Leader to Leader

When results to be achieved are delegated by a leader and agreed upon by a team member, clear accountability on the part of the team member should be established. At the same time, the team member must have the appropriate authority to take the action steps needed to achieve the results. This is the well-known idea of "empowerment." However, in every decision, large or small, some risk is involved and mistakes in judgment are bound to occur. In a positive work environment, there must be a reasonable allowable margin for mistakes in judgment. If there is not such latitude, the team member might conclude that the necessary authority has not been granted to achieve the agreed upon results. Full Story 

In conversations with business owners, CEOs and managers in organizations both large and small, one of their top five "common headaches" usually relates to finding, keeping, nurturing and retaining qualified and self-motivated people.

With that headache facing them, it is also interesting how many of these same leaders do not regard targeted praise and recognition as a critical coaching tool. Full Story 

Time management has been and always will be an oxymoron. We have all there is, yet none of us ever seem to have enough. At best we can learn to work with the never-ending passage of minutes and hours. No matter how often we say there are "never enough hours in a day," there will continue to be 24 just like yesterday, today and tomorrow. When business groups are asked if they have been to a time management seminar, at least 50% raise their hands. However, when these same people are asked if they are in control of their time, very few say "yes." So what can one do? Let's look at four techniques, and then discuss attitude. Full Story 

In last month's blog, we talked about the many ways we communicate. This month we tackle the other half of the communication process — listening. Full Story