You know what’s fun? Telling someone they’re amazing. They love the feedback and welcome it with open arms. The more positive the feedback, the more they want to hear. And you’re happy to oblige because their wide eyes, big smile, and nodding head encourage you to share more examples of the ways they are amazing. You know what’s not fun? Giving negative, or even constructive, feedback. It doesn’t feel good to hear that you are performing below average (or even average) compared to expectations. And if it doesn’t feel good to hear that feedback then it definitely doesn’t feel good … Read More
When You Lose Your Leadership Mojo
In so many ways, being a leader is a labor of love. Leaders have the privilege of sharing good news, but also the responsibility of delivering bad news. Leaders work to bring out the best in their employees and watch them flourish, but also mourn when they decide to move on to other opportunities. And when times are tough, they have to put on a brave face and inspire everyone to charge ahead even when they disagree with the battle plan. In today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) business world, it’s easy to lose your way. After you’ve been … Read More
Be Contagious
Take a moment to reflect on last week. What were the high points? What were the low moments? How did you handle every day challenges? How did you interact with your team? What message did you convey? We already know that individuals who display good leadership skills have more engaged employees with lower turnover. There’s also a commonly held belief that leadership is contagious. When you display strong, decisive, inspirational leadership, others around you will also begin to display those same behaviors. Research shows there is a trickle-down effect of leadership behaviors.
Five Great Podcasts for Leaders
A few weeks ago, we shared six of our favorite TED Talks and we received such positive feedback from our readers, that we thought it would be helpful to share some of our favorite podcasts as well. If you don’t currently listen to podcasts, you are missing out on some great thoughts and conversations being shared on this unique platform. Podcasting is a popular choice by thought-leaders because, unlike blogs, they lend themselves to story-telling and conversations between multiple parties. They’re inexpensive to create and easy to share. Listeners enjoy podcasts because they can stay up to date on the … Read More
When Collaboration Kills Productivity
Read any article or book on decision making, employee engagement, or company culture, and you’ll hear all of the reasons why collaboration is the key to making better decisions and keeping your team members happy. Everyone feels involved, blind spots can be minimized, and mistakes can be caught early thanks to the additional brainpower a team brings to the table. But collaboration can come at a cost. While collaboration can help bring diverse ideas and perspectives to any project, it can also slow down momentum significantly. The more people you involve, the longer it takes to consider everyone’s ideas and … Read More
Develop Stronger Leaders with Leadership Lab™ Beginning Feb. 5
“All leaders, both formal and informal, should take this course.” “Insightful.” “Challenging.” “Enlightening.” Over 90% of participants recommend Leadership Lab to anyone charged with leading others. This interactive course builds specific skills in communication, setting expectations, coaching, and dealing with change. In this five-session course, participants develop and practice these skills on the real-life challenges they face every day.