Note to readers: This is the fifth post in my new series based on questions I frequently hear Managing Millennials Q&A: Why Are Employees Late?about managing millennials — those ongoing management challenges that can really make or break workplace relationships. Each month I’ll tackle a question and provide some advice for managers and millennials (and millennial managers!). I hope the advice I share is helpf...

Does giving employees the freedom to do tasks in their own way actually decrease their productivity? Harvard Business School investigates. In the interest of productivity, some organizations have a predetermined scheduling policy, requiring that tasks be completed in a particular order. For example, we’ve talked about citizen development a lot on the Fast Track, and low code application development may indeed be on...

Can you exert a positive influence over your work environment and career prospects even if you don’t hold a senior management or executive position? Does holding such a position give you both authority and influence? Good questions! First of all, what’s the difference between the two terms or concepts? “Authority is a social, political and business structure that grants an individual rights to make deci...

Strong GPA. Check. Impressive internship. Check. The right technical certifications. Check. Seems like you’ve found the perfect candidate. But before you make an offer, there’s one more area to assess that can make or break job performance — soft skills. According to a LinkedIn survey, more than 60 percent of hiring managers say these can be challenging to screen for. Here are some tips t...

Recently, I interviewed highly respected Conversational Intelligence®, We-centric Leadership, Neuro-Innovation expert and Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach winner, Judith Glaser. We talked about many different leadership topics relating to conversational intelligence, including Judith’s leadership tool called the Double-Click. Below is a short excerpt from our interview about this wonderful tool that will help any lead...

When we talk about generational differences, it’s easy to fall into overly generalized stereotypes: Baby Boomers are responsible. (Funny, they used to be called the “Me Generation.”) Millennials are slackers. (Wait, wasn’t that Gen X?) Gen Xers are neglected middle children. (Paging Jan Brady.) Gen Zs march to their own drum. (Like…every generation before them?) Stereotypes are...

Want to be more productive tomorrow? Zero in on your organization’s time, its talent, and its energy. In their new book, TIME | TALENT | ENERGY: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team’s Productive Power, Bain & Company partner Michael Mankins and his co-author Eric Garton identify the specific causes of organizational drag – otherwise known as the collection of institutional factors that slo...

In an increasingly agile world, how can we make the best decisions with limited information? Leaders do not always have the luxury of time when making a critical business decision, yet research shows that quick decisions are often remarkably solid despite time pressures. Here are six strategies for coming to the best conclusion in a non-ideal situation. Strategy 1: Define Your Result Consider why you must make a pr...

Gallup’s annual State of the American Workplace report is one of the largest treasure troves of employee satisfaction data in the world. I like going hunting, so I broke down some of the essential findings for you. Gallup asked nearly 200,000 US employees their opinions on a variety of topics current transforming our workforces, including flextime, agile performance management, and matrixed teaming. Exactly how cr...

In August 2013, Adverse Impact (AI) analysis received one of the most important judicial clarifications rendered since its formal Supreme Court codification in 1971. Administrative Law Judge Kenneth A. Krantz ruled in favor of VF Jeanswear (VF) and denied OFCCP’s request for summary judgment against VF. In his decision, Judge Krantz formally clarified and articulated a judicial position on methods of grouping races for...