Ideas - Spark The Discussion

How to Become the Boss

by Dr. Z | Aug 29, 2014 | Leadership, Learning, Managing Team Members

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret that leads to major workplace conflicts. The skill set necessary for becoming the boss usually has little to do with the skill set necessary for being the boss. People often get promoted for being the top performer in their position, for having technical prowess, or for having job longevity. Technical skills and social skills are two different things, and great managers seek out ways to improve their social skills even if their organization doesn't offer this sort of training and development.

Purposeful Performance Reviews

by Dr. Z | Mar 25, 2014 | Leadership, Motivation, Organizational Development, Uncategorized

Few people like giving others negative feedback. Those who do like this are typically very bad at it. Whether we like it or not, feedback is an important part of any successful organization. So it is in the best interests of individual managers and the organization as a whole to develop and implement a useful performance evaluation system.

He's Not Your Boss, I Am…

by Dr. Z | Feb 1, 2014 | Leadership, Managing Team Members, Understanding Conflict, Workplace Disputes

I recently worked with a client, we'll call her Sharon, who was having a "Chain of Command" issue. One of the Sharon's employees, who we'll call Kevin, went over Sharon's head to discuss a project with Sharon's boss, Dave. Sharon was the director of this project and...

Becoming The Boss

by Dr. Z | Feb 1, 2014 | Leadership, Learning, Managing Team Members, Organizational Development

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret that leads to major workplace conflicts. The skill set necessary for becoming the boss usually has little to do with the skill set necessary for being the boss. People often get promoted for being the top performer in their...

Affordable Workplace Incentives

by Dr. Z | Jan 21, 2014 | Incentive, Leadership, Learning, Motivation, Organizational Development, Uncategorized

How can you motivate your employees to do the best work in the least amount of time when you're working from a limited budget? This is a question that every manager has pondered since the emergence of the first formal organization. But there's good news on the...

Overcoming Inertia

by Dr. Z | Jan 15, 2014 | Inspiration, Motivation, Uncategorized

As we begin the New Year, most of us have set personal and professional goals to achieve over the next 12 months. Here are a few thoughts as you begin your quest to self-fulfillment: Losers quit when they fail. Winners fail until they succeed. The KSA...

Entitled Idiots? Meet The Millennials

by Dr. Z | Jun 26, 2013 | Uncategorized

“These headphone-wearing, disrespectful, entitled idiots…well not idiots, but kids, they’re just kids.” This was how an upper level manager at a national construction company described his Generation Y coworkers. Generation Y, or the Millennials, are born between the...

Difficult Conversations, Different Races, and Life Fertilizer

by Dr. Z | Jun 11, 2013 | Conflict Coaching, Learning, Understanding Conflict

If you disagree with someone, how do you know when to rip off the band-aid or when to make a constructive criticism sandwich? People who rip off band-aids are always blunt and to the point with their ideas, whereas our sandwich makers prefer to provide compliments and...

Running Out of Time

by Dr. Z | Jun 9, 2013 | Learning, Organizational Development, Time Management

“I don’t have time.” How many times do you say this throughout your week? With an overly saturated media environment, the challenging demands of work, family obligations, and socializing, there is little time left to do anything. The problem I here repetitively from...

What a Motorcycle Wreck Taught Me by Dr. Z | 0 Comments

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