As a fiercly proud Syracuse University alumna, I am on Cloud 9 these days. Our men’s basketball team has applied the full Orange Crush mode to earn a slot in the NCAA Final Four Tournament this weekend in Atlanta.

Toppling the competition is the dream of sports teams — and companies — alike. Success hinges on many factors: individual talent, equipment and work practices, to name a few.

Paramount, however, is teamwork — the harmonious blending of personalities, experience and expertise into a collective, indominable force locked in focus on a common, shared goal.

In college basketball, head coaches are the leaders who own that job. In the workplace, it’s the responsibility of managers.

What is the recipe for coaching success that has catapulted my alma mater, along with Michigan, Louisville and Witchita State, into trophy contention?

Being a huge sports fanatic, Linda was recently asked about her opinion on Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera's retirement.  Like professional athletes, it can be difficult for small business owners to walk away from the mound, so to speak, especially if they dedicated much of their lives to the business. So, how do you know when it is the right time to call it quits? 

Enough with the debate over Yahoo!’s virtual work ban.

Quite frankly, any leader who sounds off about the need for more and BETTER communication and collaboration ranks top in my mind. Most leader agendas are void of either topic for regular review and discussion.

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer took inventory of her company’s culture and work practices – and decided that change was needed. Big change. Guided by metrics and hard data, Mayer called for a new way of working.

What do the winners of last night’s Grammy Awards and managers in the workplace have in common?  They have a steady beat that gets – and keeps – the attention of others. The best managers have a steady beat in their communication and connections with employees and customers.
 
Here are four practices that will contribute to chart-topping performance—but only if they are part of a manager’s regular rhythm on the job. 

Is the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff shutting down communication at your business? It’s highly likely since question marks prevail on the topic.

Fiscal cliff banter dominates every media outlet 24/7. And it’s more than likely that your employees are hearing the banter and the speculation, and wondering, what does that mean for me and my company?

Questions and apprehensions can easily choke end-of-the-year productivity more than any holiday party.

After all, as Maslow noted in his Hierarchy of Needs it’s about me first, then about everything else.

So how can you keep your team focused and prevent the cliff from putting your team in a tailspin?

Let’s face it. Telling the truth isn’t always easy.

Lance Armstrong demonstrated that pretty well. He had us believing for years.

Lying on the job isn’t reserved for athletes or, for that matter, politicians. It also claims lots of airtime in the workplace. In fact, lying on the job is pretty common these days.

Participants of our Lying in the Workplace poll reported an increase in the prevalence of lying over the past five years. Fear (in various forms) was cited as the biggest trigger of workplace lies. Among the greatest fear factors that led to lying were fear of reprisal and fear of job loss.

No company, regardless of size, can afford the consequences of lying in the workplace. It is possible to create a workplace where truth can reign. More than 65 percent of Lying in the Workplace respondents said the catalyst for trust is effective communication between managers and associates.

Here are six ways to help managers create a truthful work environment through open communication and transparency...

Untold is the impact of Petraeus’ swift and unexpected departure on CIA staffers. How do employees survive a surprise change like this—particularly of a popular, highly respected boss who was regularly praised for his strong communication and interpersonal skills?

It’s a presidential election year and it’s likely that you’ve been asked—or at least thought: “If I were president, I would…”

It’s a provocative question, forcing you to think about the needs and challenges of the greater population versus your own. And taking stock like that is a good thing to do, regardless if you’re commander-in-chief or manager in the workplace.

Employees want a manager who connects with them through their words and their actions. That means, whatever your manager title is, there’s another role to add to it: the role of Connector-in-Chief.

Call it the Great Cafeteria Butter Rebellion.

Pittsburgh, October 16 – Communication professionals from a broad range of organizations report that “Employee Engagement” is their number-one challenge for 2013, according to a recent poll conducted by Dulye & Co.

The same poll uncovered that communication professionals view “Employee Engagement” as an issue that is not on the priority list for company executives.