By Derek Murphy If there is one thing movies about the workplace tells us is that Hollywood believes bosses come in all shapes and sizes, and they are all pretty terrible people. Why the bad rep for leaders? Well, it’s no secret most employees have been disappointed and let down at some point in their…
No man, who continues to add something material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long without proper reward. – Booker T. Washington John Maxwell shares a story about a man who was enjoying an afternoon in a small boat on a peaceful lake. He fished as he munched…
Thanksgiving is when one species ceases to gobble and another begins.– -R.E. Marion A story is told of two men who were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent that…
Some of the organizations I work with are facing an interesting paradox: On the one hand the culture/satisfaction survey results aren’t where management would like to see them. On the other hand, the feedback I’m receiving says that employees care deeply about the organization and its success. How can these two seemingly opposite data points…
Much has been made of the post game spat between two football a few weeks back. Jim Schwartz felt disrespected because Jim Harbaugh shook his hand with too much force after the game. I am from Michigan and I hate the 49ers, so it would be my natural inclination to side with Coach Schwartz –…
Front line supervisors and managers can place employees in a prison of performance by affixing a label. Once the label is attached to the person it can prevent the leader from seeing the potential for the individual. If the label is troublemaker, then the supervisor or manager might be reinforcing the very behaviour they would…
As you might imagine, as a paid expert on communication and leadership, I get some well earned ribbing at home from my wife Robin because of my poor listening skills as a husband and father. Once I made the comment that she just didn’t pay me as well as my client’s did for me to…
In 2006, William Taylor wrote a book called Mavericks at Work. I devoured the book! I loved the concept of rule breakers sticking to their guns to gain authority. This, to me, is the true definition of winning. That you do not need the most gifted players but those with conviction, an uncompromising purpose, the…
When we head to the amusement park, a favorite game is Whack-a-mole where the little critters stick their heads up and you try to whack them with a mallet. The person with the highest score wins a prize. Management and supervision can be like playing a never-ending game of whack-a-mole except there usually is no…
Last week we revealed a tale of Leadership Lost: A man, who dedicated his life to a cause he believed in, employed thousands and put his grandchildren’s children through college. And yet, if you walked out of college on to his team you might be met with less vision and a whole lot of limitations.…
The CEO prowled the stage like a panther. He had total control of PowerPoint, was animated in sharing his experience and made the thousands in the conference hall feel as if he was speaking directly to them. The team left the keynote feeling inspired to produce great things, confident in their decision of joining the…
This has been a hotly debated issue among those of us who work in the so-called “soft skills” area. Our clients, understandably so, want a high degree of certainty that their investment in training will generate certain outcomes. In particular, that their trainees will learn and successfully apply the skills taught. And they would prefer…
I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing established business author Dan Pink. One of the questions I asked him was how important Empathy is to Leadership….to which he replied: It’s hugely important. It’s very hard to lead without being able to see the world through the eyes of those your leading. That’s especially true…
I actually came across this article from Forbes.com in 2009 but never got around to sharing it. The piece tells about Douglas Conant, the new CEO of Campbell Soup Company, who came on board in 2001 and over the next eight years grew EPS by 5-10% every year.
How leaders can impact employee’s motivation using the 4-Drive Theory The 4-Drive Theory of Employee Motivation states that there are four main drives that motivate employees, these are the drives to: Acquire & Achieve, to Bond & Belong, to be Challenged & Comprehend, and to Define & Defend.
I’ve been approached by a prospective client who wants a workshop as part of an internal strategic initiative around communications between the levels. They want to focus on: 2-way communication, down to the employee and upward to the manager what should be communicated and when obstacles to communicating more openly how to solicit communication from…
A few months ago, we had the wonderful pleasure of spending a day interviewing 11 people at Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center to try to uncover their secret – because they have gotten the formula right on employee motivation. Anyone who has ever stepped into their facility outside of Minneapolis can attest to the customer service mentality that every employee exhibits – from the front desk, to housekeeping, to the chefs, groundskeepers, and even in accounting.
There is a definite difference in how the majority of these employees “show up” at their job everyday and how they view and take care of their “guests”. They are truly a company that is doing something right. Here is a quick overview of some of the findings we found:
You see, telling a story about incentive compensation and creating captivating visuals to convey that information isn’t easy. It requires that we make choices about what information we share. It means that we may have to simplify the message. It may mean changing how we present and what types of communication that we use.
More than 40 percent of the leaders in our surveys say they spend too little time working with individuals to help them unlock their creative energies. Asking yourself, “Have I found my own creative flow? Am I helping other people find their creative flow?” Take this free work survey to assess your organizational strengths and…
I was struck by a local news item in The Washington Post on Brian Betts, a model middle school principal, who was found gunned down in his home. While the story obviously includes the murder aspect, I was touched by the leadership angle. Rising to a challenge: Here was a white man who took over…