A lesson in creation, leadership, and life. A good friend of mine told me how he went to a poetry workshop recently. My friend is not a poet. He’d actually never written a poem in his life. He was a nervous about attending the workshop. Here’s what the instructor asked him to do. She asked my…
Delivering negative feedback is hard — especially when you’re seen as a “the positive person” on your team. Here’s how to start doing it more regularly. “I need to right the ship.” A member of The Watercooler, our online leadership community in Know Your Team, admitted this a few months ago. He shared how he’d long delayed…
Ugh. Firing someone never gets easier — but keeping these tips in mind can make it go as smoothly as possible the first time around. I’ll never forget the first time I fired someone. She was the first employee I’d ever hired at Know Your Team. And she was someone I’d looked up to since I was 19.…
Culture isn’t meant to be measured. Here’s why, and what you should measure instead. “How do you measure company culture?” Someone asked me this recently. My answer: You can’t. And you don’t want to. Why? Because culture, technically defined, is the artifacts, espoused values and beliefs, and basic underlying assumptions that people have. And that can’t…
Based on data from 2,000+ people, I wrote a guide to one-on-one meetings for managers and employees — and it’s finally live! 🙂 Dear manager or employee who cares about their team’s success, You hold one-on-one meetings. But are they working? Over the past four years, I noticed how almost every person I talked to did not know the…
Stop saying these words — you’re wearing your employees thin. You’re doing it again. You don’t mean to, but it’s happening: Your words are damaging your team. Small, off-hand remarks color how an employee thinks you value their work. Comments seemingly innocuous to you are in fact infuriating to your team. You may have started to notice…
In 30 minutes, wherever you are in the world, you can now get the basics of getting and giving honest feedback. I’ve always dreamt of creating an online class. Yes, our writing has been helpful for folks who want to quickly digest a useful tip or two. And our half-day, in-person workshops have been excellent…
You have a needy employee. What do you do now? “I think I’m going to have to let someone go.” I was at lunch the other day with an executive who admitted this to me. I asked her why. “She’s in my office every five minutes, asking me for help. I don’t have time to answer…
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution — but there are best practices. Here are 5 recommendations from leaders all over the world on how to hold a well-run company-wide meeting. “Does my team think this is a waste of time?” The thought slips into your mind as your prepare for your all-hands meeting. Whether it’s the first all-hands you’ve…
I’m tired of gimmicky ways to praise your team. Here’s how to commend your team for a job well done, meaningfully. My third grade teacher Ms. Mullens had a bulletin board of star stickers in her classroom. On the board, she’d place a star sticker next to your name if you’d cleaned out your cubby,…