Think it’s enough to be the best at your job? Think again. This episode features Xenium HR’s Brandon Laws and Nicole Blevins and their insightful back-and-forth on the essentials of modern leadership. Listen in and learn all about the soft skills needed to effectively lead a team in today’s dynamic workplace.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Nicole Blevins is the Senior HR Services Manager at Xenium HR, leveraging her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida, a Masters in HR from Rollins College, and specialized training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the University of South Florida.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, Sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
WHAT MAKES A LEADER?
Being a good leader is so much more than being “good at your work.” Today’s modern leader, we’ve come to learn, must possess the following soft skills to effectively lead a team. Read on to hear some snippets of a conversation with Nicole Blevins of Xenium HR, all about what it takes to be a leader in today’s changing workforce.
#1 Communication
“Leaders are having to communicate with their employees more regularly, especially in this kind of remote world that we’re working in. Employees are needing regular and constant communication to be up to date on where the organization is and where it’s going. So being able to communicate effectively, I think, is a really important skill that a leader needs.”
“Repetition is important, […] [and so is] communicating effectively and about all of the right things, and not shying away from communication that might be difficult or hard — really leaning into that and getting more comfortable with having those conversations so that you and your employees are all on the same page.”
#2 Self-Care
“In the spirit of vulnerability here, I have struggled with […] making sure I protect my time and build in time for breaks and lunches and doing all of that. So you do have to be intentional about things because you can be sitting in front of your computer, going through emails, and before you know it, it’s five o’clock and you’re like, ‘I have not moved in 8+ hours. That’s crazy.’ So you do have to be intentional about it.”
“I had that realization earlier on when I was struggling with putting in those breaks and lunches that I’m not leading by example for my employees and my team. How can I tell them, ‘Hey, protect your time, make sure you’re taking your breaks and lunches and you’re not sending emails at like nine o’clock at night,’ if I’m not doing that myself?”
#3 Adaptability
“Adaptability is really important. I think there are so many examples of businesses that failed because they didn’t adapt to the changing times. Blockbuster is that classic example. [They] didn’t adjust to the way things were going or the trends or the changes, […] and then failed as a business as a result of that. So I think that applies to leadership, right? Because all businesses are run by leaders.”
#4 Empowering Others
“Empowering your team is a big one. No one likes a micromanager, right? […] And so the way that you get away from that is by really empowering your team to do the work and find ways to do the work that might be even better than the way you would prefer it be done […]. So by really trusting your employees and building that relationship with them, you’re able to empower them to really be a part of the organization and the culture and see directly how their work connects to the bigger picture.”
“If you’re part of the change — if you’re part of the discussion or the decision making — you’re more likely to carry that out and feel empowered to be part of that change and be part of the success. […] And I think that’s a great way that organizations and leaders can empower their teams for sure.”
#5 Building Relationships
“When employees genuinely feel like they have a relationship with you — that you care about them and their success and want them to succeed — that really totally transforms the dynamic of the relationship, how they’re working, how they’re interacting with you and others on the team.”
“And building those relationships really makes having those tough conversations that we do have to have as leaders sometimes a lot easier because, when you have a strong foundation and relationship with that person, they know that the feedback or the situation that went wrong or whatever is happening is not a personal attack on them or isn’t reflective of who they are because they feel like you know who they are, right?”
WEIGH IN
What other skills do you think are critical for the modern leader? Reach out to Nicole Blevins or Brandon Laws on LinkedIn to weigh in.