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What’s Good About Having A Bad Boss?

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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So you have the boss from hell? Seems that lots of people have had this experience. A recent study claims that 65% of Americans would like a better boss – almost twice as many as would like a pay raise. Here are some typical “bad boss” complaints I’ve heard. takes credit for your accomplishments throws projects at you without explaining them, and then explains why your work is “all wrong” when you bring back the finished job yells, attacks, bullies you micromanages inaccessible when you need help plays favorites overly demanding, doesn’t honor your work-life boundaries   A Different Way To Look At It The experience of living with a [...]

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Land Your First Job, Prep for Career Success

May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
5_16_13 Landing Your First Job

Last Sunday was graduation in my town. There was the expected hoopla – families and parties everywhere, traffic jams, and crowds at every restaurant. And, there was one uninvited though not unexpected guest – anxiety about finding a job. The Atlantic recently offered a good analysis of the current market for grads. The conclusions were clear – unemployment is higher than normal, underemployment is prevalent, with an uncertain future tied to whatever passes for economic recovery. In short, prospects for that first job are difficult, unless you have one of a few valuable, scarce skill sets. That said, I believe that there are several steps that COULD help you land [...]

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What Your Feedback To Others Says About You

May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Do you value giving feedback to your reports and other co-workers? Have you been told that feedback is an effective managerial tool that you should be using more? Do certain of your co-workers’ behaviors concern you, and you want to give them feedback? Here are typical stories from two managers, Joe and Diane:   Joe was frustrated about the performance of his direct report, Karen. Karen was expected to use a particular project planning tool with clients, but her habit in client meetings was to mechanistically walk through the tool instead of using it as a starting point for dialogue as Joe intended. Joe said, “I’ve really got to give [...]

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Make Yourself More Valuable at Work

May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
5_3_13 Create More Value at Work

Jobless claims fall to 5-year low, but hiring still sluggish – that’s today’s latest headline. Good news yes, but still troubling, because it’s mostly fewer layoffs not more jobs. Things may be improving but few believe that it’s a great time to be looking for work. So, what can you do to make sure you keep the job you have?  Here are some steps you can take right now to make yourself more valuable at work. 1. Make a “line of sight” connection between your job and a critical company result. One good example comes from an L&D department. This function used traditional measures like program attendance and participant reactions, [...]

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The Dark Side Of Trust

April 25, 2013 By 9 Comments
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I’ve been hearing a lot of talk lately about trust. Trust is widely assumed to be a necessary ingredient for effective organizations and effective leadership. But what do we really mean by the idea of trust? Might there be hidden downsides to the value we place on trust? What Do We Mean By Trust? First, since trust is one of those loaded words that means many things to many people, let’s unpack how it is used. When I say, “I trust you,” there are usually a few dimensions embedded in that statement: Benevolent intention I believe you are going to act in my best interests, therefore I don’t have to [...]

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Selecting 21st Century Skills

April 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Selecting 21st Century Skills

In a recent post, China Gorman referenced the Institute for the Future’s (IFTF) vision of skills needed in 2020. She discussed the challenges of selecting and managing for these critical skills, some of which include… • Sense-making – determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed • Novel & Adaptive Thinking – identify solutions and responses beyond the rote or rule-based • Computational Thinking – translate data into abstract concepts, use data-based reasoning • Transdisciplinarity – understand concepts across multiple disciplines • Cognitive Load Management – discriminate and filter information for importance and maximize functioning using a variety of tools and techniques, and • Virtual Collaboration – [...]

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You Don’t Have to Hate Selling

April 11, 2013 By 2 Comments
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Are you in a role where there is some expectation that you will “sell” a service or product, but you don’t really see yourself as a “sales person”? So many people, when they face the prospect of selling, experience deep feelings of dread and loathing. But it doesn’t have to be that way.   Let’s start by looking at just why you feel that dread and loathing. Commonly, what I hear are statements such as, “I feel I’m asking someone to do me a favor,” or, “I’m trying to persuade someone to buy something they don’t need.” Those concerns are based on a manipulative model of selling –a picture that’s [...]

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April 2013 Leadership Development Carnival

April 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Today you have the chance to read not one blog post, but 36. This month’s Leadership Development Carnival includes some of the most creative thinking around on the subject. Here you will find ideas on training supervisors, making meetings more useful, collaboration, learning from crisis, engaging Generation Y employees … and our own blog post “Why are you so swamped?” I promise you will find at least one nugget that’s directly relevant to what you’re struggling with today. Click here to visit the carnival. Tweet @JoanKofodimos View Joan Kofodimos’s profile

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Why are you so swamped?

March 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Do you, like so many managers, believe that you have too much on your plate? If so, why do you think this is the case? Do you think, as do most managers to whom I’ve posed this question, that you’re swamped because of the demands of your jobs? If so, I hope you will keep an open mind as you read on. Consider the possibility that your swamped-ness is not caused by forces external to you, but rather that it is the result of your approach to the work. Further, consider the possibility that, by doing what keeps you swamped, you remain stuck in managing and miss the opportunity to [...]

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John Wayne Must Die!

March 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
John Wayne Must Die

I know that The Duke has been dead for over 30 years but, unfortunately for American organizations, his shadow continues to hang on as a model how a leader should act. Take your typical John Wayne western. He rides into town (or is hired for his gun), and analyzes the scene, trying to understand what’s gone wrong. Once he figures things out (usually on his own) he provokes a conflict designed to smoke out the bad guys. He kills the bad guys, kisses the girl, and rides out of town – triumphant as always and in less than two hours. Amazing! Wayne never got the trains to run on time; [...]

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