Coronavirus is the latest test of character
As I write this, much of the country is on lock-down due to the coronavirus. Schools, bars and restaurants are empty; people not in essential services are staying home and avoiding even small… Full article at the RBJ
Staying Out of the Penalty Box
In 22 years as a leadership consultant, I have provided executive coaching to many managers, at all levels, in a wide variety of organizations. To date, they all had one thing in common: they were in the ‘penalty box’, with HR, their boss, and their staff.
The Bridge-Building Forum© operates in groups of 15-25, and is facilitated to reach collective agreement on:
- What is/is not going well?
- What 5-6 questions do employees have for the senior…
Transforming Professional Relationships
Even our fictionalized accounts of work life, seen in such comedies as Office Space or The Office, portray life at work as frustrating, trivial, and, at times, demeaning. These depictions hit close to home, otherwise they would not be funny. So what is the message?
‘Getting on the Same Page’: Creating Team Alignment for Team SuccessTransforming Professional Relationships
For most people, the word “alignment”conjures up an image of straightening thewheels on their car. Unfortunately, it is a concept not used often enoughwith work teams.
Self-Appraisal
This process fosters more employee commitment to the development process by reducing fear of judgment. It also enables the employee to give the manager advice, which is rare in most organizations.
Training: A New Question
Imagine that your spouse works with your clone. Would you hear you anecdotes of accomplishments, helpful coaching and reward? You and your organization can reap the benefits of this thought provoking question, delivered in practical steps.
Empowerment
Both sides of the empowerment coin are related. Research has shown that if managers provide more information, more autonomy, more support for teams, then employees will feel more job-related meaning, impact, self-determination and confidence.
The road to engagement is through meaningful partnership
For the past 25 or so years, strengthening employee engagement has been an important goal for many organizations. Why do highly engaged employees matter? Because highly engaged employees benefit the …
A new paradigm of partnership at work
Let’s face it: Many team members feel unsupported by their leaders, and it’s the single biggest reason why people quit their job. It also turns out that many leaders feel similarly unsupported by their team. This creates a two-way street of frustration between leaders and teams. Unaddressed, these poor
Accountability requires clear expectations
Arguably, the biggest word in people management these days is engagement. But a close second is accountability. Every manager wants his/her team to be accountable; team members want their boss and each other to be accountable; and most customers want their providers of goods and services to be accountable.
Culture by choice not by default
Every organization has an organizational culture, whether they know it or not. Most of us would agree that the ‘culture’ of a typical Department of Motor Vehicles is quite different than the ‘culture’ of a typical Cost coor Ritz Carleton hotel. What we would readily see are the differences in employee energy
Returning to the office after covid re-connecting meaningfully
Now that Covid rates have dropped dramatically, and local mandates are loosening, many organizations are bringing their employees back in-person to the office. Some are bringing them back full-time; others are feeling their way into hybrid models with a day or two a week in-person
Seth’s consulting and coaching work is based on a number of principles he refers to as “Silver Bullets”. Below is a sample of some of these guiding ideas:
“A second rate idea with buy-in will always be more effective than a first rate idea with no buy-in.”
“If you are a manager, you are the one person in the world who is actually paid to give your staff regular feedback and coaching. If you are not doing it, you are abdicating perhaps the most important responsibility you have.”
“How people enter my office is their responsibility. How they leave is mine.”
“As a manager (or colleague), if you are not willing to ask for and accept feedback, then you don’t have the right to give it.”
“The more you try to control others, the less influence you will ultimately have.”
“If you don’t first address how people will work together, you’ll never get to the ‘what’ they’ll do together.”
“When you help people to feel good about their work, you are helping them to feel good about themselves.”
“The essence of empowerment: As a manager tell people why and what.
Let them figure out how.”
“People in organizations will assess communications as ‘good’ only to the extent they are two-way. One-way communication is almost useless.”
“Problem behavior ignored or tolerated is problem behavior encouraged.”
“The meeting is the message. How you run a meeting tells people what you believe, and the quality of your leadership.”
“Giving coaching and feedback is not a discretionary role of management; it is the role of management.”
“People become committed to the things they help create.”
“Focus more on your future than your past. That is why the windshield is so much larger than the rear view mirror.”
“Empty wagons make the most noise.”
“Stupid is forever. Ignorance can be fixed.”
“Would you want your significant other, or your adult children, to work for your clone?”
“People may not like to ‘work’, but they really love to achieve.”
“A difference has to be a difference to make a difference.”
“Management is about things. Leadership is about people.”