By Freelance Contributor | Strong Female Leaders

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5 Leadership Books You Should Read Now
With the coronavirus outbreak, more people are staying home. This brings an opportunity to read more books and build better versions of ourselves. Looking for the best leadership books in 2020 so far? We've got just the list for you.
1. Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up Your Earnings and Change Your Life, By Barbara Stanny
The number of women making six-figure salaries is rising; and, it is rising at a rate that is faster than the rate for men. From knowledge professionals to freelancers to executives, women continue to build careers with substantial financial success. In Secrets of Six-Figure Women, Barbara Stanny researched over 150 women with annual salaries ranging from $100,000 to $7 million, shared seven characteristics that these six-figure women have. By turning these characteristics into a strategies that increase earnings, we can create our own processes to climb our own income ladders.

2. Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual, by Jocko Willink
In this book, former Navy Seal, Jocko Willink, provides a military-like field manual to instruct us on how to become better leaders. In simple, clear, and step-by-step language, the Leadership Strategy and Tactics Field Manual teaches us how to take the lead in any situation. Whether you are an individual contributor, a new team leader, or an experienced senior, you will find this tactical manual useful, and better understand how to play the game of thought leadership.



3. Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World, by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
Forget what you know about the world of work! In this innovative book, bestselling author Marcus Buckingham and Cisco Leadership and Team Intelligence head Ashley Goodall reveal the big lies that we encounter at work. These lies cause dysfunction, frustration and mistrust. Luckily, there are freethinking leaders who recognize the power of our individual uniqueness and how it defeats dogma.

The value of this book lies in that when we think outside of the box, and retire the top-down culture of traditional companies, we find purpose and meaning in our work and start to enjoy and find passion in what we do.

4. How to Get Sh*t Done: Why Women Need to Stop Doing Everything so They Can Achieve Anything, by Erin Falconer
Modern women live in a state of constant guilt. We are climbing the corporate ladder, building our side hustles, cooking for our families, scheduling playdates and organizing after school events. In this clever book, CEO of popular site, Pick the Brain, shows us how to do less and still get more done by techniques of off loading, outsourcing and letting go of being perfect.


5. One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days, by Brendan Kane
There is a lot of noise in the digital world. How can you stand out? In One Million Followers, Digital strategist and “growth hacker” Brendan Kane knows the answer. In 30 days, Kane amassed one million followers by sending authentic and value-added messages online, while building a personal brand. One Million Followers serves as the ultimate guide to building brands, unlocking the benefits that social media has to offer, and being a leader in your own movement.

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Your Daily Inspirational Quote | Because. Strong is beautiful. | By Strong Female Leaders


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Your Daily Inspirational Quote | Because. Strong is beautiful. | By Strong Female Leaders


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Your Daily Inspirational Quote | Because. Strong is beautiful. | By Strong Female Leaders


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By Freelance Contributor | Strong Female Leaders

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How to thrive as a remote professional?
Because of the coronavirus (COVID19) outbreak, companies are instilling remote work for undefined periods of time. Remote work isn’t new to everyone, and has proven to increase productivity in some industries. According to a research by Prithwiraj Choudhury and colleagues of The Harvard Business School, “letting independent workers choose their locations can boost companies, employees, and even the economy.” The study showed that companies that allow their employees such flexibility have benefitted by seeing an increase in productivity, lowered turnover rate, and less organizational costs. Overall, companies with remote working arrangements, such as NASA and Github, gain an average of 4.4 percent more productivity.
"To thrive in a changing environment, the strong must adapt."
Remote work, however convenient, isn’t for everyone. Professionals with jobs that require less coordination with co-workers do better in a remote setup. Employees in project-based work environments, however, have varied results. These jobs require brainstorming, collaboration and in-person setup, and heavily depend on a robust and healthy team culture.

Whichever type of job you have, in order to slow the impact of the virus, you and your team must adapt to working remotely. Your schedule will pivot; the line between home and work lives will blur; and, you will run into challenging issues. Our tips below won’t resolve all of your issues, but can help you through the adjustment period.
1. Know that success is a mindset.
You can succeed anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home. If you do great work, carry a positive attitude, contribute to the team, is a valuable asset, and consistently "show up", your efforts will be noticed. Yes, being physically away from your team feels awkward and can arouse frustration, but it is your mindset that sets you up for success, or leads you to failure.
2. Set up a place to work.
Just because you are physically "free" does not mean that you can focus anywhere. In the kitchen with the rest of your family during lunch? Probably not a good idea. Even if you are home, you are still "on the clock". So behave like you are at work, and find a quiet area that you can be productive in.
3. Dress up.
Even if your workplace allows casual dress code, you still won't show up in pajamas. Each morning, dress up, do your hair, and wear appropriate makeup. Act as if you are going to the office. This will help you continue that "working girl" enthusiasm.
4. Get fast internet.
Slow connection speed causes frustration. During this tender time, when everyone's life is disrupted, the least you could do is to maintain normalcy with fast connection. What you want here is minimal setback. So err on the side of robustness by purchasing faster tools and upgrading networking plan. You might have to pay out of pocket, but please realize that in the digital age, you can't be a first-class professional on second-class technology.
5. Connect with your team members.
Instilling camaraderie in a remote team may sound like overkill, but it actually is necessary. Remote professionals often feel excluded; and with the entire team geographically dispersed, everyone feels isolated. Getting the team on the same page creates meaningful connections.

One effective method is to invite team members to watch the same TED talk, read and discuss the same article, or take the same online course. Another way is to inject non work-related ice breakers during virtual meetings. Or, host a virtual gaming session. These activities enable team members to collaborate and build trust in a relaxed setting.
6. Check in, check in, check in.
Check in with team members, work friends, mentors, clients, and everyone you can think of. Do it as often as you can, even if it's a 10-second IM conversation filled with emojis. Frequent check in's, no matter how tedious, strengthen relationships. They also minimize confusion in communication.
7. Establish and follow team norms.
Remote teams require different norms than in-person teams. Having an underlying process that everyone understands serves as a communication framework that mitigates future misunderstandings.

Some common team norms include how the team communicates, when to communicate, and who to include in meetings. Each team member operates differently. Having a solid framework helps move the team in forward momentum.
8. Specify intermediate milestones.
To make tracking a virtual team's progress easier, you can try crafting intermediate milestones, instead of depending on a gigantic end goal. To ensure accountability, add these milestones to a virtual team board that everyone can access. Using an online collaboration hub encourages accountability.
9. Remember to celebrate accomplishments.
Virtual teams have less opportunities to come together and celebrate their wins. In order to strengthen relationships and boost morale, it's important to celebrate even when team members work away from each other. You don't need to go all out. A simple email will do. Or, you can send everyone a gift card to their favorite vendor. The goal is to let team members feel appreciated. How you do it is less important.
Parting Words
As the coronavirus mutates, we must also learn to change our ways. It helps to accept the challenge of altering routines, and learn of new ways to work. Understanding and practicing new rules of engagement can only increase our skillsets and value. Even before the outbreak, work places are going remote. To thrive in a changing environment, the strong must adapt.


[ End of Article ]

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