Breaking Open Door Leadership Addiction

Thinking at work is OK.

Open door leadership is a sacred cow that needs to be put out to pasture. Like 8-track players, it’s time has come and gone.
Think about it.
The notion of “being an open door leader” was conceived of and promoted as a means of increasing leader accessibility and communication in an age of 8-hour [...]

Stop the Witchy Kitties at Work

Catty people are workplace terrorists inflicting horrific collateral damage. They depend upon surprise attacks to gain control and power over other people.
Here’s what you can do to stop the witchy kitties.
The list looks long but read to the end. You need all of these steps in your tool box to deal [...]

Are You Working with a Witchy Kitty?

Catty behavior is like cancer. It creates extreme collateral damage.
Unfortunately, some Type A top performers are witchy kitties.
Cattiness is mean-spirited nastiness intentionally meant to hurt or harm someone else. It destroys employee morale, productivity and engagement.
Put up with catty behavior and you’re throwing money, time and energy down the [...]

Squelching Moaning Minnies and Bellyaching Bufords: Part 2

During the 25 years I’ve been improving organizational and individual effectiveness, I’ve not encountered a nastier demon than complaining and blaming. It destroys morale, frustrates leaders and hurts productivity.
In Part 1, I identified 3 Type A traps to avoid when dealing with a workplace whiner.
Today, I’m sharing 3 tactics you can [...]

Type A’s You Can’t Trust

“I just can’t trust her (or him).”
One of the most common problems I help clients solve is how to work with The Type A You Can’t Trust. The culprit might be the conniving chairwoman, the slick salesperson or the backstabbing boss. Usually, these “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” Type A’s are found [...]

Why You Should Love Pain-in-the-Butt Employees

I get the question all the time… “How can I deal with an employee who is a real pain in the a—-? She’s driving me crazy!”
When I ask why the employee hasn’t been given her walking papers, the boss usually spits out, “Because she’s one of our best producers. She’s too valuable to [...]

You Can’t Coach Effort.

Last night the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team beat perennial powerhouse, Tennesse. For Kentucky it was only the seventh win ever over the Lady Vols.
After the game, Pat Summitt, Tennessee’s coach and all-time winningest Division 1 basketball coach was quoted in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
“In 35 years coaching, this probably has been the least [...]