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
In last week’s post, Don’t Threaten Me with the Truth, I suggested that managers make themselves ineffectual when they try to avoid the bad news that is part of all organizational and business life. Executives... Continue reading
On a recent trip through yet another airport, I passed a man whining into his phone: “I cannot take any more bad news! I cannot!” It’s possible that he was having a terrible conversation about... Continue reading
You know this bit of slapstick comedy: A guy carrying a long plank on his shoulder spins around and without realizing it, whacks another guy in the head. Sometimes the second guy ducks, only to... Continue reading
No matter how important it is to take everyone’s feelings into account, it’s still not reasonable to expect tears, shouts, or clenched jaws in the workplace every day. Excessive or poorly directed emotions get in... Continue reading
Emotions in the workplace: You may not like them, but they’re there, all right, and you can’t just wish them away. “Feelings and emotions” reminds me of those “ring around the collar” ads for Wisk... Continue reading
Anyone who says feelings have no place in the workday might as well say that breathing has no place in the workday. A human without either one is a corpse. The ability to use emotions... Continue reading
If you suspect you’re an excessively reactive manager, you may wonder how to slow things down to help yourself work more effectively and not disrupt your team so much. And you may worry how you... Continue reading
I left the optician with several new cleaning cloths in hand, remembering the pleasure I felt as a child whenever I got a new pair of glasses (yes, I was an early four-eyes, from second... Continue reading
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