The Myth Of A High-Functioning Team
The Myth Of A High-Functioning Team In forty years of doing this work, I have never come across a dysfunctional team. Every team has elements of disfunction and elements of health and falls somewhere on that spectrum. There is no formula. No template. I have seen teams that are achieving incredible results that would fail […]
Signs of burnout: How to recognize and evaluate what to keep doing and what to let go of.
Signs of burnout: How to recognize and evaluate what to keep doing and what to let go of. From personal experience, I know that burnout is real. It is not to be dismissed. Here are some signs: Lack of enthusiasm and vitality Difficulty getting up in the morning and falling asleep at night. Speaking in […]
Four things to remember when leadership feels hard.
Four things to remember when leadership feels hard. Leading – whether in your family, your team, community, or company – is like life: it’s hard at times. When you decide to step up and stand for something, you open yourself up to be attacked, dismissed, criticized, silenced, and sometimes even assassinated. It is not uncommon […]
Does the word accountability have a positive or negative association for you?
Throughout my career, accountability has been a central focus of my research and teaching. Here are ten things I’ve learned about accountability: Accountability is the ability to be counted on. Never make a promise you don’t intend to keep, and when you make a promise keep it, whether you feel like it or not. Think […]
Fears, Trust, And the Human Experience
When our daughters were much younger, we went on a family “adventure” to the Fantasyland Hotel in West Edmonton Mall and took in a ride in the submarine. After boarding, the hatch closed, and as we “descended,” the guide began safety instructions. The moment she said, “if any of you get claustrophobic…” I immediately started […]
Making Authenticity Real – A Leadership Checklist
A lot of research ( e.g. Harvard Business Review and Leadership & Organization Development Journal) shows that employees’ perception of authentic leadership is the strongest predictor of job satisfaction and can have a positive impact on work-related attitudes. Most employees believe authenticity in the workplace leads to better relationships with colleagues, higher levels of trust, […]
Four things to remember when leadership feels hard.
Leading – whether in your family, your team, community, or company – is like life: it’s hard at times. When you decide to step up and stand for something, you open yourself up to be attacked, dismissed, criticized, silenced, and sometimes even assassinated. It is not uncommon to bear the scars from your efforts. Leaders […]
I grew up when the work ethic was so strong that talking to others and enjoying yourself at work meant you were wasting time.
Friendships in the workplace were seen as distractions. But recent Gallup data indicates that having a best friend at work actually improves employee performance and motivation and is strongly linked to business outcomes, including profitability, safety, inventory control and retention. Employees who have a best friend at work are significantly more likely to engage customers […]
Boundaries and Bravery
Boundaries are healthy and important, but can the idea of a boundary give us an easy out and prevent us from being brave and stretching ourselves? Years ago, in a family counselling session, parents were complaining that their 25-year-old son living in their basement wasn’t employed or contributing to the family in any way. The […]
How To Inspire People Through Basic Human Goodness
John Coltrane, the American jazz saxophonist and composer, once said that to be a better artist you have to be a better person. He could have been talking about leadership. We understand that leadership is too important to be diminished to techniques or titles. Leadership is about the character and integrity of a person. It’s […]
