I’ve spoken to many CEOs and team leader who are baffled by the troublesome dynamics of their team. Sometimes there’s an underlying gurgle of discontent; sometimes there is outright conflict.
Here are some common symptoms and causes.
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Three Skills To Master For Effortless Composure
Let’s face it, keeping cool under pressure isn’t easy. When someone is criticising our work, or disagreeing strongly with our perspective, or doing something that is clearly unfair and unreasonable, who hasn’t felt the heat rising and the urge to snarl surge through the veins…
Blurting out something in frustration, or interrupting, or arguing are all signs we’ve dropped our bundle.
We may also be heading for disaster. There are three things at risk when we lose composure:
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The Secret to Drama Free Work
I used to work with a woman who really shone in a crisis. She was a pool of reflected water; nothing rippled on her surface.
One problem. She was the one who caused the crisis! She fed on drama. She would plant little seeds of worry and concern, and when others eventually erupted in a panic, she was there to smooth things over. She liked being the rescuer.
There are three key types of drama rabble rousers, and one who defuses chaos instead. These archetypes play out based on attention to two things:
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How To Avoid Pooh Bombs In The Boardroom
“I’ve been looking at the numbers and they say we essentially have too many staff for the business we have.”
This was my naïve and good intentioned remark when I was a bit younger to address a significant strategic issue. I was proud of myself for being a leader in raising the topic.
What I hadn’t expected was the seismic reaction from my colleagues.
I thought we would move next to the discussion on strategic interventions to rectify the situation such as increasing marketing, exploring new leads, and all-hands-on-deck to find new work. I expressed it as a rally cry. Or so I thought.
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Grace Under Fire
When he said it, it struck deep like a sword on fire.
“You’re such a wimp.”
Me. A wimp. Me, who has paddled thousands of miles in Canadian wilderness. Me, who has led a six-week canoe trip in remote Ontario. Me, who has planted trees in rugged, isolated camps for weeks on end, living in a tent. This was years ago when I was a young woman discovering the world. I was perhaps naïve.
But I was no wimp.
I felt the rage and indignant fury swell within me. I just seethed, turned to him and said, “I. Am Not. A. Wimp.”
Why smart people make dumb leadership decisions
Smart people who accomplish much in their chosen profession are often promoted to leadership roles under the assumption, ‘they are good at their job as a lawyer / accountant / engineer / doctor / academic, they’ll be great as team leader’. Sometimes that assumption is right. Often it is wrong.
Team management is an entirely different set of skills and awareness than what is required for execution of specific professional roles.
There are key mistakes that smart people make as leaders:
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3 mistakes in change management
“How do you convince people to change?”
This was a question from a participant in a workshop I led on Crucial Conversations. It’s a common challenge for leaders: how do you influence others to adopt your ideas?
Here are the mistakes many leaders make:
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Good, juicy brain food
I’m up in the mountains soaking up sunshine and snow, celebrating sending the book manuscript to the editor. Writing a book has been a personal development challenge – confronting all my own limiting beliefs, while simultaneously writing about all the lessons and strategies I work with myself and my clients to be better leaders. It’s tough work! Like eating raw broccoli – unpleasant, and good for you at the same time.
This week’s newsletter is packed full of good things to inspire. I’ll save the musing article once the mountain air has cleansed my head and heart.
So here is some juicy brain food to nurture your head and heart in the meantime.
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What Do You Stand For?
There is deep freedom in expressing our personal truth. In his remarkable TED X talk, Simon Sinek explains, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” But beyond influence and building a tribe, claiming our personal truth, declaring what we stand for, is a tonic for the soul, and a true expression of leadership.
So here goes.
According distractify.com, we spend 10.3 years of our lives, on a 24 hour basis, working.This is an awful lot of time at work, and I believe we ought to ENJOY it – enjoy the work, and enjoy the people we work with. Life is too short for hating Mondays.
I’m passionate about HUMANS, and helping organisations become more human. And that means inviting the Soul to work. Here’s what I mean:
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What to do when your soul wilts
When I led a six-week canoe trip through Northwest Ontario, every day was a joyous adventure of discovery, pure freedom, and appreciation of wilderness beauty.
Day after day we paddled endless watery miles, savoured the unique and isolated surrounds, soaked up the physical challenges of straining muscles against bitter headwinds, hauling gear across portages, swatting mosquitoes, shivering in the rain, baking in the sun.
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