A recent Cotap Inc. survey showed that 76% of workers admit to using emojis in professional communications. I have mixed feelings about that. There is no shortage of industry blogs, experts, and analyses that will tell you emojis are here…
Bad-business Practices
Not Hiring Jerks Is A Workplace Trend I’m All In Favor Of
Editor’s Note: As I wind down as Editor of TLNT — I’m leaving next month— I wanted to share some of my all-time favorite TLNT posts. Here’s one from October 2013. You know it and I know it, so it is hardly worth…
The Lessons Of Custer: 5 Things To Consider On Bad Management Day
Editor’s Note: As I wind down as Editor of TLNT — yes, I’m leaving in April — I wanted to share some of my all-time favorite TLNT posts. Here’s one from June 2012. Once upon a time, I made the case we should…
The Untouchables: Why You Should Stop Coddling Bad Employees
Are you one of those companies that would rather preserve everyone than let them go? Right now, I know of at least one organization where — despite lackluster performance, poor behavior, and the disbanding of their team of direct reports…
No Workplace Policy Can Prevent People From Doing Something Really Stupid
Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post. By Eric B. Meyer On Martin Luther King Day, I performed community service with a few of my co-workers and my 4-year-old son. We…
Employee Engagement? It’s Just a Meaningless, “Feel Good” Business Metric
My company helps customers decrease turnover or increase employee performance using predictive analytics. During these assignments we identify existing employee data that can be used to help us understand patterns and predict top/bottom performers or job candidates with a low…
The 4 Big Things I Learned From the Worst Boss I Ever Had
I’m a firm believer that we can learn as much from the negative influences in our lives as we can from the positive, because it’s those negative experiences that make the impact of those behaviors real. It’s not theoretical, and it’s not something…
The Real Problem With Crappy, Mediocre Managers
Incompetence is contagious within companies — and it spreads like wildfire. Incompetence can originate from anywhere, but mediocre managers are like matches for lighting a veritable forest fire of incompetency inside the organization. They create a ceiling that can stunt…
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 managing up. And it’s especially frustrating because it seems to be working…
5 Things Managers Do That Just Kill Employee Engagement
Over 2 million people quit their job each month, and the No. 1 reason is the quality of the relationship they have with their direct supervisor. It stands to reason, as managers are more likely to have daily interactions with employees, and they are usually…
How Smart Leaders Can Arrive at Really Dumb Decisions
Ever find yourself in an organization or on a team that’s struggling because of a leader’s poor decision? You sit back and reflect on the leader personally and wonder why a savvy, experienced, and ordinarily capable person could make such…
The Lessons of Custer: Five Things to Consider on “Bad Management Day”
Once upon a time, I made the case we should celebrate June 25 as “Bad Management Day,” a day when we reflect on all the terrible management decisions made by the many overpaid egomaniacs who wouldn’t know what management was…
Your Talent Is Your Brand, So Why Do So Many Treat Talent So Badly?
Editor’s Note: Readers sometimes ask about past TLNT articles, so every Friday we republish a Classic TLNT post. A friend of mine posted this blurb on Facebook from an audio book he was listening to (note: I don’t know the name…
Why Is American Business So Totally Addicted to Bad Managers?
So once again I find myself pondering why there are so many bad bosses, and without negating any of my previous theories, this time I wanted to explore the role those surrounding the bad boss play in the horror show….
Here’s Why Most Managers Really Suck
If you’ve read any significant amount of literature on management, you’ve likely come across the Peter Principle – that people will get promoted to their own level of incompetence. The idea is that people are promoted to management positions because…
Talent Management Gone Wrong: When It’s All’s Well That Ends Well
In May, I wrote about a young man who had been identified by a Fortune 100 firm as a high potential and placed into a leadership development program to prepare for the possibility of promotion into the executive ranks. In…
5 Toxic Workplace Practices That Kill Employee Engagement
Editor’s Note: It’s a TLNT holiday tradition to count down the most popular posts of the year. This is No. 10 Our regular content will return Monday. Bonne Année! We spend a lot of time discussing how to increase employee engagement, but what about the things that…
It’s the Holidays! Don’t Make Employees Be Naughty Instead of Nice
When I was a kid, we had a name for those other kids who were always causing trouble — instigators. Confusion, noise, and conflict swirled around these rabble-rousers who, when they weren’t actively making bad stuff happen, were darn sure…
5 Toxic Workplace Practices That Kill Employee Engagement
We spend a lot of time discussing how to increase employee engagement, but what about the things that will immediately nix those efforts? Sure you can create development plans for your employees and share a meaningful company vision, but those…
How Can Bad Leadership Produce Good Results?
A few months ago, I stopped freelancing and dove head first into a regular, full-time position with benefits. I was happy about the offer and looked forward to being part of a team, gaining additional HR experience, and earning a…