“Relationships And Results.” Which of those three words is most important? I posed that question to over 100 participants in a series of workshops I recently conducted for a client. As you might suspect, about half the people thought relationships was the most important word. Their rationale essentially boiled down to people are the ones…
Dear Madeleine, I know you have heard it before, but I just don’t know what to do about the amount of email I get. I cannot possibly attend to it all. I am constantly showing up at meetings and facing the question “Did you read my email?” The answer is almost always no, but people…
Dear Madeleine, I’ve recently been promoted to my first managerial role. Prior to my promotion, I had been an individual contributor here for more than 14 years. My new role has me climbing a steep learning curve because I am not working in the same group I had been in before. I’m not worried about…
Who doesn’t like positive feedback? It’s great to feel you have done a job well, beat a target or helped others. Being recognised boosts our confidence, self esteem and drives us to perform well. According to a study in Forbes complimenting workers can have a similar impact and incentive as cash rewards. They found ‘scientific…
Do you have fun at work? Do you try to promote a laughter-filled workplace? These are questions I ask myself on a daily basis. And honestly, who doesn’t to work in a positive, fun, happy work environment? The results are clear: Less stress, more engagement, higher commitment. Plus, when you create a culture of fun,…
One of the greatest attributes of successful people and leaders is to understand their passions and strengths. Sometimes we get distracted or side-tracked by other things that are perceived as adding value but in reality they are time wasters and productivity drainers. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of what our strengths are and…
I am going to be open and honest – I don’t like New Year’s resolutions! I do have goals each year, but I don’t get to January 1 and think up resolutions; there’s so much evidence they don’t work. Forbes posted an article which drew upon the University of Scranton’s research which states that just…
“Proceed with caution in the direction of your hopes, and live safely, the life have.” —Hank Dave Locke Mediocre is a good. Moderate quality is ok. “Average is the norm,” as Yogi Berra might say. Today’s world is complicated—every segment of society is continually changing and very little seems to be certain anymore, like it…
A few months back, I asked a group of leaders for a show of hands on who had experienced either oversupervision or undersupervision. Almost every hand went up. But then I asked how many had themselves oversupervised or undersupervised their direct reports. Only one or two hands shyly peeked out from the crowd.
So what’s going on? Well, leaders can sometimes be unaware of what they should and should not be doing. And this lack of awareness separates good leaders from great leaders. Great leaders know that leading is a never-ending journey that can be filled with treacherous obstacles.
So what do you need to know to become a great leader?