Benton + Bradford Blog

Balancing Act: Adjusting Your Leadership Dials

Great leaders are not just born; they are sculpted through self-awareness that gives them the ability to adapt their style to fit each situation. This involves recognizing your unique set of traits, understanding what a situation demands, and knowing when to dial up or dial down certain aspects of your

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Leadership: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

As leaders ascend the professional ladder, it’s easy to believe that the same traits and skills that brought them success will continue to propel them forward. Yes, talent, ability, and hard work are essential. In the early career stages, technical skill and expertise are the main drivers of success. But

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Leadership: A 24/7 Role

As the lines between our professional and personal lives are increasingly blurred, true leadership transcends workplace walls. We are often seen outside of the confines of work and our behavior matters (perhaps even more) when we are in public spaces. Kindness outside of work can be seen as an affirmation

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Creating a Leadership Legacy: The Power of Your Impact

Paraphrasing Maya Angelou, people may not remember what you said, but they’ll remember how you made them feel. This sentiment encapsulates the essence of a leader’s legacy. In the early days of my career, I had the privilege of working under a leader who made a significant impact on me.

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Leadership: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Grief is on my mind. I am reflecting on an unfinished project and a remarkable client. Years ago, my wife and I selected a private preschool program for our boys that focused on character development rather than just ABCs and playtime.  My children benefited from a safe, loving environment in

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Language of Leadership: Effective Conversations

As leaders, our words hold significant power. The right language can inspire, motivate, and guide our teams through various challenges and build on successes. I’m often asked to help leaders find the “right words” for specific scenarios so that they can connect with team members effectively. While each leader’s style

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Self-Care is a Leadership Strategy

“I don’t have time.” Busy executives and leaders often say some variation of that when I ask whether they are making time to eat lunch/exercise/pursue a hobby they enjoy. And they often respond in the same way when I ask what support systems or peer relationships they are cultivating beyond

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Leadership Values in Action: The Six-Pack of Leadership Excellence

In every sector of every industry, businesses are encountering changes and challenges. That’s why it’s more critical than ever for leaders to positively impact their teams and their organizations. Leaders support, encourage, guide, and connect employees to business strategy and company vision. When they get it right, all stakeholders benefit.

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Transformation Through Leadership Coaching: The Benefits

In Season Three of “The Office,” Michael Scott visits the Dunder-Mifflin headquarters to interview for a corporate role. In response to a question about his greatest strengths as a manager, he famously responds, “Why don’t I tell you what my greatest weaknesses are? I work too hard. I care too

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Leadership Through our Feelings: Lessons from Home

At home with my two young sons, we often talk about big feelings. When children experience certain feelings for the first time, these emotions can seem overwhelming. How can I do anything when I feel so angry/sad/frightened? Recently I received communication from the teacher of my youngest son Miles, who

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Leadership in Action: Customer Experience

Who is responsible for the customer experience in your organization? If you think it’s only team members in client or customer service roles, that would be wrong. It’s everyone’s responsibility. And beyond that, those we serve aren’t just outside our organizations. We can be of service to everyone we work

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Leadership in Action: Trusted Relationships

We often hear the phrase “You can’t do it alone.” On some days, if you’re full of caffeine and enthusiasm, you may believe you can singlehandedly accomplish whatever “it” is on your list. But even if you could, operating solo isn’t sustainable. And it certainly isn’t advisable. Many organizations count

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Embracing DEI at Meritage Homes

Plenty of organizations talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, but get no further than some meaningful discussions. Many companies take the next step and embark on initiatives that focus on certain aspects of DEI, like hiring or creating resource groups for under-represented team members. But when an organization’s leadership truly

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Leadership Values in Action: Curiosity

Many managers are surprised to learn that curiosity is an essential trait for being an effective people leader. Think about it. If you think you already know all the answers, you won’t be looking for anyone else’s take on an issue or opportunity. If you don’t ask questions about your

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Leadership Values in Action: Personal Accountability

“Why didn’t you tell me?” A team member stood in his manager’s office asking this question. He had just learned that a more senior internal role for which he had interviewed was given to a colleague instead of him. His manager had put off telling him, dreading the conversation with

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Where Candidate Selection and Culture Intersect

Finding the right person to fill a critical role is often a challenge. When a poor-fit candidate is selected, the costs associated with correcting the hire can be much higher than typical employee turnover costs. Beyond the financial impact, colleagues and culture also suffer when an individual fails to meet

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Leadership Values in Action: Influence without Authority

While the phrase isn’t new, you’re likely seeing “influence without authority” in the professional world more frequently these days. It’s in the performance assessment criteria. It’s in job descriptions for all manager levels. Tools and classes focus on its practice. Influencing without authority is among the capabilities now considered essential

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Leadership Values in Action: Becoming an Agile Leader

We’ve heard a lot about organizational agility in recent years, as the ability of a business to adapt, survive, and thrive in uncertain or complex and changing environments. But what does it mean to be an agile leader? If your responsibilities include leading and managing others, and your organization focuses

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Post-Pandemic Priorities for Leaders

We’ve dealt with the loss. What did we gain? As humans, we are well aware of all the negative impacts of the pandemic that began to impact our daily lives in early 2020. But in my work coaching leaders, I often help professionals reframe negative situations and look for the

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Your Culture and RIFS, Returnships, and Resenteeism

I’ve heard a lot about three trending “Rs” recently. Likely you have, too. While economic instability and changing customer wants and needs are resulting in reductions in workforce (RIFs) in some sectors, other industries are clamoring for talent, turning to former employees or those with transferrable skills to fortify their

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DEI Is Not What You Think

Those familiar with “The Office” remember the first season episode, “Diversity Day.” It features a sequence of uncomfortable scenes that mock the anti-racism training that has become so popular in corporate settings. It’s rumored that the indelible scene in which Dunder Mifflin employees paste index cards to their foreheads and

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Getting Clear about Culture

Often, when a company completes administering an employee survey, I get this question from clients: “Why is our culture score low when our engagement is so high?” Culture and engagement are thought of interchangeably, but they’re two very different concepts. Here’s a clear way to differentiate between them: Culture vs.

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Leading Through a Reduction in Force (RIF)

Many industries are cyclical in nature. They often have periods that require a downshift in staffing needs. But for industries that have typically sustained business activity, an economic downturn that requires a reduction in force (RIF) can be new – and scary – territory for leaders. As I counsel CEOs

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Leading New Teams: Lessons from the Pitch

My youngest son Miles, who is in first grade this year, has dabbled in sports without showing a consistent interest in any of them. In previous years, he played golf and basketball but was pretty noncommittal about continuing with either of them. This year was different. This year, he expressed

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Green Flags of Leadership

Everyone watches out for “red flags,” the indicators of organizations or individuals that make for an unpleasant work experience. But as I interact with leaders at various levels across different industries in my executive coaching work, I see many “green flags” that are equally important to note. When leaders are

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Recession-Proof Your Leadership

It’s easy to lead when conditions are great. Business is booming, salaries are competitive, and bonuses are generous. Executives praise their teams, and a winning attitude permeates the culture. But those who understand the cyclical nature of business know that peaks are often followed by valleys. Inevitably, soaring profits come

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Fix it, Then Continue Leading

In my DEI work with clients, I focus on the importance of Trust, Candor, Humility and Grace. For leaders to be effective and for employees to feel connected and valued within their organizations, these qualities need to become central aspects of culture. They should be actual, not theoretical practices When

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Your Silence is Speaking Volumes to Employees

No matter when you read this, something going on in the country or the world today is having a negative impact on your employees. From mass shootings to economic instability to the fear of losing rights once thought permanent… this is a turbulent time that members of your teams will

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Leaders Need Friends

Lessons from a Forty-Year Friendship   It doesn’t have to be lonely at the top. And it shouldn’t be. For leaders to successfully model and coach good interpersonal behavior, they have to engage in it.   That’s not always easy. Numerous studies and real-world examples show that managers and executive leaders

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4 Essentials for DEI Success

Most leaders today agree that a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is important to their organization. A mid-2021 Harris Poll, conducted in partnership with Just Capital, found that 94% of large organization employers (500+ employees) say that their organization recently committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the

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A Leader’s Guide to Hiring Top Talent

Across all industries and levels, companies are finding it difficult to hire. Various reports show millions more open jobs than there are candidates to fill them, so recruiters are becoming more creative, resilient and enterprising as they seek your next team members. But it’s not only the job of HR

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Your Culture Has Left The Building

5 Keys to Cultivating Culture Anywhere Gift-wrapping a colleague’s cubicle on their birthday. Presenting an official key on the first day of work. Touching a sculpture in the lobby for good luck. These are all examples of office-based traditions that employees – and leaders – often confuse with culture. I’ve

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7 Essential Skills To Boost Your EQ

Everyone knows a manager who excelled at all the technical aspects of their job and was promoted based on that success. But soon comes the realization, either by colleagues or to themselves: what got them here won’t keep them here. Leadership is more than doing a job well and then

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Why DEI Efforts Fail: You Can’t “Do” Diversity

Having consulted in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) space for the past 25 years, I’ve seen a lot of organizations approach it in ways that are doomed from the start. Although their efforts may be well-intentioned, you can’t “do” diversity. It’s not a box to be checked. However, that’s

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Allyship and 8 Other Traits for Leaders to Cultivate Now

Whether you are currently serving in a management or executive role for your company, you are new to a leadership role, or you aspire to be in one, performing your existing job duties well isn’t enough. For leaders to successfully guide teams, inspire action, and maintain a collaborative, inclusive environment,

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Authenticity in the workplace: what it really means

There’s a lot of chatter about authenticity at work. Some companies place great emphasis on enabling authenticity under the same umbrella as supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Some studies show that employees who feel they can be “real” at work experience greater job satisfaction and less stress, among

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Listening is a Verb

Employees require more feedback. Constituent demands are greater. Organizations are adapting to new versions of normal. Employees are tackling additional responsibilities. Also, water is wet. Although the circumstances of what is keeping us busy and how we work may change, the juggling of too many priorities amongst not enough people

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Juneteenth Reflections

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, a Union General rode into Galveston, Texas to announce that the Civil War had ended, and slaves had been freed. Though the Emancipation Proclamation became law in January 1863, it

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A Mid-Year Check Up for Leaders

Six months into a year, leaders should recalibrate and identify areas of focus for the second half of the year. Ask yourself these questions so that you can best support your direct reports and organizational priorities, whether you’re managing remote or in-person teams. Are Your Goals Clear and Equitable? Goals

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What to Expect from an Executive Coaching Relationship

Most often, when an organization hires Benton + Bradford Consulting for a coaching engagement, we partner with the following types of executives: HIGH POTENTIAL An employee in an above entry to mid-level role who has been identified as a high potential leader for the organization. The individual has some excellent

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Feedback That Works: A Leaders’ Guide

Many leaders find delivering feedback challenging and they fail to provide insights that can improve employee performance. But feedback designed to praise accomplishments and prompt positive change is essential to good leadership and to fostering an organizational culture that engages employees and cultivates success. Here are five guidelines that can

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Leadership Lessons from Inauguration Day 2021

Like many Americans, I watched the socially distanced Inauguration 2021 festivities with interest. But unlike many Americans, I observed this day unfold through my professional lens, watching for lessons in leadership. Regardless of whether your candidate is now in office, executives in any kind of organization can benefit from these

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Culture Counts: Where Diversity Grows or Withers

As we’ve seen through multiple studies and in many articles, diversity training alone isn’t enough. What happens outside of a training module, a workshop, or a dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion? What are managers imparting to their team members about effective collaboration and respect for colleagues? Do leaders walk

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Why Diversity Matters in Today’s Corporate Culture

Is tension always bad? We tend to think so. But healthy tension can be productive, allowing for conflict and its resolution, challenges and their solutions. Diversity creates healthy tension when it’s managed and supported appropriately allowing for ideas to be shared freely and with candor. Differing perspectives give rise to

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What Works in DEI Training?

Every employee has, at some point, sat through a lecture sponsored by his, her or their company. Usually, a speaker of note is engaged to bring awareness to how diversity can help the company achieve its goals and look like the customers it serves. The presentation may be powerful, and

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There’s No Ignoring the Need for a More Inclusive Workplace

The diversity dialogue has changed. Historically underrepresented groups have spoken up about lack of support, or worse, in corporate settings for decades. Was anyone listening as closely as they are now? The recent murders of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others have served as a catalyst for creating

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“You’re hired to lead, now what?!”

A recent Harvard Business Review article cited that, “within the first 18 months there is a 50% chance the executive will leave the organization. This failure comes with enormous costs, not only in disruption to the organization but financially, too. One estimate puts the costs at 10 times the executive’s

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What I Learned in Business

Trust is built over years and destroyed in seconds. Cherish it. Good bosses are like good parents. Appreciate them while you have them because when they are gone you will miss them even more. When leading a sense of purpose is important. Purpose gives others a reason to follow you.

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