There are times in conversations or meetings when you really want to move on, but you don’t want to shut people down. So, you use a generic question that unintentionally telegraphs a lack of openness, rather than a desire to check-in. For example: “Does that make sense?” “Any questions?” “Does everybody get that?” Unfortunately, there’s no … Read more
Early in my teaching career, a guidance counselor gave me brilliant advice when exploring the reasons why someone made a decision. It was counter-intuitive: Resist asking “why“. He explained the reasoning by asking me to think about what “why” opens up – the prepared answer, the agenda, the (by definition) inner thoughts and motives that … Read more
Non-profits often have the challenge we explored last week: constraints. Constraints include lower budgets, impact of economic downturns on funding and volunteer efforts, and cycles driven by major programs. For these reasons, they come up with creative ways to maintain success and engagement. Even if you don’t lead in a non-profit, many of their ideas … Read more
Micromanagement gets a bad name. Deservedly so – you will alienate your best people if you tell them how to size the columns and what font to use for the Tracking Performance Spreadsheet reports, and really make them feel like children when you stand over them to dictate the angle of the staple when they attach … Read more
“How do you manage up?” This is a very common question. Others may disagree, but I give this short answer: You don’t. You manage yourself and your team so well that your manager rarely questions anything you do. If your manager is unreasonable, then there’s not much you can do anyway, unless there is a … Read more
In earlier posts, we’ve looked at the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and we’ve looked at DiSC. Please look back for a refresher if you need one. Most teams struggle with the “Trust” and “Conflict” behaviors, and this series of short posts examines the ways each DiSC style can influence those areas. The Conscientiousness style can … Read more
In earlier posts, we’ve looked at the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and we’ve looked at DiSC. Please look back for a refresher if you need one. Most teams struggle with the “Trust” and “Conflict” behaviors, and this series of short posts examines the ways each DiSC style can influence those areas. The Steadiness style can … Read more
In earlier posts, we’ve looked at the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and we’ve looked at DiSC. Please look back for a refresher if you need one. Most teams struggle with the “Trust” and “Conflict” behaviors, and this series of short posts examines the ways each DiSC style can influence those areas. The Influence style can … Read more
In earlier posts, we’ve looked at the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and we’ve looked at DiSC. Please look back for a refresher if you need one. Most teams struggle with the “Trust” and “Conflict” behaviors, and this series of short posts examines the ways each DiSC style can influence those areas. The Dominance style … Read more
Leaders must avoid beginning sentences with, “To be honest…” Why? It sends the message that everything prior to this statement was a lie, or that it wasn’t totally true, and it casts your other communication into a less credible light. It also comes across as gossipy, and a leader mustn’t gossip. But that’s not what … Read more