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That quote is attributed to Peter Drucker, the amazing leader who helped redefine business in Japan and then around the world.
It’s good to remind ourselves that plans and strategies are fine – even necessary. But the real foundation of getting anything done is the culture of the organization.
This brings to mind a year in an organization I worked for about twenty years ago. The company was getting into serious financial trouble, and it was noted that growth in the number of employees was getting out of hand while the economy was headed the wrong direction.
Read the rest of this entry »Every human needs to be connected to other people.
Unfortunately, people are all flawed and make mistakes. Compounded with the messiness of communication, you end up with chaos. That’s what it means to be human.
But we know all that. What I’m focusing on today is that connecting with others is an act of becoming vulnerable. It’s risky.
Read the rest of this entry »There are just some questions that just might be too scary to put out there.
This can be especially true if you’re a worker with relatively little power. When something looks just a little bit “off”, are you willing to ask to find out more?
Instead, we might deflect with “I guess that’s just the way it’s done” or “It’s above my pay grade.” Now, I get that – why risk a harsh response to a question that you may not be able to do much about anyway?
Read the rest of this entry »We’d like to think that the relationship between manager and employee is very transactional. The employee does the required work, and the manager pays them. Then everybody goes home and has their Real Life.
But we’re all human. We have ups and downs, triumphs and challenges.
In the work setting, we like to ignore all that. It’s just about “doing the work”. If we were all automatons, that might make it even easier. But there’s so much more.
Read the rest of this entry »I was having a conversation the other day about responsibility, accountability, and authority.
Accountability seems to be the term that people struggle with the most, because it feels like it’s nothing but bad consequences. If everything goes right, then we look for people to credit. If things go wrong, then we look for who’s accountable.
Who to blame.
Read the rest of this entry »Our work is SO serious! SO important!
So can we allow ourselves a little fun in our work? Why not?
OK, so sometimes the work really is super serious. I want my surgeon to know as much as she can and not play around with my life. But even in this example, you’ll find that medical professionals often develop a wicked sense of humor, to take the sting out of the weight of their work.
Read the rest of this entry »Even if your workers are working for a paycheck, it’s wise to learn from those who are leading volunteers.
I’ve learned a whole lot from volunteer-driven organizations, and am currently involved with several myself. In that environment, if people aren’t getting their needs met, they can simply walk away. This is one of the natural things about leading these kinds of groups.
When you’re giving someone their pay every week or two, it’s easy to fall into the trap that their loyalty will continue as long as the pay and benefits are good.
Not true.
Read the rest of this entry »As the leader, it’s your job to address mistakes and imperfections.
That can be SO tough, because of course you want to maintain certain standards and push towards a more ideal future.
And, let’s be honest, there can be a bit of ego involved. Especially if this is the organization that you started.
Read the rest of this entry »Everybody wants to be loved, to be recognized, to be appreciated. We don’t often use the word “love” in business, but it’s still in our nature.
It’s especially crucial for a place where you spend about a quarter of every week.
If you’re an effective leader, you know this. But it’s difficult to figure out what your team needs, both as a group and individually.
Read the rest of this entry »What’s changing because of your work?
We all want to make a difference, right? Whether it’s introducing the world to new ideas, or fixing problems, or giving people productive work … that’s where the motivation comes from.
This is true at the individual level, for an organization, even for society as a whole. And the answer is usually different at each level.
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The Values-Based Business 