Ari Betof

No matter what the size of the company you’re running or what industry sector it represents, it’s important to consider corporate social responsibility. As a business leader, you’re driven to develop and provide your clients with a quality product or service, which involves accountability for your business practices. You’re also in the position of being able to make a difference for people beyond what your enterprise delivers. Learn why it is important to be a good corporate citizen.

Enhances community

Chances are, you live in the same community where you work. It could be a large metropolis or smaller municipality. Nevertheless, it’s a place that you care about. When you arrive at the office each day, you’re excited to get to work with your team and add value to the marketplace. And, when you’re planning leisure or family time, you’re looking forward to what your city has to offer. So, it stands to reason that you’re invested in your community.

Contributing to a safe and caring community means ensuring that your enterprise is helping society and the environment, and that you’re using company resources for the good of the population. You must be fully aware of the economic, social, and environmental impact that your business is having and strive to make improvements where you can. In addition, it means looking for philanthropic or volunteer opportunities to enhance your community. Both endeavors require that you pay attention to what’s happening around you, encourage dialogue with community leaders, and network with like-minded individuals.

Generates creative solutions

Corporations can help to solve problems by exercising their social influence. Perhaps your city’s hospital is in need of an MRI machine, and existing monetary resources are inadequate. Your company could organize a fundraising drive to help reach a financial target. Better yet, you could ask other local firms to join your efforts.

Here’s another example. Your city could have a shortage of affordable housing, and it’s inhibiting its economic growth. As a result, you may find it difficult to attract potential candidates who would be willing to move to your community in order to take a position with your firm. Therefore, you might want to consider providing financial support to a nonprofit that builds affordable housing. An Irish business actually took this idea one step further by working with a developer to construct homes for their employees.

Boosts morale

Your business depends on the expertise of a well-trained and engaged workforce that will hopefully be with you for the long-term. People will be motivated to apply to job postings and to build a career with your firm when they perceive that you think like they do and operate in an ethical manner. Prospective employees and others will look for a commitment to social responsibility that’s embedded in your company’s statement of values and principles, and emblazoned on your website.

When it comes to your staff, they’ll be proud to be associated with a business that’s intent on being a good corporate citizen. Furthermore, when you invite them onboard to support your efforts, you’ll have a loyal team that is committed to your company and their job responsibilities. Typically, involving staff in this way would include volunteer efforts—either during or after work hours—such as organizing a food drive or raising money for a worthy cause. Some companies even engage their employees in revising the firm’s mission and values to represent the social impact they want, and this is another way to boost morale.

Builds a legacy

If you want to create a positive and lasting legacy for your company, demonstrating that you’re a good corporate citizen is an excellent way to do so. You should be strategic and select a worthwhile cause that’s somehow related to your industry. For instance, if you’re a publishing house, you might consider a way to support a literacy initiative. The public will be more likely to associate your brand with the initiative, and your business will be known for its altruism.

Enhances operational efficiency

Improving operational efficiency is often a byproduct of being a good corporate citizen. Generally, there are two aspects to it. If your firm has implemented socially responsible and sustainable business practices, it can have the effect of reducing your production costs. For example, you may want to consider reusing and recycling some of your manufacturing materials where it makes sense or implementing a system to conserve water usage or electricity. Seeking out responsible approaches such as these can help to reduce your operating costs.

Takeaway

Demonstrating social responsibility offers many benefits for a business. Most importantly, it can enable a company to help humanity in a meaningful way.

The relationship you have with your boss can make or break your career. One of the main reasons people leave their jobs is what goes on between them and their immediate supervisors.

You also have a role to play in building a good relationship—it’s not just up to your boss. It’s particularly important to be proactive if you’re in middle management. You’ve probably invested a fair amount of time in your position and nurtured the development of your staff. Here are the steps to take to effectively “manage up” and practice organizational stewardship.

Build Rapport

Getting to know your manager as a person is critical to building trust. This is especially true when you’ve just started reporting to them. Finding appropriate connections bridging the personal and the professional can be particularly helpful.

Ask them questions about their life outside work. Maybe they enjoy sports or serial dramas, love to fish, or belong to a service club. Show an interest and look for common ground where you can. Be curious but don’t overdo it. You’re not trying to develop a friendship; this is not usually a good move.

In addition to fostering camaraderie, you will also want to learn about their previous professional experiences, leadership philosophy, and future professional goals. This will help you anticipate their needs and communicate clearly, helping you work together effectively and preventing workplace friction.

Learn Their Management Approach

Find out what your supervisor’s management style is. What work practices to they follow and how do they interact with their direct reports? They might like to hold morning meetings with their staff. Perhaps they make a habit of walking around the office later in the day, conversing with people. Are they apt to phone you when you’re packing up for home and ask for an update on a project?

By all means take note of their usual routine, but do ask what their expectations are for your availability and how they usually like to communicate. It’s best not to assume. Meet their expectations, but don’t be afraid to be strategic.

For example, you could request regular meetings through their support staff on a schedule that is frequent enough to be useful but not so frequent that it feels redundant or superfluous. Let them know what you need in terms of guidance and direction while being respectful of their time. After a while, take stock together of what’s working.

Understand Priorities

While you’re no doubt familiar with the company’s goals and objectives, you may not fully understand what your immediate supervisor’s responsibilities are. These come in two flavors. First, what’s your boss being held accountable for by the company CEO and second, what pet projects or additional personal objectives do they have?

When it comes to the first set of priorities, ask them if they’re comfortable sharing their formal performance plan with you. This is an invaluable way to ensure your performance goals are fully aligned to support theirs. It shows you the bigger picture—what other goals they’re expected to meet.

Follow this up by asking them exactly what they will rely on you to do to support these goals. You’ll need to drill this down further to prepare your own performance plan, so this is the time to confirm how they’ll measure your accomplishments.

Ask them too about those other unwritten priorities they may have. Remember, the more you understand their role and the pressure they’re under to produce, the more successful you’ll be in meeting the requirements of your position.

Communicate Effectively

There’s much more to communicating then regular meetings you may have with your boss and the times when they reach out to ask you for information. You have knowledge about the work completed by your team that might be helpful to them in other ways.

It could be that you’ve prepared a new monthly report that’s a good vehicle for giving them a snapshot of the status of various projects. Maybe one of your team members has designed a novel prototype that can increase productivity.

Keeping your manager appraised of new developments and providing a quick status update on others can usually be accomplished through email. Communicating well by email is an art. Make sure the subject line is clear, the text is concise and there’s a call to action if necessary. Be sure to check with them at your next in-person meeting how effective this method is and what can be refined for the future.   

Have Their Back

Above all, tell your boss immediately if there’s an urgent matter they need to be aware of. There’s nothing more damaging to your relationship than letting them be blindsided. You need to show that you have their back and you’re prepared to assist.

If you bring a problem forward, ensure that you also suggest a solution or a course of action to find one. You may not always agree with their decisions, but in almost all  circumstances your job is to support your boss and not publicly disagree while providing perspective in a less viable setting.

In short, it takes everyone involved to build a cohesive well-functioning company. If you can practice a few ways to manage up, you’ll increase your job satisfaction and effectiveness dramatically.

Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus is quoted as saying: “The only constant in life is change.” This also applies to organizations. Whether you’re talking about government, nonprofits, or commercial businesses, change is inevitable. There are always emerging political or marketplace influences, new company owners or CEOs with different visions, and bureaucratic or departmental adjustments in response to opportunities and challenges.

When you’re in a leadership role in an organization, you have a significant impact on how others respond to change, as well as a responsibility to support them as they adapt. Here are some key steps leaders can take to better navigate organizational change.

Adopt a change mindset

Recognize that nothing stays the same. Change will occur whether you’re ready for it or not. Sometimes, you can see it coming from a long way off. Other times, it will be largely unexpected. Be prepared to experience many changes during your career, and try to guard against being blindsided by the unforeseen by staying in tune with what’s going on in your enterprise.

This includes expanding and maintaining your network of colleagues, keeping in touch with developments in your business sector, and being curious about innovations in related industries. Don’t forget to encourage creativity and big-picture thinking in your team members and staff. This helps them to respond more nimbly when changes invariably come along. 

Understand the drivers and impact

When adjustments are in the offing, find out all you can about what’s likely to happen and where the change is headed. You’ll need to discern the change drivers and what the desired outcomes will be. Reserve judgment while asking as many questions as you need to so that you understand what it will mean for you and your team.

Imagine the end result once the new initiative, approach, or organizational structure is implemented. Envision the steps to getting there and plan out how to lead your staff through the change. You’ll need to be ready to respond to concerns from your employees and take key issues forward for resolution.

Create a sense of empowerment

This step begins with detailed and ongoing communication. Your team members must understand the need for change and feel that they know what to expect. This includes appreciating where they fit in the grand scheme of things and the importance of their contribution. Your staff should already recognize the value of their work to the organization and, to enable them to get behind the change, they will need to see the important role they will play in the process.

Understandably, people react in different ways to change. Some are enthused by the opportunity to be involved while others can be fearful of what it means for them. By treating each team member’s questions and worries with respect and engaging them in the journey, you’ll empower them to bring their best efforts forward—and foster synergy within the team. The result will be employees who more clearly see the organization’s future and are motivated to assist. Additionally, it’s a good idea to identify some of the change leaders within your team (i.e., those whose positive anticipation will be contagious).

Put supports in place

Adapting to change, even if it’s viewed as favorable, takes energy. As mentioned, there are those individuals who are more reluctant to embrace change, and you’ll be able to identify who they are quickly. Be mindful that while others seem to have few problems with the shift that’s underway, they, too, need ongoing support. This involves you being as accessible as possible, having HR experts ready to answer some of the more technical queries, and making opportunities for your staff to hear from the CEO and other enterprise leaders. Also, solid supports will be necessary to assist staff in sustaining the momentum that the change requires.

Execute and monitor

It’s critical to collaborate with other members of the leadership team to ensure that change is managed consistently across the organization. This means following a coherent plan to execute new processes, practices, or policies at the same time. Clear and well-alligned communication is essential at this juncture, both between you and your staff and among all leaders in the company.

You’ll need to closely monitor how the new initiative is implemented, as well as the results, whether anticipated or unforeseen. This is a time to continually assess the effects on your department with personal observations and regular communication with your staff. Take this information to your leadership colleagues and the company CEO so that you can decide on any modifications and alter the plan.

In summary, navigating organizational change takes openness, tenacity, and strategic thinking. It’s not surprising that large institutions often devote considerable time and resources to change management. By following a few steps, leaders can be well-positioned to help their teams thrive during the process.