Your Morning Commute

Dear Leaders, If talent is everything...then how are you increasing it and further attracting it?  It's a simple question but can you answer it quickly and write down a list of what you are doing, how you are doing it (consistently) and how you are measuring the impact. Turnover? Retention? Promotions? Open Positions? Revenue growth? Employee satisfaction? Not at all? Over the past several we...

When is the last time you took a look in the mirror as a leader? Reflecting but not getting stuck inside of your head or over-assessing but reflecting enough to ensure you are truly connecting, communicating and collaborating to equal your leadership effectiveness. Sometimes it isn't about changing the world but rather ourselves. 

Have you ever been derailed? Missed a deadline, project got delayed, totally forgot about doing something on your list? What about your direct reports - have they ever missed a deadline and you in turn get frustrated? Derailing happens for a variety of reasons and it will continue to happen if you don't get to the WHY in order to course correct to move forward. I hope you take 4 minutes this morni...

Disappointment is hard, often hurts to the core. I think we can all agree there are degrees of disappointment and it is caused for a variety of reasons - the key is the courage you show in the recovery process.  Today on the 383rd episode of #YourMorningCommute (everything workplace culture related) I discuss some ways we get disappointed and more importantly how we move past it and effective...

You have probably heard what the word 'assume' means...if not listen to the podcast as I directly state what it means.  Today on the 382nd episode of #YourMorningCommute, I talk about the assumptions we often bring into a conversation and a tip on how to best avoid them or recover from them.

How do you make the company mission and vision come alive - through your organizational values - that's how!!!! How do you make your values come alive - unpacked them, create culture playbook pages per value.  How do you/we decision make, communicate, problem solve - through the lens of our values. Today on the 381st episode of #YourMorningCommute I discuss all of this in less than 5 minutes....

We all have experienced levels of distrust, make no mistake about it.  But what we do with the lack of trust is what can make or break a team.  Ask yourself if there is substance to your lack of trust or perhaps misunderstanding or lack of understanding in differences in behavioral work styles. Trust or the lack thereof is rooted for all kinds of reasons (often emotionally driven vs spec...

Some of us are okay with change, some are not. If you reframe change as intentional it takes on a whole new life. So, let's reframe it - how are you intentionally solidifying your Talent Strategy around your reinforced and clearly defined workplace culture? How can you examine your company values and consider new approaches to hire for real change. When is the last time your looked at the skills v...

Do you find there are numerous interruptions throughout your day as a leader with a variety of questions coming your way from you team? If so, reframe your time and their time with 'manager minutes'. I am not talking about being a one minute manager but rather deliberate time that you answer questions presented to you by your team on a consistent - yet framed, predetermined time frame. It's a majo...

What are you waiting for? If you are stuck in the turnover cycle and never looking at the retention necessity you will ALWAYS be stuck in the turnover cycle. It will become your acceptable norm or maybe it already has...ugg I hope not. Today on the 377th episode of #YourMorningCommute I discuss this and more. It may be the kick in the BUTT you need to get your #courageousleadership on today. 

Let me ask you a question...when you get ready to cook - don't you prep the ingredients? When you get ready to paint...don't you prep and gather all the supplies you need, cover what needs to be covered, clean what needs to be cleaned before you paint? Sure you do.  Sooooo, are you prepping before you go into a meeting, or conversations, or zoom calls, or sending emails? Why or why not? Often...

Labels, judging and assumptions never lead to anything good. AND who wants to be labeled or put into a category unjustly? NO ONE! Building and maintaining work relationships is a must, especially when we talk about high performing teams. Today on the podcast, lets discuss 4 tips in building rapport and ensuring you aren't labeling, judging entire teams because of the interaction of their manager.

Have you ever thought your impact was going unnoticed and then you get a surprising pat on the back or that promotion you never saw coming?  Remember others are watching, stay the course one step at a time and you will get to the top of stairs even if you can't see it right now. Don't get discouraged you aren't making the impact as fast as you thought you should, one person can make a differe...

Culture is feed by Culture...wait what? What are you feeding and consuming inside of your workplace culture? Think of it this way: Culture is a feeling , created by people. People come together through relationships. Relationships are built through communication. Communication is made up of stories. Stories are made of language. Everyday language creates the feeling . It's the stories and language...

The simple idea that is often misunderstood and perceived as a 'nice to have' but no clue how to get there is workplace culture. So, let's keep it simple...Culture is a feeling. That's all it is. When you strip away all the language, interactions, and signs, you are simply left with a feeling, one that's created by the people there. Yes, it takes conversations to articulate it, but what you're lef...

Are you wasting time? Caught in a funk? Working hard but the list is growing and growing and growing? May I suggest you pull back for a moment and ask yourself and your team four simple questions today? Where are you choosing to commit? Where are you working hard? What are you truly focused on? How are you bouncing back, faster? Plus a shout out to my Mission Six Zero crew - we are talking impact,...

Let's talk about time sucks...they are called meetings. Not just any meeting, but the meeting after the meeting, before the meeting that you don't know what the topics are...why you are meeting...who will be in the meeting and then you have a meeting about the meeting. Stop it already, please! Today on the 370th episode of #YourMorningCommute I give you real life, highly applicable meeting hacks....

Are you using a culture blueprint? One that aids you in: scaling a great place to work as the company grows  keeps you and your team engaged  keeps morale high  gets work done while still having a great time  makes innovation cheap and easy for everyone  creates a place where everyone feels ownership of the company  keeps behaviors professional without the use of long...

Sometimes I forget to celebrate all the wins happening and focus on the difficulties instead, how about you? Reality check...the little things add up to great things and sometimes we just don't notice when we are in 'it'. Today celebrate all the little things that are taking hold - all those efforts you are putting forth inside of your walls, your team, your little part of the world. Progress happ...

What you aren't saying is often more damaging that what you should/could be saying.  Today on the 367th episode of #YourMorningCommute I serve up hot and fresh 7 gloriously easy tips and phases to further deepen your interpersonal relationships with your team and your colleagues - are you ready to use them over and over again to see and feel the wins? I hope so...

I get it, you are beyond busy, stretched, stressed, open positions, training new people, and trying to hold onto the team you have while doing the functions of your job. Perhaps its time you stop and recalibrate.  I know it isn't easy but it is DOABLE. Please take 4 minutes today and listen to the 366th episode of #YourMorningCommute and get bring the calm, the focus and deliberate into your...

There is a spill on isle nine, we need to close the store...WAIT! WHAT? NO!!! Let's calm down, do some reality testing, pull back on our impulse control, take a deep breath before we as leaders create chaos. So many times as leaders we don't bring the calm, but rather jump on board and before you know it STRESS is at an all time high.  Courageous leaders remain calm, bring the calm, identify,...

We all suffer from negative thoughts from time to time. Left unchecked, they can affect all areas of our lives. By changing how we behave we can change how we feel. As a courageous leader, it's your responsibility to know how to flip those negative thoughts into a positive action. On today's 5-minute #YourMorningCommute, I dive into this and give you an activity you can do with your team too. Let'...

Traction is such a fun word and can be defined in many ways. Are you gaining #traction?  Do you know why or how?  Is it the good, bad, great kind or perhaps you have't stopped to recognize the kind of traction you are creating? The Traction Law is about cohesion and imperfections? Which side is your traction creating?

Today on the quick podcast #yourmorningcommute, the key word is cohesive.  If you are up to the challenge, take a look at where you are and are not cohesive as it relates to the list below. Cohesive from language to actions, on the daily. This isn't a short game, it's a long game when it comes to culture work. Where do you stand? Competencies DEI  Talent and development Performance, rewa...