Blog post by William D. Stinnett, Ph.D.
Jim, an engineer at a high tech electronics firm, called me on the phone about three months after a leadership training workshop and said, “I just wanted you to know that class saved my job.” He has quite a temper and several times, he let it get the best of him. On one occasion, he grabbed his supervisor by the collar and pushed him into a wall of lockers. That is, of course, grounds for immediate dismissal – justifiably so. His supervisor, however, decided to give him one more chance. If Jim would agree to attend the leadership training workshop and commit to mastering the skills and applying them on a day-to-day basis, he would recommend probation rather than dismissal. Jim was an excellent student and worked really hard to use the skills and to keep his cool. Apparently it worked. He is still working there and just recently got a promotion. Jim’s supervisor saw something in Jim that was worth saving. He was willing to give him one more chance. ...Read more
Blog Post by Scott Seroka
Leadership comes with many benefits: additional responsibility, recognition, greater influence into the C-Suite and of course, a higher position on the corporate pay scale.
And then there are things leaders wish they could avoid at all costs – those things outside of their comfort zone, yet things that are inevitable and required. Hence the phrase, “That’s why you get paid the big bucks.”
Following are the top five things leaders wish they could escape…
1. Terminating employees. No matter how populated a personnel file may be, and no matter how poor an employee’s attitude may be, ending someone’s career is one of the most difficult things leaders do. And it’s not just the act of firing – it’s the self-doubt that a bad hire was made, or that the manager wasn’t able to “master” a particular employee. ...Read more
Blog Post by Scott Seroka
You receive a call from your manager in the morning and she tells you that she has a family emergency and won’t be in for the next two to three weeks. She apologizes profusely and gives you a rundown of all her critical tasks that you must oversee. Three of those tasks include kicking off new client projects where you’ll need to lead the work team and ensure they are completed on time and on budget. She’s contacting you because she believes you are the best one to fill her shoes in her absence.
When you get off the phone and take a moment to digest everything you’ve heard, congratulate yourself. You’ve just been thrust into a leadership position. So now what? ...Read more
Blog Post by Michelle Adams
The other day, I suddenly realized or admitted rather, that I had the blues—I was, shall we say, in a super funk. And for me, reaching out and saying, “I need help” is NOT easy. But I realized I had to. And what helps me the most? Want to take a wild guess? Yep, Active Listening.
Now, I realize I’ve written quite a bit about this skill but WOW is it blowing me away more than usual. It’s the hardest skill to grasp for most people—it’s even the # 1 topic that trainers want to discuss at a special L.E.T. Trainer Forum here in San Diego in October.
Okay, so, where was I? Oh….right, needing help. My helper sat on the couch across from me and Active Listened to me for about an hour. Several times there were a few minutes of total silence. She didn’t say, “Is there anything else going on that you want to share….?” ...Read more
Blog Post by Scott Seroka
Finding and hiring good employees is quite expensive. Placing ads on sites like monster.com can run several hundred dollars each. Working with professional recruiters can cost thousands. And then there is the time investment of interviewing and training, which can take months, depending on the position that needs to be filled.
A very close friend of mine once told me that she has only needed to terminate one employee in the past eight years, and other than two people who have retired, no employee has ever resigned. And it has little to do with monetary compensation, benefits or vacation time. It has much more to do with a list of her best employer/employee practices: ...Read more
