Leadership
Are your policies coming between you and your customers?
In my line of work, I’ve experienced many white-knuckle negotiations. You can imagine, then, my frustration with a popular telephone company while trying to get one simple task accomplished. It’s a negotiation that lasted six hours. My wife and I recently welcomed my aging mother into our home. Mom’s one request is that she be…
Read MoreIf you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail | A leader’s vision check for 2020
Imagine we’re sitting down for coffee and I ask, “…are you completely happy with the progress you made in 2019?” We hope that you are. We hope this was a banner year for your organization, but I have a follow up question, “…was it intentional or accidental?” Without intentionality, all results are accidental. A year…
Read MoreGood leaders know it’s not about me, it’s about we
Are you concerned that your people are not engaged? Your people want to do more, not less. They eagerly want to take a seat at the table and make a meaningful contribution. If this is not the case, then there is an extremely high likelihood that you encouraged them to be disengaged. Humans are naturally…
Read MoreSeeing is doing
If you see it; you will do it. People do not normally intend to aimlessly wander around and spin their wheels. If you see this happening in your organization, it is a clear sign that success has not been well defined. It is also a sign that there is not a simple, clear way to…
Read MoreConflict and communication rarely coexist
One of my favorite sayings is that “conflict and communication rarely coexist.” Humans generally want the same thing. Conflict arises between people because one person believes that what they want and another person wants, is somehow mutually exclusive. If you get more pie, I get less. What if, instead, you could both make the pie bigger? Then…
Read MoreGreat leaders know their opinion doesn’t matter
One of the things I consistently see leaders do that undermines their team’s effectiveness is freely expressing their opinion. The best leaders know that their opinion doesn’t matter. What matters is the mission. In most organizations as soon as the leader speaks, everyone is focused on pleasing the leader. At that point, the focus is on…
Read MoreTrials and Training | How to survive in life and business
A little preparation can go a long way. It is because of training that I was able to beat cancer in 1992 and survive a plane crash in 2014. I credit training with giving me the skills to own a handful of businesses over the years and manage others. What I’ve discovered is that I…
Read MoreGreat Cultures Are Built On Purpose
In order to lay the foundation for great workplace culture, two essential questions must be answered. The first, is your organization making the world a better place? And the second, is your team aware of and focused on that purpose? When you think about what attracts you to a brand or a company, is making…
Read MoreIs Your Team Dysfunctional?
In his now classic book, “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team,” Patrick Lencioni lays out the 5 key ways in which teams undermine their effectiveness: 1. Absence of Trust 2. Fear of Conflict 3. Lack of Commitment 4. Avoidance of Accountability 5. Inattention to Results My friend Nathan Lozeron does a great job explaining the…
Read MoreYou Can’t Motivate People
Carrots and sticks don’t work. Organizational Psychologists refer to this as extrinsic motivation – motivation that comes from outside of yourself. The approach is seductive in that it often works in the short run, but is rarely sustainable. As soon as the reward or punishment is removed, the desired behavior disappears. People are hardwired to…
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