Punishment and avoidance rarely work. Approach performance issues with curiosity and empathy and you may find the discussion and solution are less difficult than you anticipated: When discussing and resolving performance issues: đźź Prepare – prepare yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally đźź Present – present the situation as you see it đźź Discover – understand what is going…
Read more
Imagine someone close to you complaining about their shoes. They’re too tight. They cause blisters. There’s a weird bump at the toe. “Let me see,” you say as you slip your feet inside. “These aren’t too tight! And there is no weird bump!” Empathy? Not really. Unsurprisingly, their size 12 shoes are not too tight for your size 9…
Read more
The Managers began to talk. Openly. Honestly. It took many hours of conversation and confidence in the pledge to maintain confidentiality. And they were ready to offer insights about challenges and opportunities. They had excellent observations and suggestions. They balanced the positives with the opportunities. They were constructive. They were empathetic. They continued to speak with respect. And they were not willing…
Read more
Tired.Frustrated.Demotivated. So much time, energy, and money expended. And yet we’re still in the same spot on the lake. I’m angry at them. They’re angry at me. I’m working hard! We’re getting nowhere. It must be THEIR fault. If one of the people in the canoe changed direction, in just a few minutes there would be more progress…
Read more
Building relationships isn’t a distraction from the work – it IS the work. Leading people and leading change requires providing a clear destination, guiding people to align, and supporting them to get where they need to go. No matter the type or size of the change, each individual will be called upon to change how…
Read more
“We don’t get a lot of complaints around here” It was true. People did not complain. – They did as they were told. – They put in the long hours needed to get their jobs done. – They made the most of the “open-door policy,” frequenting their manager’s office to ask questions and understand how the Manager…
Read more
If you’re like many leaders, you’re spending a lot of your time, energy, and money in three main areas that are holding you back from doing your best to be productive, lead people, and achieve success: FIREFIGHTING 🧯 Managing emergencies, reacting to unexpected problems, trying to quickly resolve symptoms with a patchwork of temporary and…
Read more
Every person has an emotional bucket for their relationships. We have a bucket for every relationship we are in, including our relationship with ourselves. When the bucket is full, we feel a high sense of trust and safety in the relationship. The bucket is filled with positive interactions that feel good and build trust, giving…
Read more
What a dreadful situation. So many years of education. And yet I had never learned how to let somebody go. It was stressful for both of us, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I fumbled through the conversation I wasn’t sure how to tactfully explain to someone that they had performed their job so…
Read more
3 hours. Not a huge amount of time to get results. The organization was struggling with policies and procedures not being followed. The senior leaders were putting a lot of time into dealing with individual incidents while those that remained unaddressed created increasingly large and complex problems in the background. It was creating stress for…
Read more
