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Leadership Caffeine™—Too Much Time with the Wrong People

Nov 10, 2013

If I could have all of the time back working with poor performers, people in dire need of an attitude adjustment or, people who momentarily fooled naive, noble me into believing they wanted to change their ways, I would gladly reinvest it with those seeking to grow and strengthen as professionals. Early in my career, I believed that I could by sheer force of will turn poor performers into stars and help those with poor attitudes emerge as model citizens. I believed I possessed the leader’s equivalent of the Philosopher’s Stone and could turn lead into gold.

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The Feedback Series—Part 5: Managing the Discussion

Nov 5, 2013

Your planning work based on the guidance in the first four posts in this series is intended to set the stage for an effective, constructive discussion. In part five, we turn our attention to managing the discussion. Here are six key issues you must take into account in every feedback discussion and ideas for helping you navigate three common, challenging feedback situations:

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The Feedback Series, Part 4—Opening the Discussion

Oct 22, 2013

Most feedback discussions succeed or fail in the opening sentence. You have a chance to engage the receiver and build value or, point a finger and make the discussion feel like an indictment. Here are 6 suggestions to help you get the feedback discussion started on the right footing:

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Leadership Caffeine™—Ten Annoying Habits that Irk Your Employees

Oct 20, 2013

Last week, I spent some time in a post offering guidance on strengthening your performance as an employee. This week, our focus returns to the individual at the top of the food chain. If this happens to be you, your team will thank you for spending a few minutes perusing the list below and kindly stomping these bad habits out of existence.

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Just One Thing—Leader: To Thine Own Self Be True

Oct 9, 2013

I was struck by the simplicity and power of an observation from one of the (early career) participants in a recent leadership program of mine. After studying different styles and approaches and examples of leaders, he indicated that he was walking away from the program with a sense that there was no one style he was required to emulate on his path to leadership success.

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New Leader Tuesday—The Feedback Series, Part 3: The Ingredients

Oct 8, 2013

Welcome to part 3 of The Feedback Series at Management Excellence. In part 1, we tackled the issues of fear and anxiety that keeps so many new leaders from engaging in or conducting effective feedback discussions. Part 2 emphasized the importance of assessing the feedback situation and establishing a direction for the upcoming discussion. Now, it’s time to understand and begin assembling the key ingredients in every feedback discussion.

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Leadership Caffeine™—How Effective Leaders Use the Personal Pronoun “I”

Oct 6, 2013

Few words in the leader’s lexicon are simultaneously as powerful for building credibility and as potentially lethal for destroying credibility as the personal pronoun “I.” It works great in front of any statement where you are taking responsibility for actions or outcomes. However, place too many “I’s” in conversations that sound like, I want, I expect, I know, I did, I was right etc…and the term begins to jump out into the immediate environment with a loud bang every time it’s uttered.

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Leadership Caffeine™—When a Leader Needs to Take a Break

Sep 30, 2013

From time to time, the hard work of being responsible for the work of others grows tiring. While much of the literature paints a picture that makes leadership sound like a calling (and for some it is), for many in roles of responsibility for teams and groups, the position was an accident, a means to advancement or something that seemed interesting at the time. Whether your issue is one of leadership fatigue or, you’re gut is telling you to stop the bus because you want to get off, it’s important to pause every once in awhile, assess your situation and either find a way to refresh and recharge, or, find a way to get off at the next stop.

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New Leader Tuesday—The Feedback Series, Part 1: Moving Beyond Fear and Anxiety

Sep 24, 2013

Over the next few “New Leader Tuesday” posts, I will share ideas and approaches to help first-time or early career leaders navigate those initial feedback and performance discussions. The goal of the series is to help you get started with feedback early in your tenure, well-armed with good habits. Part 1 focuses on debunking the myths that keep so many managers from tackling these important discussions with their team members.

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