What were your leadership milestones this year?
Which moments challenged you to become the crisis-proof manager you always wish you had?
2021 marked a slow, but noticeable recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis for many companies.
Despite a number of challenges, managers like you have bounced back and adapted to situations such as:
- The Great Resignation leading to some of your staff leaving, or some new faces joining your team
- Your office reopening and making you adjust to a hybrid remote/in office team
- The uncertainty of new COVID waves challenging you and your company to make effective projections
You’ve gained new skills, become a better remote leader, and learned to pay special attention to your team’s well-being and happiness when they need it the most.
For us at Lighthouse, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing we helped you confidently take on new challenges throughout 2021. And we’re excited to continue supporting you and your team in the new year. And trust us, there’s A LOT we’ve got in store for you in 2022.
This year, like every year, we’d like to take a look back at the 10 posts you’ve enjoyed reading the most.
The Lighthouse Posts You and Other Managers Loved Most in 2021
These posts are the ones managers read, reacted to, and shared most. If you’ve learned something from them and enjoyed them, please share them with colleagues and friends you think might benefit from them.
5 Principles From Jeff Bezos’ Leadership Style You Can Apply To Your Team Now
One of the biggest news stories this year was Jeff Bezos’ trip to space back in July. And given the magnitude of some of the other achievements of the former Amazon CEO, we decided to look deeper at what leadership concepts could be learned from him.
While we’re not all billionaire, space-faring CEOs, the lessons we identified can be applied by any manager with just a bit of effort.
In this blog post, we’ve compiled 5 Principles From Jeff Bezos’ Leadership Style You Can Apply To Your Team Now.
The Best Questions To Ask Your CEO In Different Situations
Having a less formal business lunch with your CEO and the rest of the team? Or are you interviewing for a new job - so leaving a perfect first impression on the CEO is key?
No matter the size of the company you work for, or you’re interviewing at, getting a chance to ask the CEO a few questions is a unique and special opportunity. But different situations require a different set of questions based on the audience and circumstances. What is an appropriate and great question in one environment could leave egg on your face in another.
But don’t worry! In this blog post, we’ll tell you about Great Questions to Ask a CEO in 3 Different Situations.
4 Potential Concerns Causing High Employee Turnover In 2021 According To Gallup And Others
Do you know what your team's biggest concerns are right now? Are they telling you about issues with enough time to do something about them? Has the Great Resignation affected your team?
We've analyzed four 2021 reports from Gallup, the MHA, Achievers and Emtrain on the biggest challenges likely to cause high employee turnover in the United States right now. They all show strikingly similar patterns that could be affecting your team, too.
In this post, we highlight 4 Potential Concerns Causing High Employee Turnover In 2021 and offer you concrete suggestions on how to overcome them.
Ask Lighthouse: How To Keep Employees From Quitting
One of the most stressful events in the professional life of any manager happens when some of their best employees receive job offers from competing companies. What, if anything, can you do to keep them from leaving? And what can prevent others in your team from following suit?
In this post, we focused on what you can do To Keep Your Employees From Quitting.
4 Don Miguel Ruiz Quotes From “The Four Agreements” Leaders Must Learn
Why has Tom Brady been re-reading the same book over and over for more than a decade?
In "The Four Agreements”, spiritualist Don Miguel Ruiz teaches freedom from self-limiting thoughts that cause people unnecessary fears and frustration. Ruiz based his book on the wisdom of the Toltec people–the predecessors of Aztecs in central Mexico.
We found it an amazing read and something every leader (including you) can use to improve their mindset. It’s a timeless classic that’s relatively short but packed with value and has sold 9 million copies across the US.
In this post, we share 4 Don Miguel Ruiz Quotes From “The Four Agreements” and how managers can apply them to their work and life.
96 Questions To Ask In One On Ones With A Manager
Now more than ever, 1:1s are among the most powerful tools for building strong, productive relationships with your team. Each 1:1 helps you and your team thrive at work and creates a foundation for building a great working relationship with your team.
But what questions should you ask in 1:1s with your manager? What about 1:1s with managers that report to you?
In this post, we go through 96 Questions To Ask In One On Ones With A Manager and give you a variety of suggestions on what to ask in different contexts specific to the other person being a manager.
7 Essential Tips For Effective 1 On 1 Meetings With Your Manager
When used right, one on ones with your manager can provide a huge boost to your relationship and keep you engaged and happy. They allow you to advance your career, uncover and solve issues on time, build consistency for the long term, and many other things.
Despite this, 1 on 1 meetings are too often wasted.... or rarely happen at all. While it’s primarily your manager’s responsibility to make your meetings more meaningful, there are plenty of things you could do to improve them as well.
If your 1 on 1 with your manager needs a tune up, keep the following tips in mind, and for your team, consider sending this as a primer to help improve your 1 on 1s with them, too: 7 Essential Tips For Effective 1 On 1 Meetings With Your Manager.
One On One Meeting Questions Great Managers Ask Their Teams
Ever feel like you don’t know what to ask in a 1:1 with your team member? Find yourself repeating the same questions that won’t get them to open up?
Given how much potential 1:1s have for each facet of your relationship with your team members, it’s worth thinking about what you could ask them in advance.
Over the years, we’ve spent hours researching and compiling ideas from great leaders, experts and other managers. That’s how we came up with a list of 130+ 1:1 questions to ask your team in various contexts, including:
- Building rapport & trust
- Talking about career development
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Talking about ways to improve your team or your company
- Checking in on their general happiness, and much more.
In this post, we tell you all about One On One Meeting Questions Great Managers Ask Their Teams.
6 Signs Of A Bad Manager
In their "The State of the American Manager” study, Gallup found that half (50%) of all Americans have left a job to "get away from their manager at some point in their career.”
We've said it before, but it bears repeating: people leave managers, not companies. And a particularly bad manager can make employees leave in waves from their teams.
As much as you might like to think that your team member has leadership potential, there may be some red flags you should keep an eye on.
Today we'll look at some of the most common warning signs that someone is likely to be a bad manager and the consequences from those signs being ignored: What makes a bad manager.
6 Questions You Must Ask When You Start Managing A New Team
When you're managing a new team, there's a lot of uncertainty. What do they think of you? Will everyone get along? How was their last manager? Are they a talented team?
As a manager, you need a strong relationship with your team - which starts on day 1! There are many different ways to make sure you start on the right foot, and these 6 questions can help you start the best way possible.
In this post, we tell you about The 6 Best Questions to Ask When You're Managing a New Team. We also tell you why they matter and what to do with the answers.
What was your favorite post this year? What do you want us to write about next year?
We‘d love to hear about your favorite Lighthouse blog posts in 2021 and appreciate any feedback on what we should write about in 2022. You can send us an email at blog at getlighthouse dot com and you may inspire the next Lighthouse post!
