Leadership

No matter what you think about the Harry Potter novels, you must give it up for J.K. Rowling.

She was at rock bottom when she had the idea for the book series and wrote the first one on a manual typewriter.

It’s now estimated that after taxes, thanks to the books, movies, theme parks and television, Rowling’s earnings are $1.2 billion, according to The New York Times.

Not too shabby for a single mother who was once on welfare.

When it comes down to it, leaders, supervisors and managers can all take a page from Rowling’s book on what it takes to be successful and fulfilled both personally and professionally.

What other life/business lessons can you steal from the world-renowned author? Here are nine that could change your life:

Click to continue »

Feel like you’re spending more time putting out wildfires?

You know, the unnecessary ones sparked by petty employee outbursts.

One minute things are fairly quiet and, next thing you know, something flares up and causes yet another disruption.

You can almost smell the smoke outside your office.

Here are five classic employee fires that, with some deft handling, you can stomp out for good.

Click to continue »

It’s easy to point the finger at others when things go wrong. Sports coaches and players are blamed for games lost, deadlines are blamed for poorly executed plans, we even blame the weather when we’re having a bad day.

The blame game isn’t something new. We all know the term “scapegoat.” That term comes from a story in the Bible (if not even earlier) in which the collective sins of a community were placed upon the unsuspecting back of a poor goat.

Too often we get sucked into a pattern of blame and counter-blame, but I’ve got a couple of powerful questions that could alter that pattern and put an end to the question “Who is to blame?”

Click to continue »

We all make mistakes.

Then there are those times when it’s A REALLY BIG mistake.

You know the kind. When everyone gets together after and tries to figure out, “What in the world just happened?”

Think United Airlines. They say they stuck to the rules when they deplaned a passenger against his will. Fallout? The stock fell sharply the next day. And the turbulence could last for months or even longer.

Big mistakes aren’t just embarrassing. They’re expensive. Just little grammar issues cost companies billions of dollars each year, one study found. Some poor decisions that led to big mistakes have buried companies, leaving people jobless.

Researchers say many big mistakes – such as the embarrassingly public 2017 Academy Awards Best Picture flub – could be avoided or at least minimized if people paid more attention to the factors that lead up to them.

Click to continue »

Quick question: How fast does it usually take you to rally your troops when you’ve got a problem that needs immediate attention?

If you’re still doing the calculation in your head because you can’t remember, now might be the time to examine the amount of flexibility you give your team.

We often have things running so smoothly that we’re taken by surprise when work hits a snag – an emergency or crisis that needs all hands on deck.

It can come as a shock when you’ve got to get your team focused, but they’re so busy doing their own thing.

I know this may seem counter-intuitive, but you may have let your desire to be a “flexible boss” go too far.

Click to continue »

Negative energy can take over fast if we’re not paying attention. And once it has a grip, it’s that much harder to break.

It might not be outright bullying or shouting matches. But you can sense when misery hangs over your team like a dark cloud. You don’t know if or when the storm will hit, but you can definitely feel it in the air.

How’d it happen?

Good leaders should never assume things are “fine.” Entire departments – even whole companies – can become so bogged down with negative vibes that only an overhaul will turn it around.

If unchecked, negativity can spread like a plague through a team, says leadership coach Michael Hyatt. “[It kills] cooperation and slows down the work we do,” he says.

Click to continue »

Everybody wants to start off on the right foot with a new boss.

Particularly if you’re that new boss.

First impressions count – but you’ve been up to your eyeballs figuring out your new job, meeting other higher-ups, and sorting through the mass of paperwork left by your predecessor.

So how do you make the most of those early introductions?

Here are 5 things you can do that will have a big impact – and, thankfully, they’re not hard to do.

Click to continue »

What are the three hardest words for a resourceful manager to say?

“I don’t know.”

Yep, you nailed it.

But “I don’t know” (and its cousin, “I’m not sure”) are actually three of the strongest words good leaders can use.

When said in the right manner, those words project both confidence and intelligence.

Click to continue »

I’ve always said, “I don’t have to like you to work with you.” Over the years that evolved into, “I don’t have to like you to manage you.”

It’s not that I am antisocial. I’m just stating facts from experience.

Of course, it’s more pleasant and easier to manage people you like.

But some experts say that having a team in which everyone gets along extremely well also weakens it.

Reason: We gravitate toward people who are like us and have similar values. So there’s no one to challenge our thinking.

But not liking someone can lead to conflicts that often result in new insights and resolutions.

So what happens if you really dislike someone you manage, but they’re really good at their job?

Well, you could get another job, but a better option: Accept the fact you don’t have to like everyone you manage.

All it requires is that you respect them or something about them. Acknowledging that they’re good at their job is a sign of respect.

Need more help?

Here are additional suggestions for managing people who rub you the wrong way:

Click to continue »

Almost all managers (98%, in fact) believe employees should have had more training in professional development, conflict resolution, time management and other skills before they became managers, says research recently published on Forbes.com.

Since it often falls to us to train employees for future managerial roles, it seems we’re falling short in equipping them with the complex and intangible skills they need to become proficient managers.

If we’re approaching managerial training by throwing employees to the wolves and hoping for the best, we’ll continue to get disappointing results – especially if we expect to promote from within.

So how do top resourceful managers train their future peers?

Here are seven steps that can help:

Click to continue »