Getting Serious About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, corporate America has professed fresh interest in the subject of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). I’m heartened by that, and especially so to see former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns lending her considerable voice in this regard https://fortune.com/2020/09/29/ursula-burns-black-women-corporate-boards-bdaa-diversity-inclusion-xerox-ceo/ . Among other things, DEI emphasis has driven renewed calls by […]
Let Her Finish!
Let Her Finish! by Bill Catlette 10.08.20 • memphis Cutting someone off in mid-sentence is not far removed from cutting them off in traffic and forcing hard braking, evasive action, and perhaps hand gestures on their part. Yet, many of us, mostly guys it seems, are too well-practiced at interrupting people, especially women in mid-sentence […]
Leaders, Are You Adding Too Much Value?
memphis • 9.4.20 In his excellent book, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”, author and executive coach extraordinaire, Marshall Goldsmith presents a list of twenty performance disruptors that, if left unattended, can derail or diminish a leader’s career. An “oldie but a goody” the book is often required reading for my coaching clients […]
Unjobbed
Bill Catlette 8/7/20 • memphis Bored, Scared, Angry In 2+ decades as a coach and advisor to business leaders, the very worst workplace situations I’ve encountered have almost always been those punctuated by boredom and bad leadership, usually in tandem. That stands to reason as most often, bad leaders concern themselves more with accumulating […]
Leaders… Dancing in the Dark?
by Bill Catlette memphis • 7/26/20 In his 1984 Grammy Award winning song, Dancing in the Dark, a slightly randy Bruce Springsteen bemoans a grinding, dreary daily existence without much well, uh, action. A glance at the lyrics comes uncomfortably close to what a lot of leaders are feeling of late. But let’s start with […]
Two Tips For Better Messaging
by Bill Catlette • 7/23/20 • Memphis Check For Understanding Too often, as busy leaders, we get a little out over our skis in communicating with our teammates, and sometimes – often perhaps, our messaging winds up with sub-optimum clarity or effect. While I don’t presume to understand all the possible causes of the loss […]
Workspace – Comments On The Next Normal
Bill Catlette • 7/12/20 • Memphis “We were ordinary people living ordinary lives” (Bee Gees, 1989),and along comes the Rona. No one knows with any certainty what the post-COVID workspace will be like, or for that matter, if there will even BE such a thing as “post-COVID”. Indeed, as some have suggested, it’s not about how […]
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 […]
Restarting America
As business advisors / owners, we’re as eager as anyone to press the ignition, shift into drive, smell some commercial exhaust, and begin putting COVID-19 in the rear view mirror. Any right thinking adult knows that every minute we sit motionless we lose our collective ability to pay (for anything), competitive position, and worse, our […]
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 […]