I hate to break this to you, but not everyone is on your side. Some people want you to fail and will do anything they can to make sure it happens soon. Most of the time these traps are set by people outside your organization, but sometimes they are set by your “friends.” And sometime…
What Are You Waiting For?
Is there something that needs to be done? A new direction you need to take? A problems you need to solve? A question you need to ask? A dream that remains unfulfilled? So, what are you waiting for? Permission? You don’t need someone else to tell you it is okay to start doing the thing…
The Bulletin Board Test
When recruiting internally you need to select only the best. “Too often,” says Marston Waterman (Motivating the ‘What’s in It for Me?’ Workforce) “people with time on their hands are the ones who get put on teams. The reason they aren’t busy is that they aren’t that good.” If you are looking for a way…
The Problem with Mirrors
Moving in the right direction always begins with a shared vision of where you want to be as an organization. Everyone on your team needs to have a part creating that vision, and everyone needs to have a personal stake in the achievement of the vision—each needs to be able to say with meaning that…
Teams Provide Connection
When I was leading a corporate HR department one of my greatest fears was that my team would disconnect. It could be due to the hard work of staying emotionally balanced while serving the needs of others, often forgetting their own. It could be due to the pressure of trying to keep up with the…
Building A Team Is As Simple As ABC
As you set out to build your dream team, keep in mind that everyone brings a little baggage to the team whether you like it or not. No one is a clean slate just waiting to be written on. Everyone comes with a myriad of things that make them who they are. Some of those…
Keep ‘Um Safe
News flash. Things can go wrong, even when you are on the right road. As a leader you must get your team headed in the the right direction and on the right road. But you also need to keep everyone safe along the way. Providing direction is one of the key duties of a leader. …
Get on the Right Road
You call it your vision, your mission, your dream. You spend hours and hours defining it, refining it, describing it, selling it. You worry about it, labor over it, stress it, stress about it. You think it is hard to know, hard to create, hard to communicate. But it really is simple. One of your…
Challenge Your Assumptions About People
First, we all have gifts. Some gifts are loud, pretty, or smart (none of those things make them better), and some gifts are quiet, humble, or simple. Whatever your gift, don’t miss it. And for everyone’s sake, don’t compare it. Also recognize that you are free to do as you will with your gift. It…
Measure the Right Things
“The performance appraisal, more than any other aspect of our people system, surreptitiously sends a number of resounding, negative messages about the nature and potential of people. …[T]hese underlying assumptions signal distrust and a belief that people need to be prodded and psyched to put forth their best efforts. The assumption that we can even…