When a client finally accepted that the root cause of their many struggles was that they keep hiring the wrong people, it was a major breakthrough. What will likely take even longer is for them to realize that they aren’t even qualified to hire the kind of people they really need! “How can we be hiring the wrong people when we hire such great people?” they demanded to know. Every one a top notch subject matter expert just like themselves. People with great experience and knowledge in the field. People who care as much as they do. And people who fit in really well. How could this be a problem? The problem they finally recognized is that by hiring people like themselves, they don’t really have people managers or project managers or product managers or branding experts or…
Even my best clients have been known to forget some of the most critical distinctions, so I thought some reminders were in order.
When stuck on a tough decision, even if using my process for SOARing through Decisions, stop and make a list of the fears, factors, and forces that are making it tough.
In my last newsletter, I wrote about “Metric Madness” at nonprofits. The very next day, a perfect example made its appearance in the Boston Globe: Study urges curriculum shift to aid Boston students’ success in college. In a nutshell, the Boston Public Schools decided not to require the state-wide MassCore college preparatory curriculum, reportedly because they thought it would hurt graduation rates.
With the trust of your employees and colleagues, you can accomplish amazing things. Trust generates commitment. It generates energy. It encourages people to think for themselves, speak up with confidence, and assume greater responsibility. It eliminates the stress and waste associated with self-protective behaviors. When others trust you and believe you have their best interests at heart, they can be a better version of themselves. Everyone wins. So how does a leader build trust? Here are eight steps that will help you become a trusted leader able to accomplish amazing things.
When I sat down with three executives at a large international bank in London, I got an earful of frustrations. Determined, hard-working, ambitious people, who would like to accomplish more faster, are susceptible to frustration. It’s only natural. It is also the reason they were talking with me.
Idaho – a great place to be in May! Why? Probably many reasons, but here is one: I will be the opening keynote speaker at the Elevate Leadership Summit in Pocatello. I’m looking forward to it! You could be too!
If I overlook some of my personal fiascos such as: the airline that sold us nonstop tickets to London and then put us on a plane that couldn’t cross the Atlantic without refueling and the major appliance manufacturer with initials GE that decided it was easier to replace our six-month-old washing machine instead of sending a repairman to make adjustments – and then left us with a brand new machine that won’t run at all If I ignore those, and, instead, consider the many businesses I’ve worked with or talked with recently as a consultant, I’m pretty impressed. Lots of them are doing many things really well. But, of course, everyone can do better. So let me share some of the areas where I see the most pain and the greatest opportunity for improvement.
In a recent article of mine, “This Is Your Only Life. Are You Putting Yourself First?,” I encourage you to put yourself first because doing so not only makes you healthier mentally, physically, and emotionally, but it also makes you more productive and effective. One reader responded by saying the ideas were nice and simple in theory, but not realistic. He blamed the “work landscape” for making them impossible. I thought that reaction might be quite common and, thus, worthy of discussion. There are three problems with this reader’s response:
Are you one of those people who wants to make all the right decisions? Suppose you were about to buy something like a car or a TV, would you do your homework? Would you ask your friends, search for options online, seek recommendations from resources such as Consumer Reports, and read all the opinions you can find? Would you test drive several cars and carefully compare their features, maybe even right down to the seat-back pockets, number of USB ports, and mpg to the tenth of a mile?