Things Successful Leaders Avoid Saying (Part 7)

One word – “inappropriate” Last week, at the Iowa Employment Conference I heard employment law expert, Michael Reck, point out that the word “inappropriate” has no place in employee handbooks. He went on to say this is because courts have ruled time and again that the word “inappropriate” as a descriptor of behavior, dress, and … Read more

Leaders are Transparent (without TMI)

Transparency builds trust. Too many leaders have a habit of holding back information, which can look like information-hoarding, or secret-keeping. Those behaviors hurt trust. But, leaders also know when to stop; leaders will avoid the temptation to share TOO much information. Leaders share information, as appropriate, to: a- keep people informed b- keep people from … Read more

Leaders Do Everything They Can Do…

When someone dies in an emergency operating room, it is the moral obligation of the doctor to report this to the family: “We did everything we could possibly do.” Before leaders remove team members for non-performance, they have the same obligation. Ask yourself: “Did I do everything I could possibly do?” It’s easy, especially when … Read more

Maintaining Accountability

Accountability is one of the areas of dysfunction mentioned in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. If you haven’t heard Alan discuss this, check out this video – it goes over the dysfunctions in a quick and compact way. In order for us to achieve the best results, Lencioni points out that … Read more