Ashish, Author at Risely

Prioritize ZZZs: Tackling Sleep Deprivation for Peak Performance

Is work keeping you up too late?

The number might surprise you, but about 38% of American professionals experience fatigue at work due to lack of sleep. While a healthy 7-8 hours of bedtime is recommended for adults, most cannot meet this requirement. It happens more often on weekdays than weekends because a lengthy task list inevitably reaches home with you. ⏲️

Missing sleep is not just adding to your dark circles; studies point to a solid correlation between lost productive time of employees and sleep deprivation. Professionals on your team who are dealing with fatigue are not just tired; they can cost businesses up to 136.4 billion dollars annually in health-related lost productive time, which amounts to an excess of 101.0 billion dollars compared with workers without fatigue. 😴

What can you do against sleep deprivation?

Sleep deprivation can be a problem for you or your team. The first step in catching it is to look for the signs.

Do you see any of these around you?

Unexplained but simple errors 🔴
Missing bits of conversations or responding after a delay ⌛
Falling asleep in the middle of the day 😪
Having a hard time focusing on regular tasks 😩
Mismanaged emotional reactions 😠
And health issues with lack of sleep, such as redness of eyes, headaches, etc. 🤒

If you are nodding yes, then it’s time to act quickly. Here are a few things that you can start doing:

Focus on work-life balance

We know that everyone hands that tip in every context, but ensuring that you are not failing because of lack of sleep is pivotal. A healthy work-life balance should allow you to get out of work mode at the end of the day and get your mind in the mood for personal time and activities.

Find out if you are on the right track with these work-life balance questions. 🌴

Try a sleep journal

Sleep journals are great tools for people who have difficulty regularly sleeping or just want to check in with themselves. You might not think you are in trouble, but seeing the big picture at a glance with a sleep journal can help. A routine bedtime could be setting us up for irritability the next day. 📚

Identify what’s keeping you up

Is it a client deadline or a team member who does not see eye to eye? If work-related issues keep you up, working on boundaries can be helpful. Moreover, you can connect with your manager to discuss problems and get guidance instead of just fretting over them. However, if that seems too hard, get in touch with Merlin, Risely’s AI coach for managers and leaders. You can discuss your challenges and get expert advice at any time of the day. Start with a free conversation today. 🤖

All in all, remember that consistently staying up means losing much more than we gain. While finishing tasks in a rapid all-nighter seems delightful, it’s unsustainable and unhealthy in the long run. ⭐

You Only Need To Improve By 1% Today

Let’s start today’s edition with a reflecting question. Which one of these statements do you resonate the most with?

1. “I’m all in for shaking things up and making big moves to turn my life around! 💪”

2. “Let’s take it one step at a time; it will add to something big in the long run. 🚶♂️”

If you fall into the latter category, you might already know a thing or two about the 1% rule. And if that’s not the case, you will figure it out soon. Let’s get started.

What’s the 1% rule?

This concept finds home in James Clear’s famous book, Atomic Habits. The 1% rule emphasizes the power of marginal gains and incremental progress in achieving meaningful long-term results.

The idea is that by making minor, consistent improvements or changes, even just 1% better each day, you can compound those gains over time to achieve significant improvements in the long run. After all, progress is not an all-nothing game. Instead, it builds upon what you did yesterday.

How can managers apply the 1% rule at work?

The key to the 1% rule lies in what is known as the “accumulative advantage.” A slight enhancement keeps growing as more and more is added, albeit in small installments. So before moving forward, remember that we are going for the delayed results, not the dramatic ones.

Let’s take the example of a manager, Sarah. She has noticed that meetings often run long and wants to reduce the time spent here. Her team would be surprised if she set things straight and made the meeting a no-nonsense matter on day 1. They might struggle to adjust, too.

So, what can she do? Here are a few things –

Day 1: Sarah starts implementing a slight change to the meeting structure. She sets a clear agenda for each meeting and shares it with team members in advance, highlighting the topics to be discussed and the expected duration of each agenda item.
Day 2: Sarah encourages team members to arrive on time for the meeting by starting promptly at the scheduled time, even if only some are present.
Day 3: Sarah implements a time limit for each agenda item to ensure that discussions stay focused and don’t drag on unnecessarily.

In this manner, Sarah can incorporate three healthy habits she wants her team meetings to hold. Over a few days, when these habits have found a home, Sarah can solicit feedback and make changes as needed. In the end, Sarah gets efficient meetings, built one step at a time.

How do we incorporate the 1% rule in your growth journey at Risely?

Incremental growth toward long-term goals is also a pivotal idea behind Risely. We start with the smallest of steps, daily nudges (we talked about them in last week’s newsletter), and then move ahead with regular reinforcement through activities and assessments.

Development efforts phased over a period are crucial for you as a manager because one-shot solutions often don’t stick and disrupt schedules badly. On the other hand, daily steps offer a much more convenient route for busy leaders like you.

Check out how Risely works with a free 14-day trial today. 🌱

The secret to getting things done like a boss

In today’s edition of The Top Newsletter, we’ll discuss something that’s all too common: changes.

If you have stayed constant at a workplace for a year or two, you’ll notice that things change even when no one tries. And yet, there are a few things that we desperately want to change but cannot. 😞

I am talking of those tedious tasks that occupy a cozy permanent spot on the to-do list and don’t start rushing when the alarm hits. While stagnating items add to our burden, sometimes we just can’t push forward. This is where an exciting insight by a Nobel laureate comes in. 📚

What’s the secret to getting things done?

Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein set forth the concept of a “nudge” in their eponymous book. A nudge is any aspect of how a choice is presented that alters people’s behavior predictably without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.

Nudges work by leveraging insights from behavioral science to influence decisions toward better outcomes subtly. We see quite a few nudges in action daily without ever realizing so. Wondering where?

The default option of no cutlery on some food delivery apps that cuts down on waste generation 🍴
Displaying fruits at eye level and candies somewhere far away in the cafeteria to encourage healthier choices 🍎🍬
The nod of your colleagues when they see you catching up with long-delayed assignments 🤝

That’s not all! Society uses many more such nudges and subtle tools to reinforce acceptable and appreciable behaviors.

How can managers use nudges?

Imagine a manager, Mark, who needs to implement a new performance management system. Despite recognizing the initiative’s importance, Mark finds it challenging to get people on board. He has explained things and answered questions, yet there’s inertia. But Mark knows about nudges and quickly devises some cool ideas.

The default option for training programs and feedback sessions is “yes.” This sets the schedule straight for everyone unless someone actively opts out. ✔️
Mark shares their example with others whenever someone completes a training module or applies something they learned. This recognition and nod to efforts encourages other team members to join. 🤝
While closing a session, Mark shares specific questions to get their team’s opinions. It helps him escape the generalized “all good” answer, and his team members think along relevant metrics to aid program improvement. 💭

How do we leverage nudges at Risely?

That was clever, wasn’t it? Nudges can be your subtle helping hand in getting a lot done. Even a notification bell or an underlined item on a to-do list can be super impactful when used well, like the one you can see here. ⬇️

That’s how Risely works, too! By subtly pushing and encouraging change through simple daily steps, Risely allows managers to unravel their true potential because we understand that you want to grow but get stuck. And that’s alright. 🤗

Want to see what nudges in action look like? Sign up for a free 14-day trial here 🚀

How to build your brand as a manager.

If you have scrolled LinkedIn recently, you might have encountered people discussing personal brands. Many tips and tricks tell you how to get this essential thing right. You might have encountered professionals who provide personal branding services and help you create an authentic version of yourself. But before getting into this storm of narratives and services, let’s unravel what this is all about.

What is a personal brand?

A personal brand refers to someone’s unique skills, knowledge, values, opinions, and personality combination. It makes you stand out from the crowd and ensures you are remembered. Often, a personal brand results over time through unintentional yet frequent actions. For instance, your habit of being on time always becomes a part of your brand once people notice you are never late. Conversely, a personal brand can be deliberate and cultivated, too! 😯

What about managers?

Surprisingly, a personal brand has always been vital for managers, even when the idea did not have this name or popularity to fend for itself. Think of the managers you have worked with; what makes you look up to them? The never give up attitude, constant openness to learning, or the senior’s ability to trust them? All of these are a part of their personal brand; even when you call someone a good manager or a bad manager.

The thing is, you will get branded irrespective of whether you consciously work on it or not.

For managers, a personal brand is like a professional identity package – it encompasses everything from your expertise in your field to how you present yourself on social media, from how you communicate to the values you uphold or how you deal with your team or others in the workplace. 🎯

What makes a manager’s brand?

Let’s break this idea down into simpler terms. When you think of someone’s personal brand, what are the aspects?

Skills and knowledge relevant to the area of work help position them as an expert. 🧠
Attitude and behavioral attributes make them a great asset. 🏄
Values guide the above two – their openness to learning and building consistently. 🎉
The story ties it all together. Knowing someone’s story helps you empathize easily; it shows you are interacting with their authentic self. ☘️

Building your brand: 3 things you can start today

First and foremost, sit down with a blank paper and pen, and think of yourself with the framework we saw above. What are your skills and expertise? What attitudes and values have guided their formation? And most importantly – what’s your story? Have your main character moment and define who you are. ⭐

Then:

Optimize your social media profiles: You can find detailed guides and tips for making the best use of every platform, like this one for LinkedIn. Optimization ensures that you present the most compelling version of yourself. 🔗
Write and speak: When you think of experts in your area, how often is it someone who does not write or talk about their work? It’s pretty rare, I’d bet. So let’s get you there too. In the simplest forms, you can start with posting on social media. Creating a blog post and attending events as a speaker can be the next steps. 🎤
Guide others: Guiding and mentoring are key skills of effective managers. It sets them apart because it shows their genuine care and responsibility toward their team. Such consistent engagement helps build a positive reputation (along with the obvious professional benefits.) 🧑🏫

Personal branding does sound like a lot, but often it’s quite simple. It’s about putting your authentic self at the forefront to build long-lasting connections. If you have any more doubts about what skills to work on or how to mentor people effectively, you can talk to Risely’s AI coach, Merlin, for free here. 🤖

Are you on track to meet your Q1 goals?

We are in the middle of the first quarter of 2024. Seems hard to believe. It surely is! ⏰

Time has passed by pretty quickly, but have our goals followed in the same stead? After starting on the high of a new year, we often falter. And that’s okay. In today’s edition of the Risely newsletter, let’s take a moment to reflect and reset.

We’re in the middle of it!

As the second week of February closes, we are officially in the center of the first quarter of this year. The steam typically cools down by this time, and high enthusiasm fizzles out. The reality starts to kick in. “Are we going to meet our targets for Q1?”

Instead of overthinking about it, let’s try to track some reasons why it happens:

Your work is not really yours. Someone else handed down the goals to you, and they just don’t feel yours. It happens with micromanagement and imbalance frequently. 🤹
While setting up goals for 2024, you became overambitious. Our ideal self sets goals often only to catch our realistic self struggling. 📚
A lot is happening? If you have early morning hobby classes followed by high-speed sprints and closing the day with wellness habits you need to have, you are likely to be overburdened. 🏃
You are beating yourself up about it. For many of us, stress happens solely out of anticipation. If you don’t do certain things, you will be in trouble. So you keep thinking of the trouble instead of doing the things, and end up in (surprise) trouble! 😞

How can we step out of this toxic cycle and refocus?

It’s pretty simple: consider those directly impacted and ask them for feedback.

You 🧠

First and foremost, focus on yourself. Understand the scope of your duties and assess your critical skills with Risely’s self-assessments. From decision-making to delegation, we’ve got you covered. Checkmark

Your Team 👥

Next, involve your team members. Recognizing the dullness of individual surveys, Risely offers anonymized team assessments to gather and report detailed feedback on your critical skills. Moreover, Risely tracks your skills over time alongside other managers, allowing for global benchmarking.

Unlock these features and more by signing up for free today! 🌟

PS: Don’t tell anyone about the secret superpower you get with Risely 🤫

Figuring The Next Steps 🛠️

Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, the question becomes how to proceed before we hit the end of the quarter. Managerial development offers various paths, including workshops, coaching sessions, and self-help tools. Risely integrates insights from these sources into one platform, delivering expert guidance directly to your mobile device daily upon signup. Start with these small steps today to lay the foundation for your future plans.

Do boring stand-ups leave your team sleepy?

Whether to stand up or not to stand up is the real question. Does your team drag through those early morning stand-up calls?

Chances are that your team members are among the thousands of employees who feel that stand-ups are more often than not pointless. That’s likely to happen when a team’s stand-up meetings are reduced to status checkpoints. In today’s edition of The Top newsletter, let’s reinvent efficient stand-up calls for you.⭐

What should a stand-up call look like?

First things first, let’s get the idea behind stand-ups right. It is supposed to be a short meeting, with concise messages and quick updates, ideally wrapped all within 15 minutes every day. As part of the agile working methodology, stand-up calls help a team sync up and find immediate solutions to problems that someone else might be facing.

An ideal stand-up looks like this –

“I am working on issue #78, but I’m stuck on this issue. Does anyone know how this is supposed to work?”🙂

On the other hand, most stand-ups unfortunately sound like this –

“I have completed working on #56 and today I will do #78 and..”😞

It often ends up being a litany of daily to-do lists. One person does not know why they should listen to someone else’s things to do. Right?

Quick Fixes for Effective Stand-ups

Here are a few things to change:

Start from the shared goal: If everyone is working on different ideas, there’s bound to be limited scope for collaboration or even the need for coordination. Thus, ensure that your team performs on different parts of the same shared goal instead of different goals altogether. 🎯
Create a safe space: How’d it be if you were asked to share your difficulties in front of a few people first thing in the morning? A little awkward, at least, right? Often, team members struggle to share their issues with their teams, too. As a manager, you can take steps to create a safe space for everyone where getting stuck is not seen in a negative light. 🤗
Lead by example: Use the stand-up calls to set examples for how you want them to go. Be vulnerable and share your problems, ask for suggestions, share additional context to drive collaboration, and bind the team together effectively. 💪
Encourage cross-functional collaboration: You can encourage your team members to help each other solve problems and offer tips. 🤝

Lastly, and most importantly, ask your team about the management processes that they work with. While something may perform well for many teams, it may not be the ideal solution for yours, too. Solutions to many people management challenges must be customized to suit a team and their manager’s specific context.

Saying yes too much could be hurting you

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when we think of ice cream? 🍨

Let me guess.

The good taste, obviously
The pleasant after-taste
Everyone’s happiness

What are the first three things on your mind if you think of a manager? Probably a person standing in a suit, leading a meeting, and instructing others. The number of matches in these features stands at 0. So, why do we act like we can crank it up to 11? 💯

People-pleasing is all too common

A YouGov poll showed that 49% of people surveyed identified themselves as “people-pleasers,” taking on a self-imposed quest to make everyone happy, even at personal costs. This behavior is even more present in women due to prevalent social constructs.

We often inadvertently fall into some familiar people-pleasing #behaviors while trying to be the managers of our dreams. Are you one such person? Let’s see –

I usually don’t #delegate because my team is already doing so much.
I accept all proposals and ideas because I want to show I value them.
I don’t offer negative feedback because I don’t want to hurt others.
I keep the responsibility concentrated in my hands, especially when things go wrong.
I am ready to do pretty much everything to avoid conflict and #confrontation.

Not saying no hurts you!

But ensuring comfort does not mean a perpetual yes, and aiding growth does not stand for never being critical. There’s a thin line in there, and standing on either side of it can translate into a massive difference in the impact you can make as a manager.

Consistent people-pleasing behavior does not only hurt your perception. There’s much more to it. While a manager’s credibility is lost, the people lose trust, and slowly, resentment builds up. The feeling of anxiety every time someone is about to be unhappy wrecks up your nervous system. Eventually, the vacuum left by a leader can become the team’s first step toward collapse.

Saying no and standing your ground at the right time can save you. How do I do it? Ask Merlin for free now. 🤖

Multitasking is killer, a killer of your effort

Are you reading this in your early morning round-up of news? Or while driving? Or worse, amid a conversation with someone? It is much more likely to happen than we ever imagined because 72% of employees feel pressure to multitask during the working day.

Multitasking is a myth

Multitasking has been consistently proven to be a killer of our much-loved productivity. Yet, we are often caught up in the chase of getting multiple things done at once. More often than not, we are not doing multiple tasks at once. Instead, we quickly switch back and forth between tasks, increasing the cognitive load with each turn.

Are you a believer?

Psychology Now magazine recently shared an interesting resource to help eliminate this impasse. Go through the list below and see if your behaviors match those of multitaskers:

Checking emails, making a drink, and reading the news starts my day 🌅
There are several tabs open on my computer at once 🖥️
I often look at my phone while working 📱
I often say, “What was I supposed to be doing?” 🤔
Phone calls are a great excuse to do the online food shop, go for a walk, or run errands 🛒🚶

How can you stop multitasking?

Do you agree with the list above? If yes, it means you must take a step back and rethink how you manage your time and work. I can help you with the first one here; take a free assessment of your time management skills now. It will help you understand the various domains and how well you fare in each. ⏳

Managing work is often a little bit more complicated. In addition to focusing on delegating tasks better across your team, you need to look for ways to get into the flow zone. Conceptualized in the global bestseller Ikigai, the idea of being in flow stands for immersion into what you are doing—a mindful focus that prevents distractions and keeps you going. 🌐

You can work with a coach to find what works best for you or start a free conversation with the AI-coach Merlin to get a head start now. People vary, and so do the things that help them work. You may not have clarity at the get-go, but here’s to starting the journey toward working effectively. 🚀

The Doodles are back in the office, what about you?

Managerial Tips for a Joyful Holiday Season

It’s that time of the year again.

Yes, you guessed it right. The holiday season has kickstarted, and we are about to go off for the longest and presumably the best part of it. As winter kicks off, a new vibe sets in. The year’s ending; let’s push some ideas onto the next one. Or, by the year’s end, we need to rush these tasks at the earliest!

However, what it looks like for your team depends on what you do. But here’s the thing: the holiday season may not be the same for all your team members. 🙂

Making the Holidays Easy for All

While the spirit is of cheerfulness, strict deadlines often play the spoiler. There’s the added financial and social stress of performative roles. Trust me on this because the numbers align right well. In a survey, 88% of people highlighted it as the most stressful part of the year. The urge to be perfect also follows us at work with the perfect decor, the right gifts to exchange, and so on. 😥

But we are managers, right? We can put a pause on this. Here’s how:

Be empathetic: The key lies in understanding that holidays differ for everyone. Some team members could be affected due to personal issues at such times. Isolation often rises during the holiday season, as SHRM reports. Offering them an empathetic and supportive hand is essential. 🤝
Be inclusive: Moreover, keep in mind that inclusivity rests on remembering diversity. Do not get wrapped up in singular ideas of what holidays mean. Be open and celebrate together. 🎀
Be a little more flexible: Putting that cute decor up needs more than a few rounds to the supermarkets. And that’s not the end of it! As the time to reconnect with family and reset lives comes, employees need more time to themselves that you can offer. Helping set priorities and goals for end-of-year that don’t overburden teams is important, too.📆
Check-ins and checking out: Some of your team members would do great if you checked in with them frequently to chat and wrap things up. Conversely, encourage your team to take time off and enjoy the festivities. 🎆
Take the lead on planning: Workers report high stress toward the end of the year due to massive deadlines and planning needed for the following year. Managers can ease things out by planning to allow a few days of rest and relaxation for all. Ensure that they are not overwhelmed, and aid goal-setting for the new year on a positive note. 😀

Before the out-of-office notes start plugging in, here’s a quick note to all managers: take a break. For all the stigmas that they carry, breaks are not the ultimate hurdle in your growth. Often, they can be the panacea to many problems that escape our eyes every day. Reconnecting with family and friends over delectable chats and food is a great way to rejuvenate – don’t let the ghost of toxic productivity scare you away from what you need!

Promise yourself to grow beyond your limits and reach new heights in the year to come. 🎉

It’s lonely as a manager. But, here’s a change

Let’s head back to history for a while. How did you react when you were told you would be a manager? Let me make a wild guess: You were happy. Excited at the prospect of being in a leadership position and doing better than you ever have.

In some corners, there’d be a little bit of hesitation lurking. What if it all goes wrong? I believe it didn’t because you are here, making waves in your role and taking teams to new heights. 💡

But here’s the thing. Sometimes, we mess up. And although it may not impact us in the long term, it does hold us back. More often than not, this is about very typical and non-serious issues.

That time when you skipped a review only to catch errors later and do the whole thing again. Or when your team disagreed, you still went ahead, much to their dismay. In hindsight, after spending years at our jobs, we wonder if we could have done things differently had we had the time. Or had we known exactly what to do? 😣

Leaders often feel isolated

You are not alone in this feeling. Research shows that leadership roles are often accompanied by feelings of loneliness, ironically enough. Succession to the top leadership position in an organization is basically isolating as it separates leaders from others (who now directly report to them) and leaves them without peers.

Additionally, as a leader, you are often expected to meet the needs of employees – be it taking care of their concerns or providing support through tough times. However, when no one is available to respond to the leaders’ needs for company and support, the leaders fall prey to loneliness.

The authors of this essay point out that executive or leadership coaching can be a great first step to beat down isolation. The safe space with a coach offers a much-needed platform to think out loud, examine, and accept. Their words can further help you improve and get over hesitation and issues. 🧑🏫

But, there’s support!

While our professional journeys go on, the feeling of loneliness that sets in with the first leadership role remains by our side. As Shakespeare said, “Heavy is the head that wears a crown,” holding the mantle is tiresome, too. Now, I won’t ask you to search for the best coach possible and turn your life 180 degrees. ⚙️

But here’s something simpler, lighter, and easier: Talk to Merlin once. Describe what’s going on, what you’d like to do as the new year hits, and where your mind has been stuck lately. The best part is that our AI coach doesn’t judge you (at least openly 😜). You have three free conversations that you can start anytime. Get started. 📍

Seeking inspiration? We’ve got you covered!

Check out this week’s manager story, where Shruthi Kamath unveils her managerial journey through the ups and downs. Follow Shruthi’s over-a-decade-long journey of leadership and management in a field often described as a men’s arena. Read more to explore how she learned from her experiences to become the excellent manager she is today!

Does Your Team Think You Need Training?

In a survey by SHRM, about half the employees pointed out that training to help their supervisors and managers would directly improve their performance. And that’s not the end of it. Over half of the employees surveyed (57%) agreed that their manager needed some training.😯

Now, you might think that if they are not team leads, who are they even to judge you in the role of one? Well, your team members are the ones who are directly impacted by your team management abilities.

SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, further points out, “There is no relationship in the workplace more powerful than the one between people managers and employees.” 🤝

For most organizations, feedback systems go one way. From the top to the bottom. While trickle-down economics is a hot debate, trickle-down feedback is a broad norm for all its harms and fallacies. What is missing is that effective feedback must be a two-way exercise for both sides to learn.

On the one hand, the managers guide growth for their team members in line with the organization’s mission, and the team suggests practical improvements on the other, creating a feedback loop in its true sense.

Often, managers point out where a team member needs to work. SHRM flipped the lens here, and team members listed some areas where we can all work a bit to get a lot better.

According to the employees surveyed, the top five areas for improvement in people management skills are:

#EffectiveCommunication (41%) 🗣️
#TeamDevelopment and training (38%) 🏆
Time management and #Delegation (37%) ⏲️
Fostering a positive and inclusive #TeamCulture (35%) 🎊
Managing #TeamPerformance (35%) 📈

All of these areas can strategically improve team performance and your performance as a team manager. Communication is often the cornerstone of all action. Get this right, and the rest flows into place.

Similarly, mastering #TimeManagement and delegation ensures smooth workflows for you and your team. Once these battles are won, you can move toward creating a great team culture that focuses on performing and learning.✨

But you might still wonder if you fall into the majority that is earmarked for improvement by their teams.

Here’s a quick way out: Drop into a conversation with Merlin. Merlin is Risely’s interactive chatbot, which enables success for people managers. From the link below, you can have three free chat sessions with Merlin to discuss your professional journey and seek advice on where to work. If hesitation often keeps you from knocking on the doors to success, here’s the right chance to speed up.

Talk to Merlin! 🆓

Along with Merlin, you can also avail yourself of Risely’s free self-assessments for critical managerial and leadership skills to picture your professional abilities accurately. With the help of such conversations and assessments, you can visualize a journey of growth designed just for you.

In the end, remember that leadership and leadership development don’t come with a set finish line. While reaching new goals, keep in mind that there’s always more to learn, do, and achieve with your team. Happy growing! 🤸

SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, further points out, “There is no relationship in the workplace more powerful than the one between people managers and employees.” 🤝

Often, managers point out where a team member needs to work. SHRM flipped the lens here, and team members listed some areas where we can all work a bit to get a lot better.

According to the employees surveyed, the top five areas for improvement in people management skills are:

#EffectiveCommunication (41%) 🗣️
#TeamDevelopment and training (38%) 🏆
Time management and #Delegation (37%) ⏲️
Fostering a positive and inclusive #TeamCulture (35%) 🎊
Managing #TeamPerformance (35%) 📈

But you might still wonder if you fall into the majority that is earmarked for improvement by their teams.

Talk to Merlin! 🆓

Is Your Team Hesitant to Disturb You?

Here’s a simple question: does your team know you are there for them? Now, I don’t mean to disparage your efforts. But let’s think about it. You are present, nearby, and often visible, yet engrossed in your work.

Would your team members think twice before contacting you when they are stuck? If yes, there’s some work to do. Let’s undo these invisible walls together today. 🧱

Breaking the Ice

Suppose your manager is sitting right before you, and you have a question. You have been stuck for hours, and asking him will likely complete things as soon as possible. But, you wait. Why?

Your manager looks busy. They are entirely focused on the desk. They are tense, and you are sure your question will interrupt them. Most likely to make them annoyed. So you mail them instead. 😞

Yet, here’s a twist. What if simple changes could make this situation better? Let’s revisit. You are there with a question while your manager is fixed on their screen. For a second, they look up and offer a reassuring smile. You get the inlet you need! There goes the question, and you have some hours and hesitation saved. 😀

So, what made the difference? In the second setup, you could approach your manager. Being present is essential, but it’s useless until and unless your team knows you are there for them, not merely by circumstance. ✅

Approachability 101

How can you do that? Being an approachable manager is simple.

Know your team and what they do. Understanding their roles will help you establish connections and foster trust. 🤝
Focus on your body language. We all are busy, tense, and focused at work. Yet, being relaxed and open to conversation can help your team interact. 🧑💼
Empathy and authenticity are your guides. Being genuine in your interactions while understanding your team’s perspectives will help them see you as an approachable guide in times of need. 🗣️
Share anecdotes and reassure others. Talking about your experiences can help your team relax and connect. 👍
Choose words and phrases that convey positivity. Avoid negative or judgmental language that may make others hesitant to approach you. 🧘

Ultimately, the game is all about communication in its various forms. Sometimes, actions say a lot. So make sure that yours are spelling out the correct messages! It’s not just about the words; communication encompasses your body language, gestures, and listening habits. You can test your communication and active listening skills for free with Risely’s self-assessments for people managers today to get started toward a new way of leadership.

Skill assessments are one of the many ways that Risely enables growth for people managers, but that’s not all! You can unlock various interactive features, including the AI chatbot Merlin, who provides guidance 24*7 for your people management challenges, guided and customized learning journeys, and much more at half the cost now with our exciting Black Friday offers.

Grab discounts up to 50% on all annual plans with the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY2023 till the 31st of December 2023 to unleash your team’s true potential, one step a day!

Leadership in Gray: What We Can Learn from Zuckerberg?

Do you ever find yourself in a total head-scratcher? I bet you have; we all have those moments when we’re like, “What on earth is going on here?” Life can be a tricky puzzle, and sometimes, we manage to solve it, but other times, we just can’t seem to piece it together. 🧩 The key is knowing that as managers, our job is to be the guiding star for our team and help them chart a path through the chaos.

Why does Mark Zuckerberg always wear gray T-shirts?

Let’s talk about something more common and simpler: Mark Zuckerberg’s gray tees. You’ve probably noticed how he’s almost always wearing the same thing. It might seem like he’s just being lazy, but there’s a method to his fashion madness.

Zuck says, “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community.” He’s all about minimizing the number of decisions he has to make so he can make the few that really matter count. 🤷♂️

You are not alone in fatigue

An average American makes about 35,000 decisions a day, as per one estimate. The number sounds huge. But, opening this piece to read on your device involved many decisions – to read or not, where to read, what device to use, and so on.

An American journalist named John Tierney coined a term for this concept – #DecisionFatigue. It’s that feeling when you’ve made so many choices that your decision-making quality starts to nosedive. Sound familiar? If it does, it’s time to step back and shake things up in your team.

Delegating tasks and responsibilities is a smart move, and you can even take a page from Zuckerberg’s book by cutting out the noise and zeroing in on what truly counts. It’s like a workplace spring cleaning! 🌼

Smarter solutions await!

But here’s the cool part – you don’t have to go on this journey alone. Risely, the AI co-pilot for leadership development is your trusty sidekick. Meet Merlin, the interactive chatbot, and unlock its multiple powerful modes to level up your skills and tackle challenges. 🤖 Check out this short video 👇

Merlin makes decisions easy for you with its constant support and advice. You can practice difficult conversations before heading to them, discuss specific situations, and seek tips for developing a skill – all as per your comfort.

So, create your free account today, and start tracking your progress one step at a time. In a world that’s changing faster than you can say “meta,” having a buddy who’s got your back and gets you ready for whatever comes your way is your ticket to success! 🚀🌟

Meanwhile, remember that taking breaks is not just okay but great. It helps you rejuvenate and jump back to business better than before.

Let’s navigate the skills maze? Perceptions vs. Reality

Would you be willing to talk about building your skills today? Essential skills that help you unlock professional success. Critical skills to your growth. Great #communication skills. Strong delegation ability. And so on… Honestly, getting these buzzwords thrown at me puts me into an initial spurt.

I surely want to work on these skills next. But how do I do it? After all, what does effective communication even mean? 🤔

If I ask my team members, I’d hear varied answers. While one emphasized listening well to others, the other pointed to the need to speak clearly. And neither is wrong! Yet, how do I place these in order and clearly understand what I need to do? If you have ever been through this whirlwind, today’s newsletter is the much-needed clarity you deserve. Let’s unpack. 🧩

What’s a skill, after all? 🤔

A skill can be easily defined as an individual’s learned ability to perform effectively. Skills can be specific to the domain of your work or general with broad applications.

Every skill can be defined further in terms of sub-skills, the smaller units that make the whole. For instance, let’s talk about guidance ability. In essence, it includes the ability to direct and nurture others. This skill would also have my potential to be a good role model and give feedback that helps my team members grow. 👨👦🗣️

Thus, when working to improve my #GuidanceAbility, I need to focus on multiple areas. In some, I might fare well due to experience and natural tendencies, while others can be harder nuts to crack. 🌰💪

Let’s make it easier! 🛤️

Jumping on this train of understanding skill and working progressively along every aspect is a dream plan, right? But as dreams go, it’s unrealistic. Not every manager can know, weigh, and understand every aspect. The perception of a manager and their team about the skills can differ heavily, too. You might think you give bad feedback, but your team may find it helpful. Again, we are in challenging waters. 🌊

Risely resolves this problem by allowing in-depth skill assessments that involve your self-assessment and a review of your skills by your team. The best part is that your team members are anonymous and, thus, encouraged to be honest. By comparing those scores for various sub-skills, you can figure out precisely what interventions you need to build your core skills. Here’s what it looks like – 📊

A self-assessment enables you to introspect and understand yourself. Your team’s feedback allows you to look into the social perception of your skills. Are your skills creating an impact? Learning methods that focus on you in isolation, forget that you influence and get influenced by others, too! That’s what it helps you answer. By combining these two metrics, Risely provides insights to work on the exact skill areas holding you back. 🔍

Treading the managerial profession is hard, and we are here to help you with many more such tailored ideas. Join a tribe of managers committed to growth and excellence today by signing up for free. 🚀👥📈

Say hello to bite-sized learning

Today, in The Top newsletter, I want to dive into a small idea that addresses a seemingly big issue.

So, my team and I have been working closely with managers, and we’ve embarked on this exciting journey called Manager Stories. It’s been about a quarter since we started, and let me tell you, the entire process of curating these stories has been a real eye-opener for us, from getting people on board to publishing. But the real gems have been the conversations we’ve had.

During one of our chats with Shine Nagpal, he dropped a nugget of wisdom that really resonated with us. He said, “I didn’t want to spend hours in training sessions when I could be with my family.” 🕰️ Shine wasn’t alone in feeling this way. Shockingly, only 11% of executives see value in leadership development programs, according to a recent McKinsey report. 📊

These numbers raise a red flag because leadership development programs are supposed to be the lifeblood of organizations worldwide. But clearly, something’s missing. Our conversations with managers and leaders have shed some light on this issue:

Leadership development should be more personalized. Inspirational examples are fantastic, but challenges aren’t one-size-fits-all.
Training sessions can be a drag if they’re dull. Development programs need to be engaging, fostering retention and genuine growth.
Occasional training doesn’t always cut it. Real-life scenarios don’t follow a seminar script, leaving managers puzzled when unexpected issues arise.
Clarity is an excellent place to start with. Managers understand the concepts, ideas, and need for leadership training much more when they can see the impact and know where to apply their learnings.

So, how do we tackle this? The challenge lies in creating scalable solutions that adapt to a wide range of circumstances – something traditional training often struggles with. After all, there are limits on the capacity of on-site coaches, and workshops only suit some. Geographical and financial limitations lead to smaller organizations often falling through the cracks. Moreover, not every manager on your team will resonate with the same approach! There are a lot of factors at play. 🏢

That’s where technology swoops in to save the day. 🚀 Take Risely, for example. When managers sign up, they get to define their specific challenges. As they progress, they receive gentle nudges designed to focus on their personal growth. And guess what? These nudges won’t eat up your entire day – they’re as simple as reading an inspiring quote that guides you through your day. How convenient is that?

There’s a chatbot to help you constantly – whether you are wondering how a difficult conversation will play out or beating yourself up to figure out precisely what’s missing in your skillset – Merlin will guide you through.

Add skill assessments and a skill center to showcase your progress, and top it off with masterclasses to dive deeper into the mess and detangle your leadership journey. You get a holistic solution to your people management troubles. And the best part? You can sign up today for free and embark on a whole new journey of development interventions. 🌟