The Lead Yourself First Blog
The Usual Suspects: Three Reasons Why Difficult People Win… And What You Can Do About It
“She’s not happy unless everyone around her is panicked, nauseous or suicidal.” One of the unforgettable lines from Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) describing her boss, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”. Fortunately, Andy realized that she didn’t need to play her boss’s game, refused to be a doormat and ultimately […]
@remaining humble: Remembering the Founder of Email
Last week the world lost a real pioneer; a man who transformed communication and revolutionized the way we do business. Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of email and the creator of the “@” symbol, was described as “humble, kind and generous with his time and talents”. Mr. Tomlinson spent almost 50 years with the same employer, […]
Here Today. Gone Tomorrow…Why Customers Go Elsewhere In A New Economy
The question: “Why Customers Go Elsewhere?” remains timeless, even in the digital age. Unfortunately, many businesses fail to deliver on a simple premise: Take Care of the CUSTOMER. This applies to every individual, whether or not he or she has regular, direct customer contact. In a memorable Seinfeld episode, Jerry and Elaine are incredulous as […]
It’s Not You, It’s Me. Four Reasons Why Some Leaders Need to Look In The Mirror
“Mirror Mirror on the Wall. Who’s the Fairest of Them All?” And the Wicked Queen would wait for the magic mirror’s expected response: “My Queen, you are the fairest in the land.” And so it was, until one day the mirror shockingly revealed that times had changed: “My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. […]
Leadership Lesson: Lead With Your Character, Not Your Title
As I listened to the CEO’s concluding remarks at his organization’s staff appreciation event, I noted that every attendee was completely engaged; hanging onto every word. Five employees were being recognized for their service, and their leader enthralled the crowd as he shared anecdotes about each person. It was clear that the CEO’s expression of […]
Leadership Lesson: Look for the Good!
“She’s always whining,” “He’s retired on the job”, “Not worth the trouble trying to motivate her”, etc. etc.
When it comes to managing employees who have seemingly tuned out, shut down and stopped contributing, it is easy to understand why leaders and managers become frustrated, abandon hope of a turnaround, and give their attention to the more engaged team members. After all, dwelling on the negative employee is an energy drain, hinders our effectiveness and takes a toll on managing higher priorities.
As leaders, most of us agree that managing difficult people is challenging. The usual default position of leaders who give up on unproductive employees is based on the premise that they are simply too much work. However, can we be certain that our summation is entirely accurate?
Three ways we kill our creativity
I recently had the opportunity to take Cayden, my eight year-old grandson, to a hockey game. Fortunately for me he loves watching hockey as much as I do. As we walked into the arena, Cayden immediately noticed all the merchandise for sale. He asked the salesperson how much a “Number 33” jersey would cost, knowing that the price would far exceed his (or grandma’s) budget. He’d already pictured himself wearing one with pride, whether we attended a game or watched on TV. What he didn’t realize was the fact that I already had a “plan b” in the works to purchase one elsewhere. As we took our seats a few minutes later, Cayden said: “It’s OK, Grandma. You don’t have to worry about buying me a jersey. Santa is going to bring me one.” I savoured the moment, having no intentions of shattering Cayden’s imagination. Santa would deliver!
Sadly, for many of us, our curiosity and magical sense of wonder begins to diminish as we age. We become more risk-averse and find ourselves accepting the opinions of others who dismiss our ideas as foolish. In short, we kill our creativity in three specific ways:
Forget New Years Resolutions: Start With Your Mindset
As we reflect on the events of the past twelve months, we are inundated with advice regarding New Years Resolutions, why they fail and what we need to do to achieve our goals. Like most of us, I look forward to the beginning of a new year with positive anticipation. However, while I do believe […]
Leaving a leadership legacy: Three tenets to live by
As I watched the founder of one of Canada’s best places to work grace the stage, it became apparent that not only was he deeply moved by the reaction of his staff, but also reflective and humbled as his team applauded and stood to honour his legacy. Every team member, as well as managers at […]
Understanding unconscious bias: Your perception becomes your truth
Spanish philosopher George Santayana said in the Life of Reason: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (1905-1906) If there is any truth to the notion that history repeats itself, then Santayana’s prophetic insights are as relevant today as they were more than 100 years ago.
