Practical Tips

It's one of the most-asked and often-pondered questions: What makes a leader? 

According to Warren Bennis author of several books on leadership including the bestselling Leaders andOn Becoming A Leader says two traits make up the strongest leaders.

Once text messaging became a mainstream tool for communicating, it was only a matter of time before the enterprise adopted it internally.

Dulye & Co. has a client that's integrating text messaging into the organization's communications mix and they turned to us for advice on how to do so effectively.

Here are nine texting tips you can use today to get started with text messaging.

It seems like ages ago, doesn't it, that business leaders could think about hiring new employees? A bruising economy left little room for adding head count and the budget dollars associated with a new employee.

Signs that the economy is beginning to thaw coincide with a new wave of college graduates are entering the job market. Keep in mind that today's college grad lives in a highly connected, tech savvy world that's different from even just five years ago. To prepare, leaders would benefit from a review of their expectations from an operational and communications standpoint.

 

Help them succeed from the get-go by using these tips.

Have you caught the CBS program “Undercover Boss”?

The show debuted immediately after the Super Bowl and each episode follows a different CEO’s journey from the executive suite to the trenches – undercover, of course.

Certainly the program makes for compelling television but does it pass a reality check? Unfortunately not, at least in our view.

The fact is, it takes more than a new outfit and camera crew to be a star executive; it takes authenticity and it takes courage. But that’s just the start.

In a recent interview, Nancy McKinstry, the C.E.O. and chairwoman of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer, a global information services and publishing company based in the Netherlands, shared one of her most profound management lessons gleaned from managing junior-level employees. 
 

In sports, no one likes a “ball hog,” someone who takes all the shots, gets all the glory. The workplace is no different.

Taking all the credit for successes or quickly pointing the finger of blame at someone else is an easy way to alienate your peers. Instead, share the credit or give the kudos to someone on your team. 

Workers today have lots on their mind: the economy, their job security and concerns on the home front. In the workplace there are plenty of distractions, too, many of them of the digital variety: phone calls, email, voicemail, text messages, IM, you name it. The good news is that managers break through this clutter and keep their teams focused.

It’s natural to wince at the term “employee feedback,” but for every complaint about the break room temperature, there could be two or three more suggestions that can help you improve how your organization performs and meets its goals.

Change how you view feedback and you’ll transform the value you get from it.