To keep the support of their sponsors, black belts and other specialists will do well to manage the agreements they have with sponsors. The director of a lean management program recently approached me with a problem he was having with program sponsors prohibiting students from implementing their lean projects at work. According to the director, […]
Managers undermine their integrity in following a “don’t tell them” strategy. The topic in my leading change class today was integrity and its impact on a leader’s ability to effect change. Integrity was defined as honoring your word and doing what you said you would do by when you said you would do it and […]
This is from Laurie, even though it says the author is Jeffrey. I see why performance conversations are such a confront: saying publicly what I’ll do and by when would be fine if I was sure nobody was listening! So, I have created a timeline for getting my “management is missing” summaries – including solutions […]
I took my ideas about an online conversation for “Management is Missing” into several meetings over coffee and lunch in the past 10 days. I had lunch with a man who develops websites: he liked the Performance Circle idea, and we sketched out some thoughts on how to have the kind of interactive discussion I’m […]
Having authority can contribute to the very problems managers believe are solved by that authority. Why, because when managers have authority they don’t think they need to communicate as much. This is particularly true when managers confront threats to the successful completion of projects they are managing. Years of research indicates that managers who have […]
Do you use deadlines when you make requests? Deadlines are one of the most powerful tools for accomplishment you can use. They give people information that allows them to organize and prioritize the work they have. Without due dates, people aren’t sure when they should work on things. As a result, work gets postponed, no […]
Have you ever wanted to reduce, if not end, unproductive complaints? One way to do that is to implement a policy that people only complain to those who can do something about the complaint. Complaints are prevalent in organizations. People complain about the weather, about their work, about their coworkers, and about their boss(es). Although […]
Tiger Wood’s recently addressed the world to apologize for his marital infidelity. If you watched the apology, you could tell that it was not easy for him. He was clearly ill at ease, unsure of himself, nervous, and at times, upset. For someone who values his privacy, this was difficult. In terms of The Four […]
A former student of mine sent me the link to a great blog article posted by Fast Company entitled “2010: The Year of Saying ‘I Got It’ “. The focus of the article, written by Lynette Chiang, is how companies, as well as individuals, have gotten into the habit of not responding to inquiries – […]
I have been doing some research in preparation for a workshop on personal accountability a colleague and I are doing for MBA’s at the Fisher College. As I have been getting into it, I am beginning to notice more about what the absence of accountability sounds like when people talk. Consider the following example. The […]
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