What if Mother’s Day was a Performance Review?
So every May we celebrate our Mothers. We tell them how much we love them and show our appreciation. As a mom, it’s a day I’ve always enjoyed - and honestly feel as if I’ve earned! I work hard all year long to support my family and make sure our household runs smoothly. So having one day a year that focuses on me, seems deserved. I look forward to it with anticipation and excitement. I find employees look forward to [...]
Leaders: Are You Making Your Team Dysfunctional?
I often hear about teams that don’t work well together. A leader or manager will tell me about team members that don’t get along, or someone who’s not “pulling their weight” and it’s causing problems on the team. Certainly there are team members who can be disruptive – and other times it’s the team leader. What might you be doing – or not doing – that is causing problems for your team? You talk with team members about other team [...]
Are You Doing Your Job as a Leader…a.k.a. Are You Investing in Your Young Leaders?
Where do leaders come from? And how do people become good leaders? For a few it just happens. They have natural talents and abilities - they are inquisitive and self-reflective - they have high emotional intelligence. But for most it’s because an investment was made in them. Someone took an interest in them, guided them, mentored them, and provided them with training so they could broaden their understanding of leadership, and gain tools to help them lead effectively. A young, [...]
What if Doctors Stopped Learning? A Message to Leaders.
On a recent visit to an ambulatory surgery center with my daughter I found myself curious about how “current” the surgeon was on the procedure she was about to perform. It was evident that state of the art equipment had been installed in the pre-op suite. A roll across the forehead takes one’s temperature. A disposable blood pressure cuff - stethoscopes no longer part of the process. And signing a pad with one’s fingertip gave the necessary approvals to move [...]
Performance Reviews: Don’t Look Back!
The dreaded performance review! There are very few managers or employees that look forward to performance reviews. But maybe that’s because they are focused in all the wrong places. Instead of focusing on the past – looking back at last year - shift your focus. Focus forward! Where is the organization headed? Where is your team headed? How does this employee contribute to the success of both? This will help you pay attention to what’s important in how this employee [...]
Improve your Communication: Have an Out-of-Body Experience!
Most everyone I work with is looking to improve their communication skills – and for most of us it’s effort worth making. How effective we are in our work and personal lives is often a factor of how well we communicate with others. So what to do? Step outside of yourself! Rather than thinking about your message - what you want to say and the point you want to make - ask, what experience is the other person having as [...]
Why Leaders Who Can Touch Their Toes Are More Effective
I have always viewed being able to touch my toes as an indicator of my flexibility. And occasionally I’ve worked hard enough to be able to place my palms on the floor. Recently I’ve thought that this same level of stretching and flexibility is exactly what leaders need to be doing as they lead their teams. We all know that no two people are alike. So as we try to understand, communicate with, and engage different team members, we need [...]
The Two Interpretations of a Goal and Why You Should Care
All goals are not created equally. And no two employees are the same. So how do you establish goals that both challenge an employee and motivate them? When creating goals for your staff, go further than just making them SMART goals – consider their DiSC style and what drives them, as you create goals this year. The SMART acronym is a well-known, and helpful guideline when writing performance goals for employees: specific, measurable, attainable, results-focused and time-related. However, how an [...]
Leaders: What’s Your Default – No or Yes?
When my daughter was 13 years old I found I was saying “no” a lot, or offering a contrary point of view to hers. “No” she couldn’t do something - or I didn’t think something was a good idea – or I had a better suggestion. All of those “no’s” and negativity hit me one day. I realized I was imposing a lot of restrictions on her, and likely limiting how much effort she was going to expend in trying [...]
Can Gratitude Help Build a Team?
This past week I had the opportunity to talk with two 30-something sisters and their brother from Pakistan. They talked about the violence in their city; the discrepancy in wages earned by Christians and non-Christians; the common practice of woman having a “relationship” with their boss in order to be paid more; and the night three inebriated officers showed up after their apartment was burglarized. As the group and I listened in amazement, the conversation eventually turned to one of [...]