Companies 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…
Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better – Bill Bradley In a column for the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, (http://bit.ly/UDGyUE) Jack Zenger unveiled a startling and troubling fact; we wait too long to train leaders. Citing research from his consulting agency he revealed that in their database of some 17,000 worldwide leaders participating…
Those of you who read my blog know that the most anticipated day of my son’s life arrived on Friday: the big screen debut of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax! He had been waiting for months for the big event and I am delighted to say he was not disappointed…neither was I. In the aforementioned blog,…
In a perfect world, leaders take the blame, but share the credit. Too bad the world is far from perfect. Oftentimes leaders take more than their fair share of credit, but hardly any blame. Why is that? Do leaders think they are invisible to blame but are always responsible for a company’s success? Listen, just…
For at least 40 years we have had the idea of “lattice” organization as an alternative design to the traditional hierarchy which assumes employees all want to climb up the ladder. In lattice organizations (and, beyond W.L. Gore & Associates, there weren’t many of them out there back then), you could go in any direction–up,…
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…
For those who haven’t been keeping up on recent business and management books, Daniel Pink came out with an absolutely great book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. I mentioned it briefly in a blog post last Fall before it came out. Then, in February, I wrote a book review of it. Now, here’s…
Engaged 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…
As 2005 quickly approaches its final chapter, I have been thinking a lot about my goals and plans for 2006. In doing so, I have found myself spellbound by the concept of living on purpose. I recently read Al Stubblefield’s new book, The Baptist Health Care Journey to Excellence: Creating a Culture That WOWs! (Wiley…
From the moment Kim walked through my door, I knew this was not going to be a typical networking interview. When she called, referred to me by a friend of mine, she said all the right things to persuade me to make time in my busy schedule to meet with this recent college graduate who…