Anita Jeyakumar

Plan and schedule cross functional team building activities. This helps teams get to know one another and their communication styles as well as what is important to each person that they work with across the aisle. There are always common grounds with everyone - if these are cultivated proactively instead of just when there is a transactional need then win-win solutions can be created for all concerned to meet the objectives of the organization and their stakeholders.

As leaders we see times x volume of information and decision points as the people on our teams. Taking the time to prioritize and understanding what's truly critical for the team's success is important, and it is an ongoing task. What I have found helpful is to check in on those key priorities weekly and ensure progress is being made on these fronts And any provide coaching/assistance with any obstacles that the team is facing. There may be other tactical items that come up throughout the week, however the strategic priorities must keep progressing and moving forward. We as leaders need to be mindful of these and help keep our teams focus here despite various other distractions.

Get curious about the resistance and any root cause fear. Typically, resistance is fear of change. As leaders when we understand the fear then we can work with the team to help move forward. As an example, in one of my budgeting meetings some team leaders were able to hire additional staff and others were not. The fear was their team will not be able to sufficiently fulfil their responsibilities. However, when the overall onboarding and process changes and timing were discussed further and clarified the teams and leaders felt better prepared to work with the new budget.

Making decisions is an art and science. If we can keep a clear head and heart and make a few critical decisions it will have a much larger impact on ourselves and others surrounding us than spending time making multiple decisions of not as much importance. As executive leaders the decisions that truly matter are those tied to our people - employees and customers and in addition to the future direction of the team. The daily decisions are important but this why hiring and nurturing the right team fitting your culture is important. They will handle the operational decisions. Apply the pareto.pricinpal in decision making. Take it one decision at a time - make a timely choice - this prevents analysis paralysis. .

This is a process that requires consistency and dedication to truly have the desired impact - which in my view is always to increase Trust within the team as well as accountability. To develop a culture of Trust is of the utmost importance - one in which concerns, complaints and suggestions for improvement are welcome on an ongoing basis. A CEO that I worked for whom I deeply respected - spoke of our annual conference as our Festivus for complaints. That was a great perspective - when users and communities get together and address challenges head-on it fosters vulnerability and trust that lead to solutions and true partnerships. In line with this, when I select team events, I ask for team input, this always results in the best Events!

Nutrition is important for everyone but even more critical when the decisions made impact a much wider group of people other than one individual or family. Nutrition is important to be able to fuel oneself to be the best they can be when working with peers, team , customers. Planning meals or macros ahead of time helps and also ensuring to take time to eat and appreciate your food is important. Being grateful for the food also creates a sense of well-being and gratitude that pervades the rest of the day and work. This appreciative quality will permeate to all that come into the presence of the executive in addition to helping them fill their cup.