In her TED Talk, Margaret Heffernan tells the story of an evolutionary biologist at Purdue University, who housed a flock of competitive, super chickens together with the goal of increasing productivity. Six generations later, all but three of the birds had been pecked to death. Yet, the flock of average chickens managed to live together […]
Read More →Sales Superstars Don’t Necessarily Make Good Leaders If you’re a senior executive don’t be swayed by star performers who aren’t team players. Stop being overly inclusive as a means of avoiding conflict. And, be honest when a team member’s performance no longer makes the grade. A recent article by McKinsey & Company says the talent […]
Read More → Lift the Burden By Acting With Integrity Here’s a Zig Ziglar quote I really like: “With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.” These words make me breathe more easily. What a beautiful, unburdened way […]
Read More →Regular One-On-Ones Could Prevent Future Crises Few leaders have the luxury of exclusively leading people. Typically, leaders have extensive to-do lists of their own. But, as a leader, your highest priority is supporting, motivating, guiding and inspiring the people who report to you. If you’re not already holding regular one-on-ones with key members of your […]
Read More →What Made Businesses Great In 2001 Still Works Today Jim Collin’s book “Good to Great” was written in 2001. The “Level 5 Leaders” he wrote about were most effective at producing high returns. But by their very nature, Level 5 Leaders aren’t in the headlines. Their accomplishments are rarely showcased as examples of success. But […]
Read More →Pledges and Commitments That Create Accountability Ever held a meeting where everyone seemed enthusiastic about the topic and next steps? But, soon after, it was back to business as usual? Here are two tips that may increase commitment and foster progress. After introducing the meeting’s purpose, objectives and agenda, ask participants to respond to this […]
Read More →If Not This Season, Then When? I enjoy this time of year. And, it’s seems many others do, as well. It’s a season of fun-filled gatherings and sharing good wishes. Kindness, warm smiles and generosity are legitimized in all dimensions of life. Giving takes center stage and even goes beyond the material. Perhaps you and […]
Read More →In addition to meeting day-to-day goals, leaders are responsible for developing and communicating vision – the broader organization’s vision, as well as their department’s. Successful leaders revisit their vision often with staff and make sure their team can articulate the priorities that drive business results. If you’re in a leadership role, have you’ve taken the […]
Read More →Clients tell me that they share my videos and podcasts with their teams. One client says she starts her staff meetings off by playing one of my videos. She finds the messages helpful for aligning their focus, strengthening confidence and enhancing emotional intelligence. If you’re looking for tools to help your team grow professionally or […]
Read More →Often times, when leaders announce a major change, resistance from vocal stakeholders soon follows. If you’re lucky, the people with issues will come to you directly – giving you a chance to address grievances. But, more likely, the grumbling will happen out of earshot, although not without manifesting itself in one form or another. If […]
Read More →In a recent “60 Minutes” interview with Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer, he shared his approach to providing outstanding hospitality. He trains his staff to identify the boss at every table so they can make sure that person leaves happy. For Meyer, that’s the secret to creating loyal customers in a crowded industry. I began […]
Read More →Do You Possess These 6 Inspiring Leadership Qualities? Inspiring leadership is increasingly important as evidenced by polls that say a high percentage of today’s workers are disengaged. Some experts lay a portion of the blame on managers who are not cut out to manage people. The wrong manager can sink morale, drive away valuable talent […]
Read More →Are your job descriptions for new hires filled with unrealistic and overly specific hiring specifications? An article from The Society for Human Resource Management says recruiters call these “Purple Squirrels.” Steven Linder, The Workplace Group’s talent acquisition and development partner, explains that things have evolved since the job market changed due to the recession. Many […]
Read More →Robin has a standing meeting, every Friday, from 3 to 4 PM. That hour is blocked on his calendar for the full year. Every once in a while, due to pressing matters, he has to change it. But, he doesn’t let it go. He moves to earlier in the day or week, or first thing […]
Read More →Research Shows That These Leadership Skills Work Great leaders create a culture in which success thrives. Inc.com contributor Marcel Schwantes recently shared the results of research that points to six behaviors that keep leaders from failing. Schwantes contends that leaders will not fail if: They display authenticity – they’re transparent, self-aware, open to input from […]
Read More →There are many components involved in Emotional Intelligence or EQ. One very important EQ trait is the ability to reframe your negative thinking. According to BabbleOut.com’s Zoey Miller, people with high EQ’s do this and they’re adept at helping others do it, too. Reframing is intentionally choosing a different interpretation of an event in order […]
Read More →Are your company policies in alignment with your brand and mission? Industry experts have been dissecting the recent high profile issues plaguing airlines. They point to onerous rules that prevent well-trained workers from problem solving. Instead, they hold fast to policy. In the long run, it ends up costing the company in a big […]
Read More →Intangible soft skills rank high in today’s business world. A recent Fast Company article asks the question: Are they truly in short supply or do interviewers not know how to probe for them? Josh Millet, the article’s author, is CEO of a pre-employment testing software company. He suggests asking these 3 questions to measure soft […]
Read More →Poor On-Boarding Can Hurt Your Bottom Line You just spent a great deal of time, energy, and possibly money, to recruit a new, promising employee. How this new relationship starts will have a lasting impact on the new hire’s success. Just like a first date, it’s important to make a good first impression. Without it, […]
Read More →Fun Can Create A Safe Space To Take Chances Is having fun at work valued in your workplace? Researchers from Penn State, Loyola University and Ohio State University looked at this very topic. They concluded that performance can improve in environments where having fun is supported by the leadership. According to Penn State’s Michael Tews, fun […]
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