When Simon Sinek (noted author, speaker, and expert on leadership) was asked about leading Millennials in the workplace on Inside Quest, his response went viral. With millions of views and social media shares, he clearly struck a chord with the workforce. He noted 4 characteristics about Millennials that present a challenge in the workplace: parenting, technology, impatience, and environment. Simon explains that through no fault of their own, Millennials are significantly affected by failed parenting strategies where parents forced recognition/awards on all kids whether their performance merited it or not. They also grew up being told they can have anything … Read More
Everyone Gets a Three
One of the most daunting tasks for new leaders is the first annual performance review of their team. Let’s set aside the usual laundry list of reasons why annual performance reviews are ineffective including the cumbersome talent management systems used to track them, the fact that the goals were set and forgotten a year ago, and time it takes to complete the process. The most frustrating part of it all is that they really don’t matter. A colleague of mine shared her first performance review experience as a manager:
How Not to Communicate a Layoff
On Friday, a friend of mine received news that her position was being eliminated and effective immediately she had been laid off. This, of course, was horrible news. Being laid off unexpectedly right before the holidays is just awful. She had worked for the company for 22 years. How do you tell a loyal employee of 22 years that she is being laid off? In this case, the HR rep left the employee a voicemail. The employee received that voicemail during the 15 minute break she had while on jury duty. “Hi Jane, this is Mary from HR. I’m sorry … Read More
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
What do Santa Claus and performance reviews have in common? Basically, everything. Your boss may not look like a jolly man with a round belly and a stable of reindeer, but at performance review time, he/she certainly holds all the gift-giving power with their big bag full of bonuses and merit increases. As a child, when did you start thinking about Santa Claus? April? August? No. You started thinking about Christmas when the big toy catalog arrived in the mail in late October. Suddenly, as you flipped through the pages and circled every item for your wish list, you remembered … Read More
It All Starts with Trust
Half of the country woke up last Wednesday morning wondering “what happened here?” How could nearly every poll, pundit, and expert be so wrong in predicting the next President of the United States? Through canvassing, online polls, telephone polls, social media mentions, rally size, and so many other ways, we thought we accurately analyzed all of the data that should predict voter behaviors. This same methodology has worked in nearly every other presidential election in modern history. But this time, the system failed. What happened here? It boils down to trust. The questions were asked. “Who do you plan to … Read More
From the Front-line to the C-suite
Download Jim Morris’ revealing white paper, “From the Front-line to the C-Suite,” and find out more about shared leadership competencies and the perspective shifts leaders must make to navigate the leadership ladder. Jim facilitates the transformational front-line leadership program, Step-Up, offered by Executive Forum, which applies these leadership traits and perspectives in cohort and facilitated classroom learning. Numerous studies demonstrate that individuals who take the opportunity to practice leadership and management skills under the supervision and support of someone who has mastered a specific competency develop the competency faster and more effectively model the desired behavior. Leaders who have been … Read More