“Look at your spend” “Free up some cash” We all seem to be hearing a lot of these kinds of statements right now. And they’re mostly understandable. We’re in a strange, new situation for which there’s literally no precedent, and this naturally causes us to be more cautious. As we encounter various flavors of “budget … Read More
Leadership
The One Thing At The Core Of All Organizational Problems
Nearly every big problem that persists in our organizations today comes from limitations that live in the mindset of the leadership. Bold claim? Maybe, but I think you’ll see it’s true. Let me explain… There are a lot of big, hairy problems in our organizations, ranging from turnover to disengagement to lack of agility and … Read More
Gratitude: The Simplest, Most Powerful Thing We Don’t Do Enough Of
At Helios, we have a somewhat-peculiar practice. Every Monday afternoon we get together for our all-hands team check-in, and we start our meeting, every single time, with a single, simple question: “Right now, what are you grateful for (or what are you celebrating)?” We are a virtual team, so we meet on Zoom. Someone starts … Read More
“Leaders: What Should You Do With a Low Performer?” on Inc.
“I don’t think he’s going to last here much longer.” “She needs so much hand-holding to just do her job!” “Why is it so difficult to get what we need from [that person]?” How many times have you heard questions like these in your workplace? How many times have you said something like this yourself? … Read More
Is Your Organization A Neverland?
It was a morning like most weekday mornings, which is to say everyone in my family was running around trying to get ready to leave the house. And as you may know, some mornings are better than others when it comes to little kids listening versus dawdling — this particular morning was kiddo procrastination in … Read More
How Purpose Work Fails Your Organization
Doing “purpose work” in organizations seems to be all the rage right now. And, again, for the most part, this is a great thing. But something has been bothering me about this, so today I’d like to show you exactly how “purpose work” can fail your organization. There are two primary ways this happens: It … Read More
Deep Down, We Wish ‘Energizing Work’ Was More Complicated
Last week I gave a talk in Los Angeles for International Coaching Week. As I was on the plane flying home I read through my feedback forms, and noticed a couple comments indicating the participants would have liked more examples of workplaces that help people work freely in their strengths. I’ve heard this request a … Read More
A New Year Projection: One Diagram To Rule Them All
As we look into the fresh beginnings of a new year, I wanted to offer a bold idea that could absolutely transform your organization in 2017: What if you could replace your entire people strategy with this two-circle diagram and a simple mantra? That may seem crazy, but hear me out… For each individual, the zone where the … Read More