If you’re going to get the right ingredients, you need to be disciplined about whom you hire, whom you promote, and whom you reward. It doesn’t matter how big or small your organization is: Don’t settle for second best. Great leaders make sure they get, in the words of Jim Collins, “the right people on …
Continue reading “Hiring Tips for Getting the Right People on the Bus”
Do you ever wonder why some teams work well together and others don’t? What’s the secret ingredient – is it the people, their personalities, education, background, gender, or experience? Teams have been studied at length by researchers. According to a recent New York Times article, “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build The Perfect …
Continue reading “What Google Learned About the Perfect Team”
The role of a leader often boils down to solving complex problems. People have a natural tendency to want to solve problems in ways that are comfortable for them. In some cases, this can be detrimental, if a leader picks only problems that can be quickly resolved, or doesn’t take the time to identify the root …
The Six Thinking Hats method is a systematic way of thinking about individual roles and group communication. Published by Dr. Edward de Bono in 1985, the Six Thinking Hats method teaches members of a group to think about issues in specific ways. This tool explains each hat and how to use it effectively. What it …
Psychologists know that people’s beliefs affect how they interpret data. So the Circle of Assumptions teaches us that people can get caught in self-justifying feedback loops, where they become blind to data which does not reinforce their beliefs. A critical element of productive conversation is the ability to assess what people really know, and what …
To accelerate the pace of change, leaders must focus on creating localized systems of learning. It sounds easy, but it’s not. The secret is what I call “learning loops.” Learning loops are similar to feedback loops except they are deliberately designed to involve a small group of people who are empowered to achieve organizational change …
Continue reading “Using Learning Loops to Accelerate the Pace of Change”
Effective conversations need to be organized so that people can move through them in a logical way. One technique is the GROW model. You can use this tool to manage virtually any kind of conversation. For people familiar with the Socratic inquiry, the GROW model is a way to remember each step along the path. …
Continue reading “Using the GROW Model to Facilitate Conversations”
Delegating effectively is one of the most important things a manager does. The best managers in the world excel at knowing when to delegate, how to delegate, and to whom to delegate. A key to their success – perhaps the most important key – is that they’ve learned how to hire effective people and then …
Continue reading “How to Delegate Effectively”
Most people assume they make good decisions most of the time. But a new body of research reveals a phenomenon called “decision fatigue,” which means the more decisions you make during the course of a day, the more likely you are to make a bad decision. This tool explains how decision fatigue works – and …
I was asked by the CEO of a large health care plan to coach one of his executives, the head of IT. “Mike’s got problems,” he told me. “People feel that he doesn’t listen to them. Some complain that he has stopped communicating with them. I’d like you to see if you can help.” My …
Continue reading “Using Straight Talk® to Balance Your “AQ” and “EQ””
Client Member Area