Inc.com recently posted an awesome article about ” Rethinking Employee Awards”. Here are a few highlights from the article:
- SurePayRoll recently honored the year’s ”Best New Mistake”. Make note that it had to be a new mistake, not the same mistake made twice. This was to remind staff that failure is an option, to promote innovation and that mistakes are a part of success.
- Another company awarded the “Disruption Award” to an employee who’s life was severely disrupted by work throughout the year. Someone who stepped up to the plate, took on rigorous projects and pulled late hours at the office. Again, another funny category but one that employees would truly appreciate being awarded for.
- The editor also offered tips on employee rewards such as:
- Customize prizes by finding out what employees prefer such as time off, a trip, money, or something else.
- Recognize multiple performers; you don’t have to always pick just one per category.
- Limit the kinds of awards. When you have too many, they become meaningless.
Click to see full article http://www.inc.com/magazine/201107/rethinking-employee-awards.html
Written by Lauren M.
Article by: H. Monroe IV
“Don’t just motivate your followers; inspire them to be an important part of your organization”
- Colin Powell
As a lifelong leader, Colin Powell has served as United States Secretary of State, Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as serving as a military leader. In other words, this leader knows how to inspire, recruit, and retain a team of top performers.
The question is: how does Colin Powell create followers worth leading and inspiring?
1. The first step to creating followers is creating a purpose. As a leader you need to have a reason for people to believe in the goals you and your organization want to accomplish.
2. Lead with intensity and passion. It is your job to inspire followers and make them feel important so they are self-motivated and driven to perform. This is true for all groups of people – from employees to sporting teams to troops.
3. Recognize your followers. Powell believes that it is important to recognize the hard work and the human in your followers. One practice Powell has done for years is write personal notes recognizing individuals on his team for their contributions. He is often pleasantly surprised to see his notes framed above an individual’s desk. A meaningful, handwritten note only takes two minutes to write and goes a long way to securing employee loyalty.
“Don’t just motivate your followers; inspire them to be an important part of your organization. Create that inspirational attitude by setting high standards and by following through. Followers want to see leaders with integrity, with moral and physical courage, who recognize them and reward them and make them feel valued.”
- Colin Powell
4. Connect with followers to find performers and non-performers. Powell understands that sometimes leaders have to make difficult decisions otherwise their followers will lose faith in their leaders.
“Great leaders also prune their organization and weed out people who are not performing. Followers know who is performing and who is not, and they will slack off if they see a leader that doesn’t take charge.”
- Colin Powell
Tags: Alex Monroe, Colin, Colin Powell, H. Alex Monroe IV, H. Monroe IV, inspire, leadership, Powell, recuit, retain
Press Release | alladmin | 
February 10, 2011 12:46 pm | 
Comments (5)
Article by: H. Monroe IV
The key to turning your company’s vision into a reality is to first create a vision that is both in the means of the company’s capability, as well as having the resources required to make the vision come to life.
Being that a mission statement is essentially corporate terminology thrown together; most employees find the information easily disposable and disregard what they’ve heard. I have found that vision statements are superior to mission statements when it comes to putting the plan into action and making it a reality.
A vision statement can be, but is not limited to a concrete deadline of time, more specifically a three year plan. “Literally paint the picture of what the organization will look like three years from today and create your values based on that vision.”(Herold, Cameron). After all, those who work at your company will be intrigued to know more about the thoughts of the organization’s leader, as well as the status of where the company will be in the next three years.
Photo by Stu Willis
Article by Elizabeth Nguyen
Leadership is one of the pillars for success. A lot of people define leadership as some grand gesture in a time of crisis. However, it can be found in the mundane day to day activities: in the quiet of clean up, in checking the spreadsheet for errors, and even in a friendly hand on a shoulder. All that matters was that a member of an organization took the initiative to get the job done, so recognize your leaders. Be it large or small, a little appreciation goes a long way.
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