I was at my old college for lunch on Saturday and met up with a few alumni, some older, some younger than me. At lunch the principal read out a letter from an old student, and it reminded me of two letters I received, as an undergraduate, from my tutor.
There is no such thing as a private conversation anymore. Streaming video live from your smart phone is now so easy, you should expect to be on camera all the time.
You brought together the best people in your team. You had high hopes from each one of them. But unfortunately, they are not making the right decisions required to keep their section working well. I know you’ll be totally disappointed.
I was thinking the other day about the annual processes of (360?) review and performance review, something I was part of for 30 years, but aside from talking to myself, I have largely avoided for the last 8 or so. I found that three pieces of advice/feedback had stuck with me, and I thought I would share them.
When you add it all up – serfdom, indentured servitude, slavery, the Holocaust, genocide, ethnic cleansing, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, dust bowls, pandemics, epidemics, famine, wars, human trafficking and every day skirmishes – it’s evident that a significant portion of the population has experienced, or has ancestors who have experienced horrendous times, conditions, or upbringings.
Leaders play a major role here - fat paychecks and fancy labels are temporary, if your manager does not appreciate you well, you might do nothing. Because it would be more like constantly running life between looking forward to Friday and dreading Monday blues.
As many of you know, I recently accepted a role as an Executive Vice President after over 27 years as a top performing, C-suite Executive Assistant. The kudos have been effusive and flowing like water. But, I'll have to admit, they've opened my eyes to something that is pervasive in this industry. Lack of confidence and vision beyond the role.