No Values? Really?
Have you ever heard, “That person has no values”? What that usually means is, “That person’s values are so different from mine that I don’t recognize them.”
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Accountability
Responsibility and Accountability: They’re the Same, Just Different
If you look up the definitions of responsibility and accountability you’ll find they are used interchangeably. But there is a subtle yet important difference between the two words. A good way to separate them is to consider responsibility as ownership of a task, and accountability as ownership of the results.… Read More »Responsibility and Accountability: They’re the Same, Just Different
What You Don’t Know Is More Than You Realize
Business owners often complain that they don’t know about everything happening in the business. It’s s a truth many leaders don’t realize: the higher you go, the less you know! For various reasons, the more senior a leader is, the less he or she knows about what is going on… Read More »What You Don’t Know Is More Than You Realize
How Long Does it Take to Make a Decision?
It was a cry of despair. The retail employee was waiting to find out if the store manager had decided to move her to a new position as she had requested. After listening to her story, I could see that she really wasn’t being impatient; her request had been made… Read More »How Long Does it Take to Make a Decision?
Water, Aliens, and Accountability
I’ve found the answers to everything. That’s right. In two words I can explain everything that ever has or ever will happen. First, human health. You have probably heard of the concern with the chemical compound dihydrogen oxide. Extensive research indicates that every person who has ever died or even… Read More »Water, Aliens, and Accountability
I’m Appalled – Enough Already
I’m appalled, though unfortunately I guess I’m not really surprised. Amidst all the rhetoric about equality and fair treatment, it turns out there is a lot of inequality and unfair treatment going on. Specifically, ever day now the news brings us another story detailing the sordid details of some new… Read More »I’m Appalled – Enough Already
Toxic Behavior Destroys Team Trust
A prerequisite for effective and high-performing teams is trust among its members. According to Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, trust is foundational to team effectiveness. Improving an absence of trust due to unfamiliarity, personality and cultural differences, or ambiguous roles and responsibilities is “relatively†straight forward… Read More »Toxic Behavior Destroys Team Trust
Are You Waiting for Your Team to Accept You?
“Your people will decide if you are a leader.” Some version of this quote appears from time to time attributed to various people who would have us believe that leaders must please their team to be a real leader. They believe a leader is not really a true leader until… Read More »Are You Waiting for Your Team to Accept You?
Do You Treat Team Members Equally or Fairly?
The concept of fair and equal still gets considerable attention these days so I thought it was time to update an article from a couple of years ago explaining why equal isn’t always fair. Are you treating all your employees in a fair and equal manner? The two words are… Read More »Do You Treat Team Members Equally or Fairly?
Dealing with Toxic Team Members
In workshop discussions concerning conflict management, inevitably the subject of dealing with “toxic” individuals comes up. I maintain that if you have toxic individuals on your team, you normally don’t have a conflict problem, you have a values problem. We’ve talked about workplace culture before but, in my experience, few… Read More »Dealing with Toxic Team Members