The digital age comes with constant change and therefore, you need to be adaptable as a leader so that your team’s sense of normal is flexible. Today on the Work Smart Club podcast, we are discussing why the idea of ‘normal’ changes all the time and how you can manage differently to suit our changing world. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about why you need to think in processes, not people, the importance of knowing your value stream, including your team in problem-solving, and how to evaluate your processes to solve problems. We even discuss the importance of remaining curious as a leader and having curious employees before we delve into how you can combat any resistance to uncertainty you may be experiencing. To hear more about how you can lead in a world where even the way you change things is changing, join us now!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The opposing demands leaders have to manage. 
• The mindset shift leaders have to make in business structures and management. 
• The importance of thinking in processes and not people. 
• Why leaders need to know their value streams. 
• Questions to consider when learning about your value stream. 
• Why leaders are burning out faster nowadays. 
• A way to think differently about how to manage: bring the team into the problem-solving effort. 
• How to evaluate your processes and challenges as a leader to make changes. 
• Why the digital age brings constant change and, therefore, ever-changing normality.
• Why you want to have curious employees. 
• A reminder to look inward and see if there is any resistance from within. 
• How you can handle uncertainty.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Cynthia Howard on LinkedIn

Work Smart Consulting

Work Smart Club Network

Your perspective is guaranteed to influence how you approach situations. In this episode, Dr. Cynthia Howard comments on the four core perspectives any leader needs, regardless of where you are on the company ladder. We discuss the impact of our early life experiences, our shifts in perspective, and how this all connects when you try and leverage your leadership. Dr. Howard goes on to define leadership, what leadership means to her, and the attributes a good leader holds, as well as the four key perspectives: mindset, organization, balance, and process perspective. Plus, she talks about looking forward to the future, managing the all-time high levels of distraction, checking in with yourself by doing a perspective inventory, and more. Tune in to hear why perspective is the biggest factor contributing to a leader's success!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Dr. Howard defines leadership: vision, modeling, encouraging change, and focus.
• Factors to consider when developing your leadership skills.
• Consistency: the biggest factor towards success. 
• The importance of good people skills.
• Four key perspectives: competency, organization, balance, and process. 
• What competency means within a business.
• A system-wide view as a method of organization.
• How communication differs in specific situations and business settings.
• What it means to have balance, why it is a critical skill, and the different areas it is necessary.
• Why you need consistent, quality processes in place.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Cynthia Howard on LinkedIn

Work Smart Consulting

Work Smart Club Network

You may, somewhere deep down, know that relationships are the most important thing in your life. In this episode, Dr. Cynthia Howard shares information about the lasting impact of relationships on the success of our lives and how staying focused on them will be what you need to stay grounded when life feels like it may be falling apart. Dr. Howard talks about the different kinds of relationships you can have, how you can look after them, and why they are so important to make time for. Reflecting on the pandemic and how it shifted our sense of normal, Dr. Howard comments on keeping your sense of balance, spending time doing what matters most, and why your relationship with God and Jesus is of the most importance. Plus, you will hear about how to manage a change in your normal, keeping your heart open to the supernatural, the power of faith, and where to place your focus. Tune in to hear Dr. Howard's Psalm of the year and how, at the end of the day, everything in life comes down to love!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Dr. Howard shares some research on the impact of relationships on life.
• Dr. Howard's experience working in hospice.
• Different kinds of relationships you can have.
• Why relationships are the most important part of your life.
• The different stages and phases in a person's life: building and sustaining.
• Why the pandemic disrupted the population's sense of balance and shift in sense of normal.
• How to stay grounded/balanced when the world is shaking.
• The importance of God and your relationship with Him and Jesus.
• The meaning of love and heaven on earth.
• The Psalm for the year!
• How to deal with fear and why we should ‘fear not’.
• Dr. Howard shares her beliefs on faith and how to enter/grow a relationship with Jesus.
• Love as a future-focused, progressive state of mind.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Cynthia Howard on LinkedIn

Work Smart Consulting

Work Smart Club Network