Remarkable Leadership

The Myth of Work/Life Balance

February 5, 2019

Everyone seems to be seeking work/life balance. And no one seems to desire this more than leaders, managers and supervisors. I doubt there is a person who reads these words that hasn’t or doesn’t struggle with this issue. I’ve been asked about this (a lot) over the years, made some mistakes, learned some things and thought about it (a lot) too. Here is what I have learned, and what I believe to be true …

Three Things Remote Leaders Must Do Differently

June 5, 2018

This content requires a subscription. PLEASE LOGIN Email Address: Password: I forgot my password Subscribe today to get: The nation’s premier newsletter for managers, filled with valuable tips and advice Unlimited access to ManagingPeopleAtWork.com — updated daily! Skill-building online training, plus valuable forms, templates, skills assessments and more Expert advice on office administration, managing […]

Communicating About Change? Time to Take a Selfie!

July 25, 2017

Unless you are living under a rock (or don’t have a teenage daughter), you know that a selfie is a photo taken of yourself by yourself — likely with a cell phone camera. I’m going to ask you to take one right now.

Do I Have to Like Them?

June 13, 2017

We all work with other people. And most of you reading this are leading other people too. This makes the question I’m often asked very relevant: Yes, I have to work with them, but do I have to like them? The short answer is, no …

Let’s Keep Confidence From Getting a Bad Name

May 9, 2017

Many of us were taught as kids not to brag or boast. That is a fine lesson, but it is incomplete. And in the incompleteness, part of the wisdom gets lost. Here’s the problem. Bragging or boasting, when seen as a bad thing, points us toward being humble (which is also good), but also subtly steers us away from any outwards sign of being confident. But …

Don’t Listen to Ron Popeil

March 23, 2017

Ron Popeil is an American inventor and marketer most famous for his infomercial for the Showtime Rotisserie, where he told users to “set it and forget it.” His well-known phrase seems to have migrated from cooking chickens in his rotisserie to a common approach to goal setting. Let me explain …

Same Stuff, Different Day

March 1, 2017

There is tremendous joy and satisfaction that I gain from my work. I am doing the work I was put on earth to do and have the chance to lead a fantastic team doing the same things. And … sometimes … I shake my head …

The Stuff We Can’t Ignore, But Do

February 8, 2017

We do work every day and it becomes routine. We have even gotten good at it, and not just from our own measures, but from feedback and results that tell us we are doing well. And because of that relative success and the habit and the comfort, we don’t see a need to move, change, grow or improve. But you are a leader, which means you must think differently, higher and see a picture that others don’t see.

What’s Behind the Question?

January 17, 2017

Stick and stones may break our bones, but for most of us, words can too — especially when questions are used as weapons. As leaders and good communicators we must think about as asking better questions, but there is more to great questions than the right words, timing and intonation. There is a caveat too …

A Process Improvement Triple Play

December 21, 2016

As leaders we have a responsibility for supporting, enabling and expecting our teams to improve their work processes. Because of that fact, today I want to share a trio of important ideas related to process improvement — all important, all worthy of the full space available, yet I determined that giving you a morsel of each was preferable to picking one.