Tonight, people, perhaps you, will be partying all evening ... lifting a glass at midnight ... kissing a person nearby ... watching the ball drop ... and celebrating well into the wee hours. Whatever your night has in store, make the most of your New Year's Eve day by following these suggestions. Admittedly, some are silly, but others are serious. Some will take a minute; … [Read more...]
[Infographic]: Management Tips from Old St. Nick
You can learn a lot from the jolly man in the red suit. Check out this fun infographic from the folks over at Taskworld to learn some tricks of the trade from arguably December's hardest working and most productive man. … [Read more...]
Ignite Your Own Passion to Spark Greater Team Performance
A quote by Dwight L. Moody is my inspiration for this post today. Moody was a 19th century evangelist, who said “The best way to revive a church is to build a fire in the pulpit," and he was sharing a lesson about more than building churches. The lesson is much broader. Consider my adaptation of his quote: “The best way to revive a team (or organization) is to build a fire … [Read more...]
A Surprising Gratitude List for Leaders
If you will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week, there will be a moment when you look around the room or table, and the list of things for which you are thankful will be apparent. The food, the family and friends around you, the warmth and shelter, and perhaps even the football on the TV may all make the list. In fact those things will make most people’s lists, mine … [Read more...]
3 Keys to Establishing Credibility With Your Team
By Samuel B. Bacharach, author of The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea Is Not Enough. As a new supervisor or manager, you will certainly have projects and ideas you will want to implement. But you have to remember that while getting a promotion may give you the positional authority to move your agenda forward, positional authority alone is not enough. To get your team … [Read more...]
How Leaders Are Like the Most Talented Drummers
This morning, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the nominees—including Pearl Jam, Janet Jackson, Journey and more—for its 2017 induction ceremony. That got me thinking about music and bands, and the role each member plays. The singers in the band are out front, and the lead guitarists often have the coolest solos, but without the drummer—or with an off-rhythm … [Read more...]
Your Super Weapon is Actually Your Employees, Not Your Products
Your most important asset may not the products you sell. Rather, it's your employees, especially if you are in a service industry, says Dushyant Sukhija, a former executive with Cisco Systems and author of The Cisco Way: Leadership Lessons Learned from One of the World’s Greatest Technology Services Companies. “Employees are the true intellectual capital of the company and … [Read more...]
It’s Not Always WHAT You Ask—It’s HOW You Ask It
Recently, I was speaking with participants in a training class about communication strategies to resolve conflicts. I shared with them that a genuine sense of curiosity about the other person’s perspective often goes a long way toward resolution, and that a sense of curiosity is often revealed when we ask the other person questions. As we discussed the value of possessing a … [Read more...]
Feeling Pressure? You Probably Aren’t Prepared
Football officially starts next week, folks. Today, I will share one of my favorite quotes from, undoubtedly, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Perhaps his quote "Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what the hell you are doing" tells us why that is. Prior to retiring this year, the two-time and reigning Super Bowl Champion had broken … [Read more...]
The Million Dollar Question: How Do You Really Determine “Culture Fit”
This is a guest post by Krisha Buehler, HR Manager and Culture Cultivator at eaHELP. How important is culture fit when hiring new employees? Very. That is, if you want new employees to stay onboard and produce at a high level. Culture fit will look slightly different for each organization depending on your mission, vision and core values. So your first, most critical, … [Read more...]