Most leaders began their careers as high functioning individual contributors. They had their sphere of responsibilities and took pride in their ability to accomplish tasks. They were self-starters effective at how to get work done. These qualities likely contributed to their eventual promotion into a management role. But when they became a manager, their role…
I recently flew to New York City to meet with the head of one of the world’s largest wealth management companies. He told me he’d read my book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work… and What Does multiple times and was dedicated to using its ideas to change the culture of his organization. Pretty heady stuff.…
Dear Madeleine, I am a staff manager at an academic institution. Of my eleven direct reports, seven have been with the University for more than thirty years and the rest have also been here for a long time. They are smart and capable and very good at what they do, as they should be—they have…
I don’t like the word accountability. It’s always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I think it’s because it assumes the worst about people. When we talk about accountability, it always seems the assumption is a person is incapable of, or unlikely to, follow through on his/her commitments. So we spend a lot of…
This Coaching Tuesday guest post is from Blanchard network coach Antonio Estrada. I’ll bet you have heard about how a large percentage of New Year’s goals are no longer priorities—or even remembered—by the end of January. Here’s a formula that can help. I’ve used it successfully with clients and it might also help you succeed…
When your organization and people are challenged with impending doom—I mean, impending change—leaders often stick their heads in the sand and hope it passes. Yes, it will pass, but your organization can take advantage of the transition using the science of motivation and what we know about the way people experience change. People go through…
Dear Madeleine, I manage a fairly large team of supervisors. The days are long and hectic but I have a good flow going with the group. Recently, though, it has become clear that one of my best people—the person I am grooming to take my job, as I am up for a promotion—is looking for…
New advances in the field of social neuroscience are fundamentally reshaping perspectives on the best way to lead and manage the performance of others. That’s the main message Scott Blanchard will be sharing next week in his presentation at the annual conference of the Association for Talent Development (ATD) in Orlando, Florida. Blanchard’s concurrent session…
Dear Madeleine, I’ve got a member of my team who has “retired in place.” No matter what I try, I can’t get him to engage. Any thoughts? Frustrated Dear Frustrated, I think the only thing to do in this situation is to have a serious sit-down with your disengaged team member. First, put the facts as…
Grit is the ability to push through barriers and be extraordinary. It is part of what makes a person stand out from their peers. I’ve been reminded about the importance of grit twice within the last few weeks—first from a keynoter, Linda Kaplan Thaler, who is an expert on the topic and author of the…