Leaders Secret Weapon – Failure

Leaders Secret Weapon – Failure

Ella has been shaking up the learning world for over 20 years. Known for delivering high-energy, impactful experiences, she specializes in soft skills including: leadership journeys, communication skills, and conference talks that leave audiences inspired and ready to act. From aircraft hangars to cruise ships, union halls to Fortune 500 boardrooms, she’s ignited change across every environment. As a Business School College Professor, Ella bridges the gap between theory and action, empowering teams to transform knowledge into tangible skills. Get ready for a fresh, bold approach to workplace learning! Read more www.ellabates.com


Magdalena Goledzinowska Management & Organizational Development

We call her our TONY ROBBINS!

Ella has a gift to enthuse, to inspire and to kick people into action.  She will make you feel the power of the individual to create change and will give you the tools for your team to enable greatness.  Ella is your coach, your engine, your agent and catalyst!

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What do you not know, they know

What do you not know, they know

Recently, one of my participants declaring they spoke 4 languages and the client being surprised.  This got me to thinking, what do you not know about your staff that they know?  

The past experiences and skills of your team are the foundation to success, but the ability to identify and embrace these transferable skills is the catalyst for high growth.  

Every single person who walks through your office doors brings with them a unique blend of skills and experiences that make them a valuable asset, you need to be able to tap into this goldmine of potential, so how?  The answer lies in understanding and leveraging the concept of transferable skills.

Identifying Transferable Skills: The Key to Unleashing Potential

Not all skills are created equal, and not every skill a team member possesses might directly align with your business. However, the art lies in recognizing those hidden gems within seemingly unrelated experiences. Imagine a team member with a culinary background from their food truck days. While it might not be directly applicable to your finance business, dig deeper and you might uncover event planning expertise, social media prowess, or even creative design capabilities. These transferable skills can be a treasure trove waiting to be unlocked.

Consider making the identification of these transferable skills a part of your recruitment process. Pose questions that explore the unique strengths and interests of candidates. 

Listening: The Gateway to Uncovering Hidden Talents

Regular interactions, be it during meeting breaks, weekly catch-ups, or performance reviews, provide an opportunity to delve deeper into their aspirations. Ask open-ended questions that encourage them to share their feelings about their current roles, future interests, and personal career goals. By truly listening, you not only make them feel valued but also gain insights into their untapped capabilities.

Leveraging Their Skillset: Nurturing Growth and Innovation

Identification is merely the first step. The true magic happens when you transform this knowledge into action. Tailoring tasks and responsibilities to align with individual strengths can lead to a happier and more productive team. This might mean reorganizing teams or introducing new projects that resonate with their skills and passions. But it also offers an avenue to venture into uncharted territory. Empowering an events enthusiast to host virtual events or enlisting tech-savvy members to elevate your online presence can lead to novel opportunities and a vibrant workplace culture.

Investing in Development: Cultivating Excellence  A culture of continuous learning can be a powerful catalyst for individual and organizational growth. Research shows that training and development opportunities directly impact employee satisfaction.

By customizing training to align with their interests, you demonstrate that their growth matters. From in-house projects to external courses, virtual classes, workshops, and professional qualifications, investing in their development pays dividends in employee retention and overall productivity.Ella Bates is your Employee Learning Specialist, specializing in Leadership Skills, Communication and Productivity, see more here

Barbie the Leader

Barbie the Leader

While Barbie is a fictional doll (and a REALLY funny movie) her journey, attributes, and evolution over time can provide symbolic parallels to leadership qualities and strategies. Here's why you might consider comparing leadership and Barbie, humor me

THE AGILE DOLL Barbie effortlessly takes on various roles and professions, showcasing adaptability and a willingness to learn new skills. This versatility is a key trait of effective leaders.

SHE HAS CONFIDENCE Barbie exudes confidence in every situation, inspiring those around her to believe in their own abilities and take on challenges with self-assurance.

BARBIE THE INNOVATOR With her ever-evolving styles, careers, and adventures, Barbie encourages creativity and embraces change, mirroring the qualities of innovative leaders.

BARBIE & COLLABORATION Barbie often engages in group activities with her friends and family, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and collaboration in leadership, fostering strong relationships and mutual support.

SHE EMPOWERS OTHERS Barbie's diverse range of occupations and achievements promotes empowerment, showing that leaders can break boundaries and inspire others to do the same.

How is this knowledge useful?  Use it as talking points in your next team meeting, use as an icebreaker.

Ella Bates is your Employee Learning Specialist, specializing in Leadership Skills, take a look at our Leadership Toolkit

Vacation Burnout

Vacation Burnout

As the temperature rises and the days got longer, your staff easily anticipated the summer break for relaxation, vacations, and a chance to recharge.

However, the concept of summer burnout among employees is a real phenomenon, read why it happens and how you can support your teams.

Understanding Summer Burnout

While summer is all fun and leisure, it can also bring its share of stress and exhaustion. So many reasons for this:  

Workload Management: Pressure to complete tasks/frenzied working leaves them drained.

Unrealistic Expectations: Some employees might struggle with balancing work commitments and personal plans, leading to feelings of overwhelm.

Team Dynamics: Staffing shortages, shouldering extra responsibilities.  

Fear of Falling Behind: Many employees fear missing out or falling behind during their absence. This can drive them to stay connected even during their time off, disrupting the benefits of vacation.

FOMO:  Social media can contribute to feelings of inadequacy as employees see peers sharing their seemingly perfect vacations. 

So how do you support them in the transition to this new season?

As leaders, you have the power to create a work environment that acknowledges and addresses summer burnout. Here are five actionable strategies to support your team:

  1. Set Realistic Expectations for their next vacation: Communicate clearly about work expectations during the summer months. Allow your team members to plan their workload effectively and avoid overloading them before their vacations. Encourage open discussions about priorities.
  2. Encourage Disconnecting the rest of the year: Vacations are NOT just for summer!  Lead by example and emphasize the importance of unplugging during vacations. Remind your team that taking a break is not only acceptable but also essential for maintaining their well-being and long-term productivity.
  3. Recognize and Celebrate Accomplishments: Highlight your team's achievements, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement can boost morale and help combat feelings of inadequacy. Create a culture where employees feel valued for their efforts.
  4. Plan Team-Building Activities: Engage your team with an outing or event planned.  Foster a sense of community and give employees something to look forward to outside of their daily tasks.
  5. Boost their Skills: Plan a  motivational skills building workshop. Engaging with external training providers like us will boost their skills, deepen motivation and give them a chance to grow.  

Summer burnout is a reality that must be addressed to make sure your staff's well being is being nurtured and productivity is sustained.  Create an environment where there is always a time for relaxation, growth, and re invigoration. As the temperature rises, let your leadership shine brighter by providing the guidance and empathy your team needs to thrive during the summer months and beyond, we are ready to help you within this transition.

Ella Bates is your Workplace Learning Trainer, specializing in high impact learning experiences from cruise ships to aircraft hangers from fortune 500 companies to manufacturing plants and unions.  You are promised a dynamic experience!  Sign up for tips (no spam just tips) for how to engage your staff and keep them growing here.

Are you really ready to be a Manager?

Are you really ready to be a Manager?

Ready for some scary statistics? In one study of 7,272 U.S. adults, Gallup found that 50 percent of employees left their job "to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career."

In another study:  The Workplace Research Foundation found that employees who are engaged are 38% more likely to have above-average productivity.

And we all know that a GOOD manager can make or break employee productivity and engagement.

So being ready for management should have more thought into it than just "They have worked here a long time or they are a subject matter expert"

Yes, you want to recognize someones hard work and dedicated, but you need to make sure they arrive as a manager with the right tool box! So lets consider:

Do they have the qualities of a Leader?  Knowledge and Skills are great, HOW are they implementing it?  Can they motivate, inspire, communicate with impact, make difficult decisions, deal with conflict?

Have they demonstrated those skills?  

If not, do they have the motivation to develop those skills?  You want to be checking in with some training companies, because Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance, (Cheesy but true!) NOW is the time to bridge the gap, not when you meet the first hurdle.  

You MUST set them up for success.

How are the RELATIONSHIPS within the team already, their colleagues, other departments, customers and stakeholders?  An enormous amount of a Managers positions success is dependent on their ability to communicate like a champ, what do I mean by that?

They should be able to:

  1. Actively Listen
  2. Empathy
  3. Understand others
  4. Provide and Receive Feedback
  5. Emotionally Intelligent

How do they make decisions?

Are they able to make informed decisions based on available data, prioritize tasks, and manage resources effectively. They should be able to analyze problems, evaluate options, and take decisive actions. The super staff member you are considering promoting should have demonstrated good decision-making skills in their current role, such as identifying opportunities, managing risks, and achieving results. If the employee lacks decision-making time to check in with corporate training!

And here is the KEY, you want to check in with their willingness and ability to learn. A high-impact manager must be able to adapt to changing circumstances, learn new skills, and stay up-to-date with industry trends. They should be able to seek feedback, reflect on their performance, and continuously improve, have a growth mindset, be open to feedback, and have a willingness to learn. What opportunities are there to provide professional development, mentorship, and coaching to support their growth?  

Do they have the skills, are they willing, are they ready for the jump into people management?  Then they are ready for promotion!!

Need to bridge the gap?  We can help!  Check out our Corporate Training offerings to develop upcoming, new and existing managers!  

Ella Bates - Skills Trainer

The one who knows, no-one deserves a bad work day.  We help organizations from Fortune 500 companies to Manufacturing plants bringing high-impact learning experiences that create more joy and better results at work.  Connect with us

Time to Manage the Boss

Time to Manage the Boss

Managing your boss may sound like a daunting task, but it's a skill that can take your career to new heights! Knowing how to manage upwards means being able to communicate effectively, anticipate your boss's needs, and align your work with their goals. It's all about building a strong relationship with your boss and ensuring mutual success. So, don't underestimate the power of managing upwards - it could be the key to unlocking your full potential in the workplace.

Our TOP 5 Ways to Manage Upwards Effectively

  • Communicate really well with each other Communication is key to any successful relationship, and this is especially true when managing upwards. Make sure you are communicating clearly and regularly with your boss. Keep them updated on your projects and progress, and ask for feedback and guidance when necessary.
  • Understand their mission: What are your boss's goals, what are they prioritizing?  Align YOUR work with what they are prioritizing.  
  • Get proactive: Are you sat waiting to be delegated to?  I invite you to take initiative and identify projects/opportunities that align and WORK ON THEM proactively.
  • Have your Solution Hat On:  Focus on solutions when challenges arise, take ownership of finding a solution and suggestions/ideas.  
  • Build relationships with key players: There are politics in organizations, its time to build relationships with people such as other departments, senior leaders.  Things get done a whole lot quicker!

Make it your mission to manage upwards and you will see significant impact in your career growth and success. By building a strong, productive relationship with your boss based on trust, communication, and mutual respect, you can better understand their expectations, provide value, build trust, navigate organizational politics, and ultimately, achieve greater success which brings more joy at work!  

Ella Bates - Skills Trainer

The one who knows, no-one deserves a bad work day.  We help organizations from Fortune 500 companies to Manufacturing plants bringing high-impact learning experiences that create more joy and better results at work.  Connect with us

Why cant you just tell people what to do?

Why cant you just tell people what to do?

Thankfully we aren't in an autocratic society, nor is it 1965, but it would be easier if we could just tell our staff what to do.  We know 100% that this doesn't

  • maintain motivation
  • inspire hard work
  • retain staff
  • create an enjoyable workspace

So we can you do instead?  

As a manager, there are many ways to help your team members grow and develop their skills. Teaching and telling is certainly one approach, coaching can be a more effective way to support your employees in achieving their goals and improving their performance. Here are a few reasons why you might consider this for you as a leader:

More PERSON Focused We often assume everyone learns the same way, coaching is more personalized to be able to identify together their strengths and weaknesses and make any task/goal/plan individualized.  

It builds RELATIONSHIPS Coaching is more collaborative: Teaching can often feel like a one-way transfer of knowledge, with the manager being the expert and the employee being the student.  When you ask great question in a collaborative way, you work together which creates more commitment and accountability.  

Its hugely empowering, if you give someone the answers they need to take action/solve a problem, it creates dependence on you!  Help your employees develop their own problem-solving skills so they can grow and improve on their own.  

If you are ready to use this powerful tool  and be a leader that coaches (you can learn how here)  you can support your teams to achieve the goals and improve their own performance with simple questions.  Download your FREE guide to asking great questions here.  

Ella Bates - Skills Trainer

The one who knows, no-one deserves a bad work day.  We help organizations from Fortune 500 companies to Manufacturing plants bringing high-impact learning experiences that create more joy and better results at work.  Connect with us below!

Leadership Mistakes that Need Fixing

Leadership Mistakes that Need Fixing

You deserve to enjoy the benefits that come with being a leader. But sometimes it’s difficult to live up to the expectations of others. And the reality is that sometimes you’ll make mistakes.

As a leader, your mistakes can result in losing your successful advantage. If you use the right strategy to fix your mistakes, however, recovering from them becomes much easier.

Can’t do it?  Then you Won’t

Can’t do it? Then you Won’t

Self Fulfilling Prophecy, what does it mean?

Simply put into laymens terms, it’s when you believe something so much to be true, that you act in that way as if it WAS true and then it becomes true. For example. As a child you say I cant ride a bike I will fall off, you believe it so much that you get nervous and fall off your bike. TaDa you were right! (your brain LOVES to predict that it’s right!)

As an adult this can disable you in your future success. What I mean by that is you are taking on the feelings of your CAN’T’s to be true, therefore you wont be able to do it! Did you do the same thing when learning to walk? Did you give up? No. Did you do the same when you got nervous going into your job interview? No, you believed so hard that the job was yours, you aced the interview and the job was yours!

The same works for LEADING other people and inspiring them. You have heard the phrase. “Be who you needed when you were growing up”? Allow your peers, your community, your team to know that they CAN do anything!

Believe you can and you are half way there!

Creating high-impact workplace learning experiences since 1998 at www.ellabates.com
Ella Bates creating inspiring online learning experiences www.ebacdemyonline.com Connect with us on LinkedIn

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Innovate Work Conference

Innovate Work Conference

Taking a Risk and be the new HR

Have you frequently heard HR referred to as the Police, the Cops and an overhead, not driving any revenue? We could all consider, instead being the new HR.  Imagine if HR stopped being risk adverse, stopped being so stringent and just policy and rules orientated and adapted with the information they have at hand. 

Get out of the bubble and into the business

Christine Song, Coinsquare

HR is more than just policies and procedures.  We are collaborators, sounding boards, people who understand others and, more importantly, understand how to help them achieve success! 

Get your head out of the policies

Christine Song, Coinsquare

The Behavior Equation – Why Focusing on Behavior Matters

There is both an art and a scientific side to HR.  HR’s major function should be to drive better business results through harmonious behaviors. 

Lewins’ Formula B=f (p, e)

Lewin said that Employee Engagement is the function of both personality and the environment and we know that personality is supremely static so we have to focus on what we can control, which is the environment in which they perform. 

The environment is created as a result of the behaviors so lets look at this like a story (Great analogies here!)  there is always a Villain, Superheroes and Impostors. 

Villains

The behaviors that cause chaos

Superheroes

The behaviors that cause harmony in the work place and where we should be focusing our time as HR & Leaders

Impostors

The behaviors that will NOT drive culture

You can put in a new system, but it sill won’t help guide people to do the right thing

Chuck Fornell, Pizza Pizza

All conversations from HR, and in the workplace as a whole, should make the person better in the end. 

Retention of the Next Generation

We need to attract and engage the youth coming into the workplace.  In order to gain them, their top three lists of wants were:

A Healthy Workplace – Time To Myself – Networking & Mentoring

“Retention”

How did it feel to hear that word in a Corporate Office?

Remembering, these millennial’s have a choice coming out of skill on where to work. 

This new generation are aware that they don’t know, what they don’t know

Brien Convery, RBC

Do you have a listening strategy – what are your co-op’s, student interns talking about, thinking? 

This new generation are tired of receiving old information from old people

Brien Convery, RBC

The Infinite Game

The higher up you go, the further away that you are from the customer

Stephen Shedletzky, Brand Voice

Let’s talk leadership – HR needs to focus on the will/motivation and their resources to stay in the game.  Its important for us to remember that Leaders serve the People who serve the End Customer

Let’s strive to make the people around you better

Stephen Shedletzky, Brand Voice

We need to have the courage to lead – constantly making value based decisions that put the people first.

Managers are directing Complexity, Leaders are creating Simplicity

Stephen Shedletzky, Brand Voice

An environment needs to be created in organizations where people can feel safe to be who they are.

The topics were presented by:  Brien Convery, Early Talent Acquisition, Attraction and Engagement – RBC.  Christine Song, Chief People Officer, Coinsquare.  Chuck Farrell, VP Human Resources, Pizza Pizza Limited, Stephen Shedletzky, Head of Brand Voice. 

Is Culture Fit Dead?

The fabulous Panel discussion was led by Josh Levine, Author of Great Mondays where we gained some great insights into culture in organizations. 

Culture is continuing to eat strategy for breakfast, leaders need to share the shifting mindset.  The challenge lies in convincing the leaders to make smart decisions based on their people.

If you want to innovate, we have to take the chance and bring in something and some people who are new.  What do our new staff bring that will disrupt, can they think in our vision or only survive where we are.  Lets get specific with the way we recruit. 

If people were to sit in the lobby of your organization, what would they see and hear?

Anna Petoso, The Weather Network

We need to lose the “bobblehead” employees, the culture needs to pivot within organizations.  Diversity of thought needs to be recognized and discussed, not just Diversity of Culture.

What a great Conference Work Tango! Thanks for all the insights.

The Panel included:  Anna Petosa, VP People, The Weather Network.  Kris Tierney, VP People & Culture, Dealer-FX.  Denine Das, Sr Director, People 7 Culture, TIFF (Toronto Internaitonal Film FestivaL), Paul Dodd, Head Canadian Engagement WilsonHCG


Ella Bates

Ella Bates – Master Trainer

Owner of Trainingx3 the patented formula for guaranteed Corporate Training Success,  Ella has over 20 years in the Learning Industry within Corporate and Higher Education. If you are looking for Corporate Training with high impact and long lasting results, we would love to talk with you. CLICK HERE