Five Things Great Managers Do Every Day
When you hear the term inspirational leader, you may get images of someone who’s achieved considerable success, or is a brilliant strategist able to amass a personal fortune. Or perhaps you consider someone who gives rousing motivational speeches worthy of a TED talk – an iconoclast who changes the national dialogue. While at first blush we…
Are Millennials Just Gen X With Hipper Clothes?
Recently, I was asked to provide career advice for a friend of a friend’s daughter. She’s in the first year of her career and trying to figure out if she’s chosen the right path and how to navigate so she can apply her strengths and talents. What struck me wasn’t how different her expectations and…
How To Drive Innovation
Leaders want more innovation in their cultures. To compete, they know they can’t play it safe – which requires employees to take chances and not be afraid to fail. Yet, most organizations subtly (or overtly) encourage safe behavior, by rewarding straightforward successes and punishing failures. Employees get the signal quickly that taking work risks is…
What You Should Know Before Your Next Performance Review
A few months ago in a management workshop, I mentioned that most performance reviews are a waste of time. Managers are burdened by them. People rush through filling them out, often with a stack to do at once. And the feedback gets watered down in some sort of HR-conforming corporate speak. Clearly I’d struck a…
Why Leaders Are Poor Communicators
If you were to name the worst leader you’ve encountered, I’ll make a bet that one of your criticisms involves poor communications skills. Communications is intertwined with leadership, both good and bad. The universal need for leaders to develop strong, transparent, motivating communications is so prevalent that it’s become almost trite to say it. Yet…
Career Advice I’m Glad I Never Took
I love my job, even on the tough days. For that I stay immensely grateful, especially since my work as a coach involves bearing witness to the unhappiness so many people feel in their chosen careers. In fact, studies show that about half the world’s workers are unhappy in their positions, with workers in the…
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