Here’s the situation: Your top sales rep is killing their quarterly numbers. But almost every other rep on that team is threatening to quit. Now you have to deal with “The Competent Jerk.” But how? They’re producing results, they’re good with clients, and they’re appropriate in meetings with you, that’s true. But often, the Competent […]
360-Degree Assessment, Accountability, Coaching, Performance, Support
High performance teams aren’t just a group of experts. They’re talented people who work collaboratively and enable each other to be better. And for a team to reach this level of excellence, a strong degree of trust between/among individuals and across the entire team is critical. But as we all know, trust takes time and […]
Communication, Company Culture, High performance, Innovation, Relationships, Trust
When you are in a leadership role, you are frequently in the position of giving other people critical feedback. And in criticism, as in comedy, timing is everything. When you’re giving constructive feedback (including positive feedback, although I’m focusing on constructive criticism below), try to give that feedback as soon as possible. Here’s why: The […]
Coaching, constructive feedback, Feedback, Listening
One of the realities of business is not everyone loves what we propose. Sometimes that’s a reflection of our failure to learn as much as we can about what they really need. Other times, it’s a reflection of the client’s indecision. When clients don’t know what they want, they often use the proposal process to […]
learning, lessons learned, Rejection, Self-Awareness
In today’s world, we’re inundated with technology that’s supposed to help us work smarter, play harder and live our best lives. Although they do offer some advantages, the unintended consequence is that we’re more distracted than ever, and there’s pressure to reply more quickly to emails, texts, and social media messages. Combined with the “normal” […]
health, Human Performance Institute, Mindfulness, stress management
As the Levi-Strauss company prepares to re-join the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, employees of the NYSE are being encouraged to wear jeans to work. Normally that’s a no-no, but their trying to get into the jeans spirit, apparently! I figured it was only a matter of time before casual dress made it back […]
corporate dress policy, Dress code, NYSE, policy
Of course not! But if you find yourself dosing with coffee just to stay awake, or otherwise feel sleep-deprived during the day, it’s likely impacting your work life and your personal life. Why is it so challenging to get that full eight hours of rack time? Between work, family, and social obligations, late-night social media […]
Leaders, Performance, Productivity, Sleep
Recently, the Harvard Business Review suggested going beyond typical, traditional learning opportunities and do something different: learn from people, not classes. The article is based on the idea that to be truly successful, business leaders must be “infinite learners” — people who aren’t soured by the idea of learning something new, rather thrive on it. […]
leadership, learning, Network, network intelligence
It’s amazing how much the presence of just one person can influence a team. If the person has a negative influence, teams are often relieved when they leave and may regroup without much help from leaders. It’s much trickier, however, when a highly respected, well-liked employee leaves. Depending on their reason for leaving, employees may […]
Feedback, Popular employee, Team
During a recent Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Clippers basketball game, Warriors’ Draymond Green made an ego-driven mistake that cost his team the game. When confronted about it afterwards, Green reportedly got belligerent and was suspended for the following game. In a recent Inc. piece, John Boitnott explained how while this was a hot story in […]
Basketball, Coaching, Leaders, leadership, Sports, Team