Communication is a tool that must be used and maintained throughout our lives. If not, then we become the manager who never gets the most out of his employees, the coach who fails to inspire his program with a motivating vision, or the owner who sees consistently high turnover in his company. What am I talking […]
The legend goes something like this… While lunching with friends, Ernest Hemingway (known for his economical writing style) accepted a bet from his friends that he couldn’t craft an entire story using only six words. Later, Hemingway scribbled his six words out and then confidently stated it was the best story he had ever written. […]
The common traits that were found by Teach America and other research projects that ALL GREAT teachers shared may surprise you! In fact, advanced degrees and experience had little to do with a teacher’s effectiveness. Dr. Robert Rosenthal of Harvard University conducted dozens of controlled experiments over the years to test the power of the […]
Does someone on your team rub you the wrong way? You know the one – the person that pushes your buttons and zigs when you want to zag? You probably have a person in mind right now. The one that for some reason you just don’t get along with and really don’t even like to be […]
Let’s discuss how to fix your flying elbow and change bad habits to good ones. A leader’s job is to help fix fundamental flaws in those you lead, to provide a vision of what you are working to accomplish together, and to establish roles and expectations of daily efforts that will eventually lead to the […]
“Whenever you make something, you always make something else.You can’t just make one thing.” -Jason Fried (Rework) Whether you realize it or not, what you do every day produces more than what you intend. If you are selling cars, you are also learning about customer service. If you are teaching in any capacity, you are […]
My 8 year old son was playing at the beach last summer with a borrowed skim board. It took him about an hour to learn how to ride it without tumbling into the shallow surf, but he soon had mastered it and was doing twists and tricks by the end of the afternoon. The next […]
When I speak to team leaders about the traits of great teams, one of the first things I discuss early in our time together is the need to identify their goal and then determine the gear that will be necessary to accomplish it. We then talk about the importance of process goals as a means […]
Teamwork movies can inspire a buy-in and an appreciation of concepts or ideas that simply speaking about them could never achieve. Part of the reason for teambuilding activities is to have people experience and internalize the teamwork lessons and themes that your group most needs to internalize. The experience of watching a movie can […]
There is no magic pill for building better teamwork, but one of the most important keys is helping your team realize that they will likely often see only what thy look for in those they have the responsibility to inspire and develop. A team leaders attention should therefore be modified, for what leaders train their […]