On Being a “Professional”

Memphis 3-minute read We seem to be struggling mightily with professionalism of late, not the term, but the underlying behavior. What does it mean, and to whom? What are the expectations, the boundaries, if any? How are they evolving? Does it even matter, or is this just another arcane differentiation that’s falling by the wayside? My […]
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 […]
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 […]
4 Questions That Will Improve the Uptake From Learning & Development Activities

Learning and development professionals tell us that $billions are spent each year in the U.S. on professional development. Having worked in that arena for better than two decades, I agree with that characterization and hasten to add that a good bit of that money (and time) is being misspent. Rather, it is being wasted. Why? […]
Leadership Development Exigencies, Circa 2019

Our work with leaders in the healthcare, hospitality, and financial services sectors often begins with some derivative of the statement, “I can’t get enough managers (all levels) hired, trained, and performing adequately. Can you help?” Though the perceived need often is for the delivery of more or better leadership development, the reality is that’s often […]
That Leadership Bench Won’t Grow Itself

Better than half of newly appointed, first-time business leaders fail in their first two years, resulting in their removal from position, either voluntary or otherwise. I hesitate to wonder how many more are left to quietly and more slowly drown on their own. If new doctors failed at that same rate, hospitals might find it […]
Career Advice from 6 Prominent Female Executives

Today, in celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re going to do one thing that guys like us should do more often… Shut up and listen. To wit, here’s a link to a very good piece written by Grace Nasri for FastCompany – Six Female Execs On The Early Career Advice They Wish They’d Gotten. Enjoy!
Good Leaders Look Beneath the Surface

One of the most remarkable people I ever worked with was a bank teller named Donna, at a bank branch I managed early in my career. Donna was a customer magnet. Brilliant. Hard working. Always went the extra mile. She was a single mother, and she’d been a teller for 12 years. I recommended to […]
When it comes to Training, Visibility Matters

I was conducting leadership training for a large public utility, in a rural training facility about 100 miles from the company’s headquarters. The Vice President who had brought me in was a full participant in the first class I conducted, and believe me, his presence and participation in the training wasn’t lost on anyone. A […]