Christina Robbins

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This is why working on yourself outside of the workplace can improve your ability to be a better manager who is more excited about the job. What does it take to become a better leader in the work world? You could ask 20 different people, but you'd quickly realize that the answer may vary depending on who you are talking to, and what circumstances in their life have shaped who they are today—personally and professionally. Here, 17 members of Fast Company Executive Board discuss what they learned when they blocked some time to focus on self-help improvement and personal growth development opportunities. They also weigh in on what their experience was like and how they applied it at the office. By pushing themselves beyond what's typically expected, these leaders have increased their ability to operate a more efficient and successful company as they continue to inspire their direct reports to do the same.

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Here's how managers can help their team showcase the added value they bring to the company and remain irreplaceable during tough economic times. As employee layoff announcements continue to loom across major industries, team leaders may be wondering how they can ensure the stability of their department's future at the company and avoid being replaced or eventually phased out. Here, 14 experts from Fast Company Executive Board weigh in on their best practices to help staff members stay proactive when it comes to highlighting their contributions to move the business forward long term.

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Access to the right technology can transform the employee experience and ensure maximum productivity and innovation from your team. An exceptional workplace experience should be at the top of many companies' lists when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent. Company leaders are increasingly turning to cutting-edge technology to transform their workplaces for this reason. Here, Fast Company Executive Board members explore how forward-thinking leaders can harness the power of workplace technology to design a workplace experience that's both engaging and efficient. Read on to discover the key strategies and emerging trends that are turning workplaces into dynamic hubs of productivity and collaboration.

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Balance your core ‘bread and butter’ with diverse revenue options. When a business is faced with economic uncertainty in a competitive environment, it may be tough to gauge whether the right decisions are being made to ensure a stable future for the company and its team. The importance of leaning into what you know and are already successful at may seem like the obvious choice of action, but it's also important to recognize a good opportunity to bring in additional revenue when you see one. This may be the key to helping elevate your core business and continue to keep your brand at the forefront of the industry and top of mind for current and potential customers. Here, 16 experts from Fast Company Executive Board each share one strategy that can help company leaders future-proof their business in an unstable marketplace.

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11 key areas that are crucial for business leaders to keep in-house if they want the company to stay on track. As digital solutions continue to become available, shifting tedious tasks and daily routines away from the leaders and staff members of small, medium, or large organizations, there are still certain business functions at a company—no matter what size— that should never be outsourced.  Below 11 Fast Company Executive Board members weigh in on what parts of the establishment managers and their teams must continue to oversee to ensure their continued success in the core business and mission they originally set out to achieve.

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Whether you're building a small, medium, or large business, developing a credible company reputation that potential clients and customers can rely on is what truly matters at the end of the day. If you are just starting in business, it's oftentimes difficult to book and retain your first major client if they're not familiar with your work.  Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members weigh in on the best ways to exceed customer expectations and create long-lasting loyalty—giving you the boost in credibility you need to win over potential clients.

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Leading experts share 20 tips to help managers and their employees find a reasonable work-life balance that gets the job done.  Even before the COVID-19 crisis took the world by storm in 2020, managers at most companies were not promoting the idea of a remote or hybrid work culture environment. But when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a shelter-in-place mandate, employers had to quickly adjust their traditional policy.  Realizing the cost-effectiveness on both sides of the aisle, some companies have fully leaned into the idea of enabling employees to WFH and have never looked back while others continue to resist the idea when their staff members question whether they must commute from home just to sit inside a cubicle space. Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members weigh in on how employers can work with employees to find common ground and implement the right policies—aside from the current standard hybrid solution.

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It's Women's Entrepreneurship Day! This year, WEDO celebrates 10 years of its mission to empower more women in leadership.  Across a broad range of industries, women in leadership pour mentorship and guidance into developing their direct mentees or encouraging their colleagues to make sound business decisions—positively impacting the recipients' lives and future careers for the better.  However, in the marketplace, it is not uncommon for women (no matter what level they have reached in their field of interest) to experience "imposter syndrome." If left unchecked, this mindset can hinder their potential growth and success in the short and long term. Instead, the key is for them to boldly redefine their narrative and career path before someone else does. Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) was founded by Wendy Diamond in 2013. To mark its 10-year milestone, 20 experts from Fast Company Executive Board share the best advice they've ever received from a successful woman in business.

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20 tips to overcome life's challenges and move ahead. No matter what type of career path you choose to follow in life, it's essential to develop tough skin and a positive, healthy mindset about your talents, goals, and purpose. Whether it's a new job opportunity, a promotion, or a business deal you're looking to close, it's normal to face plenty of rejections and hearing a lot of "nos" before you get to the yeses.  Talking through your frustrations with a trusted mentor or reading about inspirational success stories and how others have been able to overcome difficult setbacks in business and life, will remind you that failure can also be a pathway to success. Here, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members each offer one tip for aspiring career professionals who need a little motivation to keep going despite rejections.

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13 business leaders share their best practices for breaking through career and business challenges. As an unpredictable marketplace remains at the forefront across industries, it can be difficult for businesses and nonprofits to stay afloat at a sustainable rate. It is also stifling for professionals who feel stuck in their current roles—especially as it relates to personal career growth and longevity. Lack of funding and slow bureaucracy can cause any business team or professional to lose hope and become unmotivated to reach their short- and long-term goals. Here, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members each name one of the biggest challenges they have faced and how they made a breakthrough. Implementing their suggestions may help you and your team members overcome similar hardships.

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16 ways to find a happy medium in reaching your personal and professional life goals. Working a nine-to-five career can be overwhelming depending on the types of responsibilities you have on your daily plate. Add to the mix, the pursuit of a certification or degree through continued education after work—while building on personal friendships or raising a new family—and it's understandable for anyone to feel burned out from a lack of work-life balance if they're struggling. Below, Fast Company Executive Board members each offer one tip for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while juggling work duties and attending evening classes.

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If you're about to apply, consider these key points. There are a variety of resources available for new entrepreneurs to consider when they are just starting out and trying to grow a successful business in their market. Associating your business with either a startup incubator or accelerator program is one idea to consider if you are looking for opportunities to connect with mentors, technology tools, and more to elevate your organization to its next level.   We asked nine experts from Fast Company Executive Board to each discuss one factor that every rising leader should consider when they are weighing their options about which route to take. 

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Inspire yourself to get stuff done in a new and improved remote work environment. Just because remote work affords you the freedom to maintain your business and family responsibilities alongside each other from the convenience of your home, doesn't mean it's okay to lose sight of maintaining an organized, professional, and productive workspace—when you are on the clock. Doing so allows you to concentrate wholeheartedly and remain stimulated by the daily projects and long-term projects on your plate.  If you are feeling siloed or unmotivated with low energy in your current WFH space, below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share their innovative ideas to help remote business professionals create comfortable, focus-driven workspaces that keep them inspired and motivated to produce great work each day. Applying these tips will also enhance work-life balance and protect physical and mental health.

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Business leaders share insights on compensation equity. Paying every employee a fair wage based on their experience and talent—not their gender or cultural background—should be a given. For many companies, treating workers equally for the time they put in at the company each day is simply a best practice. But for some organizations, wage inequality is still prevalent and is an issue that needs to be addressed.  To keep the conversation at the forefront of what's happening in the workplace, we asked 12 Fast Company Executive Board members to each provide one step that companies can take to bridge the gender and ethnic wage gap happening around the globe.

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20 tips to set your new company up for success in the marketplace. As a company leader, you may be confident about your organization's ability to meet consumer demands and thrive at meeting your quarterly goals on a regular basis right now. But if you don't have a systematic approach to coming up with ways to keep your business financially fit, you'll be setting your company and team up for failure in the event of unforeseen circumstances. For example, an unsteady economy. Your numbers may look good on paper but regulating your KPI metrics in real-time is essential to generate a true measure of financial success.  Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members share one piece of advice that aspiring business leaders or small business owners should consider when it comes to understanding the importance of financial management and planning for longevity in any industry.

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Here's how to stay on top of changing trends and keep consumers satisfied with your brand. Although innovative technologies continue to evolve in order to keep up with changing consumer trends in the marketplace, sometimes it is still difficult for business leaders to gauge which way their particular client or potential customer may be leaning next. Over the years, the following experts from Fast Company Executive Board have also been impacted by changing consumer behavior patterns and preferences in their specific markets. Below, they share some best practices to help other leaders remain true to their brands while still meeting customer expectations.

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Now is the time to: reflect and pivot boldly toward your continued career growth and success. It's natural to be anxious or overwhelmed about a recent setback that you or your company may be experiencing in today's fluctuating economy. However, once you assess where things went wrong, you must dust yourself off, and make any necessary improvements (from lessons learned) that will help you stay on track, and set you up to be ready for the brighter days ahead.   At some point in their career, everyone faces some type of hardship—whether it's overcoming a job loss or not making the deal stick with a highly regarded potential client. In times like these, it's even more important to stay connected with trusted mentors and colleagues as you reflect on ways to improve your brand (personal and professional). We asked 20 Fast Company Executive Board members to each share their tips to encourage business professionals not to panic or give up on their short- and long-term goals no matter what marketplace analysts are reporting.

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If you don't want your team's eyes to glaze over every time they see an email from you in their inbox, then apply these internal communication strategies from leading experts. Internal communications are essential for keeping employees informed and engaged, but getting employees to read and keep up with the messages can be a challenge. That's why, as a leader, it's important to craft communications that are clear, concise, and relevant to the audience. By doing so, you can ensure that employees feel valued and informed, which can boost morale and productivity. To help you achieve this, try these expert tips for writing internal communications that employees will actually read and keep up with, as recommended by the members of Fast Company Executive Board.

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Consider these best practices to enhance your business focus. Spring cleaning in the workplace is more than just getting rid of old files, so you can consolidate your space. It can also be an annual ritual for leaders and teams to renew their mindset and create smarter, more efficient ways to conduct business operations and satisfy their customers' biggest pain points. In the long term, decluttering your physical business space and readjusting old procedures and thinking patterns can free your time to focus on what matters most for your company to succeed. Eleven leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board share the same sentiment. Here, they discuss their plans for spring cleaning and what they hope to accomplish by doing so.

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If you're feeling overwhelmed or frustrated about a recent oversight on your part, relax, reflect, then implement these tactics to improve. As a business leader, when you think about failure, remember that no matter what the situation, it's simply a chance to improve on missteps so you can continue to grow, move ahead and make better decisions.  It's also important to change your mindset by deciding that things are happening for you, not to you. Once you accomplish this, you'll be able to choose an opportunity and commit to doing your best to get it right in the future. Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members share practical ways to leverage a failed business experience, reset your mind, and launch new opportunities to get back on track.

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Business experts share their methods to grow your clientele through a more creative, strategic smartphone engagement. As the human attention span continues to decline, business owners need to rethink their creative advertising tactics to attract and retain potential customers who are always on the go.  Leaders should also keep in mind that today's consumers are using their mobile devices differently than they do desktops. Therefore, it's important to A/B test how your ad will look on a smartphone to confirm that the user journey is seamless and easy to follow. Below are eight Fast Company Executive Board members to help advertising department teams create promotional pieces that will pique the interest of their target audience.

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Are you meeting your clients where they're at to help them reach their ultimate goals?  As the digital marketplace continues to evolve, there are plenty of opportunities through technological advancements for leaders to gauge the customer experience and real-time behaviors.  But to ensure a brand is meeting client expectations and market standards, it's more than just collecting artificial intelligence or emailing a mass marketing survey. For companies truly aimed at staying in alignment with their base and increasing satisfaction rates, it's about developing quality products and services that actually work, and letting the clients lead the way. Here are 10 tried and true methods that Fast Company Executive Board members highly recommend and rely on to measure a greater customer experience, find solutions, and build on continuous improvement.

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Living up to their own set of standards enables managers to increase credibility, mutual respect, trust, and engagement with their teams. Whether it's a start-up business owner or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, it's important to lead by example if managers expect their employees to emulate the core values and mission they promote to meet business goals. Expressing constant negativity about the challenges of work is also counterproductive for leaders who want to encourage an open-door policy for communication and build a culture of psychological safety. Being an active and collaborative listener, who is willing to consider the ideas and feedback of staff seriously, also inspires trust and team morale.  Below, experts from Fast Company Executive Board are here to explain 16 behaviors that managers should aim to avoid, and how they can improve on breaking the cycle.

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It's a new day in the workplace—with creative focus time increasing and mundane manual duties decreasing. As the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in the marketplace continue to evolve, more and more organizations are finally starting to see the light.  Whether it's lightening the load for staff members who desire to focus on more meaningful assignments or it's developing a quicker strategy to turnaround data analysis results you're ready to discuss with the team, AI can serve a crucial purpose in helping the business to steadily move forward, improve customer satisfaction and revamp its image. Here, Fast Company Executive Board members weigh in on how their use of AI has help their companies spark innovation and improve business performance.

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Try these techniques to foster open, productive, and positive conversations that benefit every stakeholder. Your ability and willingness to understand your client's wants and needs are essential if you want to remain in business and continue to build a solid foundation for your brand. But, remember that maintaining a reliable reputation in the industry has everything to do with human relationships and how you treat the people you interact with on a daily basis. So, the more your company is able to make the lives of its customers easier and meet their needs, you are more likely to win their trust and business for the long term, whether there is a challenge to help them overcome or a victory to be celebrated. Below, Fast Company Executive Board members share their most useful strategies to promote customer satisfaction and create a win for all.

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Greater engagement with the corporate sustainability movement can serve your brand, its employees and its customers. Many employees today want a company that supports environmental sustainability or works toward an eco-friendly future. It's important that companies consider different ways to incorporate their sustainability values into their company mission so that it's clear to all employees and customers what they support. As a leader, there are a few simple ways to ensure that your employees are engaged in the overall environmental sustainability goals that you've set. Below, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members shared their best advice for enhancing their company's engagement in sustainability.