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I was having breakfast this morning with some friends and their 11-year-old son. He asked me what I did for a living and I said, “Well, I’m a speaker.” He said, “What? Like stereo speakers or something?” I said, “No. I speak to groups and organizations.” And he said, “Oh, kind of like when we […]

Leading Change can be tricky. The president of a small college complained to me that he was having trouble getting his management team moving toward action on some much needed changes. Priding himself on being a true believer in participative management, he asked the team to identify the specific changes needed, prioritize their value, and […]

Employee motivation, from where does it come? A recent article by Alfie Kohn in the New York Times titled “Science Confirms It – People Are Not Pets” tells us that a number of scientific studies have shown that when we are rewarded for doing something, we tend to lose interest in whatever we had to do […]

Work environment can have a huge impact on employee motivation and morale, but can it replace the human touch? Recently, my daughter, Generation Expert Meagan Johnson and I had our brains picked by Timothy Boone of the Advocate Magazine @theadvocate.com about what kinds of perks and benefits most motivate employees. You can check out his […]

Managing friends is a challenge faced by many new managers. If you were promoted from within, you are probably managing people with whom you previously worked. It’s likely that you are friends with one or more of them. I’m not saying it’s impossible to manage a friend. I’ve done it several times. In fact, there […]

New managers are now coaches more than doers I’m reminded of my brother-in-law, who has always been a talented baseball player. He was a pitching star all through Little League and high school. Then he went to college on a baseball scholarship and after graduating, was recruited by the San Francisco Giants. He went into […]

And now for a word about criticism. In the last episode of this videoblog, I discussed the power of positive feedback and corrective feedback, and how important it is that it be specific, whether it’s reinforcing or corrective. After I posted, I got some feedback myself from Mike Murray, a mentor and friend I’ve known […]

For many managers, giving employee feedback can be intimidating and sometimes nerve wracking. Of course, giving feedback that’s positive is usually pretty easy. You can just say, “Hey, great job.” It’s always more effective, however, if you specifically list out what was so great about the job. That takes more effort but usually makes the feedback […]