What One CEO Did When 45 of HerEmployees Quit

Antonio Neves/Oct 16, 2017

If you're tired of reading clich "fail forward" or "failing is succeeding" stories, you're in luck. This isn't one of those.

This is about the mistakes -- big ones -- that my professional speaker colleague Kristen Hadeed, entrepreneur and CEO of Student
Maid, made over her last 10 years in business. She recently gathered these experiences into her book, Permission to Screw Up.

Her book caught my attention because it's not what you might expect from a CEO and nationally recognized speaker. On the
contrary, the book is about screw-ups, setbacks, and the kind of mistakes you think the leaders you idolize would never make.

She turns these not into a story of success and how to achieve it, but rather how to become the kind of leader and build the kind of
company you'd always imagined.

Here are three of her biggest mistakes and the lessons she took away.

1. FIND CONFIDENCE IN FIXING MISTAKES

In the early days of Student Maid, Hadeed hired an intern to help with HR. From the start, the intern impressed Hadeed by how
quickly she picked things up. So, Hadeed decided to give the intern an enormous responsibility: She put her in charge of payroll.
The payroll company thought Hadeed was crazy for putting something so important in the hands of an intern, but Hadeed believed
in the intern and wanted to give her something significant to put on her resume.

Long story short, the intern messed up big time. The first time she submitted payroll on her own, she mistakenly overpaid 27 people
by $40,000.

Typically, you would've expected things to go pretty badly for the intern after that. However, Hadeed called the intern and asked if
she knew how to fix the problem. She did. Several days later the $40,000 was returned.

Even though the intern had made this terrible mistake, she was also empowered to know she was capable of turning it around. As a
result, the intern continued to do payroll until the end of her internship, and she never made the same mistake again. In turn,
Hadeed didn't see trusting the intern as a mistake -- rather, she learned to guide good employees up front and give them a chance to
fix their own errors.

2. BUILD TRUST THROUGH SINCERE APOLOGIES

Hadeed was pretty clueless about leadership when she first started Student Maid. Instead of checking in on her team and making
sure they had everything they needed, she sat in an air-conditioned office while her people were out in the Florida summer heat
scrubbing filthy apartments, many of which had broken AC units. It was no surprise then, that 45 of the 60 people on her team quit.

When they quit, Hadeed panicked. Promising them early paychecks and lots of pizza, she persuaded each of the 45 -- plus the 15
who hadn't quit -- to meet for an emergency meeting. At the meeting, Hadeed admitted that she screwed up and asked for their
help.

All 45 of her team members came back. This helped to establish a culture of mutual respect. From that point on, Hadeed tried to
always admit her failures out loud. The more honest she is, she said, the more her people trust her as their leader -- and the safer
they feel admitting their own mistakes.

3. TURN TO YOUR TEAM FOR SOLUTIONS AND SUPPORT

Early on, Hadeed found herself in a situation that no business owner ever wants to experience: they didn't have enough money in
the bank to cover payroll.

It was a situation Hadeed knew she could've prevented if she had paid closer attention to the company cash flow and outstanding
invoices. It was a dicey situation and she knew that pushing a paycheck back a couple weeks could mean that her staff would not
have enough money for food or rent.

When Hadeed got to the office, she explained the situation to the executive team. One of the team members suggested her solution
before she did: The entire executive team, including Hadeed, would hold off on getting their paychecks so there would be enough in
the account to pay the student employees.

What started as a massive failure quickly turned into remarkable teamwork and sacrifice.

These experiences serve as a reminder that while screwing up can be painful, stressful, and even humiliating, it can also guide us to
become better leaders.
 Steve Jobs Once Gave Some Brilliant Management Advice on Hiring Top
People. Here It Is in 2 Sentences.
Marcel Schwantes/Oct 17, 2017

Every boss in a hiring role should appreciate this simple yet profound advice from the former head of Apple. Steve Jobs may have
had an enormous ego as the head of Apple, but he understood his place in the information age when he famously quipped, It doesn't
make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

Genius and profound. Your best move is to intentionally not be the smartest person in the room. And other iconic figures would
agree. As Lee Iococca once said, "I hire people brighter than me and get out of their way."

While smart people may be found up and down your organizational chart, there's a more specific term for the type of people Jobs
and Iococca were referencing: knowledge workers.

THE AGE OF THE KNOWLEDGE WORKER

First coined by management expert Peter Drucker in 1959, knowledge workers are people whose main capital is to think for a living.
They work with their heads, not their hands, to plan, analyze, organize, test, program, distribute, search, market, or otherwise
generally contribute to the transformation of information in the knowledge economy.

Drucker asserted quite prophetically before his death in 2005 that increasing the productivity of knowledge workers was the most
important contribution managers needed to make in the 21st century.

That leads to the million dollar question: How do you manage them? How do you manage highly-paid, independent thinkers who
like to control the process of their own work, don't like to be managed, and who own their organization's means of innovating,
developing and producing?

Like every one else. You treat them as valued human beings.

This will obviously require strong leadership. The good news is that to lead the smartest people in the building, you don't need to be
smarter than them.

3 KEYS TO LEADING THE KNOWLEDGE WORKER

Like any high performer, knowledge workers take pride in their work and want to serve their customers well. And they want to grow
and reach new possibilities along their career path.

For this article, I focus on three things leaders can do to engage and inspire their knowledge workers:

1. FOCUS ON REDISTRIBUTING DECISION MAKING.

In a knowledge economy, top-down hierarchical management styles that direct traffic one-way with no input will collapse because
employees typically know more than bosses do about their own areas of specialization.

And being closer to the ground, they may also know more about their customer's needs, wishes and expectations to problem solve,
delight, and offer a richer customer experience. That's why Drucker advised managers, "Knowledge workers have to manage
themselves. They have to have autonomy."

Conversely, high-performing organizations that empower their knowledge workers are typically flatter. Information is shared
openly across fewer reporting levels and people are able to use it to act on making the right decisions quicker.

Take a cue from luxury retail chain Nordstrom, headquartered in Seattle. They have a strong culture of empowering their employees
with the freedom to make decisions on the front lines. In Nimble, Focused, Feisty, author Sara Roberts, executive consultant to
Fortune 500 companies, describes the Nordstrom way:

Nordstrom structures itself so that employees are empowered to treat customers as they themselves would like to be treated.
Employees are encouraged to exercise good judgment to do whatever is necessary to satisfy the customer. Meanwhile, the hierarchy
of the organization is structured to support those front-line employees in that task. Why? Because Nordstrom believes that the
relationships between customer and employee is critical to capturing that customer long-term.

Other organizations that distribute decision-making flatten their authority closest to the user, research, product, or market because
this is where the best solutions will be recognized and can be responded to most quickly.
 2. FOCUS ON SUPPORTING AND LEADING TEAMWORK.
In the knowledge economy, leaders build community by developing strong relationships. This means investing time with your most
valued workers to learn who they really are.

Let me ask you a question: As a leader, how well do you know the people that work closest to you? Do you know the events of their
lives that have shaped who they are today? Do you know their dreams and plans for the future? Leaders use relationships and
strong bonds to foster great collaboration.

In supporting a team atmosphere, leaders leverage relationships to make sure there's alignment between their workers' personal
goals and the company's business goals. When it's clear that there's misalignment, leaders must find a happy compromise (as long
as it doesn't hurt the business).

Supporting and leading teamwork extends to valuing workers' input on things like hiring and promotion decisions. Leaders may
even charge the team with new team member performance to show trust in their judgment.

In the end, ensuring a strong team approach comes down to leaders checking their egos at the door and relying on the collective
wisdom of the team.

Karen Dillon, the former editor of Harvard Business Review and a coauthor of Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation
and Customer Choice, writes in HBR:

When I finally focused on being a real leader, instead of a nervous new manager, I started asking my colleagues how we could best
get the work done rather than simply figuring it out by myself. I think it signaled to them that I cared about their opinion and
expertise, and that I was not assuming I was a one-man band.

Dillon says that her team ended up winning a top industry award the following year -- an achievement she attributes to a strong
team, but only after she let them have a hold of the reins.

3. FOCUS ON LISTENING MORE THAN TALKING TO MAKE CLEAR THAT YOU VALUE THEIR EXPERTISE.
This is really an extension of the last point because it's so important for success. Building personal relationships is the best way to
make sure your employees feel heard. This means the most receptive leaders will listen to their needs, ask what matters most to
them, and genuinely figure out a way to develop them in the direction they want to go.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, leadership consultant and author Lee Ellis recently interviewed Tom Crawford of Crawford
Corporate Coaching, who framed knowledge workers in such a succinct way:
Knowledge is powerful.
Knowledge shared is more powerful.
Knowledge from the people in the company who touch it every day is the most powerful of all.

Expanding further in his LinkedIn post, Ellis says that "leaders need to be listening to the ideas and insights from people at the
lower levels." While that's seems like a no brainer, Ellis says the opposite is often true: "The higher you go in the organization, the
harder it is to 'lean down' and listen."

"Strategic listening is not a natural, common practice among busy senior leaders because it requires time and patience and a
positive belief in the power and capacity of others," states Ellis.

He adds, "And like all the other great leadership attributes, strategic listening requires the rare leadership combination of
confidence and humility that few of us naturally have."

C L OS I N G TH O UG H TS
If you find yourself managing the smartest people in the room, remember this: The universal human need of every knowledge
worker is not unlike the rest of us. It's to perform meaningful work, be respected, collaborate in a tight-knit community of
excellence and shared values, and ultimately make am impact for good in the world. And their leaders' biggest aspiration to lead
is a matter of the heart: to make their people better workers and better human beings.
 Why emotional intelligence is key in thedigital age
Mushtak Al-Atabi, The Conversation/Oct 18, 2017

Much has been written about the relationship between a happy, positive workplace and an effective, productive workforce.

But the definition of happiness can be misunderstood often it is seen as the presence of positive emotions and the absence of
negative ones, which can lead to work cultures that pressure people into faking positive emotions. Research has shown this faking
can result in long-term physical and emotional illness.

Associating the state of being happy merely with being cheerful all the time creates another challenge as, in the case of academic
institutions for example, happiness tends be classified as less serious, superficial and lightweight.

This results in universities avoiding the conversation on developing happy graduates and adopting a happiness agenda for the
holistic development of their students.

At a time when depression and suicide are on the rise currently 300 million peopleworldwide are suffering from depression this
is disturbing. A recent report by the World Health Organization predicted that if nothing is done, by 2030 depression will be the
number one illness in the world.

THREE STEPS TO HAPPINESS

Happiness is not just about developing positive emotions, it has two other constituent parts: purpose and resilience. Having a clear
and meaningful purpose is a key element in sustaining long-term happiness.

And because negative emotions are an integral part of life, developing resilience is the third highly essential component of
happiness, as it enables us to deal effectively with negative emotions when they arise.

Jobs of the future may require much more emotional intelligence than today. Sebastiaan ter Burg/Flickr

Employers who are serious about achieving effectiveness and productivity through a happy workforce need to ensure workers are
given the opportunity to do engaging, meaningful and purpose-driven work, are able to develop good relationships and experience a
sense of achievement.

Many indicators suggest that jobs of the future will require much more emotional intelligence to complement the sophisticated
machines we work with.

Academic institutions need to seriously consider playing a role in developing students emotional intelligence and well-being to
ensure that universities remain relevant in a world where the fourth industrial revolution demands the integration of physical,
cyber and biological systems and the automation of an increasing number of jobs.

With the unprecedented levels of complexity and change societies are dealing with, it is crucial to explore how education systems
can evolve to help young people develop self-awareness and social awareness if they are to thrive and achieve their full potential
once they enter the workplace.

A SPACE FOR HUMAN CONNECTION

Humans bring three dimensions to the job market: physical, cognitive and emotional.

Machines have surpassed us in both the physical dimension (less and less manual work is necessary) and the cognitive dimension
(Artificial Intelligence is increasingly able to surpass humans in tasks such as chess and medical diagnosis). This leaves the
emotional domain where humans still have the upper hand. As more and more jobs are automated, the nature of the value that
humans will add will evolve to focus around creativity, connectivity with others and self-fulfillment.

Machines have surpassed humans in two key dimensions. Jason Lee/Reuters

American psychologist Daniel Goleman defined the four domains of emotional intelligence as: self-awareness, social awareness,
self-management and relationship management.

In 2013, I developed an online course on emotional intelligence which was taken by more than 6,000 students from 150 different
countries. The course introduced multiple exercises aimed at developing Daniel Golemans four domains.

Students performed two daily exercises: brain rewiring which involved stating five things they were grateful for, and my
emotions today where they articulated their feelings by sharing them online with others participants on the course. These exercises
of gratitude and emotional awareness can help create the foundational habits for emotional intelligence.

Students were also introduced to the practice of meditation and were supported through the development of SMART (Specific,
Measurable, Ambitious, Relevant and Timely) goals, a mission statement and a personal vision statement. Some students reported
personal triumphs such as being able to climb a mountain, control a stammer, start a business and even getting married and
overcoming suicidal thoughts.

More work needs to be done to establish the most effective ways of developing emotional intelligence in young people across all
walks of society. But if we are to take on the demands, complexities and shifting sands of the digital age, we will need happy,
fulfilled, resilient people to embrace it; our universities have a part to play in teaching these essential skills.

As do workplaces, where happy, fulfilled employees can mean increased productivity and turnover. People pretending to be happy
in the workplace reaps no benefit for anyone.
 Sheryl Sandberg Mastered 3 Presentation Skills in 3 Minutes. And You Can, Too
Being a memorable, persuasive speaker requires building connection, being current and boosting credibility.

When it comes to making a persuasive presentation, there are several elements that are core to making it a success. As Aristotle said
eons ago, persuasion requires appealing to ethos (trust), logos (intellect), and pathos (emotions), no matter who your audience is.
From sharing your company's successes and telling a powerful personal story to using meaningful data and citing the experts -- as
well as delivering your message with passion -- there are multiple ways to shift your listeners from feeling bored to getting on board.

In her Wall Street Journal presentation, "Ending Gender Inequality at Work," Facebook COO and founder of Leanin.org Sheryl
Sandberg did all of that -- and much more. In a three minute 18 second clip, she petitioned her colleagues to speak up against
gender inequality -- and to levy consequences for those who tolerate it. Sandberg could have taken a predictable approach to
familiar topic, but instead, brought personal credibility, powerful research, and fresh insights to her speech, engaging the audience
from very start.

Among the many persuasive speaking skills she got right, here are three techniques that Sheryl Sandberg used in her presentation
that you can use, too.

1. SHE INVOLVED THE AUDIENCE INTELLECTUA LLY AND EMOTIONALLY FROM THE START.
Sandberg didn't begin by stating the statistics on gender inequality, or even telling her own personal story. She kicked off by getting
the audience engaged and involved from the get-go. She asked, "How many people" -- and you have to raise your hand -- "think it's
OK if one in 10 subway stations run on time?" Her question required people to participate physically, intellectually, and
emotionally, meaning that they were drawn in from the very beginning -- and likely to keep paying attention.

2. SHE MADE AN EVERGREEN TOPIC FRESH AND EVOCATIVE BY CONNECTING IT TO

TODAY'S HEADLINES.
Gender inequality isn't a new problem. It's been around for a while. However, Sandberg made it feel current, pressing, and urgent
by drawing from recent examples that most people were familiar with. When she said, "We can't tolerate Harvey Weinstein-like
behavior," she helped people understand both the immediacy of the problem and it's ongoing relevance. She also helped create an
emotional response from the audience (indicated by the applause she received after making that remark). And when people feel
something, they're more likely to do something.

3. SHE WAS PERSONALLY VULNERABLE.

When it comes to bias, Sandberg confessed, "I have it too." While some might worry that an admission like that might undermine
her credibility on the issue, it actually made her more relatable. She isn't showing that she's immune to the problem. She's
demonstrating that she understands the challenge personally, from experience, and is still willing to work on being part of the
solution. By revealing that she wrestles with what we wrestle with, Sandberg builds trust and empathy with her listeners.

You don't have to do everything right in a presentation to make it persuasive and effective. But if you do these three things well -- be
engaging, be current, and be vulnerable -- you are far more likely to win over hearts and minds, and have a powerful impact.

3 Things Smart Bosses Do to Effectively Manage Smart People

Marcel Schwantes/Oct 20, 2017

No matter how smart they are, one of the keys to motivating your smartest workers is to develop them.

If you've been charged with managing a group of really smart and savvy employees, you have your work cut out for you. Smart
people obviously know they're smart, which works to their advantage. They have high expectations of not only themselves but also
of the people they work with, which ups the game for bosses to manage them well.

That's where it gets interesting. "Managing well" is not the same as "leading well." While bosses can "manage" their smart workers
to accomplish tasks, it takes much more to motivate, inspire, and engage your smartest workers (also called "knowledge workers").
Here are three proven leadership strategies that will positively impact your smartest people to conquer mountains for you.
1. CREATE A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink highlights the importance of creating an
environment where people can develop personal mastery in their work, which he says is one of the core elements of
intrinsic motivation.

Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline calls such an environment a "learning organization." It's one of the key differences
that sets apart high performing teams and companies. This means the whole organization relies upon the knowledge of
individuals, where teams learn from each other and learn together with every project.

This also means hiring the smartest people -- smarter than their managers even -- you can find to set a learning
organization in motion. Some real icons in the business world agree:
Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, states that you should never hire "people you can't learn from or be
challenged by."
Sheryl Sandberg, on the podcast Master's of Scale, said "you do want to hire people who are better than you are."
Steve Jobs famously quipped, "It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart
people so they can tell us what to do."

Lee Iacocca once said, "I hire people brighter than me and get out of their way."

Jeff Bezos swears by this hiring approach: "every time we hire someone, he or she should raise the bar for the next
hire, so that the overall talent pool is always improving."

2. RECOGNIZE THOSE WHO MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS.

"I don't like to be recognized," said no human being, ever. Managers have to get into the habit of praising and complimenting their
knowledge workers for their good qualities and exceptional work.

The companies in Gallup's study with the highest engagement levels use recognition and praise as a powerful motivator to get their
commitment. They found that employees who receive it on a regular basis increase their individual productivity, receive higher
loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers, and are more likely to stay with their organization. How regular are we talking?
Praise should be given once per week, according to Gallup.

The flipside: Employees who say they're not properly recognized at work, are three times more likely to quit in the next year.

3. LET KNOWLEDGE WORKERS KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

According to Gallup research, the second most common mistake that leads to turnover is lack of communication. While the
smartest people in the building tend to be lone rangers and want to do things their way at times, managers must step out of their
own comfort zones to provide them with guidance and direction, give them regular feedback on their performance, confront them
when needed, and clarify goals and expectations, especially during change.

This is also a two-way street. When managers don't solicit the opinions of their smartest team members, trust begins to erode. They
need to listen to their people receptively and without judgment about their concerns, passions, fears, joys, goals, and aspirations so
they feel validated and understood.

Lastly, managers also need to replace the dinosaur HR practice known as the annual employee performance review. Replace them
with frequent short meetings to take the pulse of knowledge workers and evaluate their progress so there are no surprises later.