I get some great ideas from my clients. In a recent coaching conversation my client and I were strategizing about how to fire up an employee in his 60’s with about two years left before retirement who was slacking off.. I suggested he challenge the individual to make the choice to make his last two…
DetailsDo you care if your employees are happy? Does it matter to you if they like what they’re doing? Are you the least concerned that they would rather be working for someone else? Your answers to these questions reveal more than you know. They explain why your employees are or are not productive.1 Did you get that? To look…
DetailsEngaged employees demonstrate three characteristics: commitment, involvement and enthusiasm. Employees become engaged when their employers meet their basic needs, create meaningful opportunities to contribute, foster a sense of belonging, and provide chances to learn and grow.* Employee training is likely to be a key factor in the implementation of any organizational strategy aimed at improving…
DetailsEqually important to creating a powerful future vision is how that vision gets communicated to your people. This is where the art and skill of storytelling becomes very important. Done well, storytelling can be a powerful catalyst for driving transformational change. Effective leaders tell stories that position them and their organizations as change agents instead of defenders of the…
DetailsMuch is made of delivering value to shareholders. Ask any senior director, manager or member of the board what his or her goal is in the company, and that will be the most likely response. It’s predictable, and it’s a cop-out. More on that in a moment. The term shareholder refers to those who have…
DetailsThey’re either disengaged or under engaged in their work but they very much intend to stay with their current employer for a long time. This is what a new study by Modern Survey revealed. For government workers, 80% were less than engaged but 60% plan to stay. Not like the private sector, you say? Well,…
DetailsDeadlines, conference calls, last minute items that pop up, personal commitments—there is a multitude of things that we have to accomplish each day. It is easy to fall into the habit of just crossing things off of our to do list, without being fully present as we get them done. Of course we are physically…
DetailsBoston Consulting Group, in conjunction with an association of people management associations worldwide, completed a comprehensive on-line + live interviews study on how they are approaching strategic human capital development for the next decade. It’s called “Creating People Advantage 2010” and worth downloading if you are concerned with the strategic element of human resources in…
DetailsWe may have conflicting views on politics, movies, and choice of beer, but when it comes down to it, the whole country can agree on one thing – it’s hot outside. Living in Colorado, I’m not quite as accustomed to a steady supply of 100-degree days. But whether I like it or not, this is…
DetailsThink back to a time, and it may even be right now, that you were in a slump, no desire to do a whole lot and not quite sure what will get you going again. It is times like these where looking at the situation from a different perspective can help you get unstuck and…
DetailsA 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.
People in the business community love their clichés. “There’s no ‘I’ in team,” “work smarter, not harder,” and my personal favorite, “think outside the box”. Ugh. When it comes to describing a workplace culture, clichés are abundant here as well. With our open-door policies and expectations of giving 150% (how is this even possible?). These general statements…
DetailsI have been touting the 4-Drive Model of Employee Motivation since I first read the 2008 Harvard Business Review article “Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model” by Nohria, , Groysberg, and Lee. You could say I’ve been a very BIG advocate for this model! It is a powerful theory on human motivation in general, and…
DetailsPeople often think that for employees to perform well all they need are the appropriate ability and skills and the motivation to achieve great results. But there is a missing ingredient: opportunity. So says John Boudreau in a recent issue of Talent Management Magazine (p. 10). He is spot on. You can be well trained…
DetailsI came across a quote from Oprah Winfrey, interviewed in the Dec. 26/10 issue of Parade : Everybody just wants to be heard…Do your eyes light up when I enter the room? Did you hear me and did what I say mean anything to you? That’s all they’re looking for. That’s what everybody is looking…
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