Refound Blog

5 Ways to Give Feedback from Your Kitchen Table

Direct Empathy

Some folks have the gift of being direct. Some folks tend to be more empathic. Finding a leader with the ability to do both of those…

The Authenticity Trap

“Well, that’s just who I am.”

I’m Sorry, That’s Not Accountability

Saying the words “I’m sorry” does not create accountability. It’s the way most of us avoid it…

The Personal Growth Business

What if the deepest purpose of a business is to change the lives of the people who work there, starting with…

Don’t Have Deep Conversations With Your Employees

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

What to Do When the New Boss Is You

How do you make the pivot from being someone’s teammate to being their boss? Of course, there are the projects and tasks that you’re now responsible for, but what about the changed relationships that are now all around you?

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.

The Marketing/Ops Tug of War

Your marketing and sales people want to see what will happen if they try that new thing. Your operations and finance people can already see what will break if they do. This tension is real and right. Swing too far to the marketing side, your current customer experience will…

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 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…

Have You Closed Your Team?

How do you measure your impact as a people manager? How can you make this seemingly intangible part of your role tangible?

Think about it in terms of sales.

How to Stop Worrying About Being Liked and Risk Being Loved

Accountability without mentoring is heartless.

Mentoring without accountability is pointless.

To create a culture of personal ownership you have to have both.

Turn Your Feedback Inside-Out

There’s a lot of talk these days about helping managers give more feedback to employees. What if it’s not a…

Don’t Act Now

It’ll happen in the next five minutes. You might not even make it to the end of this post before it does. A member of your team is on…