Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 8, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 19 5) Be authentic. One of the single most important positive qualities of a leader is the ability to lead with authenticity. Be yourself by bringing your values, your style, and your vision to all of what you do. Align your values with your organizational values. Authentic leaders are passionate, inspirational, and encourage high-level trust in relationships. This catapults success. 4) Look in the mirror. Leaders who demand excellence need to start by demanding it from themselves. Your own drive and work ethic sets the tone. As a leader, you must exhibit those qualities you wish to see in your teams. If you are dedicated, possess high integrity, commitment, and work to achieve the highest possible quality in all that you do, it will set a tone and drive your team to achieve their highest level of excellence. 3) Master the art of juggling. Leaders must be exceptional at juggling the intensity of their schedules with the unfolding dynamic needs and challenges of each day. You must start with a strategic plan for your week to ensure you are accomplishing your key initiatives. Staying focused on what needs to get done while balancing all of your other competing priorities is an art – and one you need to master. 2) Do what you say. Follow-through is everything. If you say you are going to do something – do it. If you make a promise – deliver it. Every action or inaction has a result and a consequence. Follow- through is one of the most important qualities a leader can have because it exhibits credibility and integrity. If you cannot follow-through, do not make the commitment. 1) Make it a point to uplift others. Nothing is more rewarding than being a positive force in the lives of those you lead. Mentor, coach, and give positive feedback and encouragement to those who work for or with you. Provide honest feedback and a road map to help them grow by providing the information they need to succeed on a project or undertaking. Celebrate their successes. Thank them for their efforts. Not just once in a while, but every day. K N O W H O W Identify and address disruptive threats head on T here are many reasons supervisors may deliver warnings to employees whose conduct negatively impacts business, such as customer complaints, repeat absenteeism or contributing to a toxic work environment. It's important verbal warnings – if they aren't heeded – advance to written warnings, according to human resource experts. Here are some ways to use them as an effective tool for change: A written warning should not be the first warning. Employees should hear about a supervisor's disapproval of their conduct first verbally, says Inc.com's Michael Schneider, with a warning letter following failed verbal-warning attempts. e purpose of this sequence, he said, is not only to document the issue, but to "ensure that the employee no longer has the excuse of miscommunication for inaction." When in doubt, document. It's almost impossible to over-document matters involving employee discipline. In addition to it potentially resulting in liability, having these instances in writing is important as details become fuzzy over time and a company needs documentation for reference, according to SHRM.org. "Among the documentation that the employer should gather and retain are initial complaints … witness reports, written materials relevant to the investigation including emails or notes … the employee's personnel file … [and] discipline or termination reports" as well as notes from supervisors or other management, the group advises. Cross your t's and dot your i's. Speaking to the employee first, privately, may reveal some justified reason for their actions, writes Martina Markovska at CareerMinds.com. Be sure you thoroughly investigate all details surrounding the incident or incidents before preparing the misconduct letter. Ensure you state it's a written warning letter and deliver it right aer an incident. "e longer you wait to take disciplinary action, the more time it will take to rectify damages," writes Markovska. "Also, the degree of fault may diminish with time and lose validity." 5 T H I NG S I know about... ...Powerful leadership qualities BY JOE ACCARDI & KEVIN SHEEHAN Special to the Worcester Business Journal N ew technologies continue to disrupt industries year aer year, re-writing the rules of engagement, paving the way for new competitors, and putting established players back on their heels if not out of business. Technology's disruptive influence will continue. Leaders must embrace the reality that disruption will be an established business reality. Disruption has come to mean swi technological change in the business world, but the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of an external medical event disrupting our whole society and forcing an exponential increase in the pace of technological change. Businesses that have fared best rapidly increased their rate of technological adaptation in order to maintain their relevance and competitiveness. While no one saw the pandemic coming, lessons learned will pave the way for small and midsized enterprises to prepare for future disruptions of all types. SMEs must continually survey their competitive landscape to identify potential sources of disruption, including those from external non- technological sources, and consider how those risks could affect the company, and then prepare by developing or acquiring the right capabilities and resources to adapt and thrive. at's easier said than done of course. SMEs oen don't assume a proactive approach for several reasons: Successful SMEs have oen conducted business the same way for decades, which has led to their success; further, those responsible for past success oen come from the same background, and identifying disruptions on the horizon oen requires a different perspective and vantage point; and most SMEs spend significant time conducting their day- to-day business and lack the time and resources to think big picture. But given the pace of technology development, vulnerability we have to global challenges, realities of the competitive environment, and consequences of being caught flat- footed, SMEs must find ways to prepare for the inevitability of disruption. Leaders must value thinking strategically about disruption and embrace its inevitability. Without leadership from the top, no strategic initiative challenging the status quo will get off the ground. Going one step further, leaders need to recognize the value of having trusted advisors who will challenge them to push the envelope and bring differing perspectives. Surrounding yourself with "yes" staff and colleagues will not help challenge norms and businesses practices. Having people willing to speak truth to power is rare and valuable. It's more than a small circle of high-level leaders and advisors; the corporate culture must encourage rank-and-file employees to think creatively about disruption. Unless this culture is fostered through the ranks, most employees will hesitate to raise uncomfortable or unpopular issues. Perhaps most important to remember is frontline employees oen have the best antenna to sense shis among customers and competitors. Establishing formal processes to create time, place, and opportunity to unplug from the day-to-day work and demands to allow for creative thinking and brainstorming is crucial to success. Incentives such as bonuses may give employees extra motivation and the reassurance these outside-the-box ideas are welcomed and valued. Disruptions – technology or others – stand to potentially threaten SMEs, but do not have to if addressed and prepared for appropriately. Whatever the challenges, leaders need to move decisively to express these priorities and remove cultural barriers to change. Joe Accardi is senior vice president and head of new business development for asset based lending, and Kevin Sheehan is vice president for commercial product marketing, at People's United Bank. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal By Deborah Penta Deborah Penta is CEO of Westborough marketing and public relations firm PENTA Communications, Inc. Reach the PENTA team through pentamarketing.com. 10 1: W R I T T E N W A R N I N G S W W W

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