Tag: Culture

The First Two Weeks … and the Last Two Weeks

Paul Wagenaar

New people are excited and want to do a good job. Successful organizations combine good onboarding plans with detailed development plans to give their people the skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to achieve the goals of the organization and their team members.

A person’s final weeks are equally important. As we have mentioned successful organizations manage hiring, onboarding, and the first weeks and months to give their new hires all of the tools they need to succeed. Successful organizations set themselves apart from their competition equally as much, by the ways they plan and manage the time when a person is preparing to leave their organization.

An unexpected chapter – Making a difference

Paul Wagenaar

The size and scope of food insecurity or hunger is a very real and a very large problem. This two-year chapter in my life has allowed me to work with so many unique and dedicated people all of whom deserve as much praise and recognition as we can give them.

Anyone can be caught by their ego and silos

Paul Wagenaar

Working effectively with people is fundamental to any success you will achieve. You are learning to recognize and give people around you permission to reign in your ego. Be constantly vigilant to prevent walls and silos from being built around you. Finally, appreciate that you will succeed faster and longer by realizing that you make mistakes.

Working in the Weeds – Front liners

Paul Wagenaar

In my experience and observation the organization that causes the most stress and anxiety for its people and leaders … is usually their organization.

We have a responsibility to recognize, appreciate and acknowledge, and most importantly to help alleviate that stress for our people.
The closer people are to your “front-lines,” the more people “working in the weeds,” the more stress and anxiety they likely feel.

Some stress is good, too much is never good …

Paul Wagenaar

Is your daily focus simply on “surviving” each day? What follows are some simple ideas that can help you have your life again, achieve a better work/life balance, and “grow” your business or organization.

These are not my ideas, these are lessons learned from some of the best leaders and entrepreneurs I have met in more than thirty years in the “for-profit” and “charitable” sectors.

Imagine.

Paul Wagenaar

Most of us born in the last fifty years have heard the lyrics to John Lennon’s iconic song, “Imagine.” It has resonated on many levels with many people since its release in 1971.

For an increasing number of people, the reality of their lives almost exists in an entirely different universe than the one we live in.

A Good Place to Start

Paul Wagenaar

Becoming a good leader means embarking on a path that never ends. People, organizations, and the leader themselves will evolve, change, and adapt in response to their changing world.

I have learned while being mentored by some incredible people. Three of those lessons helped to shape my entire philosophy of leadership, “Humility, Consideration, and Determination.”

Quitting over a flashlight …

Paul Wagenaar

We had thought we were inclusive, but we realized we needed to do even more. We discovered the real driving force for our continued success was because we learned to appreciate, acknowledge, and respond to the blind spots that we didn’t even know were there.

Start small, but start now.