Want a great culture? Focus on these three things
The culture of your organization will either ensure your long term success or potentially leave your organization vulnerable to external threats. An effective culture leads to innovation, agility, great customer service, higher profit margins and high employee engagement. A weak culture creates and reinforces resistance to change, erratic financial performance, high employee absenteeism and turnover, […]
MoreShould you manage like Steve Jobs?
As I make my way through the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson I am struck by the apparent incompatible realities of Steve Jobs. As a manager, especially in his early days, Steve Jobs was as autocratic, manipulative and inconsistent as they come. And yet he transformed several industries, created an incredible amount of […]
MoreHelping or Harping?
When front line supervisors and managers are asked to share some of the characteristics of the best manager or supervisor they had ever worked for, they will include “supportive” on that list. One participant was even more emphatic – his best boss was focused on “helping” not “harping”. A boss who is constantly critical and […]
MoreFear of mistakes or search for success?
Some organizations, especially ones that are more bureaucratic can begin to develop a culture where the punishment for mistakes exceeds the praise for success. Organizations can get bogged down because employees are focused on playing it safe, fearing career-limiting consequences for making mistakes. In sporting terms, they play defense more than offence. This hiding tendency […]
MoreLeadership whack-a-mole?
When we head to the amusement park, a favorite game is Whack-a-mole where the little critters stick their heads up and you try to whack them with a mallet. The person with the highest score wins a prize. Management and supervision can be like playing a never-ending game of whack-a-mole except there usually is no […]
MoreEmployee Performance: Terminate or Rehabilitate?
Today we look at the one or two bottom performing employees you might have on your team or in your company. It could be job performance related or it could be negativity or behavior problems. Can they be ‘fixed’ or should you let them go and move forward with hiring a replacement? An HR Manager […]
MoreIs laziness a powerful motivator?
Could laziness be the most powerful motivator of all? And if it is, how can you use this to your advantage? As a people watcher have you ever noticed that the majority of people gravitate to the easiest way of accomplishing a task?
MoreDecision making waste?
When asked, the majority of executives, managers and supervisors agree that they frequently make decisions, answer questions and solve problems that should be handled at one or two levels below them. By handling these problems, decisions and questions at the wrong level, the organization is experiencing a kind of waste. Wasted talent, reduced quality and […]
MoreNegativity saps productivity
After nearly five years since my last flight as a private pilot, it felt great to get out flying again with an instructor. It was amazing how much past knowledge came back so quickly. That shows the power of repetition from the original flight training nearly 10 years ago! And speaking of repetition… it seems […]
MoreHiding in plain sight
Have you ever worked for a manager who was extra fussy about policies, procedures and doing things in a very specific way? One of the exercises in our Front Line Leadership program involves having participants act out different leadership styles to see how they impact results and employee satisfaction. One of the styles is called […]
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