I serve on the Board of several non-profit organizations. One of them recently re-organized its management structure. The executive director asked, “We have a new management team. I wish you would tell them the secrets of being a great manager.” When the team convened, I wrote these words on a white board: “First principle: No …
Continue reading “Secrets of Being a Great Manager: Part One”
Part of managing decisions well is learning how to manage conflicts effectively. There are two types of conflict. One reflects differences in priorities, approaches, and ways of seeing things. This kind of conflict is natural, since it simply reflects different roles and different styles. Helping people figure out how to navigate these kinds of conflicts …
This strategic planning model defines the six elements of a strategic plan and shows their relationship and inter-dependence. This is a valuable tool to use in guiding the strategic planning process. Download PDF The Six Rings Strategic Planning Model Overview: The Six Rings Planning Model starts with defining purpose and core values. A vision then …
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Developing a high-performing company starts with defining its organizational core values – the actions and behaviors essential to the organization’s success. To do this successfully, you must engage your employees in a series of conversations about what it means to be a values-driven organization, what behaviors support the core values, and how important employees are …
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Last week I met with an executive who’d called me in to help her with strategic planning and team building. I noticed right away her lack of eye contact and her brusque manner. What she told me was this: “I want to build a great team” and “I have an open door policy.” What I …
How do you accelerate the level of trust in your organization? The short answer: with lots of reciprocity. People feel trust because they are rewarded in many different forms of currency: customers with excellent service and follow-up communication, employees with recognition for a job well done and interesting opportunities, to name a few. But those …
Several trends are making competence in communication more important today than ever before. First, the need to respond quickly to market changes creates the need for a less rigid and bureaucratic work environment. Information must quickly flow up, down, and across traditional channels. No longer is it enough to have a few skilled communicators at …
There’s a concept of community in South Africa that’s called “Ubuntu.” It emphasizes the interdependence of each member of the community. It recognizes a person’s status as a human being, entitled to unconditional respect, dignity, value and acceptance. But it also entails the converse. Each person has a corresponding duty to give respect, dignity, value …
Boards of directors clearly have ultimate decision-making authority for everything under their guidance. But in actual practice, many boards don’t exercise that authority. Staff often drafts a recommendation and brings it to the board to ratify. This may be efficient, but it casts the board in the role of “rubber stamping.” Over time, this erodes …
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One of the biggest reasons that big initiatives fail is because people have failed to assess the hidden costs of change. The benefits of pursuing a given course – launching a new product, or expanding into new territory – may be outweighed by hidden costs that motivate certain people to cling to the status quo. Unmasking …
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