The 4 things you should do to make the most out of your next 1-on-1 meeting. You’re not prepared. Or at least that’s what employees think when it comes to one-on-one meetings. In a recent survey we conducted of 1,182 managers and 838 employees, we found 36% of employees believe their manager is only “somewhat…
Why being nice as a leader backfires — and what to do instead. Leaders, stop being so nice all the time. I don’t mean to sound like an asshole. But when it comes to leadership, it’s true: Prioritizing “being nice” keeps us from being good leaders. Now I’m not advocating for us to be mean. Disrespectful or dismissive…
If you’re wondering why your one-on-one meetings tend to feel unfruitful, these questions might be the culprit. Looking at the clock. Staring into the distance. Short, nondescript answers. A CEO recently told me how he’d frequently see this body language from an employee during their one-on-one meetings. Flat. Disinterested. Preoccupied. It felt lousy to witness, but…
The best managers encourage their team to tell the truth by recognizing the employees who voice it. “Employee recognition” is all the rage lately. The idea is that you should positively reinforce the behaviors you want to see in your team. Want employees to hit their sales goals? Recognize those who do. Want employees to be…
When an employee is struggling, here’s what the best managers do. Someone’s slipping. You see it. You feel it. You’re not on the same page. You desperately want to pull the person up, but you’re not sure exactly how. Do you encourage them? Switch them off the project? Change how you’re leading them? You’re now facing…
How to know when you’re no longer being a good manager No one sets out to become a bad boss. Yet, slowly but surely, it’s easy to become the bad manager we all dread. Times are stressful. You’re trying to make things happen. You notice your team isn’t as engaged as they should be. You can…
What makes a good leader? Look at how you spend your time. Time is the one constant we are all given. No one gets more or less of it than anyone else. As leaders, it’s how we spend our time — what we choose to prioritize, and what we choose not to do at all — that reveals what’s important…
Why we don’t get honest feedback as leaders, even when we ask for it. As a CEO or manager, it can feel utterly maddening to have leadership blindspots and not get honest feedback at work— especially when you want to know what you improve on as a leader, in the first place. You try everything in your…
Here’s why it’s so easy to become a bad manager, even when you don’t mean to be. I was running a leadership training a few months ago, when a CEO said this to me: “I think I know why it’s so easy to become a bad manager, even when we don’t mean to be: It’s because…
How the smallest action as a leader can have the biggest impact on employee morale and job satisfaction. “I had no idea it mattered so much.” A CEO said this to me about a year ago. I’d run into him at a conference. As we sat down at lunch together, he shared something that had…