Leader Feeder

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 […]

Congratulations, you just got promoted to be the supervisor of your work team, but how are you going to be successful in that new role? There are several challenges that face every new supervisor. Leading your former coworkers is one of them. After all, you used to work alongside them and commiserated with them, but […]

How can you use a shift start meeting to get your day off to a great start? Shift start meetings or toolbox meetings are a great opportunity for you to get the shift off to a good start and get your team members ready to contribute and achieve their goals. You’ve likely seen both less […]

Why should you focus your team on collaboration and not on competition? Some leaders believe that employees will perform better if they have rivalries with other teams. They will have things like crew of the month or employee of the month, really thinking that if they are competing against each other, it will bring out […]

How can you focus your team on winning the day? Most companies want to win, and most team members want to win – but they don’t have a clear idea of what winning each day means. They are just going through the methods and processes without knowing that what they do is making a significant difference […]

How do you resolve a conflict or a disagreement between two of your team members? Today, people have shorter fuses due to the underlying worry and anxiety that comes along with the COVID-19 situation. If people on your team are losing it too easily, it is probably because of that underlying anxiety. When two employees […]

What do the people you interact with on a regular basis need from you, and how can you strengthen those relationships? If you can build strong relationships with everyone you interact with, it will make it a lot easier to get things done. You will be able to get things you need more quickly and […]

When restrictions are reduced, will companies go back to in-person meetings and training sessions? Or will it stay virtual? Let’s examine the trend of e-books. In the e-book industry, they predicted that everyone would be reading them. But what happened? They certainly grew, but at the end of the day, they only represent a third […]

How should you shift your leadership approach to match what your team members need? Situational leadership is an adaptive leadership style. It encourages leaders to take stock of their team members, weigh the many variables in their workplace. And then they can choose the leadership style that best fits their goals and circumstances. Managers who […]

What is the full potential of your operation? Focus your team on their potential and set goals high enough for yourself, and your team. By setting high targets, you can motivate your team to excel beyond what they think possible. Here are three tips to help focus your team on their potential: 1. Identify the […]

How can you drive up results by focusing on your people? Interpersonal skills are an important quality that all successful leaders must have. This poses a big challenge for you as a front-line leader because chances are you were promoted based on your technical skills, not necessarily your interpersonal skills. Work on harnessing those personal […]

What do you value as a leader? People can tell what you value based on what you talk about, what you focus on, and what you spend your time on. It is the same within an organization. Your employees are paying attention to these things. Do your values reflect what you care about as a […]

How can you learn to lead with and embrace humanity? Do not forget the human side of human resources. You as a leader, have a lot to focus on, but what about the emotional needs of your team? “This person cared about me as a human being” – when you lead with humanity, it is […]

How do you deal with office politics? Some symptoms of office politics include, people having closed-door meetings–where they are talking about other people on the team–and people with cynical attitudes who gossip in a high-school way. Here are four tips for you to rise above office politics as a leader: 1. Avoid taking part. This […]

How do you influence the culture scores or employee survey results that your organization is gathering? It is tempting to look at employee surveys or culture scores as something that has nothing to do with you as a supervisor. However, the way that most employees judge the organization is very much influenced by their interactions […]

How can you support the diversity initiatives that your organization has? Diversity is an incredible asset because, when harnessed, it brings more ideas and backgrounds to your company, so the quality of ideas and talent within your organization increases. What do you do as a leader to embrace diversity? Here are three tips to help: […]

How can you embrace and recognize milestones? Many leaders, especially high achieving ones, tend to focus on the next milestone and do not recognize the importance of acknowledging current success. Use these three tips to acknowledge milestones with your team: Savor the moment. Celebrate, and feel the success that comes with it. Even sports teams […]

Does your team think that you do a good job of setting a good example for them? Think about a leader for whom you have worked, who you think of as being an exemplary demonstration of leading by example. Chances are you are going to think of someone who, when there was extra pressure and […]

Do you inspire initiative on your team? It is very tempting as a leader to say, “I wish my team would take greater initiative.” But what if you are sending signals that shut down your team’s sense of initiative? Here are three tips to inspire greater initiative on your team: 1. Avoid dismissing their ideas. […]

Could you be a micromanager? How can you stop it? Most people who are micromanagers do not know that they are micromanaging. They think they are being helpful. Here are three things you can do to empower your team and reduce micromanaging: Declare your intent to be helpful. Overtly declare that you want to be […]