Schin Sights - August 2024

It’s time for Summer Schin Sights. As we wind down the beautiful summer months, we think about all the things we get to enjoy – from BBQs, pool parties, the beach, hiking, and summer gardening. It made me think of a funny story I was sharing with my new friend Kris Langworthy up in Minnesota. I’d explained that I had collected some expired purple cone flower blooms and put all the seed pods in a Ziploc bag (thank goodness). Then, as I was breaking the pods apart to put the seeds in the soil, worms fell out of the heads (eww gross). Without missing a beat, Kris says to me, “What’s worse than finding a worm in an apple?????? ..... finding only half the worm.”

Volatile markets lead to opportunities

The recent drop in the US economy is a major concern for employers. July’s Jobs Report showed only 114,000 jobs added in the last month vs. an expected 185,000. From a retention perspective, it’s a cautionary flag to stay in touch with your employees. When things are tough, it’s hard to find silver linings. As great leaders, that’s what you do. You find the glass half full, or the little bit of blue in the cloud filled sky. ?

While the unemployment rates are on the rise (4.3%), employee morale might be taking a hit.? Your employees may have family or friends who are negatively impacted. Great leaders find ways to leverage situations like this to forge stronger relationships with their teams. Offer additional support, ask questions, and sometimes, just LISTEN. When times are hard, we have a tendency to buckle down, often losing sight of some of the subtleties that our leadership roles bestow upon us. Demonstrate those Caregiver values your team talks about by going the extra mile in this area.

Latest Blog Posts – There’s Two!

Blog posting has always been a spur of the moment inspiration thing to me. When the moment strikes you run with it. Here are teasers to my most recent posts.

Be sure to share this with your friends and colleagues. The first was obviously inspired by watching the Olympics.

Building an Olympic Sized Culture - Want to turn your workplace into an Olympic gold medal contender? Forget about faster, higher, stronger – let's talk about building a team that's happier, more engaged, and ready to crush their goals. Let’s dive deep into how to create a workplace culture that's as inspiring as the Olympics. From understanding your employees' unique needs to fostering a collaborative spirit, I’ve got the tips to help you build a winning team.

The Value of Development – Tired of your employees being stuck in a rut? Want to turn your workplace into a breeding ground for brilliant minds? I’ll give you some tips on why development programs are the secret sauce to a happier, more productive team. From ditching the "learn-by-doing-more" myth to creating a culture where everyone's growing, I've got you covered. So, grab a coffee and get ready to level up your company!

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Accountability

Culture and engagement is often seen as a warm fuzzy element - meaning, not critical enough to spend operational budget on. Nothing could be further from the truth.? While soft skills are a little more challenging for some to attach an ROI to, it's there. You CAN have great culture AND have accountability structures. That's right, you can set clear expectations for people's performance, AND you can have caring and compassion in your discussions. What you can't put up with are people acting like turds because of deadlines or pressures. There's no excuse for being a turd. If you have one, help them be better at being kind and direct (or hire me to help them).

schINSPIRATIONs

I’ve spent the last eight or so months connecting with people all over North America – folks from HR, Learning & Development, Finance, Operations and more. It’s truly amazing to see the great things many entrepreneurs are doing. One of those inspirational conversations was with Brien Convery , leading voice of Coffee with Convery , and owner of Emrge Talent . Brien has a passion for helping college students discover their career path and connecting them with employers. He’s done some amazing work related to the TA space and has some great guests on his show (listen to the episode with the Dumpling Dudez out of Austin). *Sorry in advance if you get hungry for dumplings after.

What else?

What's on your Leadership, Culture & Engagement challenge list? Do you have a list? Let's talk about that or about what you're doing in your company. What’s your latest and greatest success story that you want others to hear about? Where do you need help? Email me at [email protected]

Thanks for your continued support!??????

Tom

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PS – little plug for my friends within NYS SHRM. The annual conference is coming up September 8-10 in Albany, NY.? Find out more HERE .

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