Incivility in the Workplace

Jan 31, 2012 | Leadership Development, WBS

Within a two-day period, two separate clients called to schedule training sessions on Diversity, also called Incivility in the Workplace. Both reported they had recently experienced a nasty incident among co-workers at their respective offices, and they felt they needed to formally remind staff of basic civil, non-discriminatory conduct. In the media, there have been a growing number of reports on incivility, rudeness, harassment, and ultimate violence in the workplace between and against...

Guest Post: Jesse Lyn Stoner

Jan 27, 2012 | Guest Post

We have a special guest on the blog today. Jesse Lyn Stoner, Seapoint Center, has written a terrific article that we'd like to share with you. Be the Boss You'd Like to Have By Jesse Lyn Stoner The friendly gentleman sitting next to me on the airplane said: “I like my boss because he is genuinely interested in me and what I’m doing. He doesn't just ask generally how things are going, he says, ‘how’s the [specific] project going?’ I know he’s paying attention and cares. When I first started...

Advisors Advise — Directors Direct

Jan 24, 2012 | Leadership Development

Once and for all, let’s clarify the difference between Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors. People often believe they are one-in-the-same and use the terms interchangeably. When, in reality, they are very different entities. And although they are both important, they wield very different levels of power. The shareholders or members typically elect the people who will serve on the board of directors. In a small firm, the board of directors is usually comprised of the business’ owners and...

Are Your Biases Blocking the Message?

Jan 17, 2012 | Leadership Development

In recent client planning sessions, I've noticed a troubling trend: many leaders don't listen. Oh don't get me wrong, the leaders hear words. They hear the initial few words uttered by one or two planning team members, but they don't grasp the members' intended messages. Why? It's not because the team members don't speak clearly and it's not because the team members don't know what they're talking about. It's because the leaders aren't listening. The leaders aren't listening to the team...

I Want My Life Back!

Jan 10, 2012 | Leadership Development

Yep, I heard it again. A new client, a CEO, told my team prior to our first work session, "I want my life back. I love working, but I've got to stop working 80-hour weeks. Something needs to change around here." Sounds logical and completely reasonable to me, but how do you get your life back if you are the only person who knows your job? Worse yet—how do you do that if you are the owner, CEO, or another member of the C-Suite? Who can do your job? As I have observed over the years, being...