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Language is truly a double-edged sword.  Language allows us to cooperate, plan, coordinate, describe the future, talk about the past, and it even allows us to describe interactions between the environment and behavior so that a person does not need to experience direct consequences to learn (e.g...

A topic that often comes up while discussing behavioral consequences with leaders is that of self-consequences. In other words, can a person provide consequences to themselves for their own behavior? The answer to that question is yes and in fact we each do precisely that hundreds or even thousands of times per day. Perhaps more importantly, those self-consequences are particularly powerful in terms of the impact they have on our behavior, in large part because they are immediate—they happen during or very soon after the behavior in question...

Once upon a time, organizations treated culture change like any number of other corporate initiatives:  There were project plans, timelines, communication strategies, and roll-outs.  Leaders were earnestly counseled to establish a case-for-change, describe the “burning platform” as a metaphor for the need for change, and lay out a compelling vision for the future...

We have all heard of the Peter Principle—“Observation that in an organizational hierarchy people tend to rise to "their level of incompetence." Thus, as people are promoted, they become progressively less effective because good performance in one job does not guarantee similar performance in another.” When an employee reaches a level of incompetence, what are organizations to do with that incompetent employee?..

Do people change culture, or does culture change people? When I meet with a group of leaders, I often begin with this question. It’s a fun question for groups to wrestle with, and inevitably, they find their way to the same answer: it’s both. People can change the culture through their behavior, which can then influence the behavior of others...

When it comes to developing employees and improving performance, coaching and delivering feedback are critical actions for achieving desired results. In fact today, most organizations expect their leadership to focus on coaching and improving performance. Although I am a big proponent of this, I often see new, and even seasoned leaders make a big mistake when it comes to coaching their people: assuming that their position alone is enough to earn them the right to coach...

The ability to productively resolve conflict in the workplace is a necessary people management skill for leaders. Organizations require collaboration among employees to effectively meet their goals, but what is said or done by employees can often lead to disagreements or misunderstandings and can prevent a team or its individual members from completing tasks efficiently and effectively...

Let’s face it, today’s workforce looks very different than those of the past—especially if you're a manager. It is now very common for employee groups to extend across many generations, making it the norm for managers to also have to manage employees whose ages span half a century within a single department. Individual roles are also shifting in a way that can introduce new tension into the workplace. This trend may cause some leaders to worry that their older employees may resent their younger managers, among the other challenges that age diversity can bring...

How do you encourage employees to think like owners, to take initiative, to participate, to follow through, and contribute to the growth and success of your organization each and every day? This is the key to world-class performance; building a culture in which team members not only feel empowered but are motivated to act in the best interest of the organization. If leaders are to encourage engagement, they must be able to notice when it begins to emerge, nurture it, strengthen it, and embed it in the fabric of the culture...

Several years ago it was reported that an air traffic controller deliberately made his bed and slept in it while on duty at a Tennessee airport. I am sure many people think that was an isolated incident, but unfortunately it is more common than any of us would like to believe. As automation becomes more prevalent, more and more jobs become monitoring jobs. Unfortunately, these jobs are often so bereft of reinforcement, they fail to keep people’s attention at best, and put people to sleep, at worst...