“What can you control?” is a coaching question so basic, I sometimes move past it too hastily. The pandemic has reminded us of its importance. Since March, I have been engaging in as many informal conversations as I can with … Read More
I wrote about The Inner Game in last week’s post. Here’s one concept which bears further exploration. The “work triangle” has three components: Performance, Learning, and Enjoyment. Gallwey’s premise is that we achieve our best work when Performance, Enjoyment, and … Read More
In The Effective Manager, Mark Horstman shares data on the value on one-on-ones. In their research, which has been replicated multiple times, they found that results and retention improve by about 10% when managers implement weekly one-on-ones. Another finding is … Read More
In leadership development sessions, we spend a lot of time getting curious about what it’s like to be the people who report to us. By definition of how people usually end up in leadership roles, the leader tends to be … Read More
Ricardo was the president of the Band Parents for a time while I was a band director. He ran pretty good meetings. His corporate background and command of deliverables worked very well, especially when another officer, Don, ran off at … Read More
Recently, Sarah Noll Wilson asked me to be a guest on her Manager Minute or Two! series. I have a great appreciation for Sarah, so of course I couldn’t pass this up. And what better topic to cover than— BSaAFWYW. … Read More
This is a question I’ve tried to handle more than once, but I have a big disclaimer: I don’t hold HR certifications, and I can’t give legal advice. But I can share some thoughts that have been helpful to others. … Read More
I heard Suzanne Lemen, the principal of Dynamic Corporate Solutions Incorporated, speak at the HR Florida conference in August 2018, and she had some good thoughts on managing up. I’ll present them in bullet points, but they seem to fit … Read More
We all have situations where we feel stuck and think there’s no way forward. Let me give you some examples: I need to address someone’s obnoxious behavior in meetings, but I don’t know how to bring it up. I’m bothered … Read More
Leaders avoid these two words (except in one situation): Never Always Why? Two reasons. One: They’re emotionally charged words. Think about the times you’ve used those words. “You never offer to help.” “I’m always on time.” “I never go in … Read More