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Doing an end run
Recently, I heard a story of someone doing an end run around their teammate to get the boss onside. An end run is when you choose to go around the person who legitimately should be responsible for...
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4 secrets of avoiding the conflict spiral
You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again: conflict is a natural, inevitable part of relationships and a healthy, constructive practice for teams …when done right. But like every form of...
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4 ways to stimulate better discussions
I was preparing to facilitate a day-long meeting for a new team leader. He had just joined the organization and was pulling together the team of direct reports he had inherited. As we discussed his...
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Hey men! Try leaning out a little
A while back, I wrote a post on LinkedIn asking whether the women on teams are leaning in. Read it here. I got one comment with a bit of a “blame the victim” message. I didn’t write to women to...
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Should I get involved?
During the question and answer section of a speech I gave last week, someone posed a question that I think is top of mind for many people: if two of my teammates are fighting, should I get involved?...
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Struggling to fit in on a new team
I received a great question from the ChangeYourTeam community recently: How long should it take after joining a team for a new member to be treated fairly? Of course the obvious answer is “no time!” I...
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How to provide input constructively
In three sessions with three different teams recently, the key theme has been the lack of shared ownership: A phenomenon one participant described as “everyone swimming their own race.“ This affects...
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Wasted time in meetings
Teams, and especially executive teams, spend way too much time in the weeds. It’s a colossal waste of precious time together and, in my experience, the main reason why people are so fed up with...
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Infographic-How to say no to a good idea
I was giving a speech to the top 400 leaders at a hospital last week. In the Q&A period, I received many great questions, including: “how do I say no to a good idea brought to me by a team...
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Managing underground conflict
I received a note from a member of the ChangeYourTeam community last week. In it, the person shared her difficult position. Here’s an abridged version. “I am a young leader with a team of people who...
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The confidence curse
I had coffee recently with an amazing woman whom I met somewhat serendipitously a couple of months ago. After meeting her only once, I knew I wanted to stay in touch. She was magnetic: intelligent,...
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Dealing with office politics in getting promoted
At a recent lunch with a friend, the topic of organizational politics came up. He’s hoping for a promotion to a senior leadership role and is concerned that his strong track record and his exemplary...
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Dealing with a co-worker who doesn’t pull their weight
I gave a keynote session last week to a group of Health and Safety experts. Following the speech, they were asking questions about the impact of dysfunctional teams on workplace mental health. Someone...
View ArticleHow to increase accountability
In my most recent post, I got a little hot under the collar about managers who talk about accountability, but fail to do the uncomfortable things to create and reinforce it. I’ve settled down and am...
View ArticleBuilding the capability of your direct reports
I’m constantly pushing leadership teams to get out of the weeds and to add value at an appropriate level. (See my previous post for how to tell if you’re in the weeds.) They are continually pushing...
View ArticleSurprising advice on counteracting mediocrity
I recently debuted a new speech about building high performance teams. My ideas about how to build a high performance team (and whether teams even have the courage that high performance requires) are...
View ArticleHow to tone down an argument
I’m in the midst of an exciting new project building the very first 3COze product. We’ve decided that of all the tools to help teams become more effective, the ones that are most needed are the tools...
View ArticleHow to give feedback to someone who doesn’t report to you
Most of the companies I have worked with have, at some point, stuck the word “one” in front of their company name and heralded it as a great new era. “We are now One Acme!” [Cue the trumpets and unfurl...
View ArticleWhen the problem is outside your team
It can be extremely frustrating when one of your teammates isn’t cooperating. But at least when it’s one of your own teammates that’s behaving badly, you have some recourse with your mutual manager....
View ArticleDealing with complaints and complainers
Do you have someone on your team who always seems to have a little personal storm cloud hovering overhead? You know who I mean: the person who inevitably responds to an exciting initiative by...
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