What would you rather be: a heroic leader or a servant leader? Which do you need to develop a positive culture where people and performance thrive? Most people don't want and cannot be either. It can be demanding to be the hero who solves everything. It can be frustrating to…
Some organizations are still operating on industrial-age paradigms. One of my clients was working with the IT department of a very large insurance company. They were building an online platform for insurance clients to upload their documents, download their policies, make claims, and so on. The IT department embraced the…
How can you get buy-in to do something about the culture? It's a question people ask me often. "It's obvious: our associates are unhappy with the way we do things around here". "Our factory's performance indicators go downhill." "Retention is a disaster: new hires leave within three months." "Employee health…
Happy New Year! How was your past year? Many friends and clients told me that this year was a wild ride and that so much happened at an incredibly fast pace. It's been a rollercoaster for many with highs and lows. Active Appreciation I tend to focus on the highs…
Guest Post by Kimberley Barker When you're looking to develop a (more) positive culture, here's a great book for inspiration! That's why I'm pleased to share this review by Kimberley Barker. The book "Humble Leadership, The Power of Relationship, Openness, and Trust" shares Ed and Peter Schein’s vision of Humble…
"Things weren't great", Joyce told me. She's an internal consultant at a large city municipality with 7,000 staff in the Netherlands. Their social department of about 500 people showed alarming absenteeism numbers. This social department helps the unemployed citizens of this city find a job. They offer various training, upgrading…