A big city public transit system just released a report addressing its terrible service and image problems. While some of the panel’s recommendations deal with the organization’s culture, much of it is focused on “fixing” drivers, counter staff, and other frontline service people through training and “attitude change.” The way too common “fix our customer […]
Read post »September starts a new school year in the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps you or people close to you are entering a new phase of academic life this month. It’s often a time of stress and excitement, anticipation and trepidation, or of endings and new beginnings. Our education systems are tiered with steps and stages that lead […]
Read post »Continuing the focus on team building from my last two blog posts, here are further approaches to strengthen your team – as a leader or as a member: a) Be careful of team building exercises that promote “teaminess” as an end in itself. Lasting teamwork comes from getting everyone focused on the issues outlined in […]
Read post »Strong leaders – whether in appointed roles or taking leadership action – build highly effective teams. Where teams have been effectively organized and led, the list of team outcomes have led to dramatic improvements in productivity, customer service, quality, process management, innovation, cost effectiveness, job satisfaction, morale, and financial performance. My last blog post looked […]
Read post »Growing appreciation for the power of teams and teamwork has created an explosion in team talk. But many so-called teams aren’t teams. Most are organizational units, committees, or task forces that have been grouped together. The team problem generally starts at the top. Many management groups leading a corporation, division, department, or branch often has […]
Read post »My last blog post discussed Dan Tobin’s new book on building a leadership development program. His first chapter deals with identifying your organization’s high-potential talent. Once high potential people are identified, the next question often is whether to tell those rising stars that they’ve been flagged as such and will be developed further. In their […]
Read post »Are many of your key managers and executives well into their fifties or beyond? Are you concerned about developing your organization’s next generation of leaders? Is succession planning a growing issue as you look ahead a few years? Could lack of “leadership bench strength” constrain your organization’s growth? A key element in top performing organization’s […]
Read post »Failing to understand, believe, and share a sense of urgency for why higher levels of customer service – or other organizational transformations are needed – is a major reason the failure rate for change and renewal efforts hovers around 60 – 75%. Today’s younger generations of workers have an even higher need to buy-in to […]
Read post »My last blog post (The Why Generation) argued for investing much more time and effort in getting today’s younger generations of workers to understand and buy-in to why changes are needed in the programs, products, or services they support or provide. Strong and continuous education and communications is critical. If you’re leading efforts to improve […]
Read post »There’s lots of talk these days about effectively leading Generation X, Y and other demographic groups in today’s workplace. While each group has varying needs and interests, a very common need is understanding why team or organization changes are needed. Parents and teachers from “The Boomer Generation” spent more time than their parents ever did […]
Read post »How healthy is your workplace? Are you helping to energize or enervate the people you work with? With constant change and the relentless pressures of today’s 24/7 work world, stress is taking a heavy toll. A national opinion poll by the American Psychological Association found that “two-thirds of both men and women say work has […]
Read post »Teams and teamwork are ever more critical in today’s organizations. Effective teams are central to higher customer service, continuously increasing quality, increased productivity, and greater innovation. Strong and effective teams also increase engagement, development, and retention. Lots of managers fall in these common traps when trying to increase teamwork and build more effective teams: What […]
Read post »Managers are constantly looking for ways to “motivate” team members. This has led to an endless search for the right combination of carrots and sticks. These often include financial incentives, reward programs such as travel, merchandise or public recognition, punishments, and performance management systems. These approaches can be motivating or manipulative depending upon whether they […]
Read post »I’ve been using a 1 minute and 44 second video when working with groups wrestling with the challenges and choices that come with organizational or personal change. The “Lost Generation” video features a poem written by Jonathan Reed for a “U @ 50” contest among 20 – 22 year olds on what future they see […]
Read post »The global economic crunch has brought persistently higher unemployment levels to many countries. That dramatically slowed – and even reversed – a focus on attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent. In some cases, organizations were focused on survival. But in too many cases it was a near-sighted focus on the short term. We’re seeing a […]
Read post »Strong leaders build leadership skills at all levels (“leadership is an action, not a position”) and share ownership by bringing out the best in people on their team and throughout their organization. Unfortunately, these leaders are rare. More common – and often unaware – are stressed out managers who take on too much while reducing […]
Read post »“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie, American writer (author of the mega-seller […]
Read post »Celebration, appreciation, and gratitude are key ingredients for increasing our personal happiness – especially during tough times and challenging changes. Research in the burgeoning field of happiness and Positive Psychology is showing that counting our blessings, aligning our work and life to more frequently play to our strengths, and cultivating an attitude of gratitude is […]
Read post »Salary increases, bonuses, and incentives are very tight and very scarce in today’s economy. That makes strong, inspirational leadership even more critical. To manage is to attempt to “motivate” people by pushing them with financial and other inducements. To lead is to focus on drawing out – even to liberate – people’s intrinsic motivation. A […]
Read post »Today and through this weekend, Canadians (July 1) and Americans (July 4) are celebrating the founding of our countries. Whether we’re celebrating the birth of a country, a loved one, and/or the anniversary of a meaningful relationship, this is a great time to strengthen our “attitude of gratitude.” A number of studies in the fields […]
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