“One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them.” — Aldous Huxley, Brave New World "I'm going to work." In 2019, those four words drew images of jumping in a car, fighting traffic, and pulling into the company parking lot — a daily ritual for millions of professionals. No longer. Work is not a place. It never has been. It's what it always was — something we do. If your mind's eye sees work as an office, it's time for an update. Hybrid work will mean different things to different people. You need to understand how to make those differences work for your team and your busi ..read more

“In space no one can hear you scream; and in a black hole, no one can see you disappear.” — Professor Stephen Hawking "What's the future of work?"... "How will a return to office work?"... "How do we make hybrid work, work?" I don't know the answer to any of those questions. No one does. If you poll academics and business professors, management gurus, CEOs and consultants, they’ll all tell you different things. This means no one knows. We've never done this before; we've never lived this before. And the honest ones will tell you that. You, or me, have just as much chance of being correct in o ..read more

"Leadership is about unlocking people’s potential to become better." - Bill Bradley Every leader working today grew up in an office. How we think, the habits we picked up, the tips and advice from mentors along the way — all developed with the backdrop of four walls, cubicles, the odd motivational poster, a water cooler in the corner, and the hum of a printer in the background. Today’s office is different. For some, it’s not there. For others, it’s a spot we go to once a week, or once a month. Teams are distributed around the country, around the clock, and around the globe. Leading teams just ..read more

“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” — Mark Twain Let’s obsess about ‘Umms’ for a moment. We all have them, these verbal tics scattered through our speech. It could be an ‘ah,’ or an ‘um’; a ‘like’ or a ‘you know.’ These fillers are quite normal, and yet they’ve been bothering me of late. Nick Mohammed is an actor and comic whose brilliant portrayal of ‘Nate’ in Ted Lasso earned him an Emmy nomination. He’s known for a quick wit and ,astounding feats of memory. How can an actor, comic, and writer so erudite fill an interview with ‘…you ..read more

“In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.” — Albert Einstein COVID-19 has driven the largest workforce evolution since the Industrial Revolution. In 2021, nearly ⅓ of Americans left their jobs and the trend continues.¹ Many factors have fueled the Great Resignation, but ineffective leadership is near the top of the list. However, leaders can choose to view the Great Resignation in the same way many individuals do — as an opportunity. A time for a reset. A Great Reset. In order to successfully reset with your team, you need to start with yourself. Self Reset A concept I have focuse ..read more

“Performance appraisal. ...the most dreaded and hated process for managers and employees.” — Wendy Pat Fong In my recent article ,“Judgment Day”, we met Tricia, a client who I had been coaching. Tricia agreed that performance was being driven by the superstars on her team. She also acknowledged that she had a couple of underperformers that needed to be put on a performance improvement plan. But she still had a lingering, and important, question: “How do I get my average performers performing?” Who owns the Performance Review? That’s a question that needs another question — if you only had to ..read more

“Performance appraisal. ...the most dreaded and hated process for managers and employees.” — Wendy Pat Fong On a recent coaching call, something was up. Tricia didn’t have her usual bounce. I didn’t get the upbeat, “Hi... how’s it going?” Tricia is one of those people, who, no matter how badly her day is going, is always enthusiastic and positive — happy to speak with you. It’s a strong leadership trait. But not today — the bounce was gone. I asked what the problem was. “I hate performance reviews.” Tricia’s not alone. Everyone hates performance reviews. One in five employees believes their b ..read more

“Commerce is our goal, here. More human than human is our motto.” — Dr. Eldon Tyrell 2022. We’re living in the future. In the blink of an eye, we’re more than two decades into the 21st Century. Blade Runner is in the past. Fans will know that Philip K. Dick wondered about androids dreaming of electric sheep in 1968, a year before humans set foot on the moon. Ridley Scott’s masterpiece of #storytelling and world-building had its cinematic release in 1982, four years before Chernobyl and the Challenger disaster. Blade Runner itself was set in November 2019, three years ago. Our 2019 didn’t have ..read more

“Performance appraisal. ...the most dreaded and hated process for managers and employees.” — Wendy Pat Fong On a recent coaching call, something was up. Tricia didn’t have her usual bounce. I didn’t get the upbeat, “Hi... how’s it going?” Tricia is one of those people, who, no matter how badly her day is going, is always enthusiastic and positive — happy to speak with you. It’s a strong leadership trait. But not today — the bounce was gone. I asked what the problem was. “I hate performance reviews.” Tricia’s not alone. Everyone hates performance reviews. One in five employees believes their b ..read more

“Commerce is our goal, here. More human than human is our motto.” — Dr. Eldon Tyrell 2022. We’re living in the future. In the blink of an eye, we’re more than two decades into the 21st Century. Blade Runner is in the past. Fans will know that Philip K. Dick wondered about androids dreaming of electric sheep in 1968, a year before humans set foot on the moon. Ridley Scott’s masterpiece of #storytelling and world-building had its cinematic release in 1982, four years before Chernobyl and the Challenger disaster. Blade Runner itself was set in November 2019, three years ago. Our 2019 didn’t have ..read more