Does your company foster innovation in the workplace? I know you want to nod emphatically and assure me with a big “YES.” But a lot of you may have scoffed instead. Because statistics show a huge disconnect here: Just 54% of entry-level people say new ideas are “celebrated internally,” compared to 91% of senior executives Only […]
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Most managers hate performance reviews. Which can surprise a lot of employees, who also tend to view the whole event with a universal sense of dread. So, in a season when many are preparing for this regular professional event, let’s look at a few big performance review tips that not only make the whole experience […]
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“How can I make my goals measurable?” That’s a question I get a lot. Sometimes, this comes up during performance review time. The manager knows the action she wants to see from someone on her team, describes it to me, and then wonders, “But how do I make that measurable? How do I quantify it?” […]
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Here’s a conversation I have pretty often: Client “Hey, do you know any good candidates for this job I have open?” Bill: “What attributes are you looking for?” Client: “Well, of course, I want someone experienced in X. I’d also like them to be…[list of other traits specific to the role].” Bill: “Why experienced?” Client […]
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Famed psychiatrist Carl Jung has been credited with saying that criticism has “the power to do good when there is something that must be destroyed, dissolved or reduced, but is capable only of harm when there is something to be built.” Unfortunately, too many of us violate this truth of the human psyche. In fact, […]
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Today, we’re going to a college rowing competition. We’ll take my blimp, so we can get high enough to keep tabs on how the 2 teams are fairing in comparison to each other. From far off, we might be able to tell that there are 8 rowers per racing shell, each operating his own oar. […]
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The caveman and his family were settling in by the fire for the evening. Father and son had enjoyed a successful day of hunting, and Mom had brought a big stack of wood in from the rain. So the family was fed and warm as Dad talked to his son about the prototype spears they’d […]
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For decades, Black Friday has been a hot media topic every November. The biggest shopping day of the year has evolved into a weekend of jaw-dropping sales, shoppers camped out in sleeping bags, and crowds shoving their way to deeply discounted wares. I won’t even go there. But what about Cyber Monday, Black Friday’s younger […]
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As a leadership coach, the conversations I have with professionals aren’t often strictly work related, because the lines between our personal and professional lives aren’t always as bold as we might choose to believe. After all, leadership, like life, comes down to understanding ourselves and others. So it seems appropriate that a leadership blog should […]
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We’re all big on problem solving. It’s a key trait we look for in effective employees. It’s the focus of countless books, media programs, and courses. It’s a reason for admiration: who doesn’t like the guy who can fix something that’s broken—whether that thing is a leaky faucet or a messy company balance sheet? While […]
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