Tag: managers

The smartest person in the room

by Dan Oswald I recently was reading on the subject of leadership, and one topic that came up was intelligence. So I set out to do some research on the importance of IQ in leadership. I must admit, it’s not easy to find a lot written about the intelligence of leaders. Type “leadership and intelligence” […]

Embrace your workers’ curiosity

by Dan Oswald I’ve been reading Tell My Sons . . . by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Weber. The book is filled with the life lessons he has learned. After a routine Army physical revealed he had stage IV intestinal cancer, he began a battle for his life that he ultimately will lose. When he realized […]

It’s better to be Dorothy than the Wizard

Over the weekend, an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz was released. If you’re like me, you grew up watching the 1939 classic. The new film got me thinking about those wonderful characters created by L. Frank Baum. There’s the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and of course Dorothy. Each one is etched […]

Admitting you have a problem is the first step in fixing the problem

There’s a very powerful scene from the first episode of the television series The Newsroom, which debuted on HBO last year. In the scene, the news anchor, played by Jeff Daniels, is a member of a panel that sits before a large auditorium filled with adults of various ages. A young woman from the crowd […]

Who is it really all about?

by Dan Oswald What’s your favorite subject? For many people it’s me. I don’t mean me; I mean them. To them, me is them. Got it? What I’m trying to say is that often a person’s favorite subject is himself. People want to talk about themselves. People like to think about themselves. People are concerned […]

Working late at the office

What message are you sending about what is important?

Two of my colleagues forwarded me a recent New York Times article about the temptation of managers to reward employees who work long hours instead of those who produce results. Maybe they were trying to send me a not-so-subtle message! The article cited a study published in 2010 in which researchers found that employees who […]

empty office

The importance of showing up

I was watching a movie recently in which the lead character was up for a prestigious award. While she was visiting an elderly shut-in, the subject of the award came up. The shut-in confidently stated that the woman deserved to win the award. But the nominee wasn’t certain she was worthy of such recognition, so […]

Angry Andy Revisited

Potential Litigation Value:  “Priceless” We are well into the summer re-run season and this week’s episode was no exception.  The gently viewed episode of “Angry Andy” allows us to revisit the importance of having a strong and dependable HR department.  The following quote encapsulates Dunder Mifflin’s HR department and also may explain why there are so many […]

Health and Safety Coordinator Convicted and Fined

by Rosalind H. Cooper It is commonplace for companies and supervisors across Canada to be charged and convicted with respect to health and safety offenses. But the same doesn’t necessarily hold true for health and safety managers. In R. v. Della Valle, the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia recently convicted and fined a health and […]

New Year’s Resolutions for Canadian Employers

By Brian P. Smeenk As we all contemplate our personal goals for next year (have you, too, promised yourself to work out more?), what resolutions should you make for your business in Canada? Your CFO might urge the normal resolutions of cutting back on consumption or reducing your size. But maybe there are some more […]