Finding talent and then retaining it has become a core requirement for leaders today. The war for talent is is becoming fierce between organizations and this is compounded we believe by many today deciding to pursue other ventures such as going into business on their own or even freelancing. Talent has become much more mobile then in the past, likely driven by technology but also changes in generations with younger workforce’s being okay doing short stints at companies and then deciding to move on. Whereas past generations such as baby boomers and Gen X being a bit more loyal and spending longer durations with companies, many Gen Y and Z candidates are okay leaving if they are not happy or not challenged, with money not being a predominant factor.

This 4 Point Friday looks at the importance of talent.

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"If you're proactive, you don't have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own." - Stephen Covey

Oxford defines proactive as “creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.” In other words, proactive is the opposite of being reactive.

Are you waiting for things to happen and then maybe complaining about them or perhaps even acting like a victim where you have no options or recourse? That is being reactive and we are here to tell you as you have likely heard before, being reactive will keep you two steps (at least) behind and always playing catch up in a good scenario, or even throw you out of the game worst case.

In this 4 Point Friday, we look at the topic of how to be more proactive and how we can reflect and maybe change up our ways to get out in front rather than wait for things to happen. 

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"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records." - William Arthur Ward

Adversity is all around us. Every day. In many parts of our life. Dealing with adversity is a skill you would be well served in building. If any challenges or struggles or detours cause you great stress and throw you off course, then you would benefit greatly from building your resilience and becoming stronger in dealing with adversity.

This 4 Point Friday looks at overcoming challenges and better dealing with adversity, fitting well with the latest edition of Elevate which focused learning around obstacles. 

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"It is better to have a great team than a team of greats." - Simon Sinek 

Inattention to results is the fifth and final dysfunction we will be looking at. This dysfunction centers on team members focusing more on their individual success rather than the team. They put their status or ego above that of the team and as as a result, it causes teams to miss the collective objectives and get the results. Lencioni refers to this as the “ultimate dysfunction” and it is the fifth and last one for a reason. The need for individual credit erodes the focus on the team’s collective results.

The true mark of a great team is one that is cohesive and works together to accomplish the greater mission. It is almost a selfless devotion to the team but also to each other. Learn more about this dysfunction and overcoming it in this 4 Point Friday. 

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“Accountability. It is not only what we do, but also what’s we do not do, for which we are accountable.” - Moilere

The fourth dysfunction in our journey through the five dysfunctions is avoidance of accountability. The quote above encapsulates it well, as accountability isn’t just our words and actions, but also what we don’t do but are still accountable for.

Think here about delegating responsibility to someone else some action or objective you are accountable for, and it does not get done or not done well. You would (or should) be accountable for the outcome.

Accountability can be the glue for a strong team that is committed and gets results, or when it is lacking, can be like acid that can disintegrate teams and create poor outcomes. If you are a leader of a team, you are accountable for the team, the individuals, and the outcomes in terms of performance. If you are a team member, you need to be accountable to yourself but more importantly, accountable to the rest of the team.

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Are you lacking in commitment? Commitment is essential for effective teamwork.

“Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in” ― Patrick Lencioni

This month we look at the third dysfunction in our study of The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, which is the lack of commitment. The first was trust and the second was fear of conflict. The third is not committing to the team and greater mission. Teams that have commitment are focused on achieving and delivering results together, in other words, winning together. This 4 Point Friday looks at commitment and ways to improve it whether you are a leader or team member looking to improve effectiveness. 

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"Don’t fear the conflict, fear the silence." - Ross Parsley

Does your team engage in productive conflict to vet ideas? Does it know the difference between “good” and “bad” conflict?  Our continued foray into the five dysfunctions of teams brings us next to the second, which is fear of conflict.

Trust is likely the most critical aspect of building relationships and teams. It's important if you are looking to build a strong culture and drive any  change or improvement. This 4 Point kicks of our series on The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, beginning with trust. 

How important is communication in the workplace? How important is communication as a leader? We have discussed previously in various forums on the importance of communication in the workplace, with the most recent one available here. Communication is so vital to be an effective leader driving change or leading continuous improvement. In this 4 Point Friday edition, we take a look at communication and some targeted content to make you reflect on your own style and skills, which may help you focus your efforts to improve communication. 

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Become the leader you want to work for!

If you are leading continuous improvement or change, you have to influence others and there will be times you will need to negotiate effectively. It is one of those critical hard skills that you can learn and it will be helpful for you to better lead change and get what is needed out of situations, another person, or even groups of people. This 4 Point edition looks at negotiation at a deeper level. 

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Leverage 4 Point Friday and our other content to help you drive personal growth and improve your self-leadership. 

Motivation must come from within and a lot of it is indeed determined by your mindset. This 4 Point edition takes a look at the topic of self-motivation. 

Do you or have you managed projects? Maybe you can agree that project management is an important subject in many fields today and has become a key transferable skill. This 4 Point Friday edition digs into the project management space a little and looks at ways to leverage it more effectively as a change focused leader.

Having strong capability in project management will make you a better leader, in particular your indirect leadership abilities as well as boosting your emotional intelligence. Learn more about project management in this edition and see how it can help you grow and excel in your career. 

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How is your mindfulness? How present are you in the moment and self aware. Mindfulness can be a key piece of emotional intelligence.

If you want to be a better leader, learn to be more accountable, not just talk about it. Accountability is a major differentiator in leaders and is the subject of this 4 Point Friday. 

To truly sustain transformational change requires continuous problem solving by everyone. This 4 Point edition takes a look at problem solving and how to better leverage it.

Self-management is perhaps one of the most fundamental elements of emotional intelligence and critical for leading yourself. Learn more about this critical EI area in this 4 Point Friday.

Self-awareness is a key foundational element of emotional intelligence and may be perhaps the most critical to understand and lead yourself. 

We have talked about some of the more personal, internal aspects of emotional intelligence in these series, and now turn to the external ones with social awareness. Social awareness is the ability to “read other people” and understand the environment around us. If we recall self-awareness was doing this same thing with our self. Social awareness expands the same concept outward around you and is key for continued growth and self-development.  This 4 Point Friday digs into social awareness. 

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