The biggest barrier between leaders and followers is distrust. And the window dressing for distrust is insincerity. People put up with a lot of quirks in their leaders and coworkers just to keep the peace, but insincerity particularly grates on…
Leadership
Don’t Let Succession Planning Be Just a C-Suite Thing
“Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting to expect higher dividends and stressed that succession planning is a priority,” Bloomberg reported last month. “Cook also made some of his most explicit comments on succession…
That Seat at the Table Is In the Library
“I spend so much time reading now. As I am finally a member of the executive team, there are so many areas that I needed to brush up on as the organization is in such a growth spurt.” This discussion…
Decision-Making Doesn’t Always Require Collaboration
Collaboration is in vogue today. It’s a favorite theme for how to be a great leader and in how to solve most business problems. I’ve always tried to be collaborative and inclusive – even in situations when it probably wasn’t…
What to Do About Leaders Who Think They Are Better Than They Are
With fewer peers and more power, it’s easy for leaders to lose touch with those they lead. A study by Hay Group’s McClelland Center finds that senior leaders in an organization often gain power at the expense of self-knowledge, and are…
Hired to Clean Up the Mess? Here Are 3 Ways to Be a Success
Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, has had his work cut out for him — and it doesn’t look like his load will lighten anytime soon. After everything the company went through in 2017, including the departure of former CEO, Travis Kalanick,…
7 Tips to Focus On The People Side Of Change
Change is hard. Some of you may be saying “duh!” Yet many people underestimate how challenging change can be. Anyone who tells themselves change is easy has never lived through it or is choosing to pull the wool over their…
Zooming: A Way to Change Focus to Gain New Insights
As human resources professionals have embraced the business partner role and become more involved with helping managers leverage the talents of their group, leadership has risen as a focus of their work. This may take the form of group or…
Will They Contribute to Your Gift?
“No one wanted to contribute to her holiday gift.” The assistant manager told me that during the holidays, it is customary for all employees of her retail store to chip in to buy the store manager as well as the…
Are You Doing Analytics Or Just Reporting Data?
Many HR software packages include built-in analytics. This is a good thing, some data is better than no data. However, as HR gets more sophisticated, we need to move beyond accepting a vendor’s claim about built-in analytics and understand exactly…
Make Your Team More Effective By Getting Them Out of the Office
“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.”― Albert Camus Now that we’ve wrapped up another year, and are already well into 2018, the magic of the holiday season has evaporated. Your team is confronting…
Purpose, People and Process: The 3 P’s of Effective Performance Management
As a vendor of performance management software for the last 14 years, we speak to dozens of HR pros every day to discuss their performance review pains and challenges. No matter how it’s worded, we have found that ALL headaches…
The Formula for Effective Leadership Has Only Three Parts
Each month I receive an email with a preview of the latest leadership books. There are always five or six new entrants in this already crowded field. Meanwhile, my Twitter feed overflows with three steps, five tips, and seven ways…
Don’t Let Analytics Replace Good Judgement
When a sports writer asked hockey coach Mike Babcock about a particular hockey analytic, Babcock responded, “We don’t know if any of it’s true.” What did he mean by that? The analytic in question was the Corsi statistic, and it…
More Real Conversations Please; Not Just Business Talk
With apologies to Elvis, we need a little more conversation. Conversing together, sharing with each other, is a hallmark of what it means to be human. And yet, many of the interactions we have at work are action-oriented, outcome-driven, or…
Build a ‘Culture of Compassion’ In 2018
If you happen to sit next to Sheldon Yellen on your next flight, chances are he’ll be writing birthday cards. Lots and lots of them. “There is an inside joke with acquisitions that I ask prior to closing: ‘How many…
$24 Billion Worth of Leadership Training and What Do We Get?
“Because they would do it for me.” This was a quote from Simon Sinek from a TED speech he gave on leadership. I thought of that quote after I had breakfast recently in Singapore with a senior level HR person…
How to Overcome Leadership Blindness: The Challenge of Seeing Differently
The world of business mimics that of entertainment. Both artists and top executives have two lives. The one glamorous of success and perfection; and the other one human, vulnerable, the life behind the scenes. “What you don’t see backstage is what really controls…
Stop Talking About Change. Start Talking About Adaptation!
Let’s talk about change for a moment. Think of yourself. Think of any groups or organizations (including family) in which you are involved. Now, imagine I come to you and say, “I want to talk to you about some changes…
6 Steps to Great Talent Reviews
It’s great news that talent reviews have become almost universal in larger organizations, avoiding the fads that have overtaken HR processes like performance management. The fact that most companies do them, however, doesn’t mean that they’re done well. We often…