September is around the corner. I was in school for so long, I think September will always feel like the start of the year. One of the things on my to-do list for the fall is to take my annual personal retreat. The retreat is my time to sit back and reflect on the past…
Start focusing on helping employees develop critical skills and capabilities as they work
If you ask a successful leader to recall his or her most impactful development experience, chances are it happened while engaged in real work. This was once reinforced during a project designed to help organizations transfer and retain the business-critical knowledge of retiring baby boomers. Interviews with more than 40 successful, long-tenured leaders confirmed the best…
Breaking away from work in a meaningful way, for a significant period, is critical to our health and well-being – as humans and as workers
I just returned from a two-week road trip in Newfoundland with my sister, a trip I highly recommend. Being away, really off the grid, gave me time to reflect on all the reasons it’s important to take annual leave. That’s how vacation used to happen – annual leave where you left the office, packed up…
Self-regulation puts us firmly in the driver’s seat of our own life. But it isn’t easy
Recently, I was admiring a burst of tulips in the back garden. I commented on how striking they were. My husband commented on how they were ill-placed. Irritated by his lack of appreciation for the riot of colour, I grabbed a pair of scissors, snipped them off and announced he would no longer need to…
A lack of talent is affecting all organizations. Here are a couple of suggestions to solve the problem
I am often asked the same questions: "What are you seeing out there? What are the key issues organizations are grappling with?" I don't claim to be an expert on all things organizational, but in my work I am seeing a clear trend: a lack of talent. This isn't new, but to solve the problem…
Stop focusing on measuring it and just do something about it
Quick, on a scale of one to five, how excited are you by your job, your boss, and the organization you work for? If the pollsters are right, chances are you answered a three or less. According to a swath of recent surveys, employee engagement is at an all-time low. The culprits of old –…
Having shortcomings is not the problem – as humans we all have them. The problem is not knowing what they are
There is no question that we need to align people with jobs and situations that play to their strengths. There is nothing more powerful than leveraging what people do well: it builds engagement, accelerates projects and initiatives, and significantly increases the likelihood of personal and organizational success. Besides, who wants to spend their life working at…
How to reduce the chances of making a decision you’ll regret somewhere down the road
A recent column of mine was inspired by the political maelstrom created by the SNC-Lavalin affair. A month has passed, the storm continues to swirl, and I’m inspired again to draw on this situation as a leadership learning opportunity. There have been no shortage of ‘What were they thinking?’ moments as this scandal has unfolded,…
How to build and maintain relationships critical to being an effective consultant
I have a routine I try to follow each morning. I take a shower, do 20 minutes of yoga stretching, pour myself a cup of coffee, and sit down to read something that centres and inspires me. A little Seneca, thoughts from a Buddhist teacher, a chapter of Eckert Tolle. This morning, I opened Oriah’s…
First, you need to pause and acknowledge that people hold different values and it doesn’t necessarily make them bad people
So many leadership lessons lurk in the events that have plagued the Canadian political landscape over the past few weeks that it’s hard to know where to start. Leadership lessons that emerge from crises are easy pickings; they’re so obvious and it’s so easy to be self-righteous. A much tougher question is: What on earth…
Why do we always blame the manager for failed performance management? Doesn’t some of the accountability rest with the employee?
Recently I found myself commiserating with a friend over a failed performance conversation. She was frustrated by the fact that while she was trying to provide one of her direct reports with some much-needed feedback, her team member was just not listening. I, too, have had the experience of dealing with a tone-deaf direct report.…
Understand what motivates you, do something you're good at and commit to doing your very best
I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon is a brilliant article by Austin Murphy in the December 2018 issue of The Atlantic. Murphy articulates his career journey as a result of being in an industry disrupted by technology. What really resonated for me about his story was his transformation…
There is a new reality out there and, like it or not, we are all going to have to adjust our expectations
When Jack first learned his company was going to be making personnel cuts, and that they were likely to occur in his area, he was anxious. By Friday it was known that his department would, indeed, be impacted. By Monday morning he was actually looking forward to receiving his separation agreement: he and his wife…
Working easily and fluidly with others is simply how things get done in the 21st century
The ability to collaborate with others is a must-have skill to be successful in work. It doesn’t matter if you’re a project manager, a self-employed editor or the chief financial officer, part of your success is probably going to hinge on how well you can work with colleagues. Our work world is a complex system,…
By focusing on simple things that improve your life, you'll become a happier person – enabling you to make a broader contribution
I relish the opportunity to reflect on the year – and give thought to what I want to be different going forward, and how I will accomplish that. I gave up making actual resolutions years ago; like everyone else, my follow-through was short-lived and ended in disappointment. But I like to experiment with new habits…