THE skill which defines the best Manager: Coaching
I have good news and bad news. First the good news. I’ve just read about an internal study carried out by Google in which they made 10,00 observations of their best Managers. Given their skills in...
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The power of flattery
I come bearing a gift. “A bit late”, I hear you say. “Christmas was weeks ago.” Better late than never? It’s the finding from research carried out by University of California–Berkeley professor...
View ArticleExtreme Interviewing: The Apprentice shows us how!
The UK series of The Apprentice is drawing to a close (sadly, in my opinion: I still find it compelling viewing after all these years). They’re down to the last 5 (with a majority of girls, much to...
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Why doing the Wrong Thing righter makes it wronger
A few years ago (in the Dark Ages before sat nav) I found myself in the centre of Leeds driving alone at night, on the way to a training event. It was dark, raining heavily, past 11 pm. I’d been...
View ArticleListening, fast and slow.
Last week I bumped into an article on LinkedIn which planted a seed in my head which has now germinated. I kept the link (or so I thought) so I could refer to the article today, but find that I have...
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The 5 different types of Trust
This week Juliet Day shares more insights from ‘Where has all the Trust Gone?’ Cass Business School and CIPD research 2012. You may want to read her kickoff Blog on the subject first. British...
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6 ways to repair Trust at work
In the last in her series on Trust, Juliet Daye summarises insights from research conducted by Cass Business School with CIPD in March 2012. The report was called ‘Where has all the Trust Gone?’, and...
View ArticleWhat are the Top 5 mistakes a salesperson can make?
I’m planning to make a film about Selling. Not, you’ll be relieved to know, about how TO sell, but the opposite – how NOT to. Can you imagine how much criticism I’d come in for if I tried to make a...
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Gorillas (and monkeys) in the mist
This week I have asked an old friend, Orlando Kimber, to write a guest Blog for us. Orlando is a marketing specialist, and last week he and I were discussing some common dysfunctionalities we come...
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How 2 recognise a watershed when you see it.
Warning: this article contains elements which might be deemed by the sensitive reader to smack of self promotion. If you tend to suffer from allergic reaction when someone tells you about something...
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How NOT to set Objectives
Most of us have come across SMART objectives, and we kind of get why they are a good idea. If people are working towards well formed objectives, it tends to improve their performance somewhat. How...
View ArticleHow not to give bad news
20 years ago I was working in marketing for a large drinks company. I worked closely with a marketing agency, and they invited me to an awards dinner in London during which they hoped we would be...
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What to do with poor performers
I’m not a golfer. I’ve played a few times and never seemed to be able to connect properly. I once teed off on the first hole and the ball went rocketing sideways and I am told ended up ricocheting...
View ArticleDisengaged or disenchanted at work? Join the crowd.
Here’s a depressing statistic to make your weekend. According to Gallup research of the American workplace (25 million respondents to date): “Of the approximately 100 million people in America who...
View ArticleHow not to delegate.
As Christmas approaches and stores fill up with scary amounts of extra stock that they hope will all magically vanish by Christmas Eve, I find myself thinking about the time when I was put in charge of...
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I bet you're not as smart as you think you are
So you think you’re smart. You make logical well balanced decisions, and don’t let your intuition get in the way of logic. That’s you: business minded, professional you might say. Yeah right. Let’s...
View ArticleThe dreaded Annual Appraisal. Is the writing finally on the wall?
At last! Could the end finally be in sight for that annual ritual dreaded by both managers and staff: the Annual Appraisal? You know the one: the meeting you both hope will be over quickly, in which...
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Can you coach? No, seriously. Can you coach?
If you were to ask a sample of managers how important coaching is to success in their role, what do you think their answer would be? I’ve worked with thousands of them over the years on Leadership and...
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Manager versus Leader. Confused?
Last week I coached an experienced sales professional as part of the follow up on a Leadership course he attended. We were getting along fine, finding much to agree on over how dysfunctional the human...
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Why should anyone be managed by you?
There are plenty of highly competent managers on the planet, and you are no doubt one of them. You manage people because you’re good at it, and you got to where you are by showing the appropriate level...
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