Blog

In many of today’s industries, there is a push for a 24/7 workplace mentality whether you’re in the office or not. This adds a level of innate pressure on everyone in the workplace. But with the push for employee engagement and satisfaction at the forefront of many a high-level executive meeting, there are a few things commonly found amongst the greatest leaders in their industries.

A study at MIT revealed an interesting and potentially undervalued form of leadership: one led by problem-solvers who never intended to become leaders. This unique group of ‘leaders’ didn’t set out on a path to be a leader or manager. Instead, they set out on a journey to find and fix problems. They look forward to a challenge and become obsessed with finding new ways, ideas, resources, etc to overcome any obstacle.

Management styles of yore still lurk in the hallways of business big and small all around the world today. However, with Generation Y beginning to take a larger stake in those same businesses, it may be time for managers to take a look at those traditions and see how to make them work with Generation Y employees. Generation X and Boomers grew up in a world where they had to earn the right to be heard, respected, and valued. On the flip side, Generation Y has had a heard and valued voice from day...

All businesses have the ability to work smarter, not harder and come out better than their sum of their collective members’ intelligence and talent, however, many fall short. A collaborative culture sounds simple at its core. A group of people working together in a meaningful way to achieve successful results. Sounds simple, right? Then why do so many organizations struggle and even fail in their marketplaces?

Leadership teams at the highest level within companies agree culture change is a high priority to continue to grow and be competitive in their respectful marketplaces. However, the trickle-down effect required to ensure such changes are implemented and effective, tends to lie solely on the shoulders of management teams. With a whopping 75% of employees quitting their job citing “management” as their reason for leaving, the need for management engagement becomes even more important.

Leading comes with a myriad of challenges and obstacles. There are numerous reasons for and catalysts of the downfall of a team or group of employees. But what about when the largest factor in a team’s disfunction is the leader themselves? What are ways leaders sabotage their own teams and how do we avoid these behaviors

What skills are needed for effective and inspirational leadership across organizations and businesses? A few years ago, Zenger and Folkman compiled research to discover just that, the most crucial characteristics that all leaders need to possess and practice. Rather than seeing data that pointed to leaders at different levels implementing differing skills and traits, they found that there was a specific subset of qualities that make a leader productive, especially at higher levels of an organiza...

In a simple black frame, on a shelf in my office sits a picture that never ceases to put a smile on my face. In it, 4 women stand side by side, faces full of toothy grins in front of my childhood home. From left to right stand a woman born in 1902, another in 1929, the third in 1957, and lastly, a gangly legged teen born in 1979. The not-quite-brown eyes and slightly oversized noses all share a similar stance and smile, but beyond that, the lives of these women share history and blood, but not m...

Robert Winter will be speaking at the MindLab conference on April 24th in Denver, Colorado. His session will focus on productive conflict, an assessment offered by Wiley/Everything DiSC. He will also discuss his FrontLine Leadership Development Program and how its implementation can help transform your organization's managers into strong leaders. This program has successfully equipped leaders in a wide variety of industries.

Workplace conflict is inevitable. Even in a business of one, you may have conflict with vendors, groups you outsource to, or even clients that you work with. At some point, there will be disagreements that need to be managed. And that is the key word, managing your conflict so that it can be overcome.