Dear Madeleine, I am a senior leader who reports to an SVP. I lead a business unit for a region. I recently had a one-on-one with my boss—a rare thing—and she gave me some feedback I am grappling with. My company recently started doing pulse surveys, so I thought she might want to talk about…
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…
“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…
I had an interesting question asked in my master’s degree this week. How much responsibility should a company take in managing their employee’s careers? In an ever changing society, where people are now wanting careers and not just a job it’s important for managers to help their employees grow, but should they be the driver? Quast (2014) looks…
One summer afternoon, on the way to his favorite fishing hole, my grandfather took a short rest in the middle of a field behind house. He gazed upon his modest crop of corn that he had planted earlier in the spring as if he were Cortez, first looking upon the Pacific Ocean. “You ain’t a…
Looking past the viral-oriented nature of this video, the main concept presented is critical for leadership. Thoughts, when attached to emotions other than sadness, generally have higher “infection” rates. Thus, it is important to generate more emotion (hopefully positive and not anger-inducing) around messages that you want your direct reports to remember or share. It…
When I first entered the workforce 15 years ago, I had the great honor of working directly with best-selling business book author Ken Blanchard. At the time, I had little knowledge of his work or his reputation as one of the most influential thought leaders in the business world. I knew even less about his…