By Michael Holland - I think one of the biggest mistakes seemingly well-intentioned organizations make is promoting someone to supervision/management and giving them just a single direct report. The logic seems to be that by giving them a single employee to manage, they can learn how to lead with less risk and more time to get [...]
There are a few keystone behaviors that once established as habits make a significant difference in your leadership effectiveness. One of these habits is to have regularly scheduled 1-on-1 meetings with your direct reports. Managers consistently say, “But I talk to my staff all the time, why do I need a separate meeting?” In [...]
by Michael Holland - A toddler is amazed by the sound of their voice echoing off the walls of a large, empty room. I’m amazed by the echo heard down a valley from a high cliff. The sound reverberates, seeming to go on forever. The leadership voice of a good leader is heard [...]
By Michael Holland - One of the most irritating comments I hear from leaders at all levels is along the lines of ". . . my team is my family . . . " And when a leader above the rank of director talks this way, I become extremely concerned for the welfare [...]
By Michael Holland - You cannot re-lead. You can't go back in time and lead in a different way. You can't wipe the slate clean and have people - your employees, peers and bosses - view you differently. You can't take back those words. You can't change the look that was on your [...]
by Michael Holland - Walking up a trail in the Adirondacks with a 35-pound backpack while staring at the majestic scenery creates the prime opportunity to catch your toe on the root in the path and tumble forward. Doing it twice in a matter of 15 minutes… well, that just feels stupid. New [...]
By Micheal Holland - Young leaders want to grow quickly to become effective managers and business leaders and while companies like to leverage these resources as soon as possible, a concerted effort to invest in building these leaders would be more appropriate. Young leaders desperately need to learn the craft of management and [...]
by Michael Holland - So much of what we do every day is executed via muscle memory. Walking to a meeting is so simple that we don’t even think about the physics of how our body works. We can unthinkingly create a fluid motion that moves the mass of our weight away from [...]
by Michael Holland It was 6:55 a.m. on a Tuesday when I saw him. I was early for a client meeting and caught sight of one of their newly promoted managers through a conference room window. He was standing alone, hunched over his laptop, flipping between spreadsheets, his email, and what looked like [...]
By Michael Holland - When you happen upon a wise leader you’ll notice something very interesting: They ponder. They take a moment to dive into a pool of thought as they consider a decision, a course of action or a way in which to act. The pondering may be just a second or [...]
