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Impact Articles
Authentic, real life insights based on countless conversations in the trenches with C-suite executives about today’s most pressing issues.
Happy holidays to Impact’s clients, coaches, and friends
The last few years have been pivotal for me and for Impact, as they’ve been for most of our clients. There was lots of change after many years of status quo. While some changes were good, many we had no control over.
How to ensure you’re investing in the right people in the right way when it comes to succession
Many organizations spend a lot of time and money generating lists and assessing potential candidates for succession, only to “miss the mark” or get started too late.
Sometimes leaders are tough on us, but they aren’t always toxic
At some point in our careers, we all come up against challenging leaders. They’ve achieved a lot and demand a lot from the people around them.
Navigating the end-of-career transition is tough
From starting a career to ending one, Sandra and Antoine reflect on their own life stages, discuss what makes these pivotal times so challenging – and what organizations can do to make them easier for their people.
Perfection is an illusion. So be kind to yourself. You’ll be a better leader.
What impact do our people’s mistakes, inexperience or lack of knowledge have on us as their leader? The answer: not much.
Accountability is important for people’s confidence and happiness
I’ve been thinking a lot about accountability lately. And hearing a lot about it from leaders that tell me people and teams frequently lack accountability.
Succession talent pools are hollowing out everywhere
Almost every organization we work with has new senior leaders or reconfigured teams, and have lost many of their succession candidates below their senior teams.
The workplace has changed forever. It isn’t going back.
I recently participated in a panel discussion with a leader who was feeling inspired and wanted to share with his team. It inspired me to share my observations.
Leader, know thyself
Clearly understanding our feelings helps us put aside the things that don’t matter and address the things that do. Constructively. Feelings are normal and usually arise for valid reasons – and it’s our job to figure out what those reasons are.
Politics matter. In everything. In every organization.
Most people hate politics, or say they do. But politics matter. In fact, politics are increasing in importance rather than decreasing because companies are expanding in size and complexity.
Finding your purpose
We’re inundated with choice and potential life paths. We’re often left to decide on our own which path will give us purpose. And because there’s no inherent roadmap to support these decisions, we often question if we’re doing the right thing.
Work is life
Work life balance. Work integration. Balanced living. We hear these buzzwords often in the workplace. There’s a hidden connotation to them, however. One that suggests work opposes or gets in the way of happiness and balance.
A summer vacation is important for leaders, too
Taking a vacation can seem like an impossibility. We work too hard before and too hard after. We feel like our people, our clients and our organization need us. But that’s not the case.
Honouring Rowena Escobar
We received the very sad news that Rowena Escobar passed away after a four-year battle with cancer, at the age of 43. Rowena worked with our family for 12 years.
Unpacking the mental load
Many leaders talk to us about the weight or “mental load” of their day-to-day tasks. Mental load, or cognitive load, is all the mental effort that goes into the work we do including planning, decision-making, problem-solving, remembering, and executing activities.
Trust and leadership
Any discussion of high-performance teams typically leads to a discussion on trust or psychological safety. Building trust is easy when everything seems to be going well….but it’s when things start to go south that trust becomes critical for any leader.
How on-sites can help your team increase connection, innovation and strategic focus
Recently Impact held an on-site meeting that saw all our people gather for a week to brainstorm – and plan for the future. Each day included a session facilitated by a different member of the Impact team.
Six steps to conquering burnout
How strong time management and a leadership mindset can help you feel more productive, accomplished, and in control. Managing our time well is something we all struggle with. And there are lots of tools out there that can help.
Measuring productivity: Or why a role is more than just a task
Sandra, Impact’s Founder, and Antoine, an Impact coach, look at the employer/employee relationship, the shifting length of the workday, and the role honesty plays in today’s work environment.
Closing the gap: Forging a new path with different generations at work
Sandra, Impact’s Founder, and Antoine, an Impact coach, sat down to explore the different ways their two generations view work today and if there are opportunities to close the gap.
The four essentials for successful coaching
As coaches, we sometimes have clients who begin to doubt themselves or the process, even within just a few sessions. These feelings can sometimes arise because the clients may not be ready for coaching.
The virtuous circle: Relationships at work
Relationships are so important in the world of work right now. After so much change, complexity, and several years spent apart and disconnected from each other, many workplaces today are fraught and divided. Leaders have had to make lots of tough decisions.
Discussions with clients: Common ground
The gulf between different generations at work is bigger now than it’s ever been. There’s less understanding about our colleagues who are baby boomers, gen X, Millennials and gen Z. We could all do a better job of bridging this gap.
20 years in the making: The Impact story
We’re celebrating our 20th year in business! All of us at Impact are proud of all we’ve accomplished over the last two decades and wanted to celebrate, take time to reflect on how far we’ve come, and share our plans for the future with our colleagues and clients.
Addressing the ‘black sheep’ on your team
Even a high-functioning team can stumble and struggle together at times. A team member may start to create challenges for one or more members of the team and act out like the “black sheep” of the family.
The power of first teams
Our inclination is to spend the most time with the people we’re leading. The employees we’ve selected and hired. The ones we know and understand best, feel good about, and have the most control over. But focusing all our attention on them can lead to challenges with our first team.
You can only do two things
One of my clients is a very senior leader at her organization. She works hard, she’s smart, organized, and a mom to two young children. She’s massively successful, very content with her life and always has a big smile on her face. She’s figured out a valuable formula for success: You can only do two things.
Why your organization needs a high potential accelerator program
There’s a demographic of senior leaders transitioning out of the workforce. And a demographic of young, high potentials who have missed out on mentorship and coaching. Bridging the gap is going to be critical.
Refining the hybrid formula: Making remote work successful
The flipside of hybrid is remote work – and while it offers benefits for both employees and employers, we have to be strategic about it, too, for hybrid to succeed. I feel some employers and employees are “stuck” when it comes to managing remote work well.
Returning to the office: How in-person helps hybrid work
Like so many companies right now, we’re working on developing a combination of in-person and remote work that helps all our people succeed. Being strategic and transparent about why and how people come together is key.
Returning to the office starts with a conversation
I recently had a conversation with our team about working together in person. I feel it’s critical for people to be in the office for the right reasons. That they see the value in it and want to be at work in person. I wanted our team to know how much I value seeing them all.
Don’t just talk to five people
Great leaders talk to people outside the executive team. On elevators, in the company cafeteria, at social events. They take every opportunity to learn about the business. They ask questions, and not in a challenging way, but with humility and curiosity.
Is hiring people you like important? Yes!
A leadership team is a collection of relationships. Ensuring those relationships work well and are made up of people you like and trust makes for a far more effective team. It’s why leaders moving into CEO positions often bring their most trusted people with them.
Finding friends at work
It’s important to have friends at work who understand our situation – because they’re dealing with it themselves. People we can trust, who care about us, and who we can be totally honest with, without fear of retribution. It provides perspectives we can’t get from anyone else.
Conflict is good
Some of the most common feedback we hear from leadership teams is, “we like each other and get along, but we don’t challenge each other”. These teams operate in silos and collaborate on low level, tactical projects, but not on the big, strategic work that benefits their companies most.
Taking time to heal
At Impact, we’re doing more work than ever right now helping leaders manage stress, exhaustion, higher levels of frustration, difficulty concentrating, and sleep issues. We saw some of this during the pandemic, but it seems even more pronounced now.
Reconnecting to our north star: A letter from our founder
The last few years have been pivotal for me and for Impact. As we move forward with Impact Coaches into 2023 and beyond, I’m proud that we’ve taken the time to think about where we want to go and how we want to get there.
Uncovering your organization’s hidden gems: The ideal team players
We looked recently at how layoffs are happening across multiple industries as we emerge from the pandemic. It’s something organizations often do when they come up against underperformance.
The talent pendulum swing
We’ve been hearing a lot from leaders lately about layoffs they’re expecting across multiple industries. The media is full of stories of companies, like Ford, Amazon, and Facebook laying off thousands because of challenging economic considerations in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Finding that sweet spot
You see it just as much in the boardroom as you do in the arena – the desire to overcome a challenge, achieve a goal, get success, build confidence, find a flow state. And people who pursue excellence in business or sport can benefit from the same kind of training and perspectives to get there.
Why connecting your people to your organization’s purpose can be a game changer – especially now
Purpose is an organization’s reason for being. It inspires its people and acts as the glue that connects them to how they can contribute to the organization’s success.
Quiet quitting: Why it’s not the answer you think – and what is
The stresses of the pandemic caused many individuals to re-evaluate their lives and change their relationships to work. The upheavals and massive changes of the last two and a half years made many people feel overwhelmed and resentful.
Fear (of not fitting in, or not being included or accepted) held me back
I vividly remember sitting in a meeting, my shoulders hunched forward, my eyes downcast, listening to the people around me, wanting so much to voice my perspective, but lacking the confidence to speak up.
They don’t teach you that at school
A summer internship is an amazing way to explore your options and find out what you might be interested or even what you’re absolutely certain you don’t want to pursue as a career. You can also learn a lot and gain real-time, real-life experience.
Getting to know the whole person
In the past, if a new hire didn’t perform well, organizations would let them go. These days, if a new hire turns out not to be the best fit for the role, companies need to find ways to make the role better fit the person.
Strengthening an organization from the inside out
Strategic, enterprise-based coaching programs focused on high-potential leaders can do more than just course correct careers. It can strengthen organizations from the inside out.
Building a stronger leadership team: Why now is the perfect time for your team to connect
When leadership teams connect in person, they can develop stronger, deeper relationships – and healthier organizations. Throughout the pandemic, leaders have been hyper vigilant, operating in crisis mode.
The conditions for happiness: Increased retention comes from managing people well
One of the biggest challenges companies face today is talent retention. Employees are leaving companies in droves – 45 million Americans quit their jobs in March 2022, alone.
Opening doors: Redefining “back to the office”
For the last two years, most of our clients have been very busy and quite task focused with little time to think strategically or to really connect with their teams. Leaders are keen to get their people back into the office and get things back to “normal”, whatever normal means.
The talent war is real: How leaders should respond as their people return to work
The future of work is now, and if business leaders don’t listen to the undercurrent of the workforce, they’ll end up losing their best talent.
Setting the standard of leading by example in your organization
When it comes to diversity programs, I’ve found that while many are well-intentioned, they don’t address the behavioral changes needed to give credence to the work experiences of marginalized groups.
Sales has changed forever: How to move beyond relationship-building
Even before Covid-19 radically changed how people do business, the days when building relationships was a primary sales and business development strategy were waning.
Understanding the key tenets of coaching
Coaches work on a wide variety of complex skills like executive leadership and address common goals, such as wanting to have a better presence in meetings, by working with individuals one-on-one to harness their personal strengths and tackle their unique limiting beliefs.
15 safe ways to have fewer mandatory employee Meetings
The goal of any team meeting is to share information, have valuable discussions and get everyone on the same page. However, surveys consistently show that employees feel meetings waste too much time.
14 smart ways for greener employees to be seen as leaders at work
Early on in your career, you may struggle to be viewed as a leader by more experienced co-workers. Thankfully, there are smart ways for greener employees to establish themselves as leaders at work.
15 questions entrepreneurs need to answer before quitting their jobs
Whether you have a growing side hustle or are dreaming of starting your own business, you may be thinking about quitting your current job to focus on your new company full-time.
How to successfully lead teams through work-from-home to work-from-anywhere
There is a shift to a work from anywhere culture. People are starting to think less about how to set up one productive work space at home and more about how to set up a seamless and intuitive digital workspace.
It’s time for organizations to ascend the pandemic’s change curve
In order to help their teams start ascending the change curve, business leaders need to embrace the reality that Covid-19 has already permanently changed the way we live and work.
15 essential leadership skills everyone should develop to better handle change
Business leaders need to be able to handle times of change. Whether they’re facing an internal issue or an external shift in the industry, they must be able to lead their employees through any circumstance.
How to safely and strategically bring employees back to the office
Business leaders are tasked with measuring the impact of remote work on not only the health of their organizations but also the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Lost your job? 16 important things to keep in mind
The loss of a job can sometimes feel like the end of the world, especially in this uncertain economy. You cannot know for sure when you will have another employment opportunity and if that opportunity will align with your skills and experience.
The new normal is not normal (but you can still work through it)
Even though it can feel like the future is out of our control, there are steps individuals and organizations can take to foster better health, morale and productivity for workers.
How leaders can save their businesses and avoid burnout at the same time
My team recently hosted a series of targeted discussions with global leaders across a variety of industries. Here are some valuable strategies all leaders can implement to ease burnout and revitalize their businesses for the long haul.
Leading a business? Get organized in these 16 key areas
A successful executive must be able to simultaneously oversee and manage multiple areas of the company. It can be challenging to ensure that all departments are running smoothly and receive the focus they need.
Four ways coaching can be useful amid organizational change
Coaching can not only help individuals increase their own effectiveness and job satisfaction, but done right and strategically, it's also a way for businesses to drive higher performance and strategic behavior shifts.
How to preserve morale while setting up an effective whistleblower process
Each year, the coaches in my company speak with many leaders who have been involved in a whistleblowing process. The trend seems to be growing.
The five-step approach to fixing employee morale
You're a leader and you just received your employee attitude survey back. You scan through the results and your heart sinks. Instead of bringing a bunch of staff into a room to vent their complaints, I suggest an alternative approach.
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