Regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings between a leader and direct report are by far the most effective way to accelerate performance. So, why is this effective performance acceleration technique ignored? The biggest reason leaders give for not conducting regular one-on-one meetings is they don’t have enough time. Leaders should conduct weekly 30-minute meetings. A leader with … Read more
Right now there is a team working on the iPhone 13. There is a team working on preventing Alzheimer’s disease. There is a team working on a vehicle that gets 100 miles per gallon. What teams are going to achieve their objective? What makes for a successful team? Patrick Lencioni in “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” … Read more
As any reasonable Visionary, I too read Traction and RocketFuel salivating over the idea of an Integrator. As a small business owner, I also thought: if only! If only we could afford it. If only we had the perfect person. If only they could learn our business or industry. If only I could trust them … Read more
The best way to source candidates for open positions is by tapping into an existing network. Sending emails to connections and leveraging your LinkedIn network will turn-up the prime candidates. When sending these emails or postings it’s best to focus more on the “soft skills” sought and less on the “hard skills.” Remember most leaders hire for … Read more
In the last few years prior to the COVID stay-at-home orders, the US experienced more than 25 months of an outrageous unemployment rate below 4.5%. That number represents the “natural low”, meaning there is an inevitable rate of some unemployment because some people are not physically, or otherwise capable of holding down full-time jobs. So … Read more
We all remember the quiet, shy person in high school who rarely spoke in class. The type of person who listened intently, took lots of notes, and worked hard at flying under the radar. When the teacher called on this introvert, we were all amazed at the insights offered and surprised the person didn’t speak up … Read more
“I hate performance appraisals!” The worst part about that perspective is that both direct reports and leaders share it. Why? Too frequently, leaders have not kept notes and records of both positive performance and course corrections throughout the year, much less shared these observations along the way. So while the leader dreads the process of … Read more
Leaders should be providing feedback to their direct reports every day. Often leaders want to save their feedback for the weekly one-on-one meetings or, worse, performance review sessions. Don’t overlook the importance of positive feedback – leaders should be giving much more positive feedback than course corrections. Some effective positive feedback examples are: “I like … Read more
In the last few years prior to the COVID stay-at-home orders, the US experienced more than 25 months of an outrageous unemployment rate below 4.5%. That number represents the “natural low”, meaning there is an inevitable rate of some unemployment because some people are not physically, or otherwise capable of holding down full-time jobs. So … Read more
Direct reports should have a job accountability matrix capturing the job’s activities, priorities, and success factors. Job accountabilities are often used in lieu of a job description that lists the job’s requirements and expectations. Whether leaders use a job accountability matrix or a traditional job description to define their direct report’s job, it should be … Read more