I came across another great article this past week. It talked about ways to give productive feedback to your employees. Giving employee feedback seems like an obvious task for any leader, but too often there is a lack of it.
I recently read an article in Forbes that was a nice refresher on how to be an authentic leader. Although I see these articles quite frequently, I felt this one in particular was a good reminder. After the entire Uber debacle and the CEO resigning last week it’s a good time to reflect on what it takes to be a trusted, authentic leader.
I know many of you are like me and have been in the same position for years. After a while, you forget what it’s like to be in the candidate’s seat looking for employment. If you ever really want to feel what it’s like, be a juror.
I recently read an article entitled “You’re Too Focused on What You’re Focused On.” The title itself made me think for a minute and intrigued me to read further. The gist of the article is that when we are deeply focused on something, we assume the people around us are too. But this isn’t typically the case. In reality, what’s important to one person may not be of equal importance to another.
It’s that time of year, and you might be surprised that I haven’t talked about the Detroit Tigers yet. Sparky Anderson used to say that you needed 40 games before you could truly assess how a major-league team is going to do for a season. We’re approaching that point now, so the time is right to give you my take on this year’s team.
I am a card carrying worrier. In fact, I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t a worrier. I’ve always thought that this was probably a negative trait versus positive trait. But then I read an article over the weekend that claims that worrying may actually be beneficial. According to Kate Sweeny, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, worrying can have positive emotional effects and can prove to be motivational.
Over the weekend I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about a Michigan CEO that is known for hugging his employees. It gave me pause to think about this. I would not say I am demonstrative at work. Even though I have worked with several of my colleagues for 20+ years, I can count on one hand the number of times I have hugged someone in the office. However, outside of the office I have hugged a bit more. I guess I never have felt it was appropriate in the...
Some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs did not complete a college degree - Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. However, their respective companies – Facebook, Microsoft, Apple – require degrees for most positions. Is this hypocritical? Are college degrees really necessary for most jobs?
Workplace culture is more than ping pong tables, casual Fridays, and group outings. One of the most important cultural aspects is management style. If you have weak managers in your organization, the culture will suffer. Employees will not feel valued, trusted, or successful. Hire and develop strong leaders.
Every office has politics – it’s unavoidable. But if leadership creates an engaging culture that encourages collaboration, those politics can be kept at bay. I recently read an article where the author stated that she is “allergic to silos.” I feel the same way.
I was recently surprised to find out that an estimated 1 in 5 employees suffers from some form of mental illness. This led me to dig a little deeper into this topic and find out what is causing this and what corporate leadership can do to prevent it and handle it when it happens.
Many of you know I am a big sports fan. Although baseball is my favorite, football is a close second. No, I am not going to write about the history making Super Bowl Sunday. Although what a game! What a comeback! A true never give up testament! But I am going to talk about another football hype from last week, National Signing Day. Can you imagine if corporate recruiting had the same level of excitement around it as that day does? What can the...
We all know at least one person who displays passive-aggressive behavior – whether it is at work or at home. And I have to think that we would all agree it is very difficult to deal with and in abundance, can lead to a toxic work environment. It can make an otherwise enjoyable job miserable, create burnout, and decrease employee morale. So how do we deal with passive-aggressive employees?
Happy New Year. I typically don’t make New Year’s resolutions - mainly because I never keep them. But I do take this time to reflect on both my personal and work life and see where I can make improvements. I recently came across a very interesting article that inspired me.
Several years ago I was attending a meeting with a group of about 15 people who know me but not particularly well. We were each asked to say something about our self that the other members of the group might not know. I was chosen to lead off and quickly stated what comes to mind first when I think about my personality: “I am an introvert who plays an extrovert for my job.” This caused several in the group to protest, “Mary, you are far from an introvert.” But that...