The Safari Way to Success & Happiness - Steve Fredlund

Airs on April 20th at 3PM (EDT)

As the leader of your work safari, how do you get the right peeps in your jeep? Do you feel like you are hiring the right people? Are they sticking around and being as productive and engaged as you hope? How do you work with your current team members to get them more engaged? Do you feel like it’s just a numbers game; like if you keep hiring new people you will eventually have a great team? Do you find yourself hoping you will make the right hire? Or hoping that people will start to “get it”?

Hope is not a strategy.

Steve Fredlund is a long-time actuarial leader who analyzed data on more than 150,000 global employees. The analysis is clear: productivity, engagement and retention are driven by alignment and connection; alignment with the organization's vision and values and connection to other people and the mission. Even more shocking is what does not drive results: SKAs (skills, knowledge, abilities), salary, bonuses, benefits, flexibility and recognition.

These are surprising, largely underutilized insights. We keep hiring based on SKAs because that’s what we have always done, that’s how Human Resources supports us, and that’s how our automated systems are set up. These systems can be efficient and help us CYA, but the reality is they don’t work. The skills, knowledge and abilities of those entering our organization is not correlated to their productivity, engagement and retention.

Steve is known as “The Safari Dude” because he has led several safari trips to Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. He learned the importance of clarity, intentionality and accepting the unexpected on these African safaris; the same traits that brought him success in Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Throughout this engaging presentation, Steve uses stories from the Serengeti to relay critical insights about leadership and building powerful teams.

The Safari Way is an approach to life, work and leadership that reflects an African safari resulting in epic success and happiness. The Safari Way is grounded in clarity of experience wanted and people needed, intentionality and courage in decision-making, and embracing the ups and downs that are part of every epic adventure.