I attended a meeting by speaker phone with a client and his team because the topic was one which made him nervous: Compensation. I suspect compensation discussions are often awkward and poorly handled because most teams have such little experience dealing with compensation issues and talking openly about money. My role was to support the … Read more

What makes a group of people a team? When I ask this question, I usually hear something along these lines: They help each other out when they are behind. They are all equal. They get along. They’re just like family. I propose that a team is quite different from those superficial descriptions. Of course, people … Read more

In this series of essays, we are having a serious look at this notion of team. In the first installment (What is a Team?), I introduced and discussed a definition of team which takes us well beyond the platitudes we normally hear. My friend, Dr. Paul Homoly, responded to the issue by saying: “The term … Read more

In this series of essays, we are having a serious look at the notion of team. In the first installment (What is a Team?), I introduced a definition of team and then addressed Trust in the following article. Today, we will turn our attention to what we call The New Boss. Yes, the boss is … Read more

Resolutions – to stop avoiding it. I have never been one for New Year’s resolutions, but this year I am taking on the big one: I agree to much more than I can handle. I have known this about myself for a very long time; yet, I have never formally decided to do something about … Read more

Why can’t we just get along? I suspect one of the reasons is that we don’t know how. First, the fancy definition: Triangulation occurs when one person, having an issue with a second person, takes that issue to a third person. Now for the street version: Triangulation is talking about people behind their backs. Triangulation … Read more

“It’s too much to expect, but it’s not too much to ask” Mary-Chapin Carpenter/Don Schlitz Expectations are reasonable only when they are clearly conveyed, fully discussed, and agreed-to by all parties. Until this happens, they are merely wishes, hopes or assumptions which are not likely to happen. The less you convey your expectations to others, … Read more