A lot of business situations get blown out of proportion because of misunderstandings or misperceptions. Careers have been destroyed, projects terminated and reputations ruined because people did not interpret what was written or said to them during a tense situation. This is especially true for passionate leaders. People who lead by putting their heart on … Continue reading Listen, Process, React
career development
Leading Means Letting Go
One of the hardest things you can do as a leader is to let go. Your natural inclination is to do everything; trying to control your team, their outcomes, your supervisors, your clients, basically everyone involved in the success of a project. As with a child who is learning to drive, you need to trust … Continue reading Leading Means Letting Go
Are You Really Prepared?
Scar from the Lion King could not be more prophetic. If you want to be successful in life, you need to make sure you are prepared. However, even he did not follow his own advice and underestimated the ease of leading a team. As a new leader, you need to learn the balance between being … Continue reading Are You Really Prepared?
Integrating a New Team Member
One of the hardest things to do is accept a new team member- whether they are a new hire, a veteran of the company moved to your team, or a third party vendor/consultant. Most people’s natural reaction is to be cordial but guarded. The new person’s reaction is to try to impress. This leaves for … Continue reading Integrating a New Team Member
Stop the (March) Madness
Here we are again at one of America’s favorite sports times- the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness. From now until April 4, everyone will be talking about their brackets, upsets, and teams left. That same guy who is annoying during football season because of fantasy becomes a dream compared to the … Continue reading Stop the (March) Madness
When to Follow Up
My colleague and I were discussing the art of following up from meetings. It actually started out trying to decide when someone said tomorrow, next week, and in a few days what they actually meant. That being said, follow up timing is a key skill that most people lack. The reason a meeting was held … Continue reading When to Follow Up
Five Old Ways That Still Work
The business world that we live in changes instantaneously. Hundreds of new ways to reach, engage and measure are added to your landscape every day. Thousands of business gurus tell you that you need to stop doing things the old way, that old ways don’t work, etc. I agree with that assessment to a point. … Continue reading Five Old Ways That Still Work
6 Key Traits to be Positively Perceived at Work!
If you listen to talk radio, there is a commercial for online reputation management. They clean up unsavory marks against you which of course are undeserved. They do not get to the root issue of why those remarks were made. Just that you can clean them up. There are corporate courses that teach you reputation … Continue reading 6 Key Traits to be Positively Perceived at Work!
Handle Your Private Business in Private
One of the best pieces of advice that I ever received was to handle my private business in private. The message is pretty clear. If you have a confrontational moment with a team member, spouse, child, etc., hold the drama until you are by yourselves. However, it is also one of the hardest lessons that … Continue reading Handle Your Private Business in Private
Managing Your Team- And Yourself
Lots of articles at this time of the year are related time management. It seems like the only time of the year managing your time is a problem is now. Or maybe it is the only time that you have the time to think about it. That is a huge issue if that is the … Continue reading Managing Your Team- And Yourself
Simple Mgmt Advice 