In our lives, we get feedback from others. Positive, negative and befuddling. It’s too easy to let that feedback become part of our self-image, personally or even as an organization. That’s a huge mistake, because often, feedback/criticism/stereotyping is just one glimpse into the fabric of who/what you are. It’s just an opinion. One of my…
DetailsI was teaching a session to front line leaders this past week on how to coach, confront and correct employees when there is a gap between expected behavior and performance and the actual behavior and performance. Understandably, confronting and correcting conversations are not easy on the leader or the employee which can result in procrastination,…
DetailsLeadership development and succession planning are often seen and treated as separate activities. Yet they really should go hand in hand, or even be thought of as two-sides of the same coin. You can’t have an effective succession plan if you’re not continually identifying and developing high performing, high potential people in your organization, and…
DetailsHewitt Associates have come out with another informative study, called The Current State of Performance Management and Career Development 2010. They surveyed HR professionals from 193 employers. On the performance side, it looks at how companies are using performance goals (the “what”) and behavioral competencies (the “how”) in their year end performance assessment process. Here…
DetailsThis post was triggered by a great post in the HBR Blog Network by Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman. This essence of their article is that most of the behaviors of so called “bad bosses” are, in their words, sins of omission, not commission. In other words, it’s more what the boss fails to do…
DetailsProductivity is becoming more important every day. Fundamentally, it means doing much more with much less. And to be sure, there is scope for making, not only workers, but also the environment in which they work more efficient. You’ve probably noticed, for example, just how many organizations in both the public and private sectors waste…
DetailsCompanies like to think of themselves as having up-to-date thinking. They assume they are of the 21st century ilk because they’ve flattened their hierarchies, removed unnecessary levels of management, and empowered their employees. The truth is that many of them are just as traditional as they’ve always been. They still think about how to manage their…
DetailsAt a gut level we know that leadership is important and necessary. As I think back over the many bosses I worked for, only a small fraction exhibited good leadership skills. And those good bosses… I still think back fondly on how they helped me along my career path. Even the good ones were far…
DetailsFollowing the Second World War, the allies determined that if the enemy nations were going to be able to make meaningful contribution the world’s economies, then they would have to receive some assistance in rebuilding their manufacturing infrastructure. A particular challenge was to get the Japanese up to a point where they could actually compete…
DetailsThe endless assortment of messages, feelings, and attitudes we bring from our past into our present influences how we see ourselves. It also directly impacts our ability to relate to others. While growing up, we learned to judge ourselves and our capabilities based on how others saw us. Whether their judgments were complimentary or condemning…
DetailsToday we look at the one or two bottom performing employees you might have on your team or in your company. It could be job performance related or it could be negativity or behavior problems. Can they be ‘fixed’ or should you let them go and move forward with hiring a replacement? An HR Manager…
DetailsYou 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…
DetailsThis question has been studied for decades and no direct relationship has been established. Despite what would seem to be a slam-dunk connection, happier workers don’t necessarily result in a bumped up bottom line. A recent study by researchers at Cornell, however, has mapped a path between the two. It is not a direct route.…
DetailsEgo Problem #1 You’ve seen this individual many times. The employee who regularly shares with you how great he (she) is, what a terrific job he is doing (“I just made an awesome presentation.”), how much he knows (“Sorry to correct you but the research on this says…”). He refutes or deflects constructive feedback (“No,…
DetailsI don’t know about you but it pains me to see so many people in organizations not contributing near to what they are capable of. Many of course, for any multitude of reasons, just don’t want to, thank you very much. They are satisfied with average, with just enough. That’s a topic for another time.…
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