Think about a person you admire in your life.How would you describe him or her? Is it someone who cares deeply about others? Someone who says the brave statements? Someone who acts so beautifully authentic? Someone who really listens?Have you told the person you feel the way you do? If you haven’t, channel some good advice: Sharing is caring, people.Here are three tips to share your admiration with someone:Be ready. Make sure it is a good time for you and the receiver to share your message. Do not rush it, and make sure you are not distracted. This is a time to honor someone else, so your phone and/or computer should not be in between the two of you.Be specific about what you admire. Let them know the impact they have had on your path or thought processes. The goal here is to be very detailed. Examples are a powerful way to have it hit home. Instead of saying, I admire the awesome work you do; say, I admire how you continually show up in meetings prepared and ready to listen.Do not have an alternative agenda. This conversation is about sharing your thoughts and appreciation. It should not be followed with any expectations or tasks for the person to do. This is critical in both the workplace and at home. So, there you go. Now the ball is in your court.Tell me who you admire and why.The post In the Name of Admiration: Three Tips to Share appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on TrainingIndustry.com and examines the impact our relationships have on our ability to meet our goals, both personally and professionally.What’s the Temperature of Your Relationships, redefines standard leadership roles, moving focus away from what was accomplished to who made it happen. Think of the last time you had a big win at work, did you take full credit? Or did you acknowledge your team? Often the biggest challenge for a new leader is to check their ego at the door and start connecting. As leaders, we should create a culture of open communication and recognition.Are you enriching your relationships at work? Are they authentic?"Everyone likes to hear that they’re doing a good job, but for some reason we often forget to say thank you. Find opportunities to acknowledge the day-to-day efforts of those around you. Remember, people engage more when they feel appreciated, so become really good at verbally communicating your thanks."Read the full article.The post fierce resources: what’s the temperature of your relationships? appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

It is that time of year. Winter has melted away, and the sun is out. Start thinking about a break or a trip you want to take this year. Do you want to spend time in your own town? Sail in the Caribbean? Climb a mountain? Lay on a beach in Hawaii?The opportunities are endless.So I ask: Are you really going to take advantage of your paid time off? Many people don’t. A few months ago, I read a Forbes article that highlights that very fact. More than forty percent of American workers who received paid time off did not take all of their allotted time last year, despite the obvious personal benefits, according to "An Assessment of Paid Time Off in the U.S." commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group, and completed by Oxford Economics.Why do people not take the time? There is a laundry list of whys. Too much work to do. No one to delegate to. No money to dedicate to vacation. The list goes on and on…The thing is: Not taking time off seriously puts a dent in companies’ productivity and energy. And in turn, impacts their bottom lines.So what should companies do? Encourage managers to talk about vacations with their teams and take time off. In a Fierce survey we conducted, 83.4 percent of respondents have never discussed vacation policies with their employers. The conversation needs to happen.This week’s tip is to take the matter into your own hands and plan some time off for yourself. Focus on a time where you can really disconnect - this means not checking email and text messages related to work. Do something fun or adventurous or relaxing. You get to choose.I will be heading to Thailand in June. Where will you go this year?The post Fierce Tip of the Week: Take a Vacation appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Here at Fierce, we honor a person once a month with the coveted title of Fierceling of the Month. The qualification for a Fierceling is someone who has been nominated by peers for exceptionally exhibiting the fierce values and the 7 principles of our work. There are some great internal perks including choosing your favorite restaurant to cater a company-wide lunch. Each month I look forward to interviewing these amazing people.This month, I had the honor to connect with Katelyn Sorensen.When and why did you join Fierce? I officially joined Fierce two years ago this month. Unofficially though, it was a little bit earlier than that. My dad has been involved with Fierce for a long time and when I was looking for something to do over one summer in college he asked Stacey if she would be interested in an intern. He got my foot in the door, and then I fell in love with the mission and the culture and worked my ass off so that someday in the future they might let me back. Then, after working for a year in Australia, I moved back to Seattle and applied for a full time position - I must have not screwed up the internship too bad because they let me rejoin.What are some responsibilities for your role here? I am on the Lead Generation team, and our primary function is to do outreach to potential clients and then make introductions to our client development team. I am also taking on some data reporting and back-end metrics. I’ve been really enjoying the technology side of my role. We have a lot of freedom to explore here and create campaigns and develop our skills in different areas - that is something I really love.What’s the coolest thing you are currently working on? Right now I am helping to facilitate a huge change in the way that we interact with our CRM (customer relationship management software), and I am really excited about it. We are trying to streamline our processes and make sure that we are using our technologies in the best way possible - it can feel a little bit like re-inventing the wheel, AND the wheel is going to roll a lot faster when we are finished!What is your favorite thing about working at Fierce? I love the culture, I love the people, I love the innovation, and I love the mission. My generation wants to be part of organizations that they align with at a deep level, and Fierce is that for me. I feel incredibly lucky to have a job that I enjoy at a company that has a product that I feel good about sharing with people.What fierce principle are you working on this month? Master the courage to interrogate reality.When you’re not at Fierce, what are you most likely doing? You can usually find me at a Barre class, wandering around Ballard (a Seattle neighborhood), playing kickball, or trying a new restaurant. I try to be outside as much as possible - and it definitely depends on the fickle weather we have here in Seattle!What inspires you? I am surrounded by people that inspire me. My colleagues are amazing, my friends are incredible, and my family is the best support system I could imagine. And lucky for me, some of those people even overlap! I am inspired by growth, innovation, learning, and especially being a part of something that matters - both to me and to the world.What was your reaction when you found out that you were Fierceling of the Month? I was WILDLY excited to get to wear the sexy orange cape!! I was also very honored, it is an incredible feeling to be nominated for something like this by your peers, especially when they are people you hold highly and respect immensely.What else do you want to ask Katelyn? Tweet @fierce_inc #fiercelingofthemonth to ask any other questions.The post Meet our May Fierceling of the Month: Katelyn Sorensen appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Gallup.com and identifies time-off as a key contributor for increased productivity, enhanced engagement, and improved well-being.Most Company Wellness Programs Are a Bust found that by creating a culture that encourages general well-being, organizations gain a competitive edge. Managers need to shift their focus to seeing employee well-being as an end in itself, instead of a means to an end.Time-off is something we all talk about, but rarely use. What’s stopping you from taking your dream vacation?"Managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement scores across business units. At your company, do your managers carve out time to take vacation, go to the gym or attend their children’s school events? If managers don’t do these sorts of things, employees will feel they can’t either."Read the full article.The post fierce resources: most company wellness programs are a bust appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

It happens. Negativity can gradually, then suddenly, creep into your team, your office, even your home.Negativity is often underestimated on an everyday level, however, its impact can be quite large. In fact, a 2012 Fierce survey shared that 78% of the respondents cited a negative attitude as the key trait of a toxic employee. Negativity trumped gossiping, laziness, and passive-aggressiveness.Can you think of someone in your life that is consistently negative? Urban Dictionary defines a Negative Nancy as "someone who commonly whines, complains, or looks at the bad side of things." A Negative Nancy or Negative Nick does not approach situations with solutions or ideas, but rather, examples of why the situations are so horrible.In short: We don’t need these people in our lives. Why do we put up with it?This week’s tip is to address a negative attitude with someone in your life before it gets worse. Get to the point, and don’t let it fester. We all deserve to travel a little lighter.Do you think negativity is the key trait of a toxic employee? Tell us in our current toxic employee survey that launched last week here.The post Fierce Tip of the Week: Bust the Negative Attitude appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

At ATD International Conference & Expo yesterday, Fierce Founder and CEO, Susan Scott, rocked the house in her session Toxic Employees: The Best Techniques for Managing Them. She discussed how we’ve all worked with toxic employees, and how perhaps, at one point we’ve even been one.There are key trends that create toxic employees in the workplace. They include when people:Are disengaged.Feel overworked.Feel stressed.Feel undervalued.Are given anonymous feedback. Which one do you see most in your organization? What do you notice about toxic employees?Take our Toxic Employee survey here. It explores how you and your employer feel about the attitudes of colleagues, positive and negative, and how these attitudes impact workplace relationships, culture, and the bottom line.We’re excited to hear your thoughts. If you attended the ATD session yesterday, what were your takeaways?The post Let’s Talk About Toxic Employees: Do You Know Any? appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on TrainingIndustry.com and explores the multiple drivers of employee engagement, from workplace pride to empowering team members.Driving Employee Engagement through Leadership examines the impact of an employee’s relationship with their direct manager. A recent study by Dale Carnegie found that 80% of employees who were dissatisfied with their direct manager were disengaged. To put it simple, employees leave because of people, not organizations.When was the last time you connected with your employees on a deeper level? It’s time to start the conversation."Successful leaders are open to receiving feedback from their team members, leadership, peers and customers. Feedback from others helps leaders to understand the impact (positive or negative) they have on others."Try these six tactics to drive engagement in your organization.Read the full article.The post Fierce Resource: Driving Employee Engagement through Leadership appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Memorial Day in the United States is upon us, and while many of us enjoy the long weekend with family time and fun barbeques, it is about something bigger.Honor those who have served our country by having conversations that are meaningful and express gratitude for those who have served our country. Outside of the United States, other countries have time dedicated to honor their fallen heroes who have courageously sacrificed their lives. Universally, we share this desire to say thank you.Do not shy away from what this holiday is about. There is real opportunity to engage in conversations with others about sacrifice, courage, and death. If your family has lost a loved one, it is powerful to remember them through conversation.Take the time to fully engage in conversations about sacrifice even if it is difficult.We at Fierce would like to take this moment to say thank you to those who have served in our armed forces and to their families.We would also love to hear from you: how are you honoring Memorial Day?The post fierce tip of the week: honor memorial day with meaningful conversations appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Susan Scott, CEO & Founder of Fierce, Inc. talks with Andrew Bateman from Human Capital Institute. In this interview, Susan and Andrew discuss:The origin of FierceBusiness trendsPersonal inspiration Some direct quotes:"Everybody basically wants real. They want real. They want real in their relationships. They want real in their work. They want real in their organizations. They want real with their leaders. There is not as much of that going around as we would all like to think.""Nobody teaches us when we are young (to be real). Nobody teaches us that it is important for us to be authentic and what that means. Although a lot of people love the word authenticity, sad to say, wouldn’t know it if it ran over them."The post Listen to an Intimate Chat with Fierce Founder, Susan Scott appeared first on Fierce, Inc..