Dog-Inspired Leadership Posts
Boston explosions provide reminder to create compassionate work environments
For the nation and the world, and most definitely New England, the news this week has focused on the events at the Boston Marathon. My husband and I were in the city on Sunday for the afternoon Red Sox baseball game. We parked in Cambridge and took the subway to Fenway Park, which required bus…
Read MoreManagers need to provide a culture that accepts (some) failure
Taking risks is necessary but often stifled in organizations No matter what your job is, there are risks that you will face. How you handle those risks ultimately affects the quality of your performance. Do you take an appropriate level of risks? Do you encourage risk-taking? Or do you suppress it? Are you so risk-averse that…
Read MoreFear in your workplace is killing performance
Managers can be oblivious to the fear that employees face in the workplace. Is there fear in your organization? Are you indeed even creating it? It’s a deeper issue than what one might quickly assign to obvious root causes, such as layoffs in financially struggling companies, performance issues, or extreme friction between a manager and…
Read MoreLeading the way into new territory takes work
Managers need to step out of comfort zone to lead well My legs were heavy. My heart beat fast. Each step of pulling my snowshoes up and into the heavy, deep snow was effort. All I could see ahead was a long open space of an unbroken path. In my narrow focus, I was missing…
Read MoreWhat to do when you’ve had enough …
It’s early March and it is New England, so waking up to another snow storm is not a surprise, nor unusual. But that doesn’t make it less irritating for some people. The same holds true in our workplaces. Many of the things that happen on a daily basis shouldn’t surprise us. But it can still…
Read MoreThe art of observation: The silent skill of effective managers
Are you diligent about being aware of what’s going on around you? Or instead, is your focus on the next task you must do? Or the next thing you need to say? As a manager, your powers of observation can be what makes you successful — or the absence of observation skills can render you…
Read MoreWhen employees do the same things over and over and over again ….
Ever manage a person who does the same thing over and over and over again? That ‘thing’ could be good or could be bad. As managers, it is obviously great if an employee is consistently doing excellent work. But what if an employee is continually struggling with a task, or resists it completely? Well, my…
Read MoreBeing smart doesn’t matter if you can’t relate to people
Understanding people should be a priority in your culture “I realize that you could have all the ‘book-smarts’ in the world, and it won’t matter a bit if you can’t relate to people.” Those were wise words spoken by a MBA student I met last night at a regional meeting of NHBSR. Becky said that…
Read MoreThe best way to motivate your employees
Managers ask me all the time how to motivate employees, especially ones that are under-performing. And of course, there are a host of answers based on the unique situation. Money is the first method that managers think about, but it is definitely not the answer, and never the answer for long-term results. But there is…
Read MoreWill your employee problems ever end?
Ever feel like the issues you face with employees are endless? no credit check online loans Just when you’ve made progress resolving an issue — and bam! — there it is again! Or maybe the problem has never gone away in the first place. Should your work as a manager require constant, ongoing, never-ending baby-sitting?…
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