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 [...]
by Michael Holland - In 1994 I made a classic management mistake. It involved a very stressful job, a struggling team, and two bags of marshmallows. The short version of the story is that a consistently tardy team member to critical team meetings received a barrage of marshmallows when he arrived late, yet [...]
By Michael Holland - I was tired. It was late in the afternoon. The sound and feel of my car running over the rumble strips on the side of the road jerked me completely awake and focused. I immediately guided my car back into the lane. My reaction could've been a casual drift back [...]
by Michael Holland - Solving difficult problems and making wise organizational decisions can tax even the most self-actualized, mature, enlightened, and cohesive leadership team. A key to success is the capability to assume positive intent from the others on your team. This means that when the tight-fisted CFO shoots down your proposal because the costs [...]
By Michael Holland - A parent tells their kid that as long as they are trying to do their best, that's what really counts only to berate them when their grades aren't up to snuff at the end of a semester. A boss says he believes in a healthy work-life tension and that family is [...]
By Michael Holland - We all can get caught up in our self-perception regarding how important we are in our leadership roles, as well as the effectiveness we enable within our organization as fairly decent leaders. Leadership effectiveness is dependent upon your capability to leverage relationships to achieve goals. The depth and breadth of these [...]
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 the art [...]
by Michael Holland – Great people leaders are lifelong learners consuming blog posts, podcasts, articles, videos and books to gain perspective and increase knowledge. Leverage that driving or flying time – or get away from the in-laws time – this holiday with a good book. Here are some favorites from books I read this year. [...]
By Michael Holland - A while back, I read this story about a school teacher. . . a kindergarten teacher who at the end of an exasperating day had to put boots on all 31 of her students before she sent them out in the snow. As she struggled to lace up the last boot [...]
By Michael Holland - I love the look of that frantic leader who is lost in the world of overbooked meetings, a flooded inbox with hundreds of emails, and employees frustratingly lined up at the boss' door to ask questions. It's that scene in a movie where you don't want to watch the dramatic climax [...]
