In the workplace era of “do more with less,” few leaders feel like they can realistically accomplish all of their goals during a normal 8-hour workday. In an effort to increase productivity and find more hours in the day, but not sacrifice time with the family, most leaders start stealing from themselves. First, the 15-20 minute breaks disappear, then lunch comes next. I was recently coordinating calendars with a senior HR Manager whose only opening in the day was at noon. I suggested we postpone our meeting until another, less hectic, day. She said “That’s not necessary. I don’t take … Read More
Never Be the Smartest Person in the Room
“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” This wise quote has been attributed to everyone from Lorne Michaels to Marissa Mayer and several variations have been quoted by other successful leaders. There are so many benefits to surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you. First, we should always strive to learn new things. By intentionally surrounding yourself with smarter people, you’re admitting you don’t know everything and allowing others to fill in the gaps. Additionally, high achievers never like to come in second place, so bringing in someone smarter than you will … Read More
Frontline Leader Challenges: Managing B-Players
Tom Peters famously said “True leaders don’t create followers. They create more leaders.” If you’re a leader, your whole purpose in business is to help others develop into the best person they can be and contribute meaningfully to an organization. This, of course, means identifying potential future leaders who can be groomed to move from high performing individual contributor to high performing leader. This shift doesn’t come easily, though. Over half of the individuals who are placed in formal high potential programs leave within the first five years. Because we are confident that past performance predicts future performance, we make … Read More
The One Reason You Can’t Work from Home
For many, working from home seems like a luxury. It’s a flexible benefit that costs the organization virtually nothing, but gives the employee countless perks. As someone who has worked from home for 12 years, I am positive I couldn’t transition back into cubicle-life. Working from home allows employees to save gas money, reduce their carbon footprint, and reduce their morning stress thanks to a no-car commute to the “office.” While they do have to buy their own coffee, they usually save money overall and eat healthier because they’re not limited to (or tempted by) the fast food options near … Read More
How Leaders Can Defeat Imposter Syndrome
It’s very common for first time leaders to go through a stage where they feel like they fooled people into believing they’re ready for the job, but they aren’t; and it’s only a matter of time until everyone learns the truth. Surveys show up to 70% of the population experiences feelings of fraud at some point in their lives, including musician Chris Martin, actress Natalie Portman, comedian Tina Fey, executive Sheryl Sandberg, and even poet Maya Angelou. For most people, that feeling goes away after a few months on the job. For others, Imposter Syndrome is a core part of … Read More
Six Things That Are Every Leader’s Responsibility
If you’re part of a large organization, chances are you were required to complete an annual data security eLearning program from your company’s LMS in the last month. I went through one myself last week, and paused when I read the question “Whose responsibility is data security?” The answers were: a) the IT team, b) the IT team and front desk security guard, c) management or d) every employee. The answer is obviously every employee, but that got me thinking about what other key corporate responsibilities rest on every leader’s shoulders. Here are six corporate needs that are every leader’s … Read More