Attracting and retaining exceptional employees should not be a difficult task. In the summer of 2021, a high number of employers complain that it is hard to attract employees who receive additional federal funds with unemployment benefits. So, if wages are not competitive, whose problem is it?

Mid-year is a great time to evaluate your performance for the year. A quick way to do is to check how you are doing on your top three performance indicators. So, are you exceeding expectations or are you under-performing?

Hardship is an opportunity for both personal and professional growth. The emotions of hardship can be devasting but relying on strength and building endurance can pay off ten-fold for future challenges. Think of the last hardship you endured - how did you deal with it and what lessons did you learn from it?

Because disappointment is a fact of life – you would think we would be better at dealing and coping with it. But, unfortunately, this is not the case. So, what have you learned that is good and bad in how you deal with disappointment?

All managers have experienced at least once when someone has mentored or coached them without any expectation of receiving anything in return. When someone pays it forward, they demonstrate a strategic approach to make things bigger rather than a strategy of zero-sum. So, ask your managers, when was the last time they paid it forward?

Motivating others is typically a task for a manager but ultimately motivation comes from within and it can’t be forced. The real question is what motivates you to do what you do?

At times, managers will put in place systems and procedures that are designed to help but unfortunately will only hurt results. So, one key question to ask is if this is an Alignment Problem and if so how to get through it without causing more problems. Then, how do you approach an Alignment Problem?

So much to be grateful to those who have given the greatest sacrifice so that we all can enjoy liberty…