Christa Quarles

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Keep your eyes on the prize by applying these 18 tips. While success is attainable at various levels in a person's career, it doesn't just happen overnight—you have to work for it. You may even hit some bumps in the road along your journey, but any thought leader who has been in the game for a long time knows that business challenges and even failures are simply a part of the learning process.  Here, 18 Fast Company Executive Board members offer their advice to other professionals who are trying to reach their short-term goals of the moment—both professional and personal.

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Here's why humility and active listening skills are key to effective leadership. Behind every great leader is a great team. The continued success of that team and its ability to thrive, however,  also depends on the manager's ability and willingness to hear their employees out about the challenges they may be facing in the trenches or new ideas they want to bring to the table.  Developing an ego or coming across, more often than not, as a "know-it-all" in one-on-ones or team meetings may be a tell-tale sign that you have a superiority complex, which can ultimately lead your team to failure. The good news is that once you're able to identify your own behavior patterns and recognize you're not the only voice in the room, you'll be able to nip it in the bud quickly and effectively—once and for all. Here, 13 experts from Fast Company Executive Board share how and why it's so important for leaders to avoid a superiority complex no matter where they work. 

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Do your team members possess these key characteristics?   The key to maintaining longevity in business is to hire the right people who can best represent your company and its core values. Whether it's someone who is excellent at forecasting what leadership should be focusing on for the future or an employee who does a great job keeping the team morale elevated with their high energy and daily motivation, staff members can make or break the company's long-term success.  Here, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members explore the type of talent and characteristics that are essential for leaders to bring on board to manage their company's operations and achieve growth objectives effectively.

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Business thought leaders weigh in on their top online marketing methods. Storytelling in the business world is essential if you want your organization to stand out in the crowd. How can business leaders become more strategic as they plan their content calendars to attract potential clients and partners through the digital marketing space? Using social media to improve a company's brand appeal is often directly linked to building genuine relationships. It's also about presentations and being more intentional about how you connect with others. By doing so, an organization is more likely to create trust and loyalty over time.  Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members discuss additional ways to increase brand recognition and financial growth through business engagement on social networks.

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Do you say yes to everything? Industry experts explain the benefits of clearing your plate at work. If you're just starting out in management, it's not unusual to constantly feel obligated to say yes. When duty calls and other colleagues are requesting your time and commitment to engage in an upcoming project or take over a daily task, it's a natural instinct for most people to lean in.  On the other hand, if you've been at your post for some time and have plenty of skin in the game, you've probably figured out by now that you can't take on everything without burning out. Learning to share growth opportunities with your staff members on a regular basis will also elevate your leadership skills and team relations in the workplace.  Leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board are no longer hesitant to turn down a project that may sound good on paper but has the potential to keep them sidetracked and further away from their objectives. Here, they share the benefits of learning to say "no" under pressure and how essential it is to improve your work-life balance and reach your goals.  

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Here are four bold strategies leaders can embrace right now to survive a tumultuous 2023.

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Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and take the next step to increase your personal connections.  Whether you consider yourself an introverted or extroverted business person, it's always key to find a way to expand your network if you want to elevate your professional reputation and knowledge base. It can help you become more engaged in the industry or community you represent and share with others who are not inside your immediate circle. Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members discuss their ideas on how colleagues can become open to developing a new mindset and potentially provide resources for those in need through partnerships with other peers.

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Apply these strategies to enhance your team's performance levels and standards. To set your team up for success and the confidence to meet department expectations and throughout the company, it's critical to start the conversation early.  Providing clear context, consistently, about big-picture goals and objectives will encourage employees to stay accountable, collaborate effectively, and become even more invested as they learn more about the "why." Below, 16 Fast Company Executive Board members are sharing their tips to inspire individuals, motivate teamwork, and achieve better outcomes. 

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If there’s even a chance that more than 40% of your people are contemplating a move to get their choice of working conditions, the time to act is now.

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Constraints are the key to being unrestrained. 

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If you're thinking about making the transition to a more flexible work environment, the positives outweigh the negatives, according to these panel experts from Fast Company Executive Board.  At the start of COVID, remote work opportunities were a necessity to keep business operations and employee communications flowing. Now that things are moving in a familiar direction, some employees are required to return to work, while others are considering companies that are more flexible in providing a permanent hybrid or fully remote workplace environment. It's a mixed bag in terms of how business leaders and their people adjusted to this new way of connecting with their colleagues and clients during and beyond the pandemic.   Below are 14 Fast Company Executive Board members to share their thoughts on whether the hybrid-remote model has disrupted or improved their business focus and ability to navigate one of the biggest workplace transformations.

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Sometimes, the simplest daily habits can have the most significant impact on your overall productivity and mindset. Happy and healthy employees can help enhance a team's overall productivity. The more productive and collaborative your team is, the more successful your business will be. As a leader, part of your role is to model good habits to increase productivity, whether it's by making time for self-care routines or by creating the perfect organizational system that works for your team. Below, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members shared the unique habits they believe can help both the personal and professional productivity of leaders and their teams.