Management
Trademarks of a great boss: Empower your people
“Empowerment” is one of those buzzwords that has almost lost its impact through years of indiscriminate use. It is, however, a valid management strategy....
Leadership
Management
Should executives take an oath of office?
Forty-four years ago, economist Milton Friedman changed the way corporations did business with his declaration that “there is one and only one social responsibility...
Management
Lessons from the 3 greatest comebacks I witnessed
Listening to customers is easy when you like what they have to say. When they love your product and want more of it, when...
Management
Craft an aligned team through desired behaviors
I wish you could have seen it. Twenty teenagers and four YMCA leaders — including me — were about to embark on a two-day...
Management
What’s all the fuss about leadership?
Everywhere you turn nowadays, it seems like someone has meaningful wisdom and inspirational quotes to share about leadership. Contemporary leadership comes in all stripes...
Management
What is the best way to address an underperforming employee?
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Management
“Development” was never meant to be a replacement for training
Credit: iStockphoto True confession time. I once worked for a large, global conglomerate that was in a death spiral and struggling to turn things...
Management
The question every great leader asks
Sara leaned back, crossed her arms, and sighed. “It’s not right! My VP expects me to hit these numbers, but customers want updates, and...
Management
How should managers deal with negative feedback from their reports?
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Management
The insatiable desire to control
It’s mythical and alluring, that thing that you may secretly desire. It surfaces slowly and silently unseen, unheard and often unrecognized. It hides within...
Management
How to create a solid, healthy company culture
Over the course of my two decades in journalism, I have met and interviewed everyone from the worker-owner of a corner deli to magnates...
Management
Today’s burning leadership question: Are you a flame or an ember?
Michael is a leader in a high-tech organization. He’s charismatic, affable, and the ideal networker due to his highly social nature. He gets along...
Management
Busting 3 employee-engagement myths
I recently read another post about why people hate their jobs and what employers can do about it. The post, published in USA Today...
Management
Leading from a place of courage
By now, you’ve most likely read about the failed social media campaign launched by the New York Police Department. From a public relations standpoint,...
Management
Smart leadership: Where everyone is a leader
This post is an excerpt from “The Next Gen Leader: Cutting Edge Strategies to Make You the leader You Were Born to Be!” by...
Management
Defining qualities of the worst managers
Here’s a wake up call: 75% of employees who leave their jobs are actually quitting their boss or manager. This is a case of “it’s not...
Management
The keys to your heart
I make no excuses for this post’s sentimental title. This is because we know that in order to lead at your best, you have...
Management
Crush stupid policies
When team leaders or team members in your organization bump up against stupid policies or dumb targets, what do they do? Do they shoot...
Management
The endless quest for leadership
As I noted in a previous post, leadership is one of the most sought after yet elusive concepts in the workplace today. Scores of...
Management
Leverage the energy of the room
Energy is critical to the success of any presentation. Leaders need to learn to harness it to their advantage. So what can you do?...
Management
Why your team thinks you’re a bad boss
No matter how great a boss you are, the odds are against you that your team holds the same opinion. According to recent studies,...
Management
Leading from the values up
I remember the comment as if it were yesterday. As a high-school teacher living in Chicago, I had been invited to a school weekend...
Management
Listening is our most important skill
A friend of mine, a key leader with a major insurance company, regularly comes around her desk when one of her team members comes...
Management
Who knows what employees really want?
For decades, articles, authors and studies have tried to help managers come to terms with how to motivate employees and drive optimal performance by...
Management
Lessons from an award-winning leader: 7 ways to improve workplace morale and employee engagement
This post is part of the series “Workplace Morale,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep...
Management
3 secrets to building culture and engagement that lasts
This post is part of the series “Workplace Morale,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep...
Management
How can leaders can assess the work readiness of new graduates?
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Management
Workplace morale: Turn it inside out
This post is part of the series “Workplace Morale,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep...
Management
Be intentional about workplace inspiration
Is your work environment lifeless and dull or active and inspiring? Most organizational leaders put greater thought, time, and energy into their products and...
Management
5 ways to notice hidden leadership talent
I once worked with a leader who turned around his perspective of one of his employees. This employee was skilled but was critical of...
Management
When managing to results turns deadly
While the ignition problems at General Motors and the falsified waiting lists at Veterans Affairs may not seem comparable, there is one distinct parallel....
Management
It is OK to second-guess yourself
The challenge of leadership is to do what is right for the organization even when it means reversing a decision. When reconsidering a decision...
Management
A new approach to reduce dysfunctional behavior at work
Is your boss or a co-worker increasingly irritable, angry, withdrawn or acting in a predatory manner? Or are you noticing that behavior in yourself?...
Management
How can I get honest feedback from my team?
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Management
7 best practices to boost employee engagement
What separates the best leaders from the rest when it comes to employee engagement? Our research shows the best leaders communicate an inspiring vision...
Management
5 ways to make better, faster leadership decisions
How much time each week do you spend making decisions? Likely, many of the choices you make are almost automatic, requiring little thought: Attend...
Management
How can leaders best promote and recruit qualified women at the highest levels?
The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that...
Management
Being intentional about your leadership
Many leaders put as much effort into defining how they want to “show up” as they would in buying a new refrigerator. In fact,...
Management
Transition tips for new leaders
A leadership transition is one of the most important yet underappreciated aspects of a new leader’s experience. It helps to frame the new leader’s...
Management
Memo to CEOs: It’s about the team, stupid
In one of the stranger inversions of the tech industry, failure has become chic. The founder of a failed startup, instead of feeling a...
Management
Leaders: Expand your strengths-based leadership zone
I love the strengths-based leadership approach. It challenges us to know what our natural gifts are and build on them. But if we’re not...
Management
Leaders who take no for an answer build trust
Charlie is a charming, highly persuasive marketing executive for a growing technology company. He’s a delight to work with — until you tell him...