“The boss told me this morning my decision to implement the new social media strategy wasn’t a good one.” “Did he say why he thought that way?” “He said I didn’t do enough research or involve the right stakeholders.” “Did you do those things?” “Sure, I did little research and talked to a couple people. » Read More
Like love, power is one of those words rarely uttered in the workplace. And, when it is, those conversations happen in whispered tones, usually following a flagrant example of power gone wrong. A CEO believing what leadership ethicist Terry Price defines as “something that’s wrong for others but OK for me.” A newly-promoted manager intoxicated » Read More
A small group of us had labored for months on a project to improve morale, performance and slowdown turnover in a particular facility. This assignment had been layered on top of already full task lists, yet it was a labor of love for most of the project team. Who can resist the lure of freedom » Read More
In my leadership book of fair play, one of the basic rules is to praise in public and criticize in private. I firmly believe that making people look — and feel — stupid (regardless how egregious, or not, their offense may be) in front of others serves no one well. So imagine my shock and surprise » Read More
This statistic stopped me cold: 60% of the participants in a 2009 international study trusted a stranger more than they trusted their boss. Yikes, how sad. In doing a quick mental tally of bosses I’ve had, unfortunately this figure didn’t seem too far off my experience. Many of those bosses didn’t grasp that in times » Read More
Barry wasn’t happy that his boss put him through the 360 evaluation process. He was even unhappier after receiving the feedback. In fact, he was shocked, angry and disbelieving. There was no way he was unethical, thoughtless or lacking in credibility and integrity. In following the trail of bread crumbs to the root cause of » Read More
I was on my way to a meeting, driving on the freeway in blinding rain and happily singing along with the radio. Suddenly, there’s a semi-trailer on either side of my car, both churning up road mist and throwing off their own back-splash of rain. I couldn’t see a thing. No more singing as I’m » Read More
Those dark nights of introspection are so wrenching, yet so filled with growth. Whether the amount of time involved is prophetic or not, I can’t say. What I do know is that I’ve spent the last 40 days or so in a reflective place, spurred by someone who brought the lights down and released by » Read More
I didn’t get the memo. Did you? You know, the one that says compromise is negative and should be avoided? Somewhere along the line, compromise (defined by Merriam-Webster as a settlement of differences by consent reached through mutual concessions, one of those “playing well in the sandbox” skills my mom taught me) got confused with » Read More
Everyone agreed George was a tough boss. He was demanding, settling for nothing less than one’s best. He was goal-oriented, charismatic and driven. He pushed when outcomes weren’t up to par; he beamed when they were. He challenged when he knew people were capable of more. He offered up praise, appreciation and thanks. He had » Read More
Recent Activity
