Management Craft

Fireside Chat with Michael Kroth

How can noncharismatic managers motivate employees? - Chat with Michael Kroth

In this 28 minute podcast, I chat with speaker, educator, and expert Michael Kroth, author of The Manager as Motivator. Discussion topics include tips for noncharismatic managers, essential elements of a motivating work environment, and the role that managers play - good and bad - in motivating performance. We talk about what gets in the way of developing managers who are also highly motivating and the challenges this causes as companies struggle to compete for top talent. If you are a manager, a trainer, or someone who wants to better influence and inspire excellence, you will want to listen to this podcast.

Want to know what elitism has to do with motivation? Listen to this podcast!

You can listen to my podcast with Michael Kroth by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here: MP3 Download

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

Do you need to be hip?

How important is it that managers and leaders are hip?
Is it OK to manage the same way today that we managed in the 80s?

First, let's define hip. My Apple dictionary says to be hip means to be: fashionable, stylish, popular, all the rage, in fashion, in vogue, up-to-the-minute; informal trendy, cool, styling/stylin', with it, in, hot, big, happening, now, groovy, funky, sharp, the in thing, phat, kicky, tony, fly.

The etymology of the word hip is apparently a hotly debated topipc as written about in this Slate article. Here's a snippet:

The origin of hip (and its partner, hep; the words are related) is, unsatisfyingly, unknown. The term first appeared at the turn of the 20^th century, and quickly became widespread. Its meaning at this early point was "aware; in the know," and it was not widely used by African-Americans. It wasn't until the late 1930s and early 1940s, during the jive era, that the modern senses—"sophisticated; currently fashionable; fully up-to-date"—arose. (These senses did arise among African-Americans.)

Interesting. Back to the question - do managers need to be hip?

Well, I don't think it is critical that they buy the latest designer duds or are masters at IMing on My Space. That said, I would make the argument that being hip will help you succeed.

1. You need to connect with and relate to employees, peers, and customers. Unless you work for a senior center, staffed by senior citizens, with vendors run by seniors, you will encounter the elusive and mysterious creature called youth.

2. Many of the "up-to-the-minute" tools and  methods are very helpful for managing a business. Communicating via internal blogs, using wikis, training using iPods, IM for customers, podcasts for marketing, interactive websites, virtual communities, global business practices, viral marketing, going naked (authenticity) - and so on.

3. Being hip AND being sage (experienced) seems to me like a huge advantage. If you are both, you will be revered like the business treasure you are.

4. Being hip can be a lot of fun and make your career more interesting. Who wants to go stale like a left open box of Ritz Crackers?

Upping your hip quotient is easy - start paying attention to what people are interested in. Supercharge your curiosity. Ask a hip person to mentor you. I guess if you are reading this blog post, you are already on your way. If this post has been printed out and placed into your prehistoric plastic Inbox sitting on the outermost edge of your fiberboard desk, jump online and start participating in what's new and interesting.

What if you work for a prehistoric manager? Find a way to gradually help him or her evolve. Select tools and technologies that will help him or her simplify their lives without being too big of a jump. If your boss still has an admin assistant typing emails for him or her, it is probably too soon to jump into vlogging and the virtues of twittering at work.

What does it mean to be "tony" anyway? Aah, just looked it up - posh, basically. I'd much rather be fly (stylish, knowing and clever) or phat (excellent). You don't need to be posh, just aware and current in how you get work done and market your business.

How We Grow Bullies and Bad People

The blogosphere is buzzing about the cyber-threats and bullying that popular blogger Kathy Sierra is experiencing.

Why do people have to be so immature and destructive? In the workplace, we'd investigate and take action. The virtual businessplace is more difficult to deal with.

Kathy is an excellent writer and blogger, but she's thinking of quitting her blog because she does not feel safe. Such a shame. I hope that those responsible are identified and dealt with.

Why does this type of stuff get this far? Free speech, sure. But I think a bigger problem is that we tolerate the actions that lead up to serious threats. We facilitate the escalation of bad behaviors. How?

We find distasteful jokes funny and acceptable.
We make degrading porn readily available and acceptable to view.
We air TV shows starring people at their worst - cheaters, bullies, murderers - and we make them stars.
We love to watch people who are out of control (and who are encouraged by the attention).
We read blogs that are written by people bullies and self-absorbed brats.
On and on.

I have worked on many gnarly issues in the workplace and they almost always escalate due to an acceptance of lesser bad behaviors.

We vote with our eyes, actions, and time. If we do not read blogs that trash other people, those blogs will disappear. If we don't tolerate sexism or bullying, or off-color jokes, people stop. When we don't tolerate this stuff, we see less really bad stuff like what Kathy is dealing with today.

I used to work for a company that had an out of control senior exec. At company functions he got drunk and abusive, and at work he was highly moody and was known for lashing out at people. I can honestly say that during the time I worked there, he never lashed out at me. Had he, it would have been his last time. I think he knew this. The shame is that the organization was immature and put up with this destructive behavior. I was always afraid of what might come next. I would not rule out something very bad.

Who knows what all the actions were that led up to this situation with Kathy Sierra. I am guessing that there were many marginal comments and actions that were tolerated - perhaps even reinforced - that encouraged the escalation of this situation.

What are we tolerating today with your attention, time, and eyeballs? Attention emboldens people, so give your attention carefully.

Fireside Chat with Perry Devine

How can you generate breakthroughs within creative processes? - Chat with Perry Devine

In this inspiring 23 minute podcast I chat with singer/songwriter Perry Devine, who used the processes and techniques found in my latest book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough to create a song about generating breakthroughs. I think that music can inspire and serve as a powerful catalyst, so I am thrilled to have this song all about breakthroughs. As you can imagine, I was doubly thrilled when Perry told me that he used many of the suggestions offered in the book and experienced several breakthroughs while writing and recording this song. During the podcast, Perry tells listeners how he applied the book's concepts to the writing and recording of the song and which techniques made the greatest difference - catalyzing breakthroughs. At the end of the interview, you will hear the song "Breakthrough," by Perry Devine.

Join us in making this the year of the breakthrough!

By the way, I am happy to tell you that Perry is my brother. It was better than an ice cream sundae to work with him on this project. I cannot tell you the delight and humble pride I felt when I first heard the song and when Perry told me that my book was helping him push his music and process to new heights. Very cool. Thanks, Perry, for doing this with me! Here's a pic of my guitar pickin' brother in action.

Want to know what Perry means by the ultimate breakthrough catalyst? Listen to this podcast!

You can listen to my podcast with Perry Devine by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here: MP3 Download

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

Why We Lead

Have you ever wondered why you choose to lead?

Before I address this question, let me clarify a few things.

1. I don't call getting a high level position leading. Leadership happens at all levels in the organization and not all senior execs lead.

2. Leadership is a choice. Some of us make this choice more often than others and some of us lead in some aspects of our lives and not others. For example, I have a friend who does not choose to lead at work but who is a powerful leader in his community.

3. If you want to know what I mean by leadership, check out this popular post called, Leadership is Just One Thing. I still get tons of Google traffic for this post.

OK, back to the question - why we lead?

Stay tuned....my flight is boarding.

Where's Lisa and Thought for the Day

Sorry that I have not been posting. I have been on a rather intense business trip. Each day this week I have been reminded of the power of great leadership (and the reverse).

Take a moment today to think about the environment you are creating as a leader. Are you making the work place a better place?

As we know with many human endeavors, how we do things is just as important as what we do and when we do them.

Are you being the leader you always wanted to work for?

Interesting Stuff in the Blogosphere

Here are a few posts I have been meaning to share:

Wayne from the Cranky Middle Manager podcast scored a great interview with futurist Joel Barker - fascinating guy. I have seen his videos and books, too.

Barry over at GottaGettaBlog offers this great post about brainstorming called, Leadership Move #16: Brainstorming "With"

George's Employment Blawg points us to this article from the NTY called, Can Your Dog Humanize the Office?

Roman, of Roman's Miles, offers us this great post about an experiment he did to try and determine the reputation he has developed at work - a brave and useful exercise! We all can and should endeavor to determine the type of reputation we have built among our team members, peers, managers, and customers. Roman's comments are worth reading too.

And here's a nice post from Adrian, at Slow Leadership, called Are You Having Fun Yet? Adrian offers nine ways to make your work fun again. Yippee!

Enjoy!

Soap Box Quote #4

When I was a manager, getting rid of mucky muck was one of my favorite things to do each day. Dehassle the workplace every chance you get!

Provo-Evo Question for Managers - #4

Think about all the things you did yesterday. Did you do or say anything that could be interpreted as conflicting with your definition of excellence?

Soap Box Quote #3

The hiring process ought to always feel personal, even when that’s a pain in the neck.