A woman in a leadership seminar I was teaching in Denver asked, ‘Can I be a leader?’ Great question. Are leaders born? Are they made? Generally speaking, leadership is a skill. That’s good news because it means leadership is open
Management Pro or Micro-Manager?
I was speaking at a management seminar in Fargo last week and a topic came up that turned into an interesting discussion on perceptions. Since this is a common situation that you might be facing, I thought I’d share the
3 Common Ways Managers Deal With Employee Problems (Hint: they don’t work)
Let’s face it, most people don’t like addressing employee problems. I mean, come on, who wants to confront an employee about their lack of productivity? Or their bad attitude? Or personal cell phone use, inappropriate dress code, attendance, etc., etc.,
How to Connect With Your Team Without Being Creepy
A recent post on LinkedIn written by a new employee described how impressed he was that the CEO of the company knew his name, his hobbies, his history, etc. These were all things that had come up during the interview
3 Reasons Leaders Fail To Get Employees To Do What They Are Supposed To Do
Spoiler-alert: It’s not because they’re lazy. Too often leaders jump to a negative conclusion about why employees aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do. Take a step back and consider the following possibilities… The first reason employees aren’t doing what
Do you have a bucket or a sieve of self-esteem?
Imagine waking up in the morning with a full bucket of self-esteem. You feel great. Then you start thinking. The cares and concerns that were erased overnight come back and that bucket turns into a sieve. Some days we can
I know, I know, I know
I recently wrapped up a training session for a company by asking the group to share one take away from the class. As they went around the table, almost everyone said something along the lines of “I already knew this
Avoid This Leadership Style That Promotes Lack of Focus and Productivity
Imagine driving down the freeway with your eyes on the rearview mirror the entire time. What do you think would happen? At the least, you would lose focus on what’s in front of you and at the worst, you could
Handling the Unexpected
Recently, I traveled to the mountainous region of northern New Mexico to deliver a business writing course for a client. I never know what I’m going to find when I arrive at my destination so I have adopted the philosophy
One Quick Way To Regain Focus and Get Back on Track
Do you ever feel like you’re busy all the time but not accomplishing anything? Let’s face it, there are a lot of things vying for your attention. Distractions like social media, the news, emails, texts, and apps that you only