Leader Feeder by Unique Training & Development

Santa is working on wish lists and things that people want from him this Christmas. That got me thinking, what is it that employees want from their supervisors this holiday season? And not only then, but a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. I think there are three things that are on most […]

How can you make a difference to your team in difficult working conditions? Today, we are going to explore how you as the leader can make a big difference in whether your team wants to push through difficult times, or give up. You have likely heard the expression, “People do not quit bad jobs, they […]

How are you shifting your approach from being directive to being supportive? As a leader, you need to be conscious of how you should be acting in different situations, with different team members. When should you be more directive? When should you be more supportive? Most leaders only use one approach, however there are times […]

How do you make the shift from being a buddy to being a supervisor? Today, I am going to talk about a follow-up to a previous Leader Feeder called A Supervisor’s Growth Journey, that explored the leadership progression model. I got a lot of feedback from viewers saying that, in their opinion, their frontline leaders […]

How can you give thanks to your team? As our friends in the United States celebrate their Thanksgiving later this week, I thought it would be great to talk about simply giving thanks to your team. I think we can go further than simply saying thanks. To do this, I would like to share a […]

How can you use the BEER method to deliver corrective feedback? I want to talk about the enticement of using beer to correct unacceptable behavior and performance. Before you get too excited, I am not talking about the frosty beverage that you might use on a warm summer’s day. I am actually talking about a […]

How do you master being self-aware as a leader? When I am asked, “What is it that truly differentiates the average leader from the exceptional one?” Great leaders are self-aware. If you are self-aware, you do not need other people to give you feedback for you to know and to assess how well you are […]

How does writing things down show that you care? Many supervisors embrace the suggestion that we have in our Front Line Leadership Program to circulate proactively amongst the people of their shift, asking if they have what they need for that day’s work. The issue then becomes how good is your memory when people do […]

How can you counter the drift of mediocre leadership and act with a sense of urgency? Do not delay in taking actions to boost your leadership effectiveness. Below, you can see a model on how to counter the drift of mediocre leadership. There is the current situation and a line to indicate the future of […]

How can you achieve greater value from your leadership development efforts? There is so much that is possible through the development of leaders. Take a look at the iceberg diagram below. When you see what is above the water, it is a small portion of the whole mass and we need to look deeper because […]

How can you move from being a hero to creating other heroes? Today, I want to share with you a well-known Hollywood method for writing most action movie scripts and romantic comedies. You can also use this as part of your journey to making other people heroes in your organization. A hero’s journey is the […]

What is a supervisor’s growth journey? Let us examine our progression of a leader framework so as a leader, you can determine where you fit on this pyramid. If you are the manager, HR manager, or a team, you can examine it and see where your leaders fit on this pyramid, and how you can […]

Do you tell your team what to do, or do you ask them questions so they take greater ownership? The power of asking questions is quite profound. Ask, don’t tell. In fact, if I asked you, “Who is the best leader you have ever worked for and what made them great?” What is already happening […]

How do you as a supervisor filter information? Part of your job is to filter information between management and the front line. It is one of the challenging parts of being a leader, but it also is a key part of your job. If you do it really well, you will make sure that the […]

What if your leadership team was a competitive advantage for you to attract and retain talent? During the recruiting process you likely spend a lot of time telling a story about your company and how great it is to work there. But if one of the new employees comes in and they work for a […]

It’s September and the kids are going back to school. Should you go back to school as a supervisor? Instead of being known as the average supervisor, aspire to be something greater. This can be achieved by going “back to school” and challenging some of the things that you have believed to be true in […]

How can you as a supervisor be seen as a hero by your team? It might seem strange to be referred to as a hero, but in a way, it is the same way that a child looks up to their parent as a hero. The parent makes things happen, gives them what they need […]

Are your dreams as an HR professional still alive and sparking curiosity, or have you become negative and cynical in your role? People usually become HR professionals for a variety of reasons. The first one being you want to make a difference. You probably like people. Perhaps you wanted to attract or make an amazing […]

Are you an ambassador? As a front-line leader, your role is to be an ambassador. You need to take management’s initiatives and points of view and transmit that to your team. You also need to take any issues, suggestions, and ideas from your team and lift them up and transmit them to managers. How can […]

When you hear that something is a no-brainer, does that mean it really is a no-brainer? Often, there are things that you think will be easy to implement as a leader, and they turn out to be far more challenging than you thought. Keep a radar out for certain phrases when implementing these changes. When […]

How accountable is your team? Do they act like owners or renters? Many people likely treat stuff that you rent just as well as stuff that they own, however, there are many situations where the opposite is true. Think about rental cars, for example, people are more likely to treat a rental car worse than […]

Should you strive to be the perfect leader? One question that we ask in our Frontline Leadership class is, “If you think back to all the leaders for whom you have worked, what percentage of them were good leaders and what percentage were not good?” Usually, it turns out to be a coin toss, you […]

What’s the difference between being driven and being abrasive? You have likely met people who are very ambitious, and you may be one of them. However, there is a fine line between being driven and being abrasive. If you end up crossing this line from being passionate and driven to being abrasive, it prevents people […]

Who should own continuous improvement? This might go for other departments and functions within your organization. Let us examine a different question. Who owns your health? The doctor, or you? In reality, it is your health. You have to take primary responsibility for it, even if your doctor is your consultant or advisor to help […]

How do you deal with employees who have short fuses? You likely know someone who has a short fuse. They end up blowing up over small issues, or they overreact to an announcement that you make in your workgroup. How can you as a leader not allow that to aggravate you, and how do you […]