According to workplace research giant Gallup, 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement is directly attributable to management. Translating that to plain English: if you’ve got a good manager, you’re more likely to be happy, engaged, and productive than if you have a bad manager. Aye-aye, Captain Obvious! Like many research studies, this is hardly surprising. I think we’ve …
That ostrich in the office – is it you?
Is there an ostrich in your office? Maybe it’s you? And what in the world am I talking about? Risk More specifically, hiding from risk. (For the record, ostriches don’t really stick their heads in the sand. But you get my point.) Risk management and risk mitigation are key skills for leaders at all levels. Yet they’re seldom discussed and …
How do you reward?
Several years ago, I read a fascinating book called Punished by Rewards: the trouble with gold st★rs, incentive plan$, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn. The basic premise is that, as the back-of-the-book blurb summarizes, “people actually do inferior work when they are enticed with money, grades, or other incentives. The more we use artificial inducements to motivate people, …
How do we fix leadership?
This is a follow-up post to an article I wrote on LinkedIn last week asking “Where’s the Future of Leadership?” How can we improve the working lives and careers of all employees and support bottom-line results? It’s a simple question, and it has a simple answer: we need to develop the skills and confidence of first-line managers and leaders. And …
Vision, mission, strategy, tactics – what’s the difference?
Vision, mission, goals, strategy. Tactics and actions. Do you know the differences, the nuances, and how to move from one to the next? If you do, you’re well ahead of most people – including, I’m sorry to say, many C-level executives. Yet strategic thinking is the unanimous number-one wish of those same senior executives for first-line managers and leaders. Unfortunately, …
Conflict-avoidant? Get over it!
Last year, I was part of a family Thing. You probably know the sort of Thing I mean. Words were spoken that shouldn’t have been, and other words weren’t spoken that should have been. Then the situation devolved into a Bigger Thing because it wasn’t raised as a Thing until weeks later – by email. One of the participants is, according to …
What happens next?
No task, activity, project, team, department, or even company operates independently. Everything interacts with everything around it. That’s not a metaphysical or mystical concept; it’s just reality. The more aware and intentional you are about how what you’re doing impacts what someone else is doing, will be doing, or needs to do – the more effective, efficient, appreciated, and successful you’ll …
Are you a speechifier?
There’s a lot of standard, cliché-ridden instruction out there on how to be a better listener. Most of it hovers around the tried-and-true “don’t listen to answer” directive – meaning, of course, don’t do what we all do: listen with half an ear whilst formulating our response (rebuttal, argument, disagreement…). Or, put in more positive terms, “listen to hear.” Listen …
Is leadership training worth it?
Have you put your emerging leaders through a leadership development program? Or maybe you’ve attended such a program yourself – or even taken the plunge to get an MBA? Was it worth it? I’m asking that very seriously, because from where I’m sitting – looking at the programs, talking with people who’ve taken them – I’m sincerely not convinced. I …
Is leadership really your thing?
I’m a leadership geek. (My LinkedIn profile says so!) But that doesn’t mean I think everyone should be a leader. I’m a self-employed business owner, too. (My taxes tell me that! ha!) And I certainly don’t think everyone should be self-employed or own their own businesses. One of the things I emphasize over and over again, and have for pretty …