Tag: leadership
Caution! Why You Need to Cut Down on the Risks of Precipitous Action
Years ago, I had a client who actually used to say, “Fire! Aim! Ready!” when he was issuing some decree or other. This business owner acknowledged he was shooting from the hip, reacting suddenly and... Continue reading
4 Powerful Steps on the Way to Cross-Functional Agreement
I had a call with an up-and-coming middle manager who presented a complex situation and then asked a sincere question. A small cross-functional working group was trying to resolve some interdepartmental workflow and boundary issues.... Continue reading
How to Find Agreement When You Come from Opposite Sides
I’m very lucky to experience much less disagreement or outright conflict on the job than most people. Although my clients’ views may differ from mine in many ways, it’s implicit in our relationship that we’re... Continue reading
Watch Out for 3 Surprising Mistakes in Executive Hiring
Why would you ever consider hiring someone whose behavior you disrespect? Eventually, the relationship will end in tears -- and if you’re not the one crying, you’ll be handing out the Kleenex. But it can... Continue reading
Workplace Wisdom’s Most Popular Posts of 2016
One very practical way to move forward is to review past successes and expand on them. So I checked to see which Workplace Wisdom blog posts attracted the most attention in 2016 to learn which... Continue reading
Stuck in the Middle with Management
“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
Want to Be a Successful Leader? Guess What: It’s Not About You
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
How Feedback Can Fail and What to Do Instead
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