Lisa Dean

It's easy to get lost in the whirlwind of daily tasks. Busy work is much easier than valuable work and urgent work gets prioritized over important work. This means that leaders need to be able to incorporate 2 things into their daily work lives. (1) Learn to say no to things that don't move the needle. (2) Delegate to other trusted individuals. Having the discipline to prioritize the activities that will push you forward in reaching your goals is the difference between someone who is successful and someone who just dreams of being successful in whatever it is they're doing.

Encouraging innovative ideas is paramount to collaborating together so your team can successfully reach shared goals. Your team needs to feel safe to present ideas that are outside the box; that is safety with not only your reaction but the reactions of their team mates. This safe space allows free flowing ideas. The real magic happens in downtime. This is often overlooked because we feel like everyone’s day should be filled with being busy. But the best ideas come when your brain is at rest.

Avoid assumptions at all costs when it comes to sensitive information. Policies should be agreed upon by senior leadership, provided in writing to employees who deal with that sensitive information. But it should also be covered during onboarding and periodically going forward.

Getting buy-in before major changes is crucial. That doesn’t mean everyone agrees. It means you’ve shared with the team, heard them, and discussed differing viewpoints. After reviewing everything, everyone understands the reasons for this change and can support it.

Companies should have standard best practices for their communication tools. If they don’t, develop them for your department. There are so many tools; they can end up wasting time. Without ensuring everyone is following the same process, you may end up with people sending an email, then an IM if they aren’t answered quickly enough. Or vise versa. I recommend using IMs for quick questions or time-sensitive topics. Email is best for copying others and to document situations. Phone calls and video calls are a great way to personalize communication and should be used for sensitive subjects. Defining when to use what method to reach out can save a lot of time and ultimately keep things running smoothly.

Fostering innovation is the #1 way to stay relevant long term. As the famous book says, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Being innovative takes a special mind - and staying informed. Learning from others and putting things that make sense into practice will yield experience and data points. I believe in continuous improvement to everything but not everything all at once.