Advice for transforming leadership, culture, Curiosity, and communication from Beth Wonson
-
You are likely clearing up your to do list before the holiday break, but there is likely one more task on your list: the pesky team kick-off or retreat for 2022. Here are some quick ideas to energize and focus your team in a meaningful way.
-
Turning Around the Great Resignation
The pandemic changed us. Most humans no longer accept that their value is that of a commodity or a “human resource”, yet business owners, corporate entities, and unions, are still operating as if employees are a commodity.
-
Where’s Your Laser Focus?
When I was just starting out in my own leadership career, there was one particular leader who I kept going to for approval. I was not able to get it no matter how hard I tried. There were several people in leadership roles who were supportive, gave me great feedback, took time to teach and mentor me, but that one person’s attention and approval were allusive to me.
-
Is Your Team Blocked on New Ideas?
Not every idea can be put in place, but every idea can be received and discussed. Most ideas can’t be implemented as they are presented, but the discussion of ideas leads to things that can make a difference, and it builds trust within the team.
-
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
When you are anyone other than the person in ultimate control of an organization, there can be times that you find yourself feeling between a rock and a hard place. How do you proceed without letting your frustration become so apparent that you are labeled as resistant to change or negative? In my coaching and consulting work this comes up often.
-
Managing Defensiveness
Do you feel like every time you try to talk with an employee, they are defensive? Or maybe you are the employee who finds yourself being defensive. Or perhaps you are the supervisor who finds your attempts at giving feedback are met with defensiveness.
-
The Leading Cause of Leadership Burnout
More and more, leaders who come to work with me are just burnt out. I can hear it in their voice and see it in their eyes. And nearly every time, when I delve into what is at the root of the burnout, they reveal that they are exhausted by solving problems for employees who can’t seem to proactively come up with answers to the same questions over and over again.
-
How many times is too many?
A common theme among managers is that there is a staff person who is not meeting expectations. This one person often takes up more real estate in the manager’s head than any other employee. The manager tells me that they’ve had discussions with them about how they aren’t meeting expectations. Not specific conversations, just vague discussions.Despite how many times they meet, the employee continues on the same trajectory of under-performance.
-
Building Leadership Presence
I used to have a very bad habit. I would apologize in advance for what I perceived to be my shortcomings or weaknesses. In fact, sometimes I still do. Luckily I have some great friends and colleagues who don’t hesitate to point it out to me. Why did I do it so often? I thought it was a way to protect myself in the event that my ideas had flaws.
-
When You’re Promoted From Within
I often have managers come to me saying things like:“I have this person who reports to me but they don’t respect me. When I give feedback, they talk back to me. When I delegate they complain. And I don’t know what to do.”When I hear these kinds of things, I always ask, “Were you promoted from within this team?”
Leveling up Leadership and Culture Through Healthy and Candid Communication
Subscribe now to stay in the loop with notes and news from Beth Wonson.