Speaker James Whittaker entering a stage.

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If you’re feeling defeated, motivational speaker <a href="https://jameswhitt.com/keynote-speaking/">James Whittaker</a> wants to help you “win the day.”



“Any person in that situation where they just feel like they have no control over their life or they just feel like they’ve got a bit of a victim mindset, I will do anything that I can, anything in my power, to help pull them out of that, to recognize that they can change the world by first changing themselves,” Whittaker says.



The first step is to get clarity on who you are and where you want to go.



“In my experience, the people who feel like they’re treading water—it all comes back to one… main thing that they’re struggling with. They’re not clear on who they are, and they’re not clear on where they want to go,” he says.



Once you know who you are and where you want to go, then you can “win the day.”



<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-winning-formula">A winning formula</h1>



Whittaker’s formula to “win the day” is to incorporate wonder, intent and nurture.



Wonder provides a spark of curiosity and purpose that drives your highest <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/unleash-your-true-potential/">potential</a>. “When you’re connected to wonder, you’re intensely curious about how great you can be from your one extraordinary life—and committed to doing what it takes to achieve it,” Whittaker says.



Intent is the deliberate focus and structure that amplifies your daily performance. “When you’re connected to intent, you intentionally choose to surround yourself with people who inspire you, create an environment that motivates you and engage in daily rituals that energize you.”



Nurture is about stepping outside your <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/52-ways-to-get-out-of-your-comfort-zone/">comfort zone</a> to identify and take on challenges that drive growth. “A lot of people think that when they adopt this ‘win the day’ mentality that they are somehow going to be immune to adversity when, in fact, it’s the complete opposite,” Whittaker says. “You will be faced with adversity, probably every single day, but how you respond to that adversity when it inevitably strikes is what separates ordinary people from extraordinary achievers.”



<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-find-your-winning-traits">Find your winning traits</h1>



To better understand who you are, Whittaker recommends finding your winning traits. Think about a time when you performed your best professionally, he says. “Maybe it was speaking on stage, maybe it was recording a podcast, maybe it was closing a sale—anything like that,” he says. “What were the characteristics that you embodied in that moment?” Some examples include ambition, collaboration, compassion, courage, creativity, curiosity, leadership, optimism, perseverance and reliability.



Pick no more than three traits, and then think about how you will show up every day leveraging those three winning traits to make the impact you want to have, Whittaker says.



<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-changes-help-win-the-day">Small changes help 'win the day'</h1>



Whittaker offers a 10-question quiz at <a href="http://jameswhitt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">jameswhitt.com</a> to help individuals create a personalized “win the day” action plan. He also has a podcast and has written several books, including Andrew Carnegie’s Mental Dynamite: How to Unlock the Awesome Power of You.



Curious about how to get started? Whittaker suggests incorporating four small changes into your morning routine.



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>“When you wake up in the morning, make the decision to win,” he says. Otherwise, you’ve automatically made the decision to lose. If we wake up and we make the decision to win, it shakes us out of our passiveness. </li>



<li>Have a clear intent for the day and how you want to show up, he says. Otherwise, it's going to be so much easier for you to fall victim to distraction and procrastination.</li>



<li>Affirm your success by saying something like, “I’m going to win today” or “Today is going to be a great day.” When you expect good things to happen, you will notice that they occur much more frequently, he says.</li>



<li>Start a morning journal routine. Write down three things that will make each day a win. They could be professional, physical and personal. Whittaker says he’s been journaling for four years and likes to go back and see how he was allocating his energy three or four years ago compared to the present day. The benefit of journaling compounds the longer you do it, he says.</li>
</ol>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focus-on-what-you-achieve">Focus on what you achieve</h1>



There is no question that these are stressful times, so Whittaker encourages people to focus on what they can control. “It’s very easy to fall into the trap of a recurring negative news cycle,” he says. Instead, he urges people to focus on improving their minds by taking 20 minutes to listen to an audiobook or a podcast or scheduling a conversation with someone who inspires them. “These are little things that you can do every single day to feel better, improve your mindset and become the person that you want to be,” he says.



Don’t forget to look back at what you have already achieved in your life and remind yourself of the challenges you’ve overcome, Whittaker says. The challenges we’ve overcome shape the mindset we have today and give us confidence, he says.



Whittaker has worked with Olympic gold medalists and other people who have been extremely successful at the highest possible level in their field. “[When] that chapter of their life ends, that is a really, really difficult time,” he says. What they need is clarity on their mission and their purpose, things that Whittaker says have been there all along and aren’t just about sports.



“The secret is the mission is not something that ever has an end date,” Whittaker says. “It’s something that is with you [to] the end of your life.”



Photo courtesy James Whittaker

Motivational speaker James Whittaker provides a formula for how to define who you are and where you want to go to achieve your goals.

If you’re feeling defeated, motivational speaker James Whittaker wants to help you “win the day.” “Any person in that situation where they just feel like | SUCCESS

How to Win the Day

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James Whittaker on How to Win the Day | SUCCESS

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Lisa Rabasca Roepe is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist who writes about gender equity, diversity and inclusion, and the culture of work.

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Financial Money Advice. Saving In 401K. Piggybank Deposit

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Money

Money Archives

Achieve financial success and freedom

In recent months, the stock market has been a roller coaster ride with occasional deep plunges, while the price of eggs and other necessities continue to climb. When prices keep rising and there is talk of a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/07/ceos-think-the-us-is-probably-in-a-recession-right-now-says-blackrocks-larry-fink.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">possible recession</a>, it can be tempting to reduce—or even eliminate—your <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/tariff-turmoil-retirement-account/">401(k) contributions</a> to have more cash on hand. But experts say, unless you’re facing a true financial crisis, it’s best to keep contributing to your 401(k) plan even in a <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bearmarket.asp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bear market</a>.



Here’s why: <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/052216/4-benefits-holding-stocks-long-term.asp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical data</a> shows that, even when stocks go down, the investors who stay in the market long enough, at least five to 10 years, end up with a higher rate of return.&nbsp;



“The stock market throughout history has always hit a higher high than the previous high after it's dropped,” says Brett D. Horowitz, principal and wealth manager at Evensky &amp; Katz/Foldes Wealth Management, in Coral Gables, Florida. The stock market achieved historic highs after recovering from 2008 losses during the Great Recession and 2020 losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, he says.



If you’re still unsure, financial experts offer five reasons to continue 401(k) contributions even when the stock market is down.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-it-s-hard-to-time-the-market">1. It’s hard to time the market</h2>



Experts agree that figuring out when to stop and then start your contributions is tricky. You would have to correctly time the market twice.



“If you decide to lower your contributions or even, say, move money out of the market, that's one part of the equation, but the second part of the equation is how do you get back in?” says Stratton Harrison, founder and financial adviser at Vita Wealth Management in Chicago.



For instance, if you stopped your retirement contributions during the Great Recession and never contributed to a 401(k) again, you lost out on one of the greatest <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bullmarket.asp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bull markets</a> of all time, Harrison says. And you didn’t just miss the market rebound, you also lost out on the power of compounded interest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-you-disrupt-a-savings-habit">2. You disrupt a savings habit</h2>



Contributing to a 401(k) plan guarantees that you are <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-plan-for-retirement/">saving for the future</a>. With an employer 401(k) match, you have the opportunity to save even more money. However, if you suspend your contributions, once that extra cash hits your paycheck, it’s much harder to divert that money into a savings account.



When people stop contributing to a 401(k), many simply end up spending more money, and once you get used to that, it’s a hard cycle to break, says Carla Adams, founder and financial adviser at Ametrine Wealth in Lake Orion, Michigan.



“What happens if you stop contributing to your 401(k) and you forget that you did that?” asks Patrick Huey, owner and principal adviser at Victory Independent Planning LLC in Camas, Washington. “It's not just the habit, it's the discipline… We now live in a world where… there are a million subscriptions for entertainment out there that people will sign up for and then forget that they have.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-you-ll-accumulate-more-wealth-over-time">3. You’ll accumulate more wealth over time</h2>



Statistically, the <a href="https://themeasureofaplan.com/us-stock-market-returns-1870s-to-present/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">market goes up</a> more often than it goes down so, if you continue your contributions, you should end up with more money over time, Harrison says. “If you're contributing consistently and you're getting employer matches or employer profit sharing contributions, it can mean significant dollars over a long period of time,” he says. There is a risk to limiting 401(k) contributions during your prime working years.



If someone saving $500 a month in their 401(k) decides to pause contributions for just one year, they could potentially miss out on tens of thousands of dollars in growth by retirement, Huey says. It’s not just the skipped year’s contributions themselves. It's the missed compounding effect that makes the financial loss even greater.



Keep in mind that when you <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/types-of-retirement-plans/">invest money for retirement</a>, you’re not investing for the short-term, says Crystal McKeon, chief compliance officer at TSA Wealth Management in Houston. You’re looking at the stock market’s potential over a 10-, 20- or even 30-year long-term horizon.&nbsp;



“We're not day traders. We don't invest for today. We don't invest for tomorrow,” she says. “If you are still investing in a 401(k) and have no plans to retire in the next five to 10 years, you have a long time to ride out temporary downturns.” However, if retirement is on the horizon, you should be gradually shifting your investments toward lower-risk assets, like bonds and money market funds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-a-stock-market-drop-is-an-opportunity">4. A stock market drop is an opportunity</h2>



Rather than having a negative view of a stock market drop, look at it as an opportunity, says Horowitz. “The stock market is the only place where people run away when stocks are on sale,” he says. “If airlines or TVs or stores had a sale, we would all go running and feel very good, yet the stock market invokes a different feeling.”



Assuming the market recovers, and it always has, buying "low" through regular contributions is not only a great way to establish forced savings, but it means you’re buying more stock at a lower cost, Horowitz says. When stock prices drop, your contributions buy more shares, setting you up for stronger long-term growth when the market recovers. Purchasing more shares in a down market should boost your long-term performance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-you-can-t-control-the-markets-but-you-can-control-spending">5. You can’t control the markets, but you can control spending</h2>



Instead of focusing on the markets, which you can’t control, focus on what you can control by <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/3-ways-to-spend-your-money-wisely/">reducing personal spending</a>, creating a more flexible budget and postponing discretionary spending, Huey says. “This approach helps manage today’s economic pinch without undermining tomorrow’s financial future,” he adds.



Photo by Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.

Financial experts explain why it can be beneficial to keep contributing to your 401(k), even when the stock market is down.

Hear from financial experts on why it can be beneficial to continue contributing to your 401(k), even when the stock market is down. | SUCCESS

5 Reasons to Keep Contributing to Your 401(k), Even If the Stock Market Is Down

Market Down? 5 Reasons to Still Invest in Your 401(k) | SUCCESS

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Business &amp; Branding

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For a fifth-generation Colorado native who grew up on a small ranch just north of Colorado Springs, the dream of being associated with the music industry seemed like a long shot for JW Roth.



Instead of finishing high school, Roth opted to get a GED and then worked nights at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. He eventually started working two jobs—in the Denver Police Department and as a salesperson at Universal Foods. The latter enabled Roth to get a job in the brokerage business, which allowed him to ultimately become a founder of AspenBio Pharma.



In 2015, he started Roth Industries with his son, and in 2019, he stepped away from the day-to-day operations of Roth Industries to focus on his <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/3-ways-to-discover-your-true-passion/">true passion</a>: music.



The irony, Roth says, is today he would never be able to get a job at the police department, at a brokerage firm or even at his own company with just a GED because a bachelor’s degree is required for all those positions.







Roth’s newest venture, Venu Holding Corporation, is disrupting the music industry with plans to build 10 luxury outdoor <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/live-music-society/">music venues</a> across the country. With Venu, Roth plans to build a company that is fan-founded and fan-owned.



Venu opened its first stadium, the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last summer. Ford Amphitheater is competing directly with the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, located about 70 miles away in Morrison, Colorado.



OneRepublic, a band from Colorado Springs, opened Ford Amphitheater’s concert series in August 2024. John Fogerty, Steve Miller Band, Foreigner, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss also performed there in 2024. Shows for the 2025 season include Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Dwight Yoakam, Leon Bridges, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.



“I grew up a music nut,” Roth says. He recalls a time in 1978 when he and his buddy had new girlfriends they wanted to impress so they invited them to a Rolling Stones concert before they even had tickets to the show. Roth and his friend camped out overnight on a concrete sidewalk in the rain to secure those tickets.



As Roth became more successful, he had the opportunity to attend concerts all over the country. “I noticed [the venues] were all sort of old and dilapidated, and they were built back before rideshare and the fan demand had just grown,” Roth says.



He also noticed that the NFL and MLB owners were putting together public-private partnerships with municipalities to build state-of-the-art stadiums. These stadiums aren’t just a venue for watching sports; they’re about experience and ambiance, he says. Many offer great restaurants and other unique experiences. These stadiums inspired Roth to establish Venu Holding Corporation, which became a publicly traded company on Nov. 29, 2024.



Initially the company was called Notes Live, but when Roth decided to take the company public, he realized his company needed a different name to create a memorable stock symbol: Venu.



Venu is currently building Sunset Amphitheater in McKinney, Texas. The total cost of the stadium is about $300 million, Roth says. Much like the NFL and MLB stadiums Roth visited, Venu put together a public-private partnership to build the amphitheater.



For instance, to build Sunset Amphitheater, the city of McKinney is contributing $110 million through the contribution of land, tax incentives, abatements and refunds in the form of cash from property tax and sales tax, Roth explains. In return, the city gets economic development because once the stadium is built, hotels and restaurants will start to open. “Other entertainment facilities show up because people come to what I build, and what I build is a magnet,” Roth says.



Within each amphitheater, Roth builds firepit suites, which he sells to local businesses, much like a condo building sells individual units. This allows the businesses to depreciate their <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/investing-basics/">investment</a>, Roth says. Each firepit suite owner can choose to either give away tickets for the suite to clients or employees or to lease their seats in the firepit suite to fans, much like property owners rent out apartments through Vrbo or Airbnb.



Sunset Amphitheater will have 295 firepit suites for sale ranging in size from four to 10 seats, all with big, overstuffed chairs. The least expensive suite is $295,000, and the most expensive is $800,000, Roth says.



However, Venu’s amphitheaters don’t just cater to fans who can pay thousands of dollars to see a concert. Roth’s hope is to make the experience of seeing live music as comfortable and luxurious as possible even for those seated in the least expensive seats on the lawn. To make the lawn seats more lavish, a comfort pad is placed underneath the lawn’s artificial turf. Seats inside the amphitheater are three inches wider and deeper than at other outdoor music venues, and each seat has its own cup holder.



Plans call for Venu to build stadiums in El Paso, Texas, and Oklahoma City and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.



Roth believes that music is the greatest unifier. “You could put an independent, a Republican and a Democrat that hate each other, that can’t agree on anything, but they can all sit together and sing every lyric of ‘Hotel California,’ and they will enjoy that six minutes and nine seconds,” he says.



Music fans come from all walks of life. Some will save for months to buy lawn tickets, and some will spend thousands on firepit seats, but they will all sit together, united in their love of live music, Roth says. That experience doesn’t happen at a sporting event because the fans are rooting for different teams, he says.



“I can’t tell you in specifics a memory that was created every time I went to a ballpark,” Roth says. “But I can tell you a memory from every single concert.”&nbsp;



Photo by Josh Bourgeois @JBCreative. This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/subscriptions/">May/June 2025 issue</a> of SUCCESS magazine.

VENU is redefining live music for every kind of fan with upscale amphitheaters, luxe firepit suites and comfy lawn seating.

VENU is redefining live music with upscale amphitheaters, luxe firepit suites and comfy lawn seating—designed for every kind of fan. | SUCCESS

Strike Up the Band

VENU and JW Roth Are Reinventing the Live Concert Scene | SUCCESS

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When <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/liviutanase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Liviu Tanase</a> moved to the United States from Romania in 2014, he had already founded four companies in his home country. In 2017, he started his fifth company—ZeroBounce, an email validation company—in Santa Barbara, California.



Since then, <a href="https://www.zerobounce.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ZeroBounce</a> has been on the Inc. 5000 list four times and has grown about 30–35% year-over-year. “There were some years that we grew much more in the beginning… because, you know, when you’re small, it’s easier to grow faster,” says Tanase.



ZeroBounce began with just two employees in 2017—Tanase, as the company’s founder and CEO, and a chief technology officer. Today, it has 80 employees, as well as clients all over the world, including big-name companies like Amazon, Disney, Airbnb and Netflix. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invest-in-success">Invest in success</h2>



The secret to the company’s success, Tanase says, is investing in two things: marketing and cybersecurity.



He estimates that ZeroBounce has invested at least $3 million in <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/5-steps-to-make-marketing-work-for-sales-in-any-industry/">marketing</a> over time to figure out how to best reach the company’s target audience. The company’s overall approach could be summed up in three short sentences:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Keep what’s working and remove what’s not.</li>



<li>Fail fast.</li>



<li>Don’t keep what’s not working for very long.</li>
</ul>



While Tanase is expansive with marketing, he is extra cautious with cybersecurity. He doesn’t trust other cloud platforms with client data, so ZeroBounce has built its own cloud platform.



Clients use ZeroBounce to detect if a customer is signing up for their services using a disposable or temporary email. They also use ZeroBounce to ensure that their email lists aren’t filled with old, invalid emails. For instance, Tanase says, if your email list is five years old, the percentage of invalid emails could be as high as 60% or 70% because people change jobs.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-test-fail-and-keep-what-works">Test, fail, and keep what works</h2>



With so many companies using email to communicate with customers, Tanase believed there was a need for ZeroBounce. He just needed a way for potential clients to find it.



“Our idea was to be everywhere, if possible,” Tanase says. Then potential customers could see the company and test the software. “If they see our service, then we can convince them that we, you know, are one of the better companies out there,” he adds.



With this mentality in mind, ZeroBounce started marketing on all social media platforms, from Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.



“We tested, and we invested a lot of money into them in the beginning just to see what works and what doesn’t,” Tanase says. Although it takes a significant amount of money to build something on each platform, Tanase believes it’s worth the investment.



“In a way, we lose money,” Tanase admits. “But then, after everything is done and we test it, we see what works—then actually, we keep those things, and they’re highly profitable.” But without that investment of time and money, ZeroBounce wouldn’t know which channels would be the most profitable.



“To put a number on this, I would say investment in terms of understanding what works and what doesn’t [equals] around $3 million over time—not in one year, like in three years, something like that,” he says.



He admits that this is a lot of money. “But, again, that actually pays out in the end because you only get what really works, what’s highly profitable, but it’s very hard to get there unless you have the data to see what works and what doesn’t and test things,” Tanase adds.



Sometimes a platform doesn’t work because it doesn’t reach the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-connect-with-a-large-audience-without-sacrificing-authenticity/">right audience</a>, he continues. But the decision to stop marketing on a specific platform is driven by data, not emotion. “The whole idea is to have a scientific and data-driven way to get to the results,” he says.



It’s also important to fail fast. “So don’t let things take too long. If you see a keyword, for example, that is really bad in terms of conversion,” Tanase explains, ”don’t let it be there for months on end because it’s just wasted money.”



Marketing on more than one platform also has led to ZeroBounce’s success. Say your growth is 1% from each platform. According to Tanase, when you put all of them together, the sum is bigger than the individual things you do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-own-your-infrastructure">Own your infrastructure</h2>



When Tanase isn’t thinking about marketing, he’s obsessing over <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/cybersecurity-threats/">cybersecurity</a>. He knows all too well that a data breach can tarnish a company’s reputation, lead to lower profits and cause headaches for clients. As a result, security is “insanely important,” he says.



Instead of using cloud services from a third-party provider, ZeroBounce has built its own. “All the infrastructure that we have, we own,” he says. “It’s not a cloud service, so that eliminates as many attack vectors as possible.” The company also has a policy of deleting customer data every 30 days.



While Tanase’s approach to cybersecurity is very insular, his approach to improving ZeroBounce is not. He says he is always seeking feedback from outside the company. It’s essential to be up-to-date on what’s going on in the market and implement as many new things as possible.



Tanase is also careful to treat every customer the same, regardless of whether they are a big household name or a small boutique client. Too often when companies grow, they start to treat their customers badly, he explains. “Even if it’s a small customer… we treat them the same.”



Although this is the fifth company Tanase has founded, he says he is not itching to start any new companies right now. “The team that we created here—I think it’s the difference between all the other companies that I created,” he says. “It’s a much more mature team and it’s, I don’t know, I’m just very lucky to have them—and very, very proud of them.”



However, if he ever did create another startup, he says it would be a cybersecurity company.



This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://mysuccessplus.com/product/success-magazine-march-april-2025-mel-robbins">March/April 2025 issue</a> of SUCCESS© magazine. 



Photo by insta_photos/Shutterstock.com

Learn how to pinpoint your customer base to grow your business, according to ZeroBounce founder and CEO Liviu Tanase.

Learn how to do so according to ZeroBounce founder and CEO Liviu Tanase.

How to Identify Your Customer Base for Your Business | SUCCESS

Test Every Platform Until You Find Your Customer Base

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Learn how to pinpoint your customer base to grow your business according to ZeroBounce founder and CEO Liviu Tanase.

Future of Work

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Future of Work | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

Though the pandemic has pushed employers to focus on employee mental health and well-being, research shows that workers are struggling more than ever with burnout and stress in the workplace.



Motives Met, a human needs assessment software firm in San Diego, recently conducted an online survey of 2,400 U.S. employees and found that:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Only 16% of people are thriving at work.</li>



<li>53% of employees are more likely to prioritize health and well-being over work than before the pandemic.</li>



<li>50% of people believe that their company isn’t doing all it can to improve employee well-being and happiness at work.</li>



<li>Nearly 70% of C-suite members are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.</li>
</ul>



That last statistic, which focuses on workplace leaders, might hold the key to solving the workplace well-being puzzle. Organizations are trying to provide support, but the manager is the linchpin because they determine what their team needs while also helping employees get what they need, says Tacy M. Byham, Ph.D., CEO of Development Dimensions International (DDI), a management consultant company in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-workplace-leaders-may-hold-the-key-to-employee-well-being">Workplace leaders may hold the key to employee well-being</h2>



Nearly 70% of employees said their manager has a greater impact on their mental health than their therapist or doctor, according to a report by the Workforce Institute at technology firm UKG.



However, workplace leaders don’t always prioritize their team’s well-being. Because leaders must balance meeting deadlines and objectives while also considering their employees’ <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/9-habits-that-support-a-work-life-balance/">work-life balance</a>, some leaders might unintentionally prioritize work over their team members’ well-being, Byham says.







“We just have to completely understand that leadership is tough,” she says. For example, a recent DDI study found that 72% of leaders feel used up at the end of the day—an increase from 60% in 2020. However, workplace leaders can help facilitate greater work-life harmony for both their employees and themselves.



Here are five ways that managers can drive well-being at work:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-reflect-on-workplace-choices">1. Reflect on workplace choices</h3>



Workplace leaders often say they want to protect their team from <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/9-things-to-do-when-youre-feeling-burned-out/">burnout</a>, but then they agree to a last-minute client request that requires the team to work over the weekend. Or a manager might encourage employees to take time off from work but then praise employees who worked late or didn’t take a summer vacation.



“Just by stopping and acknowledging, ‘Oh, we say we want to live this way, but this is what we’re really committed to,’ then you can make a change,” says Kelly Mackin, CEO of Motives Met and author of Work Life Well-Lived: The Motives Met Pathway to No-B.S. Well-Being at Work.



The next time a client has a last-minute request, don’t automatically say yes, Mackin says. Instead, tell the client you need to talk with the account manager and the project manager to determine a reasonable timeline.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-create-meaningful-connections">2. Create meaningful connections</h3>



One in five adults report feelings of loneliness, according to Gallup’s Global Emotions 2024 report.



One way to fight loneliness is to help employees feel engaged and involved with both their co-workers and their work. At DDI, employees are encouraged to join a program called “Meet Around the World,” which connects employees from DDI’s offices in Pittsburgh, New York City, Montreal and Toronto by arranging for them to speak with each other. Each month, participants set up a half-hour phone call with an employee in another office. “It’s up to me to set up the call, and it can be work-related or non-work-related, but I’m making a new connection,” Byham says.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-follow-the-15-rule">3. Follow the 15% rule</h3>



It’s not unusual for teams to fill their work calendar with meeting after meeting. “But when you and your team’s calendar is booked every day, in every time slot, there is no room for those things that come up—that always seem to come up,” Mackin says.



It’s easy for staff to feel burnt out when there is no <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-negotiate-flexible-working-arrangements/">flexibility in the schedule</a> to deal with staff sickness, family emergencies or last-minute client demands.



Your team’s calendar should strive to have 15% white space—time when there are no meetings scheduled—each day, Mackin says. She adds that this white space will protect you and the team from overwork because it leaves room for creativity.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-model-the-behavior">4. Model the behavior</h3>



It’s not enough for workplace leaders to encourage their employees to take time off or to use the mental health benefits the company offers. Workplace leaders also need to show workers how they prioritize their own mental health and well-being by taking time off or using company-sponsored mental health benefits.



For instance, Byham openly talks with her staff about her mother’s recent cancer diagnosis. “I am the CEO, but at the same time, I’m balancing my mom… I’ve clearly declared to anyone that if the phone rings, and I see it is the retirement community where my mother is, I answer the phone [and] I step out of the meeting,” she says.



The same modeling behavior should be applied to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/mental-health-first-aid/">mental health resources</a>. Companies offer so many resources, but they are rarely used, says Marie-Helene Pelletier, Ph.D., MBA, an executive coach and keynote speaker based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. “What might change people’s choice to utilize the resources may be for the leader to use them themselves [and] to share their experience with the team,” she says.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-don-t-put-the-onus-on-the-employee">5. Don’t put the onus on the employee</h3>



It’s very common for workplace leaders to tell their employees to speak up if they feel burnt out or stressed.



“But the problem is [that] leaders assume that their teams have the psychological safety, trust, etc., to speak up all the time,” Mackin says. She adds that most workers won’t speak up because they don’t want to disappoint their boss or be seen as someone who isn’t hardworking. “In the flow of really busy everyday work, and especially remote work, it’s not [very] easy to raise your hand and say, ‘Oh, I don’t really have the space or bandwidth to do that,’” she says.



The best way to get your team to talk about work-life harmony is to ask your employees questions and give them an invitation to talk about it, Mackin says.



Here are two questions that will open the door to discussing work-life well-being:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Do you prefer to integrate work with your life or keep it separate?</li>



<li>What’s one change you would make right now in your job role that would have the greatest impact on your work-life harmony?</li>
</ul>



Establish a simple check-in at the end of every week and ask each person on the team whether they believe their work-life harmony will be protected during the coming week, the upcoming month and the next three months. When this becomes a regular weekly discussion, Mackin says, you’re giving employees the opportunity to speak up.



Photo by Jacob Lund/Shutterstock.com

Balancing work responsibilities and life priorities is a challenge for everyone. Find out why those in leadership hold the keys to employee well-being.

The battle between work responsibilities and life priorities is a trial for everyone. Find out why those in leadership hold the keys to employee well-being. | SUCCESS

Five Ways Managers Can Drive Well-Being at Work

Five Ways Managers Can Drive Well-Being at Work | SUCCESS

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A couple looks over pages in a binder. A piggy bank with glasses sits nearby.

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-darby-cfp%C2%AE-012719140/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Darby</a>, 25, remembers the financial crisis of 2008 as the first time his parents worried about money. Then just 9 years old, he believes it made a lasting impression on him and his generation, motivating them to save. In 2021, Darby began saving 10% of his salary for <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-plan-for-retirement/">retirement</a>.



“I think that's really why it kind of pushed us into caring more and more about saving,” says Darby, a client service associate with Graham Capital Wealth in Tampa, Florida.



Gen Z (usually defined as people <a href="https://www.beresfordresearch.com/age-range-by-generation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">born between 1997 and 2012</a>) is, indeed, motivated to save. They’re contributing to their 401(k) plans at higher rates than millennials (people born 1981-1996) did when they first entered the workforce, <a href="https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/dam/corp/research/pdf/generational_changes_in_401(k)_behaviors.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to a Vanguard report</a>. In 2021, 62 percent of workers aged 18-24 were contributing to 401(k) plans; that’s<a href="https://www.thewealthadvisor.com/article/gen-z-blowing-past-other-generations-when-it-comes-401ks-and-retirement-savings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> more than double</a> the rate (30%) of the same age group in 2006. This bucks the trend of younger generations saving less than older generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-gen-z-puts-its-money">Where Gen Z puts its money</h2>



Members of Gen Z aren't just saving money in employer-sponsored retirement plans. A separate<a href="https://preview.thenewsmarket.com/Previews/FINP/DocumentAssets/678330.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Fidelity study</a> on women and investing finds that 77% of Gen Z women and 74% of millennial women own investments in the stock market, including their 401(k)s, individual stocks, bonds, real estate and cryptocurrencies. Gen Z women invest 10.4% of their paycheck outside of retirement funding.



Social media is what sets Gen Z and millennials apart when it comes to saving and investing, says <a href="https://www.stlpfp.com/team/kara-brockmeier" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kara Brockmeier</a>, 37, a certified financial planner with Premier Financial Partners in St. Louis, Missouri. Social media was just gaining popularity when millennials like Brockmeier entered the workforce. Back then, Facebook was a place to see “what your friends are up to,” not for sharing information and getting financial advice, Brockmeier says.



Most of Brockmeier’s Gen Z clients come equipped with financial information. “They just want somebody to bounce ideas off of more than other generations who might … want more guidance,” she says.&nbsp;



Here are six reasons why Gen Z is poised to save more than previous generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-nbsp-nbsp-money-is-no-longer-taboo">1.&nbsp; &nbsp; Money is no longer taboo</h2>



Particularly for women, money was a taboo topic and rarely talked about at the dinner table, says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fidelitylornakapusta/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lorna Kapusta</a>, head of women and engagement at Fidelity Investments. But that has changed as more people, especially Gen Z women, are willing to discuss how much they earn, how much they invest, and where they are investing it, she says. “Gen Z women, now more than ever, recognize that investing—be it in retirement or outside of retirement—with any money that they have is a path to … generational wealth,” Kapusta says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-nbsp-nbsp-investing-is-less-complex">2.&nbsp; &nbsp; Investing is less complex</h2>



In recent years, the investment industry has focused on education and providing access to investing for everybody, Kapusta says. Many firms have lowered the barriers to investing by allowing people to open accounts with as little as $1 and by removing commission fees. There are also more sources of information, including webinars and podcasts. For instance, Fidelity’s<a href="https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/women-talk-money" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Women Talk Money</a> community and webinar series, which focuses on the unique financial challenges facing women, is available to free everyone, not just clients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-nbsp-nbsp-auto-enrollment-in-401-k-plans">3.&nbsp; &nbsp; Auto-enrollment in 401(k) plans</h2>



The Vanguard report cited this as a major reason for the high rate of Gen Z investors. In 2006, just 11% of employers in their study offered automatic enrollment. But by 2021, about half the plans did.



More employers are offering auto-enrollment in 401(k) plans because of the<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2954/text" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Secure Act 2.0</a>, a federal law passed in 2022 that requires companies adopting new 401(k) and 403(b) plans to automatically enroll eligible employees starting in 2025. Another reason is state law changes. <a href="https://cri.georgetown.edu/states/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Seventeen states</a> now have laws enabling state-sponsored retirement plans, says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencalio/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steven Calio</a>, CEO and co-founder of CSG Financial in Dover, Delaware. He expects that number will increase over time.



Gen Z (37%) and millennials (35%) are more likely than Gen X (28%) and Boomers (21%) to say their financial health has improved, according to a recent<a href="https://pressroom.aboutschwab.com/press-releases/press-release/2024/Schwab-401k-Study-Employers-Step-Up-to-Help-Workers-Manage-Financial-Stress/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Schwab survey</a>. Auto-enrollment could be one of the reasons Gen Z is more optimistic about its financial situation, says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marci-stewart-5b04119/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marci Stewart</a>, director of client experience at Schwab Workplace Financial Services.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-nbsp-nbsp-student-loan-matching">4.&nbsp; &nbsp; Student loan matching</h2>



In addition to auto-enrollment, some employers are now offering student loan matching in their retirement plans. For instance, if you’re paying $500 a month on a student loan, your employer can recognize that payment as if you were putting that money into your retirement plan and provide a match based on their 401(k) matching formula, Stewart says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-nbsp-nbsp-social-media-advice">5.&nbsp; &nbsp; Social media advice</h2>



More than other generations, Gen Z turns to Instagram and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/30/gen-z-gets-money-advice-from-tiktok-what-to-know-about-finfluencers.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok for financial advice</a>. “Finfluencers” often explain important money issues in a fun and easy-to-understand way. However, Gen Z needs to make sure the advice is from a trusted source because 27% of Americans report falling victim to false or misleading financial advice on social media, according to a<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HewZF_hXoPUXfePnOM-tPJhykLKTsvyb39GJUN0V1mA/edit?tab=t.0"> </a><a href="https://www.edelmanfinancialengines.com/content/dam/efe/corporate-brand/production-web-assets/downloadable-content/everyday-wealth-in-america-reports/Everyday-Wealth-in-America-2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> by Edelman Financial Engines.



“Research the background of the person giving advice, Kapusta says, because “not everybody who's on social media and making those recommendations is licensed.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-nbsp-nbsp-apps-make-investing-easier">6.&nbsp; &nbsp; Apps make investing easier</h2>



In 2021, many amateur investors <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/02/12/the-new-gamestop-millionaires-meet-the-amateur-traders-who-won-investings-craziest-sweepstakes-ever/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">made money</a> buying and selling GameStop stock on the Robinhood trading app. Gen Z took note and began downloading apps like Robinhood, Fidelity and E-Trade, Darby says.



These apps allow Gen Z to invest for themselves without paying a commission or brokerage fee, he notes. It’s easy to move $100 or $200 from a bank account to an app and start investing, he says. Investors can even buy 1/5 of an Apple share for less than $50, whereas in the past investors had to buy a full share, making it cost-prohibitive for many.



All of this adds up to Gen Z having more financial optimism than previous generations, with many Gen Z planning to retire by age 60, says Stewart. In comparison, she says, Boomers plan to retire at 68, while 65 is the average age of retirement for all the generations.



Imagine the financial power of someone in their early 20s who is immediately aware of financial planning solutions available through their employer, Stewart says. “The power of that over a 30- or 40-year career, given the magic of compounding, [plus] appropriate goal setting and professional management, makes me pretty optimistic about their future,” she says.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Photo from Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com

Learn why Gen Z saves for retirement more than its predecessors. Plus, discover where they put their money.

John Darby, 25, remembers the financial crisis of 2008 as the first time his parents worried about money. Then just 9 years old, he believes it made a | SUCCESS

Gen Z Is Saving More for Retirement Than Previous Generations. Here's Why.

Gen Z Is Saving More for Retirement Than Previous Generations. Here&#8217;s Why.

Gen Z Saves For Retirement More Than Previous Generations | SUCCESS

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ecommjess/reels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jessica Spangler</a>, Pharm. D., started making clever money literacy videos during COVID-19’s delta wave in 2021. She was working as a pharmacist in the emergency room of a New England hospital, and during rounds, patients would say to her, “If I make it out of here, I have no idea how I’m going to afford this hospital bill.”



Coworkers also discussed their finances with Spangler, including a colleague who wondered aloud if she needed to set up her 401(k) or if she was automatically enrolled in the program. These offhanded comments led Spangler to the realization that “nobody really knows about money,” so she decided to share bits of financial literacy, such as how to negotiate a hospital bill and set up your 401(k) at work. She now has over 1 million followers across social media platforms, where she’s known as “ecommjess.”



Spangler still works as a pharmacist at a hospital emergency room, but she is passionate about helping people increase their financial literacy. Her book, <a href="https://amzn.to/3XTFfsJ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Invest Like a Girl: Jump into the Stock Market, Reach Your Money Goals, and Build Wealth</a>, was released in March. The book provides a step-by-step guide that allows readers to design a custom investment strategy based on their individual experience, their risk tolerance and their financial goals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helping-people-increase-their-financial-literacy">Helping people increase their financial literacy</h2>



The irony of the book’s title is not lost on Spangler. “If you go to any store, you’ll see ballpoint pens for women, razors for women, laxatives for women, as if somehow being a woman makes these otherwise gender-neutral products different,” she says.



Yet, most financial products aren’t geared toward women, and, in fact, many were created to keep women out. Before the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was signed into law in 1974, women could not open a credit card in their own name.



“I think there’s intentional barriers that are put in place to keep certain people out of the conversation and make [investing] seem like it’s very difficult when, in fact, it’s quite simple,” Spangler says.







When you understand the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/when-considering-your-investment-strategy-keep-these-3-rules-in-mind/">rules of investing</a>, it’s straightforward, Spangler says. “But a lot of people are made to feel they’re not invited and that it’s going to be difficult, and that alone is a huge barrier,” she says.



While the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/investing-basics/">fundamentals of investing</a> are the same for everyone, women often have a different experience with money and investing, Spangler says. Because of the gender pay gap, women typically only make 84 cents for every dollar a man makes.



Yet, a recent study by Fidelity Investments about women and investing found when women invest in the stock market, they have higher returns than men—about 0.4% higher. “While that sounds marginal, when you compound that over time, it can add up to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more,” Spangler says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dealing-with-financial-challenges">Dealing with financial challenges</h2>



Spangler is no stranger to financial challenges. Her father had a heart attack and suddenly died when she was 7 years old. At the time, her mother was a stay-at-home mom taking care of Spangler and her younger brother.



“I watched my mom recreate her life and work her butt off to get a job in real estate,” she says.



Neither parent had a college degree, so Spangler wanted to earn a degree that would ensure a solid paycheck. But she soon discovered that her paycheck wasn’t going to be enough, especially not with inflation and student loans. She realized that investing her money would help her earn more, so she began reading every book she could find on earning money through investments.



“I don’t have a formal education in finance,” Spangler admits. “I’m a person who figured it out and felt like there has to be something I can share with other people.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-steps-to-invest-like-a-girl">5 steps to ‘invest like a girl’</h2>



When most people think about investing money, they immediately think of an individual brokerage account that allows you to buy and sell a variety of investments. But there are other ways to invest money. Here are Spangler’s five actionable steps to investing.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-establish-an-emergency-fund">1. Establish an emergency fund</h3>



Before you start investing, Spangler recommends setting up an emergency fund. Without an emergency fund, you will dig into savings or take on debt to pay for an unexpected expense like a hospital bill or a car repair. She recommends saving the equivalent of three to six months of your living expenses in a high-yield savings account.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-contribute-to-an-employer-sponsored-retirement-fund">2. Contribute to an employer-sponsored retirement fund</h3>



Put a percentage of your paycheck into an employer-sponsored retirement account. <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/types-of-retirement-plans/">Contributing to a 401(k)</a> will allow you to dip your toes into investing, Spangler says. If your employer matches your contribution, put enough money into the account to receive the employer match, because that is free money. Also, a retirement contribution will reduce your taxable income for the year.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-fund-a-roth-or-traditional-ira">3. Fund a Roth or traditional IRA</h3>



If you have additional money to invest, consider opening a traditional or <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-is-a-roth-ira/">Roth IRA</a>. A traditional IRA also lowers your taxable income. Spangler prefers a Roth IRA over a traditional IRA because you can withdraw the money from a Roth IRA without penalty, and if you leave the money in the account, it grows tax-free. When you withdraw money after age <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/roth-ira-withdrawal-rules-4769951#:~:text=Account%20holders%20can%20withdraw%20their,with%20no%20tax%20or%20penalty" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">59.5</a>, it will not be taxed.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-fund-a-health-savings-account-hsa">4. Fund a Health Savings Account (HSA)</h3>



Most people don’t realize that an HSA gives you a triple tax advantage, Spangler says. It will lower your taxable income and allow money to grow tax-free, and when you use the money to pay for a qualified medical expense in retirement, it will not be taxed. This money can also be invested just like a 401(k) or IRA.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-set-up-a-brokerage-account">5. Set up a brokerage account</h3>



You should only open an individual taxable brokerage account after completing the first four steps, Spangler says. “It’s the account that you should open last because it doesn’t give you any tax advantages,” she says.



Photo courtesy of Jessica Spangler

When you understand the rules of investing, it’s straightforward. Increase your financial literacy and learn how to invest with Jessica Spangler.

When you understand the rules of investing, it’s straightforward. Increase your financial literacy and learn how to invest with Jessica Spangler. | SUCCESS

How to ‘Invest Like a Girl’

How to ‘Invest Like a Girl’ With Jessica Spangler | SUCCESS

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A woman in professional attire flexes her muscles.

Professional Growth

Professional Growth Archives

Professional Growth | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

After two years of scrambling to attract talent, companies are suddenly focused on cutting staff.



More than<a href="https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/60-business-leaders-anticipate-layoffs-second-half" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> half of U.S. business leaders</a> (60%) said their company is likely to have layoffs in the second half of this year, according to a survey from ResumeTemplates.com. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/hr-policies-trends/mass-layoffs-hit-tech-industry-over-27000-jobs-cut-as-intel-cisco-ibm-and-apple-slash-workforce/articleshow/113080323.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Several companies</a>, including Cisco, Intel, IBM and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/09/03/goldman-sachs-plans-to-lay-off-around-1300-employees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldman Sachs</a>, have announced plans to cut staff.  Meanwhile, a<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/banking/layoff-anxiety-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> recent survey</a> shows that 7 in 10 workers are worried about being laid off.



“Right now, our careers are existing in a context that is very pro-employer, and a few years ago, during the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2022/article/the-great-resignation-in-perspective.htm">Great Resignation</a>, it was very pro-employee,” says leadership and career coach<a href="https://www.betterwithphoebe.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Phoebe Gavin</a>. So far this year, the industries with the greatest number of layoffs have been media, technology and entertainment, she says.



Layoffs happen when companies either need to rebalance their finances or when they decide certain tasks are no longer essential to the core business, Gavin says. Once companies decide to make these changes, it can be difficult to convince corporate decision-makers to spare your position. However, career experts agree that it’s always a good idea for employees to show their value at work—even when there are no layoff rumors.



Here are five ways you can do this:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-connect-your-work-to-the-company-s-goals"> 1. Connect your work to the company’s goals</h2>



Make sure the work you’re doing ties back to the company’s mission and goals, and that the bulk of your work directly contributes to the business’s bottom line.&nbsp;



“It really is not about what we love to do,” says financial coach<a href="https://money-essentials.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Annie Cole, Ed.D</a>. “It's about what the business needs in that moment.”&nbsp;



Strategic goals can feel lofty, so make sure you understand what they are and how to contribute to them, Cole says. If you’re unclear how your role fits into the mission, work with your supervisor to make your position more valuable to the company, she says.



For instance, Cole once worked at an organization that had a goal of making sure a certain percentage of staff completed training. Her role focused on research so every time she looked at the survey responses of staff who took the training, she tried to pinpoint the exact reason why someone did or didn't complete the training. Then she’d inform the program team what they could do to increase the training completion rate, allowing her to tie her work back to the company’s overall success.



When you connect your work to the company’s larger goals, it’s important to also communicate that to your boss. “If you don’t <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/7-communication-mistakes-youre-making-at-work/">communicate</a> it, it might go unnoticed,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-understand-how-your-work-is-perceived-by-others">2. Understand how your work is perceived by others</h2>



Keep in mind that how you perceive your job performance <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-be-more-self-aware/">might not match</a> how your boss perceives your job performance.



To better understand how leadership sees your performance, have proactive conversations with your supervisor, Gavin advises. Don’t wait for your annual performance review to ask for feedback on your work. For instance, you can say to your boss, “It’s been a long time since we had a big picture conversation about how I’m doing on the job. Could you give me some feedback?”



Delve a little deeper by encouraging your boss to talk about behaviors. For instance, ask, “Can you give me some more detail about what is happening that you don't like and what my performance would look like if it was improved?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-ask-for-metrics">3. Ask for metrics</h2>



Ask your boss what key performance measures he will use to evaluate your work at the end of the year, Cole says. If it’s increased sales, ask if there’s a certain percentage increase you should aim for. If it’s increased customer satisfaction, find out what that looks like.



For instance, maybe 80% of customers currently say they love the product versus like it, so perhaps your goal could be to increase that to 82% for the next quarter.



“The more you can get a really concrete goal, it's going to help you know if you're actually hitting that mark and that's how you can define excellence,” Cole notes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-become-the-problem-solver-nbsp">4. Become the problem solver&nbsp;</h2>



If you identify a problem, bring the problem with a solution to your boss. Or better yet, offer to help implement that solution.&nbsp;



“I have historically seen the ones that will identify the problems and come with a solution, [but] the ones that go that extra step saying, ‘Hey, there's a problem here, what can I do to help you,’ they're the ones that stay,” says Tiffani Martinez, HR director at<a href="https://otterpr.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Otter PR</a>.



If you have an idea, even if you think it's a little far-fetched or not fully formed, bring it to your boss, Martinez says. The company might not use it, but they might glean something from it and come up with a more viable idea.&nbsp;



“You're giving an idea, you're sharing your information, you're showing that you have a knowledge base that maybe the company hasn't been able to tap into,” Martinez says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-waterproof-your-career">5. Waterproof your career</h2>



You can’t prevent a layoff, but you can prevent layoff damage, Gavin says. That means making sure you’re in a good financial position so that if you do get laid off, you have savings to lean on.



You should also focus on skills. Understand what skills are needed to do your job at other companies by studying other job descriptions, she advises. If you find there’s a skills gap, invest in upskilling while you’re still employed to make it easier to find the next position.



Keep track of your contributions, achievements and capabilities, Gavin says. If you have reports or other work you’ve created, keep copies in your personal files, not just on your work computer.



Maintain relationships with current and past colleagues, and attend industry and professional meetings to meet new people. “It is absolutely crucial that you are active about building your relationships and reputation,” Gavin says.



If you’re feeling stressed about work, talk with your boss.



“Don't let yourself lay in bed at night, stressing about it without talking to someone because there are potential conversations that could change your career and… help your boss know that you're thinking about it and help you to craft your job to be as valuable as possible,” Cole says.



Photo by Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock.com

Do potential layoffs have you stressed? Show your boss why you’re an essential part of the team. Explore 5 ways to prove your value at work.

After two years of scrambling to attract talent, companies are suddenly focused on cutting staff. More than half of U.S. business leaders (60%) said their | SUCCESS

5 Ways to Show Your Value at Work

5 Ways to Prove Your Value at Work | SUCCESS

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A young woman who has made time for her new hobby paints hand-made pottery in a ceramics studio.

Often, we think about how much we would like to learn to play the guitar, take up knitting or write a novel. But many of us only dream about finding time for a new hobby rather than committing to making it a priority.



I’ve been saying I want to learn to speak Italian fluently for the last three years, but all I can manage is a few minutes of Duolingo each day—and when I travel or get busy with other activities, the first thing I drop from my to-do list is practicing my Italian. I haven’t even been able to commit to taking a weekly class.



So how can we make time for a new hobby? The missing ingredient could be motivation, says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jendulin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jen Dulin</a>, an executive coach and leadership consultant based in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. If we want our new activity to be a priority, we need to understand why we want to learn it.



“If our why is strong enough, we will figure out the how,” Dulin says. Without knowing our why, we are relying on willpower alone to keep us going, and willpower is often temporary and wanes over time, she says. Dulin recommends spending a few days reflecting on how this new skill or hobby <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/do-your-actions-match-your-values/">aligns with your values</a> and <a href="https://www.self.com/story/hobbies-health-benefits" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">how it might benefit you over time.</a>



After reflecting on my desire to learn Italian, I realized it might be difficult for me to maintain my motivation because I don’t have a trip to Italy planned for this year. But that doesn’t mean I should give up.&nbsp;



Here are six ways to stay motivated when learning a new skill.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-be-patient">1. Be patient</h2>



One of my biggest frustrations with learning to speak Italian is I want to sound like a native speaker, not an American trying to speak Italian. This has made me hesitant to practice my language skills with other people.



This gap between my expectations—that I will sound like a native speaker—and the reality—that I will sound like someone struggling to learn a new language—is common. We might be drawn to an activity like writing poetry or playing the guitar, but when we try to do it, we often realize we’re not good at it, says <a href="https://www.graceadeleboyle.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grace Adele Boyle</a>, a creative and executive coach in Nederland, Colorado. But being a beginner is part of the process of learning a new skill or taking up a new interest.



“Give yourself permission to be bad at it,” says <a href="https://kimchilds.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kim Childs</a>, founder of Take the Leap Coaching in Arlington, Massachusetts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-try-new-things">2. Try new things</h2>



The first <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/should-you-monetize-hobbies/">hobby</a> you try might not be the one you stick with, so test out a few new activities until you find one that feels right, Childs says. “Give yourself permission to explore,” she adds.



If your hobby is meant to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/rest-and-recharge/">release stress</a>, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to commit to an activity long-term. Especially if you don’t enjoy it, says <a href="https://www.performore.biz/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andrea Raggambi</a>, chief success designer at PerforMore Coaching &amp; Consulting in Falls Church, Virginia. For instance, you might think you will love to crochet, but then when you sit down to do it, you don’t enjoy it.



Keep in mind that a hobby doesn’t have to be an activity. “It might be something like mindfulness or meditation because you feel a lot of stress or because you want to learn how to make space and time to be present,” Raggambi says.



Once you find an activity you like and commit to it, then you can think about how to rearrange your schedule to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-habits/">make it a habit</a> or to make time to practice it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-start-small">3. Start small</h2>



We often start out promising to commit an hour to our hobby every day, but that might not be realistic given other commitments to work and family. Start by doing a little bit a few times a week, says Katie Navarra Bradley, a business performance and executive leadership coach in Mechanicville, New York. “Set aside a small chunk of time for the number of days within the week that you feel you can commit to that skill, and schedule it on your calendar,” she says.



Set small, achievable goals. Maybe you want to knit an entire sweater, but you can start with knitting one square and learning a pattern, Boyle suggests. Set a goal of finishing that square by the end of the month.



When Dulin’s client wanted to incorporate time for exercise into his busy schedule, he established small milestones. Step one was taking his bike out of storage and setting it up. The second step was committing to doing two minutes on the bike at 5:30 a.m. for six days. His next goal was to wear a heart monitor and increase his time on the bike. His next goal was to increase the intensity of his workout.



“During that process, his identity started to shift from, ‘I can't get myself to exercise’ to ‘I'm being consistent, and I am exercising,’ and for him, that was enough to get his habit and commitment started,” Dulin says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-find-pockets-of-time">4. Find pockets of time </h2>



A common barrier to starting a new habit or activity is <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/feeling-overwhelmed-how-to-find-time-without-sacrificing-self-care/">believing w</a>e don’t have enough free time. To find time for a new hobby, Childs recommends thinking about whether you spend time on things you don’t really value, such as scrolling through social media, shopping online or binge-watching TV. Childs recommends identifying one evening or weekend afternoon that you will deliberately abstain from that activity and instead use that time to try a new activity like a yoga or painting class.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-enlist-a-friend">5. Enlist a friend</h2>



Sharing your hobby with friends is a great way to create a shared commitment, Raggambi says. “There’s something different that gets unlocked when we do that with another person,” Dulin says.



If you can’t get your friend to join you, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/27/the-buddy-boost-how-accountability-partners-make-you-healthy-happy-and-more-successful" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ask if you can discuss your progress and share your milestones</a>, Dulin says. Find someone to share your interests with who will ask you about your big and small wins and appreciate what you have done.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-reward-yourself">6. Reward yourself</h2>



After a few weeks, pause and look back at the skills you’ve gained. “Taking just five minutes to reflect on the amount of knowledge learned can help us see our progress and stay motivated to continue moving forward,” Bradley says.



Childs suggests writing a “ta-da” list of all you have gained from your activity. “Celebrate your courage, commitment and risk taking,” she says.



Your reward might be learning a new skill or finding a new passion. “If it’s a hobby you truly enjoy, and it’s something you have a lot of fun doing,” says Raggambi, “then that in and of itself should be a good motivator.”



***



Lisa Rabasca Roepe is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist who writes about gender equity, diversity and inclusion, and the culture of work.



Photo courtesy Chokniti-Studio/Shutterstock.com

Make time for a new hobby. Discover six expert strategies for staying motivated while learning a new skill or pursuing a passion.

Make time for a new hobby. Discover six expert strategies for staying motivated while learning a new skill or pursuing a passion. | SUCCESS

How to Commit to a New Hobby or Skill

How to Make Time for Hobbies | SUCCESS

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Entrepreneur Erin King sitting on bench with arms and legs crossed

For serial entrepreneurs, finding success can take a few tries. For <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrserinking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Erin King</a>, her third try’s the charm.



King founded her first company, Jump Digital Media, in 2009 at age 25. “We built websites, and it was a disaster from the start,” King admits. The company crashed and burned in 10 months, and; King took on $70,000 of credit card debt by financing payroll on her personal credit card. After shutting down the company, King took a corporate job to get out of debt and gain more experience.



Her second venture, PMS.com, which King described as a Dollar Shave Club for women’s monthly health care needs, was founded in December 2013. King raised seven figures of capital pitching an all-male investor group, which she writes about in her book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Kind-Big-Deal-Unlocking/dp/1264266839" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">You’re Kind of a Big Deal: Level Up by Unlocking Your Audacity</a>. At first, it seemed like none of the investors would fund her startup. Then, one said yes after discovering he and King had something in common—they’re both University of Maryland alums. “It only takes one,” King says.



Despite having seed money, PMS.com failed, too. There were too many “copycat competitors,” and the margins were tough because clients could also order items for delivery through Amazon, King says. Despite 25,000 women signing up for the service, PMS.com wasn’t profitable.



However, the URL was very valuable. An investor from Asia offered five times the valuation of the whole company for its URL. Even with that payoff, King says the company barely broke even.







Through all this, King never stopped believing in herself. “I really had this feeling in my gut like there was something else out there for me,” she says.



King parlayed PMS.com’s 1.2 million Facebook group members into a social media community for small, local brands and created Socialite Agency, which, spoiler alert, was acquired by digital marketing agency <a href="https://strikepointmedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Strikepoint</a> in January 2022.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-following-your-intuition">Following your intuition</h2>



When King started Socialite Agency, her friends and family questioned whether it was wise to try again. After all, she had gone into debt once, dug herself out of debt, raised money, and then crashed and burned again. But King believed that it was possible for her to succeed.



“In my heart of hearts, I had this tug and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-science-of-gut-feelings/">intuition</a>,” she says.



King made a deal with herself when she started Socialite Agency: After six months, if company profits couldn’t pay the bills, she would admit defeat. Then, she started pounding the pavement, sending <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-write-a-pitch-email/">cold emails</a>, making <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/does-cold-calling-work/">cold calls</a> and asking people to give her company a chance.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-persistence-pays-off">Persistence pays off</h3>



“We were really struggling,” King says. “We had very small clients with champagne taste on a beer budget.” Because Socialite Agency didn’t have any large wins or notable clients, most people King reached out to would decline to work with the agency.



Until one day, when King was researching prospects on LinkedIn and came across a profile of a “fellow dog mom,” who also happened to be an executive producer for the Oscars. King sent her a personalized message through LinkedIn that included an idea for making the Oscars more exciting for home viewers. The event can be long and boring for TV viewers, King says, so she suggested creating an app called “Backstage Pass” that would livestream what was happening backstage, such as unscripted conversations between stars, to encourage people at home to watch the awards show on TV and on their smartphones.



The producer invited King to a meeting and ultimately hired Socialite Agency to run social media for the 86th Academy Awards in 2014. “She ended up hiring my little nobody social media agency over these big agencies in New York and London,” King says.



That was the year the now-famous selfie of Ellen DeGeneres, Bradley Cooper and other celebrities went viral. King admits the selfie wasn’t her idea, but it happened on her watch, so she earned credit for it. “We had this breakthrough client, and it changed my entire life as an entrepreneur,” she says.



After its Oscars success, Socialite Agency was hired to manage social media for fashion week, Visa and even the U.S. Navy. “Once you get the one big break, you’ve got the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/power-of-momentum-toward-goals/">momentum</a>,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-personal-energy-management">Learning ‘Personal Energy Management’</h2>



Although King sold Socialite Agency, she remains on Strikepoint’s board in an advisory role as the company’s chief energy officer. King coaches the staff on their personal energy management to help <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-prevent-burnout/">prevent burnout</a> from the high-stress pace of digital agency work and complex client management. She helps project managers to feel calmer and the sales team to be more persuasive.



Personal energy management is King’s new passion. She created <a href="https://erinking.com/">The Energy Exam®</a>, a comprehensive assessment to evaluate personal human energy and help people avoid burnout.



“We talk about powering through if we have a deadline, but powering through is only sustainable for so long,” King says. When we’re done powering through, most people look to power down, perhaps by taking a vacation or turning off their phones. But no one can power down forever, so we often get stuck in a cycle of powering through and powering down.



King has found herself caught in that cycle many times. During the pandemic, she was giving virtual keynotes on disparate topics, ranging from social media to AI to personal development. “I was really trying to power through, and I wasn’t paying attention to my battery at all,” she says. King noticed when she was speaking on stage or on camera, she would have to take a breath in between sentences; she was having trouble swallowing, and her hair was falling out. During a week when she delivered keynotes on five different topics, she woke up one morning and thought she was having a heart attack. It turned out to be a panic attack.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breaking-the-cycle-of-powering-up-and-down">Breaking the cycle of powering up and down</h2>



Soon after, she was scheduled to give a keynote in Bali and decided to spend an extra 10 days there to relax and energize. It was great while she was there, but once she returned home, she noticed herself going back to the same pattern of powering through and then powering down.



“The first couple of weeks I was burning incense and doing yoga, but then you get back to real life and you find yourself stuck in the same battery-destroying pattern of powering through and powering down,” King said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-burnout-to-balance">From burnout to balance</h3>



She didn’t want to live in a state of burnout or in a state of doing nothing. So, she commissioned a study by Ph.D. researchers to find out how to navigate the highest echelons of success without becoming exhausted. A dozen Ph.D. researchers and King interviewed thousands of people of all different ages from across the country.



The big takeaway is people who have high life satisfaction and high energy use language that isn’t about powering through or powering up, King says. Instead, they say things like, “I know my limits,” “playing to my strengths” and “drawing my boundaries.” The most satisfied and energetic people are self-aware in terms of how their personal battery works, King says.



The research also taught King that, if she’s not intentional about boundaries, her battery will drain faster. To help her cope, King hired a therapist and decided to focus on speaking about just one topic—personal energy management.



She also realized that she gets energy from spending time with her <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/why-friends-are-important/">girlfriends</a>. “I have this incredible squad of women and a few good men who are thought leaders or creatives, executives, authors and entrepreneurs, but also some of them are moms, daughters, wives and cousins,” she says. Yet, finding time to be with friends gets more challenging as people get busier with life and family obligations.



“Even if I can’t see them in person, I call someone on the phone—not text, not social media, not a comment, not a voicemail,” King says. “I call them on the phone for a walk and talk, and we get our steps in.”&nbsp;



This article originally appeared in the September/October 2024 <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-september-october-2024-daymond-john.html">issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>. Image courtesy of Erin King

Discover how serial entrepreneur Erin King found success and prevents burnout with her unique coaching strategies.

Discover how serial entrepreneur Erin King found success and prevents burnout with her unique coaching strategies. | SUCCESS

The Art of Trying Again — and Again 

Serial Entrepreneur Erin King: Finding Success After Failures | SUCCESS

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Indian businesswoman talking on cellphone, writing notes on colorful sticky papers in office in career lattice

An employee who had been working in corporate and internal communications at a healthcare company for several years was ready for a promotion, but there was little opportunity to advance. Then, the company posted a job in its regulatory division. The position was at the same level as her current role but with a slightly lower salary. Embracing the concept of a career lattice, she decided to take a chance and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/this-is-what-happens-in-your-brain-when-you-try-something-new/">try something new</a>.



Her gamble paid off. Within a couple of years, she was promoted to vice president and was earning the highest compensation of her career. That lateral move helped her develop new relationships and new expertise—not just in corporate communications but in regulatory work as well, says Maria R. Pellicione, managing director and head of research and operations at <a href="https://www.hechkoff.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hechkoff Executive Search Inc.</a> in New York City.



Career advancement is no longer limited to moving up a career ladder. Increasingly, employees are making lateral moves at work within a career lattice to gain additional skills and experience and establish new relationships and connections that will be helpful to their careers in the long term.







Traditionally, employees expect to move from associate to senior associate, or from assistant manager to manager, but that type of advancement isn’t happening as often as it has in the past, says Jody Fosnough, a training and development manager at <a href="https://www.fortfinancial.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fort Financial Credit Union</a> in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She describes today’s career advancement as more of a web than a ladder. “Where I see all organizations evolving is [employees] having a web of accumulated portable skills that are readily available to be used in a wide variety of different scenarios and situations,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-here-s-how-to-take-advantage-of-the-career-lattice-at-your-organization">Here’s how to take advantage of the career lattice at your organization</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-build-your-network">1. Build your network</h3>



The people who are most well positioned to make a lateral move are those who have incrementally <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/8-ways-to-expand-your-network-today/">built a diverse network</a> of colleagues in a variety of fields and functions, says Anne Shoemaker, an executive coach in Greensboro, North Carolina. “They’re not just networking with people in marketing,” she says. “They’re networking with people with lots of different expertise, so when they are considering making that lateral move, they have a whole catalog of people they can call on.”



For instance, consider shadowing one of your colleagues in another department or take them to lunch and ask about their job and how it’s changing, Fosnough adds.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-develop-portable-skills">2. Develop portable skills</h3>



Lateral promotions can help you build a tapestry of experience, Shoemaker says. “Instead of being a one-dimensional account manager from the tech field, become a multidimensional account manager who has sat at the table in tech, manufacturing and other industries and therefore has a broader base of experience to draw upon in future roles,” she says.



Within her own industry, Fosnough sees the trend to hire people with broader skills. Credit unions want their frontline workers to have more than just expertise in operations—they also need experience in sales and customer service, and maybe even loan serving. “Traditionally, these are all different departments, but what we’re looking for is somebody who has that web of knowledge, [who] is going to be able to make more holistic decisions,” she says.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-paradigm-shift-in-traditional-organizations">A Paradigm Shift in Traditional Organizations</h4>



There is a paradigm shift happening even within traditional organizations, Fosnough adds. Rather than focusing on a specific role or area of expertise during an entire career, employees can expect to be engaged in shorter projects that are based on their knowledge and experience. She says that companies are looking for employees who are <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/deliberate-calm/">adaptable</a> and teachable and have high energy to complete a task and then move on to the next thing.



“If you’re taking a look at internal upskilling programs and internal mobility programs,” Fosnough says, “you’re looking at shorter life cycles like project-based work, gig-based work or maybe some mentorship on a specific situation or scenario.”



To prepare yourself for a lateral move, Fosnough recommends anticipating job function and industry trend changes by reading articles, attending industry events, listening to <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TED Talks</a> and networking with colleagues. You need to be able to look at the market and decide if you might need the new certification Google offers, she says. Focus on portable skills you can get in a month rather than going back to school to learn business analytics, which could take years. “We don’t have time for that because by the time somebody graduates with those skills, we’re looking for something else,” she says.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-consider-the-opportunity">3. Consider the opportunity</h3>



When evaluating a lateral move, it’s important to consider more than just the salary. Examine how this new opportunity could position you for future roles and where it might lead you, Pellicione says.



She also recommends exploring these four questions before accepting a lateral role:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Is this a step backward from what you were doing three or four years ago?</li>



<li>What could the opportunity bring you in terms of new contacts and new skills?</li>



<li>Where can you make the biggest impact in this new role?</li>



<li>How will the new role expand your skills beyond your current job?</li>
</ul>



For instance, if your current role doesn’t allow you to interact with finance and you really want to be more engaged in investor relations and communications, it would be a good idea to take a lateral role that offers more direct interaction with finance, Pellicione says. Then you would be interacting with the CFO, heads of finance and other members of the financial community. That would make a difference in your career by opening the door to other relationships and business verticals. “Ultimately, these are things that could really help build not only the skill set that you have but [also] expand on it,” Pellicione says.



Making a lateral move internally is also a good way to show the company that you’re committed to them, Pellicione says. “Companies sometimes go through reorganizations and restructuring. But if they see someone is committed to what they’re doing…, that’s going to really help you… get to where [you] want to be, too.”



Ultimately, lateral moves are about embracing a <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-is-a-growth-mindset/">growth mindset</a>, Fosnough adds.



This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-july-august-2024-lilly-singh.html">issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>. Photo by fizkes/Shutterstock

Discover why career lattices are better than traditional ladders. Embrace flexible paths and skill diversification for modern career growth.

Discover why career lattices are better than traditional ladders. Embrace flexible paths and skill diversification for modern career growth. | SUCCESS

Forget About the Career Ladder—Focus on the Career Lattice Instead

Focus on the Career Lattice, Not the Ladder | SUCCESS

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business women getting comfortable using AI

AI &amp; Technology

AI &amp; Technology Archives

AI &amp; Technology | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

If you wish you could spend less time on repetitive work tasks, such as writing meeting notes or drafting internal memos and emails, you might consider experimenting with generative artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI is designed to create new content, such as text and images, based on complex algorithms and models that learn patterns from vast amounts of data.



While that might sound overwhelming, nearly half of employees (44%) report using AI to help them at work, according to research firm <a href="https://pro.morningconsult.com/analysis/ai-impact-on-work-jobs-2024" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morning Consult</a>.



In fact, you might already be using AI without realizing it since AI is embedded in many technology tools we use. For instance, if you’ve ever written an email and used a suggested word to finish your sentence, then you have used AI. However, if the suggested word isn’t the right word, you still use your human intelligence to finish the sentence the way you want.



Ever since AI was introduced to the larger population through <a href="https://chatgpt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChatGPT</a> in November 2022, more employees have started using the technology. Worldwide, 75% of knowledge workers are using generative AI, according to a recent <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/ai-at-work-is-here-now-comes-the-hard-part" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a> by Microsoft and LinkedIn.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-use-ai-for-productivity">How to use AI for productivity</h2>



As AI usage at work becomes more mainstream, concern that employees who don’t use it could fall behind grows. “That worker who’s used AI now [has an extra hour] in their day to work on something a little bit higher level,” says Clayton Durant, director of emerging media and platform strategy at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/mww-group" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MikeWorldWide</a>, a full-service public relations agency in New York City. Durant compares the introduction of AI to when email and the internet began to replace fax machines. “The people who embraced the internet and started to leverage the tools and technology ultimately got a little bit farther ahead of those who didn't,” he says.



“One of the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/trending-interview-questions/">top questions</a> that recruiters are going to ask job seekers in the next 18 months is [whether they have] used AI,” predicts LinkedIn career expert <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmccaskill/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andrew McCaskill</a>. In fact, that same <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/ai-at-work-is-here-now-comes-the-hard-part" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft and LinkedIn study</a> found that 71% of business leaders “say they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them.”







“Employees really need to understand [that] the future of work is going to include AI,” McCaskill adds. “It's [going to] be woven into most of our tasks.” But that doesn’t mean you need to become an AI expert. You only need to become more comfortable using the technology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-ways-to-get-comfortable-using-ai">5 ways to get comfortable using AI</h2>



Here are five small steps to take to become more comfortable using AI. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-take-an-online-course">1. Take an online course</h3>



LinkedIn is offering a series of online courses on AI, including <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/what-is-generative-ai/generative-ai-is-a-tool-in-service-of-humanity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">What Is Generative AI?</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/how-to-research-and-write-using-generative-ai-tools/meet-your-ai-creative-collaborator" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How to Research and Write Using Generative AI Tools</a>. These courses are geared to all levels, “from people who are novice[s] all the way up to people who [are] more savvy,” such as coders and engineers, says McCaskill.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-ask-about-your-company-s-ai-policy">2. Ask about your company’s AI policy</h3>



According to Durant, before you start using AI to complete work tasks, you should find out if your company has a policy for using AI at work. Many companies have rules around what tasks you can use AI to complete. For instance, many companies will allow employees to use AI to summarize meeting notes or write first drafts of reports, but most don’t allow workers to submit a report that has been written entirely by AI and was not edited by a human. In addition, employees need to be careful not to input any proprietary company data or specific customer data, such as names and revenue totals, into ChatGPT or other AI models.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-test-the-waters-with-chatgpt">3. Test the waters with ChatGPT</h3>



McCaskill suggests signing up for a free ChatGPT account to start experimenting with the technology. For instance, you can input a paragraph you’ve written into ChatGPT and have it write the paragraph more succinctly. You can also ask it to summarize an article for you or write a step-by-step <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-a-to-dont-list-can-help-you-achieve-your-goals/">to-do list</a> for a complicated project. He adds that starting with a small task will give you a sense of what the technology can do and how it works.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-start-using-ai-for-a-repetitive-task">4. Start using AI for a repetitive task</h3>



Think about repetitive tasks that are time consuming, such as attending a meeting, transcribing the notes and writing a meeting summary. Instead of recording the meeting and transcribing the notes yourself, you could try recording it and asking <a href="https://otter.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Otter.AI</a> to transcribe it, Durant adds. Then you can ask ChatGPT to organize the notes by topic. If most of your meetings occur over Zoom or Microsoft Teams, both platforms have built-in AI to record, transcribe and summarize meetings.



Consider the tasks that you don't like to do or tasks that take too much time, think about how AI could help you with the task and start experimenting with the technology, suggests Dallas Crilley, a digital marketing strategist at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/real-news-pr?trk=public_profile_experience-item_profile-section-card_subtitle-click" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Real News Public Relations</a> in Dallas. For instance, you can use AI tools for “small tasks that [you] have complete control over… such as having AI proofread something [you’ve] written,” brainstorming questions to ask a client about a project or “provid[ing] constructive criticism [on] a presentation [you’ve] created,” Crilley says. Once you’re more comfortable with AI, you can use it for more advanced tasks, such as managing your calendar, sorting incoming emails or auto-generating reports from data.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-ask-your-colleagues-how-they-are-using-ai">5. Ask your colleagues how they are using AI</h3>



If you notice that a coworker is using AI, ask if they can show you how they use it and tell you what prompts and inputs are the most useful for their work, Durant says.



Keep in mind that it’s important to recognize which tasks can be done with AI and which still need human oversight, Crilley adds. “People should always oversee its output and be very careful not to use it for tasks that require human judgment, like resolving conflicts or making strategic decisions.”



Photo by Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com

As AI becomes more prevalent, companies expect workers to feel confident and comfortable using AI. Here’s 5 ways to get there.

As AI becomes more prevalent, companies expect workers to feel confident and comfortable using AI. Here’s 5 ways to get there. | SUCCESS

5 Ways to Get More Comfortable Using AI for Work

5 Ways to Get More Comfortable Using AI | SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/using-ai-header.jpg

The hybrid workweek—spent partly in the office, partly at home—has become the new norm. In fact, a<a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/390632/future-hybrid-work-key-questions-answered-data.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> 2022 Gallup survey</a> indicates that it will be the predominant work arrangement well into the future. The adjustment to this new work setup will require some organization. With the right approach and intentionality, a hybrid schedule could even offer more freedom than working from home full time.



Here’s how to make the most of your time working in your office and at home.



<h2 id="h-1-preplan-your-week">1. Preplan your week</h2>



“A productive day at the office or at home <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/3-skills-every-leader-must-cultivate-to-successfully-manage-distributed-teams/">takes some preplanning</a>,” says Amy Freshman, ADP’s senior director of global HR. “Before COVID, we took it for granted that everyone would be in the office every day.”&nbsp;



Now, scheduling in-person meetings requires some legwork to figure out who will be in the office, while working from home may require you to bring home supporting documents and files, and possibly equipment such as a laptop and mouse.&nbsp;



Mapping out which days you’ll be in the office and which days you’ll work from home will allow you to plan the right tasks on your to-do list for the right settings—and give your coworkers a chance to schedule time with you when you’re around.&nbsp;



<h2>2. Do collaborative work at the office</h2>



Use your time working in the office to focus on face-to-face interactions with your colleagues and manager. Tasks that are particularly well suited for in-person meetings include brainstorming, decision-making, idea generation and giving feedback to a colleague, particularly any critical feedback.&nbsp;



“Any meeting where you need to read the room a bit or work through a decision should be done in the office,” says Lindsay Chim, senior vice president of the Right Management’s talent management practice.



Office days are an opportunity to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-spark-more-meaningful-professional-relationships/">have those human connections</a> we craved when we first started working from home, Chim says. “This is about making space for spontaneity,” she adds. “Make sure you build in breaks and space to run into other people.”



For instance, make time to have lunch with a colleague or to walk around the office and have impromptu conversations with your peers and manager. If there are specific relationships you want to nurture, reach out to find out when those people will be in the office and plan your schedule so you can meet for coffee.



“If you’re going to be in the office with other people, it doesn’t make sense to spend time emailing and calling people who aren’t there,” says Laura Vanderkam, author of <a href="https://amzn.to/3wKCCwK" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think</a>. Your days in the office should be devoted to tasks that are best done with colleagues who are also in the office.



<h2>3. Do focused work at home</h2>



Use your time working from home to focus on specific tasks and actions that <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/9-ways-to-stay-productive-when-you-work-from-home/">require you to concentrate</a> for an hour or more, advises Jenn Lim, author of <a href="https://amzn.to/3ebp330" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact</a>. You could also use this time to have one-on-one conversations with colleagues you already have a relationship with, she adds.



The days you’re working at home also provide a good opportunity to schedule doctors’ appointments, errands, home maintenance and other personal and family priorities. For instance, if you know your daughter has ballet practice at 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, you might want to make sure those are your work-from-home days to give yourself the flexibility to take her to class.



“Prioritize your work but sprinkle in the life stuff you need to do for your family and for yourself,” Lim encourages. “Instead of seeing hybrid [work] as a challenge, view it as an opportunity to have more of a sense of control.”&nbsp;



<h2>4. Keep files and equipment organized</h2>



Ideally, you should have dedicated workstations at home and at your office. If you need to carry a laptop back and forth from your home and office, Chim recommends building in as much duplication as possible by having a dedicated power cable and mouse at each workstation, rather than moving them each day. She also recommends arranging your home and office work setups so they look and feel as similar as possible.



It’s also a good idea to digitize your files as much as possible so they are available from any location. If your work requires physical files and documents, Chim recommends having two copies available—one that stays at your office and one that stays at home.



<h2>5. Rethink your commuting time</h2>



Most people who are going back into the office dread the commute, but there are ways to reframe how you think about and use that time.



When everyone was working from home every day, many people would simply wake up and go straight to their computer to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/4-ways-to-incorporate-microbreaks-into-your-work-from-home-routine/">start working without a break</a> until the end of the day, Chim says. Use your commute time as a chance to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/saying-no-to-more-why-giving-your-brain-space-to-wander-improves-your-productivity/">let your mind wander</a> and contemplate events that occurred during the workday or catch up with your favorite podcast or listen to an audiobook.&nbsp;



Then, think about how you could use the commuting time you’re saving on days you work from home to your benefit. “Take a moment and be grateful for that, because before the pandemic, you probably used to commute five days a week,” Vanderkam says.



Photo by Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

With the right approach and intentionality, a hybrid schedule could even offer more freedom than working from home full time.

With the right approach and intentionality, a hybrid schedule could even offer more freedom than working from home full time. | SUCCESS

How to Organize Your Hybrid Workweek

How to Organize Your Hybrid Workweek | SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/How-to-Organize-Your-Hybrid-Workweek.jpg