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What does it take to increase Employee Engagement as remote work becomes the norm?

Pam coaching executive team

In the midst of “The great reshuffle,” even as many workplaces are opening back up, we’re also seeing more CEOs who are deciding to stay with a hybrid workplace. Building on this trend, a growing number of CEOs are embracing a fully remote workforce as a way to attract and retain key talent.

So which arrangement is best? The answer depends upon your industry and the nature of your company. Generally, knowledge- based companies lend themselves to a remote workplace more than manufacturing-based companies.

However, before you make your decision, consider that surveys of workers show a push and pull between the benefits of working remotely and the danger of disconnection among those who are not routinely interacting in person.

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How Can CEOs Lead Civil Discourse on Sensitive Issues?

ESG Word Cloud

The trend towards employee stakeholder activism is continuing to rise, and CEOs are under pressure to engage in conversations about sensitive social, environmental and political issues. This is borne out by the increasing number of news stories of employee activism impacting a wide range of companies including Google, Walmart, Microsoft, and a host of smaller companies.

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Redefining What’s Possible

Between Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic launch into space on July 11, 2021, and Jeff Bezos’ upcoming Blue Origin launch into space this morning, July 20, 2021, we’re finally seeing the beginning of a new era: space travel for more people.

Fifty-two years after the first moon landing, these visionaries are only at the beginning of redefining space travel and the everyday value that it may create for all of us fifty-two years from now. It’s a journey.

Meanwhile, since there are no clear signposts in terms of what to expect as more astronauts ranging from 18 to 82 years old experience space, I imagine that these companies and their stakeholders will continue to learn many lessons that will contribute to creating and reaching the next milestones.

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There’s Always More to the Story…

Like millions of people up and down the East Coast of the United States, we braced for and rode through the heavy rain and high winds of Hurricane Isaias.

We were very fortunate. As we looked up and down our street after the worst of the storm had passed, we saw leaves and some branches were strewn around, but no problems otherwise. We and our family were safe; we had power and water and an intact house. For a few minutes, it looked as if the storm had not been as bad as the weather forecasters had painted it.

However, when we connected with other people in our various networks and scanned the media, we found that our initial perceptions were limited. What we learned was that there was much more to the story that we needed to consider before we drew conclusions and made decisions about venturing out and how to best help others…  Read More

Keeping Balance in Your Life During the Holidays

Jen Slaw

For many CEOs and C-Suite executives, holidays can be particularly stressful. Many people tell us that although they may be on vacation at some point during this time, they never feel like they can completely go offline and relax.

Yes, we all know that it’s important to shut off devices and tune out so you can restore your mental and spiritual reserves. But there are always competing demands for time and attention. You don’t want to miss out on opportunities, but burning out is not a good option either.

So how do you balance everything and truly refresh over the holidays? One way that we’ve found to juggle all the “balls” of our lives, including downtime, is to… Read More

Pam Harper returns to the Small Business Advocate Radio Show

Based upon a recent Growth Igniters® Radio episode about the increasing pressure to always be “on” at work, I was invited to share my unique views on this issue as a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program The Small Business Advocate Show with host Jim Blasingame.

In the first segment, Jim and I discussed the elephant in the room regarding happiness at work, and who is responsible for creating a positive dynamic.

In the second segment, Jim and I discussed the myth about who is stressed at work. We also discussed how identifying and resolving gaps in perceptions and expectations between employers and employees is a critical path to increasing happiness at work for everyone.

In the third segmented, Jim and I discussed the role that fun plays in getting through the stresses of work, and the importance of creating fun that’s in keeping with your company’s culture.

To hear our conversations, click the “Listen Now” Buttons below. Each segment is between 5 to 10 minutes long.
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Sharing Exciting News About a Growth Igniters® Radio guest

Staying first, fast, and foremost in the hearts and minds of customers is no easy feat. This is especially the case in an industry as competitive as retained executive search.

That’s why we were delighted for our friends at The Alexander Group when they shared the news that for the third time in a row, Forbes included them among the Top 50 Executive Search Firms in America. This year they rank #31.

So what has led to this repeated honor? Read More

Visionary Business Leaders Praise Growth Igniters® Radio

Growth Igniters® Radio with Pam Harper and Scott Harper is entering its 5th year!

This news and praise for our podcast was featured by over 150 media outlets including MarketPlace (NPR), Yahoo Finance, and more.

Thanks for being a listener! Can you help us spread the news about Growth Igniters® Radio so that people in your networks can listen as well?  Here is a link to the press release on PR Newswire.  Feel free to share it with friends and colleagues.

Here are highlights from the press release “…Since the bi-weekly’s podcast’s launch in February 2015, prominent guests have included notable CEOs such as:  Read More

What does “Tidying Up” have to do with your company’s growth?

Like many Americans, we’ve become hooked on watching Marie Kondo’s Netflix series Tidying Up. It’s fascinating to see how Marie (a Japanese “tidying expert” who exudes peace, energy, and joy) works through a translator with American clients. Her principles help them become more mindful and create a more meaningful and joyful space to exist in the present and grow into the future.

This got us thinking about the implications for business — if you are leading a company that’s going through transformation and game-changing growth, you might well be facing an opportunity for a similar “tidying up” experience… Read More

How Buzzwords and Jargon Can Actually Be Valuable

Call them “corporate speak”, “buzzwords”, “jargon”, or something else. The conventional wisdom is that we should banish this language from our vocabulary in favor of speaking more plainly. But now we just saw an article in the Harvard Business Review that challenges this belief: Why Business Jargon Isn’t Bad.  

As a matter of fact, for years we’ve been saying that there are legitimate reasons why every company culture reinforces all kinds of acronyms, buzzwords, and jargon.  We came up with three theories for this: Read More