Posts Tagged ‘team alignment’
DO YOU GROOM YOUR LEADERS OR JUST PROMOTE THEM?
“It was her turn,” said the CEO. I had asked the CEO how a specific member of their leadership team was promoted to that position. I’ve heard other answers like, “They’ve been with me a long time.” “I trust them. She is very loyal.” “He needed to make more money.” “My [family member] needed a…
Read MoreHAVE MORE FUN AND MAKE MORE MONEY – PART I
Do you want to have more fun and make more money? Here’s the first step I use with CEOs and business owners. It all starts with purpose. The raison d’être. The reason for existence. There’s a lot of talk these days about purpose and purpose-driven companies. Purpose-driven companies can acquire and retain more customers, employees…
Read MoreTHE ELEPHANT AND THE DEER (an Elephant Tales story)
As the Elephant’s company continued to grow, he noticed his team of ants struggle to keep up with the volume of work. The ants worked hard, and he hired new ones as fast as possible, but the higher volumes and faster turnarounds seemed beyond the ants’ skill and experience. The Elephant decided to hire a…
Read MoreA Real Life Leadership Story
A Real Life Leadership Story A college senior I know was the Director of a team of engineering students competing in SAE Aero Design, an international competition to design, build and fly an original aircraft. I was asked to coach him in leadership and team building. The time came for the competition. There were dozens…
Read MoreWHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU LOOK FOR WHEN HIRING?
I had lunch with a friend the other day, a local business owner. She was frustrated with her employees, who never seemed to know what she really wanted. They required constant direction and even micro-managing. I asked, “What is the first thing you look for when hiring?” She was a bit surprised by the question,…
Read MoreTHE ONE THING YOU CAN’T DO FOR YOURSELF
The one thing you can’t do for yourself… is to coach yourself. Here’s why. You can’t see what you can’t see. Everyone has blind spots. A coach can be an extra set of eyes to assist you in “seeing” and understanding things going on in your organization, marketplace, or even within your leadership team, that…
Read MoreHerding Cats
Ever and feel like you spend a lot of time “herding cats.” Do you spend time wondering: Why don’t they just do what they are supposed to? Why do I have to do all the thinking around here? Why can’t they just do what they are told? Before you start banging your head against the…
Read MoreThe Only Thing Worse Than Getting It Wrong
I hate my smartphone. It lets me make and receive phone calls… sometimes. It tells me when I receive a voice mail… sometimes. It receives and sends texts… sometimes even on the same day that I or the other person intends. It helps me keep my calendar… sometimes, but never works when I need to…
Read MoreA Crisis in Business Identity
A company who hit a business downturn contacted me, seeking my help with improving their alignment and efficiency. The deeper I dug I realized this was not an alignment issue. It was an identity crisis. The company had grown quickly. Their rapid success had the company running to keep up, and the inflow of money…
Read MoreThe Elephant and the Brown Fur Seals (An Elephant Tale)
The Elephant decides it’s time to start a new employee recognition program by doing this he can personally recognize the staff. He calls this program the Frequent Incentive for Staff Happiness or F.I.S.H. His HR Director quickly puts it in place and has F.I.S.H certificates printed up allowing him to hand them out. Each time…
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