Alloy Solutions Leadership Blog

A Shift in Thinking: Focusing on Mental Fitness, by Jamie Hansen

Spring is here, and May is upon us! I’ve believed for a long time that this month gives December a run for its money in terms of manic demands and hectic family schedules. Thankfully, the days are growing longer, the air warmer, and the grass and trees greener, while the entries on the calendar are experiencing their own kind of exponential growth.

You may be aware that May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and bonus points if you’re also aware that it’s Global Employee Health and Fitness Month. These two topics are near and dear to my heart and their intersection has been on my mind of late. 

To delve a little deeper, Mental Health Awareness Month has been recognized for over 20 years by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) to provide education and reduce stigmas around mental illness and to highlight the effectiveness of treatment and celebrate...

Making a Business Case for Empathy, by Ryan Hansen

Breaking News: Work sucks.

Okay, so maybe that's not exactly breaking news, and allow me to apologize for starting off on such a cheeky note. The truth is, this is a tough time for employees and employers alike. But, of course, you already know this. You've seen the headlines. Layoffs abound. Quiet Quitting. The Great Resignation.

We can unpack the causes behind each of these at another time, but the effects have been unmistakable. Employees are stressed out, and with good reason. Inflation has reduced the value of their paycheck, and childcare is harder to find than ever before. Layoffs and turnover have stripped teams of years' worth of institutional knowledge and left fewer, newer hands to do the same amount of work. In some cases, the work has even increased. Scope creep, or "quiet hiring," is becoming more and more common as managers ask their top employees to fill gaps by taking on more responsibilities without any...

Leadership Boundaries, by Cindy Braun

Leaders create a vision and the people will follow. With so many changes in the workplace over the last three years, especially the rise of remote workers, how do leaders keep the vision alive and communicate to employees that their work contributes to the end result? How do leaders set boundaries that determine whether the people will thrive or fail? This article will only touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding leadership boundaries and how they apply to creating a vision.

In my work coaching leaders who work with hybrid and remote teams, I see three common questions:

1. How do I keep this company's mission and vision alive for a workforce that spans the entire country instead of a single zip code?
2. How do I lead my employees to work smart and be motivated to achieve the results I know they are capable of?
3. How does a leader teach and enable collaboration when working with a hybrid workforce?
...

Loving the Toughest to Lead by Jamie Hansen

Effective leadership arguably involves a certain amount of love. Not of the romantic variety so much, but certainly the type that involves showing respect, affirmation, and positive regard for others. Like the love of a coach for her players or the dedication of a staff sergeant to his squad. As Joel Manby, author of Love Works so aptly stated, "Treating someone with love regardless of how you feel about that person is a very powerful principle. It can make us great spouses, great parents, and great friends. Great leaders too." 

To his point, the more we separate our temporary feelings for someone (the noun version of love) from our decision to treat them with value and respect (the verb version of love), the more effective we can be in any of our relationships and roles, leadership included. And to be fair, many of us have experienced a relationship or two that has required an extra dose of intentionality for us to lean into the...

What If?? by Jamie Hansen

One of the things I find most magical about movies is that every once in a while, one comes along with a concept that stretches our thinking and makes us ask, "What If?" Whether it's a drama, romance, comedy, or action film -- the genre doesn't really matter to me -- I find myself captivated with the ability of these movies to help us see things that we didn't notice before, or envision things that haven't yet come to be. From a psychological perspective, I'm a true believer in, "once you see something, you can't un-see it." As for horror movies, they may have us seeing things we don't ever want to see or experience, so let's count that category out for the sake of discussion. Rather, it's those movies that take us on a two- to three-hour journey and leave us asking questions we've never asked before, or envisioning things we've never seen before, that I find particularly compelling.

One movie that comes to mind (especially this month) with this captivating...

Peace on Earth. As 2021 draws to a close, I think of these three words as so much more than a phrase scripted across a beautiful holiday card. With all that's going on in the world, it's a more thought-provoking phrase for many than it was even a few years ago. Peace is certainly something our world could use much more of, and maybe even our own corners of the world. Many people are saying 2021 presented surprisingly more challenges than 2020. Here at Alloy, requests for support on the topics of resilience, healthy management of conflict, leading through change, and understanding the mental health impacts of a crisis were at an all-time high, and it doesn't appear that will be abating soon. Here we offer three year-end exercises to glean everything you need from 2021 to look forward to a more peaceful 2022 -- at least in your corner of the world:

Make Peace with Your Past Year. I have long loved to use the photos on my phone at the end of the year to make calendars, notecards,...

Happy Fall, Y'all! How has yours been so far? For that matter, how was your summer? When I look back on mine, and when I inquire of friends and colleagues about theirs, the word that routinely comes up is, "Crazy." Unpredictable. Protracted. Exhausting. Demanding. Confusing. Irrational. Tentative. Mad. Unbalanced. Erratic. Just a few synonyms for this frequently used word. As I heard one commentator say recently, "Wow, this two weeks of shut down sure has felt like an eternity." Tounge in cheek, of course, but can't we all relate?

So how do you stay positive, energized, find the good, and lead well when it feels like you don't know what's coming next? Or where it's coming from? John Maxwell has a great teaching on how to maximize a positive situation. A meeting with a mentor, an opportunity, a new venture, or any situation that you want to make the most of. And in his simple but profound style, he exhorts us to 1) Prepare thoroughly before the event, and 2) Reflect deeply afterward....

Now Hiring: Joyful Leaders, by Cindy Braun

Have you noticed how many "Now Hiring" signs are popping up these days? Across the country, businesses are looking for help and struggling to find it. America finds itself with a bevy of open positions and a shortage of labor to fill them. So, what's missing?

As I look back on my interactions with professionals over the last year and a half, I see more fear and less joy in the workplace. This certainly makes sense given the changes and uncertainty that the pandemic has brought. Looking ahead, I believe leaders who intentionally bring joy to the workplace can make a difference for their companies and their team members. I hope these thoughts will encourage you to take a risk and see what high joy can do for you.

Joy is a funny thing. It strengthens our relationships, reduces our stress, improves our immune system, protects our resiliency after setbacks, and spreads from person to person to transforms lives.

As leaders, we can focus on...

Three Steps to Finding the Right Coach for You, by Ryan Hansen

These days, more and more professionals are turning to an executive coach to sustain their growth and help them perform at their best. Previous posts on this site have already covered why you should consider a professional coach, and how to get the most out of a coaching relationship, but that first step - finding the right coach - is the most important of all. Here are a few keys to finding the right coach for you:

1. Know Your Purpose

To find a great coach, start with the end in mind. What would you like to accomplish through this coaching experience? Identify your goals so you can identify the type of coaching you need. The more specific you can be in your quest to find a coach, the bigger the impact of the coaching relationship. Do you need a career coach to help you take the next step in your professional life? Do you need a business coach to help you grow your side hustle into a full-time gig? Maybe you...

Leadership Lessons from a Newborn Baby, by Haley Hansen

Just a few short weeks ago, our family got a little bit bigger as we welcomed Mackenzie Hansen into the world. We were blessed with a healthy, happy little girl who has brought great joy to our home. Two months later, it amazes me how much this tiny little human can teach me. Here are just a few leadership principles Mackenzie has helped me realize in her first few weeks on the job:

1. Rest is Refueling

Any parent can relate to this. If you have ever cared for an over-tired child, you know how they can reach new levels of emotional distress. And the more upset they become, the more they resist the call of sleep. This cycle can be hard to break, and an absolute nightmare for anyone around when it is happening. While it's easier to spot in an infant, I found that the same principle holds true for me. Even though I don't always need to be sleeping to get some rest, taking time for myself can offer similar relief. Already, I have...