performance management

Work Less, Get More Done

One of the great ironies of our times is that the more we learn about the importance of uninterrupted focus in human performance, the more distractions and interruptions we face on a daily basis. Voice mail. Email. Telemarketing. Spam. Tweets. Snapchats. Texting. Instant messaging. Popup ads wherever we go on the Internet. Mobile applications that…

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Six Rules for Mid-Year Performance Review

June has arrived, and you know what that means – for most of you it’s time for mid-year employee performance reviews. I can hear the pushback already. Who has time for mid-year reviews?! My employees know what to do; they should just focus on doing it! The better question is, who doesn’t have time for…

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Set Up Your Team To Be Successful

The first month of 2016 has already come and gone. By now you’ve (hopefully) set your primary strategic goals for the year, pinpointed the destination, and painted a clear picture of what winning looks like for your organization. The next step involves one of the most important leadership roles and skills – setting up everyone…

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Developing a Winning Team

In my last blog, I talked about Alex Ferguson, the now retired coach for Manchester United, one of the most successful sports franchises in the world. In addition to his technical soccer skills, Ferguson won wide acclaim for his ability to grow and develop talent. Whether in sports or in business, building a winning team…

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Are You Engaging to Win?

It’s time for my annual update on employee engagement, and once again the news isn’t good. In fact, based on data from Gallup, the trusted public opinion and research firm, the current state of employee engagement in the U.S. could well be described as dismal. In a recent State of the American Workplace Report, Gallup…

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Show ’em Some Love!

Three Strategies for Creatively Recognizing Employees Valentine’s Day is for lovers. Usually we stay away from the topic of ‘love’ at work but we’re talking about positive recognition here, not the stuff that gets you in a sexual harassment lawsuit! Smart leaders and managers know that it’s a good time to show your employees some…

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How to Keep Employees Informed – A Step-by-Step Guide

In my last blog, I talked about the importance of communicating your strategic planning framework to employees at all levels of the organization. And not just once, but over and over again so that people never lose sight of the goals. I also noted that most employees prefer to hear this information directly from their…

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When Good Acting is Bad for the Business

When Shakespeare said that all the world’s a stage, he probably didn’t have employee performance evaluations in mind. But for anyone who has ever endured a less-than-candid performance appraisal, his words definitely ring true. Giving and receiving feedback is a complex process made infinitely more complicated by our human emotions and reactions. In particular, our…

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Set Phasers on “Inform”

January is a time when many organizations present new and/or updated goals to guide behavior during the year ahead. Often, these goals have been weeks or even months in the making. Yet many leaders feel that all they need to do now is communicate the goals once and then everyone can go back to business…

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10 Lessons Learned from 2009

Wow, what a year! 2009 has come and gone, and many of us are taking a huge sigh of relief. Going through one of the worst recessions in U.S. history will certainly take the wind out of your sails. But we appear to have weathered the worst of the storm. And while the economy might…

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How to Have Better Performance Evaluation Conversations

It’s that time of the year we all dread. No, not fighting the crowds at shopping malls or maxing out the credit cards with over-indulgent holiday spending. I’m talking about the bane of managers and employees everywhere — year-end performance evaluations. Let’s face it. Most managers dislike giving performance evaluations and most employees hate receiving…

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Are You a Helicopter Manager?

There’s been a lot of talk in the media lately about the dangers of over-protective parenting. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that psychologists have coined a new phrase — “helicopter parents” — for the moms and dads who get over-involved in their kids’ lives. These are the parents who yell at the soccer coach…

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