A surprising number of companies no longer expect their senior managers to develop their people: They turn management development over to outsourced coaching firms instead. I’m a strong proponent of “coaching” for behavior change and... Continue reading
One of the kinds of leaders who can drive employees crazy is the “Brainstormy” Boss, who creates a work environment that’s as changeable as the weather. It’s Raining Ideas! When brainstorming is used appropriately -- as... Continue reading
What can you do if it's clear that your boss thinks your job is a lot easier to do than it really is? You can think of her as the “Have You Gotten Any Better... Continue reading
Every once in a while someone tells me a story of dysfunctional, disruptive, unprofessional, plain old odd boss behavior. Here’s an example, along with some suggestions for how to normalize things with a crazy-making boss... Continue reading
To improve the service experience for both customers and reps, start by targeting the key elements of service infrastructure that consistently create negative outcomes. After that, there are some deeply human aspects of service that... Continue reading
Customer service is a tough job. People who work in a pure service role (as opposed to those who but also take orders, provide sales support, or do real selling themselves) spend the vast majority... Continue reading
It can be very appealing to have an overreactive person on your team because of their strong drive for accomplishment and their very quick response time whenever there’s a problem to be solved. But for... Continue reading
We’ve all passed those storefronts where a succession of stores or restaurants open and close quickly and thought, “That’s a doomed location.” Some employees seem to take on this kind of role in an organization.... Continue reading
Have you ever had to work with a tattletale? The parallels between childhood tattling and workplace tale-bearing came to mind while I was visiting a friend whose child kept appealing for adult intervention in her... Continue reading
At the third annual Wisdom 2.0 Conference in Silicon Valley last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to hear Dr. Dan Siegel, executive director of the Mindsight Institute and clinical professor of psychiatry at the... Continue reading
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