My SHRM “Viewpoints” post about discipline in today's workplace opened with this: Progressive discipline, as practiced in most organizations, is legally defensible … and flawed in its logic. It is rooted in the decades-old mindset that treating people progressively [...]
Sandra (not her real name) was baffled and a little disconcerted. The team that had performed so admirably just a few years ago was now struggling. They still executed the routine tasks and assignments with [...]
Empowering employees to voluntarily help your company succeed should be, to borrow a phrase from Tom Peters, a “blinding flash of the obvious.” The metrics about engaging and utilizing your staff to share positive messages [...]
Think back on your career. Have you ever received too much recognition for the good work you have done? Have you provided too much recognition for the good work of others? The answer to both [...]
Take a moment to answer this question: How do you build and sustain a culture of commitment, accountability, engagement, and results? Did your list contain hiring for fit, coaching and developing people, providing an engaging [...]
Are you thinking of throwing out your company’s performance appraisal? A lot of companies are including GE, Accenture, Netflix, and Adobe. It is easy to understand why. Annual appraisals feel antiquated in a world where [...]
If you want to succeed, you have to be passionate about your work. It has to be true. Motivational speakers around the globe say so. The prestigious consulting firm Deloitte quantified it in a report [...]
You’ve heard it for years—a clear, compelling, and shared purpose is the driving force for building and sustaining a high-performing organization. It provides the “why” that serves as the North Star guiding every action and [...]
From Joe Calloway: In my 30+ years of working with leaders of organizations of every description imaginable, I’ve discovered a couple of truths about leadership and employees. One is that when a leader reaches the [...]
From Scott McKain: Employees should remember EVERYONE is replaceable – those who aren’t distinctive get replaced first. Steve Jobs died in 2011. Apple just reported their most profitable quarter ever. Tim Cook is good, too. [...]
Another month, and another weaker than expected jobs report. So what’s up with the economy? Welcome to the new normal: Unemployment that is higher than anything we can remember in decades. Scores jobs are available due to a lack of skilled workers. Slow growth that feels like a recession even though technically it isn’t, and most of all, uncertainty.
We live in an era of unprecedented uncertainty. At least that is what we are led to believe. Yes, the economy is sputtering at best. Jobs are at risk or non-existent. Europe could implode financially. The Middle East could implode politically. Depending on your political views, either the left or the right is about to take the country over a cliff from which there is no return. The challenges we face are certainly more expansive in their scope, but unprecedented uncertainty? Hardly. Do you believe that the level of personal anxiety is any higher today than that which existed during the Cuban Missile Crisis; World War I or II; the Civil War; the Great Depression; or life in the American colonies during the Revolutionary War?
Right now – as you are reading this sentence – 70 percent of your staff are alienating your customers, keeping you from achieving your goals, or costing your company money that could be used for more productive uses. Scary, huh?
Values – every company hangs them on the wall and distributes them on wallet cards. It is the same for individuals. Ask ten of your friends to list their values, and at least eighty percent will use words like respect, integrity, and honesty. So how important are your values? Will you sacrifice them for the results and outcomes you desire? Are they so important that you would lay down your life – figuratively or literally – to protect them?
The core of every noncommissioned officer’s commitment is articulated in the NCO Creed. It defines how each member of the NCO Corps views his or her responsibility as a leader. And, there is no better model for your success.