by Kevin Eikenberry Most often on this blog you read about tips and ideas for new and front-line leaders – people in the role of supervision and leadership after the move from bud to boss.  This post takes a different approach, focusing more on the organizational view.  If you are an individual leader thinking about

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by Kevin Eikenberry When thinking about team or organizational culture, often new and frontline leaders think the way they did as individuals – that culture is something for the C-Suite or senior management to think about.  Culture, they often think, is above their pay grade.  Yes, culture can be driven from the top-down, but it

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Communication, conflict resolution and leadership, at times, resemble working as a lifeguard. In all these situations, you can, like a lifeguard, be in the position of approaching someone else when they are under distress because their needs are not being met. Picture a drowning man. He is flailing in the water. He is grasping at

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I am a flag-flying, proud American. As such, I grew up believing in the power and privilege of freedom. I believe that freedom is a good thing. I also know that it is possible to have too much of a good thing, including freedom. When it comes to work freedom, there is clearly a point

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This is a guest post by Rick Grimaldi, author of FLEX: A Leader’s Guide to Staying Nimble and Mastering Transformative Change in the American Workplace For many employees, the work/life integration empowered by the gig economy is not a cool trend but a priority, and companies may need to make it part of their offers, if

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The basic difference between being assertive and being aggressive is how our words and behavior affect the rights and well being of others. – Sharon Anthony Bower No matter how great a manager you are, bad things will happen at work. Not every day, but occasionally. It’s how you handle those incidents—the ones that fill

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While it’s not officially summer for a couple of weeks, many of us already feel like the season is here. Hot weather, the close of school for summer break, cook outs, and vacations have us in a summer state of mind. As leaders, we must understand all that summer brings, while still keeping a focus

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Many new leaders start their leadership journey with one, big question: “Where do I start?” It’s a great question with an answer that is often clouded by uncertainty, overwhelm, and, doubt. To help you sort out the answer to that question, I propose you ask three other questions on your first day as a new

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The most productive and high-performing companies include a nice mix of employees of all age ranges. In particular, “Organizations are stronger when they include the contributions of more seasoned employees,” says Grimaldi, author of the new book FLEX: A Leader’s Guide to Staying Nimble and Mastering Transformative Change in the American Workplace. A blend of different

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Promotions are amazing. After all, they validate your ability and leadership skills. However, many first-time supervisors struggle with the transition from being “just one of the team” to leading the team. It can be hard to imagine managing people you once saw as friends, and you can worry about whether they will accept you as their

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