Beware What You Reward

In Graduate School, I had a charismatic business professor who had a real-life story for every lesson. Today, I remember his stories first, and the lesson second. I ran into this professor at a recent conference and one particular story about measurement and reward immediately came to mind. “Did I ever tell you about the time I worked as a dishwasher in a hospital kitchen?” Suddenly, everyone in the room forgot they were in a graduate level business psychology course, and were transported to a 1970’s industrial kitchen with turquoise blue tiles. Jim was a young dishwasher who quickly learned … Read More

More than Words: Presenting Skills for Leaders

There’s no greater opportunity to influence others around you than when you have the opportunity to make a presentation. Whether in a small boardroom or in an auditorium filled with hundreds of employees, a presentation can leave attendees energized and motivated or confused and disengaged. We often spend too much time perfecting the words we will say in the presentation and not enough attention to the nonverbal attributes that speak volumes. Put the audience first Don’t craft your message the way you want to hear it. Customize the content to your audience’s needs, experience level, and interest. Making a pitch … Read More

The Problem with Mistake-Free Leadership

New leaders who are overwhelmed by their new responsibilities and fear the embarrassment of failure tend not to pursue success. Rather, they spend their first year just trying not to make a mistake. New leaders spend a considerable amount of time gathering data, seeking out historical information, checking with subject matter experts, and inevitably getting stuck in analysis paralysis mode out of fear. No one wants to make a mistake. Mistakes don’t feel good. But more importantly, we don’t want our mistakes to define us. So, to protect ourselves from any possible embarrassment we try to create mistake-free zones. There’s … Read More

The Power of Writing for Better Leadership

Early in my career, I worked with a top-selling Account Manager who was seen by many as being a bit quirky. His name was Larry and he was very organized and obsessively habitual. You could set your clock based on the time he walked in the door in the morning. It was the same every day. He ate the same snack every day and washed his car every single day. He had one daily habit that I didn’t truly appreciate until much later in my career. At the end of every day, he opened up a new Word document and … Read More

Knowledge Transfer Helps Avoid “Brain Drain”

Avoid the “Brain Drain” with our Knowledge Transfer Workshop on April 21. Skilled workers leaving the workforce, or opting for alternative employment, are creating an unprecedented shortage of experience and talent. Research at University of North Carolina’s Keenan-Flagler Business School shows: 75% of millennials want a mentor. 65% of baby boomers state millennials have sought them out for guidance. 58% of millennials turn to Baby Boomers rather than Gen X for professional advice. Millennials will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020.

Overcome the Challenges of Leading a Baby Boomer

One of the most intimidating aspects of becoming a young leader is realizing many of your team members will be older and potentially more experienced than you. Some Baby Boomers may have a hard time imagining someone their child’s age is experienced enough for a leadership role. But from the Millennial perspective, if you’ve been selected and coached to take on leadership responsibilities, that should be reason enough to gain respect. The reality is, no matter how prepared and competent you are, you may have to prove yourself to some skeptical senior team members.