Leader Development – Now What?
by Bill Catlette 20 June, 2022 • memphis In a recent LinkedIN post https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jack-pretty-damn-good-jeff-immelt/, former GE Chairman & CEO Jeff Immelt paid tribute to his predecessor, Jack Welch. “Jack invested in leadership. He was a good coach… demanding and fair. GE produced a lot of good leaders” which they did. That’s not gratuitous praise. Like […]
Workforce 2022: What IS the New Normal?
By Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden In a nation weary but not yet free of Covid there is growing consternation, largely in C-suites, over the perceived need to return to “normal”, to life as it used to be; to herd millions of now remotely domiciled (free-range) knowledge workers back into the corporate coop, be it […]
Childcare = Infrastructure
As much as businesses depend upon electricity, reliable digital signal, mail, roads, bridges, and airports to do our thing, we also rely on the availability of talented labor in sufficient quantity to do whatever it is we do. For too long, much of our workforce has seen its availability tightly constrained by reliance on a […]
What to Look For in a Coach
I read with interest and am in furious agreement with Meg Myers Morgan’s recent piece detailing five requirements to participate in a successful coaching relationship (commitment, time, ‘coachability’, chemistry, and trust). Let’s take the last of those stated requirements, trust, and expand on it just a bit from the coaching client’s perspective, with an […]
I’m Just a Bartender
In stark contrast to the somber swearing in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the offices of President and VP respectively, the world witnessed with combined amusement and respect the diligence of an as yet unidentified man, some say a Bill Barr look-alike, dubbed “Podium Sanitizer Guy”* who sprung into action and quietly but […]
6 Powerful Tells About a Prospective Boss’s Leadership Style
It seems that half the world is looking for a job at the moment, and the start of a new year only adds to the crowd. A few words of advice. Unless you’re just completely up against a hard wall, don’t just look for a job. Look for a good job that fits you, and […]
Five Tips For Keeping Feedback From Being a 4-Letter Word
During their annual peak business season (Nov-Dec), FedEx and rival UPS, between them, deliver about 50 million packages per day, with remarkable on-time regularity, even in the face of a nasty pandemic and difficult weather. Our feedback process as leaders should be so reliable, but it isn’t, far from it. Yet, with a workforce that […]
Building Teamwork One Step At a Time
Too often over the course of this year I’ve heard managers suggest that they can’t fairly be held accountable for measured levels of teamwork in their organizations because of the COVID pandemic. That sounds like an excuse to me. Of course we can, and we will. To be sure, we’re operating with a terrible headwind […]
5 Ways Leaders Can Catch Lightning In a Bottle Via the Power of Positive Surprise
What workers commonly expect to happen in a job/from their boss: There will always be a few stars, a bunch of mediocrity, a few slugs, and at least one a-hole. I’ll be working for somebody who is more concerned about their agenda than my interests. Chances are, no one will be willing to listen to […]
Give Yourself and Someone Else a Holiday Present… An Apology
11.27.20 • memphis A question that I often ask of new coaching clients (business leaders of all stripes) very early in the relationship is, “To whom do you owe an apology, and why?” Concurrently, I disclose an example of my own in an effort to demonstrate fairness, and set a high bar. Most people respond sincerely, […]
