Your company takes care of the things it owns. The office HVAC system gets regular inspections. Computer hardware and software are upgraded and scanned for problems. Potholes in the parking lot are patched and resurfaced. Manufacturing equipment is routinely overhauled and serviced. Security systems are maintained. And so on. We wouldn’t dream of ignoring holes in the roof or keeping …
Strategy: the alternative to spaghetti
Throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks doesn’t actually work. Supposedly a test to see if the spaghetti is cooked (if it sticks, so the theory goes, it’s done), it fails miserably. On the one hand, if your spaghetti is so well done that it actually does stick to the wall, it’s overdone for a good meal. …
The paradox of process
Process is good. Process is important. Process keeps you from reinventing the wheel every time you complete a recurring task. Without process, you run the risk (or, more accurately, the certainty!) of confusion. One client’s employer had no process for anything – proposals, contracts, customer interactions, project kick-off and closing – everything was ad-hoc, unnecessarily unclear, and fraught with misunderstandings. (Yes, …
Do the verb!
Want to be a leader? Lead. Want to be good at communication? Communicate. Want to be an author? Write. Want to get better at negotiating? Negotiate. It’s that simple. DO THE VERB instead of wishing to be. Is it easy? Probably not. But you can’t get to being without doing what you want to be. And wishing you could be …
Helping First-Line Managers with Stress
Your first-line managers are an incredibly valuable – and vulnerable – asset. They have the most direct impact on your individual employees, and therefore on productivity, engagement, and results. And right now they’re squashed between their own stress, their team’s stress, and their boss’s stress. What are you doing to help them not burn out? In this video, I offer …
Identifying Emerging Leaders
When you leave it up to managers to select employees for professional development programs, there’s a lot of uncertainty involved. It depends on the quality of those managers. Are they good managers, alert to their employees’ accomplishments, skills, and career ambitions? Or are they overwhelmed, frustrated, and perhaps with their own political ax to grind? What inherent – or, let’s …
What is your failure saying about success?
We get so hyperfocused on omg, FAILURE. Ugh. Finger-pointing, excuses, project post-mortems, who screwed up, how could I be so dumb. Wait. Stop. Failure in one area is success in another. Flip the failure over. What succeeded? No, I don’t mean in some sort of Pollyanna-ish, unicorns-rainbows-fairy-dust approach. (You really should know by now that I’m not a unicorns-rainbows-fairy-dust person.) This isn’t false …
Leading through Uncertainty: a call to action
What does it mean to be a manager and leader in a time when everything seems to be turned upside down? Are you ready to take on the challenge? This isn’t an easy time for anyone, especially the first-line manager. I offer three key questions to help you decide what you’ll do. The choice is yours. Are you ready? Resources …
But I don’t know what to say!
I was gently taken to task last week by a Black friend who said she “would have welcomed a message” from me when the Black Lives Matter protests started after the police murder of George Floyd. I won’t deny it: that stung, and it should have stung. I deserved it. The challenge for so many of us white people is both …
Interview: Uplevel your leadership skills
As a feminist from my youth, I was delighted to be invited to the Petite2Queen podcast to talk about leadership, imposter syndrome, the importance of recognizing the impact that you, as a leader, have on your team, why you should make sure you own your leadership journey – and important questions about women and leadership. At 25 minutes, I’m amazed how …