Would You Want to Work for “You”?

May 23, 2017 | Leadership Development, WBS

If you had the opportunity to work for yourself, would you? This question has been popping up in conversations with several clients lately. It’s come up during a board strategy session. It’s been discussed during coaching calls. And, it’s come up while discussing the challenges of working in a multi-generational workplace. The reason I ask the question is simple: Focus on yourself before you criticize your team. Focus on yourself before you criticize your team! It’s so easy to point out the...

Revise “And Any Other Duties As Assigned” to Change Your Culture

Apr 19, 2017 | Leadership Development, WBS

If you’ve been in management for any length of time, the phrase “And any other duties as assigned,” is one you know. Whenever I ask one of my audiences or leadership training teams, “What’s that line at the bottom of most position descriptions?” invariably the knowing participants start to chuckle and say, “And any other duties as assigned!” That phrase conveys feelings of power to many managers yet most don’t understand it or apply it correctly. That phrase, as defined by the U.S. Office of...

Stop Kidding Yourself – You are Not a Stage Five Leader

Mar 20, 2017 | Leadership Development, Succession Planning, WBS

Last week, following my presentation to 150 small business owners, one of the audience members shared with me, “You know, I’ve been a Stage Five Leader for years. That’s not the problem. It’s this vision thing. I don’t think we’ve got that down because I can get away from my business for up to three months, but any longer than that, and it will fail.” I’ll share with you what I told him: Even though you’ve been a Stage 5 leader numerous times in your career, if your team or business cannot...

Six Reasons You May be a Helicopter Manager

May 19, 2015 | Leadership Development, WBS

We've all heard of helicopter parents. They're those annoying parents that constantly hover and prevent their children from learning to deal with life's challenges for themselves. Then, these children grow into young adults who are woefully ill-prepared to cope with the realities of an adult working environment. However annoying, though real, helicopter parents are, helicopter managers are equally, if not more annoying. Helicopter managers hover and prevent their employees from thinking...

Great Doers Don’t Necessarily Make Great Leaders

Sep 16, 2014 | Leadership Development, WBS

Many organizations and individuals get into trouble attempting Stage 2 Leadership when the time isn’t right. The problems arise because, more often than not, organizations promote the most technically proficient doers into supervisory, team leader, or management roles. However, a great doer, or Stage 1 Leader, doesn't necessarily make a great leader, or Stage 2 Leader. The skills needed to be an effective supervisor, team leader, or manager are vastly different than those needed to be a...