Chaos doesn’t scale. When I work with CEO’s and general managers they often tell me about their plans to scale the business. When I ask, “So how’s that … Read more
The Real Job of a Leader Might Be Harder Than You Think
Success does not equal doing everything. In my work with a variety of companies, there is a very common and shared view that executives want their managers … Read more
Want to Impact Your Bottom Line? Make Sure Every Manager Is a Good Manager
If you want to positively impact the bottom line in your business, insist that all your managers are good managers. Bad managers wreak havoc. Bad managers … Read more
11 Things Leaders Need to Talk About When They Meet With Their Staff
A few years back I wrote an article called Stop Having Status Meetings! 5 Better Things to do Instead. Status updates squander time that could be spent … Read more
It’s OK if You Don’t LOVE Your Work
Every time I hear some highly successful person, whether they are business person, movie star, writer, professional athlete, artist or reality TV star say, … Read more
8 Ways to Tell If Your Executive Communications Are Executive Enough
Are you coming across at the right level? Becoming proficient at executive communications is critical for every mid-level manager. Many leaders are very … Read more
The Good Things You Can Learn From Bad People
Sometimes, the bad guy wins. Clients often ask me for advice on how to deal with highly political people who are not very good at anything other than … Read more
Workplace Communications: You Don’t Want to Be 100% Accurate, But 0% Effective
I remember in grade school getting an assignment to do a “report” on a topic or a book. Part of the assignment was always the length. “Make sure it’s two … Read more
Management 101: It’s Vitally Important to Talk to People in the Trenches
As a manager, it’s vitally important that you talk to people at all levels in your organization — not just the managers who report to you. It’s not that … Read more
The Most Important Thing: Don’t Just DO Work, Learn How to Deal With It
Busy is a choice. Through my work, I talk to many people (executives, mid-level managers, and individuals) at many different companies, and the one issue … Read more
It’s True: Highly Talented People Can Get Scared at Work, Too
It’s been awhile since I’ve written about this, and there are so many new followers of this blog (thank you and welcome!), so I wanted to write this short … Read more
Want A Competitive Advantage? Get Your Team To Make Faster Decisions
Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post. Can your team make a decision? I was … Read more
5 Better Things to Do Than Have Status Meetings
What’s a good staff meeting? This is such an important topic that any effective manager needs to really get it right. Here are some questions I get: What … Read more
Management 101: What To Do When You’re In Over Your Head?
Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post. I was recently telling a story about a … Read more
Workplace Energy: How to Find More When the Job Is Wearing You Down
As I was writing this post, I recalled when a former boss told me, “What I need most from you is to cope. I need you to be willing to come back every day.” … Read more
Building Influence: It’s About Making People WANT to Help You
HRSo many of my clients ask me about influence. They want to know how to better personally influence others or how to train their managers on influence and … Read more
Three Traits That Make Top Leaders Great
Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post. What makes the top leaders stand out is … Read more
Managers and Executives? They Just Need to Stop and Talk to Each Other
I work as a business advisor to executives, and in doing so also I often also have one-on-one conversations with their direct reports. I can’t count how … Read more
What Great Leaders Know: Sharing Power Builds Trust and Loyalty
Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post. This is not a deep psychology dive on ego … Read more
Staying in the Moment: Why You Need to Savor Your Accomplishments
We all tend to get so busy that work and life can just fly by at a very fast pace. What I have learned is that if you don’t pause to punctuate your … Read more