Because next year is the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, (and because I’m old enough to remember the actual event) I recently read James R. Hansen’s terrific biography of Neil Armstrong, First Man. It was fascinating on many levels, but one of the most intriguing things for someone who studies team dynamics is that the crew of Apollo 11 were not particularly … [Read more...]
Long-Distance Leaders: How Much Do You Trust Your Team?
by Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator It's sad, but it's true. Some leaders view their employees more like children than professionals. In their minds, if they aren't watching every second, work won't get done. And don't even think about allowing people to work off-site or remotely. How in the world will any work get completed without the expert "supervision" … [Read more...]
How Not to Micro-Manage Remote Employees (And Still Know What’s Going On)
Nobody wants to be a micro-manager. We want to trust our employees (even when they’re remote and we can’t always know what’s going on). We know they’ll do a great job, and we want to be seen as supportive but not over-bearing. It often comes as something of a shock when we’re accused of being micro-managers. The problem may well be how your hard, well-intentioned work is being … [Read more...]
Can There Be Workplace Bullying When There’s No Workplace?
There have been a number of stories in the news about workplace bullying. Most of them revolve around incidents of physical intimidation and threats. So, working from home seems like a good answer to the problem. But a recent conversation with someone brought something else to light: Can you be the victim of workplace bullying and harassment when you aren’t in the same location … [Read more...]
Employee Turnover: How Nine Bucks Could Save You Thousands
During a class the other day, one of our participants said he was thinking of leaving his employer. This was a surprise because it’s a good company that just started letting people work from home and they were bragging about how it’s increased employee satisfaction. So why was this employee so angry he’d leave a sweet gig? The problem was a $9 mouse for his laptop. One of the … [Read more...]