There is a 5 word phrase that dooms your team interactions. I have written before about how to benefit from the working with a “sandpaper person” on your team, and have also discussed the conflicts that can arise if your people are not aware of the strengths and challenges that different team personality types offer. […]
Coaches and great teammates both read books, because they know that readers are leaders. When I was a coach, I was a voracious reader. I was constantly seeking new titles that would help me to grow – whether it was from a leader in a different sport or even from a leader in a different […]
All failure is the result of vagueness. That is a powerful and memorable statement… But it means nothing if the insight is not translated into a changed behavior. There is a great deal of value in discussing and selecting core values. You can even download a very useful virtues and values activity on my resources […]
Any team you become a part of – and certainly any team you are asked to lead – will be starving for the opportunity to get to know and appreciate their teammates better. As you might have experienced, hunger can sometimes make people weak and unmotivated, or can even make them irritable and defensive… but […]
Every one of your teammates is fighting an invisible dragon. As a coach, it took me longer than I would like to admit to develop an awareness of the personal battles that each one of my players were struggling with once they left the court. Player strengths and personality types were not all I needed […]
I am honored to be co-hosting an upcoming Tweet Chat with Dan Forbes, steward of the Lead With Giants community and blog. The #LeadWithGiants Tweet Chat happens every Monday at 7:00 pm Eastern time. If you haven’t ever participated in a Tweet Chat before, here is a great introduction to tweetchats that you might find helpful. […]
Everyone has that person at their office or work location. The difficult teammate. The person who, if you were living in an episode of The Sopranos, you would just tell Paulie to “take out.” Sadly, we don’t live in that world. But you do still have options. You can take them out… to lunch. (and […]
Most team leaders spend their time thinking more about empowering people, considering what things they can give people instead of what they could selfishly take. In fact, I would argue that servant leadership is the most positive, powerful, effective, and inspiring example a manager or coach could provide their team. I’m sure you have heard […]
Change is constant. You can count on it. But you can’t always count on your people to accept it with enthusiasm… The saying goes that everyone wants progress, but very few embrace the change that makes it possible… and so it is likely the same with people on your team. The idea of seeing your […]
Years ago – as a very young teacher – I was in a meeting where our department head introduced a mandatory form each teacher would be required to fill out. She clearly felt it would be a good idea to have everyone commit to the weekly documentation. The form was to be included in what […]