by Wayne Turmel New leaders rely on the skills we had as teammates and the habits that made us successful. But what if there’s one thing you did that wasn’t as productive as you thought it was, and now is a great time to change? We’re talking about the over use and abuse of email. As team members, there’s a pretty good chance we were “that person.” You know, the one who … [Read more...]
Transitioning to Your Leadership Role with a Hybrid Team
by Guy Harris The transition from individual contributor to leader calls for changes in at least three areas of your work life: your relationships, your skills, and your mindset. Managing these three transitions simultaneously is almost always a challenge, and the challenge is made even more difficult when you work with a "hybrid" work in the office/work from home … [Read more...]
Take the WIRED Approach to Improve Communication
When we talk about burnout from a leadership perspective, it's often in terms of how to recognize and treat it, both of which are highly important. However, what we want to focus on today takes a more proactive approach to prevent burnout. Especially in times of stress, whether that stress is associated with a work intiative that requires extreme focus and long days for a … [Read more...]
Set Expectations That Employees Fully Understand
"What do you expect?" People say that all the time in an earnest or quizzical way, or sometimes with outright exasperation. However, more often than not, people simply think it without ever taking the extra step to clarify what is expected of them. That leads to mistakes, conflict, shoddy work and productivity losses, because your employees and coworkers ask or think of … [Read more...]
What Do I Do When People Don’t Want to Change?
Joni showed up at her boss Bob’s office more frustrated than he’d ever seen her. Joni was a relatively new supervisor and had been developing well, but on this day, she seemed different. When Bob asked what was wrong, her frustration came out immediately. “What do you do when people don’t want to change,” she asked. Bob smiled and asked her to explain. “You know the new … [Read more...]
Respond Assertively, Not Aggressively
The basic difference between being assertive and being aggressive is how our words and behavior affect the rights and well being of others. - Sharon Anthony Bower No matter how great a manager you are, bad things will happen at work. Not every day, but occasionally. It’s how you handle those incidents—the ones that fill you with frustration, anger and dread—that determine what … [Read more...]
Make a Great Virtual First Impression
We're all spending so much more time in online meetings these days, and much of our interviewing and client onboarding is happening via video chat. So what can you do to make a great first virtual impression? Andres Lares, Managing Partner at Shapiro Negotiations Institute (SNI), offers these five body language tips to ensure you are making the best possible virtual … [Read more...]
How to Confront Negative Behaviors When You Hate Confrontation
“Problems in the workplace are often created not by what we do, but by what we fail to do.” -Aubrey C. Daniels – Bringing Out the Best in People “All problems become smaller if you don’t dodge them, but confront them.” – William F. Halsey And one from me: Failure to confront a negative behavior is a subtle acceptance of it, an encouragement for it to continue in the … [Read more...]
5 Communication Red Flags
People desperately want to feel connected, especially now when so many are working remotely. Helping employees feel like they’re an integral part of a caring, trusted team is not just a nice thing for companies to do; it’s more like a survival strategy. The highest levels of performance require that people care about and understand each other and feel cared about and understood … [Read more...]
Using Apology to De-escalate a Conflict
Apology is a powerful — and often underused — conflict resolution tool. One reason for not apologizing that I often hear in my work with clients is the concern that apologizing either totally admits fault for the conflict or reveals a weakness. While those concerns may be legitimate in some situations, they are overblown in most cases. Conflicts usually escalate because … [Read more...]