From the category archives:

Blogs

Without Support You Will Fall

by Steven M. Smith

History provides lessons for teams. Let’s take the time to explore a few of them.
This post explores patterns that I see resulting from the interaction of ability, demands and support. Let me explicitly state what I mean by those variables –
Ability is the capacity to do something through talent and skill.
Demands are the problems that [...]

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Tripwire Removal

by Steven M. Smith

I have rules. You have rules. Teams have rules.
Rules trip up both individuals and teams causing unintended consequences.
We learn rules about such things as what we can do, what we can question, and what we can say.
A rule dictates behavior. But when transformed into a guide, it enables you to choose appropriate behavior.
Let’s explore three [...]

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Stop that Mole Now

by Steven M. Smith

Do you have a mole undermining the work of your team? Someone who constantly complains privately to any teammate who will listen but refuses to bring that same complaint publicly to the team? Someone whose actions are destroying teamwork?
A mole erodes productivity. Stop that mole now.

A team is like a garden. A good gardener manages [...]

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It Works for You: It Doesn’t Work for Me

by Steven M. Smith

When you coach another teammate, keep in mind that
what works for you may not work for me.
Let me share an example  –  a service I offer is coaching people on how to more effectively lead team meetings. Whenever a team is exploring a topic, there comes a time when the facilitator needs to gain everyone’s [...]

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What is Leadership?

by Steven M. Smith

How do I define leadership?
Leadership is the ability to adapt the setting so everyone feels empowered to contribute creatively to solving the problems.
Leadership is an ability, meaning a leader has a capacity to do something through talent and skill. Talent is natural ability and skill is proficiency gained through training and experience. Talent certainly  helps, [...]

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Gandhi and Change Agents

by Steven M. Smith

Mahatma Gandhi epitomizes the effective change agent. In my opinion, he was not only the Twentieth Century’s greatest change agent but also its greatest leader.
Are you looking for change agents in your organization? Let’s explore desirable qualities for change agents exemplified by Gandhi.
He believed in the Hindu religion, which, from what I understand, holds the [...]

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Segment Your Audience

by Steven M. Smith

Tips for managers who speak to large audiences about change.
1. Know your audience
The members of your audience aren’t like you. They don’t think like you. They don’t act like you. They are a mix of people who have different roles. They like to know that you are aware of them and their role so amplify [...]

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Appeal with Emotion, Confirm with Logic

by Steven M. Smith

A friend shook me up yesterday when he asked me, “Do you appeal to potential customers using emotion or logic?”
I wanted to say both. But @#$!, the true answer was logic.
Logic is a good thing. But when people make decisions, emotion trumps logic.
What makes the heart pump faster for organizational decision makers?
Three compulsions stand out [...]

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The Target Law

by Steven M. Smith

Have you ever had trouble finding something and needed assistance?
I have. Let me share a discovery about finding things that I made last week.
I was shopping at Target* for some last minute items before taking an eleven mile hike to an alpine lake. I needed Ibuprofen and a Cliff Bar. I was able to locate [...]

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Manager is Junior Engineering

by Steven M. Smith

My friend Mitch was telling me this morning more about how his company was losing hundreds of millions of dollars because they couldn’t execute their plans (see my earlier post Key Person Won’t Participate). He mentioned that he had a one-on-one meeting with his manager to discuss how his work would drastically alter one-third of [...]

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