What have you learned about managing and leading during the pandemic? What will you do differently? How will you support your mid-level managers going forward? I could stop right there, because those three questions are hugely important as we move into what could be a whole new approach to work – a more humane, rational, and rewarding approach. Even before the pandemic, …
Leadership in the “next normal”
There’s a lot going around these days about how we need all these new leadership skills for the post-pandemic workplace. You know, the hybrid remote / in-office scenarios, not to mention how employees are requesting (demanding, even) that their employers take a stand on sustainability, diversity, climate change, and social justice. All this requires leaders to learn new skills to …
A podcast roundup
A few weeks ago, I asked my newsletter readers if they’d like a roundup of recommended podcasts, and the answer was, resoundingly, YES. I also asked them for their recommendations. Herewith, therefore, are my own suggestions and some of my readers’. Note: unless flagged as “only on Spotify,” you can find these on pretty much any podcast platform you prefer. …
Verb your values!
The problem with most companies’ values (and, dare I say, most people’s values) is follow-through. What we do about them once we’ve declared them. I wrote here about whether values are really values if we don’t always manage to live up to them. Spoiler alert: yes, because we’re human. But – and this is an important point – if we don’t …
So what the *^?@ is “culture,” anyway?
Every company has a culture – a personality, if you will. In fact, in larger companies each department or division also has its own sub-culture, which can sometimes be quite different from that of the company as a whole, or that of other departments. If you’ve ever envied a colleague because they worked in a department known for its supportive …
Preventing a toxic culture
Last week, I wrote about managing toxic employees. But what about preventing toxic tendencies right from the start? Toxicity can develop in an environment where individual achievement is valued over team accomplishment. It’s important to acknowledge outstanding contribution at the individual level – and it’s equally important to avoid creating competition between individuals. The outdated and destructive practice of “forced ranking,” …
How to manage a toxic employee
Short answer: don’t. Try to manage them, that is. Toxic co-workers are toxic – poisonous, virulent, noxious – those are just a few of the synonyms offered by a Google search. They damage morale, delay projects, reduce productivity, cause colleagues and managers to dread coming to work, and increase costly employee turnover. All too often, their behavior is overlooked. Whether it’s …
A simple preventive for employee turnover
Want to prevent employee turnover? Keep your best employees engaged? Avoid the really high cost of hiring replacements? Say “Thank you.” According to Eric Mosley of WorkHuman, as heard in an interview on Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead podcast, just five thank-yous in a year reduces the likelihood of turnover by a bit more than half, from 15% to 7%. …
Values, preferences, needs, and wants (oh my!)
“Values are important” – there’s a real Captain Obvious statement, hm? I’ve written about values before. But how do we go about discovering and defining our values – instead of just taking it for granted that of course we have them? My thoughts on this have changed. In one of my training programs, I followed the example of Barry Salzberg, …
Better? Worse? Different!
We’re a bit over a year into the pandemic. Some people are struggling. Some people are coasting. Some people have found silver linings – and some of them feel guilty about that. Some people are nostalgic for how things were. Interestingly enough, though, they’re a significant minority. Most people do not want to go back to How Things Were. The people …