Managers and supervisors who are bogged down in chasing, cajoling, bribing, or threatening others to be accountable are the same managers who are soon overwhelmed, exhausted, and dissatisfied with their jobs. Managers who establish accountability as one of the norms for being a valued and successful employee will spend less time micromanaging their staff and more time empowering, developing, and rewarding their staff.

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Adults learn best when the content is relevant to them and they are able to actively participate as part of the learning. What worked for my recent client was the interactive nature of an activity we call “coaching fishbowls”. Fishbowls are when two people practice applying what they’ve learned thus far in front of their peers. One person is the coach and another person is being coached. Everyone else is observing. The client reported that not only did the feedback session benefit everyone from a learning perspective, but they have since discussed how to apply the fishbowl feedback process to…

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It’s easy to forget, especially with experienced new hires, that adjusting to an entirely new work environment is often quite unsettling and challenging. For many, it is more challenging than the actual work itself. No matter how impossible it may seem to spare that time, the initial investment is well worth the result: retaining a solid new employee. 

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You can have all the right processes, procedures, and skills in place, but without communication, empathy, and trust, the work is not getting done as effectively or as powerfully as it could be. It doesn’t matter how clear and admirable your strategies are if you’re lacking a positive culture. And it doesn’t matter how positive your culture is if you’re lacking clear strategies. Creating that alignment can be tricky, so when I facilitate for clients, I rely on my Navigating Challenging Dialogue® Approach to Strategic Dialogue.  

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Carlo was a recent hire to a manager position in a company that had just come through a year of difficult leadership change. Carlo had successfully held a management position elsewhere, and this was a step up. But according to his supervisor, Carlo was having some challenges in this new position. What was missing for Carlo was time with his boss to integrate into the work environment, set expectations, and understand the culture of the working relationship.

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Is there something you are so passionate about that you have an abundance of great information to share? Do you love sharing and are deeply invested in other people learning as well? That is an amazing and remarkable gift. Your synapses are firing and each statement you make triggers another piece you want to share. It is an amazing feeling. Contrary to what you may feel at the moment, it’s actually time to embrace the pause rather than go faster. Taking a pause may conflict with the energy and excitement you are feeling, but here’s an exercise that will help…

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When you speak in generalities and use terms like “professional conduct,” you aren’t being clear about what you are expecting and why. The lack of clarity makes it nearly impossible for the people who are trying to fulfill your expectations to do so.  And when you do clarify, if you aren’t open to dialogue and feedback about these kinds of subjective expectations, you are likely to be met with backlash and lose an opportunity to learn and expand your own lens on the world.

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Recently I was struggling. I was experiencing conflict between myself and someone I care about. I felt stuck and frustrated. The feeling of being stuck began to creep into many other aspects of my life. I wanted to get unstuck but didn’t see how that could happen. I didn’t have the insight to do it by myself. I knew I needed some outside guidance to find my way through this emotional place.

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During celebrations the stress hormone, cortisol, is reduced which helps you to become more relaxed and cope better with challenges. You can clearly see the benefits to your own sense of happiness when you take a moment to lift up and celebrate others. Celebrations don’t have to be complex or over the top …

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