Randy Grieser's Blog, page 2

The Talent Shortage Myth

[Excerpt from The Ordinary Leader] 

It’s easy for an organization to blame bad hiring experiences on a shortage of talented people to draw from. In recent years, commentary has increased around the notion that talent is in short supply. I have always had a cynical view of this belief. I don’t think there is as much talent shortage as some would have us believe.

I have come to understand that the issue is not so much a talent shortage as it is a shortage of great places to work. Talented employee...

How to Lead With a Sense of Urgency

I have always lived my life with a certain level of urgency. All through my school years, I regularly completed my assignments well in advance. As a teenager, I was antsy to leave home to attend university, and by my second year I was ready to graduate and get my first “real” job. Once I started working, it wasn’t long before I needed something more. This led to the creation of ACHIEVE Centre for Leadership.

For close to 15 years, I have been leading our organization through both challenges and ...

Three Ways to Deal with Cliques at Work

[Excerpt from The Culture Question]

Although we want to encourage relationships, we also want to actively discourage the formation of cliques in our workplaces. When cliques do form, leaders need to deal with them promptly and effectively.

Cliques are exclusive groups of people who share common interests. They are surrounded by thick relational walls that are difficult to penetrate. Cliques usually develop identities based on shared interests or functions, such as The Friday Beer Group, The Potl...

Why Leaders Should Take Breaks

There’s a long-standing understanding amongst our staff that they should be “worried” when I’m away on vacation. The first time new hires learn that I’m taking a vacation, longer-serving staff inform them to prepare for something big upon my return. Their words of warning are related to a pattern that has occurred time and again over the course of our history at ACHIEVE – that I am often known to return from a vacation with a big decision made or a new innovative idea.

Many of the big changes in...

How to Communicate Effectively as a Leader

As a speaker, I give about five presentations to various groups over the course of a month. Recently I was preparing for an event where there would be 500 people in attendance, and even though the presentation was only an hour-long and similar to what I’ve delivered before, I invested a lot of time and focus to prepare.

When it was time to deliver my presentation, I was confident and ready, and the impact of my keynote on those in attendance showed.

The week after this presentation, ACHIEVE’s mo...

A Leader’s Role in Managing Projects

I’ve always lived by the principle that if you aren’t five minutes early, you’re already late. When my wife and I are meeting friends for supper, I’m always pushing her to leave a little early, just to make sure we’re on time. While attending university, I never pulled an all-nighter writing a paper. My desire to finish my papers by the deadline meant organizing my schedule so I would finish the paper well before the due date. And in my current work, if a project or task has been highlighted as ...

Leadership Must Be Developed

While I only cook about once a week, sometimes I like to try making something new beyond my go-to meals of spaghetti and hamburgers. By no means am I a chef, but I do have some cooking instincts. And given that I’m not very patient, I don’t have the desire to read long and convoluted recipes, and I definitely don’t have the patience to watch a video of someone teaching my how to cook. As a result of my limited culinary knowledge and my lack of desire to learn more before trying a new meal idea, ...

Learning to Let Go and Delegate

One of my favourite memories as a leader was when a young employee I was increasingly relying on for more important and challenging tasks told me, “You know, Randy, I’m not qualified to be doing half the tasks you’re giving me.” I could tell by her tone and body language that, while she enjoyed the challenges I was providing, she also wanted to ensure that I knew I was trusting her with important tasks that she hadn’t been formally trained to do. My response to her was that I trusted her and bel...

How to Talk to an Employee About Mental Health

Talking to employees when you notice they may be struggling, or when others have reported observations or difficulties to you can be daunting. However, part of supporting mental health in the workplace is being aware and able to have conversations with those who may be struggling.

While the initial appearance of symptoms related to mental health concerns can be sudden, immediate, it is often a more gradual process. Usually, there are a multitude of changes in a person’s behaviors or functioning ...

Reflections on Resilience

Although I’m physically fit and love mountain biking, I “retired” from my favorite hobby earlier this year For most of my adult life, mountain biking has been my favorite hobby. Unfortunately, it has not been without consequences – five years ago I hit my head on a tree while biking. This incident has had an impact on my life ever since.

After hitting my head, I immediately didn’t feel right. A few days went by after the incident, and I still didn’t feel good. In addition to being lethargic, I w...