Stressing Metrics Has a Downside
A client organization of mine has a culture that values measuring everything. This makes good business sense. It enables you to monitor, recalibrate and optimize your processes and results.
Pay me more, please: Effort vs. Results
Over the years, many employees have expressed unhappiness when they receive an “average” pay increase. My first question to them is, “Why should you receive a higher increase than the rest of the group?” The answer? … “Because I have worked harder than anybody else”.
Commit or Omit?
The vast majority of bosses don’t intentionally want to make employees miserable – usually it happens completely by accident! Whether it is an act of ‘commission’ or an act of ‘omission’, the results can be destructive. A front line supervisor, manager or team leader can make things better or worse, both with what they DO…
What’s Wrong with Being Right?
Based on the book, “Get Along with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere” by Arnold Sanow and Sandra Strauss, standing firm on the hallowed grounds of “rightness” is a dead-wrong approach for connecting with others. It smacks of arrogance and alienates.
Job References DO count – never burn a bridge!
This week, I’ve had several scary job reference requests. Three out of four had an unhappy ending. So do job references really make a difference? Listen to 4 stories and decide for yourself….. In my own experience, the two worst mistakes made during hiring are:
Supervisor – Salt, Sugar or Spice?
Salt has two primary functions related to food: Preservative and Seasoning. Many people, me included, find that a little bit of salt brings out the flavor of food. In the same way a front line supervisor or manager is responsible for bringing out the best in employees. The supervisor is also responsible for preserving the…
Fear and Managers’ Fears
You seldom hear the word “fear” in management development workshops. Of course the word is not welcome anywhere in organizations. It’s the “F word” in offices and plants. Odd, isn’t it, since fear is always lurking in our workplaces, especially during the last few years of economic hell?
Supervisor Stories: Duelling staff, who to believe?
Ever have a dilemma in your office where two employees are having a clash? Where you trust both of them? Where they have conflicting stories and positions on an issue? Where they cannot get along with each other? Where you have no idea how to resolve the issue?
Transparent or need to know basis?
How much information should a leader really share with employees? Some bosses are like Col. Jessup played by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men in thinking their employees “can’t handle the truth.” Communication continues to be cited as a problem in nearly all organizations. Solving communication problems is kind of like finding a cure…
7 Ways to Pinpoint and Overcome Any Problem
“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem” When a problem arises, what exactly is causing it? Sometimes, it’s obvious. At other times, something is undeniably in the air and the atmosphere is heating up, creating tension and short fuses, yet you’re…
Do your employees have clear expectations?
They say that employees vote with their feet. Research tells us a high percentage of employees leave companies because they have a problem with their direct supervisor or boss. And, if you ask employees, one of these key frustrations is a lack of clear job expectations. Imagine assembling a toy for your kids without the diagram/instructions. Or putting…
Making amends
Should a leader apologize when he or she makes a mistake, or is it a sign of weakness? In the front line leadership course we have two case studies on balancing friendship and leadership. This is a unique situation faced by supervisors and team leaders who have been promoted from within. One case study deals…
Trust the Process
Years ago when I was taking courses from University Associates around how to facilitate groups, a wise instructor, Larry Porter, said these three words: trust the process. I have never forgotten them. They have been my anchor at critical times when in a team building session the conversation seems about to get out of hand.…
Employees who feel entitled
What do you do with an employee who thinks she deserves a raise or a promotion but there is one thing holding her back – her attitude? Frequently the entitled employee is in a state of denial. Any attempt to confront and correct the attitude is met with contempt. In her own mind, she thinks…
Team Process Makes All the Difference
All teams must pay attention to their work: the task, the goal, the things to be done, the agenda items to be crammed into their meetings, the hurried decisions to be made by the group, the deadlines to be met, and so on.
Becoming Multi-Lingual Using The Breckenridge Enneagram
We live in the three-pound universe between our ears, but it’s surprising how little most people know about themselves. How we see the world develops from our earliest years as our innate, inborn tendencies (our temperament) interact with our experiences and the environment to build underlying patterns of thinking, emotions, and other characteristics that become…
Caught in the Chaos?
A manager or supervisor’s job should be easier. After all, as long as you have the right people, the right materials, the right information and the right equipment, everything goes smoothly. For most of us this fairy tale scenario only happens on occasion. The rest of the time we are scrambling because one or two…
Language, Words and Phrases that Destroy Relationships
Certain words and phrases block connections cold and at the same time can make people steaming mad Here are some tips on language, words and phrases to avoid:
Don’t Neglect Team Maintenance
You plan to drive your car from Boston to Denver. It’s a long trip so, before departing, you take your vehicle into your local service center for a tune-up. You have them check your tires and battery, top up the oil and brake fluid and take it for a spin on the highway listening for…
Who Am I, Boss or Friend?
This is a huge issue, particularly at the supervisory level and especially when someone is pulled out of the work group and promoted to supervisor. It becomes confusing for all concerned, the new boss and the staff. How to act? What to expect from one another? Can we still be friends? How to set new…