The Most Important Communication Secrets of Top Leaders
There is not one specific group of character traits or abilities that makes a leader great. Some are boisterous, others are soft-spoken. One might be humorous, while another is more serious. Consider some of the greats—Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. They were all very different people from […]
Mentoring 101: Finding the Right Fit is Key to Successful Relationships
Mentorships are a time-honored tradition in the workforce. From entry-level recent graduates to mid-career professionals making a move toward the C-suite, there’s an opportunity to take an employee’s training and development to the next level through mentorship relationships. And the statistics show mentors can have a major impact on not just the mentee’s success, but […]
The Results Are In: “Difficult Conversations” Most Stress-Inducing Part of Leadership
In August, we asked our readers what they believe is the most stress-inducing part of being a leader, and with 27% of the votes, “Having difficult conversations (i.e. poor performance, employee termination, etc.)” was the top choice. “Holding employees accountable” and “Managing conflict” round out the top three with 19% and 17%, respectively. The rest […]
Only 10% of Businesses Say Local Market “Trending Down”
Snapshot of the Economy on “Main Street” Heating up. Significant job growth. Optimism about the economy. Across the country, Express Employment Professionals office owners are reporting positive signs from their local communities. And when asked to describe the current employment environment, they offer many reasons for hope, as well as concern about the lack of […]
Job Insights Report: An Improving Economy—but Where Are the Workers?
To provide accurate and timely employment forecasts for the U.S. and Canada, Express Employment Professionals International Headquarters conducts an ongoing Job Insights survey to track quarterly hiring trends for businesses across a wide range of industries. The survey targets business owners, decision makers, and human resource professionals with questions about the overall national hiring trends […]
5 Important Ways Great Leaders Earn Trust and Respect
Difficult to earn and easily lost, trust and respect are two of the most important characteristics of great leadership. Workers look to their leaders for guidance and behavioral cues that influence the way they react to a given situation. So, the trust a workforce has for the people in charge greatly impacts productivity. In fact, […]
Joe and Larry: A Message from Leadership Expert Jim Stovall
There are several questions we can ask ourselves to perform a sort of self-examination to determine how mature, well adjusted, and enlightened we are. One of these questions is: Am I happy when my relatives, friends, or colleagues succeed? Almost all of us would agree that we don’t want our acquaintances or loved ones to fail, but […]
Playground Diplomacy: Conflict Resolution Skills from Kindergarteners
Translated from German, the word kindergarten literally means a “garden for children,” which is appropriate because it’s during this important early childhood development milestone when the seeds of skills that impact the rest of our lives are often sown. Interwoven among the glue sticks and safety scissors, a foundation is laid through experiential learning that […]
Question of the Month: How Do You Pass the Time on Your Commute to Work?
According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American has a 26 minute commute to work each day. And according to the National Household Survey, Canadians aren’t getting to the office much quicker with an average 25.4 minute commute. That’s nearly an hour lost each day in transit to our jobs. So, for […]
The Power of Deconstruction
A Message from Leadership Expert Jim Stovall. If you live in an urban or metropolitan area, you have likely observed the process of a building being torn down to make room for a new building to be located in the same spot. Often, valuable pieces of property are covered by rundown or decaying buildings that […]