Blog
Why Performance Development Fails (And What To Do About It)
The ultimate goal of PD – and leadership for that matter – is to develop employees’ performance. The better people perform, the better the organization performs. When thoughtfully deployed, training is a great lever for improving performance. The problem is that it is rarely thoughtfully deployed. There are many places training can go wrong – the content may not meet
Do You Undermanage Your Underperformers?
Are You An MbA? What kind of problems keep you awake at night? We’ve asked this question of thousands of leaders who have participated in our workshops. After giving them a minute to make their list, we ask them to put a “P” by the problem if it’s a people problem and a “T” by the problem if it’s a
Level Up Your Candor
“If you want to see someone in real pain, watch someone who knows who they are and defaults on it on a regular basis.” – Pat Murray, management consultant Candor is the way in which we express who we really are. But as Murray notes we often default on it. When we do, the consequences can create discord within
How Listening Overcomes “Bad Apple” Behavior
A few years ago I tuned into This American Life, the radio show and hugely popular podcast hosted by Ira Glass. Just as I turned it on, I heard Glass conclude a story this way: “If listening is all it takes to overcome bad behavior… If listening is more powerful than meanness, sloth, or depression… It’s like a trick from a
Learning to Love Feedback You Don’t Like
Feedback about our behavior is all around us. We step on the scale and we get feedback about how much we weigh and, indirectly, about behaviors that cause our weight to go up or down. We don’t always like the feedback we get but we don’t argue with it. Even if the scale is off by a couple of pounds,
Listening For Truth From Power
A few years ago I read an article about a courageous flight attendant in the UK who noticed ice on the plane’s wings as it began take-off and alerted the pilots at the last moment, potentially saving the lives of everyone aboard. As the article makes clear, what made this act courageous was that the flight attendant spoke “truth to
Developing Strengths BETWEEN People
If there’s one quote that sums up what my life’s work has been about thus far, it’s this one from incomparable Peter Drucker: “Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.”There’s so much in those few words. As leaders, how do we help people
The Risk of Everyday Communication
Ten or so years ago I got a call from a global consulting firm that specializes in risk management. They help clients around the world manage financial risk, cyber security, corporate misconduct, and fraud potential. So why were they calling Ridge? To help manage a risk they observed in their own organization: everyday communication. I had never thought about communication as
The Commitment Ladder (A Short Course in Increasing Employee Engagement)
A mentor of mine, the late Gordy Myers, was a master of helping people navigate the process of change in organizations. A lot of leaders pitch change by looking to some desired outcome in the future. But when people who have a stake in what’s happening are processing change, it’s far more personal and “here and now.” While some are
The Personal, Evidence-Based Case for Appreciating Others
Most of us aren’t great at appreciating others. Were better at seeing what’s wrong than what someone is doing well. That’s not a surprise; throughout our lives our teachers, coaches, bosses – even our loved ones! – are far more likely to point out our mistakes than our successes. Its natural for us to do the same. In informal polls