Becky Robinson's Blog, page 27

Connecting Purpose to Your Work

There are countless studies that connect happiness at work with increased productivity. Consequently, there are companies offering free snacks and enticing trips as a way to boost happiness on the job—but is that the path to happiness and productivity? There’s growing research that purpose is really the missing ingredient. 

Happy team members are usually connected to a deep purpose, and companies that are able to connect purpose to their work have some of the happiest and most dedicated staff members.

Robert E. Quinn, in his book The Economics of Higher Purpose, says employees who are fully connected to a higher purpose at work give freely of their time, talents, insights, and abilities. As a result, the individual and the company benefit. Purpose isn’t a lofty goal, it’s a sound business strategy that helps retain employees and attract new people eager to work for a purpose-driven organization.

In her book, Dare to Serve, Cheryl Bachelder shares the story of a successful and dedicated fast food worker. This employee found deep purpose and meaning in her work. She wasn’t focused on her daily tasks—selling food—but on the greater mission in her work, which was about helping young people get their first jobs and learn life skills. That purpose brought her joy and created a positive working environment for her co-workers and staff, and greater productivity.

Everyone isn’t able to connect to purpose at work as easily as the woman Cheryl met. That’s where leaders come in.

Having company values is a great way to connect the tasks to a greater purpose, but it’s more than hanging a plaque on the wall or posting values on the company website. It’s about living those values every day and connecting the dots between those values and the greater purpose of the work.

There are terrific resources available to help leaders make purpose a part of work, but the first step is to talk about it. Purpose isn’t going to just happen. As leaders, it is our responsibility to talk openly about the company values and purpose with our teams. This doesn’t mean having a task force work on a company mission statement. It means getting input from the entire team about the deeper purpose of the work, and finding a way to communicate the purpose meaningfully and talking about purpose every single day.

What are you doing to create a purpose-driven organization?

What Are Your Personal Core Values?

Core values are what determine our attitude and actions, inspire us to reach for unique goals, and motivate us to live a certain way. They dictate how we spend our time and money, how we interact with others, and how we approach challenging circumstances.

It’s important to know what you stand for — what governs your decisions and guides your actions. We know this on a corporate level, but how about a more personal one?

On the Weaving Influence team, we’ve been discussing recently what some of our top personal core values are. While our individual answers are varied, they all touch on some common themes: people, spiritual convictions, character, and personal development.

People, People, People

The resounding statement across the team was that people matter most. We strive to be intentional about building relationships and safeguarding our family time, sharing in each other’s stories and lives, and treating everyone with respect and compassion.

Value Others. Put people ahead of stuff or status. Intentionally seek to serve and encourage and build each other up. “I believe every single human being is made in the image of God and has intrinsic worth and value. This core value changes the way that I interact with people every single day. Because people matter, I do my best to approach interactions with sincere respect, and I am always looking for ways to encourage people in their value and let them know how much worth they have. This value also fuels my desire to serve and meet the needs that I see around me.” – Lindsey V.

Build Relationships. Prioritize time together. Support each others’ endeavors. Work life around family, rather than the other way around. “I’m an only child with tons of cousins who are quite a bit older than I am and didn’t live near me when I was growing up. It was really just my parents and me. I grew up and had these four amazing kids. My greatest hope for them on this Earth is that they will be close as adults and their children will grow up together and know each other.” – Amy D.

Spiritual Convictions

Many of us hold deeply held spiritual convictions. We find our identity in who God says we are, and our purpose in how He has instructed us to live. We implement those values by putting in place daily habits that strengthen our faith in God and ignite our love for His people.

Know God. Put our faith into practice everyday by intentionally learning how to love and follow God more. “God is worthy of my everything and bigger than my anything.” – Christy Lynn Wilson

Obey God’s Word. Trust the Bible as the ultimate standard of truth. Find purpose in how God tells us to live. “I try measure everything by ‘what does God say about that?’ He is our Creator, and He has authority to govern our actions and attitudes. He is loving enough to give us an unchanging standard of truth that provides all we truly need for life and godliness. Life is never easy, but it becomes a lot simpler when you test everything by the living Word of God.” – Elizabeth J.

Reflect Christ. Find confidence in who God says we are, and seek to live up that identity in every area of life. “The most important value to me is the value of knowing who I am in Christ — that my self-worth comes not from who I am, but because of Who He is. My faith is central to everything I do, every decision I make, every conversation I have. If people meet me, I hope they see my Savior, rather than this wreck that He rescued.” – Carrie K.

Good Character

We value certain character traits highly enough that we dedicate resources to better developing them — and we (consciously or not) notice whether others value those traits as well. Those qualities touch us deeply, propel us forward, and motivate us to be better people.

Integrity. Not just refraining from verbal lies, but being trustworthy, authentic, and honest in every area of our lives. “For me, it encompasses not only being truthful, but also how I deal with other people, how I conduct business, etc. I want my interactions with other people to reflect Jesus. Do I treat ALL people with the respect, kindness, love, and forgiveness that He would? Certainly not always. But as Carrie often says, #WorkInProgress.” – Amy D.

Self-Reliance. Take ownership. Figure things out for ourselves. Be independent enough to move forward without needing other people’s direction or approval. “If you don’t know what something means, go look it up or Google it. If you don’t know how something works, take it apart and figure it out. If you’ve never done something before, don’t let that deter you from trying. I think that’s why I have loved working with WI for the last 7 years, because Becky gave me freedom and believed that I could do the work, and if I didn’t know how to, she trusted that I would figure it out or ask the right questions. I’m forever telling the kids, ‘Don’t ask me, figure it out for yourself’ . . . When they do figure it out (usually very quickly), I feel that I’ve taught them to fish rather than throwing them a fish.” – Carrie K.

Empathy. Work to understand people and see things from their perspective. Share in their stories and griefs and joys. “I think it is crucial to understand people. Some of the biggest problems I’ve found in life have been solved by looking at something from someone else’s perspective. The most fulfilled I’ve felt working on a project, whether I was writing, or speaking came from seeking to understand something about someone, or various others that I had not previously considered.” – Mike D.

Respect. Speak kindly of all people. Assume the best of others. Contribute towards a more equitable and egalitarian society. “We are all people and we’re all going through the same journey in life. We deserve to receive respect just as much as others deserve to receive respect from us. Without it, so much fails: trust, kindness, empathy, love, understanding, compassion, etc.” – Kelly E.

Steadfastness. Do what you promise. Fulfill your commitments well and with intention. “I will remain steadfast in the things and relationships that I am called to. I will be faithful in my commitments until I am assured that it is time to move on. This core value changes the way I approach work, tremendously. It makes work become more than a task to complete, but a mission that I am intentionally supposed to commit my time to during this season of my life. Remaining steadfast in my work is more than getting things done, but also giving my very best effort and working with excellence as my standard in all that I do.” – Lindsey V.

Personal Development

We want to be always moving forward, observing and learning and growing through every season of life. That might look like taking grad classes, trying a new sport, learning something creative, or simply figuring out how to live and work more effectively. The important thing is, we’re not letting ourselves become stagnant.

Stay Curious. Explore the world. Be open to new experiences and different perspectives. “I’m always trying to get the kids to be curious about different things and approaches, and learn new things. Those two really matter to me.” – Christy K.

Value Experiences. Try new things. Accumulate memories. Value firsthand knowledge over hearsay. “Experiences over things. It took me far too long in life to learn this, but when I did, it changed everything. Going places, doing things with my family (or even alone sometimes), beats stuff any day of the week and twice on Sunday.” – Amy D.

Choose Humor. Develop a lighthearted approach to stressful situations. Choose to laugh rather than cry. “When implemented with compassion and respect, laughter can ease social tensions, relieve mental and emotional stress, and even lower blood pressure. And learning to laugh at yourself (in a healthy, non-derogatory way) simply makes life a lot more fun. People who choose anger or tears over laughter don’t realize the simple pleasure they’re missing out on!” – Elizabeth J.

Pursue Excellence. Steward ourselves well in every area so we can live and work more effectively. “I will maintain my spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health so I can be the best version of myself for my husband, my family, my friends, and my community.” – Lindsey V.

 

Tell me something! What are some of YOUR personal core values?

Why Core Values Matter for Everyone

We hear a lot about core values, but have you ever stopped to consider why they actually matter for any given context? Core values are not just a list of words or series of phrases that we consider worthwhile: they are the very foundation of how we choose to live our lives. Our core values form the heart of what we believe matters most in this world. They represent what we stand for, determine how we develop our culture and our families, and give us a code of conduct for every situation.

“Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish our mission. The values underlie our work, how we interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission. The core values are the basic elements of how we go about our work. They are the practices we use (or should be using) every day in everything we do.” — NPS

Corporately

Partnership. Generosity. Responsiveness. Integrity. Growth. Flexibility. These are the core values of the Weaving Influence team. They represent our expectations for how current and future team members will interact and engage, both with each other and with our clients. It took almost a year of meetings and discussion to focus in on these six words for describing the values that epitomized how we want to be viewed in the world, but they have been at the core of our work since the beginning. 

In an era where doing what makes you happy is paramount, the idea of core values may seem a little outdated. And yet we believe that the best way to serve a diverse group of clients and customers is by holding to these six, long-standing values, and using them as the basis for all of our interactions. 

Nationally

While the world appears to become more divided on a daily basis and news headlines cause us to shake our heads over our morning coffee, some values still stand the test of time. Think of the timeless words of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .”  

A value: all men are created equal. Certainly there have been times in our history — and even in the present day — when this has not been agreed upon by certain factions throughout the world, but isn’t equality at the heart of most movements? This is a value that we can agree upon, even when we may disagree on specifics.

Individually

Core values to run a business, and core values to build a country, but what about core values on a personal level? In an ongoing discussion amongst the Weaving Influence team, we’ve been sharing some of our personal core values. Some of us had to stop and think about what values consciously — or unconsciously — governed our lives, while others hang framed copies of their core values on the walls of their homes.

One common value we shared was the value of people: putting family first, practicing empathy, showing respect, being kind. Others values include everything from spiritual faith, to personal independence, serving others, and even maintaining good health.

Those core values are what make us unique and distinct — personally, corporately, and nationally. They determine how we behave, how we spend our resources, how we treat other people, and how we prioritize and plan our goals for the future. They inspire and motivate us in ways other values do not.

If you want to make a difference in the world, it may start with something as basic as recognizing what you value and how it impacts not only your life, but the lives of those around you.

When we are generous at work, we may find ourselves becoming generous outside of work. When we are expected to meet a company value of integrity in all that we do, it’s inevitable that we begin to practice integrity elsewhere. If we value partnership with our clients, we may very well start to view our personal relationships in a different light, too. 

When we place a high value on respect and kindness, that will be displayed throughout all our interactions — coworker, client, family, friend, or stranger. When we consider people one of the most important things, we will prioritize building strong relationships no matter where life’s road may take us.

Everyone values something. Just make sure that what you value positively affects more than just you.

Tell me something! Why do core values matter to you?

What We Love & Hate About Remote Work

At first glance, remote work looks like it has all the perks and none of the frustrations of an office job. No dress code. No commute. No loudmouth neighbor in the next cubicle. Freedom to stay home or travel or visit the beach whenever you want. But remote work has its challenges, just like anything else. And some of those challenges stem directly from the things we love most about it.

No mandatory office hours? Great! But what happens when that urgent email comes in after dinner, or a client wants to call you on the weekend?

Easy access to the beach? Dream come true, right? But what happens when you can’t enjoy your favorite activities there, or the week is filled with stress, because you have to bring work along and you keep putting out ‘virtual’ fires?

Working remotely is a wonderful blessing, and sometimes the only feasible job option — but it’s not without frustrations. Here’s what the #WITeam loves and hates about remote work.

What We Love

Flexibility of being able to work anytime, anywhere—

Scheduling our work hours for the times when we’re most productive, and taking breaks during our “off hours” to clear our minds and recharge.
Working around kids’ school schedules, activities, nap times, or bedtimes — without paying someone else to watch them every day.
Being able to work ahead to sync time off with other family member’s work schedules and/or working during vacation, without having to take actual unpaid vacation days.
Fitting work around the rest of life: personal needs that pop up during the day, phone calls with family members, walk breaks with our pets, school or volunteer activities that often happen during standard work hours.

“ I love being able to work in the early morning hours and knock things out while the kids are asleep (especially in the summer or on school breaks), which means that later in the day I can say “yes” to doing things with them.” – Carrie K.

Freedom from office hassles—

No commute to waste time, fuel, and wear and tear on our vehicles.
No official dress code — we have freedom to choose comfort in yoga pants and no makeup, or dress for a professional mindset (right down to the pearls, as team member Carrie prefers) — whichever works better for each person on each day.
No sterile, windowless cubicle life — I get a window view in my favorite room of the house, and others routinely work by their pool or backyard patio.
No inane water-cooler talk, office ‘Chatty Kathy’, or nuisance interruptions from coworkers.
No office bathroom or public restroom, and no stale office air to make us sick.
No bland coffee or bagged lunches.

“Time is valuable and not wasting it in the car is great, not to mention the savings on gas . . . Being able to get started earlier and end my day earlier than if I had to [commute/get ready for work] leaves more time for all of life’s other responsibilities.” – Sarah K.

First-rate results—

Working alone means fewer interruptions, more extended periods of productivity, and better focus (especially for introverts!).
Relying on our own self-discipline and motivation not only results in better work, but helps us build character too.
More opportunity for creative freedom.
Working with a great team, even though we are spread across the country.

“I like the freedom of skipping a trip to the office on snow days or when there is other bad weather. I have the best of both worlds with splitting time between the office and home so there’s nothing I really dislike about this set-up.” – Becky R.

What We Hate

No face-to-face interaction—

Communication takes longer and it’s more difficult to keep the team on the same processes.
As a newbie, it’s sometimes tough to not be able to walk over to the office/desk of the person you need an answer from.
It’s harder to catch onto inside jokes when you miss conversations that are taking place virtually.
No team lunches or in-office contests to build camaraderie and have fun together (see how we get around that here).

“I love surprising co-workers with coffee and I can’t do that… but maybe I’ll just send bags of coffee to people’s doorstep.” – Lindsey V.

No official boundaries or “work hours”—

Always being “on” — feeling like we need to answer client emails during dinner, take work calls over the weekend, or work on tasks during family vacations.
Handling in-home distractions like laundry, maintenance, or noisy pets (dogs + lawn service + client call is a BAD combo!) while trying to focus intently on a task or important call.
Guilt trips from those who don’t see remote work as a “real job” with real commitments, and assume we’re always available for lunch, errands, or volunteer activities.

The Bottom Line

The truth is, fitting work around the rest of life is wonderful and messy and rewarding and unpredictable. We must learn to balance the comforts of being home with the expectations of those around us, both from our communities and families as well as our clients and coworkers. But we grow through it all, and our work is better because of that.

In the words of one team member . . .

“The only downside is that I don’t live on a tropical beach. Although that might be more distracting, I dare say.” – Mike D.

Tell us something! If you work remotely, what do you love or hate about it?

How to Have Fun as a Remote Team

We’ve been talking a lot lately about remote teams, everything from staying flexible to fostering teamwork to keeping everyone engaged. All of those are important for developing an effective, productive team of competent remote workers. But what about the less-than-serious side of things?

Having fun isn’t just about being silly and goofing off. Shared laughter leads to better relationships, which leads to better productivity and greater effectiveness in every area. It turns a group of individuals into a cohesive, unified whole.

Remote teams have an advantage in this area, as there are so many opportunities to connect digitally that work for everyone’s personality and lifestyle — introvert or extrovert, busy mom or college student, morning person or night owl. Here are a few of the #WITeam favorites.

Bust out those funny GIF’s and memes.

In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a funny, well-timed GIF or meme to lighten the mood and build camaraderie. Especially when you know the likes and dislikes of fellow team members. For instance, some on our team have a penchant for certain tv shows, time periods, or actors. What better way to lighten up the tone of an oversight reminder than dropping a relevant but seriously-out-of-context GIF with that person’s favorite (whatever)?

“I love sending random, hilarious GIFs to people’s DMs.” – Kelly R.

“I mean, who doesn’t love a well-timed George Clooney Gif?” – Amy D.

Ask fun questions of the day.

It may sound silly, but there’s benefit in taking a step back from work and chatting about favorite activities and guilty pleasures. If nothing else, it helps team members find common ground with each other — so the next time there’s a jaw-dropping episode or new flavor of M&M’s, it provides an automatic way to reach out to others.

“A fun ‘question of the day’ is a great way to get to know other team members from afar. It can be something silly or something personal, something quick and easy, or something that requires a little more.” – Kelly E.

“I love finding out what everyone’s favorite guilty pleasures are, like way too much coffee, an occasional Diet Coke, donuts, whatever it is, when you find those things out, then you really start to get to know a person!” – Lindsey V.

Talk about real-life frustrations and wins.

Learning to listen, encourage, and cheer each other on might not be the most “fun” thing to do, but it can certainly build a sense of togetherness as we become more aware—and more understanding—of what others are going through. Once you find out someone is dealing with multiple kids all going to different schools, or another person is juggling two jobs or lives in a different time zone, it’s easier to accept the difference in work schedules and be gracious and patient with each other.

“I love our daily check-ins (even though I may not do it as much as I would like). They give us a good glance into everyone’s work and personal lives, success and challenges, to help us feel connected as a team and as people.” – Whitney H.

“I enjoy getting to know someone well enough to… drop all of the polite diplomacy and speak openly to get to the heart of little hiccups and daily hurdles. Working from an office alone, in can take some courage to put blunt words in writing, for fear we’ll be misinterpreted. It’s such a relief to find out that colleagues recognize the same issues, and then to come together to come up with fantastic solutions that make the client shine. [And] I enjoy the laughter that ensues, sometimes also. I sit around in my office just cracking up, some days!” – Lori W.

“My favorite way to have fun is to celebrate enthusiastically when something gets accomplished, or someone does something exceptionally well. . . . no matter how large or small they are.” – Mike D.

“I always appreciate the encouraging words and boosts!” – Erica H.

Share fun personal photos.

Personal photos are a huge factor in turning online work relationships into offline friendships! Sharing real (messy) workspaces, pets taking up residence in our laps, kids having fun, vacation spots, milestone events, and anything else that happens in the offline world can truly bring a team together. Coworkers go from being just another name on the screen to real-life, multi-dimensional people.

“I enjoy seeing the diversity from our team, when I asked for pictures for our IG channel, whether it’s summer, what you’re drinking, or who loves/hates fall.” – Carrie K.

“I really enjoy our campfire. Even if I’m just creeping in the background without saying much, photos of downed trees, dirt roads, dogs, and donuts help me get a feel for my colleagues I haven’t met yet (alliteration not fully intended, but what a delightful surprise!).” – Kelly G.

Get face to face, when possible.

Perhaps one the most important tools for building camaraderie and having fun is seeing each other’s faces. Even if it’s just on video chat. You need more than just online avatars or even personal photos. Nothing compares with seeing each other’s body language and facial expressions. Every team has people who are afraid to interrupt and voice their opinion, or those who express more with their face then they ever put into words — but you’ll never know who they are unless you see them face-to-face during your conversations.

“Our group stand-up calls, especially those that are specifically set aside for fun! Remote work can get lonely so it’s nice to see everyone face-to-face and with body language for once. Becky also did a spontaneous ‘water cooler’ talk where team members hopped on a video if they were around. It’s fun to get together chat with no work-related pressures.” – Kristin E.

“Am I allowed to say getting together in person when we are able to? That’s my favorite, hands-down.” – Becky R.

How do you have fun and build camaraderie as a remote team?

2 Secrets of Remote Work

When I first started working with Weaving Influence, I brought the team count up to six. Five of us were married, three had children, and all of us were fairly new to the work-from-home world. Becky’s youngest child was starting kindergarten that first year, and I recall several of our phone meetings taking place while she sat outside the classroom as her daughter made the tearful transition to school. I watched from a distance as Becky juggled running a start-up with being a mom to three busy girls. I knew how busy I felt as I learned the ropes of social media marketing and book launches, and I couldn’t imagine trying to squeeze kids into the schedule.

A lot has changed in the last seven years.

Of that original group of six, only two of us are still working with Weaving Influence. The company has grown up from those early days, as have our families. Becky’s kindergartener will be starting seventh grade this fall, and three years ago my husband and I adopted five kids. After taking a six-month hiatus from Weaving Influence to finalize our international adoption and bring the kids home, I took Becky up on her offer to rejoin the team as a writer and consultant, relinquishing my former role as Book Launch Director. I was on a major learning curve — not only as a new mom of five, but as a working mom. How did this whole thing balance out? And how did all the moms on the Weaving Influence team find time to do it all?

I’ll let you in on a secret: we don’t.

Something has to give. Sometimes it’s saying no to the kids, sometimes it’s saying no to work, and sometimes it’s saying no to ourselves. That first summer was rough. With the kids out of school, I filled our days with week after week of summer camps, which still meant I was eating up 2-hour chunks of my day playing taxi driver while trying to keep the 12-year-old entertained at home. Work didn’t get much of my attention that summer, but the kids did.

Be yourself: no 2 remote workers are the same

You have to find a rhythm that works for you. Summer number two was a definite improvement on the first year. The kids attended fewer camps, I drove a little less and worked a little more, and everyone adjusted to the new norm. We started to figure out what it meant to be a family, developed a new routine, and Mom working became a part of the schedule. I also realized why Becky had always been an early morning worker — the kids weren’t up yet! A few tweaks here and there that summer, and I finally felt a sense that this might actually work.

Above all: be flexible

Nothing in life stays the same. Work responsibilities evolve, kids grow up, parents age — something is always changing, and part of the beauty of remote work is the flexibility it gives us to lean in to what’s most important at the moment. This summer the kids are old enough to follow instructions, and responsible enough to entertain themselves with very little parental involvement. They know that “mom has to work” and that’s become normal for them. And because they are giving me the freedom to add to our family income and say yes to more projects, I’m also learning to be flexible in what I say “yes” to with them — breaking my normal routine to allow for surprise trips to buy doughnuts, having friends over to swim, family movie nights, or stops for a frozen yogurt treat.

Bottom Line: remote working has allowed us to mature as a company, while opening doors of opportunity for individuals who need a little more flexibility in their lives.

Instead of putting careers on hold while we raise children or care for ailing parents, remote work has made it possible for many on our team to continue to do the work they enjoy, while also pouring into those they love. For me, personally, the freedom of working from home has allowed me to establish a fulfilling career while growing as a mom. It’s not something I expected when I said “yes” to Becky all those years ago, but it’s something I cannot put a price tag on now. Remote work for the win!

Scenario Planning for Climate Change

In an age of surprising and devastating climatic trends and events, the need for scenario planning to develop climate change strategies has never been greater. But the prospect of starting scenario planning for climate change can be overwhelming. Previous work on the topic of scenario planning has often focused on large, well-known companies and consulting houses that have a wealth of in-house knowledge about and experience with scenario planning. Similarly, much climate change research has been conducted using samples of large companies.

This week’s featured book, however, shares insights about scenario planning and strategizing for climate change to help smooth this process, making it more accessible to all organizations, with practical step-by-step methods that managers in any organization could use to put together a scenario planning project to develop a climate change strategy.

About the Book

Climate change, and the resultant impact on resource management and societal well-being, is one of the greatest challenges facing businesses and their long-term performance. Uncertainty about access to resources, unanticipated weather events, policy changes, rapidly changing market conditions and potential social unrest is felt across all business and industry sectors.

Most climate change strategy books focus on climate mitigation, addressing how companies can engage with carbon policy, new technologies, markets and other stakeholders about reducing carbon emissions. This book explores these themes as well as strategizing for climate change adaptation, which is equally important, because organizations cannot negotiate with nature. It sets out an engaging step-by-step scenario planning method that executives, board members, managers and consultants alike can follow to develop a long-term strategy for climate change tailored for their business.

This book will help you interpret climate science for business in a way that acknowledges the realities of climate change, and help build the skills to identify ways forward that embrace the uncertainty.

Meet the Author

Nardia Haigh is a business strategist for sustainability issues. For nearly fifteen years, she has been working at the intersection of climate change and strategy. She has taught hundreds of executives and business students how to strategize for climate change resilience using scenario planning.

Nardia’s work appears in outlets including the California Management Review, Journal of Business Ethics, European Management Journal, Organization & Environment, and Business Strategy and the Environment. She has also been cited in media outlets such as the Guardian, Ideas for Leaders, PBS Newshour, and Management INK. Her straight-forward, step-by-step method is now available in her book, Scenario Planning for Climate Change.

Nardia earned her Ph.D. in Business Management at the University of Queensland Business School in Brisbane, Australia. As a doctoral student, she investigated organizational strategies in response to climate change issues. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. ​

Praise from Readers Like You

“A useful step by step guide for all those who wish to manage climate change in their organization. Brings the daunting macro challenge down to helpful concrete steps.” —Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of GlobalOptimism.com

“Climate change is the ultimate systems thinking challenge. We should be thinking about how climate change is going to affect our communities, businesses, operations and missions. It’s high time we had a ‘how to’ guide for putting a strategic thinking hat on and tackling the unprecedented transformation we must undertake to ensure health, security and economic vitality in a changing world.” — Daniel Kreeger, Executive Director, Association of Climate Change Officer

“The need for scenario planning has never been greater. The January 2019 PG&E bankruptcy was described by The Wall Street Journal as ‘the first major corporate casualty of climate change.’ The same week, David Crane, former utility CEO, said that within two decades Amazon or Google will dominate electricity provision in the U.S. Haigh provides a valuable resource for climate strategists.” — Gib Hedstrom, Author, Sustainability: What It Is and How to Measure It

“Climate related risks and transitions involve large uncertainties and long timeframes that are not often addressed with conventional strategic planning. The book offers a comprehensive, step-by-step process with helpful lists and tables to plan for an uncertain future. Leading an organization through the scenario planning process will not only result in a sound plan, but will increase management’s understanding of the best ways to respond to potential impacts of climate change.” — David Clark, Vice President, Sustainability, Amcor

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for a free chapter and ways to support the book.

5 Ways Remote Teams Can Build Teamwork

Remote work used to be a very rare occurrence, but according to a study by IWG, two-thirds of the workers across the globe now work remotely at least 1 day per week. That’s a staggering number — and it’s growing.

We at Weaving Influence work remotely, too. Some staff members report to our main office a couple of days per week, while many of us work from home full-time. For workers, remote work creates flexibility and greater work-life balance; for companies, it means hiring the right people, not just the closest people. But remote work comes with its own unique challenges. One of the most pressing — how to create a culture and build teamwork with a virtual team.

We’ve come up with a few ideas that work for us. We think they might work for your remote team, too.

Meetings for Relationship-Building

We like to keep our meetings to a minimum, but we added relationship-building meetings just over a year ago and the results have been impressive. Our team feels more unified and communication greatly improved. Each team member now has a brief weekly check-in with their supervisor. They can discuss challenges, brainstorm ideas, or just talk.

We also schedule a monthly all-staff meeting that’s aimed at just getting to know each other. We start with an ice-breaker and then talk about our work with clients, with each other, and even great new TV shows we’re enjoying. It’s brought different departments together and helped our company feel like a cohesive team.

We also do pairings in which team members request time with other team members to learn more about their roles in the company, to cross-train, or to work on a creative project.

Virtual Breakroom

Most team building happens in the breakroom — but when you have a remote team, you have to create a virtual breakroom. For us, that’s Campfires in Basecamp. We’ve used Slack in the past, too. This is where we can have those water cooler discussions about work, life, television, movies, and more. It’s also where our GIF game comes out!

Team Trainings

Not all trainings have to be about the work. We have started scheduling trainings for the team about relationship-building, communication, and other soft skills that we all use in work and life. Coming together in these trainings has helped us deepen our connections while we learn and grow together.

Zoom Calls

While a video call isn’t the same as being there in person, it helps build relationships better than any standard call can. Most of our calls are by video conference so we see each other in our offices and at our kitchen tables, made-up or sweaty post-run. It’s where we show up with each other authentically.

In-Person Events

We attend different conferences and events throughout the year, which is a great time for team members to come together and meet in person. If we’re on personal trips near a team member, we also reach out to schedule time together. Virtual team building is possible and powerful, but in-person time together just deepens the relationships.

The key to remote team building is to be intentional in bringing people together both personally and professionally. One of our authors says teams need to “do life together” and that’s our goal with our virtual team — to show up for each other the way we would if we worked in the same building. It takes effort, but the results are worth it!

How do you foster teamwork in your remote team?

How to Drive Social Engagement During the Summer

Social media is always with us, but you may be surprised to discover our usage is cyclical. As the summer days get longer, we spend more time outside and less time engaging on social media. Now, that doesn’t mean we put our phones down (after all, summer light is perfect for an Insta-worthy snap!). What we do find is that engagement with thought leaders and brands tends to dip in the summer (and again at the end of the year, beginning in November).

We’ve seen this trend play out year after year. We don’t need to fight the low engagement days of summer — instead we recommend you use this time to your advantage.

Here are some ideas.

Launch a summer-themed campaign or contest

Social posting does not slow down, but engagement does. Sharing user-generated content is a proven tactic to boost engagement. With that in mind, we recommend launching a summer series encouraging your audience to share their photos and tag your accounts. Be specific, suggest themes, and offer an incentive — something as simple as resharing their content from your account can be enough. Prizes always get people excited, too.

Experiment with a new content campaign

Since audiences are less engaged with social media this time of year, it’s the perfect time for a content campaign soft launch. Want to try something new? A smaller audience can provide a safe place to experiment. Put the ideas out there in the summer months and collect feedback. If you happen to see increased engagement, you know you have strong content and can roll out the full campaign later when you have a more engaged audience.

Slow your posting cadence

We don’t want you to take the summer off from social media, but do consider posting less frequently during the summer months. Engagement is down, so it can be a great time to slow your cadence and use the extra time to develop a fall campaign, create new graphics and content, or test a new idea.

Increase your posting cadence

This is counter-intuitive, but if engagement dips, increasing content increases the opportunities for people to engage and can drive growth during slow months. It’s not a surefire strategy, but certainly worth testing if you have the time and strong content.

Your engagement numbers will likely rebound come September. In the meantime, use the summer months as a time to loosen up and be more creative on social media, and work on a plan for a targeted fall campaign launch.

What are you experimenting with this summer on social media?

Consequential Communication in Turbulent Times

In an age of great volatility—fake news, diverse audiences, technology at our fingertips, and change at the speed of light—clear, concise, and intentional communication is vital to successful human interaction. Workplace miscommunications, be they well-meaning or not, result in lost productivity, discontent, and even violence. This week’s featured book answers the age-old leadership question: how do we get the best out of ourselves and others on the job?

About the Book

Consequential Communication in Turbulent Times: A Practical Guide to Leadership is Diana’s first book in a series of easy-to-implement guides for organizational leaders. This foundational book focuses on the importance of clearly communicating one’s intentions, and ensuring that he or she is understood.

Relying upon her experiences as a practicing labor lawyer, corporate executive, officer, human resources executive, and an organizational development consultant, Diana Peterson-More has developed actionable, easy-to-implement, and practical steps to successful communication, which is the key to getting what we want from ourselves and others. The volume is filled with stories of workplace communications that worked, and those that didn’t, and presents real-world solutions to ensure all communication will hit the mark.

In response to client needs, the guide captures 15 essential concepts that Diana has developed through her tailor-made training. The stand-alone concepts have dedicated chapters, while aligned concepts appear together in other chapters. Following the principle that good communicators “Tell you what they are going to say; say it; and then tell you what they just said,” each chapter sets out a principle, the “how to’s” for implementation, case studies – real-life communications situations that worked, and those that didn’t work – and then concludes the discussion with tips. The book’s last chapter is a reiteration of all of the tips presented, making it an easy reference tool, and reminding the reader which chapter to review for a more in-depth discussion.

Meet the Author

Over the course of her varied career, Diana Peterson-More has been a practicing employment lawyer, a corporate manager, director, executive officer, and a sought-after consultant and guest presenter. Always she has been fascinated by what motivates herself and others to achieve results, to determine their own unique definitions of success, and then to facilitate a roadmap to get there.

As a young manager, Diana faced the dilemma many confront today. She was promoted because she was a great individual contributor with proven results, and quick on the uptake. Yet she was not trained nor exposed to the fundamentals of supervision and management, and was left on her own to figure it out.

Unhappy at first, and never one to quit (as the first lawyer promoted out of the Southern California Edison Company law department and the first female HR manager, all eyes were on her), Diana taught herself how to supervise, manage and lead – largely by making mistakes and learning from them. Those early days propelled her to self-examination, learning through expert advice, and the school of hard knocks. Along her journey, she received feedback that allowed her to grow from a “tell” boss to the empowering “asking and listening” boss she eventually became, and for whom many wanted to work. Her practice now is helping others learn from her mistakes and to achieve their own unique success.

Praise from Readers Like You

“I particularly benefited from the book’s focus on the art of persuading, the diversity of people’s communication and learning preferences, presenting an issue thoroughly, handling mistakes and understanding your emotions. The practical, common sense instruction and wisdom of this book stays with me and has given me tools to greatly improve my communication skills.” —Ann Vanino, 5-star Amazon review

“Effective leadership cannot be achieved without effective communication skills and techniques. Diana Peterson-More’s book, ‘Consequential Communications in Turbulent Times’ makes and underscores that point exquisitely! The ‘Tips’ posted at the end of each chapter should be memorized and implemented by anyone in a leadership or supervisory role.” —Steve Cooley, 5-star Amazon review

“As a former corporate executive, I was surprised at how easily Diana captured and communicated the workplace basics that allow each of us to work together smoothly, and to get the job done. I recommend this to anyone in the workforce today grappling with the fundamentals of collaborating in a diverse and quickly changing workforce.” —J. Hartung, 5-star Amazon review

“Each chapter in this book offers up a technique – or two – to improve one’s communications in the workplace and in life. With so many generations at work today, the insights are right-on, and I will start to implement the tips over time to improve my working relationships. I recommend others read and implement the suggestions, too. Very powerful.” —Jenn, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for a free chapter and ways to support the book.