I have a client with two brothers on the leadership team, who disagreed about how to handle employee-challenge situations. The company has three locations with multiple shifts. Frustrations among midlevel managers were brewing when one of the leaders came across as harsh and cold over something that others considered to be a small issue. The trouble was that the leader didn’t have an awareness of how his actions affected the midlevel managers. They were frustrated, hurt, and demotivated by this repetitive behavior.   As it happens, the leadership team had just read the book Primal Leadership – a book about emotional intelligence (EI). The book discusses four areas of EI: Self-awareness – Understanding how other people perceive you Self-management – Ability to manage your emotions Social awareness – Recognizing emotions in others Relationship management – Ability to manage interactions of your relationships We soon realized that the brother has a challenge of

When I begin the journey of implementing EOS with an entrepreneurial company, I ask the leadership team if they’re willing to become their best. Without even thinking about it, they instinctively want to answer “yes.” After all, who wouldn’t want to become their best? But the truth is, becoming your best as a leadership team isn’t easy.   Thanks to a tip from Don Tinney, co-founder of EOS Worldwide, I have been starting each of my client sessions with the statement, “Become your best,” and then proceeding to explain two key points how each session is designed to help the leadership team on the journey of becoming their best. 1) Clarify What You Want At first glance, this statement seems so simple that people often overlook it and rush past it. But it’s crucial to slow down and get the entire leadership team really clear and energized around what they

If you’re struggling to get more results from your employees, you’re not alone. Many small business leaders feel stymied by under-performing teams. Here are a few of the top articles from the last month that address the challenges of motivating your employees to take their performance to the next level. The Dos & Don’ts of Team Development Via Sandler Sales. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman identified four primary stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, and performing. Here’s how his model can help you develop your team’s performance. [With Video] 4 Steps to a Winning Employee Engagement Strategy Via Executive Street. For an employee engagement initiative to succeed, you need to be strategic about it. This article answers the question, How can you pick the best, highest ROI-yielding culture initiatives to say “yes” to? Why a 10x Goal Is Smarter—And Easier—Than a 2x Goal Via Strategic Coach. To multiply your company’s growth, you’ll find more

There’s been a lot of attention on employee engagement, lately. You can find a new article about engagement in any of the leading business magazines nearly every week, and the major survey research houses have conducted several studies on the topic. But how important is employee engagement, really? Is it just a fad, or is there more to it than that? And if engagement is just a passing trend, what’s the real difference-maker in getting more out of your employees? What Is Employee Engagement? Organizations talk about employee engagement, but not everyone understands what it is. Engagement isn’t the same as job satisfaction, happiness at work, or company culture. It’s your people’s willingness to go the extra mile – the energy and effort they put into their work, and their sense of pride in it. Engaged employees are: Enthusiastic about their work Inspired to contribute Confident in their abilities to

I was recently in a planning session with the leadership team of an HVAC and sheet metal construction company. At one point, the owner paused to reflect on the impact EOS® has had on his company. He remarked how tremendously accountability has improved throughout the company, at every level. As we talked about the difference he saw in his business, he mentioned several key areas where accountability took a leap forward. This business isn’t unusual. Companies that use EOS often find accountability growing throughout the organization. Here are the five ways that EOS improved accountability at every level of this business. Everyone Is Galvanized Around a Single Goal EOS helps your leadership team gain agreement on your 10-year target with a goal that everyone in the company can understand and contribute towards. Everyone wants the same result and works together with a common purpose. At my client’s company, employees began challenging

Business owners face a lot of pressure to keep performing and pushing their companies forward. If it goes unchecked, extended stress can produce business owner burnout. These are a few of the top articles from the last month or so that address the stressful challenges facing entrepreneurial business owners, with helpful tips to keep cool under pressure. How to Balance Tasks as a Working Business Owner Via Forbes. As a small business owner, you’ve got your hands stirring a lot of pots. But you can get stuck on the daily grind to the neglect of long-term goals and strategic planning. Here are some vital tips for working “on” versus working “in” your business. 4 Stress Hacks For Small Business Owners Via Revel. Small business owners have a lot of weight that rests on their shoulders, and it’s important to know how to manage stress effectively. Here are four helpful stress hacks for