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 […]
Tag: “continuous improvement”
Conflict 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 […]
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, […]
Fear 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 […]
Caught in the Chaos?
A manager or supervisor’s job should be easier. After all, as long as you have the right people, the right materials, the right information and the right equipment, everything goes smoothly. For most of us this fairy tale scenario only happens on occasion. The rest of the time we are scrambling because one or two […]