Despite extensive attempts to redesign performance systems to ensure they are ongoing, are driven by the employees, foster conversations between managers and employees, too many have become a cover-up for poor leadership.
Tag Archives: Leadership
Building OKR Compatible Performance Management Systems
OKRs are a powerful goal-setting and leadership tool for communicating strategic priorities and the milestones you’ll need accomplish. When smartly paired with performance management systems, this can be a powerful alignment tool. Yet there are some critical mistakes that are too often ignored.
3 Essential Questions for Leaders in New Roles
How often have you struggled or watched someone struggle while transitioning into a new leadership role? Top performance in one role does not inherently mean excellent performance in a future role with greater responsibility and scope. Success as an individual contributor, manager, functional leader or executive, does not imply success at leading individuals in thoseContinue reading “3 Essential Questions for Leaders in New Roles”
This, Not That: Team Effectiveness and the Myth of Accountability
Not long ago, I was working with the leader of a team at a mid-size company, coaching him and his two direct reports. They were plagued by performance issues like missed deadlines, inaccurate reporting, and complex interpersonal challenges. They desperately needed to establish some common building blocks for success—quickly. As I interviewed the team—which includedContinue reading “This, Not That: Team Effectiveness and the Myth of Accountability”
Do you want to spend your time doing $10,000 an hour thinking or $10 an hour tasks?
Last week my teenage son was at a ski competition at Taos Ski Valley and he brought home a ski hat with “Janitor” across the front. While the hat was nice, I was really curious about why it said “Janitor.” My son shared that the founder of Taos Ski Valley, Ernie Blake, used to wearContinue reading “Do you want to spend your time doing $10,000 an hour thinking or $10 an hour tasks?”
End of Year Questions and Intentions
3 Critical Leadership Questions… and some other reflections As the new year comes along, most of our budgets for the next year have been finalized and approved, and we begin (if we haven’t started already) to plan out how we will achieve these goals. For most, this focus is on tangible milestones—projects, tasks and initiativesContinue reading “End of Year Questions and Intentions”
Your Leadership Role as a Coach
I’m a big fan of the leadership definition: “While the job of a manager is to get work done through people, the job of a leader is to develop people through work.” What this means is that as a leader, one of the most critical roles you have is to coach and develop your talent.Continue reading “Your Leadership Role as a Coach”
Why Purpose Matters!
How often do you think about purpose, I mean really think about your purpose? There has been some amazing research on purpose recently that shows statistical links between people who know and live their purpose and longevity (7.6 years longer in those who have a clear purpose), the rate of deterioration of Alzheimer patients thatContinue reading “Why Purpose Matters!”
Is Your Organization Great? Really?
I had the privilege of listening to @Jim Collins today at an amazing learning institute #LinkageGILD. Collins had a great comment about the question, ‘How great is your organization’? Collins goes on to say that, “If your organization (team) cannot be great without you, it is not yet great.” Wonderful perspective. I’ve often asked people, “If yourContinue reading “Is Your Organization Great? Really?”
What the Holacracy?
A couple of weeks ago, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, sent the following memo to all of his employees. In this lengthy email, Hseih outlined his strategy for growing the business through Holocracy, an approach to organizational governance where decision-making, authority, and structure are distributed throughout the organization instead of being housed or owned byContinue reading “What the Holacracy?”
Inciting Leaders 