Early in my career, I (Rip) worked for a very demanding boss. I do not say this in a negative sense of the word. Rather, he was tough in that he had very high standards and expected a high level of performance from everyone on his team. When he praised you, you knew you had… Continue reading Leadership Challenge: Make Encouragement Your Business
I (Tim) recall hearing about a leader who, when asked what his management style was, stated without apology, “Fear.” He purposefully and aggressively worked to instill fear in his people, believing that if they were afraid of him they would work better. You are likely repulsed by the thought of such a “leadership style,” and… Continue reading Detecting a Culture of Fear
What you’re about to read really happened. Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up. A global organization had a superstar as their head of marketing. She had created a powerhouse team of marketers, set clearly-defined goals and objectives, and was executing flawlessly. The team was putting out reams of thought leadership papers and getting great… Continue reading Don’t Tie Your Superstar’s Hands
People know. Too often, leaders forget that simple fact. They try to create an image that will impress their employees, their colleagues, their customers, and their vendors. But if that image doesn’t jive with reality, they aren’t fooling anyone. Because the fact is, people know. For example, take the team where one member is not… Continue reading People Know
Who owns employee motivation? It’s a good question and an easy one to get wrong because there is a fine line between encouraging employee motivation and owning employee motivation. In our leadership training, we make the point that the leader’s job is to create an environment that sets the stage for team members to be… Continue reading Motivation Is an Inside Job
