I remember the first time I lost my cool as a leader. I actually raised my voice out of frustration to a team member. Was a new leader with tremendous responsibility and managing several critical business issues through my team. Pressure from my leadership and external customers felt overwhelming. My team was having conflict internally and with our customer. When I lost control and actually had an out of body experience seeing myself out of control, I immediately realized it was all avoidable. I had not been prepared or even took on accountability to prepare myself for conflict as a new leader. I had coached others on this topic, but did not internalize it myself. Let me help you not make my mistake.

Strained relationships between employees and executives cause up to 80% of workplace conflict, according to a study by the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. As a leader, you play a major role in helping your team to work smoothly together.

Teams usually bring...

Are you about ready to scream at the top of your lungs about team members that are wonderful "push backers"? But it has gotten out of hand. Lets talk.

Unless you’re a low-key despot, chances are that you don’t enjoy telling others what to do or reprimanding them. You probably don’t like being called out yourself and you might even question your right to tell anyone else what they’re doing wrong.

Kudos to you if you feel that way! You have what it takes to be a good leader! It’s the power-mad despots that make for terrible leaders and who eventually tend to come unglued.

But while it’s not a good thing to take pleasure in enforcing your will, it’s also not useful to bury your head and pretend that everyone can just get along nicely. That’s not how the world works, unfortunately.

The truth of the matter is that authority invites challenge. When you place yourself in a position of authority, others will be naturally encouraged to...

Feedback is one of the most valuable things a business leader can give. To underestimate the impact of a leader's process or ability to give feedback is a weakness. Continuous feedback is a minimum expectation in most cultures today. We train and coach on this right up front for Sr Executives and new leaders. Everyone's ability to give feedback can always be improved.

Constructive feedback in the workplace helps us to understand what we’re doing right and where we need to improve. When feedback is positive, it acts as a source of inspiration and motivation.

We get the reassurance of knowing that we’re taking the right steps towards success.

When feedback is negative, it can be worrisome initially, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity for growth. Negative feedback, when given effectively, shows us the things that we need to work on in a supportive, and insightful way. It means we can become better at what we do in the long-term.

Learn more about why you might want...