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Beyond Management: 5 Traits to Become a True Leader. Management and leadership are often used interchangeably, but the reality is, there's a crucial distinction between the two. While managers excel at tasks like planning, organizing, and overseeing tasks, true leaders go beyond. They inspire, motivate, and empower their team members to achieve a shared vision and reach their full potential. So, how do you transition from being a manager to a true leader? Here are 5 key traits that can help you make the leap: 1. Cultivate Empathy: A true leader understands the struggles, aspirations, and emotions of their team members. They actively listen, demonstrate emotional intelligence, and create a safe space where everyone feels heard and valued. This fosters trust, loyalty, and a more positive work environment, encouraging open communication and collaboration. 2. Embrace Diversity: True leaders recognize the power of diversity of thought, backgrounds, and exp...

Is Your Company Preparing For Layoffs? With the recent spate of company layoffs, job cuts loom large in employees' consciousness these days. There's even been talk that the quiet quitting phenomenon has abated as employees fear for their jobs. How can you tell if your organization is prepping for layoffs? There are obvious signs, like a memo from the CEO announcing a push for efficiency. Or the hiring of a consulting firm known to specialize in process improvement, efficiency, or cost savings. Or the departure of some of the firm's top-level executives. There are also more subtle signs that a company is readying itself for layoffs. Here are four that are easy to spot (once you know what to look for). #1: Hints In Earnings Reports And Other Communications Companies are notoriously bad at communicating openly with employees, especially about the challenges the company is facing. In Leadership IQ's study, The Risks Of Ignoring Employee Feedback, we discover...

As concepts like cloud technology, real-time analytics, and the internet of things (IoT) continue to transform the business landscape, companies with high levels of digital maturity stand the best chance of succeeding. For businesses that rely on manual methods, this means that embracing digital solutions is no longer a choice — it's a necessity. However, with 70% of digital transformations failing to meet their objectives, digitizing your business is no easy feat. If you're serious about driving real results, this guide covers five best practices for launching a successful digital transformation — from prioritizing strong leadership to reimagining your company's culture.  Tech.co's Guide to Successful Digital Transformation: What Is Digital Transformation? Digital transformation is the process of integrating digital technologies into all areas of a business, to create fundamental and sustainable change. While the end goals of digital transformations vary ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. People are struggling right now. With inflation rates hitting a 40-year high, nearly half of Americans are finding it hard to make ends meet. Many are still adjusting after Covid-19 up-ended life as we knew it, and the world seems to become more embroiled in social and geopolitical unrest every day. We live in uncertain times with an even more uncertain future, and employees and leaders alike may feel their legs wobble underneath the weight of it all. Times of change and uncertainty fundamentally blur our vision of the future, and it can be hard to see even a few feet in front of us. In such times, it is on leaders to rise above the challenges of our current context, cut through the cacophony of the outside world and inspire their teams to work toward the mission at hand. Avoid leadership traps Leadership on a good day, during a good year, is challenging enough. The context we are living in right now makes it ...

As layoffs continue hitting companies across the United States left and right, employees may feel uncertain about their fate in the business. Anyone can be impacted, even you. Fortunately, there are ways you can set yourself apart if this unfortunate event ever happens to your organization. Follow these tips to make yourself an indispensable employee who is essential to keeping things running smoothly within the business. Develop and Strengthen Your Transferable Skills There is a good reason why soft skills are popular in the workforce. These are skills like communication, emotional intelligence, problem solving, critical thinking and the ability to lead, none of which can be replaced by artificial intelligence.  Dave Fisch, CEO at Ladders, recommends developing and strengthening your transferable soft skills. “Not everyone can communicate well with others or solve problems as quickly and efficiently, so building on those skills will set you apart from the majority of e...

What are the four powerful steps to build your confidence? On paper, even the most successful and high achieving among us can lack in confidence. Oftentimes, a lack of confidence is the sole reason why we don’t take certain risks or seize opportunities. It is a key component in success and in life, and yet it escapes us at a different point throughout our journey. What if we knew how to get it back? Angie Morgan is a retired U.S. Marine and founding partner of LeadStar. She is also the author of Spark: How To Lead Yourself And Others To Greater Success. I recently interviewed Angie to talk about where confidence comes from and more importantly, how to get it. (This interview has been lightly edited for space and clarity.) Watch on Forbes: Kevin Kruse: Why is your book titled Spark? Angie Morgan: Well, with the work that my colleagues and I have been doing, what we do is go into organizations and train and develop leaders. What we always find is that the people who stand ou...

Happy and healthy employees can help enhance a team’s overall productivity. The more productive and collaborative your team is, the more successful your business will be. As a leader, part of your role is to model good habits to increase productivity, whether it’s by making time for self-care routines or by creating the perfect organizational system that works for your team. Below, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members share the unique habits they believe can help boost the personal and professional productivity of staff members across the company. 1. Practicing self-care Self-care looks different for everyone but for me it includes things like observing a regular skincare routine, getting in a few yoga sessions per week, and switching to reading books when I realize I’m doom scrolling or watching too much trash TV. By taking care of yourself, you’ll have more energy to be your best self at work and you’ll be more empathetic to team members when they’re struggling. – Maddy O...

Countless things can distract business owners and leaders from their primary roles. Often this is to drive sales and push their company forward. To succeed, however, you must manage and guard your time well. The key is not only getting everything done but also avoiding burnout and feeling satisfied and accomplished at the end of the day. With that said, check out these 12 tips for fresh ideas or reminders that will assist you in stepping up your time management game. And, in turn, become the most productive boss ever. 1. Pick your rubber balls and glass balls. Taking on multiple tasks at once can be detrimental to your productivity and health. Because of that, priorities are critical. And, to prioritize, you need to think in terms of rubber and glass balls. When you drop a glass ball on your team or business, you will suffer long-term consequences. You should take care of these ones by yourself if you don't want them broken. Rubber balls, on the other hand, can be ha...

Most of us wish we had more time to work with, but few of us are willing to put in the effort to practice better time management skills. Ironically, it takes time to get better at time management; with effective habit building and consistent efforts, almost anyone can become a better time manager over the course of several months. But what if you’re working with a shorter timeframe? Or what if you’re a bit impatient? Are there ways to improve your time management skills in a single day? The answer is yes – if you’re willing to work for it. Get a Calendar One of your best options is to invest in a calendar. There are hundreds of apps and platforms that exist to help you coordinate your schedule, manage tasks, and keep track of projects and appointments. But there’s something special about a physical calendar that these digital tools don’t have: immediate visibility. Keeping a large calendar at your workspace and recording all your highest priorities there will help you dete...

Wolff Olins Myths and legends around leadership and what it takes to become a great leader are both powerful and enduring. Each generation grows up with its own version of what success looks like and what it takes to get there. Most recently, social media has fuelled the memefication for success and set the agenda in terms of what it means to succeed, including the need for speed. With the inspo quotes and life coaching offers coming thick and fast. All of which makes you wonder what part time plays in becoming a successful leader, and if this equates to becoming a great leader. The ‘30 Under 30’ achiever lists, social media influencer success stories and TikTok entrepreneur masterclasses fill our timelines, giving the impression that success should be instant and that falling behind is simply unacceptable. Meanwhile, Harvard Business Review writes this month about the traits looked for in CEOs of the future. There’s a heavy emphasis on social skills over technical know-how ...

Leading during the pandemic was a wake-up call for many of us. When Covid first hit, we had to act so swiftly that we didn’t have time to debate which leadership styles to adopt. We were navigating a crisis with no map, so we relied on instinct. Leaders need to adjust their style and use new skills when the world gets weird. It turns out, leaders who were both decisive and empathetic rose to the top. Decisive leadership helped us deal with the sudden shift to remote work—both our own and that of our customers. For example, ServiceNow quickly created emergency-response applications on our platform to help customers manage the unique, rapidly evolving challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and followed that up with return-to-workplace applications. Leaders also realized that empathy was critical. People were burned out, working overtime as employees, caregivers, and teachers. We were confined to close quarters with cranky family members, and each headline was more depre...