There are thousands of Lance Armstrong-like people working in companies today. People who have a win at any cost approach, who poison teams, destroy a company’s sustainability and ultimately harm the company’s mission.
Is there a Lance Armstrong on your management team?
Kelly Scanlon, the President and CEO of Thinking Bigger Business Media, Inc., interviewed Rob for her Smart Companies Thinking Bigger blog talk radio show which ran October 5, 2012. The topic was “Why You Need Dissatisfied Employees” and focused on creating a high-performance work environment.
Kelly’s goal with her radio show is to provide business owners with strategies, connections and inspiration for reaching the next level. Join Kelly and Robert as they talk about systems you can use to get more from your team. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
Olympic athletes are NOT satisfied until they win their medal, so they work like crazy before competing. My newest Forbes.com post asserts that dissatisfied employees are essential. Not dissatisfied with their boss, their company or their job, but dissatisfied with the level of progress toward their goals. It lays out five key elements to keeping them in a healthy state of dissatisfaction.
Increasing performance, reviewing performance, and rewarding performance are tough subjects that must be handled skillfully. Microsoft’s stack ranking of employees has been a topic of a number of posts recently that isn’t working out too well when it comes to their employees’ innovation. So how does the middle market company practice these evaluative techniques without alienating their employees or stifling the essential creativity necessary for growth?
What a waste when bright, competent senior leaders who report to the CEO hang back, and fail to lead their company assertively. When they tiptoe around the CEO and wait for permission to take charge.
Nobody wants to start a fight. Yet in many cases “playing nice” is uncalled for and may indeed hurt your business. Ask yourself these twelve questions before you cross the line.
What would you reveal about the future direction of your company or a specific employee? If big changes are in the wind – M&A, reduction in force, or outright sale – here are some specific suggestions on how the CEO and their top team should deal with disclosure.
Chaos at the top of an organization is a recipe for disaster. Learn about the three types of unpredictable leader, underlying causes for the behavior, four paths toward resolution and methods of coping if it’s your boss who’s unpredictable.
Many executives and companies have a built in limiting factor, just like the governor on a gas pedal. Here’s how you can prevent micro-management at the highest levels from stifling your growth.
E-mail is a great convenience, but it’s completely one-way. This can create havoc in your business infrastructure. Here are some of the biggest e-mail mistakes, most of which can be avoided by the original and most powerful form of communication.
Robert Sher is founding principal of CEO to CEO, a consulting firm of former chief executives that improves the leadership infrastructure of midsized companies seeking to accelerate their performance. He was chief executive of Bentley Publishing Group from 1984 to 2006 and steered the firm to become a leading player in its industry (decorative art publishing).