By Peter Barron Stark Every day we are each faced with problems to solve: the large problems can be intimidating and the small problems can be mind-numbing. Either way, there is no avoiding problems. You are in your leadership position, title or not, because you have the reputation for spotting and solving important problems while ...
Jan
23rd
2012
This blog entry has been adapted from the February 2011 issue of The Quest for Workplace Excellence (sign up here) Bad bosses. Chances are good that at least once in each of our careers we are challenged with working for a bad boss. These bosses are bad for our careers, our health and our work-life ...
Feb
24th
2011
Make Sure that Your Vision is More than Just a Piece of Paper on the Wall Employees may like reading a mystery, but they don’t like working in one. Heidi Grant Halvorson, writing for Fast Company, says it right when she says, “Make a point of saying exactly what you mean, and asking for exactly ...
Feb
21st
2011
Servant Leadership Despite founding the company, the reality is I work for each of the members of our team, not the other way around. This idea, which is called servant leadership, became popular in an essay written by Robert Greenleaf in 1970 titled The Servant Leader. Although Greenleaf brought life to the concept for today’s ...
Oct
25th
2010
Guiding Employees Through Change Change proves to be a challenge not just for supervisors and managers, but for employees as well. This adds another dimension to the already difficult situation: guiding the employees through the change. After all, organizations don’t change, people do. The following are eight suggestions that will help managers and supervisors guide ...
Mar
19th
2010
Handling Problem Employees Several managers have relayed stories to us about their employees’ lack of commitment and support for teamwork. Sometimes the employees are relatively new to the organization. More often than not, the employees they are describing have been with the organization or the department for a long time. Either way, when employees do ...
Mar
12th
2010
Even in the Face of Opposition Robert F. Kennedy once said, “About twenty percent of the people are against any change.” Our findings, in working with managers and supervisors tasked with leading organizational change, support Kennedy’s theory. No matter how effective a leader you are, it is not uncommon for you to periodically find your ...
Jan
18th
2010
When we ask participants in seminars why it is important to listen, the responses almost always relate to the need to gain accurate information from employees. That is correct, but it’s only a small part of the reason why it’s important to listen. A greater concern to a leader should be that their employees truly ...
Jan
13th
2010
Changes in the economy and the business environment have forced some organizations to change the way they do business. Whether we like it or not, managers and supervisors are the ones who have to implement the changes. In addition to the more traditional skills we possess as supervisors, it is critical that we understand our ...
Jan
12th
2010
A concern that frequently frustrates employees is the lack of accessibility or approachability of their own manager. There are many reasons why employees feel that their manager is not accessible nor even approachable. Some of their stated reasons include: The manager is not receptive to negative feedback. The manager spends a large portion of the ...
Jan
4th
2010
