Personal Growth in Business: Leadership Through the Messy Middle

A smiling man in a suit and tie illustrates personal growth in business

What does it take to maintain focus while leading a growing business? How can you balance structured planning with the need to stay flexible? Personal growth in business requires mastering several key skills. From developing laser focus and trusting your instincts to making tough decisions and adapting to change, successful leadership demands continuous self-improvement alongside your company’s evolution. Continue reading to explore the essential leadership capabilities that can help you and your business thrive during crucial growth phases.

The 2 Types of Employee Performance Data to Collect

A clipboard of employee performance data, in front of a man working at his desk

What are the most useful types of employee performance data? What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative data? In one step of Aubrey C. Daniels’s management approach, you collect baseline data about your employees’ current performances. You use this data as a reference point for evaluating the effectiveness of your behavioral intervention. Check out the two types of employee performance data you should collect.

How to Keep Your Team Motivated Through the Messy Middle

A team of people working together on a project with a laptop on a table illustrates how to keep your team motivated

What does it take to maintain your team’s drive during the challenging growth phase of your startup? How can you celebrate progress while staying grounded in reality? The startup journey entails creative internal marketing, strategic task prioritization, and meaningful celebration of milestones. Scott Belsky’s book The Messy Middle includes proven strategies that can help you build and sustain a resilient, focused team through your venture’s most demanding phases. Read more to get Belsky’s advice on how to keep your team motivated, especially during your business’s middle years.

Agile Product Development: How to Build & Optimize Your Product

A small business team of two men and one woman in an open workspace using a Kanban board for Agile product development

Is your product development process feeling slow and inflexible? Are you looking for ways to improve collaboration and customer-focused thinking? Agile product development might be the solution you’re seeking. This approach breaks projects into smaller, manageable cycles, allowing for greater adaptability and faster delivery. You can use popular methods such as Scrum and Kanban—or hybrid approaches that combine the best of different approaches. Keep reading to discover how Agile can transform your product development process and help you achieve greater success.

How to Write Goals for a Performance Review (+ Give Feedback)

A man wearing an apron, writing goals for a performance review on a clipboard

How big should your goals be for employees? How can you effectively communicate feedback? Being a manager involves giving employees feedback about their performance so far and setting up goals for them to aim for. Both feedback and goals are potent antecedents—they help employees understand whether they need to speed up, slow down, or be more careful in their work. Continue reading to learn how to write goals for a performance review and communicate feedback to employees.

How to Encourage Employees With Consequences

A manager who knows how to encourage employees by clapping for them

Do you need new motivational techniques for employees? Is positive or negative reinforcement better for encouragement? According to Aubrey C. Daniels, people tend to repeat behaviors that lead to positive consequences while avoiding those that have negative consequences. This means you can leverage consequences to reinforce desired behaviors and deter undesired behaviors. Here’s how to encourage employees with two types of behavioral consequences.

When Is a Startup No Longer a Startup? 3 Signs You’ve Arrived

When is a startup no longer a startup? A professional team in an open office celebrates with champagne

When is a startup no longer a startup? What must a new business do to transition into a mature company? The journey from startup to established company entails specific changes in market approach and organizational structure. Steve Blank’s framework in The Four Steps to the Epiphany outlines three essential transitions that signal when a startup is ready to graduate into a larger enterprise. Read on to discover how to successfully navigate this crucial and exciting transformation.

Positive Reinforcement for Employees: Rewarding Motivation

A manager in a suit giving a thumbs up as positive reinforcement for employees

What are the two kinds of positive reinforcement for employees? What are the benefits of positive reinforcement? Positive reinforcement is a motivational technique that works by tying desired behaviors to positive outcomes, thereby increasing the likelihood they’ll be repeated. Aubrey C. Daniels asserts that positive reinforcement is the only way to promote discretionary effort. Read below to learn more about why positive reinforcement garners the best results.

Management Intervention: What to Do If It Worked or Failed

A management intervention happening with an employee in an office

What is management intervention? How can you tell if your management intervention worked? Managers should use science-backed behavioral management principles to affect the change they want to see. Then, they should measure the impact of their interventions and fine-tune their methods over time. Find out how to determine if your management intervention worked, and what you can do if it didn’t.

She Thinks Like a Boss by Jemma Roedel: Book Overview

A female manager reading a book at a library

Are you looking for self-improvement strategies that focus on the unique challenges women face in the workplace? What’s She Thinks Like a Boss about? In She Thinks Like a Boss, Jemma Roedel covers three qualities that make women successful in the workforce: strong leadership, skillful communication, and self-confidence. She also discusses the strategies that can help them develop these traits. Read below for a brief overview of She Thinks Like a Boss.