Have you ever watched a conflict conversation on a reality TV show? If you have, you might have noticed that they almost always gravitate towards what people said, what people meant, why people did or did not do certain things, etc. These conversations are heavily focused on what has already happened – the past. The arguing participants keep rehashing what has … [Read more...]
Quit Looking for THE Right Answer
In my work with clients and workshop participants, people often tell me about a situation they faced as a leader, starting off with a statement like: “Maybe I didn’t do this right, but …” Then, they generally end the story by asking me if there was a better way to handle the situation. I frequently respond by asking if they got a good result from their approach. Before I … [Read more...]
Navigating Emotional Minefields When Giving Performance Feedback
As a supervisor, it is absolutely necessary that you provide your employees with performance feedback. For new supervisors, the process is often challenging and uncomfortable. After all, it is not easy for everyone to criticize others. That said, you can't avoid it. Just remember that the words you use are only part of your message. Your full message is a combination of the … [Read more...]
FAQ Series: Helping Your Team Move beyond Conflict to Resolution
Is your team stuck in a cycle of personal bias and conflict? Are you struggling to help your team move beyond personal conflicts and disagreements so that you can get better results and see more professional behaviors? If you said yes to either or both of those questions, I have two things to tell you that I hope will give you hope for a better future: You are not … [Read more...]
FAQ Series: How to Correct Your Team When You Have Been Too Lenient
One common mistake that new leaders make is to be too lenient and “cut people some slack” on performance issues. If you have slipped up in this area of leadership, it’s okay. Many people before you have made the same mistake, and it is recoverable. A common sign that you have made this error is surprise and/or shock expressed by your team members when you speak with them … [Read more...]
FAQ Series: How to Successfully Engage in Difficult Conversations
A common struggle for new leaders comes in the form of the dreaded “difficult conversation.” While difficult conversations can come in a number of forms, there are two common types that develop as the result of being in a leadership role. Delivering information that is difficult for the other person to receive, and Receiving information that is difficult to … [Read more...]
FAQ Series: Communicating with Your Team Beyond the Day-to-Day
If you're a new supervisor or have new supervisors in your organization, check out today's video to find short, actionable tips for communicating with your team outside of just talking tasks. http://kevineikenberry.wistia.com/medias/n64q5sxbte?embedType=seo&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640 And now we want to hear from you! How do you keep the lines of communication open and … [Read more...]
5 Things a Smart Manager Does to Decrease Change Resistence
As a first-time leader, it is critical that you understand that you can't “make” a change happen. While you can initiate a change, and make it easier for employees to stomach and execute, you need them to do the work, change their behaviors, and, ultimately, make the change happen. If you want them to do all that, you need to follow these steps to lower their resistance and … [Read more...]
FAQ Series: How Leaders Can Understand Their Team Members Abilities
One question we get in our Bud to Boss workshops is this: How do you understand your direct reports capabilities without directly asking them? It’s a great question, and its answer is often found in observing two things about the people on your team: How they spend their time when they are not at work, and The tasks they choose to do first when they get a … [Read more...]
FAQ Series: How to Get People to Listen
One of the questions we are often asked in both our Bud to Boss and Remarkable Communicator workshops is: “How do you get people to listen when they are set in their ways?” Like so many questions related to leadership and communication, there’s a short answer and a more complete answer. The short answer is: You can’t get another person to listen. They have to choose to … [Read more...]