Many years ago, when asked what the most powerful force in the universe was, Albert Einstein said, “compound interest.” What I am writing about today, might be, with all due respect to Albert, just as powerful. The reason is that in many ways, they are the same thing: compound interest allows your money to grow on itself and incremental improvement allows your skills and … [Read more...]
Why Now Is the Right Time to Focus on YOUR Development
"Work from home" may be in place for much longer than originally anticipated for many organizations, and that could be by choice. Many leaders now see the value in allowing employees to telecommute. Others, who pivoted quickly and shored up their organization's IT capabilities and security so that they could operate virtually, may not be so quick to rush back to the office, … [Read more...]
How to Build Their Confidence
Success isn't all about building and developing a skill set. Much of it is about having a positive mindset. To that end, your job as a leader is helping people establish that mindset. Here's how you can do that. https://youtu.be/N6FjVW9pxCg?rel=0&showinfo=0 Tweet it out: If you want your new supervisors to succeed, help them build their confidence as much as their … [Read more...]
Get Comfortable With Employees’ Mistakes
One of my favorite leadership anecdotes involves my daughter when she was just learning to drive. Several years ago, my daughter and I had to drive about thirty miles on county roads through rural Indiana. Snow was not falling on the day we made this drive. However, there was plenty of snow in the fields on either side of the roads and the wind was blowing. Under these … [Read more...]
Coaching is More Than Just Sharing Your Knowledge
You have likely risen to your current role because you have some expertise. That expertise could be in the technical nature of your team’s work, for example, you were a great sales person, so you were promoted to sales manager, or you were the top engineer so you were promoted to chief engineer. You may have proven to have superior leadership skills so you advanced, or you may … [Read more...]
What to Do When Employees Mess Up
No doubt it's frustrating when an employee does a lousy job on work you assigned him or her. As the manager, you often have to spend time revising the work, cleaning up your employee's mistakes and taking blame for the unsatisfactory work from your own boss. That is why so many first time managers refuse to delegate. After all, it's easier to just do the work yourself … [Read more...]
Would You Get an “F” on Employee Development?
Seventy percent of U.S. employees say they’re at least somewhat likely to leave their current company and accept an offer with a new company that’s known for investing in employee learning and development, according to a study from Instructure conducted by The Harris Poll. That statistic is a pretty clear indicator that employees (likely your employees) want opportunities … [Read more...]
Become a Strong Delegator (And Take Back Your Time)
Delegation is something that every leader has feelings about. Some feel they do it well. Some don’t even know where to start. Some have seen a good example of it. Some feel like every time someone has “delegated” to them, it felt like they’d just been dumped on. Some think it is something they should do. Some resist it. Regardless of your feelings and experiences, there … [Read more...]
Analyze Yourself and Others. Just Don’t Forget This Critical Rule.
As leaders, sometimes we have to put ourselves under the microscope and analyze our behavior and qualities. Unfortunately, when most of us do that, we focus on the flaws, the things that we see that need improvement. Sometimes, it's superficial. We would like a smaller nose or less gray hair. Want to lose a few pounds or tighten up some wrinkles. What I am talking about … [Read more...]
Good Management CREATES Good Employees
This is a guest article by Charlyne Meinhard. You can hire the right employees, but if you don’t manage them well, those good employees may wind up messing up, rather than stepping up. Consider this scenario: Jen and Tim are managers of two totally different functions within Mid-Road Company, but they share the same frustrations about their employees. “You won’t … [Read more...]