If you’re like me, you’re probably in some state of disbelief that the first half of this year seems to have evaporated. Have you taken time to look at the goals you set or plans that you made to see how you’re progressing?
So many people set goals, make plans, declare their intentions….and then nothing happens. OK, maybe I exaggerate: very little happens. It’s great to plan, but planning is nothing without execution.
One of the more challenging (and least pleasant) aspects of management is dealing with interpersonal conflicts. Whether it’s internal squabbles among team members or challenges between staff and clients, you end up in the role as referee and arbiter of encounters.
These situations are particularly difficult because often they boil down to one person’s word against another, the classic “he said, she said” dynamic. You’re put in the position to sift through truths, lies, embellishments, irrelevancies, and a lot of drama.
When was the last time you got excited about delivering challenging feedback? Probably not too often. Even though leaders are expert at stewing over what bothers them, for some, the act of conveying the message can be grueling.
But haven’t you noticed that after you step out of your comfort zone and do the difficult deed you feel so much better? In many cases it empowers you. After all, if you’ve been dragging around the dread of the conversation, you feel lighter and more energized after it’s over.
We all experience bad client service from time to time. Usually anger or resentment or some other negative emotion lingers for a long time after. In reality, little can be done to reverse and remedy the bad impressions that are implanted from such an experience.
I’m a client of a firm in a specialized niche. My initial experience was excellent and met or exceeded my expectations. A few months ago, I purchased some additional services and unfortunately, my experience as a client dropped precipitously.
I recently was a guest on The Complete Leader Podcast, talking about Navigating Generations in the Workplace. More info and podcast below.
Our guest today is Dr. Lisa Aldisert, who is an executive advisor, business trend expert, author, speaker and the president of Pharos Alliance. Lisa tells us about the five generations that are alive today, the benefits of understanding generational values as a leader, and how leaders can be more effective in reaching the different generations that they manage.
One of the contradictions of behavior is that the attributes that are your strengths, when taken to an extreme, become your weaknesses. Think of performance as running across a spectrum, rather than statically.
For example, a leader who is passionate about client service may be perceived by the team as unreasonable based on its perception of her unreasonably high expectations.