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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. In a world with a constant information deluge and a labyrinth of disinformation to continually navigate through, people are exhausted. What is true? Who is honest? Who and what can I believe? Who can I trust to lead in a way where I know they understand what I need? Will anyone do what is best for me? It is no wonder that people are frustrated with those in chargeeverywhere. Politicians, media personalities, business leaders. Our leaders are often out-of-touch elites, or worse, reckless liars. By and large, leaders seem self-interested rather than keeping the needs of those they serve at heart. Compound this with a sound bite society where click bait reigns supreme and memes are a surrogate for journalism, but without the research, context, or analysis. No one can tell person from bot on social media anymore. And peoples worst behaviors lead to the highest monetization on those platforms. Its no wonder people are fed up. Desperate for authenticity All of this is resulting in anger from older generations and disillusionment among younger ones, causing both apathy and a lack of motivation to work toward something better, as it all feels hopeless. But emerging generations futures are threatened as they inherit the fallout from generations of selfish, inauthentic leadership, and are left with only dire economic prospects, unsteady liberties, and a planet literally on fire. Adding insult to injury, they are now asked to try to survive it all and to fix it themselves when leaders havent been or arent interested in doing so themselves. Amid all of this, people are desperate for leaders who are authentic. Leaders who face the hard truths. Leaders who understand the reality of the people they serve. And most importantly, leaders who deliver results for the actual humans they are leading. People are drawn to leaders who get it and who tell it like it is regardless of whether their intentions are altruistic or nefarious, evidence that authenticity is what people crave most right now. What makes an authentic leader? So what are some key elements seen in authentic leaders? Give a damn about those you lead. Genuinely. Deeply reflect on your intentions. If you dont actually care, your people will know it. Understand that leadership is a responsibility. A privilege given to a few. A great leader is a servant. Listen to those you lead to hear things spoken and unspoken. Build structures to make sure you have eyes and ears everywhere to get to your teams truths and feelings. Understand that others rely on you and that you can do nothing without a team of engaged, productive individuals. Admit when you are wrong or when you dont know things. Everyone else will know anyway and not admitting it just looks foolish and stubborn. Overcommunicate to ensure your team knows your intentions, your actions, your decision making. Speak candidly, openly, and transparently. Trust is built on understanding. Make the best, well-informed decisions considering the needs of everyone. Deliver. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum. This all feels so obvious. So why is it so rare? Because it takes far more work and sacrifice than not doing it. First, it all takes time, and sometimes money, which I believe many leaders feel is wasted on this soft capital. And it requires competencies that are not often valued, and sometimes demonized, in our strong-man leader archetype. Listening requires EMPATHY. Collecting feedback requires HUMILITY. Open communication requires THOUGHTFULNESS. Making the best, well-informed decisions requires INTEGRITY. Admitting mistakes and learning from them requires VULNERABILITY. Transparency empowers others to act and therefore requires TRUST. Results for your employees are your own ACCOUNTABILITY. And while my hope is that leaders will be driven to be authentic because they truly give a damn about people around them, I know that many leaders care most about the business value of their decisions. Whats at stake? What is the cost of lacking authenticity? LOST PRODUCTIVITY due to low employee trust and engagement. LOST MOMENTUM due to turnover and attrition. LOST GROWTH due to shallow candidate pipelines as employees seek out authentic leaders. LOST EFFICIENCY due to not developing team members to deliver and respond. LOST FAITH in our social contract, the most expensive of them all. Regardless of the motivations, authentic leaders are in demand and ultimately, the only leaders who will achieve success with the current workforces state of mind. Investing in this soft capital will pay dividends, financially and socially. And frankly, none of us, individually or collectively, can afford not to. Julee Brooks is CEO of Woodcraft Rangers.
Category:
E-Commerce
The tech industry is often cautious about tying layoffs to performance, even if it might play a role in who gets dismissed during widespread job cuts. But this year has signaled a noticeable shift in how some of the biggest players in tech approach layoffs: Earlier this year, Meta cut more than 3,000 employees in a move that the company framed as non-regrettable attrition. The number of Amazon employees on performance improvement plans reportedly surged in recent years, leading up to layoffsand Microsoft has allegedly cut thousands of employees who were classified as “low performers.” Now Microsoft is giving low performers the option to accept a payout and leave the company rather than being placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP), according to a new Business Insider report. Separation agreement or a PIP An internal email obtained by Business Insider outlined Microsoft’s new performance management system, which the company’s chief people officer described as having “clear expectations and a timeline for improvement.” For those who want to forgo performance management, Microsoft is reportedly offering a separation agreement that would be the equivalent of 16 weeks of pay. (Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment and also declined to comment in response to Business Insider’s inquiries.) Any Microsoft employees who are eligible for a buyout reportedly have five days to accept the offer; if they opt to get on a performance improvement plan instead, they forfeit the option to voluntarily resign and receive a payout at a later time. A previous Business Insider report also claimed that Microsoft is now barring low performers who leave the company or get terminated over performance issues from rejoining for at least two years. Shifting strategies for low performers Microsoft’s new strategy for managing low performers is not unheard of in the tech industry. Amazon uses a program called Pivot that presents similar options to employees who are deemed low performers, and Meta reportedly also employs a “block list” of former employees who should not be hired back by the company. But navigating performance-based layoffs can be tricky: At Meta, some employees who were affected by the recent job cuts claimed they had received high ratings on their performance reviews and expressed frustration over the fact that they were publicly characterized as low performers. (Meta did not comment on all such claims, but in response to one report, a company spokesperson said: “Simply because someone had a history of meeting or exceeding expectations, does not mean they continue to consistently meet the bar.”) It’s possible that some of these employees were impacted to meet the 5% quota Meta reportedly set for layoffs across departments, in spite of their performance reviews. Even otherwise, experts say relying solely on performance ratings to determine layoffs can put certain employees at a disadvantage, given the potential bias that is baked into the process. There is also quite a bit of variability across managers and departments, and in some cases employees may not have been performance-managed properly. At a moment when many tech companies are already facing employee dissent and low morale over culture issuesincluding strict return-to-office mandatesresorting to performance-based layoffs could also engender further mistrust.
Category:
E-Commerce
Rare cosmic events can feel like being smiled down upon from up above. However, on the morning of April 25, an actual smiley face will appear in the skykind of. Venus, Saturn, and the moon will align in a pattern called a triple conjunction. Given the moon will be in its crescent form, the lineup will resemble a smiley face, but only for a short time on Friday morning. “Venus is higher above the eastern horizon with Saturn lower, and a thin, crescent moon a bit lower and a little farther north,” Brenda Culbertson, NASA solar system ambassador, told Kansas TV station KSNT. “The thin, crescent moon looks like a smile. To some people, the triangle of bright objects may appear as a smiley face.“ But that’s not all: Near the smiley face, two more planets, Mercury and Neptune, could also become visible to sky-watchers, in a rare alignment that’s been dubbed a “planet parade.” Here’s everything to know about the packed celestial event. When can I see the triple conjunction smiley face? Sky-watchers will need to wake extra early on Friday to catch the smirk in action. The event will take place at around 5:30 a.m. EDT, and smile down at the early morning risers for about an hour. “If you look toward the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise, youll see the old crescent moon rising,” according to EarthSky. “Its just two days from reaching new moon phase, so it will be about 8% lit. You might also see the dark part of the moon gently glowing with earthshine, which is light reflected from Earth.” Are the smiley face and planet parade worth all the fuss? The smiley face won’t be perfectly configured, therefore, you’ll have to use your imagination just a bit, EarthSky says. The smiley face will be tilted on its side, with one eye (Venus) brighter than the other. But how often do the planets smile down at us? The alignment is extremely rareand given it will be viewable all over the world, the event may feel a bit like a celestial call for unity. Mercury and Neptune will be nearby, but the brightness of the triple conjunction will mean they’ll be tough to spot. What’s the next event for sky-watchers? If you can’t make it out of bed earlyeven for a glimpse at a cosmic grinthis spring will bring lots of other special celestial happenings. In early May, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower will reach its peak. NASA says that will be a smile-worthy sight, too. “Fast meteors can leave glowing ‘trains’ [incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor] which last for several seconds to minutes,” the agency shared. “About 50 meteors can be seen per hour during the peak of the Eta Aquarids.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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