As a leader, your role in building a healthy culture is never more crucial than when entering heated waters. Let’s face it; when there are no contentious issues on the table, it’s relatively easy to forge an atmosphere of collegiality and even warmth. But when the stakes are high, when issues of vital importance are…
You Are Leading Two Teams. Do You Know What They Each Need From You?
Every leader leads two teams; there’s the team you inherited, and there’s the team you built. This key truth has been one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned with respect to team leadership. The team you inherited were already in place before you showed up. They had been assembled by your predecessor, and…
Can Your Team Feel Your Kindness? Surprising Tips for Showing You Care.
“The kindest form of leadership is the truth.” – Jack Welch The problem many leaders have with the concept of kindness is that they think it means to avoid speaking truth, in order to spare someone’s feelings. In fact, speaking the truth is the very essence of kindness. This is not to say that leaders…
How to Fix Mis-Performance and Get Your Team Back On Track
As a leader, you likely spend a great deal of time and effort addressing issues of under-performance on your team. But in most cases, the issue that should really be dealt with is that of Mis-Performance, not under-performance. Mis-performance is the all-too common problem that sees members of a team deliver less than optimal results…
Lessons from Scrooge: Leadership and Compassion
Leaders have the power to give the gift of happiness, or of unhappiness, to those they lead. And the Christmas season is an ideal time to assess how effectively you have been distributing this precious commodity. This is not to say that the primary role of the leader is merely to ensure the personal well-being…