Category Archives: Communication
Want a great culture? Focus on these three things
The culture of your organization will either ensure your long term success or potentially leave your organization vulnerable to external threats. An effective culture leads to innovation, agility, great customer service, higher profit margins and high employee engagement. A weak …
Negativity saps productivity
After nearly five years since my last flight as a private pilot, it felt great to get out flying again with an instructor. It was amazing how much past knowledge came back so quickly. That shows the power of repetition …
Commit or Omit?
The vast majority of bosses don’t intentionally want to make employees miserable – usually it happens completely by accident! Whether it is an act of ‘commission’ or an act of ‘omission’, the results can be destructive. A front line supervisor, …
Supervisor – Salt, Sugar or Spice?
Salt has two primary functions related to food: Preservative and Seasoning. Many people, me included, find that a little bit of salt brings out the flavor of food. In the same way a front line supervisor or manager is responsible …
Transparent or need to know basis?
How much information should a leader really share with employees? Some bosses are like Col. Jessup played by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men in thinking their employees “can’t handle the truth.” Communication continues to be cited as a …
Making amends
Should a leader apologize when he or she makes a mistake, or is it a sign of weakness? In the front line leadership course we have two case studies on balancing friendship and leadership. This is a unique situation faced …
Caught in the Chaos?
A manager or supervisor’s job should be easier. After all, as long as you have the right people, the right materials, the right information and the right equipment, everything goes smoothly. For most of us this fairy tale scenario only …
Teamwork requires conflict
If the title of this article makes you scratch your head, consider for a few minutes the concept that a strong team with a high degree of trust requires its members to challenge one another. Ian Thomas, a professional speaker …
Hiding behind your keyboard?
For all the productivity improvements technology has brought us, there is a dark side and it is impacting employee engagement and management effectiveness. I’m talking about the tendency to send emails instead of going and talking to people. In extreme …
Answer the ‘Why?’
I’m sure I used to drive my mom and dad a little crazy as a child because I used to ask “Why?” so often. It turns out that kids aren’t the only ones who want to know why. Employees are …
