Strategies to try before starting layoffs

How to act from your strengths, address your weaknesses | How to create a unified, yet diverse, company culture | Read more from Denise Lee Yohn on SmartBrief on Leadership Created for {EMAIL} | [{NAME}]( at [{NAME}]( [For more relevant content - Update Your Profile]( | [Web Version]( December 19, 2022 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [SHARE](  [] Leading Edge [] [How to act from your strengths, address your weaknesses]( Leaders should take stock of their strengths given their current job situation and seek to make their weaknesses irrelevant by improving their skills or delegating, writes Wally Bock. Helping others develop their strengths is also key to good leadership, Bock notes, and be prepared to help them learn from mistakes. Full Story: [Three Star Leadership]( (12/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [How to create a unified, yet diverse, company culture]( Success at building a cohesive culture that still honors the diversity of employees hinges on applying your company's purpose and values in ways that meet their unique needs and expectations, says Denise Lee Yohn. "[Y]our responsibility as a leader is to ensure absolute clarity and widespread alignment throughout your organization on your desired culture -- and then to empower managers to determine how their groups will contribute to it," Yohn adds. Full Story: [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Read more]( from Denise Lee Yohn on SmartBrief on Leadership   [] Strategic Management [] [Strategies to try before starting layoffs]( Layoffs are a quick way to cut costs, but they can also damage a company's reputation, writes Matheus Riolfi, co-founder and CEO of Tint, who offers alternatives to boost revenue instead of shedding people, including finding new customers and addressing pain points of existing ones. "This more efficient method -- generating demand versus generating leads -- will enable you to grow your clientele without growing your marketing budget," Riolfi writes. Full Story: [Chief Executive]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Smarter Communication [] [Why good feedback helps both parties learn and grow]( Good feedback is always timely, specific and contains suggestions for improvement as well as a chance to reciprocate, writes Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO of Axios. "As a strong, candid manager -- or, in a social situation, friend -- you need to give the person space to respond to your feedback," VandeHei writes. Full Story: [Axios]( (12/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Tips to prepare for your next presentation]( Always rehearse a presentation beforehand with the technology you'll use and in a setting similar to where it will take place, but don't rehearse too much or you may wind up sounding too stiff during the real event, writes Maegan Stephens. "Audiences can tell when you're tied to your script," Stephens writes. "And they don't like it." Full Story: [Duarte]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Free eBooks and Resources Free eBooks and resources brought to you by our sponsors - [How Technology Can Help you Get a Good Night's Sleep]( - [10 Ways to Manage Stress in the Workplace]( - [10 Secrets For Managing Your Time]( - [A Brief Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating]( - [Resume Buzzwords: The Good and The Bad]( [] Smarter Working A weekly spotlight on doing more without working longer [] [Employees need breaks -- and guidelines -- for holiday work]( A decline in productivity might be expected around the holidays when everyone is personally and professionally slammed, writes Sean Devlin, who recommends setting clear expectations around workloads and deadlines and also hosting employee gatherings. "These can help employees decompress, but can also serve to bring employees together around the company mission," Devlin writes. Full Story: [Ragan]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] In Their Own Words [] [How asking "why" moved Julie Sweet to the CEO post]( Julie Sweet says her practice of routinely asking "why" when she sought to understand the business helped her build credibility within Accenture and eventually move from general counsel to become the company's first female CEO. "If you're wondering 'why,' there's someone else in the room who is as well," Sweet says. Full Story: [Duke University]( (12/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [How one man accidentally invented the snow globe]( Around 1900, Erwin Perzy, an Austrian maker of surgical instruments, put some semolina in a glass globe that was part of a light he was developing for operating rooms, and it reminded him of falling snow -- a move that led to the creation of the world's first snow globe. A sculpture of the basilica in Mariazell, Austria, was inside the first snow globe sold by Perzy's Original Snow Globe Factory, with later designs including a snowman, a Christmas tree and Santa Claus, cementing the connection with the holiday season. Full Story: [Atlas Obscura]( (12/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Most Read by CEOs The most-clicked stories of the past week by SmartBrief on Leadership readers [] - [Your managers are exhausted. Here are 4 ways to help]( MIT Sloan Management Review (tiered subscription model) [] - [A 3-step formula to deliver helpful feedback]( Lori Dernavich [] - [A tumbling lion takes top funny wildlife photo prize]( National Public Radio [] - [Are you getting team recognition wrong?]( The CLEMMER Group [] - [How to effectively wield your power of influence]( Next Big Idea Club Magazine [] SmartBreak: Question of the Day [] POLL QUESTION: What's the most consumers are expected to spend during the 2022 holiday season? Check your answer [here](, and learn more in [SmartBrief's 17 retail-oriented newsletters](. [Vote]( [$880.4 billion]( [Vote]( [$921.2 billion]( [Vote]( [$960.4 billion]( [Vote]( [$984.7 billion]( [] Here's the answer to Friday's quiz: Which actor/comedian was born on this day in 1965? [J.B. Smoove](, born Jerry Angelo Brooks, came into the world on Dec. 16, 1965, and began his entertainment career in 1995 on "Def Comedy Jam." [See how your fellow readers answered](. Press Releases Sponsored Content [Schindler Elevator Corporation Taps Ray Bisson as Chief Executive Officer for US Operations]( [Post a Press Release]( Sharing SmartBrief on Leadership with your network keeps the quality of content high and these newsletters free. 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