A marketing leader at Ingram Micro North America maintains that retention strategies aimed at stopping the bleed or keeping the top brass fail to grasp what’s at least as scary. Everywhere you look, the specter of the Great Resignation looms large. Executives, navigating a business climate of...
No matter your business industry, you're bound to deal with unhappy customers from time to time—whether they're justified in their feelings or not. While there are multiple ways to handle the situation, it's crucial to tread lightly. One wrong move can result in the loss of a customer and a bad...
The chief people officer at isolved says that one of the missteps many organizations make is not leveraging new employee skills or acknowledging the accomplishments of their current employees. Some experts are predicting the current skills gap will widen into a “skills canyon.” This is sending...
Applicant-tracking systems like Greenhouse can help manage your hiring surge. Here's how to take full advantage. When pandemic demand led Pattern Brands, an NYC-based e-commerce retailer of items for the home, to double its team and hire 27 full-time employees in the past six months, co-founder...
At 73, showing up to work five days a week in the shipping department of AIS Inc.—an office pod manufacturing company he’s been with for nearly two decades—was starting to be a grind for Bob Adams. He kept having to request Fridays off for doctor’s appointments to help keep his nagging diabetes,...
Dear Crucial Skills, I have an employee who makes negative comments and tries to undermine leadership. She is a great teacher, but she creates a toxic environment with our staff, and she has a strong influence on them. How can I handle this behavior? Signed,Seeking Suggestions Hi Seeking, I’m...
The key to success as an entrepreneur is developing good management skills. That’s right, it might seem impossible at first glance, but with a little bit of training and practice, you’ll see that the more time you put into improving your management skills, the better off you will be in the long...
Call it what you will — The Great Resignation, The Great Reframing, The Great Realignment — but know there is something dramatic afoot in the labor market. More Americans are quitting their jobs than ever before. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that 4.3 million people, fully 2.9% of...
When I talk about balancing being directive and empowering as a leader, the distinction between being kind and being nice often comes up. Sometimes, folks who have to deliver hard-to-hear feedback soften it to the point where their teammate doesn’t clearly understand what they should do next. This...
People lie to leaders. Usually it’s not malicious, but it’s always unhelpful. Team members who aspire to get along or get ahead… Soften criticism. Deflect tough answers. Over-state compliments. Authority corrupts interactions. If your team treated you like a subordinate, you might receive useful...
A simple thing that’s made complex disappoints and drains. 4 ways to screw up one-on-ones: #1. Leave them to the last minute. People feel valued when you prioritize time with them. Rushing around at the last minute to spend a few minutes with a person leaves a bad taste in their mouth. #2. Focus...
For a leader who develops leaders, there is something scarcer and much more important than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability. One of the primary responsibilities of any successful leader is to identify potential leaders. So, how do you do it? How do you identify good potential...