Leaders at Toyota coach toward autonomy to build ownership behavior in their teams. As part of The Toyota Way, employees submit suggestions to their team. They are suggestions the employees can implement themselves or with a teammate—in other words, this initiative is something employees control without need for management approval. At one point, Toyota received…
Back in your childhood, you may have belonged to a club that had a secret handshake. Just knowing that handshake made you feel like you were a part of the group, right? It was a “belonging” factor that made you feel connected. The handshake was something special that only members could do or know. In…
As a leader, it’s powerful to involve your team to help define or refine the purpose. And you can bet, if your team is part of the process, they will be more engaged and committed. Work with them to answer these questions: Why do we exist as a team? Since people tend to respond with…
Before you show your team members compassion, you must first show them the most basic form of respect: acknowledging them and their perspectives. Simply acknowledging someone and their challenges can make things better even if it cannot make things right. Many well-intentioned leaders often fall short in this area. It’s not that they don’t want…
A business is not simply a collection of people doing individual tasks. The glue to any successful business is the way employees coordinate their work with others, communicate expectations and updates, collaborate on ideas to innovate, and share customer insights. Looking for the simplest way to perform job tasks to gain efficiency and maximize employee…
A few years ago I had my first skydiving experience. Yep, that's me in the photo free-falling at 14,000 feet. I don't like heights at all, and would not be disappointed if I never rode another tall roller coaster again. So, it was an adventure in overcoming my fears. The keys for me were feeling comfortable with…
Businesses seem to be settling into some variation of hybrid work arrangements. The most common arrangement seems to be two to three days each week in the office. That said, many of these same businesses are still struggling to make in-office time feel meaningful and not just a blind requirement to be in the office.…
https://youtu.be/a3sx7KktGkE William James, the father of psychology, stated that a fundamental human need is to be appreciated. This idea is supported by many studies that show the number one need expressed by employees is to feel fully appreciated for their work. The bottom line: We do more for those who appreciate us. Although leaders…
Here is an excerpt from Leadership Matters. It contains 31 daily insights to inspire extraordinary results. day 7: Connections How often do you hear people speak with envy about companies with “real heart”? Companies like Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, Southwest Airlines, Harley-Davidson, Nordstrom, The Container Store, Apple, FedEx, Fossil and Google, to name a few.…
Healthy growth starts with the leader, but it’s not about the leader. Leadership matters today more than ever. Leadership matters when your business is improving and when it is declining. Leadership matters in an up economy and in a down economy. Leadership matters when you are in the board room and when you are in…
