If you read any of the hundreds of how-to books written about good people management and leadership, you’ll find great similarities among them. So, what happens during implementation? Why can the de facto difference between managers be so enormous?
The answer goes back to one of two basic beliefs that are formed and held long before a person becomes a manager.

People are intelligent, motivated, and really care about helping their company achieve its objectives.

People are stupid, don’t care, and will screw up if you don’t watch them every minute. Variations of A are discussed, lauded, and underlay most …read more

 
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Books on leadership, management and associated subjects abound. Jim Stroup has a great post on the dangers of buying into the books written by academics. Jim points out that many academics do do valuable work,
“But when you pick up a book by an academic, look for a sense that the author feels he or she is examining a species of being (you and me) that is not meaningfully self-aware. Such an author may interact with us while conducting research, but will not assign any validity to our own assessments of what we do or why. We are expected to cede …read more

Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: lusi
This is a summing up in a series discussing whether Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers still holds in light of today’s modern workforce.
In a comment on the prequel to this series Phil Gerbyshak said, “I agree wholeheartedly that great managers have BOTH qualities…though I know plenty of average managers who don’t have either. I’d like it required that managers have at least one half of Bennis’ qualities in order to lead a team. Is that too much to strive for?”
On day one Nii said, “Regarding the differences between a manager …read more

The phone rings.
It’s your human resource office telling you that they need a headshot, and could you get it them ASAP. 
Now what do you do?
If you are already an accomplished senior executive, you probably have a current head shot, and you’ll just ask the human resource department what they need it for and in what format.  They’ll have what they need within the hour.
But what do you do if this is the first time that you’ve needed a headshot?  Or maybe you’re mentor has suggested that it’s time for you to have a publicity photo taken and kept at the ready.  …read more

All too frequently today, people are starved for a little praise.  Whether we are willing to acknowledge it to others, or even admit it to ourselves, we all need a little praise in our life.
Awhile back, Milo wrote a post about his belief that a leader should not give someone a pat on the back because they need it, but only because they deserve it.
I disagree.
My leadership approach is different.  I believe that an effective leader learns how to best motivate an employee, team member, volunteer, etc., and then uses that information to help that individual succeed.  And sometimes, that …read more

Wasting time can be frustrating, annoying, and, at time, can be a barrier to success. 
There are differing opinions on what constitutes wasting time.  Some people may consider watching television a waste of time.  For others, time spent watching television serves as down time, a chance to relax and re-charge their personal battery.  But I think that we can all agree that there are certain activities that not only serve no real purpose, but also actually hinder our progress in life.
How many of these time wasters do you recognize in your life?
Looking for things.  I read once that the average person …read more

Diversity raises the intelligence of groups.
 
 

Did you have a special teacher when you were in school that just seemed to make information both interesting, AND easy to learn? 
I had two special teachers that made a big difference for me in the learning process.  In high school, it was Mr. B, an English teacher (core classes as well as College Prep classes), and in college in was Dr. L, who taught international affairs, a class in my major.
When I thought back about what made these two people so effective, I initially didn’t see any similarities.  One was young, just starting out in teaching, the other was older and …read more

As a manager I think we have all been there.  Trying to lead a  team that won’t listen and doesn’t respect the fact they are part of a team.
Trey Kohler at Self Improvement World has some good tips on how to deal with just this situation.
Personally, I have never had to lead an entirely dysfunctional team, just the odd non-functioning member.
I agree that communication is the key.  In a couple of cases, when I did tackle the difficulties a team was having with a particular member, they were often grateful to get their issues out into the open.
In fact in all instances I …read more