Good leaders must lead by example. When the actions of leaders are in alignment with what they say (“Walking the Talk”), they become people that inspire others to want to follow them. When leaders say one thing but do another,…
Are you avoiding having a difficult conversation?
Not many people enjoy having challenging conversations. You know the ones; you don’t agree and the emotions are likely to be strong. Some examples might be: Dealing with offensive behaviour from a co-worker Giving the boss negative feedback Giving a…
Tips for getting the best from your leadership coaching
If you are a leader, a business person or just want to learn to be more effective at work, executive coaching is one of the best investments you will ever make in yourself. A good coach helps you gain clarity…
Praise – the cost-free incentive
What is the best way for a manager to motivate employees? The traditional answer would be to give them a cash bonus, but studies have shown that cash bonuses are becoming less effective. The practice has become so common that…
4 key characteristics of effective leaders
I have spent many years working with, observing, teaching and coaching leaders. I have also heard many stories from employees about leaders they have loved to work for and those they have not enjoyed as much. There are some key…
When culture is a killer
I was recently reading the reports of the inquest into the death of a Merrill Lynch intern who suffered an epileptic fit after working for 72 hours straight. The inquest returned a verdict of death from natural causes that “may…
Employee watching – guess the culture!
On a recent trip for a conference, I had lunch with one of my clients at a restaurant in the casino complex. We were discussing organisational culture as we entered the restaurant, so as a learning experience and a bit…
Goal setting – handle with care!
Think back to your early experiences as a manager – your “Management 101 class”. You were probably given some training or direction on goal setting. It was likely a variation on the SMART acronym, and you would have been told…
5 reasons leaders need time out!
In working with leaders, and facilitating leadership programs, one of the key things I am hearing is that leaders are increasingly critically time poor. I had the pleasure of spending 2 days recently with a group of women leaders in…
Managing conflict at work
Confrontation and conflict between people is as old as…well…people. Any time you have humans operating together there are going to be times when people disagree, don’t get on, have differences of opinion or just plain can’t stand each other! So…