With a clumsy nod to the Rolling Stones’ classic tune, it appears to be true: since 1987, workers have become steadily less satisfied with their work. This is according to research results released last week by The Conference Board. What’s more, it’s not a generational thing: satisfaction is decreasing amongst all ages groups. While the [...]
I just returned from conducting on-site meetings for a new client. The CEO of this company hired me to help his employees make the transition to a new organizational structure. We’re doing a series of input meetings, SWOT analyses and informational interviews. Something that one of the employees said this morning is really sticking with [...]
The other day, I was having a discussion with a training manager named Sally. Her staff designs training for her company’s field sales force. Sally works for a large organization that has a reputation for promoting from within. Here’s what we were discussing: Leaders higher up in her organization have noticed that when the sales people [...]
One of my favorite experiential activities for management training is an oldie but goodie called the “Boo/Yay” exercise. In it, two volunteers separately try to guess a per-determined task such as walking to the front of the room and picking up a marker. The audience is instructed to give the volunteers feedback to help them [...]
In preparation for reviewing the Marcus Buckingham’s soon-to-be released book Find Your Strongest Life, I decided to pull some of Buckingham’s earlier books off the shelf and give them a second look. This review is the first of a three-part series.
Now, Discover Your Strengths
Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
The highlights:
In the follow-up to the best-selling [...]
In my post Not Everyone Loves Putt Putt, I advised leaders to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of hosting an offsite gathering that’s “fun day” or social in nature. In a well-intended effort to promote team cohesiveness, these outings sometimes fall short.
So what’s a leader to do if the team isn’t interested in an offsite, [...]
For many of us in the United States, September means “back to school”. In the business world, that sense of starting anew often prompts team leaders to consider some sort of social off-site activity (lunch, golf, attending a cultural event) as a means to energize their team. Off-site activities, when properly conceived and aligned to [...]
