Leader Feeder

Not everything needs your immediate reaction. When do you know it’s the right time to do nothing? Most front line leaders are action oriented. They want to jump in, they want to fix things, they want to make a decision or solve a problem. However, sometimes being action oriented can cause unintended consequences. Remember, doing […]

How you react to the challenges you face says a lot about you as a leader. I’ve noticed over the years that some leaders play the victim card while other leaders create a future that is very magnetic and causes people to want to follow them. You can either be that creator, that entrepreneurial leader […]

I want to confront something that companies, even to this day, still do, that I think is a horrible idea. Employee of the month. There’s different variations of this same concept. You might have crew of the month, team of the month, or location of the month. It all starts out innocently enough. The leader’s […]

Great news! You just hired a much-needed new person to join your team. But if you don’t do a good job making them feel welcomed, they likely won’t stick around. In a competitive job market, hiring people is tough enough, but keeping them is even more difficult. And organizations with lower wages and more grueling […]

It can be a challenge to follow a bad manager but you can help the team excel and enjoy a more positive future. How do you take over a department from a weak leader who preceded you? First of all, assuming that you’re going to be more effective than the previous person leading the department, […]

Motivating Millennials, Gen Z, and more seasoned workers requires different approaches. This is a common question we’re asked: How do you motivate a multi-generation workforce, especially while integrating the millennials with the more seasoned workers in your group? First of all, retirements are accelerating. It’s estimated in the United States that 10,000 people a day […]

Show your team that safety is much more than checking the box. Do you want to really motivate your team? Emphasize safety and safe work practices to your team because you care about their well-being. When leaders focus on safety, it tells employees that leadership cares about them. Within the same corporation, there were two […]

No one likes being micromanaged, but could you be micromanaging without knowing it? Are you a micromanager? Or perhaps you’re micromanaged? I have asked the question, “Do you like being micromanaged?” many times. I have yet to find anyone in one of our classes who raises their hand and says, “Oh yeah, I like it […]

Your longer-serving workers might have a reason to be negative, but you can change that. Do you talk negatively about the long-serving employees in your organization? I was doing some work recently with a group of leaders, and we were discussing the need to stay positive even when surrounded by people who are negative. Many […]

A promotion is great, but many leaders aren’t prepared to face the challenges that come with it. Some new leaders let the power of a promotion go to their head with disastrous consequences. I can remember being cocky and overconfident back in my early days of leading a team. Now when I look back, I […]

Don’t shy away from struggle; it’s good for you and your team. Your growth and your team’s growth comes from the lessons they learn from their struggles. Leading can be a lot like parenting. You want to protect your kids from life’s challenges, but we all know that you learn a lot from the struggles […]

It’s no surprise that employees get agitated when requests are sprung on them at the last minute. Do you spring things on your front line workers at the last minute and then wonder why they react negatively? I want to talk today about the tendency for many production facilities to give their people so little […]

Leadership training can make you aware of much more than just your own leadership habits. Let’s tackle the subject of what happens when you’re a better leader than your boss. A participant in a recent workshop approached me for some advice. He was using a number of the constructive leadership approaches that we’ve been teaching, […]

Not responding to emails, phone calls or requests could be hurting your reputation and career. There is a tendency these days for people to not get back to people. As you get busier and busier, it’s possible that you’ll start letting things slip, but being less responsive could be hurting your reputation and your career. […]

When it comes time for your parent company to invest more capital in their facilities, make sure yours is on the list. Companies tend to invest their capital in locations that deliver results, but how do they determine what facility to invest in? I want to talk about how you can make sure that your […]

Some employees abuse the system and take advantage of personal breaks. How should you, as a leader, deal with employees who take excessive bathroom or personal breaks? Previously, we talked about how to deal with an employee who has body odor issues. But excessive personal breaks can also be a touchy subject. It’s a common complaint. […]

Ask yourself, are you proactive or reactive as a leader? How much of your time is spent reacting to problems versus being more proactive in the leadership of your department? Let’s look at how you can shift some of your attention to being more proactive and less reactive. Effects of Reactional Leadership As a front […]

Respect – should you demand it or earn it? In the past, a leader could expect respect simply because of their position. That still exists somewhat today, but more recently, the culture is changing into the belief that respect is something that must be earned. When you think of a leader who you respected, what […]

What factors make the difference when it comes to the success of leadership training in your organization? How can you as a manager ensure that your leadership team gets the biggest bang for their buck when it comes to leadership training? Here are the three biggest insights we’ve gained over the past 30 plus years, […]

How should leaders apologize? In a recent Leader Feeder episode, I discussed that one of the first steps to rebuild trust is to offer a sincere apology. A recent study revealed helpful suggestions on the difference between an ineffective and effective apology. Whether you watch a politician, an actor or a business executive apologize, there […]

Your leadership journey consists of three phases that you need to know about. Let’s look at the three phases that you go through as a leader. The first phase is called the “new leader phase.” The second phase is “I-got-this” phase. And the third and final phase is called the “leadership legacy” phase. New Leader […]

Rebuilding broken trust is essential in order for your team to be motivated to follow your example. If your team can’t trust you, they won’t be motivated to do what you need them to do. Trust will break down when you, as the leader, promise something to a member of your team, and then can’t […]

Although difficult, it’s important that every front line leader learns how to embrace progressive discipline as a tool to create behavior change. Before we go any further, let’s make sure we all understand what we mean by progressive discipline. It’s the process of applying increasingly severe consequences when an employee fails to correct a performance […]

The tough guys on your team get hurt feelings. Yes, even those tough guys are sensitive on the inside. And when their feelings get hurt, instead of whimpering, they come out swinging, substituting anger for sadness. In the toughest, grittiest work environments, where the work is tough and the workers are just as tough, you […]

Is your leadership disengaged? When you as a leader are disengaged, it causes your employees to be disengaged. Many companies are trying to increase their employee engagement, but what if the root cause is that the leader is disengaged? Think of employee engagement like the transmission in your car. When the transmission is disengaged or […]