As January approaches, I seem to remark that the current year was a doozy! I’m noticing a trend. Is it just me?  And you? So, how’s it going so far?

At Libby Wagner & Associates, we spend a lot of time working with leaders to provide them with practical, immediately usable skills for coaching their teams to achieve high trust and high performance…

Years ago, I set out on a comprehensive project with a client. She’d started her business in her basement alone and had grown a small, lean, multi-million-dollar company.

I was a teacher and college professor for years. Somewhere along the way, I got this little hand-painted sign with block letters and curli-cues around the edges. A satin ribbon hung from the back so I could hang it from a nail or pushpin on my cork bulletin board. It said, “Be Nice, Or Leave.”

Recently, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a trip to Kenya. Each morning began with a game drive at dawn, and we were off with our guides to see if we could find lions, leopards, or zebras.

“… leaders who want true, transformative success (for themselves and their teams) must move through their own developmental arc to cross that threshold of their own “crying week” to move to the next place of their own growth.”

Here’s the thing: an open-door policy is not enough. Even if, unlike this leader at that time, your people find your open-doorness sincere, many of them will never come to ask you.

Usually, when we have a team culture that’s working, we know this because certain indicators are strong: high performance, high trust, healthy financials, happy customers, and creative market strategies.

Years ago, I waited tables to earn a living. I thought it was fun, fast-paced, and never boring. Plus, because so much of our income at that time came from making tips, I knew I could walk out with money in my pocket each night.

In the 1989 movie classic When Harry Met Sally, Meg Ryan’s Sally gives Billy Crystal’s Harry a bit of advice: “You’re going to have to find a way not to express every feeling that you have every moment that you have them.”

Leaders in a post-pandemic VUCA workplace, characterized by heightened Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity, have concerns about not only attracting top talent, but retaining them.

In all the years I’ve worked with organizations, leaders and teams, one thing is consistent: when asked for feedback about what needs to be improved, everyone always says: communication. I always share with my clients to just expect that.

Each time we navigate change in our work, we are likely to experience three stages of response to that change: emotional, reflection, commitment. Leaders need to effectively help their teams navigate change.

“We humans are natural storytellers, and our stories shape our lives, families, communities, and work. We use stories to pass along lessons, wisdom, entertainment, and warnings.

(Notes from a Word Nerd)

A person with opinions on subjects beyond their knowledge.

We humans are natural story tellers, and our stories shape our lives, families, communities, and work. We use stories to pass along lessons, wisdom, entertainment, and warnings.

Many organizations are still trying to sort out the impact of the pandemic years, specifically how we work together when we are not together. Companies that had multiple offices or locations for years may have had more time and experience leading complex groups, but in truth, it wasn’t always great.

Sometimes, in courageous conversations about things that matter, the situation can get worse before it gets better. The messy, unpredictable nature of moving toward, instead of away from, the topics and situations we need to uncover and discover in our lives is risky.

Not too long ago, I got excited to write a new book with the working title of “Why Performance Management is Sexier Than Sales.” No one (maybe one other person) was excited about this topic except for me. Why?

You’ve written, edited, and shared your company’s vision and mission with the team. Everyone’s clear on what it is, then, right?

If you don’t have it on repeat — maybe not. Here’s why…