05

May

Stop Rewarding Arsonists for Putting Out Fires

jeff

accountability, fire fighting, performance management, planning, Recognition, rewards

Bad Leaders, Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, Contribute, Horror Stories, How to fix teams

It’s all too common that we reward the heroes who save the day on our teams without stopping to think that they might only be rescuing us from problems they created. Stop rewarding arsonists for putting out the fires.

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01

Apr

How to (inadvertently) start a fight

0 No comments

3coze

development, feedback, feelings, leadership, Mistakes, personality, potential, training

Bad Leaders, Be a better team leader, Communicate, conflict, Connect, Horror Stories, Personal Development, Right Words to Say

I’ve been flying across the country delivering a leadership development program about the mindset and skillset leaders require to unlock the potential of their people. As I watch them role play with one another, I notice the things they say that create a negative reaction. Most of the offending statements include one of these three […]

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04

Mar

The Value of Struggle

2 comments

3coze

conflict, cross-functional, culture, project management, self-reliance, success theatre, vulnerability

Bad Leaders, Connect, Horror Stories

In last week’s post, I talked about the risk of creating a “success theater” in your organization. The term had come from a Wall Street Journal article about General Electric and their culture of sharing only good news. This topic continued top of mind for me and I really wanted to understand why I found […]

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14

Jan

Disagree with your boss without getting fired

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3coze

conflict aversion, conflict avoidant, Fired, organizational culture, power struggles, standing up to your boss, values

Bad Leaders, Be a better team member, conflict, Personal Development, Right Words to Say

This is the last of a series of posts exploring the causes and impact of our profound conflict aversion. I’m exploring how the things we were told as children, taught us that conflict was bad.  “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” or “Mind your own business!” or “You made him […]

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15

Oct

Weinstein and how we stop powerful predators

1 comment

3coze

bullying, Harvey Weinstein, office politics, power, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, victims

Bad Leaders, Be a better team member, Horror Stories, How to fix teams

I wrote an article for Quartz last week on the Harvey Weinstein case. In it, I talked about the need to change our perspective about acting on office rumors, particularly when rumors might be the only protection against an abusive predator in the office. The article started many conversations and has kept me thinking about […]

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21

May

Curtailing your need for detail

1 comment

3coze

delegation, detail, goals, leadership, management, micro-management, micro-manager, targets, thresholds, weeds

Bad Leaders, Contribute, Personal Development, Right Words to Say

Do you have micro-managing tendencies? As a leader, do you only feel confident when you feel like you have your finger on the pulse of your organization? Do you love getting to the root of an issue, no matter how far into the weeds it takes you? Is your favorite part of the meeting the […]

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07

May

Delegation is a flawed concept

2 comments

3coze

coaching, delegation, development, feedback

Bad Leaders, Be a better team leader, Contribute

Last week, I heard a leadership consultant say “delegation is a flawed concept.” It caused me to pause and reconsider my constant pleas for leaders to delegate more. Is it possible that delegation is a bad strategy, or is it a good plan that’s poorly executed? I think it’s the latter, what do you think? […]

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30

Apr

Dealing with a Boss with Double Standards

4 comments

3coze

boss plays favourites, consistency, double standard, inconsistency, rules, unfair

Bad Leaders, Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, Communicate, Horror Stories, Right Words to Say

Double standards are my kryptonite. As much as I like to think of myself as an unstructured, free-spirited type, when there are rules, I follow them. I sweat when I have to deal with border guards and fret at the thought of being late for appointments. So when a boss sets rules and applies them […]

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05

Mar

Standing up to powerful bullies

6 comments

3coze

aggression, Bully, bullying, coping, leader, power

About teams, Bad Leaders, Be a better team member, conflict, Right Words to Say

I gave a speech last week to a group of leaders from the legal industry. The audience was filled with the people who support the lawyers: people from HR, marketing, finance, etc. I was talking about the importance of productive conflict when an audience member asked the question that everyone had been thinking about. “How […]

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07

Dec

One Thing Not to Delegate

3 comments

3coze

decision making, delegate, delegation, priorities, prioritization, trade offs

Bad Leaders, Be a better team leader, Contribute

I’m usually the one urging managers to delegate more. Too often, you get way into the weeds and cause all sorts of damage. There is one important exception to that rule. It’s complete abdication of your responsibility as a leader when you delegate prioritization to the people below you. Make the hard trade-offs to get […]

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