Don’t Burn Bridges!

Continuing with our June theme of relationship and network building, someone asked how to handle a scenario when something negative influences a relationship. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen frequently, but you want to be prepared when it does occur.

It’s important to remember that the other person might be more sensitive to what happened than you are. The best way to approach it is to have a direct and empathetic conversation close to the triggering episode, mainly to clear the air and make sure that you’re both on the same page. It is up to the two of you to move the relationship forward after that.

2 Down, 10 to Go

Well, I hate to give you the news, but we are rounding the corner to complete the first two months of 2021. Is it my imagination, or has this arrived sooner than expected?

Time is obviously relative and depends on everything from your workload to family responsibilities to personal projects. The more you juggle, the more challenging it can be.

Navigating Complexity

The recent announcement of Jeff Bezos stepping aside as Amazon.com CEO to become the firm’s executive chairman has captured much attention in the business press. Do you even remember that Amazon started off as “just” a bookseller?

I’ll leave it to others to describe the myriad accomplishments and innovations that Amazon has pioneered over the years. What this triggers, though, is how we can apply some concepts to our complex business environment.

Do You Really Know What You Want?

As you set your goals for 2021, ask yourself what seems to be an obvious question: Do you really know what you want?

I see this every year. People set goals based on their perceptions of what they think should be the right initiatives, when in fact, these ideas may be inappropriate. They aren’t considering what would work best for them and has a greater chance of success.

“Reboot” Your Mindset

Remember the strategies and goals that you started the year with back in January? It seems impossible to believe that we have barely three weeks left in 2020. Clearly, many of the hopes, plans, and aspirations with which we began the year were dashed and sucker punched.

But remember, it’s not what happens to you that matters, rather it’s what you do about what happens to you.

Virtual Onboarding

Last time we looked at issues related to virtual hiring and today’s topic is what to do after someone is hired. Virtual onboarding is obviously a little trickier than onboarding in person, so here are some tips. Some of these are obvious, but who hasn’t had a time when the obvious was forgotten?

+ Replace a job description with a statement of roles and accountabilities. Clearly identify what is expected and identify the accountabilities. Accountabilities are important because it demonstrates from the beginning that you expect the person to be responsible for outcomes. Review this on the first morning and check back during the next few weeks to make sure the person is clear on these responsibilities.

Virtual Hiring

Are you in hiring mode? Even if you’re not at the moment, as we are six months into the pandemic at some point you’ll need to add some staff, especially if you have strategic or even immediate needs.

Not all companies have returned to their physical places of work, and as a result, your interviews and hiring decisions are likely to be made based on video calls.

In Order to Delegate, Learn to Develop

Many managers – especially inexperienced ones – suffer from resistance to delegation. They often declare that it’s easier to do it themselves than to ask someone less experienced to handle it.

The challenge is, of course, that if you don’t delegate, you’ll suffer from perennial mountains of work and your “delegatees” will never get the experience.

View to the Future

Welcome to the second half of 2020.

Having gone through the wild and unpredictable ride of the past four months, where do you go from here? Do you have a handle on various scenarios that you can plan for the next six months?

Rather than wandering aimlessly through the rest of the year, it’s worth establishing three scenarios that you can adapt to depending on the continuing impact of the pandemic and economic challenges. Here are some broad strokes that can help to inform your specific situation.

What Will You Do?

Who would have guessed that our already challenging environment, dominated by the impact of COVID-19, would have catapulted to another extraordinary level so quickly?

The protests and demonstrations following the death of George Floyd have consumed our country and overtaken our conversations.

Leadership is a Mindset

Tag: Decision Making