Michelle Ray

Business and Leadership Keynote Speaker

Call Now: 1-877-773-2561
Book Michelle

Best workplaces

Confidence, Composure, Credibility: Creating a Collaborative Space at Work

by

Do you ever feel like you spend more time with your coworkers than you do with your family?

A lot of us work long hours, day after day. The pressure of juggling tasks, doing more with less, and managing mounting stress can take a toll on our mental and physical health.

We spin our wheels when we know we need to be the best versions of ourselves, maintaining a helpful and pleasant demeanor with our internal and external clients alike.

Does that sound familiar?

[Read more…] about Confidence, Composure, Credibility: Creating a Collaborative Space at Work

How Millennials are Reshaping Corporate Culture

by

 

According to recent research, millennials would be willing to give up $7600 of their annual salary to find a job where they felt they were experiencing a better environment. Just think about that for a moment.

Think about the fact that this is a completely different mindset, and a different attitude in contrast to generations that preceded them. It also tells us something about the importance of culture to today’s workforce. So we often think about, is that person the right fit? But now I want you to be thinking about the fact that they are also considering whether your business, your organization, is the right fit for them.

So, culture is critical when it comes to talent retention, and keeping great people happy for the long-term, and attracting those people to make sure that they are the right fit for your organization, as much as they are considering you as their employer of choice.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfoWITL2flU&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Why humility is important in Leadership

by

When I think back to my career and one of the most influential leaders in my history at work, it was an individual who practiced tremendous humility and I found it to be an incredibly attractive quality. This was a person who was very transparent and always willing to let us know when she had made a mistake and whenever she was successful, she also knew how to be humble and there wasn’t a lot of room for her ego in her leadership style and today people are still craving that humility for their leaders and from their leaders.

You see, humility is not humiliation. Humility is strength. Humility is a willingness to display that you are human and that you do make mistakes, so be the humble leader because when you are the humble leader, you are the authentic leader and that will add to your repertoire of skills that will make you successful for years to come.

One of the most decorated war veterans in Australia was a fellow by the name of Sir Edward Dunlop and he had this to say about humility. He says the ideal leader is the servant of all able to display humility without the loss of authority. Humility as a leader is one of the most desirable qualities that you can posses. It’s what makes you authentic, it’s what makes you attractive to your workforce.

So, remember, humility is something that all of us can tap into. All we need to do is show our true selves and show up in total integrity and honesty.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIOtJBcnoww&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Passionate Leadership: 12 Key Traits That Distinguish The Best From The Rest

by

This article was originally published on September 7, 2016, and has been updated.

Do you remember your first encounter with a passionate leader?

The reality is that any leader can be passionate…if they know what to do.

But first, let’s look at why this is so important. [Read more…] about Passionate Leadership: 12 Key Traits That Distinguish The Best From The Rest

Why Conflict Management is an Essential Interpersonal Skill

by

 

Conflict management is the higher order of interpersonal skills. It is so important as a leader that you are able, that you that the ability, the competency, to be able to manage conflict. You may not always resolve it, but let’s make no mistake that as a leader if we do not address conflict it is an enormous cost to morale.

It is one of the key reasons to why people start thinking about leaving a job. And it actually is one of the biggest demotivators to individuals who were already performing well and were feeling good about what they’re doing, and they notice that their leader has not addressed an issue between their colleagues. So, your ability to manage and resolve conflict if possible, as I said, to be able to resolve it, is something that your individuals who are involved in the conflict are looking to you to manage. And also the rest of your team are expecting that you are able to do that.

Developing these skills is really important because to the individuals having the issue, as I said, if they feel that you aren’t able to address it then where are they going to go? Who are they going to turn to? They’re not able to manage it on their own. So that’s why they’re looking to you to be able to help them to deal with that concern, whatever it might be.

Time and again I’ve had people coming to me, whether it’s through my coaching services, or during a workshop session. I only had it happen the other day where someone said to me, you know what? There is an issue with another manager who is a bully and I know that my senior leadership aren’t addressing that. They aren’t addressing the conflict between us. And as a result of that I’m really at a point where I don’t think I can stay. And that is a really sad thing.

So, this really capable person is considering walking away from their position after 14 years because their management, their senior leadership, aren’t able to deal with this conflict. So, I’m urging you to think about developing your skills when it comes to managing conflict to the absolute best of your ability rather than risk losing great people.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkvJZeSHmBA on YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Understanding Political Skills in Great Leaders – Office Politics

by

Let’s talk about political competencies as a leader. I’m not talking about you being an elected official, someone that has all the votes, but when it comes to your business, it’s all about understanding what is going on with the people dynamics, understanding when people are trying to get their own agendas heard. This is something that really does come with time and experience. When you are honing your skills as a leader and you get to understand the games that people are playing and how they’re trying to advance their own agendas, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

However, for you as a leader, it’s really important for you to understand that we need to manage these kind of office politics, business politics, because if we don’t, it could result in your team being very dysfunctional, and people are playing that game of trying to one-up each other, and of course, that could lead to disaster because people are constantly trying to advance their own agenda, but at what cost?

You as the leader need to really be cognizant of people trying to advance their own agenda, play the political games. What is that all about? How you manage that is really essential to keeping harmony, high morale, high engagement, and a fully functioning organization.

This article is a transcript from Understanding Political Skills in Great Leaders – Office Politics YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

On-boarding new Talent (Part 1)

by

As leaders, your most pressing challenge is staying ahead of the curve. When it comes to your talent management strategy, the key to gaining the strategic advantage is your people. No matter how high tech the world continues to be, the success of your business, no matter what industry you work in, is dependent upon retaining the best talent.

Name any segment of the market right now that isn’t feeling he impact of a talent shortage. How did this happen? Well, there are many reasons that can explain the panic mode that businesses are experiencing. The retirement of millions of baby boomers and the availability of millennials to replace them, it counts for much of the struggle. Although, interestingly, organizations have known for some time that they will need to have a strategy in place to attract new talent.

Unfortunately, many haven’t fully anticipated the global competition for talent. In addition leaders at many levels are unaware of the impact of their own reputation. Personally as well as the reputation of their own employer brand on a new hire’s decision to stay.

In this series we’re gonna look at the key elements that you need to have in place to attract and retain the best people.

We need to be asking ourselves, if we’re leading ourselves, are we being the best possible example that we can be?

We manufacture a lot of our fear. All of us should look at leadership as being a mindset. It’s about being the leader of your own life and we have all have to choice to be able to do that.

You know there’s an old adage, people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. And this has total applicably for so many of you who are grappling right now with the talent shortage. Gallop research has found that 50 percent of employees leave because they’re frustrated with their boss. Now why are they frustrated? They’re frustrated for a myriad of reasons. Lack of direction, they can’t see the opportunity path, they feel excluded from the decision making process, or a lack of communication or maybe it could be because they feel that their boss is arrogant or narcissistic or even worse, they’re an egomaniac who takes all the credit when they do a good job.

Now what does this do? It creates a total lack of trust and it makes us feel insecure and start to question what we are doing in this position. So think about how many times you have left a position because of poor leadership. Or maybe the opposite is true. You’ve stayed because of an inspiring, caring leader who validates your work and makes it a priority to build a relationship with you. Every one of us wants that and we also want to feel like we’re doing purposeful, meaningful work and we want to see that connection between what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

So ask yourself, as a leader, are you demonstrating this? You see, leading by example is the one aspect of your talent management strategy that you can control. Jim Clifton, the CEO of Gallop, references the fact that one 10 percent of people have the god-given talent to lead. That is an amazing statistic. You see, for years Gallop has surveyed more than two million people in more than 30 countries on the topic of leadership and while there’s a great deal of emphasis on employee engagement, Gallop research also shows that more than 30 percent of leaders are disengaged. Now that is alarming. So consider the link between a disengaged leader and a disengaged employee.

What this means, and is a reminder for all of us, is that leaders profoundly influence the atmosphere and the direction of an individual’s career path. How can we be inspired to stay when our leaders are disengaged? There is a direct correlation between talent retention and a leader’s motivation. How they are engaged at work is gonna impact your team.

In summary, let’s remember that leaders profoundly impact an employee’s decision to stay or go. Also that leaders who are engaged themselves can engage others. Positive energy is infectious and the key is to remember that you want to be the leader that they stay for.

This post is a transcript of the content of a new video series on YouTube. Check it out here!

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Three Ways To Have More Fun At Work

by

“It’s not fun anymore”… words I was not expecting to hear from the CEO of a highly successful enterprise. Was he referencing the state of his industry or the workplace in general…or both? The CEO was lamenting the fact that everything has changed: Shareholder expectations, demanding clients and a new generation of employees. Sadly, he was losing his passion and belief that work could once again be as enjoyable as his first five, ten, or twenty years had been. Please don’t suggest that he “should” retire. There are many individuals at every level of an organization who feel similarly, regardless of one’s age or position. [Read more…] about Three Ways To Have More Fun At Work

Setting Up To Fail: Why Onboarding Programs Do Not Work…And What You Can Do About It

by

Imagine companies investing heavily in recruiting great people and promptly allowing them to fend for themselves from their first day at work, with zero communication and a lack of strategy to help them succeed. It sounds unthinkable, yet it is sadly true. It is a problem that is entirely avoidable if more organizations developed onboarding programs that mitigate disengagement, high turnover and the enormous costs associated with re-hiring.  [Read more…] about Setting Up To Fail: Why Onboarding Programs Do Not Work…And What You Can Do About It

The Five Biggest Credibility Killers Leaders Can’t Ignore

by

Deborah is a senior marketing manager for a renowned home care services organization. I have known her and several members of her executive group for more than a decade. Over the past year she has witnessed growing discontent amongst the core leadership team, a dedicated group that pioneered significant initiatives to innovate and grow the business. During their last management meeting, frustrations reached a crescendo when the VP of HR reported on the findings of the previous month’s exit interviews. [Read more…] about The Five Biggest Credibility Killers Leaders Can’t Ignore