Most leaders I talk with describe their days as a constant frenzy of meetings, emails, and urgent deliverables. How can we reorganize ourselves so that we are using our time to be as productive as possible? Here is a Productivity Exercise suggested by Kate Northrup in a recent article* in Harvard Business Review. First, pick an area of your life where you want to improve … [Read more...] about When Less Really is Better
performance
Better Than an Energy Drink
Admittedly, I know I am a bit unusual in that I have never tried the 5-Hour Energy drink – or other competitors. And I even gave up caffeine ten years ago (I used to have a two venti per morning habit). But, according to the book, The Power of Full Engagement, there is another source of energy we can tap into. The book, and a related HBR article*, suggests that we can … [Read more...] about Better Than an Energy Drink
Productivity Boost: Five Minutes Every Friday
Try this new habit* for a few weeks and boost your productivity. Carve our just five minutes of time on Friday afternoon while you are still at work. Set your phone timer for one minute and do these five things. NOTE: It is important that you do each activity in sixty seconds using what occurs to you top of mind: 1. Accomplishments. Write down your top accomplishments … [Read more...] about Productivity Boost: Five Minutes Every Friday
Developing Your Self-Awareness
Developing your self-awareness has long been thought of as a key to improving your leadership capability. Self-awareness is valuable because if you understand yourself extremely well then you can choose the appropriate effective behaviors to fit the situations you find yourself in. Without understanding yourself, you act on your natural “tendencies” which might not always … [Read more...] about Developing Your Self-Awareness
Managing “C” Players
You’d like to ignore them or just resign yourself to the idea that there is nothing much you can do, but one of your important responsibilities as a leader/manager is to address the “C” players you have on your team. If you don’t, you risk alienating your “A” players who want to be on a high performing team and tempting your “B” players to underperform. A recent article in … [Read more...] about Managing “C” Players