Strategic Leaders Academy expert Laura Colbert is a connecter, wife and mother of three, consultant, public speaker, personal advisor, author, outdoor enthusiast, and reader.

communication

Are You Communicating As Effectively As You Can?

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We all know communication is key but have you ever explicitly talked about preferred methods with your Team?

communication

Communication is a complicated beast. As a leader, communicating clearly and often is a must. Following up after communication is a great practice. Being receptive to feedback and constructive criticism is hard but helps us grow. Having an open-door policy gives our Team a greater sense of belonging. I could go on and on about the benefits of and the great ideas about communication.

Here’s a novel idea: How often have you asked your team their preferred method of communication? For example, many people prefer emails for task-related requests, texts for brief information or check-ins, and phone calls and/or in-person conversations for things that are personal or could be misinterpreted through email. Think about it.

Perhaps you always communicate over email, but the younger generations in your office prefer Slack or texts. Your communication method could be hindering their ability to work efficiently.

communication

I have recently asked this explicit question as a director and as a consultant and it has opened my eyes as to what others prefer and also has given the individual team members a voice and more control of their preferred communication method.

First, take some time to ask your Team how they prefer to be communicated with given certain scenarios.

Four steps to better communication in the workplace:

  1. Email
  2. Text/Slack/inter-office messaging
  3. Phone call
  4. In-person
  5. Other
  • Overcome email nuances by calling or talking in person: If you ever find yourself wondering if someone might misinterpret the email, chances are you should call or stop by in person. We all know it’s hard to interpret emotions and sarcasm in emails so grab the phone and call if it’s too complicated to put in an email.  
  • You don’t need to change all of your habits: However, when you can meet your Team halfway, they will feel heard, understood, and they will appreciate your generosity in communicating in a style that will support their productivity.
  • Sharing preferred communication method is a two-way street: It will give you, the leader, an opportunity to share your desired communication and you can also share your “why,” which may influence your Team to streamline their processes.

Additional ways I can help you communicate.

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs
The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.

Additional Offerings:
Join our central Wisconsin in-person or online Impactful Leadership Lunch. Join like-minded leaders during this monthly mastermind lunch group to improve your business efficiency, boost employee retention, and get you focused on doing what gives you joy. Are you looking for a Keynote Speaker at your next event? I use my past experiences and knowledge to show you how to be the best version of yourself, surround yourself with the right people, and build highly productive teams.

Book:
Sirens: How to Pee Standing Up – An alarming memoir of combat and coming back home. This book depicts the time of war and its aftermath. It seamlessly bridges the civilian and military divide and offers clarity to moral injury and post-traumatic stress.


leadership

3 Powerful Leadership Lessons and my Biggest Takeaways in Writing my Memoirs: It’s All About the Journey

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Leadership is constantly evolving

leadership

I just found out that my book, “Sirens (How to Pee Standing Up): An alarming memoir of combat and coming back home,” is now on Audible. Two years ago I spent hour after hour locked in my closet (for quality sound) reading my memoir for the audio version. As an avid Audible listener, I couldn’t be more excited to finally have it on that platform.

Writing a book, especially a memoir, is like putting your dirty laundry out to dry. People know more about me than I may ever know about them. I tend to be an open book, but knowing that absolute strangers will have preconceived notions about me still causes me to pause.

The purpose of writing my book was to create awareness and bridge the military and civilian divide (I acknowledge, however, that everyone’s story is different), I wanted to spread awareness of what mental health issues look like once soldiers return (again, I don’t speak for all military members), and it was incredibly therapeutic to take my journal entries and put them into a readable format.

Here are the three leadership lesson from the book I hope you walk away with:

1.   When leaders practice humility, their Team will want to follow: Humility is not thinking less of yourself but instead thinking of yourself less. This sentiment comes from my dear friend Jeff Marquez and one of my favorite shows, Ted Lasso. There are many lessons in my book that outline good humility by leaders and there are many that exemplify the complete opposite. One of the most profound lessons comes from February 6th, 2004 when I had to escort (drive) a bunch of leaders from our brigade to the three most dangerous parts of Baghdad because they wanted to “see some action.” They put my life on the line because they wanted war stories.

2.     Transparency boosts morale and saves lives. There were so many times on my deployment that I would have felt less anxious if I knew the “why” behind an assignment. Following blindly left me feeling lesser than and at a complete loss of control. Loss of control leads to fear and fear drives people out of your organization. Yes, leadership comes with “need to know” and “nice to know.” Think about what you can share and what will benefit your Team and share it. It will boost morale, buy-in, and create a deeper sense of belonging. If you read the book, you’ll understand how transparency in a war zone saves lives.

3.     Knowing and understanding your people will take your organization to new heights. Everyone is fighting a battle within. If someone is underperforming, it might not be about the company, the task, or even their competency. They may be suffering from something that is below the surface. The more you know your people the better you can help them. Mental health issues come in a multitude of forms. If you can understand how to empathize and support your people, they will overcome their obstacles faster and they will want to stick with you and your organization.

I’m curious to know what leadership lessons you learn from the book. Please feel free to share!

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs

Lead Well: For Newly Promoted Leaders is an 8-week program that will help your newly promoted leaders thrive as they move from peer status to power status. Click here to download the one-pager. Are you a good fit for this program? SIGN UP NOW! Book a free 30-minute consultation with Laura to make sure this is the best fit for you.

The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.



Change

How to Continue to Innovate and Combat Change Fatigue 2022

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Leadership can make all the difference when it comes to workplace change

Chances are, if you feel like your organization is saturated with change, your Team may be experiencing change fatigue.

Change fatigue is a Team’s resistance, passive resignation, apathy, or feelings of being overwhelming when it comes to organizational change.

We’ve all been there; change fatigue sets in and our Team gets resentful. I’ve seen it in every line of work. Leadership, however, can make all the difference when it comes to workplace change.

Identifying change fatigue is the first step a leader needs to take.

What does change fatigue look like? Complaints increase in frequency, exhaustion, loss of passion, stress, more sick days, cynicism, and lack of trust in leadership. This impacts the organization on so many levels–less productivity, greater turnover, and more missed days. The culture tanks and trust erodes.

According to a recent HBR article, “too often, organizations simply encourage their employees to be resilient, placing the burden of finding ways to feel better solely on individuals. Leaders need to recognize that change exhaustion is not an individual issue, but a collective one that needs to be addressed at the team and organizational level.”

Action Steps to mitigate change fatigue:

  • Control what you can control: Fear and discontent crop up when we feel like we have lost control of our current situation. When changes in our workplace occur, we need to encourage our Team to highlight what is within their control and influence. Instead of thinking of change as something happening to you, think of it as you having control over your new learning and this new growth opportunity. Perspective can make a huge difference when change occurs. The Center for Creative Leadership’s David Altman describes change as continual evolution with no endpoint. He goes on to say that we need to think of “change fatigue” as “change energy.”
  • Communicate early and often: Bring key stakeholders to the table to discuss upcoming changes and ask for their perspectives and advice. Roll out the change in small, digestible bites. Acknowledge that what you thought was “best” isn’t anymore.  Offer validation to the prior initiative and explain the “why” with the new one. There isn’t a “best” in business anyways; we should always be learning and growing. The moment a company settles, they have already slid behind the competition.
  • Trust: Change cannot occur until your Team trusts their leadership and understands the “why” behind the change. That’s the first move. Once the change is in action, give brief surveys and check in often. Be sure toprioritize the changes. Ask your Team to collectively decide which one is the most important and focus on that one. They will have more buy-in if they can help make decisions. Allow for errors. Mistakes will happen. Your team needs to know that you have their back and they are allowed to experiment and make mistakes. Before implementing any change, make sure that your Team has all the resources needed; this includes training, time, and material resources.
  • Team-focused: Collective routines have a way of calming your Team as they forge into the unknown. This could be morning coffee, happy hours, consistent meeting times, etc. Routines cultivate a sense of community and foster a sense of organizational buy-in.

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs

Lead Well: For Newly Promoted Leaders is an 8-week program that will help your newly promoted leaders thrive as they move from peer status to power status. Click here to download the one-pager. Are you a good fit for this program? SIGN UP NOW! Book a free 30-minute consultation with Laura to make sure this is the best fit for you.

The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.

Unite

Unite the United States

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Let us use days like today to not only remember the fallen but to look ahead and make the best out of the lives that we’ve been fortunate enough to keep.

Unite

I had the distinct honor of speaking at two different Memorial Day Ceremonies on Monday.

This is the message that I shared:

Tamra Bolton states: “This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day, it’s not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom.”

I am standing in front of you today because I am a combat veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom. I served in Baghdad, Iraq as a Military Police Officer from  June 2003 to July 2004 for the Army National Guard. I have a brother who also served in Iraq. He was a medic in an infantry unit serving out of Ramadi in 2003 and 2004. Yes. We were deployed at the same time. My father is a Vietnam Veteran and my twin brother served in the Peace Corps in South Africa. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my mom, who biked across the entire country in 2005 in honor of the soldiers overseas. She carried a yellow sign on her back in support of bringing the troops home as soon as possible. Additionally, I have a father-in-law who served in Vietnam as well as other veterans in my family including uncles and a grandfather.

It wasn’t until Memorial Day in 2004 that I truly understood the gravity of this day’s significance. On April 9th, 2004, my company lost its first soldier. Her name was Michelle Witmer. She was the first female KIA in the history of the National Guard.

We were on the same mission that dire night—guarding the Baghdad police stations against the insurgents. We drove home around 2 am after our replacements arrived. Her squad took one route home, we took another. I listened on the HMMV radio as she left this earth after being shot. She was the gunner in her vehicle.

As I reflected on her passing and those of the millions of other soldiers before her, I finally understood the importance of Memorial Day. It is not about the living. It is about those true heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom

Winston Churchill said it best when he said “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

As I wrote in my memoir, “Memorial Day is no longer a holiday, a time to cookout and party. It’s a day to commemorate fallen soldiers.”

I honor and remember not only Michelle Witmer’s sacrifice but a young man named Daniel Thompson as well.  Upon my return home from Iraq, I received my sergeant stripes and Daniel Thompson was one of the first soldiers on my team. After my time of service was complete, he continued his service and volunteered to go to Afghanistan where he gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country in on February 24th, 2009.

I also remember my brothers and sisters in arms who are still with us today. The individuals I lived and worked with for over a year. I think about the person we turned into while we were deployed. The blood, sweat, and tears we gave to serve our country. The despair, pride, love, hate, fear, and joy we felt for 16 long months. Memorial Day is one more thing in our lives that is forever changed because of our time in service.

I have a wonderful neighbor named Doug who served in Vietnam. We often share war stories and last year he told me that he feels a connection with me. Fellow Veterans – isn’t that the truth? We have a special bond—something that only we can truly grasp and understand. If you are standing here today and feel alone or forgotten, please look around and find someone to talk to—to find solidarity with. We are here for you. It’s okay to not be okay. According to an NPR article from June of 2021, we’ve lost just over 7,000 military members since 9-11, yet suicides have reached over 4 times as many, at just above 30,000. That’s not ok. Don’t hesitate to check on your fellow veterans and make sure they’re all right.

Let us use days like today to not only remember the fallen but to look ahead and make the best out of the lives that we’ve been fortunate enough to keep. Life is filled with a myriad of opportunities. Let’s seize them and not let any one of our comrades die in vain.

The fallen fought for the United States of America—for a united nation.

Let’s unite with our commonalities and choose to respect and understand those who think differently. When I think of Michelle Witmer’s love and compassion she showed to all those around her—even to the feral puppies she adopted in Iraq, I know she stood for a United Nation. Not one divided over masks or guns or abortion rights. Because in the end, we all want what’s best for our nation and for our descendants. Let’s unite and find common ground instead of tearing each other apart.

John F. Kennedy nailed it when he said: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”

How are you living your best life? How are you continuing to serve and unite the lives of those around you?

Jennifer M. Granholm captured my sentiments exactly when she said, “Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops, and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well.”

Let’s come together in this divided and tumultuous world and treat one another with the utmost empathy and compassion regardless of others’ beliefs. We all fought for a better country, a better world, and we can only get there by accepting others and treating them with dignity.

Leadership

Why You Need to Ditch Fear-Driven Leadership

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Nobody wants to work under fear driven leadership. Give your Team more control, lower overall stress, and make big gains.

leadership

Fear-driven leadership is not an effective way to lead an organization. Employees with higher levels of stress and anxiety cannot function to the same levels as those who feel safe and have a greater sense of control in their jobs. Leaders should strive to create an environment where their employees enjoy coming to work and harness the feelings of belonging and buy-in. They will see better results in their bottom line.

We all make mistakes. Here’s one of mine: I was a middle school principal in the fall of 2020 when we returned to hybrid teaching/learning. As with most of the world, there were excessive amounts of divisiveness, fear, and stress among the staff and community. Unfortunately, I treated the staff in more of a punitive tone, than one of compassion. This caused my entire group of team leaders to hold a private meeting behind my back (yes, I am cringing while writing this) and then eventually talk to me as a group about how I was disciplining my staff.

It was a tough meeting, but I was glad they felt comfortable enough to discuss the issue with me so that I could make adjustments and be the best boss for my Team. It was a great and humbling reminder that we need to treat everyone around us with respect and grace because we never know what someone else is going through.

I’ve read a few books, namely the “360-Degree Leader“ by John Maxwell, “Leaders Eat Last“ by Simon Sinek, “9 Lies About Work” by Buckingham and Goodall, and “The Road Less Stupid“ by Keith J. Cunningham with an overwhelming theme that leaders should address their employees’ concerns with grace, empathy, and even sometimes an apology. Perhaps our expectations weren’t clear or we never explained the “why.” Somehow, I let these lessons slip in the fall of 2020. I’m sure it roots back to my self-preservation or fear of the unknown in an unprecedented time. As a leader, that’s no excuse.

I’m telling you this story to illustrate that even though one of my core values is compassion, I let it slip. My team leaders recognized that they weren’t seeing the real me and they let me know that. Hopefully, you can learn from my mistake. Take a look at your values. Are you holding true to what you believe in and what your Team needs from you?

Action steps to ditch fear-driven leadership:

•             Give your Team a sense of control: The less control we have in our jobs, the more stress we feel. The more stress we feel, the less productive our business is. People seize control through passive-aggressive behavior, gossip, and office politics, to name a few. You can give your team a greater sense of control by setting clear boundaries in terms of values, finance, fairness, and legal and let your Team make decisions based on those boundaries. Your Team’s productivity will increase, they will feel more influential, and your organization’s innovation will increase.

•             Foster a “safe” working environment: Psychological safety is key for productivity. Our brains can’t function when we are stuck in the flight or fight response. Examine the level of your Team’s psychological safety. Hire an outside consultant to do this work for full transparency. Make adjustments based on the examination and watch your business thrive.

•             Look in the mirror before disciplining your Team members: There are times when our Team makes mistakes, and we need to address those errors. There are other times when our lack of leadership is to blame. Before pointing the finger and getting angry. Pause and reflect on how you could have set clearer expectations, avoided the mistake with more frequent check-ins, or better explained the “why.” This reflection time will allow you to calm down, ditch the fear-driven leadership, and approach your Team member with more compassion.

leader

How Are You Supporting Your Leader Moms in 2022?

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It’s vital to retain these valuable leaders with hard-earned wisdom.

leaders

It was just Mother’s Day and it got me thinking about what it’s like to be a leader mom.

I could take the time to write about how leader moms bring empathy, compassion, understanding, a strong work ethic, and accountability to an organization. After all, working moms are exemplars when it comes to the adage, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”

Instead, I want to discuss the added pressures and biases that we place on leader moms and a call to action to remedy our societal ideologies.

“Are you sure this is the best decision for your family?” I was asked this question twice by two different superiors before I accepted the principal position. I had already been working in the assistant principal role and had a keen sense of what the principal role would entail. This question may seem benign, but it elicited a lot of emotions. Mostly because I felt like a man would never be asked this question. In fact, they would probably hear, “This is great news for your family!”

Why are we so biased toward leader moms, to working moms?

Men and women alike (myself included) harbor biases toward working moms. It’s more than a sexist or individual ideology; it is societal. I was just asked how men could better support women and I believe it boils down to treating them as able professionals.

If you wouldn’t ask a man the previous question, why would you feel like it’s ok to ask a woman? My husband was mostly a stay-at-home-dad when I was considering the principal role. We were set up for success for me to roll into the position. It was a no-brainer, yet our biases still veer towards women as the primary caretaker, and we have a hard time envisioning women in the dual role of mother and leader.

As someone who has held many roles in which my gender is the minority—athlete, physical education teacher, Military Police officer, and school administrator—I have often pushed back against biases and misconceptions. I wore my ability to bust through biases as a badge of honor.

Here’s the kicker though, society still needs to reproduce, if for no other reason than to resupply the workforce. And no, I’m not some Autobot as the previous sentence implies. I find that raising my family brings me the most joy with my career being a close second. And that’s just it; women shouldn’t have to decide between family or their career. We need to support our moms so that they can thrive in their careers unencumbered. It’s a win/win for everyone.

I think about the major female athletes who lose their sponsorship or must relinquish their contracts when they get pregnant. This is not supportive, it is reckless. We are essentially telling some of the most talented women in our midst that they shouldn’t have children or if they do, they should wait until their bodies are broken and then it’s ok. Many of these women come back to the sport and continue to win, thrive, and prove that they are “able professionals.

Action steps to support working and leading moms:

  • If you wouldn’t comment to a man such as, “Are you sure this is good for your family?” then, don’t say it to a woman. Instead, think of how you can reinforce your excitement at hiring the best candidate for the position. Chances are if the mom wanted the position bad enough she’s not only going to make it work, she’s going to excel because she had to fight even harder for it.
  • Without moms having to ask, show you support them at your place of employment by having necessities on hand: lactation room (give nursing moms time to use them without added stress or pressure) and feminine products in the bathroom. Evaluate your maternity and paternity leave so that your organization’s actions reflect that of a supporting business.
  • Have candid conversations with moms. Let them know that you’re available should they need anything. Ask how you can better support them. Do not be afraid to have these conversations and be open to constructive conversations if you inadvertently say something that is biased. You may have a leader who decides she wants to focus on being a mother. Do the right thing and support her choice by reducing feelings of guilt, anxiety, or fear. The support you provide now will pay off if she decides to return. Then you will enjoy the boost to your business that her hard-earned wisdom brings.
Reflection

STOP! – It’s Reflection Time: The day-to-day Grind has a way of Consuming our every Being

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Find time to pause, practice gratitude, and reflection.

Reflection

Why is reflection so important?

I had a bad dream last weekend that jarred me from my sleep and almost stole the rest of my night away. I attribute the dream to the Ukrainian tragedy and a book I’m reading called, “The Beekeeper of Aleppo” by Christy Lefteri which is about a Syrian refugee and his wife in 2015.

My dream was related to my five-year-old. This five-year-old has the kindest heart. He cries when he accidentally hurts someone, he’s distraught when someone dies on TV, and he loves to cuddle and give others his “hug attacks.” When I pick him up from daycare, the kids line up to say goodbye and get a hug from him. In my dream, he was sitting on my lap and I was embracing him tightly, telling him that I loved him with earnest conviction because I knew, based on what was happening around me, that his innocence was going to be destroyed within the next few moments.

I can’t remember if it was terrorists coming to steal him from me or bombs exploding around us, but I knew I was going to lose my sweet and tenderhearted boy. As someone who typically forgets everything about my dreams, I can’t believe how vividly I still remember this gut-wrenching feeling.

I spent the next few hours in a reflective state, grateful that my family lives a “privileged” life and almost laughing at the mundane things that we decide to get upset and worried about. Of course, my thoughts veered towards business leadership.

It’s already May and 2022 is approaching its halfway point. Schools are finishing up for the year, the hustle and bustle of summer is quickly approaching, and we’re busier than ever. This dream came at an opportune time to pause, practice reflection, and be grateful for all that has happened so far this year. We often get so engrossed with our day-to-day habits, that we forget to look at the big picture and make sure we’re still following our dreams—even the bad ones.

Here are my key takeaways:

  • We are fortunate that our worries do not typically have life or death consequences. My worries might include obtaining my next client, preparing for my next meeting, practicing for my next speaking engagement, making sure that the website is up-to-date, or writing my next newsletter. This dream puts things into perspective. Even though most of our worries seem like we’re climbing Mt. Everest, they are rolling hills compared to what others have to endure.


**How can you put your worries and those of your Team into perspective?

  • Make the most out of the life that we are fortunate to live and find ways to help those around us in whatever capacity we can. If you can give to Ukraine, support your family, be philanthropists within your community, or join a cause—please find a way to help those less fortunate.


**How are you and your organization giving back?

  • Don’t forsake your priorities. My priorities are my family. When my 6-year-old asked me to attend his last field trip of the year, I shifted things around to make it happen. They’re only going to be young once and I don’t want them to feel like anything is more important than they are.


**How can you stick to your priorities and allow your Team to do the same?

  • We need to live our best lives and do the things that bring us joy and happiness. Life is fleeting; we never know when or how it’s going to end. Avoid living a life that is hollow, only focused on money, or passionless. Let’s live fully, richly, and with love.

**How can you find more joy in your life both at work and at home?

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs


Lead Well: For Newly Promoted Leaders is an 8-week program that will help your newly promoted leaders thrive as they move from peer status to power status. Click here to download the one-pager. Are you a good fit for this program? 

SIGN UP NOW! Book a free 30-minute consultation with Laura to make sure this is the best fit for you.


The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.



Diversity

Why Thought Diversity is Essential and How To Get It

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Surround yourself with thought diversity to innovate, build consensus, solve wicked problems, and manage the details.

Diversity

Have you ever looked around and thought, “Wow, I’m surrounding myself with people who are just like me.” Our affinity bias, otherwise known as our implicit egotism, has a way of attracting us to people who think, look, and act like we do. 

As leaders and well-rounded individuals it is important to surround ourselves with thought diversity. Imagine if everyone on your Team were big-thinkers (Mavericks and Pioneers). Who would handle the fine details and keep the organization grounded while the big-thinkers and innovators come up with the next best thing?

Conversely, what happens if you only have detail-oriented individuals (Reconcilers and Operators) and no one around to innovate and think into the future? Chances are, both of these organizations are going to drift and eventually fail.

The servant-leader archetypes—Pioneer, Reconciler, Operator, and Maverick—are observable contributions each member of the Team provides to an organization. A well-balanced organization has individuals who embody each of these archetypes.

In the quad-chart below, you can see that leaders are either introverted or extroverted; they are energized by being alone (introvert) or they get their energy from socializing (extrovert). Both leaders are great leaders, they simply recharge their batteries in different ways. Then you have the big-idea individuals and the detail-oriented individuals; neither designation is better than the other. 

Great leaders can fit anywhere on this quad chart. The secret is that they need to surround themselves with the other archetypes and avoid turning everyone on their Team into their mini-mes.

Just like Mark Zuckerberg, Pioneers innovate, while Reconcilers such as Abraham Lincoln build consensus. Operators implement to a high standard and care about the details as Queen Elizabeth II does and Mavericks, like Oprah Winfrey, think strategically and solve wicked problems.

I’m a Pioneer. As a principal, I was grateful for my Team Leaders who were Operators. They were able to bring me down from the clouds, ask me technical questions that I hadn’t thought of, and allowed me to be a stronger leader for the whole school. I valued them more than they could possibly know.

Action steps to create more thought diversity within your organization:

  • Take the Servant-Leader Archetype 2-minute quiz with your Team and evaluate your thought diversity.  Knowing your archetype helps you be the best version of yourself by building the healthy habits that make the most of your superpowers and pruning away average or unhealthy habits that hold you back.
  • Be aware of your gaps in thought-diversity when hiring. Don’t fall prey to the trap of hiring people that you’re attracted to simply because they remind you of yourself. 
  • Allow each voice at the table to have equal bearing. Open yourself up to diverse-thinking instead of closing it off and seeing it as conflict. 
  • Value and be receptive to those that think differently than you. Chances are, you will be a more well-rounded leader when you surround yourself with the right people who help you grow as opposed to “yes” people who do what you say and allow you to drift.

Looking to Broaden your Thought Diversity?

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs

Lead Well: For Newly Promoted Leaders is an 8-week program that will help your newly promoted leaders thrive as they move from peer status to power status. Are you a good fit for this program? SIGN UP NOW!

The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.

tiktok

3 Action Steps to Hold on to the Elusive TikTok Generation

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In a world with a shrinking workforce, we need to find ways to attract and keep our Generation Z workers. 

How are you bringing out the best in the TikTok generation?

tiktok

“My Gen Z employees won’t stick around. They want to be the next TikTok sensation.” a business leader said to me. Another leader said, “It’s hard to teach my Gen Z employees, they think they know everything with their technology so readily available.” It’s apparent that business leaders are feeling yet another generational divide.

Do you find it difficult to engage with your Gen Z workers? How are you bringing out the best in the TikTok generation?

This is what we know about the next generation of workers: they want to make a big splash in this world, they move fast and expect the world to move faster, they are used to instant gratification, and their dopamine button gets bored if it doesn’t get a hit quickly enough. They care about DEI and social issues, and they know that even one person can make a huge difference. There are over a billion TikTok users and a whole generation aspiring to become influencers.

Business leaders need to prepare for this next generation entering our workforce. As always, we need to adjust and grow with the ever-changing society. With labor shortages and workplace longevity decreasing, we need to act now.

Action Steps to hold onto the Tik Tok generation:

  • Give them ways to influence: Allowing your employees to have a voice at the table will create a sense of belonging, a greater purpose, boost buy-in, and it will lengthen their tenure. When your employees feel like they can impact their workplace, they’re more likely to stick around and their need for influence will be satiated.
  • Flexibility is key: Find ways to integrate a hybrid work environment. Readdress your dress code–even banks are moving into a more casual attire to attract younger patrons. Offer flexible seating and create exciting physical spaces to invigorate the mind.
  • Make the work exciting and fresh: Allow for inter-office lateral moves, find ways to promote and show your appreciation for jobs that are well done, provide fun and effective training opportunities, host office get-togethers, provide mentors that are well-matched with their mentees, and encourage cross-generational teamwork to create more appreciation and understanding among your employees.

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs 

Lead Well: For Newly Promoted Leaders is an 8-week program that will help your newly promoted leaders thrive as they move from peer status to power status. Click here to download the one-pager. Are you a good fit for this program? SIGN UP NOW! Book a free 30-minute consultation with Laura to make sure this is the best fit for you. NEXT PROGRAM STARTS IN JUNE.

The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.

Additional Offerings: 

Join our central Wisconsin in-person or online Impactful Leadership Lunch. Join like-minded leaders during this monthly mastermind lunch group to improve your business efficiency, boost employee retention, and get you focused on doing what gives you joy.

Are you looking for a Keynote Speaker at your next event? I use my past experiences and knowledge to show you how to be the best version of yourself, surround yourself with the right people, and build highly productive teams. 

Book:

Sirens: How to Pee Standing Up – An alarming memoir of combat and coming back home. This book depicts the time of war and its aftermath. It seamlessly bridges the civilian and military divide and offers clarity to moral injury and post-traumatic stress. 

L

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wins

Don’t Let Big Wins Slow You Down

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If you let your innovation and commitment lag you’ll end up behind the curve

Wins

We all want to win

Imagine that your business is on an upward trajectory. You’re on the right track, getting ahead of your competitors, and life is good. You sit back and watch the fruits of labor. Then all of a sudden a competitor does something better than your company and you realize that you were sitting on your laurels basking in perceived glory while everyone else was out there thinking, adapting, developing, winning, and growing. We can think of many major companies that not only basked in their glory for too long but refused to innovate. Kodak, Blockbuster, and Sears are a few that come to mind.

I recently went through a minor setback after reaching a milestone with my consulting in February. I finished writing my new 8-week program and I was ecstatic! My husband and I went out for delicious Indian food and I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I decided to focus on my family the following week, which happened to be my kids’ very early Spring Break and then I found excuse after excuse to not get back to innovating.

Woah… lesson learned. I should have taken the momentum that I had built up and used that euphoria of crossing the item off my list to propel me into my next large project. Should I have celebrated my win? Absolutely! Should I have taken so long to get back to work? No way! Thank goodness I have an incredible mentor and mastermind group who helped get me back in the game.

Action steps to get back into the game:

Get a trusted advisor who can keep you on the right track: I can help with this. My Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.

Take time to process, plan, and execute: Instead of looking at “time” as a barrier, perceive your busy times as the perfect time to leverage your momentum. Let’s face it, when was the last time you weren’t busy? Intentionally block off time in your week to process where your business is, plan for where you want to be with actionable steps, and then execute those steps in bite-size chunks.

Continue to learn and innovate: Don’t let the status quo and complacency slow you down. Read, research, talk with mastermind groups, meet with your mentor, meet with peers, and do what you can to keep your mind sharp and your imagination brewing. If you find yourself in a world of complacency, your organization will plateau and then eventually drift downward. The longer you find yourself drifting, the harder it is to get back in line with your competitors.

Laura Colbert Consulting Programs:

Lead Well: For Newly Promoted Leaders is an 8-week program that will help your newly promoted leaders thrive as they move from peer status to power status. Click here to download the one-pager. Are you a good fit for this program? SIGN UP NOW!Book a free 30-minute consultation with Laura to make sure this is the best fit for you. NEXT PROGRAM STARTS IN JUNE.

The Trusted Advisor Program is my most intensive 1-on-1 program. Within 90 days, you’ll gain habits that create breakthrough success. You get personalized coaching and support, relentless accountability, and commonsense action steps that get results.

Additional Offerings:
Join our central Wisconsin in-person or online Impactful Leadership Lunch. Join like-minded leaders during this monthly mastermind lunch group to improve your business efficiency, boost employee retention, and get you focused on doing what gives you joy.

Are you looking for a Keynote Speaker at your next event? I use my past experiences and knowledge to show you how to be the best version of yourself, surround yourself with the right people, and build highly productive teams.

Book:
Sirens: How to Pee Standing Up – An alarming memoir of combat and coming back home. This book depicts the time of war and its aftermath. It seamlessly bridges the civilian and military divide and offers clarity to moral injury and post-traumatic stress.