Category: Communication

A Negative Role Model?

My friend and colleague, Bob, and I had an interesting conversation over lunch. I was commenting on the scope of some of his professional achievements and learned that one of his most influential drivers was a colleague, Tony, who represented the antithesis of who he wanted to become.

Early in his career, Bob worked closely with Tony, who was the embodiment of making a deal regardless of whether the sale was good for the prospective client. Not only did he not take time to get to know his prospects or understand their needs, but he quite simply didn’t care.

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Aspiring to the Next Level

Top performers strive for the next accomplishment, soak up new information, and embrace the opportunity to challenge the status quo. They are eager to learn and stretch their minds.

I enjoy asking what people read, because it reveals interesting insights. Some people eagerly share their latest title; others look at me with a look that says “who cares about that?”

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The Accountability Factor

Leaders find that accountability – or, more accurately, the lack thereof – is one of the more challenging issues in the workplace. How do you get people to do what they commit to do…especially when often they don’t stand by their commitments?

Creating a culture of accountability takes work and dedication by the leaders of an organization. You can’t just post rules and guidelines and expect people to follow them. They won’t. And you can’t expect behavior to change overnight.

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Breaking Up with an Employee

No one likes to fire an employee. It’s uncomfortable – even distressing – depending on the circumstances. But it’s one of the realities of managing; in fact, the rest of your staff will take note of how you handle it.

Here are a few examples of what not to do based on real situations that happened to three different clients.

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The Dialogue of Feedback

What is your preferred style when delivering feedback? Some people embrace opportunities to offer positive accolades for a job well done. Others are quick to criticize what didn’t work well and focus on what needs to be done differently the next time.

Both types of feedback are necessary. You need to acknowledge the good as well as offer suggestions for improvement.

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Management Myopia

Have you ever clung to an old narrative about an employee even if the circumstances have changed? For example, let’s say you reigned in a “renegade” employee six months ago and the person subsequently adapted to more moderate behavior.

In this case, the former scenario no longer exists. But you’ve recently discovered that the employee is actually underperforming because he’s following your previous directives to the letter and is timid about taking advantage of new opportunities.

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A Hidden Challenge: Coaching High Performers with Poor Follow-Through

We’ve all worked with that manager who’s great at their job – until they’re not. They take care of their stakeholders, make smart decisions, and their team genuinely likes them. But ask them to follow up on action items? This may prove to be a bigger challenge than you ever imagined.

This creates a weird coaching dilemma. When someone’s performing well in 80% of their role, it’s tempting to overlook that troublesome 20%. The manager thinks their wins should balance out their misses, and honestly, leadership often agrees. After all, why rock the boat with someone who’s mostly delivering?

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Telepathic Communication?

Some of my clients complain that their employees don’t do what is expected of them, and then ask for my help in search of the silver bullet.

The first question I ask is how they communicated the assignment. Usually this is the only necessary question, because typically the dialogue – whether spoken or written – between the manager and the employee was ineffective.

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