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Transitioning from a micromanager to a true leader can be difficult, but it's essential if you want to build trust with your team. When you're used to being in control of your business, it can be hard to delegate tasks that you've done well on your own. But with growth comes the necessity to hire new employees to take on projects you're no longer as available to handle. Micromanaging slows down workflow and creates a strained dynamic between employees and leaders. More importantly, it hinders the ability of a manager to build trust with their employees. To help you break this bad habit, a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members shares some best practices for becoming less of a micromanager and trusting your team's instincts. 

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The cold call pitch isn't dead, but it does have to be done the right way to get the best results. Cold calling can be awkward at times. You only have so many minutes to get the strongest points about your product across, and you're always at risk of your prospective client hanging up. But in the modern digital era, calls shouldn't ever be "cold." Connections are easier to make when you start with common ground, and that can be easy to establish with a quick Google search of your target client. Below, a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members shares the best ways to warm up your cold call and make your pitch successful. 

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Implement the following strategies to form better alliances for your products and services. When you're running a business, the only way your company will be able to elevate itself in the marketplace for the better is by being extremely open to constructive criticism and new ideas. Encourage a company culture that is transparent with leaders that practice active listening skills if you plan to connect on a more meaningful level with stakeholders who will advocate behind what your business stands for as you lean in to help meet their ongoing needs as well.  For further ideas on how to get honest feedback from current and potential clients, Fast Company Executive Board members share some proven methods that continue to serve their company well.

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Taking your brand overseas breaks barriers in more ways than one. It's been a tough economic time across most industries these past years during COVID, but if you have the wherewithal to take your company global, then you'll be doing yourself a big favor. Given the opportunities that exist to reach untapped clientele, talent, and future business partners, the move will spark innovative mindsets as you create a winning business environment through your organization's platform that works well for all parties involved. Here, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members discuss the decision to invest in other markets outside of the United States and how the move has enhanced their company's growth potential.

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Here's how to stand out in a noisy marketplace. Running an effective advertising campaign is more than saying the right words to get people to buy into your products, services, and what your brand is all about. If you want to make the most of your marketing investment, then focus on the pulse of consumer behavior patterns and where they need the most attention. In addition, connecting emotionally and socially with your target audience members will keep them coming back to your brand everytime if you continue to share a purpose that they can relate to wholeheartedly. Below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share some best practices of how you can implement more creativity in your promotions and bring targeted audience members together who will support you every time.

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Here are 11 factors to consider before you open a second or third location. If revenue streams are increasing at your flagship location, then your business may be ripe for an expansion. But just because business is booming doesn't mean you should make assumptions about your potential to succeed in a new market (locally or globally).  Taking on additional overhead should be a strategic decision that is driven by potential new revenue, a decrease in expenses, or provides a competitive advantage to make the company a standout. Below are essential questions that Fast Company Executive Board members urge you to ask yourself before you move forward with the right plans to grow the business.

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These social media strategies can help your brand drive engagement that ultimately leads to a loyal following and more conversions from your online content. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter allow businesses and leaders to connect to prospective customers with the tap of a button or two. But using social media well has become a skill that leaders need to learn to meaningfully engage with customers. It's not enough to consistently post content; instead, your brand needs to take the time to respond to comments, create engaging posts that resonate with followers and learn more about the audience's needs. Here, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members explained the smartest ways to interact on social media to get the engagement you want. Follow their recommendations to drive more meaningful interactions with your online audience.

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Inspiring yourself and the people around you isn’t always easy, but it is always possible—and more importantly, worth it.

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Being able to stay consistent with your strategic approach to meeting goals is key when it comes to navigating data variables. Technology is a useful tool to help businesses remain relevant in the marketplace and understand the data behind their consumers' behavior patterns. However, it's crucial to merge human intelligence with the machine learning elements, so you can ask the right questions and keep up with market trends alike. Below are 12 suggestions Fast Company Executive Board members offer to get you up to speed with data-driven market segmentation and how it can help you meet your business and customer needs.

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Implement these workflow strategies when deadlines are quickly approaching. When you are stretched thin with plenty on your to-do list, believe it or not, the best thing you can do is to relax (mentally and physically) periodically throughout the work day. By doing so, you'll refuel your energy level, be more focused and productive as you push past the finish line to reach your short- and long-term goals. Below, experts from Fast Company Executive Board describe their most effective productivity hacks during crunch time and how useful they are when you are trying to get the most done.

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Sustainable outcomes begin with your customer. If you're a start-up business owner you'll want to implement the best growth hacking strategies to attract and retain the most customers. Although daily marketing outreach methods seem intimidating at first, that's exactly what it will take to get the company off the ground, especially if you plan to remain in business. For this practical reason, nine members of Fast Company Executive Board offered to share their low-cost tips to mastering "the art of the follow-up."

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15 leaders weigh in on meeting consumers where they live. Despite the thriving and evolving digital economy, leaders still need to strike a healthy balance between their company's online and offline presence if they want their business to remain relevant to current and prospective customers. To enhance your daily presence in their personal or professional lives, it's also essential to listen so you'll understand their needs because that will help you come up with some of the best solutions that are well timed and informative. Below are 15 additional tips, from members of Fast Company Executive Board to equip you with the essential tools to stay authentic and active in your targeted communities.

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Here's how to finesse supply chain demands in a low market. If you're going to beat supply chain demand when the economy is tough, it's important to remain proactive in business so you can continue to gauge the clients' interest during the unforeseeable future. As you build your cash flow and supply chain network, to steadily upgrade your products and services during the good times, you'll be able to strengthen the confidence and commitment of your most loyal customers even when times are bad.  Below are 10 steps Fast Company Executive Board members have taken to deal with the current inflation and supply chain crisis.

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Cultivate a culture of unity, understanding, and company success. Some of the best company initiatives or creative campaigns may have started out in a room full of disagreement. So, if you find yourself in a similar situation with colleagues about how to move forward on a collaborative project, it's best to put it on pause, humanize each contributor's voice, and remind yourselves why you began working together in the first place. Finding your way back to the true value incentives is a best practice to align with the company's mission and goals. Here are 15 ways, from Fast Company Executive Board members, to help team members put the good of their company (or project) first.

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14 points to consider when you're reviewing a job candidate's resume. As the nature of how and why people work continues to evolve, hiring managers will benefit from learning to understand the whole person, before jumping to conclusions about a significant employment gap on the applicant's resume. Instead of flagging previous time lost on the job as a deficit, focus on the potential new hire's passion, aptitude and eagerness to tackle new career challenges ahead and how the personal time off may be a sign of maturity to thrive at the current job opportunity and contribute to the mission of your organization in the long term. Below, Fast Company Executive Board members provide 14 additional ways to approach this conversation during the interview process and help you make the best decision to find the right fit for your department's needs.

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10 tips to ensure a smooth department transition from a subordinate—and friend—to a leadership role.  When an employee is elevated (and moves from one department to another), how and when the executive team chooses to make the big announcement about changes in the department, can make or break their staff's motivation, productivity, and continued loyalty if there is no plan in place to enable a smooth and organized transition.  Below, 10 Fast Company Executive Board experts share tips on how to effectively communicate with everyone involved and provide the right training and resources so that no one is feeling left behind or unable to move forward successfully.

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How to keep your company's original mission relative to the future growth market.  To avoid remaining stagnant in today's evolving marketplace, an entrepreneur must keep one eye on the pulse of the latest trends and the other on the reasons for going into business in the first place. To stay balanced, the leader should make pursuing innovation a natural part of the company's course in order to survive. Below, 15 members from Fast Company Executive Board weigh in on the path to blending legacy with future possibilities to help their companies thrive.

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Every single person on your team—in the early days—needs to have an entrepreneurial spirit. If you want to launch a growing business and be successful, it's important to create a strong mission statement and surround yourself with folks who are willing to put in the work because they're passionate about what they do. Business leaders should also look for people who can carry out core values and continue to foster a positive company culture that lives up to the brand that the founder envisions.  It may be difficult to obtain the best talent in the market, so start with the peers in your network who respect what you're already doing and are happy to support what you stand for. Below, 11 expert panelists from Fast Company Executive Board suggest other leading traits business owners and managers should think about when they are trying to match a job candidate within their company. 

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Seven points to ponder—whether you are ready to focus on other parts of the business or want to distance yourself completely from the company. After years of building a career and maintaining a successful brand in the business, it may be a difficult choice to walk away from your role as CEO—even though you've outgrown the position and are seeking new challenges away from the day-to-day tasks.  Before you determine how to repurpose your passion for business, you must assess the state of your organization, its current systems, and processes to help your team continue to prosper once you've made a graceful exit. To assist you with tips and next steps for planning a smooth leadership transition, seven Fast Company Executive Board members weigh in on some key factors to consider on your way out the door. 

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Now more than ever, we need to lead by serving.

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15 ideas to build your confidence before the next presentation. Public speaking isn't an easy thing for every leader, but you have to conquer the fear factor if you're planning to represent a business. But if you focus on your passion for going into business, share authentically, and continue to practice being in front of a room full of people every chance you get, you'll be a pro at it in time. Every C-Level executive and department head has been there before, including the expert panelists from Fast Company Executive Board. Below they offer some practical advice on how to move past the hurdle.

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Do some spring cleaning by finding new ways to stay relevant and up-to-speed in your industry.  With spring around the corner, it's a great time to get your (business) home in order. Maybe the focus is on a complete overhaul of products or services that are still underperforming, or maybe your team wishes to develop a brand new way of reaching current and potential clients more effectively through the digital marketing funnel and sales process. While some organizations are setting up new automated systems or boundaries to help hit their quarterly marks throughout the entire year, others are also playing catchup on a backlog of projects impacted by false starts and stops in the workplace based on the global pandemic. No matter the case, 11 experts from Fast Company Executive Board share the one business cleaning goal they have in mind to produce a smoother workflow operation for their teams in 2022, and why.

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Here's why cultivating a brand is more than just advertising. With the internet in our hands, there's so much at stake when it comes to attracting and retaining clientele. Today's consumers are bold and savvy about researching the specific products they intend to purchase and they don't have a problem calling a brand name out over social media regarding its lack of transparency about its merchandise, services, or a timely topic that could affect the bottom line.  At the end of the day, If a company falls short on delivering a marketing promise, seems out of touch with its target audience, or strays away from its original core values, chances are it runs the risk of losing respect and loyalty of its major stakeholders.  Below, 16 members of Fast Company Executive Board offer tips on how to walk your talk—internally and externally—and why it's so important.

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Leaders explain why now's the best time to lean in on the latest movements. In the business world, if you want to be considered one of the most relevant leaders in your industry, then having a thorough grasp of today's innovations, or demonstrating your willingness to gain the appropriate knowledge to keep your company ahead of the curve in an ever-changing market is a crucial step in order for your brand to survive.  Prospective clients and loyal customers are likely to stand by organizations that continue to inspire revolutionary growth with new ways of engaging with consumers, handling the day-to-day business requirements and finding better solutions that are much more sustainable. Therefore,  a panel of experts from Fast Company Executive Board shares their top trends for developing new ways of thinking about how to run a business in 2022.

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Steer your team of leaders and employees in the right direction.  Business and technological solutions may be changing every day, but your concept for launching a successful startup in the first place doesn't always have to. In today's tight and uncertain economy, full of new ideas, services, products, and platforms, how do you ensure that the team will continue to align and carry out your company's initial values and expectations? To equip other leaders worried about these same issues, experts from Fast Company Executive Board provide 15 ways to keep your original company concept and mission top of mind and in place. The team can continue a focused journey on where the company stands, which also includes flexibility and openness to innovative ideas about the future of daily workflow.

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In any scenario, it is absolutely crucial that you know and understand your attendees.