“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right / Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.” The Stealers Wheels song wasn’t explicitly addressing middle management, but “stuck” is what it often... Continue reading
I’ve got a bad habit in some of my interactions. It breaks my own rules about showing respect, recognizing that I don’t know everything, and giving people full control over their own choices. I was... Continue reading
Think about every boss you’ve had since you were a kid, including the parents of the kids you babysat, the owner of the greasy spoon where you waited tables, and the director of the camp... Continue reading
I recently surprised a COO by giving him very different advice about a business problem from what he had heard from others. Here’s the situation: Through the grapevine, a bunch of junior R&D folks expressed... Continue reading
“Nothing’s happening! Why isn’t anything happening?” Strategy, planning, and communication are all crucial parts of leadership and organizational life. But it’s execution that most people really notice, from the CEO to the most junior frontline... Continue reading
From the Annoying Sales and Marketing File: A sales rep emailed me and, in an overfamiliar, cheeky tone, implied that I was in default for not responding to an earlier message. This, despite the fact... Continue reading
When leaders make decisions skillfully, everyone on the team wins. But when leaders are poor decision-makers, the team’s performance and culture suffer, and individual team members can lose confidence and become disengaged. Unfortunately, though, team... Continue reading
Many of my clients have expressed confusion and frustration about the challenges of working with Millennials, including their tendency to expect everything to be easy and straightforward; their need to be “spoon fed” and treated... Continue reading
“Andy, you’re not listening to me, bro!” This conversation was delivered in a very tense tone by a fellow with a very tense face. There’s a mortgage brokerage on my floor, and sometimes, when the... Continue reading
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
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