GLINC

As we approach the 1-year anniversary of the lockdown and work life balance is further blurred, we went from taking a “surge mode” to "let's just get this done" to feeling spent and tired. Workdays are feeling longer and weekends are but a fleeting moment of reprieve. It is not uncommon to begin questioning the meaning of the work we do. We find ourselves in perhaps one of the most trying times as employees and employers.

In this month's GLINC Outside the Box Podcast, joined by our guest Anatol von Hahn (Chairman of The Group Ventures and Former Senior Executive at Scotiabank), we invite you to "GLINC Differently About Passion & Purpose at Work". Together, we’ll explore the signals we should pay attention to and strategies for rediscovering passion and purpose in the workplace and how to navigate our career in this period of uncertainty.

Given all the challenges of 2020 and the toll it has taken on remote workers and dispersed teams, the idea of setting development and aspirational goals may seem more like ‘wishful thinking’ than a practical reality. Sometimes, just the thought of having to make these commitments, let alone achieve them, is enough to overwhelm us.

So here’s some good news to start off your year - you don’t have to set these goals alone. Getting the help of a mentor, or someone with expertise and insight, can help you think through and navigate your development path – often with greater ease.

In this month’s GLINC Outside the Box Podcast, we’re inviting you to “GLINC Differently About Mentoring” as we explore the Mentor and Mentee relationship and how our new virtual world has changed the approach and access to Mentors: https://gerrylewis.com/podcasts/

Our guest speaker is Dr. Catherine Chandler-Crichlow, Executive Director for Career Management and Corporate Recruiting at Ivey Business School - Western University.

The holiday season is typically filled with the joy of giving to others, whether that’s our family, friends or clients. However, this year, the “Season of Giving” will undoubtedly feel different. The "Let's GLINC Differently About Giving" podcast explores how we can communicate the needed message of giving to ourselves and accept that what we're feeling is normal and okay during this time of year. https://gerrylewis.com/podcasts/lets-glinc-differently-about-giving/ (https://gerrylewis.com/podcasts/)

Our guest speakers are Catherine Osborne, Professional Certified Coach, and Owner of UpShift Coaching (https://upshiftcoaching.com/ (https://upshiftcoaching.com/)) and Meg Blair, Head of HR at MindBeacon (https://www.mindbeacon.com/ (https://www.mindbeacon.com/)).

Good Communication Has No Boundaries, is a podcast that tackles communication challenges we face daily to have our voices heard and to stand out with authenticity. With the added complexity of moving into a virtual world, these insights are needed more than ever. Gerry Lewis, CEO of GLINC, provides his perspectives on communicating in this new reality by drawing on his 25 years of experience working with audiences from over 70 countries. These insights are captured in his award-winning book SHINE, first published in 2015, now also available in Simplified Chinese.

Gerry Lewis is President and Owner of Gerry Lewis Inc., an internal communications organization specializing in employee engagement and change management communication. Gerry Lewis has led training workshops, conferences and employee events in over 50 countries. Gerry is also an award-winning author. SHINE: Communicate Your Way to a Brighter Career won first place in the 2015 Small Business Trends Book Awards.

This podcast was original published by Time to Shine Podcast. (http://www.timetoshinepodcast.com/gerry-lewis-run-effective-meetings-engage-and-shine/)

Avoid the Four Sins of Meetings

Gerry has defined the “four sins of meetings”, problems that are experienced in meetings that go wrong:

* Wastefulness. Far too many meetings that don’t need to be held.

* Disorderly conduct. The case of a meeting that went out of control. People are having their own meetings and not focusing on the person leading the meeting. This shows how important an agenda is. Not having a clear agenda is the start of disorderly conduct.

* Lateness. Sometimes people arrive late, it’s inevitable. A common mistake is to say to everyone: “James just joined us, let me update you in everything we talked about.” Good for James, but the others will start doing something else. It’s better to say: “James, we’re in this item of the agenda, and at the end of the meeting I can brief you.” and continue with the meeting without delays.

* Disengagement. It’s when you look around the meeting room, and everyone looks so bored. If you want an engaged audience, you have to ask for people to participate instead of doing yourself all the talk.

Gerry’s Top 3 strategies to run effective meetings

* Know exactly what you want the outcome of the meeting to be. The objective has to be very clear such as “making a decision to invest on this” or “approve this proposal”, otherwise don’t hold the meeting.

* Have the right people in the room. “The more people the better” is usually a mistake. If the decision maker is not in the room, you are not going to reach the objective.

* Be able to manage your time. It shows that you’re in control, and that you have a sense of direction for where this meeting needs to go.

The mindset for engaging meetings

As a meeting leader, the mindset you need to run engaging meetings includes:

* You have to add value. What kind of value can people expect for the time they invest in the meeting?

* Always show some type of progress. Make clear that we’re moving forward, not going in circles meeting after meeting.