Teamwork requires conflict
If the title of this article makes you scratch your head, consider for a few minutes the concept that a strong team with a high degree of trust requires its members to challenge one another. Ian Thomas, a professional speaker from South Africa was using the illustration of a pride of lions and the lessons […]
MoreMisdirected by metrics?
You’ve likely heard the expression, “What get’s measured, gets managed.” And yet, if you pay attention to the wrong metrics or measurements, it can distract both management and employees from desired behaviors. Metrics provide management with the key information needed to make decisions and assess performance in the business. Paying attention to the wrong metrics or […]
MoreHiding behind your keyboard?
For all the productivity improvements technology has brought us, there is a dark side and it is impacting employee engagement and management effectiveness. I’m talking about the tendency to send emails instead of going and talking to people. In extreme cases it might even be to the person in the office or cubical next door. […]
MoreAnswer the ‘Why?’
I’m sure I used to drive my mom and dad a little crazy as a child because I used to ask “Why?” so often. It turns out that kids aren’t the only ones who want to know why. Employees are more likely to be engaged when they are informed and understand the reason you ask […]
MoreGoldilocks leadership – not too tough, not too easy – just right
Just like in the children’s story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the best managers know how to strike a balance between being too tough or too easy on employees. The ‘too tough’ manager is mistakenly seen as an effective leader. Being ruthless might appear strong at first but when overplayed employees will become disengaged […]
MoreTurnover at the top
One supervisor was counting up the number of plant managers he had seen come and go during the past five years. There were seven different people at the top, each with their own agenda. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that employees might roll their eyes at yet another imperative change coming from a […]
MoreLeaders need to clarify what employees are trying to say
Even when the leader is trained to be a more effective communicator, it is quite possible that the leader’s frustration with employees might derail any improvement in communication skills. Without training everyone on how to be a better communicator, the leader can take some steps to help ensure that employees get their point across. We’ll […]
MoreWhat about the followers?
Over a coffee with a colleague, she shared with me an interesting trend emerging in followership. For decades, most training and development has been focused on executives, managers and front line supervisors with the justification that improvements made at those higher levels will be reflected in the behavior and results of the staff at the […]
MoreLeadership overrated?
In the past ten years, we’ve been systematically replacing words like manager and supervisor with leader. Everyone attends “Leadership” training instead of “Management” training. Are we putting too much emphasis on leadership and not enough on management? We’ll explore more on that below. Now is your opportunity to download your complimentary copy of the What […]
MoreAvoid bias as a new boss
Typically a newly transferred manager takes time to review the personnel files of his staff. This manager however did not want to become biased by reading the existing files. We’ll explore more on that below. Should a new manager read the personnel files of her team before sizing up the team for herself? My coaching […]
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