-Plant Manager in Manufacturing
When I relocated to Texas after 5 years managing in Buffalo, NY, I took over a team where one of the representatives had gone through initial training with me. Lori and I had known each other for 10 years.
Two months into being her boss, Lori asked me point blank, “What is your problem? This is not the Dave Anderson I expected.”
My response was: “Lori. If I don’t roar now, I will never be able to roar later.” Continue Reading…
Question 1: Are sheep without a shepherd still sheep? Answer: Yes.
Question 2: Is a shepherd without sheep still a shepherd? Answer: No.
A shepherd without sheep is just a hygienically challenged man walking the countryside with a stick in his hands.
Leaders: It is the people that make you a leader not the title!
I’ve read multiple articles on how coaches should deliver negative feedback. As part of a Fortune 50 company with a stellar training department, I sat through many sessions on the same topic. I even wrote a blog a few weeks ago addressing some of these coaching issues: Wanted Coaches: Wimps Need Not Apply.
So much of our time as leaders and trainers is spent on becoming better at delivering bad news, we miss the importance of being good at delivering positive feedback. Through employee surveys, I was often reminded by those I led that I was not very good at the positive reinforcement.
“Troy. Believe it or not, I am glad we got snowed-in tonight in Buffalo. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you better.”
“Me too, Rick. When I called my wife and said I was trapped in Buffalo with the boss, I was only half kidding. This has been great. Now it’s going to be even harder to tell you I am quitting.” Continue Reading…
Bill finally cut bait. He was done coaching Travis. The national sales meeting was the last straw. Travis was astonished. “Why now? I thought the meeting was a huge success.”
“Travis, for six months you have paid me for advice, and you have never once tried to follow any of my directions. You nod your head and then you ignore what I have said. And I am not the only one!” Continue Reading…
The story ended as they all seemed to end, Terry as the hero. The sales team sat quietly and nodded their heads. The story that Terry had meant to use to inspire greatness in his team, fell flat.
Once in her car, Sandi called Erin to vent. “Has Terry ever made a mistake? Has he ever ticked off a client? Has he ever really been in a situation that didn’t go his way?” Continue Reading…
Today, I was thinking about what I dislike about meetings. It was a huge chunk of my morning. I obviously dislike meetings a lot! The scary thing is, I thrive working in a group environment. I figured out that it was not being in a meeting I disliked. It was how people run them. Continue Reading…
In my time in leadership in a big Fortune 50 company, I spent a lot of time practicing conflict resolution. Mainly, I was helping other people resolve their conflicts. I saw anger, distrust and pettiness prevent people from moving forward and getting things done.
Some people may call me a Polly Anna. But, I truly believe most of the people I work with have good intentions. They are not trying to hurt, belittle or take advantage of someone else.
As I look back on the conflicts I have been involved with, there is one common denominator in them all-poor communication. Continue Reading…
I have a 15 year-old pet peeve. I hate when leaders use voicemail messages to promote themselves. This pet peeve should be older. Unfortunately it is a habit I had to break myself before it became a pet peeve.
At some point I realized I was sending messages to my team that included information that did nothing for them. They would often start:
“It’s 6:00 AM and I am on my way to the airport…” or
“It’s 7:30 PM and I am 30 minutes from home…” Continue Reading…
People couldn’t believe he jumped to another company. Tom was an all-star salesman who won multiple sales awards over the last 5 years. He earned sizable raises year after year and large bonuses. It didn’t make sense to some.
Tom called me multiple times during his final 6 months with the company. He did not call to discuss his salary, bonus, or benefits. His frustration was with his boss. Continue Reading…
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