Randy Grieser's Blog, page 5

How to Manage Your Email Inbox

The other day I was having lunch with some of my staff, and one of them reminded me of how she and a few others used to take turns transcribing emails for me. They would read me an email, and then I would tell them what to type in response. This was about five years ago, after I sustained a concussion. Because of my symptoms, I was unable to work on the computer for six months. Even now, working on a computer for extended periods of time makes my symptoms worse. It was during this time that I...

Finish What You Start!

My children, now 16 and 18, have always been involved in a variety of activities, ranging from sports to music. They have enjoyed most of their chosen activities and always looked forward to participating in them. However, they have both had instances where they didn’t enjoy an activity they signed up for. In these cases, they would usually at some point come to me and ask, “Can I quit?”

Regardless of the activity, they were always met with the phrase, “Finish what you start.” My lecture has...

How to Develop a Culture of Mentorship

[Excerpt from The Culture Question]

One often-overlooked strategy for creating a culture where people like to work is to consciously and consistently develop employees through mentorship. Investing in staff in this way creates opportunities for meaningful relationships, shows employees that they are valued, and allows them to develop their abilities, which will ultimately help the organization.

A mentoring culture may include formal structures with set times allocated for mentorship. Some organizations use a curri...

What I’m Learning About How to Let Go

I have been the senior leader within our organization and have overseen our marketing efforts since our inception. In conversations with others, I’ve learned that it’s not an area all leaders delve into or hold up as important enough to merit much of their attention. As such, marketing often becomes an oversight that is delegated to other employees.

I, however, have always enjoyed my role in our marketing efforts. I’ve come to firmly believe that branding and marketing are critical for organizational s...

2 Keys to Building an Organization That Lasts

This past summer, my family and I travelled to Europe where we spent time touring three different countries. In addition to trying new foods, the thing I like most about touring Europe is seeing all the old buildings and bridges.

To see structures with stone foundations that are hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old is truly remarkable. They were built with longevity in mind, from materials that can withstand weather and time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the longevity of our organizat...

Why We Need Disruptive Voices

One of the things I expect from employees is for them to have a voice – and use it! When they see something that seems wrong or confusing, I want them to be confident enough to say something about it. The willingness of employees to be disruptive is crucial to our success as an organization. Without it, there would be more mistakes, and we wouldn’t be nearly as innovative.

Most days I am moving fast – going from one task or project to the next, and making multiple decisions on a variety of di...

Reaching the Top – A Lesson in Sustained Effort

My sixteen-year-old daughter, Ana, and I have a shared passion for climbing mountains. We are not so epic that we climb with ropes or specialized gear (although we’d like to try that next year), but we do prefer the challenge of scrambling over hiking. The difference being that, when scrambling, sometimes you need to use both your hands and feet to climb, whereas if you are only hiking, your feet can do all the work.

Earlier this summer, we decided to tackle Big Sister located near Canmore, C...

Unifying Your Leadership Team

We are currently integrating a new member into our organization’s leadership team. While considering the practical aspects of this process, I have always been most focused on ensuring that this person meshes well with our philosophy of leadership. To that end, she is fitting in seamlessly.

In my work, one of the most consistent issues I find within medium to large organizations is the inconsistency in how different managers “do” leadership. Instead of having a crystal clear vision and approac...

How to be a Leader Worth Following

[Excerpt from The Culture Question]

Are you honest and respectful? Do you lead by example? Do you do what you say you will do? Do you take responsibility for your mistakes?

If you can’t answer these questions with a resounding “Yes,” chances are some of the people you are supposed to be leading are not following you.

We define a leader as someone who inspires and influences others to willingly act – leaders motivate employees to act because they want to, not because they have to. Leaders who...

Managing Multiple Demands – Lessons from Dodgeball

One of my favorite games to play as a child was dodgeball. When I played, I was always one of the last people standing. I was particularly good at catching a ball thrown at me (as opposed to avoiding it all together), which meant the thrower would have to exit the game. However, when more than one ball was thrown at me at the same time, my ego often got the best of me and, instead of dodging, I would attempt to catch them all – normally failed. Now it was my turn to exit the game.

In my adult...