With the current pressures that businesses are facing, especially in the financial arena, the urge to force through an idea, proposal or a decision is a temptation every manager has to face. The pressure to get the results that are wanted (either from yourself as a manager or from others in senior positions) seems to…
There seems to be a lot of confusion related to the authority of the manager, especially if the manager has a change project to deliver on behalf of the company. On the one hand, the one managing wants to be able to influence the thinking of the group towards collaboration, the “big picture” and alignment…
Many idioms referring to human behaviour are based on analogies to parts of the body, especially arms, hands and fingers (e.g.: to keep one’s fingers crossed, all hands on deck, elbow room, to be on hand, keep her at arm’s length, he is all thumbs, he would not lift a finger, give someone a free…
Many politicians do it and some managers do it – they mess with your mind. It’s a wicked game, sometimes called manipulation, coercion or exploitation. “Manipulation”, as a word used in physiotherapy treatment, speaks to kneading, flexing and massage. It has an absolutely positive intent in mind – removal of pain and ultimate healing as…
“A prudent question is one half of wisdom” (Francis Bacon, Sr.) Many employees have become so used to receiving instructions – their respective bosses telling them what to do – that they have stopped thinking as a result. They perform the functions, but their hearts and minds are not part of their actions. They go…
“People who live in glass houses can’t pretend they are not at home” (Anon) Leadership “busyness” is frequently used as an excuse for a lack of effective employee engagement – managers attending a plethora of meetings, deadlines that have to be met, targets that have to be reached, issues in the production processes that need…
In consulting with organisations, I sometimes hear the following statements by employees of their respective managers: “One of my colleagues always underperforms, putting pressure on the whole team, but my boss never addresses the issue” “My boss always tells us that there is nothing he can do about a particular decision as it comes from…
“I look for three things in hiring people. The first is personal integrity, the second is intelligence and the third is a high energy level. But, if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you” (Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway) A person who behaves in a dishonest or deceptive way, either as…
Some of them get it right – these select chief executive officers manage to exude a hopeful, caring and determined leadership that inspires the staff contingent to aspire to greatness (quality, speed, professionalism, superb customer service, reduction of waste, innovation, good results, etc.). Others “fail” dismally – these CEO’s somehow use authority and positional power…
Removing clutter is liberating – getting rid of the unnecessary and creating space to think and focus on the truly important. Yes, removing junk takes time, but it does eventually pay dividends with clean desks, open spaces and a more conducive living or working environment. Creeping clutter is more difficult to tackle – this type…
Motivation theories have suggested that successful performance hinges on both having the needed skill and also the will to use the skill to achieve, but even motivated and skilled employees may fail to perform if they don’t have a personal certainty or belief that they can cope with what needs to be done. It would…
I wish that I still had 20/20 vision, but many years have slipped by and the time is coming for reading glasses – although reasonably inexpensive, they have the profound ability of bringing text back into focus again and I no longer need to squint to see that which is before me. In geometrical optics,…
