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Employee Relations

Stuck in a toxic work culture? Three thoughts on what to do.

Our leadership students come from many different companies.  Most come from companies with great cultures that take an active interest in their employees and develop them into engaged individuals with a vested interest in organizational success. Others…not so much.  I’ve had a number of students who, unfortunately, worked in environments… Read More »Stuck in a toxic work culture? Three thoughts on what to do.

That cold shoulder just might be feedback…Are you listening?

Your teenage daughter walks in to the house after school looking sullen and without her characteristic after school greeting. You ask, “How was school?”  “Fine” is the answer. But a few seconds later the slam of a bedroom door indicates to you that everything, indeed, is not fine.  The silent treatment continues into dinner despite your efforts to find out what the problem is. Thank goodness at work you get to deal with mature adults where nothing like this ever happens, right? Right.

You’ve noticed that Bill, one of your team members, isn’t his usual self. In fact, it seems like he is being downright rude. He’s doing the work, mostly, but he’s not being as punctual and you are finding more than the usual number of errors in his stuff. He also has been kind of sarcastic in meetings. Not to the point of open insubordination, but still, it’s getting annoying. You finally ask, “Bill, everything OK?” “It’s fine.” Sound familiar?Read More »That cold shoulder just might be feedback…Are you listening?

How to be an Assertive Leader

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In a recent interview on CNBC, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo talked about a meeting with Steve Jobs where Jobs told her “If you really feel strongly about something — if you don’t like something people are doing — throw a temper tantrum. Throw things around, because people have got… Read More »How to be an Assertive Leader

The Glass is Always Full

You’ve probably heard the question before; is the glass half empty or half full? It’s the wrong question. It’s better to ask, what the glass is full of. Unless it’s in a vacuum, the glass, or any container, is always full of something. Even the glass that is filled halfway with liquid is still full. The rest of the volume is taken up with air, dust, and other things you can’t see and probably don’t want to think about. People are like that too.Read More »The Glass is Always Full

Heat, Wind, Sand, and A Critical Mission

The sand suspended in the air was worse than usual. A recent sandstorm had made the air almost opaque and I could only see for a few feet. I could barely see the 26 airplanes parked in front of me, or the approximately 200 mechanics who were working to get them ready to fly. (The picture was taken in the daytime) As I walked towards where I knew the planes were, I could begin to make out their shapes, and see the outline of the troops scurrying about. Within the next hour or so, at least 20 of those airplanes would be airborne.

The airplanes were C-130 transports many of which were more than 40 years old. They had spent their years in hard use, carrying heavy loads around the world often landing in barely improved dirt strips. They were old, tired airplanes. But because of the mechanics that toiled day and night to keep them mission ready, they could still do the job.

Those mechanics worked in conditions that were uncomfortable at best. Read More »Heat, Wind, Sand, and A Critical Mission

Leaders, Check Your Ego at the Door, Please

steve-cockpit180x“Lead, do you have the target in sight?” Those words coming over the radio from my deputy flight lead, the third aircraft in our four aircraft formation of F-16’s, caused immediate consternation in the lead aircraft, of which I happened to be the sole occupant. It took just a few seconds to realize I had made a navigation error; I had inadvertently selected a navigation point beyond our target. Correcting the problem revealed that I was indeed overflying our assigned target. Now, what to do about it?Read More »Leaders, Check Your Ego at the Door, Please