The star leader today is not just someone who has excellent individual skills. They are the people who can bring out the best in a team. Whether it is in sports or in the boardroom, a “star” is someone who “makes everyone around them even better.” A key skill in making a team stronger is the capability to effectively facilitate meetings. A recent article in Harvard … [Read more...] about Improve Your Facilitation Skills
Teamwork
Manage Without Micromanaging
Micromanaging is a classic leadership mistake. You were hired to manage the team because you were an excellent individual performer. And now you want everyone to perform at the same high level. So you are constantly looking over their shoulders. You don’t want to micromanage, but you need to know what is going on – and that things are being done properly. What do you … [Read more...] about Manage Without Micromanaging
Leading Your Inherited Team
We all do a lot of work in teams, which is why I consistently recommend Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, to people. A recent article in Harvard Business Review focuses on a special situation for leaders – inheriting a team. This has happened to many of us in our careers and it definitely requires careful navigation. It is interesting that the … [Read more...] about Leading Your Inherited Team
Your Leadership Presence
Imagine you are meeting with your boss in their office. While you are talking they are glancing at their computer screen to the left and then looking down at their phone. They ask a question about something you just explained pretty clearly. When you are in a meeting with someone who is not present, you might as well not be there at all. Yet – this happens all the … [Read more...] about Your Leadership Presence
Improve Your Job Interviewing
Using interviews to select job candidates is one of the most common practices in hiring – and they are often done poorly. Good news – you can fix this! Following are suggestions for conducting effective job interviews, based on a recent article in Harvard Business Review. Before the Interview: 1 - Prep the Job Description. Include the outcomes the person in the job … [Read more...] about Improve Your Job Interviewing