In today’s world, businesses are focused on achieving greater productivity and profits. However, this has often been done at the expense of treating employees as mere resources, leading to stressful work environments and hindering team-building efforts. This counterproductive approach reduces employee morale and engagement, ultimately hurting business performance. The future of team building is centered on valuing employees as individuals rather than just resources.
Value each human
Elizabeth Colina understands valuing employees requires more than providing competitive salaries and benefits. It’s about creating a workplace culture that supports personal and professional growth and development. This includes offering opportunities for ongoing training, providing constructive feedback, and recognizing achievements. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work, leading to increased productivity and innovation.
In addition to boosting productivity, valuing employees can also improve employee retention. When employees feel appreciated and supported, they are more likely to stay with the company long-term, reducing turnover costs and allowing for a more stable workforce. Overall, Elizabeth’s approach to valuing employees benefits the individual employees and creates a more successful and sustainable business.
Flexible Work Schedules
According to Elizabeth, flexible work hours are acceptable as long as the quality of work is not compromised, the work is completed satisfactorily, and the clients are content. She also believes that life events should take precedence and everything else can wait. Witnessing unnecessary stress experienced by team members while requesting time off for special life events has been distressing for her. It is crucial that we acknowledge that our team members are human and deserve the opportunity to navigate life events without being weighed down by work-related stressors. When team member honors their work commitments, the work should reciprocate that respect.
Besides flexible work schedules, Elizabeth also believes in promoting a positive work culture emphasizing communication, collaboration, and mutual respect. By fostering a supportive work environment, team members are more likely to feel valued and motivated, improving morale and productivity. Encouraging regular feedback and recognition can also help build trust and improve overall job satisfaction. That’s why Elizabeth strongly believes in reducing the amount of scolding and negative talk while treating everything as a learning lesson.
Furthermore, Elizabeth understands the importance of providing her team with professional development and growth opportunities. Investing in employee training and skill development benefits individual team members and enhances the team’s overall performance. By continuously learning and acquiring new skills, team members can become more versatile and adaptable, better equipped to handle challenges and opportunities in their work.
Empowering Working Mothers and Partners
Their approach included encouraging parents to take time off to attend school events, doctor’s appointments, birthdays, or simply spend time with their children. We also provided flexibility in work schedules and the option to work from home when possible to support our employees in balancing their work and family responsibilities.
By offering these benefits, Elizabeth believes it can help alleviate some of the pressures that working parents face, enabling them to manage their time and responsibilities better. By fostering a sense of community and support, Elizabeth hopes to create a more inclusive and empowering workplace culture for working parents.
Moreover, Elizabeth recognizes that supporting working mothers is the right thing to do and makes good business sense. Research shows that companies prioritizing diversity and inclusion, including supporting working mothers, have a competitive advantage. By attracting and retaining top talent, businesses can improve their bottom line, increase innovation, and enhance organizational performance. Therefore, Elizabeth’s efforts to empower working mothers benefit her team members and contribute to her organization’s success and growth.
Understanding Human Behavior
Elizabeth’s architecture and design expertise has given her a unique problem-solving and critical thinking perspective. She understands that successful outcomes require a deep understanding of human behavior and the ability to work collaboratively to achieve common goals. Her skills in designing spaces that enhance human experience have given her valuable insights into creating environments that foster teamwork, communication, and creativity.
Elizabeth’s approach to team building reflects her background in architecture and design, which includes understanding how the built environment can impact human behavior. For instance, research shows that factors such as lighting, color, and spatial layout can affect people’s mood, productivity, and creativity. Elizabeth leverages this knowledge to create team-building activities and workspaces that foster collaboration, communication, and well-being.
She believes that every team member brings their unique strengths and challenges to the table, and successful teams recognize and leverage these differences to achieve their goals. Elizabeth believes leaders can cultivate a culture of innovation and creativity that drives business success by creating a positive work environment that encourages open communication, trust, and respect. Her approach to team building is grounded in the belief that the success of any team is directly tied to the success of its individual members.
Recognizing Individual Skills
Elizabeth’s experience in self-taught marketing has taught her the importance of understanding and marketing individual skills. Similarly, by recognizing the strengths and skills of each team member, leaders can market their skills to clients and bring in businesses that can benefit from them. This approach creates a sense of belonging and purpose for each team member, leading to a more productive and engaged workforce.
The future of team building lies in treating people as humans, not just resources. By valuing employees, creating a work environment that empowers them, and fostering a healthy work-life balance, businesses can create a productive and positive workplace for everyone. Elizabeth’s journey from architecture to entrepreneurship shows that anyone can succeed in a new industry with determination and a willingness to learn. Her background in architecture gave her a unique perspective and skill set that she applied to her work in a digital agency, Software as a Service, and loyalty gamification platform ventures. Elizabeth has proven herself a successful entrepreneur and innovator by continually expanding her skill set and building relationships within each industry.
