Occasionally when I speak to a group, or someone reads something I’ve written, the hallelujah choir descends from the heavens in a blinding flash of insight for that person! Of course, I always love it whenever that happens. Equally as important (but less dramatic) is when someone’s current thinking or approach is reinforced and encouraged […]
Read post »I have been thinking a lot about courage. It is at the core of leadership. What is courage? Most of us recognize its opposite in this snippet from The Wizard of Oz: Cowardly Lion: Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven’t slept in weeks. Tin Woodsman: Why don’t you try counting sheep? Cowardly […]
Read post »I wish I had a sure-fire formula for changing the boss! It’s one of the common questions I get during my leadership development workshops. If this is your issue, I think you have these choices: 1.Do nothing and hope things get better. 2.Work around your boss and try to avoid him/her as much as possible. […]
Read post »I am an administrator for a mid-sized professional services firm in a division of employees under the direction of a director. The director claims that his staff has been empowered to do their jobs. But nowhere in the discussion is there ever any mention of accountability (which I believe goes hand in hand with empowerment). […]
Read post »One of the rewards of being in my line of business is that I get to meet a wide variety of very interesting people doing this type of work. I met Donald Cooper five years ago and he’s become a very good friend. Besides being a funny and fascinating guy with lots of stories to […]
Read post »After the following Improvement Point was sent, a subscriber sent me the question that follows. My response follows that. Improvement Point ..on Authenticity “Replace rules and policies with values and trust. Effective leaders treat team members as responsible adults who want to do the right thing for the team or organization. They know that with […]
Read post »When I wrote my second book, Firing on All Cylinders: The Service/Quality System for High-Powered Corporate Performance in the early nineties, customer service and quality improvement was becoming a key focal point for both the public and private sectors. Movements like Total Quality Management, Continuous Quality Improvement, and related customer service initiatives were helping many […]
Read post »Many managers are great at supplying information, but they’re not so good at communication. In this “information age,” our organizational lives are overflowing with e-mails, voice mails, phone calls, newsletters, books, articles, manuals, and web pages. Like the sailor marooned in a lifeboat on the high seas, we have water, water everywhere, but not a […]
Read post »Just before the opening ceremonies in Beijing, Tavia Grant from The Globe & Mail sent me an e-mail and interviewed me for her story on how managers should deal with people watching the Olympics at the office (“World’s Watching: Who’s Working”, August 8, 2008). As the Globe & Mail so often is, her story was […]
Read post »Build a repertoire of teachable stories. Collect and catalogue the best examples of your organization’s key principles in action. Circulate those stories inside and outside your organization through the media (where appropriate). Write up collections of case studies illustrating tough decisions, trade-offs, outstanding performance, dealing effectively with changes, etc. Embed the stories in training and […]
Read post »Most managers are doing far too little to mitigate the destructive and wasteful effects of e-mail misuse. Like a B-movie, the e-mail monster keeps growing larger and consuming more time and resources (“E-zilla: The Insatiable Beast”). Some of the more common abuses I hear about in my workshops are: CC-ing the World” – far too […]
Read post »A workshop participant from Denmark who’d attended an international management development forum I facilitated contacted me because he was taking on a new assignment in South America. He wrote: “Based on all the new managers that you have met and provided with guidance though the years, what are then the 5-10 most significant challenges these […]
Read post »We’ve all heard it’s the journey and not the destination that is most important in life. But whether flying or driving, we’re too often so intent on getting to our next destination that we miss the joy of the trip. Then it’s a whirlwind of activity until we get back in the plane or car […]
Read post »Below is a description and link to one of my favorite fables on resisting peer pressure and following what I feel is right. I once had a gymnasium of high school kids applaud this story after I told it (holding the attention of 300 grade nine kids was stretching the bounds of my professional speaking […]
Read post »“I was intrigued by the Moose on the Table (my most recent Globe Mail article “When Silence Isn’t Golden”) and how much it applies to where I have been working for fifteen years this June. We are now dealing with the fall-out of a disgruntled employee who left because I would no longer listen to […]
Read post »A print journalist asked me if there was any one incident that led me to write Moose on the Table: A Novel Approach to Communications @ Work. It was a great question that caused me to step back and reflect on how my experiences came together to weave the book’s storyline and core themes. Moose […]
Read post »Greetings Jim, I am responding to your call to share my experience in putting up with the moose (see “When Personal Candor Doesn’t Fit the Culture” from May 2008). Recently, my CEO found the time of his convenience to summon us all for a management retreat. Heads of business units from different parts of the […]
Read post »Right after my article “When Silence Isn’t Golden” appeared in The Globe &Mail, I received this e-mail from a reader: “Hello Jim, I just wanted to send you a note to let you know how much your article today resonated with me … you hit it bang-on and helped me resolve something in my professional […]
Read post »A few years back I participated in a three-part series for our local CTV affiliate exploring happiness in the workplace. Labour of Love talks to people who have found happiness in what they do and I contribute my commentary and advice. Here is the first part of that series (the other parts can be viewed […]
Read post »It’s a really busy month, as I bring my message of improved communications in the workplace to audiences across Canada. As part of this tour I’m also doing an extensive media-blitz. When possible I’ll be posting audio and video for all to see and hear. Currently you listen to two radio interviews I recently did […]
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