Archive for 2009

Performance Management starts with identifying opportunities for improvement. As you clarify the problem(s), you need to distinguish between the facts and interpretations of the facts. Investing time here speeds up implementation of the solutions.

You can empower others in a big way by helping them to see a new story about themselves that embraces their potential. This new story may be a silver lining in a problem-saturated story. For example, let’s say that a direct report has been late several times to an important meeting. The normal thing to [...]

Please add your story about a bad boss, present or past, to the “Leave a Comment” section at the bottom of this blog post. If your boss is still around, give him or her a different name and circumstances. Then come back later to read other people’s stories. If you leave your contact information, you [...]

Egon Zehnder International, a leading executive search firm, conducted a study of over 500 senior executives and concluded “emotional intelligence was a better predictor of success than either relevant previous experience or high I.Q.” “ACCOUNTABILITY AND EMOTIONS IN LEADERSHIP” Try as you might you simply cannot run away from your emotions. Yet it seems common [...]

5 tips on How to Empower Others by Building on Their Strengths: 1. Provide an empowering organizational environment. Build an organizational culture that emphasizes the use of people’s strengths. This culture provides a fertile soil for people to sprout their strengths. 2. Seek and organizational culture where people feel affirmed, valued, accepted and supported. Convey [...]

Good coaching and facilitation brings out the best in people. When you facilitate you encourage people to grow. When you lead with command and control, you just get their hands to carry out the task. You don’t even get the best part of their minds, their creativity. Good facilitation is like the true story of [...]

Empowerment – Here are 4 tips on empowerment: 1. Keep your eye out for things that work. When your direct report or peer does something new that works, compliment them. Then, if it is not apparent, ask them, “How did you do that?” This simple question can do a world of good. It lets the [...]

We can empower other people by having positive expectations for them. This was the point of a play called Pygmalion that was renamed My Fair Lady. A professor bets a friend that he can take a flower seller and make her into a lady. As he trains her to speak better English, he also empowers [...]

Would you like to improve your ability to do group facilitation? If you are a leader, there are probably group situations where you will get better results through facilitating the group instead of directing it. Here are some suggestions for group facilitation: 1. Focus on the big picture. Give the group your goals for it. [...]

Good facilitation is built on a foundation of acceptance. How do you have an attitude of acceptance toward those you wish to facilitate? Here are 5 suggestions: 1. Listen well. I have covered listening in many other articles so suffice it to say here that you need good listening skills to make facilitation work. When [...]