Coaching From a Distance
With the sudden, COVID-inspired shift to WFH, one topic that has come to the fore is productivity. How do we get it? How can we possibly verify and measure it in light of physical separation? How can we coach people to better outcomes? Fair questions. One emergent point of view is that the manager/leader should […]
Leading from a Distance
see our keynote and workshop on leading from a distance If you’re a manager, right now your leadership skills are being tested, and evaluated (by those you lead), like never before. Add to that the challenge of trying to lead from a distance, and… well, I don’t have to tell you… The US Patent and […]
Generations Need Each Other Now More Than Ever
Like many others around the world, I attended “virtual church” this past Sunday, as I expect to do for some weeks to come. The church I attend has been livestreaming services for nearly a year, but with virtually (no pun intended) every faith community going online this week, the broadband network was, to use a […]
Employee Engagement: Two Reasons Why ‘Getting Sticky’ Matters
(This piece generally represents the text of a letter sent to some of our firm’s leadership coaching clients this week.) Too often I see HR professionals and the organizations they are apart of throwing around the expression, “employee engagement” like medical terms used by healthcare professionals, without first clarifying what the term means, and why […]
Leadership Can Be Hard…Are You Up For It?
Knowing exactly what would come of it, US Navy Secretary, Richard Spencer refused an order from his supervisor (issued at the direction of POTUS), to stand down on a disciplinary matter involving one of the country’s elite special forces. As a result, he was asked for his resignation. In reality, he was likely told that, […]
The Enemy is not in Your Own Locker Room!
In a recent conversation with a mid-level manager, we discussed his concern about members of his team getting in periodic spats with their contemporaries in another department, an internal client organization. “It’s pretty much out in the open” he said, before adding, “… and I have no doubt that it is impeding our levels of […]
It’s About How You Make Them Feel
In a recent session with a coaching client, I asked her view of the key tenets of leadership. Responding thoughtfully yet crisply, she talked about the importance of the leader first having their own act squared away, of providing a clear sense of purpose and direction, fielding (and keeping) a talented, motivated team, maintaining a […]
Yes, Organizational Fit Still Matters
In the work world, “Culture” represents the values, norms, aims, customs, rules, the way of life if you will of an organization. It is an amalgam of the non-talent ingredients required to be happy, productive, and successful in that organization at a particular time. For nearly 30 years, I have been one of the louder […]
Improve Your Talent Hunts… Get Good With Crayons
Much has been written and said recently about the incidence rate of job candidates’ outright refusal of job offers, and the unprecedented ghosting of interviews and start dates. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one central cause of this behavior rests outside the terms of the deal. Rather, many candidates are balking because they’re not particularly wowed […]
Are You Listening, or Just Waiting to Talk?
Almost universally, the leaders I have the good fortune to coach find that one of the skills they most need to work on is listening… really listening. That need has been ever-present, but in an age when we’re attempting to multi-task, to compress more activity into each day, and babbling more (because we can), the […]