Latest news with #teamwork
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Real Madrid boss Alonso fires warning to Vinícius, Mbappé and more
Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso has this week fired something of a warning message the way of some of the headline members of his squad. This comes amid confirmation that the Spaniard expects each and every member of his XI to work on the defensive side of the ball. The subject of work rate was of course a prominent one surrounding Real Madrid across the 2024/25 campaign. This came amid regular criticism of some of Los Blancos' leading players, particularly in the attacking third, for what was considered a lack of commitment to the cause. Safe to say, however, that any such shortcomings will not be accepted by the new man in the dugout in Spain's capital. Drawn on the subject of team defending during a press conference in the early hours of Thursday, Xabi Alonso did not hesitate in confirming: 'In my view, we all have to defend. The 11 players have to press. Vinícius Jr, Jude (Bellingham), Fede Valverde, Mbappé. All of them.' Conor Laird – GSFN
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
People-first leadership in a performance-driven world
In a world where leadership is often mistakenly understood as a position of control, I've found that true impact comes from service—leading not from above, but alongside your team to achieve success. This point was driven home about 15 years ago, when I made a resolution to read more books. Since starting this journey, one book stood out and shaped my leadership style more than any other: The Way of The Sheperd. It resonated with me so much that I even named my youngest son, Shep, after it. This book takes readers through core principles of servant leadership and outlines a leadership plan that showcases how true influence comes not from authority, but from trust, empathy, and a genuine devotion to the growth and well-being of your team. I reread this book once a year to remind myself that the most effective leaders are ones who lead with compassion, understand what motivates each team member, and empower everyone to hold themselves accountable. It underscores how a leader can't manage what they don't know, and how too many well-intentioned leaders focus solely on performance rather than their people. These lessons have influenced the way I lead, inspiring me to prioritize building trust and authentic connections with our team. At Kendra Scott, I make it a point to ensure everyone has direct access to me—my email is always open—and I encourage team members to reach out or schedule time to discuss anything on their minds. Company connections We've also established a tradition of celebrating the meaningful connections within our company. For the past 9 years, we've passed down the shepherd's staff. The tradition involves the current holder receiving the staff and keeping it for a set period of time before nominating someone else at the next family meeting. They share how this person has impacted them, add a meaningful token to the staff, and pass it on to the new nominee. The cycle continues from there. This simple yet powerful practice has reinforced our culture and the importance of the connections we share with one another. However, this modern leadership philosophy wasn't one that always came naturally to me. Growing up, my life was all about sports, which helped me become the first in my family to go to college. The competitive mindset required for sports can sometimes be too focused on the individual. But the real lesson I took away, doing whatever it takes with your team to win, shaped my early approach to leadership. 3 things I know As I moved into the business world and started working with founders like Ralph Lauren and Kendra Scott, I began to see how personal their connection to their companies was. That shifted my approach to leadership, and I started to focus more on building trust and creating a more supportive, nurturing environment for my team. Here are three things I know now: Fostering a sense of purpose leads to stronger performance Investing in your team and infusing every position with importance helps to instill passion and purpose in your employees. Every employee should be empowered to feel as if they represent a brand's vision. This authentic connection fuels productivity and drives success. Making mistakes can be your biggest asset You learn the most through your mistakes. In those moments, the best lessons come from acknowledgement and accountability. As a leader, being transparent and vulnerable about your own missteps can set a tone that not only enhance company culture, but also make employees feel secure in taking risks. The importance of leading with a learner's heart Great leaders are great learners. No one has all of the answers, regardless of their position in an organization. That's why it's important to maintain a culture of continuous learning and collaboration. The more you learn, the more tools and opportunities you have. In the end, leaders can't be successful without their team, and leadership isn't about control, power, or having all the answers. It's about showing up for your people, creating space for them to grow, and demonstrating humility through it all. Whether it's by reading a book about servant leadership or establishing supportive methods, I've learned that true leaders are those who cultivate intentional connections with their employees. There is still much to learn, and my journey is still unfolding, but one thing I know to be true is that leading with trust and empathy is the type of legacy worth leaving.
UAE Moments
2 days ago
- Business
- UAE Moments
♑ Capricorn: Daily Horoscope for June 27th, 2025
Today, Capricorn, the cosmic energies invite you to embrace your inner strength and creativity. The Moon's conjunction with Mercury in Leo encourages you to communicate with clarity and confidence. Love Horoscope Today, dear Capricorn, your love life is under the spotlight with the Moon's vibrant energy in Leo. This celestial alignment encourages you to express your feelings more openly and warmly. If you've been holding back, now is the time to let your partner know how much they mean to you. Single Capricorns might find themselves drawn to someone who exudes confidence and creativity. Embrace this opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and explore new romantic possibilities. Remember, vulnerability can be a strength in love. Career Horoscope In the realm of work, Capricorn, the stars are aligning to boost your communication skills and creativity. The Moon's influence in Leo encourages you to take the lead on projects and share your innovative ideas with colleagues. This is a great day to showcase your leadership abilities and inspire your team. However, be mindful of being too controlling; collaboration is key. By fostering a cooperative environment, you'll achieve remarkable results and strengthen your professional relationships. Remember, success is a team effort. Health Horoscope With the Moon in Leo, your well-being is infused with a sense of vitality and enthusiasm. It's a perfect day to engage in activities that bring you joy and elevate your spirit. Consider taking a dance class, going for a run, or simply enjoying the sunshine in a park. The key is to let your inner child play and express itself freely. By doing so, you'll find a renewed sense of energy and positivity. Remember, nurturing your spirit is just as important as taking care of your body. Finance Horoscope Financially, Capricorn, today is a day to exercise caution and avoid impulsive decisions. The Moon's opposition to Pluto suggests potential challenges or unexpected expenses. It's wise to review your budget and ensure you're not overextending yourself. Consider seeking advice from a trusted financial advisor if you're unsure about certain investments. Remember, patience and careful planning are your allies. By staying grounded and focused, you'll navigate any financial turbulence with grace and emerge stronger.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How To Replace An Underperforming Team Member With An AI Agent
How to replace an underperforming team member with an AI agent Your business no longer runs on people. It runs on AI. Every day, business owners make the same revenue with a lower headcount. They make more impact and have more free time without the endless meetings, annoying HR tasks, and repetitive questions. What if that could be you? Your best team members are too smart to be replaced by AI. They're testing tools and figuring out how to outproduce. But the worst ones face a ticking time bomb, and they're probably aware. AI agents are the future, but the power can be in your team's hands. ChatGPT can help you progress your best people and filter out the worst. Upskill together, for the benefit of your clients. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through. Transform your team with ChatGPT: the AI replacement playbook Your underperforming team members know they are coasting. They are stuck in 2022 and hoping this will pass. It won't. But before you can replace anyone, you need to know exactly what they do all day. Business owners rarely know the specifics. They hired someone years ago and now that person does... stuff. It won't cut it. Get specific about every single task, every recurring responsibility, every output they create. "Based on what you know about my business structure and goals from our previous conversations, help me audit a specific team member's role. Ask me questions about their daily tasks, weekly responsibilities, and monthly deliverables. For each duty I mention, probe deeper about the specific steps involved, time spent, and quality standards required. Once we have a complete picture, categorize these duties into three groups: tasks AI could do immediately, tasks AI can help with but require human oversight, and tasks that must remain human. Present this as a clear decision matrix." Set standards for each workflow. Create rules. Content creation needs prompts, quality control guardrails and a proficient human editor. Customer service needs response templates and escalation triggers. Data entry needs validation checks. When I sold my agency, every single process had documentation that made it sellable and replaceable. Turn knowledge trapped in their heads into systematic processes. "Using the duties we just identified, help me create detailed SOPs for the 3 most time-consuming tasks that AI could be involved in. Ask me to describe each process. Break them down into numbered steps that an AI agent could follow. Include decision points, quality checks, and specific outputs expected at each stage. Make each SOP so detailed that someone with no context (or an AI agent) could execute it perfectly. Start with the one that is the easiest to automate." AI agent setup demands the right combination for each role, and the tool stack matters. Content creation might need specific tools working together. Customer service requires different integrations. Sales needs its own ecosystem. Stop thinking in individual tools. Start thinking in complete systems. Task your best team member with putting this in place and have them manage it. Progress their role to them running a team of robots. "Based on the SOPs we've created and what you know about my business needs, identify the optimal AI tool stack for automating these processes. Suggest 3 different tool combinations for each major duty. Include estimated costs, integration requirements, and learning curves. Explain exactly how the tools would work together to replicate the human workflow. Prioritize solutions I can implement within 30 days." There's a risk to automation and that's always been the case. Don't automate something key to your business success. Not yet. Start with lower risk areas. Get versed in making agents and go from there. Calculate the real cost of keeping a human versus switching. Include training time, error rates, scalability, and customer satisfaction. Don't remove headaches only to create new ones. "Create a comprehensive risk/reward analysis for replacing this role with AI. Based on the duties and proposed solutions we've discussed, build a comparison table including: monthly cost (human vs AI), output capacity, error rates, customer impact, implementation time, and scalability potential. Score both options from 1 to 10 for each factor. Give me 3 specific metrics to track during a 30-day pilot program." You have two options. Use AI to do less: hire fewer people, make the same money in less time. Or use it to do more and get your team onboard. Give everyone the task of 10xing their output. Tell them there's budget available if they make a case. When someone steps forward, support them. When someone isn't bothered, warn them it won't help their career. Only go forward with winners on your team. "Based on what you know about my business philosophy and team structure from our conversations, design an AI adoption program that empowers rather than threatens my team. Create a 30-day challenge where each team member identifies one aspect of their role to enhance with AI. Include: communication strategies, department-specific goals, budget framework for tool requests, and recognition systems for early adopters. Draft sample messaging to launch this program." Your AI transformation starts now: level up your business AI isn't coming for your business. It's already here. Your best people will use it to become superhuman. Your worst people will be replaced by it. How fast can you adopt AI agents that do awesome work? Get your best team members to do the research, then test AI agent platforms to start small and build big. Follow the recommendations ChatGPT gives you, and sign up for the agentic trials of your existing tools. Document everything. Test systematically. Scale what works. Make your AI agents work alongside your empowered humans. Make more impact with much less work. Access all my best ChatGPT content prompts.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Great Leaders Win Teams Over In Their First 90 Days
Leader giving high fives to teammates sitting around a table The most recent domestic labor data shows that job openings reached 7.4 million in April. Translation? New hires are walking through the door every day. For leaders stepping into a new role, one of the quickest and most impactful ways to make their mark is by clearly communicating a mission and vision that energizes the team. A compelling mission isn't just corporate jargon; it's a practical tool that sets expectations, unites the team around shared values, and connects daily tasks to a larger cause. Research shows that 82% of employees believe it's essential for their company to have a clear purpose. When employees believe in that purpose, a staggering 93% say they're more likely to recommend the company to others. When articulated clearly, a well-defined mission and vision don't just set the tone for day one; they establish the foundation for high performance, resilience, and respect. Here are five key steps for new leaders to nail it. Set clear expectations One of the fastest ways to build trust with your team is to define roles and set explicit expectations. Don't assume your team knows what you expect from them, and don't guess what they need from you. Instead, use two simple but powerful prompts: For example, you could commit to transparent communication and consistent feedback, as long as they're habits you can realistically uphold. In return, request proactive updates and open conversations about potential roadblocks before minor issues snowball. One study shows that fewer than half of employees fully understand what is expected of them at work. This lack of alignment upfront can lead to underperformance in the long run. Starting with these two prompts eliminates ambiguity and sets the tone for a culture of mutual accountability from the outset. Identify core values Once you've made expectations clear, the next step is to align values. Identifying a small set of values—ideally, three words or fewer—provides a simple yet powerful foundation. Example values might include: Clarity: Valuing transparency and eliminating confusing jargon wherever possible Communication: Prioritizing proactive updates and shared understanding, especially when things are not going according to plan Collaboration: Solve problems together, not in silos The key here is operationalization. Every team meeting, decision, and milestone should tie back to these selected values. Employees who say their company's mission, vision, and values align with their own are far more likely to report feeling a sense of personal accomplishment and are less likely to consider leaving their employer. For instance, if 'clarity' is a team value, you might implement brief written recaps of clear takeaways and to-dos after each meeting. If 'collaboration' is a core value, consider making cross-functional brainstorming sessions a regular monthly event. Tie back to the bigger picture Employees are far more motivated when they understand how their daily work contributes to broader organizational goals. Eighty-three percent of employees say finding purpose in their day-to-day work is a top priority that influences their workplace satisfaction. As a new leader, one of the most impactful steps you can take is to explicitly draw a line of sight from your team's tasks to the company's overarching strategy. This can look like: It's easy for employees to lose sight of how their everyday work supports the company's larger goals. A strong leader fixes that disconnect by making the link clear and meaningful. When employees understand how their efforts play into the team and company's larger mission, even if they're not in the spotlight, discretionary effort and loyalty rise. Achieve early wins Research from Harvard Business School professor John P. Kotter underscores the importance of securing short-term, visible wins that can quickly build momentum and establish a standard for change. In his book, 'Leading Change,' Kotter emphasizes that these early successes not only validate a new leader's vision but also accelerate credibility. For new leaders, selecting one or two achievable goals that demonstrate the mission and values in action is key. These goals could look like: Publicly celebrating these wins and connecting them back to the company's mission will amplify momentum. It reinforces that the mission and values aren't just buzzwords; they are practical drivers of action that lead to tangible results. Create rituals and symbols A mission and vision resonate when they are woven into the team's daily operating system. Leaders can make these values stick by introducing regular rituals and symbols that reinforce them in meaningful ways: Teams with simple, reliable rituals often report greater meaning in their work, improved performance, and a stronger sense of togetherness and community. These small, consistent actions ensure that the mission isn't just a statement on the wall; it becomes part of the fabric of the team's daily life. Establishing an effective strategic mission and vision is not a one-and-done task. It's a continuous process of clarification, reinforcement, and lived example. But as a new leader, it's crucial to come in with a roadmap for success. By establishing clear role expectations, operationalized values, purpose-driven work connections, early wins, and team rituals, new leaders can build a strong foundation and a team culture that thrives far beyond the first 90 days.
