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One of the most common questions I get asked by senior managers is “How can we find more innovative people?” I know the type they have in mind — someone energetic and dynamic, full of ideas and able to present them powerfully. It seems like everybody these days is looking for an early version of Steve Jobs.

Yet in researching my book, Mapping Innovation, I found that most great innovators were nothing like the mercurial stereotype. In fact, almost all of them were kind, generous, and interested in what I was doing. Many were soft-spoken and modest. You would notice very few of them in a crowded room.

So the simplest answer is that you need to start by empowering the people already in your organization. But to do that, you need to take responsibility for creating an environment in which your people can thrive. That’s no simple task, and most managers have difficulty with it. Nevertheless, by following a few simple principles you can make a huge difference.

Team brainstorming seems like a good idea--at least, on paper. What usually happens is this: the company is experiencing a tough problem that no single person seems able to solve, so someone decides that more minds means more processing power, and before you know it you're all gathered in the conference room.

One or two people churn out bad idea after bad idea, while everyone else stares at the wall or multitasks. There are no major breakthroughs and most of you are irritated at the waste of time.

Sound familiar? Why is this such a problem?

The current business environment, and the world in general, is moving faster than it ever has before. Organizations across the globe are faced with more change than most can handle – in order to compete and dominate their segment they are required to grow faster often giving them less time to focus on managing all of their financial goals. They are forced to grow quickly with fewer resource - to do more with less. Managers have to learn to excel in managing themselves, their teams and meeting organizational goals simultaneously.

It is a common understanding of a vast majority of leaders that the employees are a company’s most important asset. But in reality, that is only true when the majority of the workforce is fully engaged in their work. If not, they are either adding minimal value or actively working against the organization.

There are three types of employees in any organization:

Un Equipo Competitivo se caracteriza por querer ganar y ser el primero y/o único a alcanzar el objetivo.

Your work isn't always going to run smoothly, and passive-aggressiveness won't change that. Instead of simmering in silence or working behind the scenes to get even, asserting yourself can actually make things better. The reason many of us don't respond to obstacles in the workplace this way, though, is because we often see assertion as an individual thing—something we do for our own benefit, like asking for a raise or promotion, or defending our ideas in a meeting.

But you can use the same tactics on behalf of your team to resolve challenges facing all of you, boost morale, and help get everyone remotivated.

Groupthink happens when people are afraid of the consequences of sharing their real thoughts, says team leadership coach Elena Aguilar. Learn the warning signs.

There’s no question or debate that workplace stress levels are at critical levels and are escalating. The American Institute of Stress (AIS) reveals that 80% of us feel stress on the job and almost half say they need help in managing that stress.  The StressPulse survey by ComPsych, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, shows the main causes of that stress are:  1) workload (36%); 2) people issues (31%); 3) balancing professional and personal lives (20%); and 4) job security (8%).

Team dynamics are also a big deal when it comes to workplace stress, in terms of the way teams operate and how team members interact with each other. The above statistics show that team dynamics directly affect a whopping 92% of what causes the most stress. 

Being part of a team can be a quick road to disappointment, frustration, and burnout, especially when some team members work harder than others, when some are on time and others are consistently late, when there’s drama and tension resulting from gossip, and when team leaders play favorites.

It’s no surprise that Google, now part of Alphabet, loves data, and the company’s execs frequently share the revelations they find, such as their insights on mobile web use. But some of us would be surprised to discover that this unicorn company often turns its eye inward, analyzing information about its people to help improve its operations.

A group of employees from Google’s People Operations section, the equivalent of an HR department, decided to complete an analysis to answer one question: What makes a Google team effective?

Here’s a look at their approach and the startling revelations they had along the way.

More companies are now embracing "agile" meetings and daily check-ins to make their teams more productive and efficient. The hard rule? Keep it under five minutes or be ready to be rudely cut off in front of your peers.

While some argue this laser approach to meetings won't get anything accomplished, The Wall Street Journal recently published a story that convincingly declares otherwise.

Time is too precious to waste in high-demand business settings. The old ritual of booking conference rooms and clogging calendars with 30 or 60-minutes of drudgery is being replaced by five-minute huddles where teams cut to the chase and make decisions on the spot.

Many leaders believe a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Thus many organizations spend a lot of time working to attract the best talent, while performance-managing those that aren't operating at the standard they would like.

But building a world-class team isn't about just getting the right people on the bus. It's about making sure you have a game plan in place that makes everyone on your team operate at a higher level.

So if you want to build a team that consistently overflows with top performers, build a team philosophy and culture designed to enable everyone who is part of it to excel.

Psychologist John Gottman can predict whether or not a married couple will be together five years later with startling 90 percent accuracy. How does he do it?

He watches them argue.

The ability to engage in healthy, productive debate is not only essential for ensuring a long marriage--it's also the key determinant of high performing teams.

A recently released six-year study cites the ability to manage conflicting tensions as the most critical predictor of top-team performance. Berkeley research shows teams that debate their ideas have 25 percent more ideas altogether and that companies like Pixar embrace healthy debate as a vital part of their performance (in its case to make better films).

You have a great product or service. You have the funds to make it happen. Now, the big question is "Do you have the people to stand by you and execute?"

The biggest question for entrepreneurs today is how to create a culture to keep your dream growing to its full potential. The answer is by creating a place for people to continue to develop both professionally and personally.

Dividing professional and personal development is an oxymoron. One feeds the other. And when you have an environment of mutual respect and open communication, more people want to hang around with you and make magic at work. The hardest part of work is the people piece. It needs on-going attention to keep productivity high and stress low.

Here are 11 questions to ask yourself and your team to make sure you are heading in the right direction.

From political leaders like Bill Clinton (in his heyday, at least) and Margaret Thatcher to business legends like Herb Kelleher and Jack Dorsey, there's no shortage of stories of leaders who claim to get by on next to no sleep. Should you follow their lead, inspiring your followers with heroic feats of business endurance?

Probably not, suggests a new study. Not only does dragging yourself around on minimal sleep feel awful, it also apparently makes you a less inspiring leader.

To test how lack of sleep affects key leadership skills like persuasion and charm, a team of researchers led by University of Washington management professor Christopher Barnes asked 88 business school students to prepare a commencement speech designed to inspire listeners. Half of this group then gave their speech following a restless night (they were asked to complete a survey every hour) and half while they were adequately rested.

How did a panel of expert evaluators (as well as the students themselves) rate their performances? The results clearly show that sleeplessness is a charisma killer.

Learn how to manage a remote team successfully with helpful tips from Ahna's Snapchat community.