Coaching News
Outsourcing Management
Outsourcing is a viable business option, and it’s here to stay. And it’s nothing new — we’ve been outsourcing some or all of the human resources functions for decades (think 401k admin, for example). Having said that, to what criteria do we manage these providers?...
Too Much Work, Too Little Time … Good Luck With That!
During my last stint in the Pentagon, I worked for more than a few senior executives who were notorious for wanting too much in too little time. High achievers learned very quickly that the reward for hard work was more work. In fact, my favorite quote (which I used...
Needing Leaders… The “make” or “buy” decision…
So, do you grow your own leaders from within, or hire someone new with – presumably – the leadership skills you need are unable to find inside your organization? What do you tell yourself to justify not developing those skills from within your organization? How...
Manager Evaluations — 360 & Subordinate
Should we use 360-degree evaluations to determine how well our managers are “managing?” My answer will be brief, followed by some applicable humor (well, it’s funny to me…) Management efficacy should be evaluated by measurement, not popularity. Don’t ask the question...
Just be nice…
Bullies. Jerks. Egomaniacs. All have been used to describe domineering bosses. Leaders who are abusive, raise their voices, and intimidate. Personally, I call them something else. Failures. A leader who resorts to intimidation, brow-beating, threats and coercion is...
Who’s Got Your Six??
As the leader of your team, who’s got your back? Are the people who work for and with you watching out for you, or do you find yourself covering your six to keep from being stabbed in the back? A few years back, the “Got Your 6” campaign launched to unite nonprofit,...
Bob Fires A$$holes …and you should too!
Bob’s a client, the chief executive of a fairly large company in the Northeast. His name is not really Bob, but he really is a client, and a recent experience prompted me to share this (with Bob’s permission). At the beginning of my coaching engagement with Bob, I...
A physicist, a preacher and an Iman walk into this bar…
Though that has all the makings of a great joke (appropriate apologies to those easily offended), I just wanted to highlight the diverse uses of today’s topic. The three characters mentioned above are the most frequent users–or at least, most frequently referenced–of...
Don’t Tolerate Bad Behavior…
…or you’ll see a lot more of it! Have I told you about the time I got fired? I was a 25-year-old hotshot, fighter pilot wannabe stuck in west Texas as an Air Force instructor pilot. I’d had three bosses in 18 months and was still in the process of breaking the new one...
Tough Conversations: Have ‘em or avoid ‘em??
Nobody really likes them. Yes, some are better than others in dealing with them, but they are likely not high on our most-favorite interactions list. Tough conversations make us uncomfortable. Maybe we even don’t know what to say or how to say it. We don’t always know...
Leading: Changing behavior or winning?
Do you want to win, or to change behavior? This is a question I frequently ask clients when discussing how best to approach someone in a (usually) tough conversation or conflict. As leaders, if we want to “win” the discussion, we simply flash our business card, tell...
Coaching Slugs …What if they just don’t get it??
Coaching Slugs... the uncoachable. Also sometimes known as: Light's on, nobody's home. She just doesn't get it. How'd he slip through HR? The 80/20 rule... Or, my personal favorite... A waste of time. As egalitarian and "fair" as we sometimes hope to be, there's no...
Integrity Isn’t Flexible
I wrote about this a couple of years ago, but it seems like things are getting worse, not better. I’ve had a number of conversations with transitioning military veterans recently, and a common issue among them is adjusting to the perceived lack of integrity out in the...
