Have you ever worked with a manager who was a poor listener? Or have you worked with a team that has trouble listening to each other? If so, then you know how frustrating it can be when the people around you don’t seem to be listening. Teamwork is dysfunctional. Debates occur even when people are […]

Mission for today: find one positive thing happening at work and tell people, including your manager, about it. Ever notice how fast bad news travels around the office? What gets shared first: problems or successes? Particularly on difficult projects, most conversations about work tend to be focussed on the problems being solved rather than successes […]

At some point in every project something will go wrong. A component doesn’t work. A supplier fails. A key team member quits. The design doesn’t work. The client drops the project. The team goes into crisis mode, upset at the situation and running in multiple directions to fix it. Once you understand the anatomy of […]

The flip side of yesterday’s post is being the new manager joining a team or company. Hopefully, you accepted the job because there is some challenge that needs your unique talent. Either the product, the team or the company needs your help to create something great.  You’ve arrived at the first day of your new […]

Who are the leaders you respect most? Are they the managers in the corner office you rarely see? Or are they the guys that walk around the office and roll up their sleeves to help out when the “stuff” hits the fan? Early in my career, I had the privilege of working with an executive […]