By Kevin Eikenberry In economics, a key concept is scarcity. Scarcity is when people have unlimited wants but needs are limited. Scarcity creates value. When there is less of something it becomes both economically and emotionally valuable. When things are scarce, we treat them more carefully. So why the economics lesson? Self-esteem is a scarcity in the world. This … [Read more...]
A Common Way to Misuse the DISC Model
By Guy Harris I once read a news article about the number of children that have likely been misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The researchers quoted in the article said that many students had been diagnosed as having ADHD by their teachers because they are young and immature rather than because they actually have ADHD. Basically, the teachers … [Read more...]
Finding Unstoppables
Guest article by Alden Mills All great teams are made up of people with complementary skills and strengths. You may not think of your analytical proclivity to manipulate spreadsheets as a superpower, but if we worked together, I would be the first to acknowledge it. Spreadsheets give me hives. OK, maybe not, but I do get in a panic just at the thought of dealing with them. … [Read more...]
Three Reasons You Must Take Your Vacation
By Kevin Eikenberry You've got questions and we've got answers. Hi, I'm Kevin Eikenberry, answering the questions that new leaders ask us. Actually, it's our goal to help all leaders become more productive, successful and confident. Today, I'm answering a question about how important vacations are for leaders. Are you ready? Let's go. The question I get is this: How … [Read more...]
The One Thing You Must Have as A New Supervisor
By Kevin Eikenberry The support that newly promoted supervisors are given varies-- a lot. While there are some organizations that have a clear training and development process for these new leaders, for many others, there is little to nothing. Many of these new supervisors are moving from the work that they were doing to leading people who are doing the work that they … [Read more...]
Three Questions You Can Use in Difficult Conversations
By Guy Harris Eventually, all leaders find themselves in difficult conversations. It might come as a result of a conflict between team members, as part of a sensitive coaching/feedback discussion, or when reconciling different ideas for how to proceed on a project. There may be weeks or months between them, or you might have three difficult conversations in one day. How they … [Read more...]
How You Can Accelerate Your Learning
By Kevin Eikenberry The world is changing, faster than ever. While this can be exciting news for an achievement minded person, like you, it also causes a challenge: it is much more difficult to be truly great at anything. If we want to be highly effective, successful, and productive, we must accelerate our learning. Here is five step process you can use to get good at … [Read more...]
The 10 Questions You Need to Be a Better Listener
By Kevin Eikenberry Listening is a life skill that is something we can always improve. There's not a time I can think of when I asked if someone would like to be a better listener, and they said, "no." Listening has a big impact on our ability to communicate, create and build relationships, and get things done. Listening helps us to learn. By doing it well, listening can … [Read more...]
One Type of Conflict You Probably Will Not (want to) Resolve
By Guy Harris Working in a conflict free environment sounds great to most people. I know that it appeals to me, my work colleagues, and the workshop participants I have had conversations with. A great deal of discussion in our Bud to Boss workshops is directed towards finding ways to address and resolve workplace conflicts so that they do not interfere with getting … [Read more...]
Why Are You Procrastinating?
By Kevin Eikenberry Procrastination affects us all, but as a leader, through your actions, you could be telling your team that it is okay to procrastinate. Have you noticed that your team is behind schedule on projects or deadlines are being missed? You could be setting a poor example through your actions if you are procrastinating. Reason We Procrastinate Fear of … [Read more...]