performance

Are You Believing in Your Own Vast Potential?

December 6, 2011

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.
- Martin Luther King Jr
I was going on as usual the other day about my belief in the vast potential of human beings.  And [...]

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Don’t Be a Victim of Perpetual Inbox Obsession

October 11, 2011
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You probably know people who believe that there is an expectation in your organization that you have to be “on” 24/7.  You might even think that yourself.
It’s hard not to.  And at the same time, we know that it is impossible and not even a good idea to be available and ready for input all—the—time.
.
In [...]

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Featured Lead Change post at “SmartBrief for Leadership” Blog

October 4, 2011
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I’m honored to be representing the Lead Change Group at the SmartBrief for Leadership blog today.  There, you can see my updated post, “Why True leadership involves less talking and more listening.”
Image credit: ia_64 via iStockPhoto.com
 

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Leaders: Are You Showing Up for Your Employees?

September 19, 2011
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Recently a colleague told me about a national sales meeting she attended.  They brought in a well-known speaker for a few hours for the entire group of 200.  Later in the day he was scheduled to speak to just the leadership team —about 20.
During the day the leadership team decided there was no reason to [...]

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What We Can Learn about Leadership from Celebrity Fashion Choices – Part 1

July 12, 2011
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One of my friends said my blog posts are most interesting to her when I mention clothes (see “She Had Me At, ‘I Got Rid of All My Business Suits“), so I took that as a challenge and came up with a connection between fashion and leadership.
Making use of some of the best-known style choices [...]

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What Farm Kids Know About Leadership

July 5, 2011
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I grew up on a farm.  Yep, that’s me at the left, at 5-years old, working with my father.  Notice the stripe-on-stripe outfit.  I dressed myself that day.  And that’s not the only thing I did that day…
Farm kids learn responsibility early.
I would say I “added value” as early as age 5.  I knew this [...]

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Managers: To Increase Performance and Productivity, Create a “3C” Environment

May 24, 2011
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I’m just finishing reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers.
I was really taken with Chapter 4 where he talks about “concerted cultivation.”  It’s a term coined by sociologist Annette Lareau to describe the specific way some parents teach their children to navigate the world successfully.
As I was taking in the behaviors Gladwell was describing, they seemed so [...]

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The 3 P’s of Exploring Your Employees’ Resistance to Change – Part 3 of 5

May 4, 2011
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Part 3 of 5 in a Series on Change Management & Employee Resistance
There is often a good reason your employees are resisting change, no matter how obnoxiously they may be expressing it.
You, their leader, are responsible for getting underneath that.  It’s not as hard as you think.  You can reach more than you may realize. [...]

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Ten Compelling Reasons to be a “B” Student in Work or Life

April 14, 2011
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Some of you may be aware that I was involved in a minor car accident a few weeks ago.  I continue to be surprised at how much the experience has slowed me down, even though I don’t have any obvious physical injuries.
I haven’t been keeping up with my to-do list like I want to, for [...]

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Want Employees to Listen? Stop Talking.

March 29, 2011
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You’ve heard of the book, the One-Minute Manager?
Well, one time I came across a guy I call the “18-minute manager” or “Jake” for our purposes. He called me to sit in on a discussion between him and one of his direct reports, Sophie, about her behavior and performance.  “Mary, I’ve talked to her twice in [...]

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Your Employees: “You’d Think” They’d Know Better, Wouldn’t You?

March 22, 2011
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Managers: Immediately Improve Your Communications with Employees with this One Easy Tip
I was having a conversation with a group of managers last week. We were bemoaning how employees can be so disconcerting sometimes. I heard things like:

Why do I have to point out everything to them?
Don’t they know this (example) is one of [...]

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Does Being Liked at Work Matter?

March 15, 2011
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[Pssssssst, did she just use the L-word?]
One of my close friends is in the last phase of a selection process for a new assignment.  Her first meeting and her final meeting is with the exec she would be reporting to.
We’re pretty sure she’s a shoe-in because we already know he likes her.  Her reflection was, [...]

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