Respond to market trends successfully!

Wiley Workplace Intelligence regularly examines market forces shaping our shared future, and their November 2024 report reveals these shifts:

1. The Reality of Workplace Change. Change has become a constant in today’s workplace, but successfully navigating it is far from straightforward. According to Accenture, 70% of transformation efforts fail, largely because employees aren’t fully engaged in the process. 96% of employees report feeling stressed about change, and for 69%, unclear communication intensifies that stress.

2. Why Employee Engagement Matters. Engagement has always been a key driver of performance, but its significance is now amplified. When employees feel connected to their work and organization, they are 18% more productive, according to Gallup. Conversely, disengagement costs the U.S. economy $1.9 trillion in lost productivity each year. As the C-suite prioritizes engagement-driving efforts, they are recognizing key drivers such as a connection to company purpose, professional development, and enabling high-quality workplace relationships—particularly the relationship between an employee and their manager.

3. Learning and Development: A Strategic Function in the Workplace. L&D is rising in strategic importance within organizations surveyed. 60% of L&D professionals surveyed agree that their function has a new and durable seat at the decision-making table. Another change within the global Learning and Development practice is the evolution and expansion of training modalities, driven by a recognition that today’s employees require personalized, continuous, and solution-oriented learning that is integrated directly into their workflow.

4. The Growing Reliance on People Managers to Drive Professional Development As L&D’s influence grows, so does its reliance on people managers to bridge the gap between learning and real-world application. Managers play a vital role in encouraging participation in learning and providing feedback on performance. Yet many managers lack the training needed to fulfill these responsibilities. 49% of managers report severe stress levels, and nearly 60% of employees surveyed agree that their manager would benefit from additional training with a shocking 67% reporting that they’ve either quit or considered quitting their job due to poor management.

All of these trends point to the Everything DiSC suite of profiles as a valuable tool to increase engagement, link management behaviors to strategic priorities, and make change smoother. DM me for a demo!

Happy Thanksgiving!

4 DISC Personality Tips to De-Stress During Thanksgiving

Discover DISC personality tips to reduce stress during Thanksgiving and enjoy the holiday season with less anxiety and more joy.

The holiday season can be a time of joy—but it’s also notorious for adding stress to our lives. According to the American Psychological Association, 38% of people report an increase in stress during the holidays, often due to financial pressures, time constraints, and the overwhelming hype of holiday commercialism. For many, the workplace can add to the tension, with 56% of individuals reporting that their job is more stressful than home during this time, citing reasons like heavy workloads, lack of satisfaction, and limited opportunities for advancement.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to prioritize relaxation and enjoyment—both at the office and around the dinner table. DISC offers a unique lens to approach this busy season by identifying how different personality styles can manage stress and thrive during social gatherings. Developed from William Marston'sDISC theory, this system categorizes behavior into four primary traits: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. If you’re unfamiliar with your DISC style, consider taking a DISC personality assessment from PeopleKeys to gain valuable insights into your behavior, communication style, and productivity.

Below, we’ve provided Thanksgiving tips tailored to each DISC personality style to help you enjoy a more relaxed holiday season.

1. Thanksgiving Tip for D Personality Style

Your natural leadership skills make it tempting to take control of the kitchen—whether that’s cooking everything yourself or managing everyone else’s contributions. You’re the one who wants to set the menu, choose the desserts, and assign tasks to family members.

This year, try stepping back and allowing others to play a larger role. Focus on preparing just one simple dish instead of managing the entire meal. Take the opportunity to relax—curl up on the couch to watch the game or take a moment to reflect on what you’re thankful for. Letting go of some control can help you truly enjoy the holiday.

2. Thanksgiving Tip for I Personality Style

As the social butterfly of your circle, you thrive on connecting with people. Whether it’s sending out holiday invitations or curating the perfect guest list, you excel at bringing people together.

However, your excitement can sometimes lead to overlooking key details. Avoid last-minute stress by creating a plan in advance—like a grocery list or a schedule for the day. And remember to take a break from social media during the holiday. Spending quality, undistracted time with loved ones will leave you feeling recharged. Don’t worry—Facebook will still be there when you return!

3. Thanksgiving Tip for S Personality Style

Known for your dependability, you’re often the go-to person for family and friends who need support. Whether it’s running out to replace a burnt pie or peeling extra potatoes at the last minute, you’re always ready to help.

This Thanksgiving, prioritize self-care. It’s okay to say no to extra tasks or step away from being everyone’s problem-solver. By setting boundaries and making time for yourself, you can avoid burnout and enjoy the holiday—even if the turkey comes out a little crispy.

4. Thanksgiving Tip for C Personality Style

Your attention to detail makes you the ideal person to organize holiday logistics, from coordinating who’s bringing each dish to finding the best grocery deals. You’re great at crunching numbers and ensuring everything is just right.

But remember: not everything will go according to plan—and that’s okay. Try to embrace the unexpected and focus on enjoying the moment. Sometimes, the best memories come from a little chaos!

Build Engagement using Everything DiSC!

One of the strategies in Gallup’s 2024 Employee Engagement Strategies report is "Prepare managers to have meaningful conversations with their employees."

Gallup researchers studied the most common characteristics of extremely meaningful and less meaningful conversations. These are the top 5 characteristics of meaningful conversations, in order of importance:

1) Recognition or appreciation for recent work.

2) Collaboration and relationships.

3) Current goals and priorities at work.

4) The length of the conversation: Between 15 and 30 minutes is enough time for a meaningful conversation, but only if it happens frequently.

5) Employee strengths or the things they do well: Managers can have much more meaningful discussions about how each person gets their work done if those conversations are based on what they do best.

The takeaway is that feedback is meaningful to employees when their manager focuses on recognition, collaboration, goals and priorities, and strengths. And if these conversations happen every week, they can be brief. Naturally, problems and challenges will arise — and managers and employees should discuss them — but to improve engagement, managers must have conversations that inspire each individual.

Everything DiSC is a language your organization can use to build rapport and therefore engagement between managers and employees. DM me for a demo or more information.

Use Catalyst™ on demand to build engagement, collaboration and fun!

Would you or your colleagues benefit from having an on-demand platform that helps you work with each other at any time and on any device?

Everything DiSC® on Catalyst™ is a personal development learning experience that equips you with the social and emotional know-how for more effective interactions at work—no matter who or where you are.
By combining the proven DiSC® model with flexible facilitation and a powerful learning platform, Everything DiSC® on Catalyst™ helps you:
• Better understand yourself
• Appreciate and value differences in perspective and approach
• Readily and consistently adapt to the unique needs of each person or situation you encounter
The result is lasting impact. When you use Everything DiSC® on Catalyst™ , the hard work of long-lasting behavior change is possible…even fun. When your organization uses Everything DiSC® on Catalyst™ , you will have a more engaged, collaborative, and adaptive culture that drives results.

If you use this, you will take one assessment one time and if you are interested in further content, you don't have to answer more questions. And until 12.31.25, you can upgrade all existing DiSC learners in your organization to Catalyst AT NO ADDITIONAL COST!

Check out this video to see more and email me at karen@karengeiger.com to bring Catalyst to your organization!

L & D Takes a Seat at the Strategy Table

In McKinsey’s “The Essential Components of a Successful L&D Strategy” (2019), they observe that over the past decade, the global workforce has been continually evolving because of a number of factors:

* An increasingly competitive business landscape,

* rising complexity, and

* the digital revolution.

Meanwhile, persistent uncertainty, a multigenerational workforce, and a shorter shelf life for knowledge have placed a premium on reskilling and upskilling. The shift to a digital, knowledge-based economy means that a vibrant workforce is more important than ever and research suggests that a very significant percentage of market capitalization in public companies is based on intangible assets—skilled employees, exceptional leaders, and knowledge.

These factors have elevated the importance of the Learning-and-Development function in organizations and have placed them at the strategy table so that organizational strategy is linked to how the people will carry it out.

If your team is certified in using the Everything DiSC Suite of profiles and related facilitation tools, you will gain credibility and be able to make this link seamlessly. If you have 5+ people to be certified, DM me to set up a certification series over 2 weeks at your convenience (4 live online sessions and some online prework) and if you have fewer than that, click here for dates I can get you registered for Wiley’s certification: https://lnkd.in/gnF24RKu. Same content either way.

Counteract social media by building authentic relationships

Social media, while supposedly intending connection between, can increase feelings of loneliness (Needle, 2024, https://lnkd.in/e_RffUFm) and block interaction if only used passively. We can build more authentic connectivity by using tools designed for that and causing people to reflect on their own thoughts and reactions as well as respond to others' thoughts and reactions, so we build meaningful community.

If we leave our connectivity to social media's openness to disinformation and shared opinions without responses, we are at risk of destroying rather than building community.

I challenge you to choose someone you work with who you only see on social media, ask them if they are willing to do this, then dm me and each of you take an Everything DiSC Workplace profile then discuss the prompted questions to build a relationships away from social media.

Develop your organization's leadership capacity by using Everything DiSC Work of Leaders®

This program, profile and facilitation guide lays out a clear path for helping leaders at all levels make the connection between their DiSC® style and leadership. With one unified model of leadership—vision, alignment, and execution—it focuses on helping leaders understand their own leadership styles and how their tendencies influence their effectiveness in specific leadership situations.

Participants Take-Aways

*Recognize the priorities and tendencies, based on their own DiSC style, that shape their approach to the fundamental work of leaders: creating a vision, building alignment around that vision, and championing execution of the vision

*Explore in detail how to play to their strengths and overcome challenges to improve their leadership effectiveness

*Identify strategies to develop preferred behaviors based on context-specific best practices 

Program Components

1. Everything DiSC Work of Leaders® Profile.  

*Research-validated, online assessment. 23-page leader-specific profile report provides detailed context-specific feedback based on the three-step Vision, Alignment, and Execution Model and the three drivers associated with each step. Strong visuals and illustrations, including 18 behavioral continua, delve deep into what steps leaders can take to increase the behaviors linked to the essential best practices of leadership.

*Easily customizable. Remove or rearrange pages, customize the profile title, or print selected sections. The profile may be used on its own or with the companion facilitation (sold separately).

2. Facilitation Toolkit 

*Five 60-90-minute modules, including fully-scripted facilitation dialogue to use with experiential learning activities and thought-provoking group discussions.

*Easily customizable. Create an end-to-end leadership development program or concentrate on specific areas. Switch out video clips. Modify the PowerPoint presentation, Leader’s Guide, and handouts. Add or delete sections to fit any timeframe.

*Engaging 17 video segments of contemporary leadership examples. Use as stand-alone clips or integrate with the facilitation PowerPoint or your custom PowerPoint presentation.

*36 dynamic podcast segments specific to one of the three components of the Work of Leaders model—vision, alignment, and execution. Learn first-hand how to interpret Work of Leaders continua to answer participant questions. Insightful information not available anywhere else.

DM me for more info or a demo profile!

Build meaningful conversations in your organization

Gallup's 2024 Employee Engagement Checklist includes this: Prepare managers to have meaningful conversations with their employees.

It goes on to define 5 characteristics of a meaningful conversation:

1) Recognition or appreciation for recent work.

2) Collaboration and relationships.

3) Current goals and priorities at work.

4) The length of the conversation: Between 15 and 30 minutes is enough time for a meaningful conversation, but only if it happens frequently.

5) Employee strengths or the things they do well: Managers can have much more meaningful discussions about how each person gets their work done if those conversations are based on what they do best. The takeaway is that feedback is meaningful to employees when their manager focuses on recognition, collaboration, goals and priorities, and strengths. And if these conversations happen every week, they can be brief. Naturally, problems and challenges will arise — and managers and employees should discuss them — but to improve engagement, managers must have conversations that inspire each individual.

As you have these meaningful conversations, taking communication preferences into account will make these successful and Wiley's Everything DiSC portfolio provides data to help each person adapt to the other's preferences. DM me for more information.

Let's work together to get your team certified in DiSC!

Build your team's ability to engage and get the best from your workforce using the DiSC family of profiles by asking me to lead their certification! DM me to set up a schedule that works for all of us.

Pay Attention to your Managers

From Gallup's 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report:

The hard job of managing people has gotten even harder in recent years.
New demands for worker flexibility in the remote and hybrid workplace and increased risk of employee mental health problems add to the already difficult job of managing. In 2023, Gallup found one in five employees reported feeling loneliness, anger, or sadness during a lot of the previous day, and four in 10 felt a lot of stress.

Managers already have many responsibilities such as carrying out leadership initiatives, keeping up to date with customer and product needs, monitoring time and expenses, performance management, and training. But their role of inspiring people has never been more urgent. They are uniquely positioned to know each employee’s specific needs, career goals and work-life situation.

You can build your managers role awareness, engagement and capacity with the Everything DiSC Management profile either on the Catalyst platform or through traditional training. DM me for more info or a demo.

2023 Wiley Annual Report on the State of the Workplace

Wiley Workplace Intelligence does ongoing research about the state of our workplaces and here are the top 10 takeaways from their 2023 Annual Report:

1. People are optimistic about the future of their organization. In addition, a large majority of respondents also shared that managing the well-being of their people while achieving results continues to be a priority.

2. Communication is the most important quality in a leader. It's clear that there is a need for more communication and relationship building skills in order to increase psychological safety across all organizational levels.

3. Communication has a direct impact on engagement. The frequency and kind of communication in your organization has a direct impact on the engagement, morale, and productivity of your people.

4. Individual contributors feel less safe than executives taking risks at work. A psychologically safe environment as defined by Amy Edmonson of Harvard B-School, is an environment where we feel comfortable taking risks, expressing ideas and concerns, asking questions, and admitting mistakes without fear of negative consequences.

5. Generations have more in common than not. Surprisingly, respondents largely feel understood by other generations regardless of the generation they belong to.

6. Managers lack training on how to manage conflict. Only 57% of managers reported receiving training around conflict management.

7. Upskilling employees fills the widening skills gap. Most organizations in the study didn't have a clearly identified process for identifying current skills gaps. But, almost half (42%) reported that technical skills were the most critical missing "hard" skills with interpersonal skills following at 36%.

8. Where you work doesn't impact organizational culture. Many organizations made a return-to-office push in 2023. There were concerns about the impacts of remote work on organizational culture and many companies moved from completely remote to hybrid models or required a full return to the office. This research found that location doesn’t have as big of an impact as we might expect when it comes to creating a positive workplace culture. Instead, we found that feeling connected and experiencing a sense of belonging is more critical to creating a positive culture than simply occupying the same physical space.

9. AI is not ready to replace humans when it comes to learning and development. Using AI for administrative tasks increases efficiency but knowing people seek human connection when learning, L & D practitioners should consider ways to continue meeting that need while incorporating technological advances into their practice.

10. Well-being positively impacts performance. Balancing employee satisfaction and productivity ranked the highest, and the increased focus on well-being positively impacted performance throughout these organizations.

I have tools to help you maximize each of these findings. DM me for more information or a demo!

Build Engagement and Related Results Throughout your Organization!

Gallup's 2024 State of the Global Workplace reports these key findings:

-20% of the world’s employees experience daily loneliness. Loneliness is highest for fully remote workers.

-Well-being among younger employees dropped in 2023.

-Employee engagement is a significant factor in overall life experiences.

-Managers account for 70% of the variance in team employee engagement.

-Across countries, when managers are engaged, employees are more likely to be engaged.

-In best-practice organizations, 3/4 of managers and 7 in 10 non-managers are engaged.

When organizations increase the number of engaged employees, they improve a host of organizational outcomes, including profit, retention rates and customer service.

There are resources I provide that build engagement which increase employee and manager well-being as well as measurable results like profit, retention rates and customer service.

This graphic provides more specifics - dm me for more information or a demo!

Integrate DiSC into your work culture so build capacity and engagement!

You can create a useful shorthand to make the most of your work relationships by integrating DiSC into your language, and introducing the complete portfolio of DiSC applications builds awareness and engagement throughout your organization. This includes Everything DiSC Workplace, Everything DiSC Management, Everything DiSC Sales, Everything DiSC Productive Conflict, Everything DiSC Agile EQ and Everything DiSC Work of Leaders. It's worth a look and has a high payoff!

How Management has Changed Since Covid-19

In an Oct. 2023 Forbes article, Anupam Satyasheel outlines how management has changed since Covid-10 and how future-minded, thoughtful organizations have embraced these changes:

1. Remote Work and Flexibility. Some companies insisted workers return to the office after the pandemic, but other realized employees were happier, more productive, and more willing to participate in company culture remotely.

2. Emphasis on Employee Well-Being. Managers who genuinely ask how their employees are doing will gain their trust and confidence, and know that employee well-being amounts to company well-being.

3. Digital Transformation. We can't forget that employee are the operators of the increased technology we see. Good management encourages online interactions and creates digital experiences for employees.

4. Remote Team Building and Leadership. In a remote work environment, team bonding is not naturally cultivated. This needs to be an intentional effort by managers to maintain morale.

5. Talent Acquisition and Retention. Hiring and retaining talent has become a different effort because interviewing is often remote and managers don't have the bandwidth to respond to every job application. In terms of retaining talent, managers should be proactive with department and team meetings, check-ins and continuous team building.

Our Five Behaviors Personal and Team Development profiles/facilitated conversations can be done virtually or in-person and create a language and connection that's not easily achieved otherwise. DM me for more info or a demo!

Manage tension with some help

Disagreements at work can be stressful. With Get Advice on Catalyst, you can get immediate online access to ways to navigate tense conversations, build empathy, and turn conflict into compromise. Contact me to learn more! #GetAdviceonCatalyst

Increase your sales using this tool!

Engage your salespeople to adapt their style to their prospects and customers to improve results! Everything DiSC® Sales teaches participants to stretch beyond their natural Sales style to more effectively adapt to their customers’ preferences and expectations— regardless of the customer’s unique buying style. The experience is sales-specific with in-depth information, including tips, strategies, and action plans to help your salespeople become more effective.

The Everything DiSC® Sales Profile focuses on:

• Understanding your DiSC® style

• Recognizing and understanding customer buying styles

• Adapting your sales style to your customer’s buying style

• How to adapt DiSC style to meet the customer’s needs

DM me for more info and increase your organization's sales now!

Build engagement with these helpful profiles

The Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report for 2023 makes this important point: "Employee engagement does not mean happiness. If you are only measuring employee contentment, you are missing engagement. And the reality is that many corporate measures of engagement are really just measuring contentment. True engagement means your people are psychologically present to do their work. They understand what to do; they have what they need; and they have a supportive manager and a supportive team. They know why their work matters. They are work ready." (p. 10)

Having a supportive manager and a supportive team can be built using Everything DiSC® and Five Behaviors® profiles - they develop teamwork, personal awareness and ways to respond to others that keeps engagement and productivity high and tension low. Let me know how I can help your organization!