Keep It Real

Mar 25, 2014 | Leadership Development

One of the professional organizations to which I belong had as its theme a few years ago: Keep It Real. It was meant to encourage us members to truly be experts in what we proclaim to be and do. To be honest, when I first heard the theme, I thought: Boring! However, over the past several months, I've come to appreciate it. With the business environment continuing to be a challenge, it's been interesting to note the validity of Warren Buffet's famous saying: "Only when the tide goes out do you...

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...

Who’s Monitoring Whom?

Jan 28, 2014 | Leadership Development

We've worked with numerous leadership teams over the years who have needed to help their team members create basic Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s), document critical processes, and identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These actions help the leadership teams and their employees understand more clearly, what each employee needs to do to help their respective organization move forward, what can be further systematized, and what the results are showing you. However, all of the...

Stop Rewarding Perfect Attendance!

Jan 21, 2014 | Leadership Development

I heard another manager suggest it this past week: "I think we need to start rewarding our employees for perfect attendance. It's the least we can do to show them our appreciation for their dedication!" No, it's not the least you can do to show your appreciation for your team's dedication. In fact, rewarding perfect attendance is wrong. Let me tell you why. First, I'll share just a few of the most obvious reasons (we've all experienced in the workplace) as to why it's not a smart management...

Performance Reviews – They’re Not Just A Once A Year Thing

Nov 5, 2013 | Leadership Development

A client was experiencing some employee performance issues and asked us to present training to their managers on their new employee performance evaluation form. Terrific. However, they weren't thrilled when I told them that the training should focus - at most - 10% of the time on the actual use and mechanics of the form. The remaining 90% of the training needed to focus on managing performance and preparing for the reviews all year long. They couldn't expect a form to solve the performance...