Ever had to fire someone…?
The first time I fired someone it was very difficult. The person who worked for me was talented at her actual job but was a terrible employee, not submitting time reports, showing up late or not at all to meetings with no explanation, responding inappropriately to her...
A lesson learned on giving negative feedback
So as a consultant I have had the privilege of being in interim director roles for some of the organizations I work with. This allows me to reengage my managerial skills that I sp frequently preach to others in my training sessions I continuously say to managers I am...
Advice from Liz Wiseman
Have you read the book Multipliers: How The Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman? If you’re a manager of people you should read it. One piece of advice Liz gives is to “make your mistakes known”. For many leaders this is a difficult thing to do. Many feel...
A Great Read for Managers!
If you have not read The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees) by Patrick Lencioni you will want to order a copy today. I have to say, when I read it (in two sittings I might add), I *loved it*! In fact, I wish I was managing my...
The Challenges of Working on a Team
I have found that second to managing people working on a team can be one of the most difficult parts of a job. We tend to be drawn to people who have similar work styles as we do and find working with people with different work styles very challenging. I have found...
Accountability is NOT a Four-Letter Word
I have learned from working on site with clients that the accountability I provide is critical to their success in the areas they have been working on with me. But I’m a consultant so I can’t stay forever (though many have asked me to just for this reason!) When I am...
Why is Giving Negative Feedback so Difficult?
I am sure the answer to that question is different for each of us. For me, I have found it connects primarily with my people pleasing nature. In a previous position, I remember needing to give negative feedback to someone directly under my supervision. It took me...
What to Do with Low Morale?
In my work with clients I have learned how to look for morale issues with an organization. With one organization my recognition of low morale came from observation of a staff meeting. The staff all sat only with members from their own department and the room felt...
The author of this article was able to hone in on a few key points we can learn from Oprah's long and successful career that are applicable to small business owners and nonprofits alike. “Focus on the brand” – in other words, do what you do best and don’t get...
Job Description First … Hire Second.
I have found that many managers know that they need another employee to help carry the load and have a good candidate in mind but neglect to create a job description and clearly define the roles they need the employee to play. This can feel free and relaxing at first...
Building Effective Teams
I recently read an article on building effective teams and it made me think about what advice I would give a client seeking to build an effective team. So here is my top 5: Define the purpose of the team. This is step one with anything you start. You need to ask...