How to Give Your Boss Bad News (the D.A.R.N. way)
The Secret to Giving Your Boss Bad News Without Freaking Them Out Darn-it. You screwed up. Or, perhaps you trusted your team and now you have empowerment fun amok. You don’t want to blame them, but you’re mad too. Your boss will be ticked. And worse, she...Resume Remedy: 5 Questions Your Resume Must Answer
That guy with the job posting already has an “obvious choice.” He’s been grooming several mentees. Others have invested in informational interviews. HR told him he had to post the job, so he’s got a stack of candidates. You’ve got a slim...
Seasons, Messy, and Doing the Best You Can
“I don’t know how you do it all. How can you do this executive job, have a husband, raise good kids, and write this blog, it’s intimidating.” I heard that again today. The truth is, it’s messy. I do it because all those things feel so...
6 Secrets to Building Teams in a Stack-Ranked System
Stuck in a Stack-Ranked System? How to Encourage Collaboration Anyway Bell curves and stack-ranked evaluation systems bring out the worst in your best. Rewarding individual performance drives individual behavior. Yet, most performance management systems do just that....
Collaborative Competition: The Extraordinary Power of Trash Talk
Collaborative competition inspires. Seeing “them” inspires “us.” Competition makes work fun. Unless, it doesn’t. Stay on the right side of trash talk. Create collaborative competition to inspire your team. A New York State of Mind I ran a 2000 person sales team so...
Entitlement Calls For Great Leadership
Entitlement is thirst for leadership. Entitlement builds over years. You can stop it. Selfish words deceive. “It’s not in my job description” “That’s not what the contract says” “My shift is over” “I did what the...Managing Up When You're Down: The Power of POISE
When the going gets tough, managing up gets tougher. Scared stifles truth. Needs stay unsaid. Unfounded worries mushroom in the dark. Unquestioned assumptions breed false conclusions. Your boss can’t know what you’re thinking....
