Jeff McManus's Blog, page 24

Preparing for your future now

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”  

This quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Is it true for you?  

Today I was speaking to a 30-year-old who is in an entry-level employee position. He said for the first time, he's considering a leadership position. I asked him why he was considering it now? His answer was not surprising, “I am getting older and I need to make more money. Becoming a leader allows me to earn more.”  

Although a true statement, I question the motiv...

Accepting your role

What is one of the number one characteristics of a winning team? Talent is obviously needed, but is that all?
There are many factors that go into creating a team, but one that is foundational is that each person understands and knows the role they play in the organization’s success.
My 8th grade basketball coach used to tell us, “Accept your role.” Whether we were a starter or practiced to make the starters better, he said accept your role. He knew if I accepted being on the practice squad to make...

How do you handle team leaders in conflict?

It’s one thing when your front-line team members have conflict, but it is a whole new matter when your key leaders are in conflict with each other. If your leaders are “sideways” or in disagreement with each other, you would be wise to not let it just work itself out.

We spend a lot of time at work with people most of us never choose to spend time with. Conflict is costly – especially if it is within the leadership. Leaders can influence their team in negative ways that cause disharmony and disc...

3 Leadership Styles that Help Build More Leaders

If you’re looking to grow a leadership culture at your organization, three leadership styles can help you achieve your goal.

Think about a time in your life when you really were impacted by an effective leader—someone who cultivated success, effort and productivity. What qualities did this leader possess? It’s safe to say the leader you are thinking about was more than a figurehead. He or she was more likely to be someone who took interest in you and your work.

The leader most people think about...

3 Leadership Styles that Destroy Productivity

Becoming an effective leader isn’t always easy. Leadership styles are often developed unintentionally, learned from others who led before you. Additionally, with all the pressures today and multiple pulls on our time and attention, it’s more challenging than ever to lead with a long-term vision in a way that develops the next generation of leaders.

Even with the best intentions, people can develop poor leadership styles that can destroy productivity. If left unchecked, poor leadership traits can...

The 3 R’s to Impactful Vision

Vision statements can be a powerful way to lead a team to success because they help get every team member working together toward a common goal.  

If you’ve struggled to put together a vision statement for your team, or if your vision statement has failed to stick, it’s possible your statement is missing one of the following “Three R’s” of impactful vision statements. 

Relatable 

Vision statements need to be big enough to relate to everyone in the company in some way so each person in the organi...

2 Components of Effective Training Programs

Companies spend a lot of time and money on training employees. Some bring in outside consultants, others send key staff to off-site training facilities and others even host their own. Unfortunately, too many companies see little to no return on their investment. 

Many times, the problem isn’t with the company or people. They try their best to incorporate the lessons into their company and see little or no benefit. When that happens, it could be because the program was missing one of two critical...

Reinventing ourselves continuously

If you’re like me, you looked at the title of this blog and said, “What in the world does that even mean?” What comes to mind when you read that phrase?

It means I am wanting and needing to grow each day. Sometimes, I get comfortable and complacent where I am. I must look for ways to improve what I do and how I do it.

I saw a tweet recently that said, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like being irrelevant even less.”

It’s easy to get comfortable and not want to make needed imp...

The secret of what attitude really does

How important is attitude as a leader? Studies show that most people like their job based on their relationship with their boss.  

Attitude, not your job knowledge, will determine if people want to work with each other.  

Did you ever get a grade in school for attitude?  

Our attitude also affects the success and morale of the team. Putting a good attitude out in the world is contagious in a positive way. Negative attitudes are contagious too. 

Whether you're a current leader on your...

When it comes to employees, are you asking these important questions?

Have you ever been in a situation where you find yourself questioning whether or not you should keep a certain employee? I heard a person give a talk once and he gave out these 3 questions. I have used them often to help me determine if I need to address a situation with a staff person. Here they are:  

Is the employee doing the job? Is the employee following the rules?  Is the employee interfering with others?  

Answering these three questions can help determine your next step of ...