Coaching & Motivating

A leader’s first steps

January 1, 2007
When you first give your people the responsibilities of a team leader, you’ll find out quickly what they think of as their “management style.”

‘Talent’ is everywhere, if you look for it

December 1, 2006
Having edited this publication for more than 10 years, I’ve seen plenty of business trends, fads and sales pitches that I think are silly. But rarely do I see ones that I think are harmful. Here’s one that qualifies.

Building community on your team

December 1, 2006
One difference between teams that flourish under the strain of today’s workplace and teams that don’t is their sense of community—a feeling of shared purpose, common values and mutual trust.

How to fill your own shoes

December 1, 2006
If you’re interested in advancing in the enterprise, you’ll help your cause—and your team—if you can develop people to fill your role once you move on.

Working with the first-time employee

November 1, 2006
Fred is working his first job and, though he’s eager and interested, he unquestion­ably has a few rough edges. How do you transform him into a valuable, smoothly integrated member of your team?

Boost your team’s problem-solving skills

May 1, 2006
Working together to solve problems and create opportunities is one of the great inherent benefits of workplace teamwork. Here are some steps you can take with your team to boost its effectiveness:

Everyday ways to boost motivation

May 1, 2006
Without built-in motivation, work is just a job. But with it, work becomes an extension of a team member’s personal­ity, values and desire for success and satis­faction.

Putting ‘we’ in the workplace

May 1, 2006
The “we” approach is far more satisfying, productive and effective than handling employees as a col­lection of separate individuals.

The things that make a team real

January 1, 2006
Plenty of “team leaders” find it hard to know what to do to really engage in continuous team building and make a workgroup more than the sum of its parts. Here are some ques­tions to ask:

Simple steps to increase workers’ motivation

December 1, 2005
When a manager says, “I wish I could motivate Alex,” that usually means “I wish I could get Alex to do the job better.” Here are six keys to doing exactly that.