How Trustworthy are You?
How Trustworthy are You? Newspaper headlines focus on a never ending series of trust breaches in institutions, government, politicians, CEO’s, and companies. Because trust has been breached, everyone is inconvenienced. Long security lines at the airport, extra hoops to go through when applying for a loan, and lots of fine print to read and re-read. […]
MoreDealing with the Dysfunctionally Defensive
Whenever we teach our Front Line Leadership program for supervisors and managers, inevitably we get approached by a frustrated participant who has an employee with a seemingly bizarre behavior that seems to defy logic. The key indicator that there is a dysfunctional behavior is a persistent or out of the ordinary reaction that doesn’t fit […]
MoreAre you really listening?
If you are like me, your ability to listen fluctuates from being an excellent and attentive listener to being distracted and disinterested. And most of the time, we aren’t fooling anyone – they can tell if we are really listening. I’ve also noticed in myself, that my listening skills tend to fluctuate depending on my […]
MoreDealing with Unacceptable Employee Behaviors
Fortunately the majority of employees are motivated, pleasant and productive. Unfortunately, the small number of employees with attitude, behavior and performance problems can disproportionately and negatively impact the front line supervisor/manager. Should you accept or correct unacceptable behaviors? Dealing with difficult employee behaviors is a challenge for most supervisors and managers. Unlike a tangible performance […]
MoreInternal competition: Motivator or Demotivator?
Internal competition – motivator or demotivator? Managers typically are more competitive than average employees. So it’s natural for managers to want to create a competitive spirit between employees, shifts, divisions and locations. And some employees respond really well to this competition. It can even get carried away to include gaming the system to […]
MoreForty percent of employee motivation is optional
Admit it; you’ve had managers you wanted to see succeed and you’ve likely worked for others that you didn’t respect or trust. And you’ve had occasions where you threw everything you had at your job and other times where you dialed it back to idle. Managers and supervisors often think that the wages or salary […]
MoreMistakes of Managing to the Metrics
You’ve likely heard the expression, “What gets measured, gets managed.” And companies have improved their capability to measure dozens, or sometimes hundreds of data points that reflect how the business is performing. Unfortunately, managers are falling into the trap of “teaching to the test” which means that they harp on the metrics without coaching the […]
MoreSports coaching vs the voodoo approach
Historically, trainers and coaches rely on the trickle down method of impacting an organization: train or coach the boss and then everyone who reports to that person will change their behavior and the organization will benefit. Or sometimes the opposite approach is taken – put the staff/employees through training, thinking that will change things, only […]
MoreConflict and change coexist
When you hear the word conflict, it has negative associations with words like argument, war, battle, and disagreement. In reality, conflict should be embraced as being essential to a healthy organization. The majority of employees (and many supervisors and managers) avoid conflict because of the assumption that conflict is destructive. Conflict is expected and desired […]
More5 Tips for First-Time Managers
Jennifer King, HR Analyst at Software Advice, posted an excellent list of five tips for newly-promoted managers. She built this list from interviewing managers and practitioners. Read the whole post: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/5-tips-for-first-time-managers-1031912/ The five steps include: the need to get to know your team and what motivates them learning to shift your sense of satisfaction to […]
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