I once asked a senior manager colleague what she considered the “core competency” of a good manager. “the art of Effective Nudging“, she replied. I knew at once what she meant as I had done my fair share of it… Read More ›
Managing & Leading
UNDERSTANDING HUMAN NATURE
Unique though we all are in our individual ways, there remains this thing called HUMAN NATURE. Specifically, the vast majority of we humans tend to behave in rather predictable ways confronted with similar situations, especially the need to adjust to and accept… Read More ›
GOOD MANAGERS WORK AT IT
When different people, focusing on different fields of endeavor and at different times all end up sending us the same message, seems to me we ought to pay attention. So consider the following message from four separate authors regarding the… Read More ›
LEADERSHIP: SOME UNAVOIDABLE REALITIES
I have been studying, writing about, and addressing the subject of leadership in many forums for over 30 years. While I still would not consider myself an expert on the subject — especially on whether my behavior at times measures… Read More ›
ACCOUNTABILITY: THE SIMPLE MANAGEMENT SECRET OF THE PAUL O’NEILL STORY
Chapter four of Charles Duhigg’s fascinating and highly insightful book “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business” is entitled“Keystone Habits or the Ballad of Paul O”Neill”. This chapter has drawn a lot of… Read More ›
PLAYING THE HAND YOU’RE DEALT
Most managers fantasize at some point about being handed the “DREAM TEAM” assignment. You know, a staff filled with self-starting, bright, multi-talented all-stars who basically need little management or oversight at all. All we would need to do is to… Read More ›
DANGER SIGNS THAT SOMETHING IS GETTING THE BEST OF YOU
Is your temper on a somewhat shorter fuse than usual? Is the list of things that get under your skin growing longer by the day? Is your tolerance for the human foibles of those around you noticeably diminishing? Do you… Read More ›
UNDERSTANDING THE LIMITS OF ATTENTION
Listening or paying attention to something attentively for an extended period of time, is a challenge for most human beings. In my experience, how much we humans will listen to anything, pay attention to anything, or stick with something we… 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 ›
Insights on Managing and Leading 