By Kevin Eikenberry Conflict avoidance, as a general statement isn’t a good idea. Left unchecked and unaddressed, conflict tends to grow, not recede. But the question here is about you, as a leader, and whether conflict avoidance is a good idea. The answer is, it depends. If someone on the team is coming to you, telling you about what someone else is doing wrong -and … [Read more...]
When Will My Team Get Back to Where They Were Before the Pandemic
By Guy Harris In recent Bud to Boss workshops, I have been getting a question similar to the title of this post in several ways. While the questions are not always phrased the same way, they tend the same direction: longing for a return to “normal” as we reach the end of pandemic-imposed lockdowns, shutdowns, and isolation. Every situation is a bit different, and the … [Read more...]
5 Easy Ways to Accidentally Make Your Employees Hate You
Guest post by Indiana Lee Being a good leader is no easy task. You’re responsible for helping your employees reach their goals, fostering a positive workplace environment, and pushing for productivity without alienating anyone. Finding a management style that works for you is important; however, your style should never come at the expense of employee happiness. You might … [Read more...]
How to Deal with a Persistently Negative Team Member
By Guy Harris One fairly common question I get from Bud to Boss workshop participants is: How do you deal with a persistently or aggressively negative team member?” While the full answer in a given situation depends on many situation-specific details, there is a thread of common themes that applies to almost all of my experiences with the issue and the conversations I … [Read more...]
Stop, Drop, and Role: Putting Out Fires
By Kevin Eikenberry I’ve worked with well-meaning, highly-principled leaders for years. When I talked to these leaders about coaching and developing their team, I kept hearing that, although they know that coaching and developing their team is important, there are too many things that get in the way. They want to coach more, but they don’t have time because they are too busy … [Read more...]
How to Get Your Boss to Listen to You
By Guy Harris About half-way through the second day of a two-day workshop, a frustrated new leader blurted out: “All this talk about how to work with my team is great, but that’s not my problem. My problem is that my boss won’t listen to me. How do I get my boss to listen to me?” After sitting quietly for most of our prior discussions, she could not take anymore … [Read more...]
What to Do About a Team Member Who is Doing Nothing Right
By Guy Harris You have tried everything that you know to do. You have encouraged, corrected, taught, coached, sent to classes, partnered them with a co-worker, and they still do nothing right. What next? The short answer: fire them. The long answer: start (if you have not already started) the process of “managing them out of the organization” or whatever euphemism you … [Read more...]
Four Steps for Selling a Change You Don’t Like
By Guy Harris Have you ever had to sell a change to your team that “came from above” and that you did not like? If you have not yet, that day is coming. It happens for everyone in a front-line leader role. Here is how the process often looks from the front-line leader position: Someone in the organization, a customer, or a vendor has a problem or … [Read more...]
How Do I Implement a Change I Don’t Like?
By Guy Harris If it has not happened already, the day is coming when you will need to implement a change that was not your idea and that you either do not like or at least have reservations about. As a new, front-line leader, that situation is incredibly difficult. You might feel stuck between your team and “management.” You might struggle to satisfy both your desire to do … [Read more...]
What to Do When You are Feeling Overwhelmed
By Kevin Eikenberry As a new supervisor, you have a lot going on that can cause you to start feeling overwhelmed. Have you ever noticed that when you feel overwhelmed, things are coming at you very quickly? The sheer volume of work and decisions is what creates the overwhelm. When you are in that place, you aren’t very productive, and you are having a bigger … [Read more...]