Category: Leadership
When You Have to Deal with the Painful Responsibility of Staff Failure
I just got a call from a senior leader: A community outreach staffer was causing his management team some consternation. When he was hired 18 months ago, he’d approached every job with zest, volunteered for... Continue reading
Some Direct Advice on How to Make an Effective Case to Senior Leaders
I just heard from a middle manager who vented about her senior leaders’ lack of response after she made them aware of certain problems. She wondered if there were better ways to explain challenging circumstances... Continue reading
How to Screen Out a Star to Save the Team
In the Harvard Business Review article “How Facebook Tries to Prevent Office Politics,” Jay Parikh, Facebook’s global head of engineering and infrastructure, advises against hiring “empire builders, self-servers, and whiners” -- even if they’re also... Continue reading
Why You Need to Communicate Decisions Clearly and How You Can
In business, as in politics, I’ve watched many decision-makers accept simplistic solutions, seduced by promises that, based on either evidence or logic, aren't at all likely to turn out nearly as well as they sound.... Continue reading
How to End Meeting Madness and Get Better Results
Some of my clients go crazy with meetings. They schedule them back to back, invite a cast of thousands, start late and in disarray, drag on unproductively, and end late without closure. Suddenly, everyone is... Continue reading
How to Get the Best from an Anxious Leader
After working for a number of months with a vice president who’s had a successful career trajectory in a well-regarded firm, I realized that every few years I meet leaders who are noticeably anxious --... Continue reading
When Being Strategic Is a Weakness
During a recent visit to a client company, I spent time with two different leaders whose initiatives weren’t progressing satisfactorily. The first leader was chatty and made sweeping motivational statements. Her team was deeply committed,... Continue reading
Look for Ways to Create These Four Conditions Required for Motivation
A successful sales manager was feeling demoralized and out of sorts. When we met for coffee, she sat knee to knee, radiating intensity. “Of course, motivating the team is one of my biggest responsibilities,” she... Continue reading