Here’s a real-life story about how showing appreciation at work matters. In the veggie aisle of the supermarket, I ran into a top manager who works for one of my leadership coaching clients (let’s call him B.) While the coaching conversations are confidential, the leader I coach had told this manager and his other direct […]Read the full post >>
If you’re engaged in any work that’s worthwhile, I can promise you one thing: it’s going to have a messy middle. That big project you’re leading at work? I don’t care how many times you’ve run the same plan before, it’ll all fall apart somewhere before everything falls into place. Your carefully navigated career? The […]Read the full post >>
Congrats! You’re accepting a promotion inside your company, and I’m so excited for you. You’ve earned it, and it couldn’t have happened to a better person. Now, as you dive in, a word of warning. Don’t make the same mistakes others have made. The path from here to your promoted happiness isn’t always clear, simple, […]Read the full post >>
Maybe you’ve TRIED to change your company’s culture. You’ve read books. Shared articles. Talked to your friends, and maybe even to HR. After all, you think, there are great people here, doing great work. They deserve better. Um, except for a few of them. Oh yes, them. The bad apples that spoil the whole bunch, […]Read the full post >>
“I thought this was my dream job,” Mark told me as he debated whether it was time to leave his company. “But right now, I hate the office politics.” Mark’s not alone. Most of us get annoyed with the crazy junior high dance we call “office politics.” But rather than shy away (’cause truthfully, they’re […]Read the full post >>
If you’re a leader who’s wondering how to be a better coach at work, good for you. Everyone needs a coach they can trust –someone who has their best interest at heart. We need you in our world of work. But being a good leader-coach isn’t as simple as it seems. If you’d like to […]Read the full post >>
What’s the most important thing you must do as a leader? (Note: this isn’t a trick question.) The answer is: to lead. But what does leading mean, really? Ah-ha–that’s when the answer gets tricky. It used to mean you’re in front of the room, telling us what to do. But that’s not what real leading […]Read the full post >>
If you’re a leader of people, projects, or processes, there will come a time when you’ll have to say hard things to good people at work. It’s inevitable. The hard things might be issues that emerge in your company’s regular performance management process. But more often today, we have to find a way to say […]Read the full post >>
“How do you know when it’s not working, really?” I was sharing a bottle of wine one evening with team leaders who are struggling through a complicated change management project. The leader who spoke continued on. “I don’t get it. I’ve been part of these changes before, but somehow, this one’s different. Another colleague waved […]Read the full post >>
So, what does a coach do–really? One of our readers asked this question recently as their manager was offering to “coach” them. In this video, Coach Darcy Eikenberg shares the three things a coach REALLY does (and should do)–whether it’s a full-time professional like Coach Darcy, or someone else in your organization who’s coaching. Listen […]Read the full post >>