logo
Already a member? Login here
Avatar of Mary C Schaefer

Posts by Mary C Schaefer

Mary is a speaker, coach, trainer and consultant specializing in creating manager-employee communication breakthroughs and functional and positive work cultures. View and connect with Mary via her member profile, her Re-Imagine Work blog or @MarySchaefer Twitter profile.

3 Things Great Leaders Know About Managing Change

standard
4063585754_b3757f622f11

I’m working with a client right now who is leading his organization through a massive restructuring.  He engaged me to help with the inevitable human reactions to monumental change. My favorite line I heard from him on enabling his employees to accomplish the transition successfully is: “I can’t just hand them a business card with » Read More

Don’t Let Your To-Do List Override Your Good Sense

standard
Man Scratching Head

. By this time you’ve heard story after story of Black Friday gone wrong.  Shoppers with a laser focus on “making the season bright” allowed themselves to be willing to hurt another to achieve their prized purchase.  What a way to start off the holiday season wrong on so many levels… “Leaders” at work face » Read More

In Leading, There is No Substitute For Human Connection

standard
mans_finger_computer-finger

One of my clients had recently started experimenting with how he responded to customer requests. His customers were co-workers —people internal to the company. He had been finding himself increasingly annoyed and impatient at their requests, and he wanted to change that. To his credit, he knew most of the annoyance he felt was simply » Read More

Do You Know What Farm Kids Know about Leadership?

standard
mary-packing-tomatoes

I grew up on a farm. Yep, that’s me on the right, at 5-years old, working with my father. Notice the stripe-on-stripe outfit. I dressed myself that day. And that’s not the only thing I did that day… Farm kids learn responsibility early. I would say I “added value” as early as age 5. I » Read More

Leaders: Stop Being So Responsible

standard
superhero-woman-300x199

I want to admit right up front, when I was a corporate employee, I was, let’s say, “challenging.” Several years ago I was meeting with my boss about me potentially becoming a supervisor. He started telling me what he liked least about being a supervisor. He said, “giving people bad news.”  It’s just so painful, » Read More

“Respect Must Be Earned” – Leaders, Are You Comfortable Being Held to a Higher Standard?

standard
Respect Must Be Earned | Lead Change Group

Bosses, no, I really don’t intend on making you a target of disrespect. Earlier this year I expounded on how much this phrase, “respect must be earned,” bugs me, in the context of a manager to employee relationship — mainly because it can be misinterpreted and give license to immature or unscrupulous managers to treat » Read More

Does Being Liked at Work Matter?

standard
On Being Liked | Lead Change Group

[Pssssssst, did she just use the L-word?] One of my close friends is in the last phase of a selection process for a new assignment. Her first meeting and her final meeting is with the executive she would be reporting to. We’re pretty sure she’s a shoe-in because we already know he likes her. Her » Read More

Seven Ways to be a New Leader to Your Employees

standard
woman-on-ladder-in-sky

A “Best of” post from Mary Schaefer’s blog, Reimaginework.com, Feb. 24, 2010 My colleague in leadership, Joe Gerstandt, and I sometimes exchange Q&A’s – the latest from Joe being: JOE: We both talk about new ways of leadership in our work…for you, what are some examples of what that actually looks like? MARY: Great question. » Read More

Understanding the Faces of Resistance

standard
Bayon-Faces

Recently I gave a presentation titled, “5 Simple Steps to Engage Even Your Most Skeptical Employees In Change, So You Can Create a Strong Foundation for a Positive and Developmental Work Culture” As I went through it, I myself was struck again by the necessity to understand and consider human nature when we are trying » Read More

BlogTalkRadio broadcast March 9: Where Have All The Leaders Gone?

standard

You are invited…to an upcoming LeadChange Group BlogTalk Radio panel discussion. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 9, 3-4pm ET for the topic of: “Character-Based Leadership: Where Did it Go and How do We Get it Back?“ Whether you are a leadership consultant, HR professional or peer manager, you are in a position to influence » Read More

© 2012 Lead Change Group
ChatClick here to chat!+