Part 2 – Making Working from Anywhere Work
On January 11, 2021, we published a list of six specific ideas we’ve learned from leaders who are having real success engaging and leading their remote and hybrid teams. You don’t exactly have to have read that post to benefit from this one. But why wouldn’t you? Read it here. Here’s the rest of our […]
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, […]
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 […]