Being a top manager takes hard work and thoughtful action. But it may be easier than you think. Over and over we see that managers are missing out on one habit that is essential to both attracting talent, and keeping them for the long term. The Top Manager Mistake Causing Turnover The top mistake managers […]
Kate Matsudaira has been leading engineering teams for over a decade. She’s worked at major companies like Amazon, and great startups like Decide (acquired by Ebay) and Moz. Through these experiences, she’s accumulated a lot of knowledge on leading and motivating teams. We recently interviewed Kate hoping to learn some of her secrets. We were […]
Red Auerbach is one of the all time great coaches in professional sports history. As head coach of the Boston Celtics, his teams won 9 titles in an incredible 11 year span. He also played an essential role in breaking the color barrier in the NBA in the 1950s by drafting the first African American, […]
“Uhhhh… that’s a bit too personal,” she thought to herself as her team member started sharing a major personal issue they’re having. Her mind turned to the real heart of the question: “what do I do now?” We all know building rapport is important to strong working relationships with our teams. We need to care […]
“People leave managers, not companies” is a common refrain you’ll hear when corporate leadership is discussed. But is it really true? And if it is, why do people leave their managers? Missing the forest for the trees. When you hear why your friend took their new job, you often hear these kinds of rationalizations: “The […]
Managers are always coming up with creative approaches to try to help their teams. Unfortunately, some of those ideas do more harm than good. Group 1 on 1s are one such example. Group != 1 on 1 For many of you, you’ll be puzzled by this suggestion that 1 on 1s would be anything but […]
Employee performance reviews have taken a lot of heat lately. They’re viewed as a dated, wasteful, ineffective process. From HR to managers, to the employees receiving them, they’re hated. Some of the reasons for this hatred include: Time Consuming: It takes a ton of time for a manager to write a review of 12 months […]
Sam Walton is one of the greatest retailers and entrepreneurs in the history of America. Starting with a few stores in small towns in Arkansas, he turned his tenacity for serving customers, and delivering deep discounts, into one of the largest businesses in the world. Shortly before his passing in 1992, he wrote his autobiography, […]
The elephant and the rider. Imagine it. You’re probably picturing yourself or another person on top of an elephant like this: More than just a powerful, majestic image, this is a really helpful metaphor for how we all think and act. Psychology researcher and professor at the University of Virginia, Jonathan Haidt, coined this concept […]
