Every spring, Baltimore orioles migrate through this area. Usually they land on the hummingbird feeder, as you can see in the photo. (Taken through a window-screen, so slightly fuzzy.) For some reason, last Friday there was a very – and I do mean very – determined female oriole who was absolutely certain that if she just tried hard enough, she could come into …
Identical twins actually aren’t
Identical twins: two children created from a single egg fertilized by a single sperm, and therefore with identical DNA. Know any? Maybe you are one? We’ve all seen stories about identical twins playing pranks on people who can’t tell them apart, or even how identical twins separated at birth appear to have remarkably similar lives. But… Did you know that …
The development habit
What are your best habits? Drinking enough water? Brushing your teeth? Working out? Stopping to have fun? Playing? Getting outside? (It’s spring! Why aren’t you outside?) How about … professional development for yourself and your managers? A few weeks ago, someone commented to me that leadership development should be a regular habit like tooth-brushing. I can’t begin to say how …
Do you belong?
An in-depth study, primarily done through extensive analysis of Glassdoor reviews, indicates that a toxic culture is the main driver of the Great Resignation. (You can find the MIT Sloan Management Review article here, and an interview of Dr. Donald Sull and Charlie Sull, two of the article’s three authors, the study researchers, and co-founders of the company CultureX, on …
Do you compliment?
People whose efforts are rewarded are more engaged and do better work. Unsurprisingly, they’re happier, too, at work and at home. So here’s the question for leaders and managers: do you compliment? Do you acknowledge? Do you recognize? Compliments are, as Christopher Littlefield points out, “conflict prevention.” Littlefield knows whereof he speaks: he’s a conflict resolution expert, author, and founder …
Is leadership lonely?
“It’s lonely at the top.” We’ve all heard that saying, typically in reference to C-suite executives, especially CEOs. It may be true (though many CEOs have colleagues and formal mastermind groups supporting them and helping them feel less lonely). But I’d say that all leadership is lonely, whether at the top, the bottom, or somewhere in between. Especially the first-line manager …
Cookie-cutter leadership?
Cookie-cutter leadership. Leadership best practices. Leadership rules. Let’s be clear: none of that actually exists Except perhaps in people’s wishes and dreams and textbooks. Don’t get me wrong: there absolutely are foundational skills and important tools of leadership that you need to learn. But applying them in a cookie-cutter way doesn’t work, best practices are only “best” according to a …
How do managers learn leadership?
How do managers learn leadership? Any way they can. That’s not a joke, though it sort of sounds like one. Let’s start here, with the 70-20-10 model of learning and development. The 70-20-10 model tells us that 10 percent of learning comes from classroom instruction, 20 percent from observation, and 70 percent from doing. Yes, we can – and some …
Five facts about organizational culture
Let’s just jump right in, shall we? Culture is a company asset Yet so many organizations treat it as an afterthought, at best. Here’s another fact for you: Culture is either by intent – or by default If you’re not intentional about what you want your culture to be, you’ll end up with whatever takes shape around the personalities of …
Goldfinches, learning, and leadership
At this time of year, there are literally dozens of goldfinches at our birdfeeder. They’re wearing their winter plumage: faded, dusty taupe. The only reason I know for sure that they’re goldfinches? The black-and-white stripes on their wings. Every year, I’m amazed at how – all of a sudden – the males are vivid bright yellow. Overnight. Wait a minute. That’s …