What? So What? Now What? – Today’s Workplace Trends and Why They Matter
Earlier this month, Margie’s company mandated that all employees be onsite at least four days a week, up from three. Some are following the new mandate begrudgingly, while others are ignoring it, for...
View Article(Free) Gifts that Keep on Giving Year-Round, at Work or Home
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill “No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank Each year, members of my (very large, extended) family vow...
View ArticleReal-world Strategies for Winning the Hybrid Game in 2024
“Hybrid work is here to stay” “CEOs predict full return to the office within 12 months” “Return to office mandates not going as planned” Clickbait headlines like these can be really confusing and in...
View ArticleStop Letting Bad Behavior Derail Your Next Meeting
“Our meetings have gone off the rails. No one seems to know how to rein in the loudmouths or to get the quiet people talking. Pretty much everyone leaves our meetings feeling frustrated, mad and really...
View ArticleCreating, Restoring Lost Connections in a Hybrid World
The new employee roaming empty halls eager to find someone – anyone—to talk to The CEO who publicly boasts about inclusion before dismantling the DEI team The employee whose manager cancels their 1:1...
View Article6 Good Reasons to Take Games Seriously at Work
This was my first cross-cultural training workshop for this process control firm that had recently been acquired by two new parent companies, one German and one French. The language classes offered by...
View ArticleCan’t we all just get along (with Gen Z) in the workplace)?
Sarah slams down her tray and sighs as she settles herself across the table from Jerome, her fellow manager, to gulp down a 10-minute lunch, a rare luxury these days. “I am just so fed up with some of...
View ArticleTips for Conquering the Whiplash of Change
The dust had finally settled on the company’s latest Return to Office policy. Although it took a lot of cajoling, after a six-month grace period, most employees were back in the office the mandated...
View ArticleYou call that a team???
Great teamwork wasn’t all that easy to come by even when everyone worked together in one place. When the pandemic hit, with people scattering to work from wherever, it took a while for teams to regain...
View ArticleTips for Earning Trust During Times of Change
True story: Ted, a mid-level HR professional for a fast-growing biopharma in my area, assumed the worst when he was ushered into a conference room, the door closing softly behind him. “I’m being laid...
View ArticleConfronting Dysfunctional Behavior Without Completely Losing It
We were halfway through a two-day project kick-off meeting for a global IT team about to roll out a new mail and messaging system for the company’s 100K+ employees around the world. The execution had...
View ArticleCostly Missteps that Destroy Trust During Times of Change
If senior leaders decide that a change must be made, how important is it, really, that employees buy into it? If it’s mandatory, why pretend that employees have a say in it? If the change is truly...
View ArticleShould They Stay (Remote) or Should They Go (Back to the Office)?
Competing return to office (RTO) policies have been making the headlines. Amazon’s CEO has notified employees that as of January 5, it’s everyone back to the office for everyone every day. Meanwhile,...
View ArticleFacilitating Safe Conversations When Viewpoints Collide
We all know leaders who run away when it comes to handling conflicting viewpoints across their teams. When the stakes are high and the conflict is intense, they can’t get away fast enough. When there’s...
View ArticleWhat’s Worse: Principles Without Scruples, or Scruples Without Principles?
Just because someone has strong principles, they may not have scruples. And someone with scruples may not have principles. It happens more often than you think. Case in point: Marta is a senior ops...
View ArticleTips for Naming the Elephant in the Room, Safely
“Whoa! What the %^&$ is happening here? Let’s knock it off right now!” Clearly, this is not the best way to call a time out when a meeting spirals out of control, especially when higher-ups are...
View ArticleWhen Values and Behaviors Collide, Time for a Culture Reset
Despite historically proclaiming “unwavering support” for the LGBTQ community, companies are scrubbing all references to DEI, transgender, women, equity and inclusion from their websites. Despite...
View ArticleUnfair Workplace? Time to Flip the Script
In his biting satire A Modest Proposal, author Jonathan Swift suggested that poor people in Ireland could ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to the elite. His satirical...
View ArticleManagers Aren’t Obsolete – They’re Underestimated
“I’d rather meet with my team member than meet a deadline.” That’s what the senior leader of a Boston-based consulting firm told me when I asked her how she manages to deal with so many competing...
View ArticleWhen Boundary-Setting Backfires Bigtime
Here’s how one leader’s attempt to set boundaries for her team backfired. Carol was prone to sending emails to her team members whenever an idea popped into her head, but she didn’t want her staff to...
View ArticleLeading with Questions, Not Answers
“If I eat a watermelon seed, will it grow inside my tummy?” “What makes the leaves change colors?” “If I grow tall enough, can I touch the stars?” Let’s hear it for the curious minds of young kids,...
View ArticleSo why should you bother???
Becky, a long-time friend, was frustrated by a heated conversation with a relative about the state of our nation’s economy. She declared that she’s “done” with him. For good. “We’ll never change each...
View ArticleStrategic Planning: Moving From All Talk to Decisive Action
Dozens of leaders were flown in from around the world to converge in a beautifully appointed conference center to take part in the organization’s annual planning session. No expenses were spared on...
View ArticleThe End of the World (of Work) As We Know It: Are You Ready?
Ready or not, more big changes are coming for the workplace in 2026. How will managers respond? Of course, we can choose not to respond, for now. We can ignore the changes or pretend they don’t apply...
View ArticleNobody Saw It Coming: Why Everyone’s More Stressed Since They Got AI
Jane, a marketing manager for a fast-growing software engineering firm, estimates that she saves about 8-10 hours a week synthesizing and summarizing survey data, thanks to her AI assistant. The...
View ArticleWhat Happens When We Outsource Our Judgment?
The five-member executive leadership team had come prepared to this meeting to make their case to the CEO and board chair as to where the company should invest in AI over the next 6 -18 months. Each...
View ArticleWhen Silence Isn’t Agreement: What Your Global Team Isn’t Telling You
Picture this: You’ve just wrapped a Zoom meeting with team members across four time zones where everyone has agreed to the team’s operating norms, judging from the head nods. Or so you think. Three...
View ArticleEverything is “Totally Fine,” Yet Something Feels Very Off
I just returned from Norway and Iceland, two destinations I’ve always dreamt about. Apart from stunning scenery, warm and generous people, a deep regard for our planet and the sky-high prices and lower...
View ArticleWhy Most Team Norms Don’t Change Behavior
It’s bad enough to be on a team whose members constantly struggle when it comes to making tough decisions and handling disagreements. But imagine if you were legally prohibited from addressing these...
View ArticleSmart People Alone Can’t Fix a Broken Process
People lurch toward the door as another pointless planning meeting finally, mercifully, comes to an end. The meeting leader calls out: “Wait! Before everyone leaves, let’s recap what we’ve decided.”...
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