If there’s one management practice I absolutely love, it’s Management by Questioning (MBQ). What is MBQ? It’s the use of questions to promote thinking, learning and independence, to convey that you value people, and to help build a culture of engagement and commitment. Yes, it can do all that. Here’s how:
The Latest: 6 Traits Linked to Workplace Success
Those of you who regularly read my blog know that when it comes to hiring the right people I place a lot of emphasis not just on skills and experience but on traits. For each job there are a range of traits that are critical to success. Yet are there common traits that predict success across jobs?
Your Team Failed to Meet Expectations? Here’s How to Recalibrate
Last week, with the World Cup underway, I wrote about the resurgence of German soccer and how success can lead to failure can lead to success. I outlined how the defending champions did a tremendous job of rebuilding their national program over the past 20 years.
How Success Can Lead to Failure Can Lead to Success
It’s been said that nothing fails like success. Because success provides the fertile soil in which complacency and arrogance can take root. We become complacent when we extrapolate our present success into the future and assume we will always be successful. We become arrogant when we attribute success to our superiority and assume we will always be superior.
Why Even Picasso Didn’t Rely on Talent Alone
Pablo Picasso is considered one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. On a recent trip to Spain we toured the Picasso Museum in Barcelona and discovered how he became the artist he was. Seeing paintings by a 13-year-old Picasso, it was obvious he was extremely talented. Yet the more we read about him the more we learned he was also extremely driven, extremely committed.
How Not to Think About Organizational Culture
I’m a proponent of vibrant organizational cultures. I’ve seen how culture can help drive, or undermine, a company’s success. And I’ve learned how a culture can be transformed to achieve this.
How to Deliver a Better than Exceptional Experience
You go out for dinner. You might have a very good experience. You might have a great experience. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have an experience that is even better than exceptional.
Hiring a Former Athlete? Here’s What to Look For
There’s a lot to be said for hiring former athletes. Aside from the technical skills and experience you want in a job candidate, former athletes often possess traits that are associated with success in a business environment. Still, not every former athlete makes a good hire. Here’s what to look for:
4 Ways to Make Better Decisions
As a leader you’re constantly faced with decisions. How you handle them says a lot about you. And can have major implications for your business. So how can you become more effective at making decisions?
Why Strategic Leaders are Like Scientists (no, really)
When we think of strategic leaders, the image of a scientist – someone in a white lab coat with thick glasses holding a test tube – is not what comes to mind. Yet, surprisingly, strategic leaders are very much like scientists. Here’s how:
Don’t Fix Culture, Fix What Drives Culture
Early into a new client engagement it’s not unusual for the CEO to say to me, “We need to fix our culture.” I understand the concern. After all, many studies have shown that culture is strongly associated with business performance and results.
Hiring in a Tight Labor Market? Here’s How to Increase Your “Win Rate”
Everywhere I travel I hear the same thing: it’s a struggle to find and secure top talent. As I’ve written many times, you no longer have the luxury of simply recruiting talent, you have to compete for talent.