I recently had a long conversation with a disgruntled employee. Her primary issue was that she believed she was lied to and deceived about her job when hired. She told me she applied for and was promised at her hiring a major… Read More ›
Motivating Top Performance
CREATING POSITIVE TEAM CHEMISTRY
Now here is a dream achievement for most managers; creating positive team chemistry. If only a manager could find the magic formula that creates a team environment where almost any accomplishment is possible. The trouble is, there is no magic… Read More ›
KEEPING YOUR WORKFORCE ENGAGED
I have been following yearly surveys focused on the topic of “Workforce Engagement” for the last fifteen years. These surveys have varied in their methodologies and organizational authors. Some focused exclusively on the United States, while others offered a global perspective…. Read More ›
AT WORK OR WORKING?
The term “knowledge workforce” refers to those individuals who make their living primarily by developing and using KNOWLEDGE in their daily work. The knowledge workers are our planners, analyzers, organizers, programmers, doctors, lawyers, scientists, marketers and designers whose contributions transform our business, commerce and… Read More ›
UNLOCKING WHAT YOU SEE IN OTHERS
Of all the management challenges I confronted over the years, this one was one of the most challenging of all. To begin with, what we think we see in others is a perception. Sometimes it is a perception based on… Read More ›
CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY
My friend and sometimes workshop partner Jack, loves to talk about the importance of assessing an employee’s capabilities and capacity. Regarding the importance of these concepts, I could not agree more. Yet over the years, I have rarely heard them… Read More ›
AUTHORITY VS INFLUENCE
One aspect of being a manager that lures many to the profession is the idea of having some real authority, of being in control of something and of having the power to give orders and directions that make things happen…. Read More ›
TEAMWORK: IT’S INTERESTING WHAT YOU CAN LEARN SITTING AT A BAR
Recently during a business trip to Denver, I was having a drink and dinner at the bar of Ted”s Montana Grill in Aurora, Colorado. Being alone, my attention focused on the three individuals working the bar that evening. Ted’s was busy…. Read More ›
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION AND TRAINING
I have never encountered an organization that at least rhetorically did not champion the importance of training for all its employees. But I have encountered quite a few organizations whose management actions and cultural attitudes sent some confusing and contradictory… Read More ›
DO NOT WITHHOLD INFORMATION THAT CAN HELP OTHERS SUCCEED
One of the great gifts any experienced manager has at his or her disposal, is the lessons of their experience. Years of hard work, countless hours of practice and application, the painful lessons of things gone wrong and the development… Read More ›