Most of us find coaching employees to be an effective, even enjoyable, approach to leadership and management. Coaching provides a way to help team members grow and develop, while achieving business objectives. But occasionally, we encounter a team member who has an excuse for every situation. Excuses also generally arise...
Many of us had that teacher in grade school that instituted a behavioral management system rooted in positive reinforcement in a last-ditch effort to tame the wild and unfocused masses of 7-year-old boys and girls unleashed upon them by stressed parents each morning. The carrot was simple, yet oddly abstract:...
"What we have hee-yuh...is a fail-yuh to commun'cate." Question: Do you recognize this quote from a) that fine talkie Cool Hand Luke, with that young whippersnapper Paul Newman, b) the beginning of In Living Color's runaway hit "Cult of Personality" from the days of my youth, or...
One of the toughest aspects of managing a team is having to let a team member go, especially a long-standing one. When you have spent the time training someone, gotten used to their personality foibles and signed their birthday card with clever little witticisms a few times, it becomes tougher...
Until relatively recently, teams had regular face-to-face contact. Now, with globalization and advances in communication technology, it is both possible and efficient to form dispersed international teams whose members can take advantage of their respective localities, time zones, and economic circumstances.Being a member of a dispersed team is a very...
Most business projects require a wide variety of skills to complete the tasks involved. If you’re managing such a project, it’s almost axiomatic that you will be directing a group of individuals from different backgrounds: They may be members of your own organization, from other units of your company, or...
A colleague pointed me to an interesting and quirky article about managing personalities at meetings. The article lays out psychologist Dr. Sharon Livingston's case that the group members a leader might encounter at a meeting fall into seven general categories, which she discovered bear an uncanny resemblance to the personalities...
The fuel that keeps an effective team running on all cylinders is clear and timely communication. From the moment a challenge is conceived to the day of delivery on a task, a high-performing team relies on the efficient sharing of information. However, there are certain points in the process...
The true test of a team is how it weathers the hard times: failure to complete a task, lackluster performance, times when upper management isn't living up to its promises. The team leadership must take responsibility for making sure the team is ready to face adversity. Here are some ways...
With today's widespread accessibility of information and wall-to-wall communication, the idea of leveraging informal organizations has become much more popular in the board room, as well as such realms as political campaigning and independent music distribution.Grassroots and word-of-mouth efforts on social networking sites like myspace have allowed both politicians and...
In the world of academia and academic publishing, giving and sharing credit are hallmarks of the trade -- and the driving force behind innovation. It is this very tangible recognition of their work that is the coal for the creative engines (or perhaps I should say ethanol for the hybrid...
Forget What You Learned in Grade School: Five Teamwork MythsCollege 2.0, overcompensating?Having just graduated with a degree in computer science, I learned a different set of 5 myths, they are:1) Teams are always bad2) Reaching consensus is always a waste of time3) "I" is the only team you can count...
This form is designed to help managers keep track of tasks and the team members who are responsible for completing them. How many times has this happened to you? You attend a meeting where members of a project team have enthusiastically volunteered to complete a variety of...
If you ask project team members what they're responsible for completing in the next two weeks and their answers aren't what you expect, it might be time to examine how clear and thorough your instructions are. One of the basic responsibilities of the project manager is to...
A team consists of different individuals with complimentary skills who work together towards a common goal. For a team to be successful, it is imperative that there is perfect coordination and communication among the team members. In addition, each team member should have commitment towards the common goal. However, sometimes...
The article asserts that working with some of the best leaders in many different industries over the years has shown that leaders who successfully empower their team members have some things in common. These common activities that are visible by their team members and others are clearly the best...
A person with a technical background will visit two stages while transitioning into management. The first stop is typically project management, the natural progression for a person who has spent considerable time as a successful project team member. A successful experience in project management may eventually lead to the next...
The article advises to know the destination. Every successful team must establish its goals and objective before they can begin to provide valuable service to the internal or external customer. Teams stay together by moving in the same direction. When one joins a team already in existence, one should not...
The makeup of the team, the role of each team member, and the qualities to look for in a team member should all is considered. The successful selection of a recruiting software solution is not a trivial matter. It is a substantial task that should be approached with seriousness and...
More and more often, employees are expected to contribute to the performance and success of their work teams. While it sounds great on paper, it isn't all that easy to work in a team, since often team members are different in style, attitude, commitment and work ethic. If you are...
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