Vicki Hess on The Missing Piece of the Employee Engagement Puzzle

Mar 11, 2014 | Guest Post

Vicki Hess, CSP stopped by today; read as she shares what’s missing in most discussions about employee engagement. The Missing Piece of the Employee Engagement Puzzle By Vicki Hess, CSP Over the last decade, billions of dollars and millions of hours have been invested by organizations across the country to foster greater employee engagement, yet employee disengagement is still at or near all-time highs. Why? Because we’ve been missing a key piece of the engagement puzzle: the employees!...

Be Careful What You Ask For – You Might Just Get It…

Mar 4, 2014 | Leadership Development

Ron Ashkenas wrote a great blog for Harvard Business Review in 2012 in which he outlines a seemingly obvious fact: Don't Ask for Feedback Unless You Want It. His perfectly titled article highlights the obvious blunders other leaders make by asking for others’ comments, input, or feedback, yet being irritated when they receive it. The hypocrisy of their actions is blatant. But what I most appreciate about Ashkenas’ article is his honesty in stating, “These behaviors, by the way, are much...

No Appraisals? OK. But How Will You Keep It Fair?

Feb 19, 2013 | Leadership Development

I've recently had interesting conversations with a few organizations that want my company to work with them in developing their leaders. That's great but we're running into an initial roadblock as each company's leadership team has basically said, "We're hearing more and more that performance appraisals are a thing of the past. They're demoralizing, time-consuming, and ineffective. No one here likes to do them, so as a leadership team, we've decided we're not going to do them anymore."...

Grow Your Business Through Your Employees Not Your Customers

Mar 6, 2012 | Leadership Development

You've cut prices, you've refined your target customer base, you've increased your advertising and still --- business is so slow it's dangerous. The economy is not good, but other companies seem to be selling similar products and services. How are they able to survive (and yes, thrive) while your sales are tanking? They've focused on growing their businesses through their employees, instead of through their customers alone. Successful companies have realized that if they better educate, train,...

Be Fair and Share

Feb 7, 2012 | Leadership Development

Are you being fair with your managers? Are you sharing critical information with them in a timely manner? Are you developing performance standards for them and the company and then not sharing those standards with them? If you answered, "Yes, Yes, and No" that's great. But stop and really think about your answers. You'd be surprised at how many business owners and managers aren't being fair and are not sharing critical information with their own managers -- and don't realize it. I started...