Guest post by Jason Lauritsen We love to blame managers when things go wrong. Employee turnover goes up—it’s because they are leaving their manager. Performance goes down—it’s probably because the manager isn’t providing feedback. The survey says employees are disengaged—we look to the manager as the cause. And while there is some truth in all…
If you’re even halfway interested in becoming a better leader, then I’m sure you’ve read dozens of books and articles and case studies about leadership. You’ve probably seen a few statistics that have made you really stop and think about your own approach to management and leadership. But you’ve never seen a statistic like this…
Welcome to October! The earth is moving ever farther away from the sun (which is not at all what’s happening), and trees all around the world are very, very slowly trying to kill us. If only they could drop their leaves all at once, they might succeed in taking a few of us out –…
Leadership is an art. And, as with any art form, some people are better at it than others. In painting, for example, some people create breathtaking masterpieces, scenes of sweeping beauty and poignant emotion capable of evoking rapture in the viewer. Others paint reasonably well, good enough to admire but not quite deserving of the…
First off, I’m sorry nobody respects you. It’s bad enough to need employees in the first place, since all they seem to do is ask for money you would much rather spend on nicer things for yourself. But to have to deal with that and their lack of respect is really more than any human…
Hello everyone! It’s springtime again, a glorious season of mud and frolicking animals and grilling out and farmer tans and depressed ski bums and all the things that make spring so magical and glorious. I’m actually writing this article while wearing a bunny costume, which is the Spring-iest thing I own. (Why do I own…
The Price of Focusing Too Much on ‘Greatness’ So yet another Steve Jobs movie came out a few months ago. I think that makes four of them now, which I believe is two more than necessary in order for a person to be properly mythologized. If there is a fifth movie (and there probably will…
(And Three Ways To Fix It) I’d like to begin by saying that this article isn’t an attack on you or your current leadership training. It’s an attack on leadership training in general, a $150 billion industry which has almost entirely failed to create the better leaders that it continually promises. Recent Gallup polls have…
I’m guessing you want others to think of you as a leader. Very few of us want to wallow in nameless obscurity forever, and I haven’t yet run across anyone on Twitter who describes him or herself as a ‘thought follower’. If you’re reading this then there’s a good chance that you’re young, hungry, and…
Decisions. Our life is full of them, and that’s why our lives are often very annoying. I don’t remember ever agreeing to become an adult, do you? I never asked for this. I was perfectly happy as a child, being force-fed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because that was the easiest thing for my mom…