Leader Feeder

There are two main reasons that leaders should document observations, questions and issues: Provide back up for any disciplinary actions. Ensure employee questions and issues get addressed and closed out. It isn’t uncommon for supervisors to rush to the HR department with an employee issue and want to provide disciplinary action only to discover that […]

It isn’t unusual for leaders to complain that their team members are lazy, work harder at avoiding work than actually doing the work, and have no sense of urgency when it comes to completing tasks. The pace of work in any environment is important because the more you can produce, the better the results. So, […]

A fragmented team rarely creates results. So, how exactly can you create a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration in your team? In one of our workshops, we have people take two minutes to brainstorm all the items they can think of that have a certain attribute or characteristic. We find that people will list, […]

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Most leaders underestimate how truly powerful this piece of advice can be. As a front line leader, supervisor or manager, how you say things to your team will impact their motivation, engagement and performance. One of the classic ways leaders mess up the tone and […]

Many leaders complain about having their team members relying on them to answer every question, troubleshoot every problem and make every decision. They want their employees to think for themselves, do basic troubleshooting and make certain decisions. When questions come up and machines break down, someone needs to come up with a solution. But, you […]

As a leader, is it better to be hands on or hands off with your workgroup? As with many leadership questions, there isn’t always a clear answer between one or the other. One of our clients had us develop their front line leaders because their tendency was to grab a wrench and solve all the […]

It’s an unfortunate truth, but some people feel the need to cheat or fudge the results in order to meet the expectations of their leadership team. There have been press stories recently about people who have been less than honest with quality control reports, and you may have seen evidence in your own organization of […]

In this edition of Leader Feeder, let’s look at how you can combat a culture of entitlement. What is entitlement? Entitlement can be defined as thinking you deserve something, without having to actually work for it. Working for something (and achieving it) creates a sense of satisfaction; there’s nothing quite like the feeling of achievement […]

Contrary to popular belief, there’s a difference between coaching and mentoring. And you, as a front line leader, a supervisor or manager, need to know what it is. What does mentoring look like within an organization? Many organizations want to establish a “mentoring” culture so that employees can ask colleagues who have more experience and […]

Let’s discuss how you, as the front line leader, influence the turnover and retention in your department. Turnover is very expensive for leaders and organizations. You need employees to want to come to your place of business to work. You also need them to stay with you, so you can train them and help them […]

We’re going to look at the challenges when managers are assigned to new or different locations, departments or divisions inside your company, what’s good about it, and how to approach making changes. If you’re reassigned as a manager to a different department, location or division, you might want to show results very rapidly when you […]

As technology accelerates, many producers are embracing smart manufacturing. As enthusiastic as you might be about implementing the new technology, not everyone will feel the same way. Involved in the process will be people such as continuous improvement coordinators, engineering staff, or IT people to accelerate the supply chain and reduce cost. Your front line […]

Today we’re going to talk about a sensitive topic. It’s personal hygiene and body odor. Most leaders tend to feel anxious when they have to confront an employee about this.  How to confidently address hygiene in the workplace. ​ First of all, let’s agree that body odor and personal hygiene can be embarrassing to talk about. However, most people with personal hygiene issues are unaware of it....

People are more likely to follow a leader who is truthful about their uncertainty than one who makes unrealistic promises. Many leaders think it’s their job to be certain when in reality things are very uncertain. How many changes have you implemented that went according to the original plan? Likely none. The chief information officer […]

Many leaders wonder why change initiatives take twice as long as they should. The answer might be simpler than you think. A large part depends on personality styles. Many managers and some supervisors are “drivers” — they have a dominant personality type. There are pros and cons to this personality type. They tend to be […]

Why is it that employees are so good at delegating up to their boss when really the manager or supervisor should be pushing those decisions down to the front line? Think about the kinds of decisions and problems that you’ve been addressing recently. How many of them should have been addressed by the person who […]

Accountability means receiving consequences for one’s actions, behaviors, or results. If a team member demonstrates good behaviors and results, front line leaders should offer praise and positive reinforcement. If the results aren’t what they should be, or the pace of work isn’t where it needs to be, or the behaviors are unacceptable, the leader is […]

Promoting from within is still a good idea, despite many of the pitfalls involved. Most of the people in our training classes report being promoted from within. There are several advantages that come along with it. For instance, they know the work; they have a better understanding of how the company operates, and they already […]

If you’re a front line supervisor or manager, occasionally someone’s going to make some allegations that might turn out to be totally false and inaccurate. How should you, as a leader, respond when somebody levels an accusation about you? First, let’s understand that the reason why somebody would fabricate something to harm your reputation as […]

Dealing with insubordination is something that you might run into as a front line supervisor, manager, or even as an executive. We’re going to look at what insubordination is, and what you should do about it when you encounter it. Insubordination can be defined in two different ways: one is a work refusal. You ask […]

How can you get your team aligned to hit their goals? As a leader, you have a few different tools at your disposal. First, realize that if you want your team to achieve different results than before, you’re going to need to take those goals and translate them into behaviors that need to change. You’ve […]

We are going to look at some of the reasons why executive and management messages never seem to make it to the front line employees. It can be frustrating as a manager and executive when the important decisions you make don’t end up permeating down to the front line employees. You count on the various […]

Amtrak experienced another tragic accident on Sunday that resulted in the death of the train engineer and conductor and injured a reported 116 passengers. While the focus was on the absence of Positive Train Control (PTC) which would potentially have brought the train to a halt without intervention by the crew, the issue might be […]

You don’t have to go to many management or leadership classes to learn that more positive feedback is something that all leaders should be using to motivate their team and encourage them to hit even more ambitious goals. But why don’t leaders give more positive recognition? The number one reason is, when things are busy […]

We’re going to look at the open door policy, the chain of command, and how you respect that. As a fron tline leader or a senior manager, you want to encourage people to come and talk to you about a variety of different subjects. That’s the open door policy, anyone can talk to anyone at […]