SkillInside

Performance reviews. Why? Well, doing these reviews is like trying to drive forward, while keeping your eyes trained on your rear view mirror. You won't get anywhere. And you might just get into accidents! Here's what I mean: you're hoping that your employees will improve, and become A players. But then you spend the entire review session evaluating their past behavior... and you don't create an environment that helps them grow. No wonder that these sessions don't influence your employees' work performance in any meaningful way! Here's what you should do instead: Transform your performance reviews into personal development reviews. This brilliant idea came from Keith Lee, who's not just an expert in building systems that employees love, but also an entrepreneur who's grown companies to nine figures in revenue. The systems Keith developed and implemented allowed his company, American Retail Supply, to grow its sales from $300,000 to $15 m...

In an age when everything is newer, better faster, it’s good sometimes to pause and remember some of the old wisdom that humanity has acquired through the ages. If we hold to these evergreen principles, they can carry us through the toughest and most challenging times in work and in life—just as they did for our parents and grandparents. The words may seem timeworn at first glance, but that’s evidence of their enduring value, and if you move past their familiarity to connect with the meaning, you’ll understand why they’ve lasted so long. Everyone’s list may be a little different, but here are 12 of my own favorites: 1. If you want something in life, you have to pay the cost. Too often, we want the reward without the risk, the success without the failure. But you can’t have a destination without a journey. And every journey comes at a cost—an investment of time, patience and discipline every step of the way. 2.  When you can’t change the situation, you can stil...

One of the ways you can define a good leader from a great leaders, is how they handle their mistakes. Mistakes are one of the ways you can tell a good leader from a great one. All leaders make mistakes--to be human means messing up once in a while--but the difference lies in how they handle those mistakes. What are you modeling to those around you when you make a mistake? Your team will be watching, and what they see will affect their relationship with you and the level of trust they hold for you, so it's important to get it right. Here are four simple but impressive ways you can demonstrate great leadership when you make a mistake: 1. Acknowledge your mistakes Never try to cover up or blame others for what went wrong. If you messed up, admit it and own it. It doesn't have to be a big deal--simply acknowledge your responsibility and move on. Insecure leaders may be afraid of looking weak, but not admitting their mistake makes them look worse and costs them re...

This past week I had the privilege of sitting down and consulting with a well known CEO. He was visibly upset and some what frustrated. He spoke about his dissatisfaction with his team and his disappointment with the organization’s results of the past year. As he talked and I listened, I heard him say, “ I do not believe in the idea of effort. I believe in rewarding results only.” I had a hard time believing my ears.  This is what I call a fixed mindset. Here was a leader of a very large organization w ho expects his employees to work hard, put in long hours, make great sales, and grow the company, but then not be rewarded for their efforts.  Could this be possible? Was there a way of showing him that his beliefs were the root of the problem? For me, he was suffering from what I call “CEO DIS-EASE.” He believed that effort was not to be rewarded. He believed that effort was for those with deficiencies. He believed that effort reduces you. He believed that peo...

Somewhere someone has been inspired by you. Somewhere someone has been empowered by you. Somewhere someone has done an act of kindness because of you. Somewhere someone has taken on a challenge because of you. Adding value doesn’t occur by accident, nor is it something that happens on its own, like the tides. The best leaders add value intentionally by knowing what is important and making choices based on that knowledge. But true leaders know that the question, whether they are adding value, is not the only question, they are also asking themselves if they are subtracting value too. Are you adding value to yourself or subtracting value from the person who matters the most? Are you acquiring new skills? Are you spending your time on improving your competencies? Are you working on your leadership and adding value to your life, or are you squandering your time with the same old- same old? Are you adding value to your team or subtracting value from those you care ...

In my last post,  “The Remarkable Power of the Truth Teller”   we touched upon the idea that people do lie and stretch the truth. The price of lying is often a high one: being known as a deceiver. If a leader lies, people cannot trust them. If your boss lies, you cannot rely on them. If your manager lies, you cannot count on them. If your colleague lies, you cannot hold confidence in them. The lack of trust is a high price to pay for deception, and it can cause a great trap—one that the deceiver isn’t even aware of. But you can identify deceivers by these traits, which are among side effects of deception: Emotionally manipulative.  Often deceivers will ask you to choose or pressure you to say that you trust them and rely on them—although in truth the only thing they’re concerned with is whether they can count on you. Unreliable themselves, they question everything. Notorious blamers.  Deceivers never take accountability or responsibility. They’...

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? That’s truly the billion-dollar question, and it’s timeless. Brush aside the image of what success  should  look like, and consider what success means to you. I ask each of my high-performing clients this question, and invariably, the answer involves rising above the inevitable challenges and overcoming their own perceived limitations. When we look at those we admire most and glean the best insights from, rarely do we see the whole story: the struggle, the triumph, the self-doubts, the rising, the fear, the courage. If we’re lucky, they write an autobiography, or someone makes a film based on their life, and we get a glimpse into the incredible journey. For the most part, however, ultimate success feels unattainable to many, if only  just  out of reach. What if succeeding at anything were as simple as having a few things in place? That just sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Consider the possibility t...