As you take on a new management role, you want to make sure that you’re communicating effectively with your team members. But how are you going to get them to open up to you? Many employees have trouble being forthcoming with any boss, let alone a brand new one. Try out these encouraging phrases to get the words flowing: “Help me understand …” Put the blame for … [Read more...]
Be the Victor, not the Victim
In much of my work, I see a tendency that many people have (including me) to play the victim during interpersonal conflict. I encourage my clients, and I strive myself, to overcome this tendency to blame every conflict on the other party. I call this tendency to blame others a victim mentality. When I am blaming others, I am a “victim” of their behavior with no power to … [Read more...]
7 Ways to Build Stronger Relationships With Remote Staff
This is a guest post by David Deacon, author and HR expert. In your new leadership role, are you responsible for leading remote employees? Most leaders have at least one partial or full-time remote employee or freelancer who reports to them. It's not easy. With employees working remotely or on flex schedules, it can be tough to create the kind of connection you need to help … [Read more...]
Unmotivated Employees? Start Here.
While motivating and inspiring employees (and keeping them that way) requires a good bit of strategy, a good place to start is simply to shift your language to be more positive. When people are constantly bombarded by negative messages, they can't help but feel negative too. It wears on them and can even convince them that nothing they do will be right. With some simple … [Read more...]
Are You Assertive or Aggressive? The Difference Matters
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 kind of leader you are. If you respond to those occasions aggressively (outwardly or passively), you’ll undermine your team, spread fear and start the rumor mill. … [Read more...]
Become a Strong Delegator (And Take Back Your Time)
Delegation is something that every leader has feelings about. Some feel they do it well. Some don’t even know where to start. Some have seen a good example of it. Some feel like every time someone has “delegated” to them, it felt like they’d just been dumped on. Some think it is something they should do. Some resist it. Regardless of your feelings and experiences, there … [Read more...]
5 Steps to Become a Much Better Listener
How much we actually retain when we listen to people speak is up for debate. I've seen research that suggest it is as low as 17%. I don't know if I believe it's quite that low for most of us, but I do believe many of us have lost the art of listening. We're too distracted to offer our full attention to one person. We multi-task, constantly deal with the ding of our phones, … [Read more...]
Are Communication Style Tools Valuable? It Depends.
Why is communication so hard? One of the top reasons is that not everyone communicates in the same way, with the same tendencies or styles. To simplify things, we have access to all these useful tools that provide assessment takers with acronyms, colors, letters, animals or other designations to identify their personality and communication style. They're often fun and can be … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Improve Mental Health in Employees
This is a guest post from Marcus Clarke. The best step that leaders can take to improve an organization is to promote mental health among employees. Statistics have revealed that employees experience depression and anxiety each year, and these mental health issues affect employers and lead to huge losses. The nature of work and its expectations is often a leading source … [Read more...]
If Anything, Learn THIS Important Lesson on Election Day
If you live in the United States, you have to know it is Election Day. Direct mail, yard signs, neighborhood canvassers, radio and television ads and more – all add up to an important day in the life of a democracy. But this post isn’t about politics. The lesson today is something what we, as organization and community leaders, should not do. I am struck by how much of … [Read more...]