Perception Connections

Let me be honest. When we first heard the Covid-19 order from our local government telling us to “stay home and stay safe,” the introvert in me was a little relieved. All of my employees at our Birkman headquarters were basking in the after-glow of hosting a major conference at the very end of February, then immediately jumping into the exciting but hard work of packing up to relocate our entire home office for the first time in 34 years.

In today's society, everyone wants to be a leader. Being a "leader" is like being the golden child of the business world, and being a "manager" feels like... being the middle child who everyone forgets about. The internet is full of articles that talk about why you should be a leader and not be a manager—that being a leader is much more desirable. While I, too, agree that inspiring others and creating a vision is critical to business success and employee engagement, I also believe that these claims are leaving out a crucial element: context. Instead of focusing on either being a leader or being a manager, we thought more about which situations require leadership and which situations require management. By focusing on leadership and management as verbs instead of nouns, you can shift your attention to what actions are required of you by the specific individual, team, or situation that you are dealing with. You are guaranteed to be more effective by thinking about the actions you need to take based on the context—not just trying to "be a leader."

Companies often promote individual contributors into management roles without adequate training either because of business disruption or not having the time to coordinate a "new manager training". According to research conducted by CEB, 60 percent of new managers fail within the first 24 months of their new position. 

It's always exciting when you're about to give an employee a promotion, but have you thought about how you're preparing them for this next step in their career? With a new job comes new responsibilities, and they might not be fully prepared for what is to come, especially if they are being promoted into a to a management position. So, what is the best way to transition independent contributors into effective leaders?

Was a time not long ago, when the idea of a planning a staycation sounded fun. A welcome opportunity to use Personal Time Off (PTO) for staying home to “Marie Kondo” the closets, attack clutter piles, paint a room or catch up with the DIY projects we’d been wanting to do all year but were too tired to tackle on the weekends. Okay, so even if it wasn’t a trip to some remote or exciting place, the notion of a few uninterrupted days at home during the workweek with no meetings, emails, or office commuting was really attractive and appealing.  

Back in its early days, The Birkman Method was originally called The Test of Social Comprehension. Even though the name has changed since its creation in the 1950s, increasing and accelerating one's ability to comprehend different social interactions and social beings is exactly what The Birkman Method still brings enormous value to today. Individuals, managers, and leaders can understand how they, and those they work with, fit into the social fabric of our world through the use of the Birkman Map. You could say, the Birkman Map guides us to better navigate our social world.

It's nerve-racking to choose a career or a new career path. You have so many options. In fact, there are 11 sectors, or 69 industries, that you can choose from! However, how will you know you chose the right career? How do you know you'll be successful? Will it fulfill your needs and wants? And ultimately, will you be happy?

Onboarding refers to setting up new employees at your organization with the tools they need to be successful, as well as integrating them within your teams. The Birkman Method can dramatically improve your onboarding process by rapidly acquainting new employees with their coworkers by teaching how to best communicate with each of them. Birkman also enlightens the manager on motivating a new employee, helping them reach their maximum potential.

Occupational and at-home pressures can lead to high levels of stress for your employees, especially your high-performers. Over time, stress can cause employees to struggle with staying productive and bringing their best selves to work. And while stress is a common, talked about phenomenon in the workplace, it's also important to have conversations around employee burnout. As a leader, it's crucial to understand the difference and be aware of the potential impact of stress and burnout on your team.

When most people think about leadership, they imagine the person standing at the front of the ship in charge of steering the boat or the corporate world—the CEO. The captain plays a vital role in setting the strategic vision of the company and leading the crew. However, to turn this vision into reality, the captain needs a crew they can trust. And that's why, equally important to organizational success, the crew—all levels of employees—need to be strong self-leaders.