by Kevin Eikenberry As a leader we need to understand the expectations and needs of our team members. As a new leader, especially if we were promoted from within the team we now lead, that should be an opportunity – we have walked in those shoes, and likely have a sense of the wants and needs of those we now lead. Remembering and applying those lessons is important and … [Read more...]
Are Your New Leaders Prepared to Lead Hybrid Teams?
by Kevin Eikenberry Most often on this blog you read about tips and ideas for new and front-line leaders – people in the role of supervision and leadership after the move from bud to boss. This post takes a different approach, focusing more on the organizational view. If you are an individual leader thinking about your ability to be successful in hybrid team leadership, … [Read more...]
The Culture Responsibility of a New Leader
by Kevin Eikenberry When thinking about team or organizational culture, often new and frontline leaders think the way they did as individuals – that culture is something for the C-Suite or senior management to think about. Culture, they often think, is above their pay grade. Yes, culture can be driven from the top-down, but it can be reinforced, and even more powerfully … [Read more...]
Leading Without Experience or a Roadmap
by Kevin Eikenberry I’ve always said that the transition from team member to leader for the first time is the toughest transition we make in our career. During the pandemic, it got even harder. And yet, now, faced with an uncertain future – the post-pandemic workplace - it might now be the hardest time ever to move from Bud to Boss. You’ll be seeing more content here … [Read more...]
Set Expectations That Employees Fully Understand
"What do you expect?" People say that all the time in an earnest or quizzical way, or sometimes with outright exasperation. However, more often than not, people simply think it without ever taking the extra step to clarify what is expected of them. That leads to mistakes, conflict, shoddy work and productivity losses, because your employees and coworkers ask or think of … [Read more...]
What Do I Do When People Don’t Want to Change?
Joni showed up at her boss Bob’s office more frustrated than he’d ever seen her. Joni was a relatively new supervisor and had been developing well, but on this day, she seemed different. When Bob asked what was wrong, her frustration came out immediately. “What do you do when people don’t want to change,” she asked. Bob smiled and asked her to explain. “You know the new … [Read more...]
Tips for a Fun, Energizing, SUCCESSFUL Summer
While it's not officially summer for a couple of weeks, many of us already feel like the season is here. Hot weather, the close of school for summer break, cook outs, and vacations have us in a summer state of mind. As leaders, we must understand all that summer brings, while still keeping a focus on productivity and results. The challenge, as is often the case in life, is … [Read more...]
The Best Way to Share Bad News With Employees
No doubt, bad news has been the norm lately, and you may have already had to be be the bearer of it more than once. As a leader, especially a new leader, the last thing you want to do is deliver bad news to your employees, who may assume that you are somehow responsible for it. Unfortunately, you will have to make unpopular decisions, enforce changes that are initially seen as … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Promote Remote Team Collaboration
Maybe when you started your leadership gig you had no plans of managing a virtual team, but the pandemic forced you to adapt quickly. Maybe you were hired specifically to manage a virtual team or a hybrid team, with some employees on site and others working remotely. Or maybe as times have changed, your team has morphed in to all or partially virtual. Regardless how you got … [Read more...]
Schedule “Gratitude” on Your Calendar This Week
"Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you." – Eileen Caddy In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, and it is appropriate, perhaps even expected, to find reasons to be grateful. Of course, the reality is that we should find reasons to feel grateful every single day, and … [Read more...]