One of the most high-risk decision organizations make with talent is selecting new leaders, from the first line to the CEO. It is a discussion many executives have had with me. Just as often, they make the same mistake beginning…
Category: team leadership
How to find the sweet spot between micromanaging and too hands-off?
Behaviorism has long taught us that immediate and direct feedback is critical to reinforce the behaviors and outcomes we want. It has been the source of breakthrough books on leadership, such as the One-Minute Manager. But too much of a…
Read More How to find the sweet spot between micromanaging and too hands-off?
Empowering resilience on this Thanksgiving
This is a year to forget. In 2020, we have witnessed more Americans die from the pandemic than many of our wars combined, more unemployment than the Great Depression, social and racial unrest with severely divided politics that we have…
Three steps to improve employee resiliency during COVID19 based on new science
The biggest news from last week’s virtual HR Tech Conference was not about tech. It was about research from Marcus Buckingham on how companies can boost the resiliency of their workforces. Resilience is independent of employee engagement, according to Buckingham,…
Read More Three steps to improve employee resiliency during COVID19 based on new science
9 characteristics of highly innovative managers
Our most recent research with The Conference Board reveals the importance of managers in encouraging innovation. In our infographic below, the "Innovation Priorities" chart on the right shows that highly innovative companies have managers who score higher in encouraging innovation…
We changed our paradigm about remote work, before COVID19. Three imperatives you should know.
Long before the world knew there was a coronavirus, I, and a team of executives, implemented a flexible work environment enabling 45% of a medical device company workforce to work from home three to four days a week. The result…
Forget SMART goals. Use OKRs instead!
Executives who want to dramatically increase their success should implement Objectives with Key Results (OKRs). Research shows that executives who set such goals can significantly improve the performance of their organizations over telling employees to “just do their best.”[i] Moreover,…
Newly promoted to manager? Your learning has just begun…
I remember being promoted to my first leadership position early in my career and thinking about how I was going to set the world on fire. Slowly, I began to realize that the role of the manager, being the leader…
Read More Newly promoted to manager? Your learning has just begun…
How to stop promoting bad managers
I remember once considering an overseas assignment to avoid a terrible boss in HR. It turns out, I am not alone. According to Gallup’s most recent report, State of the American Manager, about one-half of employees choose to leave their…
7 Qualities of Team Leaders Who Drive Innovation
Many executives we work with are frustrated in their efforts to improve the innovation of their companies. One of the problems? Middle management gets in the way of innovative employees by clinging to dominant leader styles. Our experience and the…