Tag: leadership

If you don’t have anything nice to say . . .

by Dan Oswald “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” —Abraham Lincoln As a child, whenever my mouth started running in the wrong direction, my mother would say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.” It’s not […]

Train Managers to Take Stock of Their Own Leadership Style

Both leaders with advanced skills and bosses who could use a bit of polishing will benefit by taking account of management areas upon which they can improve, according to Fierce, Inc. Train employees to take stock of their own management style with the information in today’s Advisor. While there are many different types of bosses, […]

Do Your Managers Know the 6 Essential Dimensions of Great Leaders?

Increased demands, overstretched budgets, stressed-out workers, flat business performance, and poor leadership role models—combined with a leadership model that tends to reward short-term results—have created a “growing gap between the leaders we have and the leaders we need,” says author Bob Rosen. Rosen (bobrosen.com), who is CEO of Healthy Companies International (healthycompanies.com) and author of […]

7 lessons for better managers from Alabama coach Nick Saban

by Dan Oswald Some of you might get tired of my use of sports stories to illustrate good management, but when I see something like the recent 60 Minutes piece on University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, I’m struck by the parallels between coaching a sport and managing people. In the end, people are […]

Live generously: business with an eye on helping others

by Dan Oswald I was in Birmingham, Alabama, over the weekend visiting my daughter at college. While out for breakfast, I saw a local newspaper with the headline “Live Generously: How three Gardendale teenagers hope to change lives with new business.” The headline caught my attention for a number of reasons. I love the “Live […]

After setting goals, be vigilant in achieving them

by Dan Oswald If you’re like me, it’s time to turn your attention to 2014. As we move through the fourth quarter of 2013 and can see the end in sight, our thoughts turn to what we want to accomplish in the coming year. At our company, we’re in the midst of our budgeting process […]

“Remember the Titans” offers memorable workplace lessons

by Dan Oswald The other night I walked in the door to find my youngest son watching the movie Remember the Titans. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know I consider the movie one of my favorites. Of course, I sat down and watched the last 30 minutes of the film with […]

Create Future Leaders by Training Employees How to Delegate

Delegation is yet another essential managerial skill. Employees who aspire to leadership positions must begin to acquire this skill now. Teaching delegation means providing opportunities to practice the skill—perhaps through management of a special project or team effort. It also means imparting an understanding that delegation is a six-step process. When you delegate, you must […]

Do Your Employees Know the Skills They Need for Professional Advancement?

Do your supervisors know the skills their employees need for professional advancement? Do they know how to delegate work and teach those skills to employees looking to advance in the organization? Here is some important information to convey to your supervisors. Skills needed for personal and organizational growth change constantly. That means offering appropriate training […]

Train Managers to Effectively Recognize Employee Success

Derek Irvine, coauthor of the book, Winning with a Culture of Recognition (Globoforce Limited, 2010) and vice president of Global Strategy for Globoforce, suggests that it’s time for employers to take another look at employee recognition. “It’s no longer just a nice-to-have a program; recognition can be, if deployed strategically, a massive profit generator and […]