This is a guest post by HARRY HUTSON and MARTHA JOHNSON. Being a new manager or a first-time leader can be a wild ride. Some days your heart is in your throat with trepidation, and on others it is bursting with the pride of accomplishment. Day-to-day responsibilities and task assignments are in your face. No time for what-ifs, strategic thinking, or long-term … [Read more...]
7 Critical Steps of Trust Building
There are many reasons why trust is important to leaders. With higher levels of trust you are able to influence change more easily and quickly. With more trust you are able to create higher levels of productivity and team cohesiveness. I could go on, but in short, being trustworthy and trusted are two of the most valuable attributes remarkable leaders possess. Here are … [Read more...]
Tired of Being Ignored? Be Heard and Understood With This Advice
Do you ever feel like no one is listening to you at work? Maybe employees don't follow instructions or your boss doesn't quite get onboard with what you're saying? Joe McCormack, author of NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus believes there is probably a very good reason employees are tuning you out, specifically: You've forgotten to answer WIIFM? (What's in … [Read more...]
Don’t “Should” on People
Do you ever find yourself frustrated because people … Did not do things they should have done? Did not know what they should have known? Did what they should not have done? Said something they should not have said? Did not speak up when they should have? I’m guessing that your answer is “Yes” to each of the above. If you have not yet experienced these … [Read more...]
The Key to Making Better Decisions
You work in the real world, a messy place filled with exceptions, complications and people. When you are making decisions in real-world organizations, you must factor the following into your decision-making process, if you want to make the best decisions: The relative urgency of the decision. How fast must it be made? When the urgency level is high and you need to get on … [Read more...]
A Lesson I Learned the Hard Way: Data Tells and Stories Sell
Early in my career, I worked in the plastics industry as a process and product development engineer. At the time, I had a degree in chemical engineering, and I had just completed service as a nuclear engineering officer in the U.S. Navy. I had a pretty good technical background, and I knew almost nothing about polymers. This lack of knowledge created a bit of a problem for … [Read more...]
Beyond The Bickering: 5 Steps to Resolving Conflict In Teams
This is a guest post by Jono Bacon, founder of Jono Bacon Consulting. You can run the most efficient, well-run company in the world, packed with eager team members clad in your branded hoodies, but at some point, conflict is going to rear its ugly head. I have worked with team members who clashed over their contributions to a shared project, with team leads who have battled … [Read more...]
10 Tactics to Manage Workplace Drama
From time to time, most of us have experienced or even contributed to workplace drama. It can take many different forms: People gossip, spread rumors, complain, lash out emotionally, rant about a perceived wrong, purposely exclude others, take sides in conflicts, and so forth. No matter how drama manifests, it can be a highly destructive force inside a company, and leaders must … [Read more...]
Making Sure You Aren’t the Know-it-All
Some time ago, I did a video that was very popular about Dealing with a Know-It-All. Recently a viewer asked us a key question, though: What if the know-it-all is you? https://youtu.be/X_6e4fYDhqg?rel=0&showinfo=0 Tweet it out: There is a difference being knowledgeable and being a "know-it-all." Remember that no one wants a know-it-all leader. @KevinEikenberry … [Read more...]
Reducing Conflict in the Workplace Starts With Common Courtesy
I was recently reading about strategies for managing high-conflict people in both the workplace and in your personal life, and it got me thinking about conflicts, in general. Conflicts are often not the result of some huge problem. Of course, people can do terrible things to one another, and that creates conflict, but when it comes to our day-to-day activities, our fights … [Read more...]