Sometime in the distant past, I assigned a small, but significant project to a direct report. When I received the final deliverable, it was late and poorly done. My initial reaction was to firmly admonish them for the timeliness and low quality of their work. Once I finally started listening, I learned they were experiencing […]

The next five posts are going to follow a theme – the 3 worst management failures of my career and what I learned from them. I wish I could say it was challenging to think of 3 significant failures, it was not. Managing people can be hard and, despite decades of experience and learning, I

Much like the smell from an overripe Camembert, the annual performance review continues to linger in the dark recesses of the corporate world. An anxiety ridden process in which an entire year’s worth of accomplishments (and failures) are dutifully summed up and graded. Making things worse, it’s often tied to the annual salary action and/or

As a leader, you are going to be wrong. Frequently. The environment you operate in is complex and you will face new challenges with disturbing regularity. There is simply no way you can make the best decision in every situation. So, what do you do about it? The answer is simple. Create an environment in

After years of effort, revenue is pouring into your company. An abundance of resources are now available to do more for your employees, invest in R&D, expand into new markets and finally get that in house barista. You’ve arrived! While this is a brilliant situation to be in, it does come with risk. When companies

It’s May the 4th, a much celebrated day for Star Wars fans throughout the universe. While having my morning tea, lightsaber in hand, it occurred to me Star Wars has an important contribution to make in the field of leadership. On one side of the epic struggle is the Empire, featuring leaders that manage through