Leadership Blog
What is your North Star?
Organizations can be prone to misalignment and loss of focus toward what really matters. This happens when people - even with the best of intentions - concentrate on differing objectives. It is hard...
Monkey management: Effective delegation
Back in 1974, Oncken and Wass wrote a Harvard Business Review article called, "Who's Got the Monkey?" It used monkeys as metaphors for tasks or projects. It was well-received nearly 50 years ago,...
Holiday greetings
Wishing you warmth, peace and joy, now and always. From your friends at Humanergy. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Accountability, authority and responsibility
The ABC Project is in trouble. Carmen is the leader of the area, and her direct reports are doing the heavy lifting to get the project off the ground. Carmen is frustrated that her boss, Celia,...
Change leadership: Effective influence
A major change initiative has been launched with a comprehensive communication plan. Key people have been involved in and informed of the change strategies and the execution schedule. The CEO feels...
7 tips for virtual feedback conversations
Delivering constructive feedback is not easy to do, even when you have opportunities to be face-to-face. Working virtually means few, if any in-person interactions, but that does not mean you're off...
Three habits of trusted people
Stephen R. Covey wrote in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that...
Need to ask more powerful questions?
Asking powerful questions is one of the key skills of a great leader and team member. In my client work, I see many reasons why this doesn't happen. Often the barriers to asking questions (versus...
Consequences at work
When we think of the word "consequences" a number of negative emotions can be triggered - shame, pain, deprivation or other unfavorable feelings. So do consequences always have to have a gloomy...
Unplugged: A true story of its benefits
I recently took a trip to Europe (fully vaccinated and masked) with my husband, who had some work there. I contemplated doing what I typically do - taking my computer so I could check email and do...
Learning while virtual
Kids do it. Grownups, too. Even when the pandemic is firmly in the rearview mirror, many people will continue to work and learn from home, either full-time or for part of the week. How does that...
Leaders: Do you understand people’s needs?
Plans are underway - or being implemented right now - for many employees to return to their offices "post"-COVID. We won't weigh in on the health and safety issues of a return to physical...
Letting failure go
You've made an error, a project has failed or another problem has reared its ugly head again. Is your first impulse to learn from it and move on, or do you habitually perseverate over your missteps?...
The one thing you can do
While Abby Wambach's book, WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash our Power and Change the Game. may seem to be a book on women's leadership, it is really a book for everyone and the choices we...
Welcome back to the office
Transitions are afoot, as many organizations implement plans to bring workers back to the office, now that many states and municipalities are reducing COVID-19 restrictions. Most organizations are...
Do you rescue people?
A leader (we'll call him Fred) recently lamented, "I feel like I set direction for people and give them deadlines, but they just don't get stuff done. So when the deadline is looming, I end up doing...
Pull the plug
Ever have a project you've invested time, money, sweat and heart in, only to realize (often well after you should) that it's not going to reap the right results? It can be difficult to pull the plug...
Tracking the right indicators
Daily crises, intractable issues or just the hectic pace of change make it hard for leaders to step back and gain perspective. All too often this means they miss the big picture or the patterns in...
Rigid? Here’s how to become more flexible
Ever wish you could break out of your established patterns and ways of being? The truth is that most of us are more comfortable acting in familiar ways and in typical situations. What do you do when...
Delegate to the busy
"I can't delegate anything! We've had staff cuts, and everyone is too busy already." That's a pretty frequent comment made by leaders. Is there no other option but doing it yourself? Actually,...
Make meetings matter
One key reason to have a meeting is to make a decision. And often this does not go well. You've been in a meeting like this. A group of smart people come together to discuss important topics, but...