A critic, a control freak, and a micromanager walk into a conference room… Do you know the punch line to this joke? No? That’s because it’s not a joke. Each of these folks can suppress... Continue reading
It’s frustrating to try to get through your own work or to help your team make progress when you can’t get your colleagues to cooperate. Last week’s post covered some of the reasons that you... Continue reading
My office is on the fifth floor of a five-floor building and, although I take the elevator up, I usually take the stairs down. Every so often, I find someone from another office standing somewhere... Continue reading
Team development never ends -- not if you want a well-functioning, effective team. Sometimes when a team has recently averted a crisis or resolved a significant problem, they exclaim in a kind of relief: “We... Continue reading
“They threw me under the bus” is one of the most common expressions of complaint among employees who see themselves as the victims of intra- or inter-team sniping. Whenever I hear it, I picture tire... Continue reading
We often talk about empowerment when we want to indicate that we trust our people to make their own decisions, handle their own work, and do what’s best for the organization. But much too frequently,... Continue reading
Even at the most senior levels, it can be awkward and uncomfortable to manage people. They often don’t do the things you expect them to do, and when you give them critical feedback they’re clearly... Continue reading
It’s always risky for employees when managers are “too nice” and don’t give clear feedback about expectations, preferences, or necessary improvements. In effect, these managers stand by as employees go off the track rather than... Continue reading
It’s not easy to share responsibility. Getting a given job or project done well depends on having both appropriate structural underpinnings and the right combination of people, with the right meshing of values, commitments, personal... Continue reading
Organizational life can be confusing, what with changes in job roles or organizational structure, turnover in management or peers, or even the positive circumstance of company growth. But in too many companies, middle managers are... Continue reading
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