Management - Leadership

“Our employees are our greatest asset.”
Year after year, it seems like employers focus on the same catchphrase.
Meanwhile, workforce engagement statistics continue to crawl along the ocean floor like bottom feeders scouring for scraps.

Last week, I discussed one of the trends (re-skilling HR teams) called out in Deloitte’s annual Global Human Capital Trends report for 2014.

A good friend texted me the other day about his job, specifically about how much he hates it.
Why does he hate it? I’ll give you one guess … go ahead, guess. (Insert theme song to the game show Jeopardy here.)
Correct!

Have you ever worked for a boss that was horrible? That’s an easy question to answer, isn’t it?
The person came immediately to your mind (for my staff reading this, if I came to your mind first, you’re fired!

Here’s how to design the perfect performance management process.
It isn’t a trick. Really.
OK, well “perfect” may be a bit strong, but it is possible to design a performance management process that fits your organization and your culture.

When her first employees quit, Stephanie Muller didn’t think much of it. To Stephanie, a German-born marketing executive for a global engineering company in the U.S., these were underperforming employees, and she was fine to see them go.

When employees know and use their strengths, they're more engaged, perform better, have higher well-being, are less likely to leave -- and boost your bottom line.

I was just invited to a webinar based on the book “The Introverted Leader.” Most people don’t understand that introvert is a made-up thing by some psychologists who love to label people. It is not a real thing.

What will be the hot leadership skills of the future? The ability to thrive amid uncertainty? To handpick talented employees in a remote region of China? Or just to stay awake as you’re asked to globe-trot three continents in three days?

We recently asked the following question:
What one thing that concerns you most about the world of work in 2014?
Several hundred of you took the time to write out your deep thoughts. We thought we’d share them with the world.

First of two parts
In which kinds of situations are you most effective? What factors strengthen — or undermine — your motivation?

This is a fact: In 10 years, Millennials (also known as Gen Y) will make up 75 percent of the global workforce.
With that reality staring us in the face, it’s time to stop marginalizing Millennials and their needs in the workplace.

Have you ever had employees in your organization argue over customers?
I was recently working with a client in Toronto where one of the company’s salespeople was emphatic that a certain customer “belonged” to him, not to the organization.

In a world where “Big Data” covers almost every area of the business, there is one important area where no data is systematically collected — and that is data identifying the factors that motivate and excite individual employees.

Once in a while I am approached by a wild-eyed reader in the grips of a terrible fear—a fear that social recognition will turn their company into a mutual admiration society or a high school popularity contest and devolve into some sort of...

I have owned my own business for more years than I care to admit (OK, it’s 30).
During that time, I have learned a few things when it comes to supporting the efforts of those who continue to show up each day and make our company what it is.

There’s a virtual cornucopia of so-called “culture decks ” finding its way across the web today. These glitzy slide shows present the values that supposedly drive each respective company’s workforce.

A lot of start-ups hire fast and fire slow. A bias for speed combined with the pressure for high growth drives many leaders to be quick to hire (“We need to fill this role now!

As more and more startups like Airbnb, Etsy and Kickstarter crowd into the space of the collaborative economy, big brands are starting to get in on the action, too.

Beyond "My Name Is"The Smartest Thing Jimmy Fallon Did on His First Tonight ShowTimeWhile I'm not usually a fan of "leadership lessons you can learn from [insert pretty much anything here, including pets and inanimate objects]," this well-written...

Providing meaningful, actionable feedback is an important part of managing your people, keeping them motivated, and ensuring they’re aligned with your goals.
Still, far too many companies either skip feedback or only give it annually.

A few years back, I was waiting for the light to change at 51st Street and Fifth Avenue in NYC.  As I stood there, an elderly south Asian man came up next to me with a cart loaded with breakfast food that he was delivering to a meeting.

In one of the most widely scrutinized CEO successions ever, Microsoft directors selected insider Satya Nadella to run the company, only their third CEO pick in the firm’s nearly 40-year history.  His challenges will be enormous. For starters, he...

I’ve had a lot of unpleasant cab rides, but this one took the cake.
Standing in the taxi queue at the airport in San Antonio, my business partner and I realized we had no cash between us and needed a cab that accepted credit cards.