As leaders we all must rely on the brains, skills, and motivation of others to meet goals, interpret our visions, and achieve high quality execution.
A challenge many of my executive coaching clients experience is the quality execution part. By that I mean creating a culture where getting excellent work delivered within the expected time frame, on budget, and in a manner that brings satisfaction to all who participate and those who receive is the norm not an exception. [Read more…]
Whether you pronounce Generation Z as Gen Zee or Gen Zed (the latter being the more common because it is an international pronunciation), it is impossible to deny the power and influence this group of young adults, born between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, is having, and will continue to have, on the world of work. [Read more…]
LinkedIn surveyed 2,000 business leaders and looked at data points from its 500 million members. They asked employers, “Who and what are you looking to hire?” and asked the data, “What did employees possess to successfully land a job or earn a promotion?” In individual terms, “What is employability?” Fifty-seven percent of the time organization leaders, hiring managers, and human capital professionals said soft skills was the answer. [Read more…]
What’s your role and contribution to your team and your teammates? It begs the questions, “are you a team player?”, “what type of team player are you?”, and “what would make you a better one?”
No one can succeed alone. Most of us belong to several different teams or groups. Whether it is a project you are working on together, the department you are assigned to, or a task force you have been asked to join, you experience the dynamics, trials and tribulations of people trying to get things accomplished with others. [Read more…]
Recently I’ve been challenging my executive coaching clients to think about and create a “world-class” workplace team. What I mean is pulling together a group of people that can compete in any venue, deliver extraordinary results, in an environment that is ethical, positive, and rewarding. It’s a tall order but not one that can’t be filled. Here’s what I see as some of the essential elements for creating a workplace team that is ready, willing, and able to excel now, by 2020, and beyond. [Read more…]
I had never heard of Donna Hicks. Nor had I read her acclaimed book “Leading with Dignity — How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best in People.” I came upon her TED talk by chance. I’m glad I did and want to share her wisdom with you. [Read more…]
“People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.”
— Samuel Johnson
I came upon this quote and my mind quickly went to the subject of feedback. There is a hunger for it and a dearth of it in our professional and personal lives. It is particularly missing when it comes to positive feedback. [Read more…]
I recently viewed a brief video on office culture, “How do CEOs create an ideal work culture? ‘You live it’,” featuring Patty McCord, a coach and consultant to CEOs. Patty worked as the Chief Talent Officer at Netflix for many years where she was charged with “reimagining office culture and disrupting best practices.”
Patty is a bold and inventive leader who has little tolerance for many of the tried and true practices of most office cultures. Here are a few: [Read more…]
Hierarchy, superstars, lone contributors, financial incentives, powerplays, conflict-driven settings are at the core of most workplaces we know and for whom we work.
What the so-called leaders of these companies don’t understand is that these very attributes, beliefs, and behaviors are sabotaging productivity and creativity, and the reason they will never reach their full potential. [Read more…]
I have argued for many years there are not enough rewards and incentives in the workplace. I am not referring exclusively about monetary compensation. I am also referencing other forms of rewards and incentives.
What gets noticed, recognized, and acted upon tells us what is valued and who will succeed in a workplace. [Read more…]