By Michael Holland - I like to play golf. I find it relaxing and a great opportunity to compete against myself and the elements. In golf – or any sport or creative endeavor – feedback and coaching can help one learn how to improve and get at least more satisfaction if not more happiness from [...]
By Michael Holland - In a book I read a few years ago, a company was mentioned where the owner and leadership team decided they wanted to live out their cultural values in a radical way: They would provide employees with a guarantee of lifetime employment. That decision had profound impacts on so many aspects [...]
By Michael Holland - During a coaching session with a leader, he spoke about how tired he was having recently spent his whole weekend to get his employees' performance reviews completed and then delivered the reviews in back-to-back sessions on the Monday and Tuesday right after the weekend. In my mind I thought "what a [...]
by Michael Holland - As we approach mid-way through the calendar year, it’s time for a mid-year check-in with each of your employees. While you’ve been regularly talking with your employees about their job tasks and performance, now it’s time for a different conversation. Schedule an extra meeting with each of your team members. [...]
By Michael Holland - There’s the strong, powerful, charismatic, self-absorbed CEO attempting to guide a senior leader forward, or their team forward. After a moment or two of seemingly good leadership technique he finds his natural groove and drops the “S Bomb.” The “do it my way because I said so” command. His order is [...]
by Michael Holland - For an employee to perform well, there are seven areas of need that must be met. Knowledge and skill Capacity Clear expectations Defined standards and measures Proper conditions Incentives Feedback When an employee isn’t performing well, we too often assume it’s a “capacity issue,” thus the person just isn’t able. Before [...]
by Michael Holland - "Here he comes. Heading straight for my office for yet another 'conversation' about why he can't get his work done in time for our meeting next week. Again and again he just doesn't come through. And last week he left early one day. I'm getting so tired of this routine. He's [...]
by Michael Holland - Are you using a spotlight or a floodlight when you review an employee’s performance? A spotlight is directed, tight, and narrow in its focus, able to illuminate specific targets, like an actor on a stage. A floodlight is broad, less discriminating, and wide in dispersing light to see more of what’s [...]
By Michael Holland - When a leader delegates he can picture very clearly what it is he wants done. So he believes that he is communicating clearly to his employee. But there’s a villain of natural psychology that limits our capability to communicate clearly and that villain is the curse of knowledge*. The curse of [...]
By Michael Holland - Whether alone or in meetings, many believe that they are getting lots of work completed because we are great at multi-tasking. There’s an urban myth that says we are so much more productive because we are multi-tasking. But science proves it wrong: we actually do things in sequence. Now, those sequences might [...]
