10. “I can’t make the time to join Vistage.” You think your time is precious? No Vistage member has any more time than any other member. We all have 168 hours each week. That’s it. The question: how do we choose to spend our time? Vistage members don’t participate in Vistage because they are bored or because they are trying …
5 Things Not To Do When Terminating an Employee
One of the hardest things to do is to fire someone. We love to hire but hate to fire. And we do it so badly. In my 16 years of management and recruiting consulting here are 5 things you should never do when you terminate an individual’s employment. 1) The termination should never be a surprise. I see this happen …
5 Reasons Company Politics Will Destroy Your Company
I hate politics. Let me say again with as much earnestness as I can — I HATE POLITICS! You may think it is natural for people to play politics and for companies to allow it. Politics will never improve performance, morale, retention, or your culture. Politics is a seemingly benign disease that will kill a company, a team, or an …
Is Your Team Struggling to Meet Deadlines? Here’s 5 Accountability Hacks That Work
When your team is small, say up to 25-30 people you can personally be involved and follow up on all critical projects to insure they meet your budget, quality, and time expectations. But as the team grows your personal involvement become impossible. You have to do five things that may be very hard for a leader who prefers a hands …
Failing is a Good Thing! Here’s 5 Big Reasons Why
The worst thing you can do as a leader is to set expectations so high and make punishment for failure so severe that employee’s freeze up and stop staking risks. Some managers require a sense of control and therefore micromanage staff. This is a very bad thing to do. Here’s 4 reasons why. 1) Failing is a result of imperfection …
5 Secrets To Competing Successfully for Top Talent
The job market is extremely tight right now. The latest unemployment rate per the Department of Labor is 4.9% nationally. The U.S. unemployment rate peaked at 9.9% in the spring of 2010. The millions of people that were laid off or terminated have since found work. Employers who went through the painful process of letting go of high quality talent …
6 Sure Fire Ways for Leaders to Cultivate a Culture of Mistrust
My previous post focuses on what leaders can do to build a culture of trust. Today we prove the negative. We discuss what ineffective leaders do to destroy trust and create a negative culture based on mistrust. I hope if you lead a team you do not see yourself in these 6 points. Trust is the most obvious reflection of …
6 Key Components to Cultivate a Culture of Trust
Trust is at the center of all organizational success. Great companies have high trust leaders. If your company is stuck maybe it’s time to assess the level of trust your managers enjoy from their staff. Trust is earned. It is never bestowed. Therefore, effective leaders enjoy trust and effective ones do not. Give some thought to the six key …
4 Ways to Know If It’s Time to Teach or Terminate
Leaders in the business world are much like Goldilocks seeking the perfect bed. In their decision as to whether to keep an employee or terminate they struggle with to approach that is “just right.” More often they are too hard and dismiss abruptly, with little or no warning to the employee or they give them 15 chances to improve and …
3 Reasons Little League Coaches Are the Best Leaders in the World
I love baseball. I am here to tell you that Little League coaches are amazing leaders. They know how to lead young, immature, undeveloped talent and transform them into winners. The best ones form powerful bonds of trust with their team and wield incredible influence. What do little league coaches know that you can learn and apply? 1) They establish …