Numerous studies show that a major reason many people quit their jobs is that they feel unappreciated. Brains follow hearts to where they’re valued. As I wrote in Do You Focus on the Field of Wheat or Stone on the Hill?, too often managers point out what’s wrong while failing to recognize what’s right. […]
Read post »Today is Star Wars Day. May 4th has become an annual commemoration of the Star Wars media franchise. “May the Fourth be with you” is a punny take (I do like to jest for the pun of it…) on the Star Wars catchphrase “may the force be with you.” I don’t dress up on any […]
Read post »Jake, a busker, walked into a bar and saw a crowd gathered around a table. On the table was an overturned pot with a duck doing a lively dance on top. Jake immediately saw the huge potential of this act. He negotiated with the bar owner and, agreed to buy the duck and pot for […]
Read post »A leader’s coaching skills are vital today. Millennials especially want direct feedback and supportive guidance. Leaders aspiring to build coaching skills need to do a “check up from the neck up.” Am I in a growth or fixed mindset about the people I am coaching? Ineffective managers ask, “How am I expected to soar with […]
Read post »What does it take to be an inspiring leader? Positive and perky? Pep talks? High fives? I was invited by a hall of fame NFL quarterback to give a leadership presentation to his senior management team in their offices. He was building a very successful national company on a high growth trajectory. As we toured […]
Read post »Innovation clearly sets organizations apart. It’s key to inventing our future. But how do you cultivate innovation in leaders and teams?
Watch webinar »Decades ago pioneering leadership researcher and author, Warren Bennis, declared, “The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive.” The future is here. Disruptive innovation is destroying and creating whole new industries at a blistering pace. Before experts have finished declaring that something can’t be done or won’t […]
Read post »Emotions strongly impact our own productivity and performance. And the emotions of one person are highly infectious to everyone contacted. Leaders who recognize the power of making an emotional connection with their associates magnify their impact.
Read whitepaper »The keys to increasing discretionary effort
Read whitepaper »“Tell me about the people at the organization you just left,” said the senior manager who was screening candidates to fill a key leadership role. “They were uneducated and lazy,” the candidate responded. “You always had to keep an eye on them because they were constantly trying to goof off or rip off the company. […]
Read post »American president, Thomas Jefferson, once said “the glow of one warm thought is worth more to me than money.” Reinforcing feedback produces a powerful afterglow that raises the positivity ratio, energizes and inspires, and provides the pause that refreshes. This is the perfect time of year for you and your team to reflect back looking […]
Read post »How can apathetic or disengaged frontline servers produce happy customers? Some exceptional employee will delight customers despite how they’re treated by their boss or the organization. Most don’t. The vast majority of employees directly reflect the care and service they experience every day in their team or workplace. “The Secret to Delighting Customers? Put Employees […]
Read post »Labor Day was celebrated yesterday in Canada and the U.S. “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers.” Last week’s story of how fired CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was reinstated in his role by force of his employees’ fierce loyalty to him contains a powerful leadership lesson. Demoulas was fired as head of New […]
Read post »Based on our experience, the majority of people view the performance appraisal process as a negative experience. Even those with the best performance ratings generally find the process to be a waste of time. Most people assign the process to the category of a "necessary evil."
Read whitepaper »Everything a leader does every day has an impact on the employees.
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What can a culture of coaching do for your organization? How about create a workplace filled with curious, creative and driven workers who have the ability to dramatically increase bottom-line profitability. In this interactive book, the authors offer practical, cutting-edge solutions to help your organization build and maintain a culture of coaching.
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After writing the best-selling book, The Extraordinary Leader, the question was often asked, “Which leadership competency is the most important?” The answer? “Inspires and Motivates Others to High Performance.” Readers will learn how to inspire, motivate and unlock the key to workforce potential.
View book/ebook/CD »Recently Zenger Folkman correlated assessment data from three organizational levels to look at the cascading impact of senior leader effectiveness on their direct reports and in turn on the next level below them. The study found that managers who worked for the worst executives had awful engagement levels in the 24th percentile. However, managers working […]
Read post »After hearing me deliver a keynote presentation at a conference this summer, “Amir,” a regional director for a large technical services firm, called for help. The company’s core service is delivered by highly paid technicians with deep expertise and qualifications. Replacing a technician is very difficult and costly. Amir called me because they had a […]
Read post »Boss A cares about your issues and concerns, leads by example, gives honest and helpful feedback, coaches and develops you, and builds teamwork and trust. Boss B has high standards of excellence, pushes and stretches you and your team beyond what you thought was possible, relentlessly focuses on top priorities and goals, and drives hard […]
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