When my oldest son was little, I found myself coaching one of his baseball teams. During one game, I noticed a pattern. The kids in the on-deck circle looked terrified. It was as if they were awaiting their turn on the gallows. I saw this look in their eyes, child after child.
Category: Engagement
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Are Your People All In?
Think of a time you were all in. Perhaps it was on a sports team, or a cheerleading squad; maybe you were serving as a volunteer in your community; or maybe it was at work. Have you ever considered why you were so fired up? It was no accident.
The cost of complacency in the workforce is staggering. The cost of complacency in leadership ranks is beyond calculation – it multiplies! That’s the issue for Today’s Challenge this week: What do you do with leaders who are not fully engaged?
Have you ever found yourself working with people who really didn’t seem to care about the assignment at hand or the organization who paid them? I hope not, but I’m guessing you have. This week’s question is: What causes some employees to be disengaged?
This year at the Chick-fil-A LeaderCast, Coach Krzyzewski from Duke University made a presentation about his approach to leading some of the world’s best athletes – the US Olympic Team. If you don’t know about Coach “K,” he has more wins than any coach in Division 1 college basketball history.
Horst Schultze, the former president of the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain said, ”The most important time in an employee’s career is the first 40 hours.” How much thought have you given to this crucial period? Today’s Challenge: What to include in new employee orientation?
How do you keep score? How does your team keep score? What does a win look like? Are these questions you immediately have an answer for, or do they make you stop and think? Do you have an answer at all? I believe this is one of the most critical factors in human engagement. I think it’s true at home, at work and even where we play.
In today’s challenging economic times, creative thinking is more valuable than ever. Not creative for creativity’s sake – creativity to solve real business problems. Many of the ideas of the past are no longer relevant. As a seasoned leader shared with me recently, “The half-life of ideas is decreasing rapidly.” So what’s our response?
I’ve worked at one of America’s great companies, Chick-fil-A, Inc., my entire career. During my time here, I’ve had 7 different jobs… so far! My latest assignment came just a few weeks ago; I’ll be leading a new team: Organizational Effectiveness. In a recent interview, I was asked about my approach to a new role. Prior to that question, I’d never tried to capture my thoughts on this topic.
I recently had the privilege of hearing David Kinnaman speak. He’s the president of the Barna Group and the author of several books – his most recent, You Lost Me. As an older leader, I continue to feel the need to understand the emerging generation better. That’s David’s specialty!