3 minute read

Growing Leaders

Next Article
More than a 401(k)

More than a 401(k)

By Andrew Weeks

Any company’s efforts to attract and retain employees, how they grow them into individual leaders, and what their office cultures are like, all start at the top of the command chain –its core leadership.

An absence of effective leadership means other important items likely also are lacking. But if a good leadership team is in place, it makes all the difference both to employees and the company as a whole.

But what is it that makes an effective leader?

Some skills and traits may depend on the company or industry, but there are certain tried-and-true ones that serve most any business well – caring and communication, for instance, both which help establish the culture of a workplace.

Such culture can have big dividends.

Leadership at any company, large or small, is “immensely important,” said Noah Fisher, human resource and organizational development manager with EAPC Architects Engineers in Fargo. “If you don’t have leadership, communicating, providing guidance – if there’s an absence of it, that absence gets filled by employees. That’s not a bad thing, but I think culture starts with support, whether it’s with attitudes and behavior or the way we interact with each other.”

Many different types of leadership styles exist, but one trait that all leaders have in common is that they lead, whether for good or ill, by their example.

EPAC wants all of its employees to take ownership — but it also has an effective core of leadership. Having that in place helps make employees take ownership.

In fact, in an engagement survey the company conducted that’s exactly how most employees said they viewed themselves – as leaders.

“One of the questions that we asked employees was, ‘do you view yourself as a leader in this company?’ Over half of our employees said that they did,” Fisher said.

“To me that resonates that people feel that their behavior, how they approach work, how they approach just being an EAPC employee, it rubs off and impacts other people and I would absolutely agree with that.”

Fisher also said: “Sometimes you have leaders who are leaders by title, and sometimes you have leaders who are leaders because of the way that they conduct themselves. It was really a kind of an awesome thing to see that so many of our employees view themselves as leaders.”

Fisher said the company started an initiative a little more than a year ago that aims to have each employee complete development plan – basically, an outline for the upcoming year, or two years and three years down the road.

It aims to leverage employees and their talents to positions where they can best thrive in the workplace.

“Along the way that helps us bench strength by developing people for potential future positions, leadership positions in the firm,” he said. “It helps people envision their career with you as an employer, when you get them thinking, ‘well, three years from now what do I see myself doing here?’ When you start to create that image and envision steps to get there, I think it strengthens the relationship of employee and employer.”

Women in Leadership

Lori Meader, director of human resources at Arvig in Perham, Minn., said the company likes to promote from within and is always looking to onboard new talent and diversify the workforce when possible.

Is it difficult to find women to fill leadership roles? It depends on the position – and not just in leadership.

The company does have some female technicians, for instance, but there seems to be more availability for men to fill those types of roles.

“In my opinion, not the company’s, that goes all the way back to the way our schools are structured,” she said, noting many institutions of learning do not encourage females to pursue STEM-related fields.

“A lot of women have not gone in that direction because they never had that exposure and support or encouragement. I think that’s starting to change a little, but right now it makes it hard for us to find women for those technical positions.”

Meader also said: “But I would say, it depends on the position. … Our first choice is to promote from within, especially for leaders. We’re probably about 50/50 in our leadership across the company.”

Arvig tries to diversify its workforce as much as possible, but that depends on the office — Arvig has about 850 employees scattered across four states — since each office is a reflection of its location.

If there is more diversity in a particular community, for instance, it is easier to find a more diverse workforce for that office.

“We try to reach groups, whether it’s women or minorities, veterans, those kinds of things,” Meader said. “But we have to target them where they’re located and find them where they’re at.

Meader said Arvig seeks new hires through various online job sites, the company’s websites and has plans to use social media more to attract new talent.”

“Obviously, hiring in the Twin Cities is a little easier to hire a more diverse workforce than it is in someplace like Ada, Minnesota,” she said. “We want to employ a workforce that looks like the community we’re in.”

Read the Corporate Communities Q&As on pages 24-25 to see what other companies do to attract and retain employees and help them to grow.

“Tomorrow, before asking anyone to put out a fire or buy your product or contribute to your favorite charity, why not pause and close your eyes and try to think the whole thing through from another person’s point of view? Ask yourself: “why should he or she want to do it” – Dale Carnegie

This article is from: