Is Your Feedback Invisible?

The reason for most feedback — both constructive and complimentary — is obvious. The conversations that your people managers need to be having are right there in the open.

Managers clearly see the need for constructive feedback when a teammate has poor…

How to Have a Great One-on-One Meeting

Are you having weekly one-on-ones with your team? Are you having weekly one-on-ones that…

Don’t Have Deep Conversations With Your Employees

How to Review a Human Part 4 of 4: Give the Review Away

One of the most important elements of any review conversation is what happens afterwards. Whether it was a conversation about compensation or caring, a difficult conversation or a celebratory one, most reviews die the moment they’re…

It’s Not You (Or Them)

How do you talk with someone on your team about a mistake without making them feel defensive? The skill is being able to bring your feedback in context — not so much the words you use but the place from which they come. It’s simpler than it sounds. Think of one person at work you need to…

How to Bake an Apology

We usually take our apology out of the oven way too soon. We rush off an “I’m sorry” or “Oops!”, but it’s mostly to try…

Are They Good at Their Job?

Something is not right with a member of your team. You know it. Their manager knows it. Their teammates know…

First Rule of Culture Change? Don’t Talk About Culture Change

Is there any greater addiction than the earnest belief that we will do it differently tomorrow? The paradox is that good-hearted leaders are often the ones most deeply in the throes of the addiction.

Helping With Overwhelm

[A Client Story from Gary in Chicago] I’ve been in the real estate leasing business for the last 35 years. A few months…

The Enemy is Inaction

Starting new conversations and changing the way things are where you work can seem daunting at first. Often we have a sense of what’s needed but we don’t have the right words to put it in motion. Ben from Wildcats Hockey has you covered. This is the email he sent to his team in his first…