Bridging We-They Gaps
Leaders recognize that few frontline people are going to be assertive enough to break through the invisible management barriers to come into their office and raise an issue.
Read article »Resources: Articles
Bridging the Rhetoric-Reality Values Gap
Show, do not just tell what the organization stands for. Senior management must work as a team to lower the teamwork snicker factor when declaring teamwork to be a core value
Read article »Bridging the Credibility Gap
One deadly consequence of the management credibility gap is that employees emotionally distance and disengage themselves from their bosses and their organizations, and this we/they schism can have profoundly negative consequences.
Read article »Bridging the Council-Staff Gap
Building a strong partnership between staff and council is essential to effective municipal management. In many instances this lack of harmonization is caused by lack of agreement on the defined roles for both staff and council members.
Read article »Breaking Out of Our Mental Prisons
Self-imposed mental wheelchairs hold so many people back from being highly effective leaders. Change what happens in our head, and the universe changes
Read article »Bolt-On Programs or Built-In Culture Change
Over the past few decades of working with hundreds of senior management teams while leading The Achieve Group (now AchieveGlobal) and The CLEMMER Group, I've seen the strategic, the tactical, and the totally lost.
Read article »Blocks to Customer Focus
Several considerations for an effective customer service program as part of your core strategy to serve customers well.
Read article »Blazing Our Own Unique Leadership Path
Leaders are made not born. Developing our "gift" starts with a clear and constant focus on where we're going, what we believe in, and why we exist — but it also demands persistence
Read article »Blazing Our Own Improvement Path
Continuous personal improvement means we often outgrow our own standards and what we previously thought was acceptable. Continuous learning, growing, and developing helps us find the path that is personal and unique to us.
Read article »Blame Management for Poor Service
Several issues face declining service levels. Find 'what' rather than 'who' went wrong.
Read article »Beyond Manipulating and Motivating to Leading and Inspiring
When confronting morale problems, managers will often succumb to the Victimitis Virus and blame the declining work ethic, or any number of societal factors. But these factors are more imagined than real. Studies show that people's real needs are much less mercenary than most managers believe.
Read article »Beyond “Near-Life Experiences”
Leadership charisma and energy flow directly from our personal passion and commitment. We can't impassion others about life or their work if we don't feel passionate about ours.
Read article »Being All That We Can See
A strong set of core values leads life from the inside out, focusing energy and projecting forward becoming our vision.
Read article »Being True to Me
Each of us learns from what surrounds us. But then we have to ask ourselves whether these things really reflect our own personal values.
Read article »Being a Strong Leader Despite a Bad Boss
Strong leaders don't allow themselves to be victims of a bad boss. We may not be able to choose our boss, but we can choose how to respond to him or her.
Read article »Balancing Top-Down and Bottom-Up Change Processes
Managers' behavior is the single most important variable in the success or failure of any organization's change or improvement effort. This starts with recognition that the organization is full of current or potential change champions.
Read article »Balancing Technology, Management, and Leadership
In top performing organizations, each area of the "Performance Balance Triangle" is strong and constantly improving, allowing technology, systems, and processes to serve people.
Read article »Bad Boss: Learn How to Manage Your Manager
Lost the leader lottery? Strategies for dealing with an ineffectual superior
Read article »Avoiding Pity City and the Victimitis Virus
Stay out of a rut. Don't live on the Planet of the Aches, playing the blame game, or embracing our victim role.
Read article »Authentic Communication: Dealing with Moose-on-the-Table
The moose represents an issue that everyone knows is a problem but isn't being addressed. People are trying to carry on as if things are normal. By failing to declare the issue, they further empower it.
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