“I see you ahead of me. You see me behind. Where are we going today?” Whether you subscribe to the notion of leaders having “followers” or not, let’s consider this: What do others trust your leadership, i.e. why do they literally follow your lead? Someone has to be first. Someone has to have a » Read More
5 Ways to Prevent Your Employees from Turning into the Walking Dead Zombies are in vogue right now. I confess I’m a fan of TV show The Walking Dead. I turn my head away at the zombie action, but I am attracted to the human stories, the drama, and the symbolism. Do you want zombies » Read More
I finished a training series recently. On the evaluation forms I suggested a variety of topics that we could do next. Among topics like Managing Stress and Managing Change, I added “Managing Up.” This topic provoked the most interest, far and away. I followed up with an anonymous survey to get really specific as to » Read More
You know those nagging little thoughts or feelings you have sometimes? Let’s say one of your direct reports says something to you, but the vibe of the exchange makes you wonder if there really is something else going on. This can be frustrating to say the least. At its worst it can be a sign » Read More
Get Ahold of Yourself When Interactions go Awry. “I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element… I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated » Read More
Do you tend to be hard on yourself? You acknowledge your accomplishments and yes, you recognize your skills and talents, but there’s so much more to do! There’s so much more you could do! And how are you supposed to anticipate the next big thing for the coming year? Or even the next little thing » Read More
Managers of people, it may seem expedient and even helpful to give answers, but to truly be a leader, it’s best to follow that sage advice about teaching them to fish. One of my clients recently told me about the wake-up call he had when his 10-year-old son accompanied him to work one day. After » Read More
Rick Maurer, one of my favorite experts on organizational change, invited me to guest post on his blog about my chapter in the book, The Character-Based Leader… My chapter was titled, “Make the Most of Your Human Resources” and is a call to action for corporate leaders to do the work to truly capitalize on » Read More
If I could change one thing that keeps “good” managers of people from being great managers of people, it would be to redefine what being a “good” manager means. The Good Manager Many think a good manager of people means being… the problem-solver? the answer-giver? the obstacle –remover? Though satisfying, this is a trap. » Read More
I’ve been conducting training on manager/employee communication for years. In one class a few weeks ago I heard the same phrase over and over, and realized it holds the key to a breakthrough. When it comes to thinking about initiating a discussion about a touchy subject, inevitably I hear some version of, “What I don’t » Read More
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