A Simple Two-Step Method for Spectacular 1-1 Meetings
Regular one-on-one meetings should cultivate trust and help team member’s feel more connected to you, the company, and its mission.
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March 2, 2021
Something You Can Do—Right Now—to Boost Your Mood (caffeine-free)
Think of how your day could go badly if someone doesn't show up. Now, send them a note telling them why you appreciate what they do. It’s easy to take people’s contribution for granted, especially when things go to plan. “Of course they did it, they’re supposed to, after all, it’s their job.” But regardless of how much someone’s being paid or how prestigious their…
November 9, 2020
A Team Building Lesson from Nick Fury
Creating a dream team is like working a puzzle. It’s about recognizing each person's unique contribution—their strength—and putting them in a position to use it. Nick Fury did this in The Avengers. Fury selected each member for the unique strength they brought to the team. As a result, the capability of the team far exceeded the individual capability of its members—the whole became greater than…
February 18, 2020
To Set the Stage for Teamwork, Look to Sports
Setting the stage for great teamwork in the workplace is a lot like creating a new team sport, like soccer nuevo. In team sports, how the game is won is crystal clear. There’s a time limit—urgency. There’s an arena and a well-defined playing field. There are rules. There’s a way to keep score in real-time. There’s a referee and a coach. These things frame up…
January 8, 2020
How to Feel More ALIVE at Work
Most of us at one point or another have switched over to autopilot at work—just phoning it in. Once we're cozy within our comfort zone, we want to stay that way. If we keep doing what we've always done, we'll keep humming right along. Easy. Comfortable. Safe. Right? Not quite. It's logical, but there's a flaw. The flaw is that it perpetuates the status quo,…
November 10, 2019
Are You Playing Whack-a-Mole with Your Time?
A few years ago I learned that complexity gives rise to surprises (and not the good kind). These surprises push planned activities aside and force us to redo previously completed work, troubleshoot problems, or otherwise set things right (again). Surprises make us reactive. It doesn't take many to utterly derail us and transform our day (or week) into a game of whack-a-mole. Moles pop up…
July 31, 2019
Why Delegation is Necessary
Clinging to the known is easy and comfortable, but it’s not satisfying. In fact it’s boring. Growth and gain come from doing the things we don’t really have to do. They come from stretching ourselves—by embracing discomfort. But we don’t need to cannonball into new challenges, just dipping a toe in will do. As our toe gets comfortable, we need to put the rest of…
May 9, 2019
How a Twinkie Can Help with Team Building
A team that rows (or works) as one is a symphony of motion. A harmonizing of spirits. It’s magical. And it's FAST! Assembling such a Dream Team is challenging work. The coach repeatedly assigns each rower (worker) to different positions in the boat, rooting out their strengths. Rowers are moved, swapped, and replaced until a magic combination is found. There’s an old story about a…
April 24, 2019
3 ‘P’s Essential for Employee Engagement
Employees are a business owner’s largest expense, and a massive source of wasted time and money in most companies. The ability to attract and retain great people separates thriving businesses from struggling ones. Engaged people amplify business effectiveness, but according to research, most people are not engaged. That’s a tragedy, especially when we consider that everyone enjoys engaging work. When engaged, we’re at our best.…
April 17, 2019
Hiring? How to Spot a Diamond in the Rough
Which would you choose to attend, a blockbuster TED Talk or a blockbuster movie? Do you read more non-fiction or fiction? How do you feel about documentaries? Do you listen to anything other than music in the car? We all seek out a mix of pleasure and purpose in our daily lives. However, the mix that’s right for each of us varies. Paul Dolan and…
April 10, 2019
People Bring Their All to Work When These 3 Things are Present
I was walking the beach with a friend when we came upon a sandcastle under siege. The ocean was sending wave after wave to destroy the defenseless fortress. Each wave surging ever-closer. The sandcastle would soon be erased from the face of the Earth. Its only crime was daring to stand in defiance of the mighty ocean. Something had to be done. I immediately dropped…
March 27, 2019
How to Transform Work into a Game People Want to Play
On the day I turned 16, I was all gussied up and the first person out the door—determined to land my dream job. I chose the place because everyone working there always looked like they were having fun. When I arrived, I sheepishly asked the girl behind the counter if they were hiring. She said, “I think so, fill this out” and slid a blank…
March 19, 2019
Do You Work with a Vampire? How to Tell and What to Do About It
“Toxic people adhere as concrete blocks to your ankles, then push you to swim in poisoned waters.” John Mark Green Do you work with someone who leaves a trail of depleted people in their wake? Do the majority of their interactions leave people feeling badly? If so, they are poisoning the work environment. Draining everyone’s time and energy, like a vampire. They are a boat…
January 29, 2019