Tag: leadership

Live generously: business with an eye on helping others

by Dan Oswald I was in Birmingham, Alabama, over the weekend visiting my daughter at college. While out for breakfast, I saw a local newspaper with the headline “Live Generously: How three Gardendale teenagers hope to change lives with new business.” The headline caught my attention for a number of reasons. I love the “Live […]

After setting goals, be vigilant in achieving them

by Dan Oswald If you’re like me, it’s time to turn your attention to 2014. As we move through the fourth quarter of 2013 and can see the end in sight, our thoughts turn to what we want to accomplish in the coming year. At our company, we’re in the midst of our budgeting process […]

“Remember the Titans” offers memorable workplace lessons

by Dan Oswald The other night I walked in the door to find my youngest son watching the movie Remember the Titans. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know I consider the movie one of my favorites. Of course, I sat down and watched the last 30 minutes of the film with […]

Create Future Leaders by Training Employees How to Delegate

Delegation is yet another essential managerial skill. Employees who aspire to leadership positions must begin to acquire this skill now. Teaching delegation means providing opportunities to practice the skill—perhaps through management of a special project or team effort. It also means imparting an understanding that delegation is a six-step process. When you delegate, you must […]

Do Your Employees Know the Skills They Need for Professional Advancement?

Do your supervisors know the skills their employees need for professional advancement? Do they know how to delegate work and teach those skills to employees looking to advance in the organization? Here is some important information to convey to your supervisors. Skills needed for personal and organizational growth change constantly. That means offering appropriate training […]

Train Managers to Effectively Recognize Employee Success

Derek Irvine, coauthor of the book, Winning with a Culture of Recognition (Globoforce Limited, 2010) and vice president of Global Strategy for Globoforce, suggests that it’s time for employers to take another look at employee recognition. “It’s no longer just a nice-to-have a program; recognition can be, if deployed strategically, a massive profit generator and […]

Coach’s decision to disband team scores points in character building

by Dan Oswald A football coach in Utah recently went to great lengths to make sure his players understand the importance of high-school athletics—that is, he suspended almost the entire team because they were skipping class, had poor grades, and were even participating in bullying a fellow student. The coach, Matt Labrum, had his priorities […]

Do Your Managers Need Training on Employee Recognition?

Derek Irvine, coauthor of the book, Winning with a Culture of Recognition (Globoforce Limited, 2010) and vice president of Global Strategy for Globoforce, suggests that it’s time for employers to take another look at employee recognition. “It’s no longer just a nice-to-have a program; recognition can be, if deployed strategically, a massive profit generator and […]

“Team building” requires much more than a weekend retreat

by Dan Oswald We talk a lot about teams in the workplace today. When we recruit to fill a position, we say, “We’re looking for team players.” When the team achieves success, we say, “We win as a team.” When we consider whether we have the right people on the team, we say, “The team […]

Mariano Rivera offers a lesson in class

by Dan Oswald Either you love the New York Yankees or you hate them. I’m a hater. I grew up hating them. They were the antithesis of my beloved Chicago Cubs. That is to say they were winners. But I didn’t hate them because they were winners—well, maybe a little. I hated them because of […]