I’m hearing from many people right now that they have no budget for leadership development. Or that they’re trying to figure out how to do leadership development when everyone’s working from home, and certainly not gathering in a central community learning space. Or – both. It’s frustrating, because they also know that leadership development is important. You know that. In …
How can you motivate your team?
Okay, that was a trick question, because if you read my last post, you know I’m not a fan of motivation as a way to keep people on track and moving forward. So what can you do? Don’t worry. I’m not suggesting you have to leave it up to chance and whim. In fact, as the leader of your team or department, …
Motivation is a crock
There. I said it. Motivation is a crock. Willpower is too. Motivation is fickle. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes not. Waiting for it to wander back into your life means you’re not doing the things you really do want to do. If only you “felt like it.” Willpower. Gritting your teeth and forcing yourself forward. Exhausting. And when you’re exhausted, just …
The most important leadership skill?
As a leader, which is more important: good people skills or good communication skills? Perhaps they’re inseparable. Perhaps it’s impossible to have good people skills without good communication skills – and if you’re a good communicator, you’re probably also good with people. “Communication” is often viewed as the ability to convince, negotiate, explain, and so on. Those are all great …
Standing out – virtually
If you’re not in the office with your manager, how do you stand out and get noticed? And if you’re not in the office with your team, how do you know who’s doing what – and how well? These questions are bouncing around all over the place right now. And I get it. Things have changed, and it feels weird and …
When “awkward” is a good thing
Learning is change. Change is learning. Both are challenging. You’re doing things differently. You’re thinking new thoughts. You’re discovering new perspectives and new ways of being. You are becoming different. And that’s awkward. Fumbling through a new language, going from an iPhone to an Android, figuring out how to go someplace you’ve never been (literally or metaphorically), starting a new …
The myth of the Career Fairy Godmother
I have bad news: there’s no magical Career Fairy Godmother poised to grant your wishes for success. Your career is yours. No one cares about your career as much as you do – or at least, as much as you should. But here’s the challenge. You went through your school years being told what to do to succeed. And “succeed” …
What’s on the flip side?
What’s on the flip side of your skills? What’s on the flip side of your success? What’s on the flip side of your failures or problems? Similarly, what’s on the flip side of your employees’ skills, successes, failures, and problems? There are two sides to everything. A failure at one thing is a success at something else. And vice versa. You can …
How to keep remote employees engaged
A lot of people are asking variations on this question. How to keep remote teams engaged. How to keep remote employees engaged with the company culture. How to make sure remote employees feel part of the team / part of the company. How to onboard remote employees. And so on. And on. And on. Apparently it’s a deep and burning issue. …
Interview: preparing front-line leaders
Delighted to dig into the questions of front-line leaders, how they often don’t get the support they need, and why that matters, with Jonathan Westover on the podcast Human Capital Innovations. The podcast comes in two versions – video on YouTube or audio-only on Anchor.fm Enjoy!