While motivating and inspiring employees (and keeping them that way) requires a good bit of strategy, a good place to start is simply to shift your language to be more positive. When people are constantly bombarded by negative messages, they can't help but feel negative too. It wears on them and can even convince them that nothing they do will be right. With some simple … [Read more...]
Are You Assertive or Aggressive? The Difference Matters
No matter how great a manager you are, bad things will happen at work: not every day, but occasionally. It’s how you handle those incidents—the ones that fill you with frustration, anger and dread—that determine what kind of leader you are. If you respond to those occasions aggressively (outwardly or passively), you’ll undermine your team, spread fear and start the rumor mill. … [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...]
5 Steps to Become a Much Better Listener
How much we actually retain when we listen to people speak is up for debate. I've seen research that suggest it is as low as 17%. I don't know if I believe it's quite that low for most of us, but I do believe many of us have lost the art of listening. We're too distracted to offer our full attention to one person. We multi-task, constantly deal with the ding of our phones, … [Read more...]
Are Communication Style Tools Valuable? It Depends.
Why is communication so hard? One of the top reasons is that not everyone communicates in the same way, with the same tendencies or styles. To simplify things, we have access to all these useful tools that provide assessment takers with acronyms, colors, letters, animals or other designations to identify their personality and communication style. They're often fun and can be … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Improve Mental Health in Employees
This is a guest post from Marcus Clarke. The best step that leaders can take to improve an organization is to promote mental health among employees. Statistics have revealed that employees experience depression and anxiety each year, and these mental health issues affect employers and lead to huge losses. The nature of work and its expectations is often a leading source … [Read more...]
If Anything, Learn THIS Important Lesson on Election Day
If you live in the United States, you have to know it is Election Day. Direct mail, yard signs, neighborhood canvassers, radio and television ads and more – all add up to an important day in the life of a democracy. But this post isn’t about politics. The lesson today is something what we, as organization and community leaders, should not do. I am struck by how much of … [Read more...]
Do You Communicate Like You Rake? Little by Little or All at Once?
Fall foliage is beautiful, so if you are lucky enough to live in an area that experiences it, like me, I consider us very lucky. Still, while the trees are beautiful as their leaves turn from green to yellow, orange and red, they pose a problem too—if you're responsible for removing them after they've fallen. Most yards, parks, green areas and so on, contain different … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Build Your Confidence as a New Leader
If, as a new leader, you're feeling nervous, overwhelmed and out of your element, you may need to "fake it until you make it." In other words, you may need to pretend you're confident until you actually feel that way. But how do you go about doing that? It's not about strutting around like a peacock or proving to your employees that you have all the authority and power. In … [Read more...]
Thomas Jefferson on Keeping a Cool Head
We'll just leave this here: Things can—and will—go wrong in every job, but when you’re responsible for the success of others, the opportunity for problems rises significantly. It’s not avoiding problems that makes you an excellent manager, but rather how you respond to the glitches, delays and disasters. Leaders who keep their composure when things go bad, who remain calm … [Read more...]