Erik Stolwerk

Employee Engagement and Happiness Crisis. What Should We Do? This week I went back and looked at all the research we've done for 25+ years on this topic, and tried to bring it into the world of today. While the world has changed, the fundamentals of people and organizations has not. This article reviews the 10 most important issues to consider as you prepare your company and your career for the age of the Superworker (AI). https://lnkd.in/g4Stn4Ce

201

55 commentaren

What we started out building in HR: processes, policies, paperwork What we’ve been building in HR: initiatives, strategies, experiences What we need to be building now in HR: ecosystems Ecosystems are the interconnected web of tools, skills, structures, culture, and technology that keep growth going long after a single initiative ends. Shifting from building programs to building ecosystems doesn’t happen overnight. It takes small, deliberate moves that stack over time. Here are three to focus on: Connections > Silos: Stop building standalone programs. Map how initiatives link together across the employee journey (ex: recognition + performance + promotion + retention). Adaptability > Perfection: Ecosystems evolve. Pick tech, processes, and frameworks that can flex as your org changes. Focus on being able to prototype, test, and refine so the system stays relevant. Evolution > Explosion: You don’t need to blow up what you’ve built, but you also can’t cling too tightly to yesterday’s models. Keep what works and layer in the new that moves you forward. It’s not about being perfect (even though we love perfection in HR). It’s about building systems strong enough to last and flexible enough to grow.

60

20 commentaren

𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽! ✅ YES, research shows that inclusive leadership can boost team engagement by up to 17%. Have you ever felt more motivated and engaged when you were part of an inclusive team environment? Because 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. When people feel seen, heard, and respected — regardless of their background or role — they bring their full selves to work. They contribute ideas more freely, take initiative, and collaborate more effectively. 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘇𝘇𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 — 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿. It's a powerful game-changer for building cohesive and high-performing teams. When leaders actively promote diversity and foster an environment where every voice is heard and valued, team members are more likely to feel motivated and connected to their work. To enhance your team's performance, start by : ➡️ 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 perspectives ➡️ 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 ➡️ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 where every opinion matters ➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀 and contributions ➡️ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 regularly and honestly Promoting a culture of inclusivity can make a significant impact on your team’s motivation and engagement. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 : ✅ 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Inclusive leadership is directly correlated with improved team performance, problem-solving, creativity, and decision-making. ✅ 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Teams with inclusive climates are more innovative and proactive in facing challenges. ✅ 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴: Inclusive environments reduce turnover and absenteeism, and improve employee well-being and job satisfaction. When done right, inclusion transforms your team from “just functioning” to “truly thriving.” What specific steps are you taking to foster inclusive leadership in your team today? 👇 Share your thoughts or drop a challenge you’re facing — let’s learn together. #EmergingLeadersHub #Leadership #CXOLaunchpad #Leaderpreneurcoach #PersonaPotential #Growth #Career

28

“I protect my team.” - Sounds great in leadership speeches. But what does it actually mean on the ground? Let’s break it down— Because protecting your team isn’t just about defending them in meetings. It’s also about protecting them from: – Clients – Stakeholders – Themselves And doing it consistently. Here’s what I’ve learned: 1. Step up when things go wrong. When something fails—don’t blame the team. Own it. Redirect. Solve. But when something goes right? Step back and let them take the credit. 2. Set boundaries with clients. “No” is also leadership. Because a “small change” isn’t small when it takes 6 hours. And a “quick review” at 10pm breaks trust. Protecting your team’s time is protecting their energy. 3. Teach them to say no (respectfully). It’s not your job to say yes to everything. It’s your job to help the team prioritize what matters. And show them it’s okay to push back—with confidence. 4. Watch for burnout. Good leaders don’t just set deadlines. They check workloads. They redistribute before someone breaks. They model healthy boundaries. Not just talk about them. 5. Handle internal toxicity—fast. One toxic teammate? Can destroy years of trust. A real leader doesn’t wait. They intervene, protect, and reset the tone. 6. Invest in their growth. Protecting your team also means preparing them. Make time for upskilling. Support learning. Because when they grow, your whole team gets stronger. The truth? Protecting your team isn’t a big heroic gesture. It’s small, firm decisions made every day. Say no when needed. Say “that’s enough” when it’s too much. Say “you’ve got this” when they’re unsure. Say “take a break” when they won’t stop. That’s what real protection looks like. That’s what leadership actually means.

32

9 commentaren

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? That’s a great question, and one that comes up in almost every leadership coaching skills session I run. On the surface, it feels like a paradox: your people are looking to you for answers, and I’m telling you not to give them. Isn’t that contradictory? Here’s the shift: 1. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦-𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬. If you answer every time, you create dependency. You become the bottleneck. The team never develops their own muscles for thinking, deciding, and owning outcomes (Parents, you know what I mean!). Your real value as a manager is not how many problems you personally solve, but how many people you grow who can solve problems without you. That’s how you scale. 2. 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. It’s about choice. There will be times when giving direction is necessary, such as in a crisis, for compliance, or for safety. However, most of the time, the faster win is not the more lasting win. Coaching slows things down in the moment so your team members can speed up later because they’ve learned to think, decide, and act with more independence (Yes, you 𝘤𝘢𝘯 take that holiday!). 3. 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟: “𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥?” If you’re indispensable because only you know the answers, you’ve trapped yourself in a job you can never leave (I don't wish that for you!). If you help your people succeed by enabling them to discover their own solutions, you create a resilient and capable team. And that’s leadership. So is it an oxymoron to coach? Not at all. Coaching is the opposite of contradiction: it’s the bridge between helping in the short term and building capacity in the long term. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎-𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔. Kudos to the #KPMGSingapore managers for embracing this coaching mindset in our September sessions! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 If you’d like your managers to experience this shift as well, please drop me a note. Let’s build more leaders who multiply leaders! #thecoachingmanager #leadershipcoach #KPMGSingapore

28

4 commentaren

HR is the most hated profession in the office - and rightly so. Employees see it as “two-faced”, CEOs see it as soft, and decades of frameworks, certifications, and best practices still fail to prove real impact. Professional associations can set standards, but credibility comes from results, not badges. Until HR starts delivering measurable outcomes, it will remain misunderstood, attacked, and indispensable - whether it likes it or not.

31

9 commentaren

🎙️ "Today’s chief people officers are central to driving organizational resilience, business transformation and workforce readiness." A new report from the World Economic Forum offers a strategic blueprint for chief people officers (CPOs) navigating the new world of work. Based on a survey of over 130 global people leaders, the report's key finding is that the people function is playing an increasingly strategic role in shaping business transformation and growth. While the short-term labour market outlook reflects caution, with many organisations delaying hiring and restructuring decisions, CPOs see long-term opportunities for workforce transformation. The report emphasises that CPOs are now central to driving organisational resilience, business transformation, and workforce readiness. A large majority of those surveyed state that their firms rely on them to actively co-drive and co-design company direction. The top three strategic imperatives for the year ahead are: 1️⃣ Revising organisational structures. 2️⃣ Fostering culture and purpose. 3️⃣ Advancing intentional and responsible workforce AI deployment. The report concludes that to drive this transformation, people leaders must develop core competencies such as business acumen, digital fluency, and stakeholder influence. This will position the HR function as central to future business success. Kudos to the authors: Adèle Jacquard, Isabelle Leliaert, and Till Alexander Leopold. Thanks to Seth Hollander, MBA and Hanadi El Sayyed for drawing my attention to the report. 🚀 The report is featured in the September edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, which you can access here: https://lnkd.in/eYMxaczQ 🚀 #chiefpeopleofficer #humanresources #peopleanalytics #workforceplanning #futureofwork

465

25 commentaren