employees Achieve Their Goals

Ask employees to think about how attaining that goal would improve their lives.For instance, perhaps they would become more confident, learn a new skill or earn a bonus. Help your employees to see the goal as not just an end, but as the beginning of something else that could be new and improved in their lives.

Show The Benefit Of Reaching The Goal

Too often, performance goals set at the start of the year become obsolete by midyear. Here are six ways managers can help employees set meaningful goals for 2022.

career

Career

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Here’s How Managers Can Help Employees Set Meaningful Goals

For business owners and leaders tasked with driving digital strategy, it is their perception of risk that is more impactful on success than anything else. Deciding to incorporate digital tools or infrastructure can be daunting because of the unknown it represents, but shying away from the process can be a far riskier path. 
By understanding the psychological barriers behind digital decision-making, industry stakeholders can and should encourage technology adoption in small and medium-sized businesses — in doing so, they will strengthen the backbone of the global economy.

The Psychological Barriers

Given the near-constant state of flux, it would be fair to assume that they might be more willing to embrace new processes or tools to get themselves back on track, adapt and thrive in an expanding digital economy.Instead, many still opt to maintain the status quo. A great number of businesses still grapple with the “hassle factor” — a key behavioural barrier that sees them struggle to convince themselves that investment is worth the effort or potential risk, particularly if they don’t boast unlimited budgets.

Understanding Resistance to Change: The Hassle Factor

Along with death and taxes, change is one of life’s constants. And just like those other two examples, it is something many humans fear. 
Theoretical models suggest this is due to the absence of control and a lack of understanding of what lies ahead. It’s simple, really. We are afraid of the unknown, which can cause us to make bad choices.

Why Leaders Resist Change

This uncertainty is common in the business world. Whether it’s a new tool, a new colleague, or shifts in the wider market, it’s natural to feel trepidation about the upcoming impact. 
It therefore stands to reason that no matter how much change someone has experienced, an unknown outcome is often the biggest barrier to action.

Uncertainty: The Main Barrier

There are several psychological factors — or mind traps — that business leaders fall into when making decisions about a digital strategy. These can vary depending on the size of the organization.“Group think” is one such trap and has the potential to be damaging. It can take hold when a leadership team remains introspective, without seeking insight from elsewhere in the company. Often it is the most cohesive teams that fall victim to this because there is no friction or difference of opinion to force new ideas.

Avoiding Mind Traps and Other Decision-Making Flaws

In smaller, agile organizations, the decision-making burden may rest on one employee or a very small group of them, making it easy to fall victim to cognitive errors. “All or nothing thinking”  means small business owners may view things in more binary terms – thinking something is either completely good or bad. This means that change from the original choice can be perceived as a negative.

Psychological Barriers: All Or Nothing Thinking

With so many hurdles to effective decision-making, it’s no wonder digital transformation is hard to get right. In addition, convincing budget holders to increase technology adoption is no easy task. 
But it can be done. Sometimes, rational explanations aren’t enough to get through to business leaders. Humans take time to change and so it takes a much longer-term approach to shift their mindset.

Overcoming Your Company’s Psychological Barriers

By applying the principles of nudge theory, it’s possible to persuade them. Many of these techniques play on core facets of human programming, such as the human fear of missing out. For example, comparing commercial progress or digital strategy with competitors can be an effective method to highlight the cost of inertia. It’s also important to make it clear that tech-driven strategy is the new standard. Instead of asking, “Do you want to adopt technology?” the question should be, “Which technology do you want to adopt?”

Thinking Past The Sale

Otherwise, we can prime business owners and leaders by sending them reminders (advertisements fall into this category) or asking them to imagine a scenario in which technology is or isn’t adopted. 
Appealing to the imagination in this way can be very effective — and can include prompting them to consider how decisions may impact loved ones or colleagues.

The Power Of Imagination

Of course, affecting change in business should be carried out entirely without manipulation. 
Whether you’re a government, tech vendor, or an industry body, there is a moral imperative that should govern efforts to influence tech adoption.

The Moral Angle

For business owners and leaders tasked with driving digital strategy, it is their perception of risk that is more impactful on success than anything else. Deciding to incorporate digital tools or infrastructure can be daunting because of the unknown it represents, but shying away from the process can be a far riskier path. 
By understanding the psychological barriers behind digital decision-making, industry stakeholders can and should encourage technology adoption in small and medium-sized businesses — in doing so, they will strengthen the backbone of the global economy.

The Bottom Line

Overcoming resistance starts with understanding the psychological barriers at play.

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

business

Business

Convincing Your Company Leaders to Invest in New Technology

How authenticity builds positive workplace

Emotional Vulnerability: The Key to authentic leadership

You may believe that emotional vulnerability and business do not go hand in hand; but people no longer follow leaders who show no emotional vulnerability because people now expect authenticity and connection to be the currency with which they build professional relationships.

When a leader can show the inner workings of their heart while still guiding the organisation toward an impactful future, there is a unique strengthening that occurs. A leader who can displaye their humanity transforms their organization's culture from one in which people simply get a paycheck to one in which people belong and find fulfilment.

Remember that your example sets the tone and atmosphere of an organisation. If you choose to be guarded and show no sign of flaws or fun, your staff and employees will reflect this attitude. Soon, your organisation will lack the vibrancy that comes from genuine connection.

People deserve to be treated as individuals, regardless of the type of business they work in. Leaders must also allow people to find a safe haven within the work to which they devote a significant portion of their lives. This necessitates a leadership revolution, which many are already embracing.

As a result, emotional vulnerability is not redundant when it comes to developing a dynamic, value-producing work culture. As a matter of fact, it may be the missing ingredient in helping your organisation foster healthier and more positive relations.

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Leadership 

Art is Art. Everything else is everything else.

"Art is Art. Everything else is everything else." - Ad Reinhardt quotes from BrainyQuote.com

Ad Reinhardt Quotes

<ul>
<li>First, the leader needs to have the guts to stand out and be mocked.</li>
<li>A leader's first follower has a crucial role: he will show everyone else how to follow.</li>
<li>Next, the leader embraces the first follower as an equal. Now it's not about the leader anymore but about them.</li>
<li>They will call their friends, and each one that follows will add to the movement. New followers will emulate the followers, not the leader.</li>
<li>After a few more people join, you've got momentum. The more people join, the less risky it seems as they won't be ridiculed or stand out. They'll be part of the in-crowd.</li>
</ul>

How to let a movement happen

<ul>
<li>Remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals. It's about the movement, not about you.</li>
<li>The most important lesson is that followers transform a lone person into a leader. A leader is nothing without followers.</li>
<li>If you care about starting a movement, dare to follow and show others how to follow.</li>
</ul>

Lessons for the leaders of movements

http://www.ted.com With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. (Hint: it takes two.)  TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

videos

Videos

http://www.ted.com With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. (Hint: it takes two.)

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com

How to start a movement | Derek Sivers

When you spend years responding to problems, you can sometimes overlook the fact that you could be preventing them.

Downstream actions are reactions to problems. These efforts are fast and tangible.Upstream actions attempt to prevent those problems from happening in the first place by systematically reducing the harm caused by those problems. These efforts are slower and broader. A sign of upstream work is that it uses systems thinking.Example: You can offer a homeless person a meal today, but to figure out how to reduce evictions so that people don't become homeless might take years.

Upstream thinking

<ul><li>Expedia: 58% of customers who booked travel on Expedia placed a call afterwards for a copy of their itinerary. No one was responsible for ensuring that customers didn't need to call for support. It was identified as an upstream problem. Once changes were in place, the need for customers to call for help decreased to 15%.</li><li>Dutch Bicycle Company: VanMoof regularly received complaints that many of its bikes were damaged during shipping. They started printing images of flat-screen televisions on their shipping boxes, thinking couriers would be more careful. It resulted in 70 - 80% less damage.</li></ul>

Examples of upstream thinking

<ul><li>Problem blindness. "This problem is inevitable." You can't fix a problem you can't see.</li><li>A lack of ownership. "It's not my problem to fix." People resist acting on a problem because they may feel it is not their place. When no one owns the problem, it probably won't get solved.</li><li>Tunnelling. "I can't solve the problem right now." Researchers found when people lack money, time or mental bandwidth, the little problems take preference over the big ones. When people juggle many issues, they give up trying to solve them and instead adopt tunnel vision.</li></ul>

Barriers that prevent upstream thinking

In 2014, the C-section rate in Brazil was 57%, the highest in the world. In the country's private health system, 84% of children were delivered by C-section. The system was designed to prefer C-sections. After educating doctors and patients, the upstream solution caused a 40% increase in natural childbirth.The move away from problem blindness is the shocking realisation that you've come to treat the abnormal as normal.

Example of problem blindness

Organisations have a tendency for downstream thinking. To succeed, leaders should change the focus to upstream thinking.<ul><li>Identify problems early</li><li>Target leverage points in complex systems</li><li>Find reliable methods to measure success</li><li>Consider new ways of working together</li><li>Embed their successes into systems.</li></ul>Find new ways of working together:<ul><li>Hand the problem to the right people.</li><li>Give them enough notice of that problem.</li><li>Align their efforts toward preventing instances of the problem.</li></ul>

Upstream thinking in leadership

Measures can fool you in three ways:<ul><li>“A rising tide lifts all boats.” Your measure shows that you're succeeding, but you mistakenly attribute your success to your own work.</li><li>Your short-term measures don't align with your long-term mission.</li><li>Your short-term measures became the mission and undermined the real work.</li></ul>

Ghost victories

<ul><li>“Rising tides” test. What else might explain the short-term success other than our efforts?</li><li>Misalignment test. How can we find misalignment as early as possible? What alternative measures could provide potential replacements?</li><li>Lazy bureaucrat test. What would someone do to succeed on the measures with the least possible effort?</li><li>Defiling-the-mission test. If short-term success undermines your long-term mission, what was the cause?</li><li>Unintended consequences test. What if we succeed at our mission, but cause negative unintended consequences? What should we pay attention to?</li></ul>

Find reliable ways to measure success

Banning plastic bags in San Diego caused serious unintended consequences.The deadly 2017 hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego is attributed to the lack of plastic bags. Homeless people used the bags to dispose of their own waste. But when the bags became hard to come by, the alternatives were much less sanitary.

Unintended consequences example

This book is about how to build a good product

Wall Street Journal Bestseller New York Times bestselling author Dan Heath explores how to prevent problems before they happen, drawing on insights from hundreds of interviews with unconventional problem solvers. So often in life, we get stuck in a cycle of response. We put out fires. We deal with emergencies. We stay downstream, handling one problem after another, but we never make our way upstream to fix the systems that caused the problems. Cops chase robbers, doctors treat patients with chronic illnesses, and call-center reps address customer complaints. But many crimes, chronic illnesses, and customer complaints are preventable. So why do our efforts skew so heavily toward reaction rather than prevention? Upstream probes the psychological forces that push us downstream—including “problem blindness,” which can leave us oblivious to serious problems in our midst. And Heath introduces us to the thinkers who have overcome these obstacles and scored massive victories by switching to an upstream mindset. One online travel website prevented twenty million customer service calls every year by making some simple tweaks to its booking system. A major urban school district cut its dropout rate in half after it figured out that it could predict which students would drop out—as early as the ninth grade. A European nation almost eliminated teenage alcohol and drug abuse by deliberately changing the nation’s culture. And one EMS system accelerated the emergency-response time of its ambulances by using data to predict where 911 calls would emerge—and forward-deploying its ambulances to stand by in those areas. Upstream delivers practical solutions for preventing problems rather than reacting to them. How many problems in our lives and in society are we tolerating simply because we’ve forgotten that we can fix them?

productivity

Productivity

problemsolving

Problem Solving

books

Books

Wall Street Journal Bestseller New York Times bestselling author Dan Heath explores how to prevent problems before they happen, drawing on insights from hundreds of interviews with unconventional problem solvers. So often in life, we get stuck in a cycle of response. We put out fires. We deal with emergencies. We stay downstream, handling one problem after another, but we never make our way upstream to fix the systems that caused the problems. Cops chase robbers, doctors treat patients with chronic illnesses, and call-center reps address customer complaints. But many crimes, chronic illnesses, and customer complaints are preventable. So why do our efforts skew so heavily toward reaction rather than prevention? Upstream probes the psychological forces that push us downstream—including “problem blindness,” which can leave us oblivious to serious problems in our midst. And Heath introduces us to the thinkers who have overcome these obstacles and scored massive victories by switching to an upstream mindset. One online travel website prevented twenty million customer service calls every year by making some simple tweaks to its booking system. A major urban school district cut its dropout rate in half after it figured out that it could predict which students would drop out—as early as the ninth grade. A European nation almost eliminated teenage alcohol and drug abuse by deliberately changing the nation’s culture. And one EMS system accelerated the emergency-response time of its ambulances by using data to predict where 911 calls would emerge—and forward-deploying its ambulances to stand by in those areas. Upstream delivers practical solutions for preventing problems rather than reacting to them. How many problems in our lives and in society are we tolerating simply because we’ve forgotten that we can fix them?

Dan Heath is a Senior Fellow at Duke University's CASE center. Dan has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a B.A. from the Plan II Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin.He co-wrote a book titled Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard with his brother Chip Heath.

Dan Heath

Upstream

One of the biggest mistakes founding leaders make is that they assume that everyone in the company is clear on the vision.
Just because it is clear to the founding leaders, it's not necessarily clear to everyone else.

Acculturating the vision

Unfortunately, many visionaries replace themselves with operators. An operator can do a visionary job, however, they have to understand it's a different job with a different skill set. The difference between a visionary and an operator is that one skill set is up and out and the other down and in.

The visionary and operator are not interchangeable

Many CFOs or COs are considered the number two in the company and in line for the big position.  However, what makes an organisation highly functional is <ol><li>the partnership between its visionary and operator, and </li><li>the tension between the two ways of operating up-and-out and down-and-in.</li></ol>

The partnership between visionary and operator

You want a visionary person to do a visionary job, and the operator to do an operator job. <ul><li>You should extract the purpose from the founder in terms that are compelling and resonant with everyone.</li><li>Build into your incentive structure performance and values so that the organisation is equipped to survive the founder leader if necessary.</li></ul>

How an organisation should function

A company needs both visionaries and operators, but they have different skill sets. One is focused on up and out, while the other is focused on down and in. + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: http://simonsinek.com/inspireU Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/product/the-in... Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/start-... Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/find-y... Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/product/leader... Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/product/togeth... + + + #SimonSinek

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

startup

Startups

A company needs both visionaries and operators, but they have different skill sets. One is focused on up and out, while the other is focused on down and in. 

+ + +

Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. 

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

+ + +

Website: http://simonsinek.com/
Live Online Classes: http://simonsinek.com/inspireU
Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Simon’s books:
The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/product/the-in...
Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/start-...
Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/find-y...
Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/product/leader...
Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/product/togeth...

+ + +

#SimonSinek

Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Simon has devoted his life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.  Every day is an opportunity to inspire someone. 

Official Simon Sinek brand account.

Learn more at simonsinek.com.

Simon Sinek

Visionaries vs. Operators | Simon Sinek

Absence Blindness is a cognitive bias that prevents us from identifying what we can’t observe. It seems pretty obvious — if we can’t observe something, of course we’ll be blind to it. That shouldn’t always be the case, though, and absence Blindness can lead to two problems.

Absence Blindness rewards drama

First is the lack of ability to “do nothing”, even if that’s the right move. I <a href="https://www.mickmel.com/we-have-to-do-something-about-it/">shared last year</a> about a number of situations where the urge to “do something” was absolutely not the right move.

Do Nothing

Second is the problem of efficient workers often being overlooked. Suppose you have two employees doing the same job:<ul><li>One of them is quiet, doesn’t say much, and gets their job done.</li><li>The other is more chaotic, causes a variety of problems, but then works hard to fix the problems they’ve created.</li></ul>In most cases, the second one will be more noticed and more likely to be promoted.

Being Overlooked

Great management is boring—and often unrewarding. The hallmark of an effective manager is anticipating likely issues and resolving them in advance, before they become an issue. Some of the best managers in the world look like they’re not doing much, but everything gets done on time and under budget.

Some of the best people I’ve ever worked with have been quiet, unassuming, and simply get things done. They’re fantastic! I work hard to make sure people like that don’t slip under the radar, and I hope others can do the same for them as well.

Absence Blindness is a cognitive bias that prevents us from identifying what we can't observe. It seems pretty obvious -- if we can't observe something, of course we'll be blind to it. That shouldn't always be the case, though, and absence Blindness can lead to two problems. First is the…

remotework

Remote Work

teamwork

Teamwork

The relationship between a manager and their report is a two-way street: navigating the road falls on both parties. Some managers are easy to get along with, while others can feel near impossible. However, there are several strategies you can use to manage up:<ol><li>Leave your assumptions at the door.</li><li>Hone your delivery for communication that comes through clearly.</li><li>Boost your chances of hearing 'yes' to your ask.</li><li>Get comfortable with feedback.</li><li>Set the tone in your1:1s</li><li>Share your impact the right way.</li><li>Build lasting rapport and trust.</li></ol>

Managing up - How to manage your boss

The biggest reason people can't manage up is that they don't understand their boss's job. You only see a small part of what your manager does.<ul><li>Regularly align on these two questions: What is success for me personally? What is a win for my manager's team?</li><li>Show your work. It's about knowing what your boss wants, then ensuring that you provide them with a steady drumbeat of the things they care about.</li><li>Understand what is your manager's most urgent priorities, then adjust accordingly.</li><li>Focus on what's keeping your manager up at night and identify what you can take off their plate.</li></ul>

Leave your assumptions at the door

<ul>
<li>Open up about your "work love language." From early on, share with your manager what motivates and drives you, including what's important to you outside of work.</li>
<li>Observe how your manager listens and processes inputs. If he stops listening halfway through describing a problem, switch to your proposed solution first.</li>
<li>Calibrate to match your manager's involvement. Share your team's wins, and ask for feedback on challenges.</li>
<li>Communicate early and often.</li>
<li>Don't get stuck in your ways of doing things.</li>
<li>Focus on OKRs to ensure you know what's important to your manager.</li>
</ul>

Hone your delivery for communication

<ul><li>Leave some breadcrumbs. Don't hoard information until you feel you have all the answers. Anything complex needs multiple exposures for someone to internalise the concept.</li><li>Create a shared understanding of the problem. Share information you have and consider alternative paths.</li><li>Don't bury your requests. Write regular email updates, including project updates, team wins or personal progress. But don't mix requests in. Treat it separately.</li><li>Always do your homework. Include two or three options and create a table with pros and cons.</li><li>Keep communication open.</li></ul>

Boost your chances of hearing 'yes' to your ask

<ul>
<li>Feedback should be ongoing and not be left to a formal discussion during performance reviews.</li>
<li>Allow positive feedback to come through louder. When you receive constructive criticism, try to stomach it even if it first rings false.</li>
<li>Don't just try to please your boss. Push back if you believe it is in the company's best interest. If your manager dumps a task on you, mention all your other priorities on your plate and ask where this new task fall.</li>
<li>Train your manager on how to treat you. E.g. don't answer emails after 7 pm or at weekends.</li>
</ul>

Get comfortable with feedback

You likely got a regular 1:1 meeting with your manager. While they can feel more obligatory than critical, meetings are a powerful tool to build trust and up-levelling your impact. <ul><li>Ensure that the shared agenda and notes are pre-populated with topics you want to discuss plus necessary context.</li><li>Ask a new manager what they care most about, their biggest challenges, your role and responsibilities, and their pet peeves.</li><li>Give a bird's eye view before going deep on any topic.</li><li>Grade yourself on alignment. After a meeting, ensure you know what's top of mind for your manager.</li></ul>

Set the tone in your 1:1s

<ul>
<li>Give regular updates. Written asynchronous communication is vital in the remote world. Managers can read at their leisure and comment async rather than live discussions.</li>
<li>Send weekly "State of Me" emails to your boss. Share what you're doing, what you plan to do, and what you've done. Include current priorities, things on your mind, and blockers you need help with. Using a template can make it easier to digest.</li>
</ul>

Share your impact the right way

<ul><li>Build rapport. You don't have to be best friends to build rapport. However, show interest. Pick a few topics you feel are common ground, such as kids or a shared hobby.</li><li>Get tactical with building empathy. Assume positive intent. Check assumptions and ask questions to get clarity on how your manager is thinking. Summarise what you're learning to ensure you understand their point of view.</li><li>Understand that your manager is likely a mentor. They see the good and bad and provide guidance and direction. A sponsor can indirectly help you manage up. They see your potential and can sway a manager.</li></ul>

Build lasting rapport and trust

Top startup leaders share their best tips for managing up, including communication tactics, building trust, and goal setting with your manager. 

A Tactical Guide to Managing Up: 30 Tips from the Smartest People We Know

In any industry, your business regularly needs to improve if you want it to succeed.
When change is required at your organisation, acting on a plan without evaluating the progress can be harmful to a business. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA) can be beneficial to facilitate change.

Success depends on improvement

PDCA is a continual cycle of improvement of people, products, services, and business processes. It consists of four steps. <ol><li>Plan</li><li>Do</li><li>Check</li><li>Act</li></ol>Each step sets you up for success in the next stage.

PDCA

Ask the following questions:<ul><li>What problem do you need to solve?</li><li>What resources will you need to fix the issue?</li><li>What resources do you already possess?</li><li>How can you best solve the problem with your available resources?</li><li>What does success look like?</li></ul>

Plan

With your plan sorted out, it's time to focus on executing your ideas. Of course, issues will arise even if you have a solid plan, so be willing to adjust as you go. Effective communication with your team members will limit the number of problems as everyone will have a clear idea of their responsibilities.

<ul><li>How did your plan work in the controlled environment?</li><li>Did you achieve your goals?</li><li>Identify the flaws in the process and correct them. </li></ul>

Check

If you met your goals during the Check phase, you could apply your initial plan. This becomes the best practice for this part of your organisation. It becomes the starting point for your next change implementation.

<ul><li>Ensure that upper management agrees with the changes.</li><li>Never stop improving. ThePDCA is a repeat cycle, making improvements with each revolution.</li><li>Once you've implemented a policy change, do so for the entire organisation.</li></ul>

PDCA best practices

The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle helps your business plan and innovate — learn how to implement the process at your own business. 

What Is PDCA? Understanding the Plan-Do-Check-Act Method

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