In preparation for an offsite executive team retreat, the executive organizing the session sent me a draft of the mission and vision statements “we’ve been struggling with.” She included earlier versions and iterations of each statement. She was especially frustrated and confused by the overlap of the two. She was looking for my help to […]
Read post »There’s a lot of mumbo jumbo being sold by “generational experts” that today’s young workers are very different from previous generations and need to be managed differently. Clearly there are differences between groups of people who grew up in different times, circumstances, and cultures. But people are people. And what we’re looking for from our […]
Read post »Toronto-based Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) has just released an excellent new “Career GPS” tool. This online assessment is designed to help HR professionals pinpoint and track their professional development goals. But the first six of eight Domains provides a very useful summary and checklist of the critical “soft skills” everyone in a management position […]
Read post »I am continually looking for research linking the “soft skills” of leadership and culture with safety performance. Most safety programs are focused on “hard” or tangible systems and processes like regulations, training, audits, risk assessments, compliance, incident analysis, and the like. Those are critical elements in moving toward zero workplace injuries. The focus of my […]
Read post »Improving organizational health and safety is like motherhood. Everyone is in favor of it. Vision, values, and mission statements abound with warm words about its importance. Who doesn’t agree with slogans like “everyone going home safe and healthy every day”? Only the most twisted executive or manager wants to hurt anyone. Yet many organizations are […]
Read post »There’s another excellent article in this month’s Harvard Business Review on harnessing the power of highly engaged people. Professor of leadership, Douglas Ready, and PhD student, Emily Truelove, report on how companies like the beauty retailer Sephora, luxury hotel chain Four Seasons, and French food giant Danone, came through hard times stronger than ever. In […]
Read post »The cover article in the December issue of Harvard Business Review reminded me of this powerful little story: A scout leader was trying to lift a fallen tree from the path. His pack gathered around to watch him struggle. “Are you using all your strength?” one of the scouts asked. “Yes!” was the exhausted and […]
Read post »What? It’s the last month of the year already! What happened to 2011? When I was a kid I’d snicker when I heard adults talk about how fast time goes by. I couldn’t wait until I was taller, could drive a car, get a job, get out on my own…Time dragged at a frustrating crawl. […]
Read post »If you’ve never taken in one of the amazing and spectacular shows of the Cirque du Soleil, you really need to treat yourself and see one. Cirque travels extensively to major cities and have permanent shows with elaborate stages and buildings in Las Vegas. One of my favorite shows of all time is their The […]
Read post »We’re continuing to get feedback, questions, and comments about culture development following my 60 minute webcast on November 4. If you missed the whirlwind “city bus tour,” you can view the archived presentation (my animated slides synchronized with the audio track) at Leading a Peak Performance Culture. One viewer sent me a good question after […]
Read post »My last blog post announced that you can now view last Friday’s (November 4) full Leading a Peak Performance Culture webcast with all slides and audio track. You might want to view (or review) the session on your own or share it with your management team and/or improvement professionals concerned with leadership and culture development. […]
Read post »In today’s economic uncertainty employee engagement is critical. Organizational engagement surveys are showing that employee frustration is accelerating as engagement plummets. They feel trapped. With higher unemployment rates and tight job markets, many people on the frontlines — especially those with less specialized skills — are clinging to jobs they don’t enjoy. Employee engagement is […]
Read post »This month’s November illustration shows pigs feeding on an autumn harvest of acorns. This medieval European scene continues today in large oak groves of Spain and Portugal. A 14th century English proverb states, November, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry “Large streams from little foundations flow and tall oaks from little acorns […]
Read post »The American author, poet, and psychologist, Bonaro W. Overstreet observed “October is a symphony of permanence and change.” Isn’t that so true of life? It’s certainly the paradoxical balance seen in strong leaders and found in peak performance cultures. This month in the northern hemisphere trees put on a colorful display as they prepare for […]
Read post »Many organizations are implementing significant overhauls of their IT systems. But many of these projects are poorly implemented. This leads to sizeable cost overruns, missed deadlines, disrupted operations, unhappy customers, and stressed out employees. This month’s issue of Harvard Business Review carries an article entitled Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think. […]
Read post »Work overload, 24/7 availability, stretched work weeks, and overflowing in-boxes are overwhelming most professionals and managers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can be the less stressed out exception. You can Lead, rather than Follow or Wallow. Linda Duxbury, a professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University was recently […]
Read post »In these days of frantic activity and whirlwinds of change, many management teams are so caught up working in their team they invest little to no time working on their team effectiveness. As the daily flurry of e-mails, meetings, and firefighting overloads everyone, most teams scramble to respond to all the demands coming at them. […]
Read post »Many organizations today are striving to increase their customer service or product quality levels. Legions of executives are declaring themselves "customer-focused" or "customer-centric." Yet customer service levels are slipping and many of us are frustrated by attitudes of indifference, navigating technological mazes ("press one to hear that your call is very important to us"), or […]
Read post »An e-mail from Philip, a student working on a senior thesis on “management practices that can help reduce stress in the work environment,” provoked me to think further and review some of my writing on this growing epidemic. Below are Philip’s questions and my responses. Stress is a classic symptom or result of many underlying […]
Read post »A reader recently sent me a lengthy e-mail raising questions dealing with age and organizational culture. Here’s the essence of it: "My daughter is a youthful 29 years old (and short which doesn’t help!) working in the financial services industry. Over the past four years she has done very well with a few promotions. Her […]
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