Do you think that most “people skills” training is a waste of money because nothing changes after the training? Do you ever wonder why so much behavior-focused “training” doesn’t stick? Or why someone agrees to change their behavior and really means it – but then they slip back to the “old” behavior that was a… Continue Reading
March 15, 2017
The 6 Major Reasons Why “People Skills” Training Doesn’t Work – and 6 Action Steps to Fix It
Has this ever happened to you? Your company decides you need to attend a workshop to get enhanced or improved “people skills” on topics like team building or conflict resolution. Or, it might be training about getting along better with others or something like that. And, you start to feel frustrated and, sometimes, even resentful. “Here we go… Continue Reading
November 10, 2016
Why Managers Feel Vulnerable When Dealing With Non-Performance And 3 Things They Can Do To Deal With It.
Has this ever happened to you as a manager? One of your direct reports doesn’t do what their job (function) requires them to do. Perhaps they didn’t get a report in on time or they showed up late for work because they slept in or they left out a crucial step in a project which… Continue Reading
September 8, 2016
The Value of Understanding What “Maturity” Really Means
“She’s just not mature enough to manage this team”. “He’s so immature, always getting emotional when people don’t agree with him.” “She’s really mature for her age. I think she can handle the promotion.” If you’ve heard comments like this or even said something like it yourself, you’ve stepped into the shape-shifting arena of a… Continue Reading
May 2, 2016
“No Respect”: 3 Factors Influencing Why IT Often Doesn’t Get Respect Within the Corporation – and What to Do About It
What’s up with the Information Technology (IT) department in most companies? Even though they provide a valuable service, they often face challenges in getting the appropriate recognition and respect for their efforts and contributions, in the past or in the present. To understand this better – and to do something about it – it helps… Continue Reading
March 4, 2016
The #1 Most Powerful Motivator At Work
As a manager, if someone asked you about the #1 most important “motivator” for your employees, what would you say? Money? A title? Opportunity for growth? A place where all the workers get along without conflict? Surprisingly, none of these is #1. There is a lot of research that has explored the most powerful and… Continue Reading
January 9, 2016
How to Better Manage Your Time & Prioritize More Effectively
At the restart of any business year, we often hear people say that there is so much to do that they don’t have enough time to appropriately handle all the priorities coming at them, all at once. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Especially as you start your New Year, when a number of… Continue Reading
October 9, 2015
Are You a Conditional or an Unconditional Team Member? – Respect for the Team Leader
If you’ve ever wondered why some members of a team seem to support the appointed team leader unconditionally while others seem as if they are trying to take over the team, this blog will help explain what’s going on. The reason that it’s important to know and understand these differences is to have a better understanding… Continue Reading
September 18, 2015
Are You A Willing or An Unwilling Team Member?
At work, have you ever wondered why you are more willing or less willing to be part of a team than others around you? You may be surprised that one of the reasons that you are either more or less willing to be part of a team has to do with your personality, specifically with how “conditional”… Continue Reading
September 8, 2015
Five Tips on How To Reply To An Email Effectively In Business
There are lots of blogs (including ours) that focus on how to Write an effective email. However, it’s just as important to effectively Reply to an email. Here are some tips about how to reply, based on our experience and on Best Practices: Use “Reply All” appropriately Determine urgency Update the subject line Remember intent Be specific… Continue Reading
September 1, 2015
Nine Tips on How To Write An Effective Email In Business
Have you ever had an email “blow up” on you? Or, have you seen one “blow up” on someone else? Was it misunderstood, generating negative feedback, necessitating follow-up emails, and even lengthy phone calls trying to “fix” things? If the answer is “yes”, the tips below might prevent this from happening again or at least,… Continue Reading
August 17, 2015
How to Get Two More Productive Hours at Work Everyday With One Simple (Surprising) Strategy
In our previous blogs we focused on how unmanaged email can affect your work life negatively. And, we focused on how the telephone is more effective than email in communicating your message effectively. However, email is a fact of life in business, so if you must use it, it’s important to use and manage it… Continue Reading
August 7, 2015
The #1 Reason Why the Phone is More Effective than Email
Email hasn’t helped improve communication in the workplace. In many cases, it’s made things worse. And, many managers are wondering how to fix this. Here’s a suggestion…
July 7, 2015
How Email Might Be Hurting Your Business
Email is not communication. Instead, it is rapidly facilitating the erosion and breakdown of effective communication. Especially within larger companies. Here’s why. The technology is seductive. Because it is so easy to use and so immediate, it has seduced us into thinking that when we email someone, we’re actually communicating with them. Which is not… Continue Reading
June 22, 2015
Why Most People are Uncomfortable with Conflict
“Why are they always fighting?”, Brandon asks Danielle. “I used to think they were fighting”, Danielle replies, “but they’re not. They’re just disagreeing.” “Well, it looks like fighting to me.”, says Brandon. “What makes you so sure they’re not fighting?” It’s a good question and you may have experienced a similar situation. Why does one… Continue Reading
June 14, 2015
Passion Isn’t an Emotion. It’s a Priority Statement
What does it mean when someone says they are “passionate” about their job? Or, if a company says it’s looking for people who are passionate and who bring their passion to work? Are they talking about love? Energy? Enthusiasm? Or something else? Sometimes, it’s hard to know. Because the word “passion” seems to have so… Continue Reading
June 8, 2015
For Your Convenience. Easy-to-Scroll List of Every Breakthrough Management Blog
We’ve added a new feature for you at the Breakthrough Management blog. An easy to scan, complete list of every blog we’ve written – by title. It’s alphabetical and easily scrollable. If you’d like, simply click here to see the complete list… https://btmgmt.net/blog-archive/ It will be automatically updated with each new post. There is also an… Continue Reading
May 25, 2015
“Why Am I Here?” (and 4 More Questions You Might Ask About Your Job)
If you’re struggling a bit with your job these days and perhaps asking yourself questions, they are most likely to include at least one of the 5 powerful questions that help frame you and your job. Whether you are an employee or a manager, they are critical. Research shows that in high performing business cultures,… Continue Reading
May 21, 2015
The Control and Motivation Paradox
Our clients often ask us what to do when someone says they feel out of control or says they are less motivated than they used to be or even no longer motivated at all. Our answer is always the same. It starts by explaining the paradox of what happens when one feels out of control… Continue Reading
May 11, 2015
The ABCs of Personal Power
Because our world is changing at an ever increasing rate, many of us are finding that to survive and prosper, we have to continue to learn and adapt fast. We have no choice. That’s why being comfortable with change, having a willingness to continually learn, and knowing yourself better have become critical skills in ongoing… Continue Reading
May 4, 2015
The Classic Interviewing Trap and How to Avoid It
Every day in businesses across the country, a hidden trap sabotages the selection of the right candidate for the job during the interviewing process. It’s hiding in plain sight. This trap is created by a general misunderstanding of what interviewers are specifically interviewing for. Even though they are hoping to determine if the candidate is… Continue Reading
April 24, 2015
Two Kinds of Quitting
Here’s something we’ve learned over the past 30 years of helping managers become better at what they do. We’ve noticed that people can quit in one of 2 ways. They quit and leave. Or, they quit and stay. If they quit and leave, they have gone. Even though it may be challenging to replace them, it’s… Continue Reading
April 17, 2015
Three Filters. How to Improve Clarity and Agreement with Others
“I just don’t see things the same way you do”. What’s your reaction when you hear this – especially from someone you have to work with? Do you get defensive? Argue? Just agree with them, even if you don’t really agree? And, do you sometimes wonder about why you don’t see things the same way… Continue Reading
April 6, 2015
How To Increase Your Chances of Success by Understanding How We Learn
(Click on graphic to view full size. Use the back button on your browser to return to the blog below which explains how understanding this model can help you.) Our world is changing at an ever increasing rate, which is why many of us are finding that to survive and prosper, we have to continue… Continue Reading
March 25, 2015
Two Critical Issues that Impact High-Performing Business Cultures
We are often asked, “how do you create a business culture where self-management and motivation take care of themselves?” The answer might surprise you. It starts with some basic clarity as to what most companies want: They want more profit. A healthier “bottom-line” More than ever, managers are focusing directly on how self-management and motivation generate more… Continue Reading
March 13, 2015
When Something Simple is Not So Simple
Has this ever happened to you? You ask someone to do something that seems easy to you and they can’t do it. And, you’re confused because it seems so simple and straightforward to you. After all, you understand it and can accomplish it the way you want. Why can’t they? But somehow, they can’t see… Continue Reading
March 4, 2015
Why People Don’t Do What You Want Them to Do – Part 4. Organizational Issues
In Parts 1 to 3 of this blog series, we focused on 3 of the 4 causes of why people don’t do what you want them to do at work. In this blog, we focus on a fourth cause – Organizational issues. That’s because there are only 4 potential causes why someone doesn’t do what you… Continue Reading
February 17, 2015
Why People Don’t Do What You Want Them to Do – Part 2. Skills and/or Knowledge
In Part 1 of this blog series, we focused on Motivation as one of the 4 causes of why people don’t do what you want them to do at work. In this blog, we focus on a possible second cause. Skills and/or Knowledge. That’s because there are only 4 potential causes why someone doesn’t do… Continue Reading
February 13, 2015
Why People Don’t Do What You Want Them to Do – Part 1. Motivation.
Has this ever happened to you? You ask someone to do something at work, they say they are going to do it, and then they don’t do what you want, the way you want. If this has happened, did it trigger an upset in you such as frustration, disappointment, anger, or any of 200+ emotions… Continue Reading
February 3, 2015
The 7 Things That Belong in Your Personnel File
HR professionals often ask us what we expect to see in a Personnel file and our answer is always the same regardless of the business. It’s all about making sure the file includes the necessary documents that support the function (job) and help grow the person in that function. Specifically, documents that comprehensively and properly… Continue Reading
January 29, 2015
How to Write A Good Job Description
Most Job Descriptions these days are nothing more than thinly disguised Recruiting Documents. The lines have become blurred between them. It’s important to notice this distinction because a Recruiting Document is all about trying to hire the right person for the job and a Job Description is all about giving the person clarity about their… Continue Reading
January 13, 2015
How to Increase the Likelihood of Having Your Expectations Met – The Non-Negotiation Trap
If you aren’t having your expectations met, it might be because you haven’t negotiated them. It’s easy to fall into this “non-negotiation trap.” That’s because we usually have expectations of others based on our assumptions – which are rooted in the way they behaved in the past. And, that’s why we expect them to do the same… Continue Reading
January 5, 2015
How to Increase the Likelihood of Having Your Expectations Met – The Time Trap
If you have an expectation of someone or something, it probably means you think or hope that “what you expect” will happen sometime in the future. That’s because expectations are future focused – whether it be a minute from now or 3 years from now. In other words, they haven’t happened yet but you think… Continue Reading
December 8, 2014
Why Job Descriptions Are Really Important
If you don’t have a current job description – that you’ve looked at and reviewed in the last 90 days with your manager – then the truth is that you don’t know what your job is and your manager doesn’t know what to manage. That might sound like a nervy statement. But it’s so important,… Continue Reading
December 1, 2014
“Horrible-izing”. The Fear of Speaking Up At Work
Why are people afraid to speak up at work about things that aren’t working for them – or about things they don’t agree with? Especially when managers say that they want to hear from their staff and that they are looking for honest feedback about what might be stopping their people from reaching their full… Continue Reading
November 23, 2014
One Thing That Successful People Usually Have in Common
Successful and super-successful people nearly always have one thing in common. They all behave out of a natural sense of urgency. Here’s what this means… They just do more of the little things they don’t like doing, more often than the people who don’t. That’s it. Do you think this would make a difference for your… Continue Reading
November 10, 2014
Forgive Yourself – No One Else Can Do it For You
“The practice of forgiveness is very much like the practice of meditation. You have to do it often and persist at it in order to be any good.” – Katerina Stoykova Klemer When it comes to self-management, where does “forgiveness” come in? What do you have to forgive and why? Most important, how does “forgiveness” help you?
October 30, 2014
Boomerang Delegating
“Boomerang Delegating” happens when you think you’ve delegated something to someone who reports to you and it ends up back on your “to do” list. Why does this happen? What makes it boomerang back? In our experience it’s usually because you assumed 4 things about the person you delegated to. You probably assumed that this person is just… Continue Reading
October 8, 2014
Motivate Me. Please.
If you think you can motivate anybody, there’s a simple test to see if it’s true. Just choose a stranger and motivate them at will. Although it sounds silly, the test is powerful because it raises an important truth to consciousness. It is … You can never motivate anyone. All you can do is make… Continue Reading
October 2, 2014
One Major Reason Things Go Wrong At Work – And How to Fix It
How often have you heard this (or even said this)… “How did this happen? I can’t believe this job didn’t get done the way I wanted! What’s the problem with (him/her/you)?” In our experience, this type of finger-pointing, confusion, and judgement accomplishes nothing. Instead, it often triggers resentment, frustration, annoyance, and a host of non-productive… Continue Reading
September 7, 2014
4 Guidelines on How to Survive The Mergers & Acquisitions’ Train Wreck
There are more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) taking place now than ever before. For employees, this is often not good news. That’s because a lot of things can go wrong during an M&A. But there is a way to avoid this and create a healthier experience for those involved – by following some important guidelines…. Continue Reading
August 16, 2014
The Power of Proactive Thinking
How many times do we hear the words, “Think before you act”? Why does it even matter? What’s the value in thinking before acting? The answer is simple and powerful… If you think things through before you do something, you are much more likely to get the results or outcomes that you want more often. If… Continue Reading
August 5, 2014
3 Reasons Why You Agree When You Don’t Want to Agree – In Your Personal Life.
Why do we agree with someone when we really don’t want to agree? What makes us say “yes” when we really want to say “no”? What are the causes of these behaviors? The answer starts by understanding how we operate out of the 3 main circles of influence in our lives – Business (at work), Social… Continue Reading
July 29, 2014
3 Reasons Why You Agree When You Don’t Want to Agree – In Society
Why do we agree with someone when we really don’t want to agree? What makes us say “yes” when we really want to say “no”? What are the causes of these behaviors? It all starts by understanding how we operate out of the 3 main circles of influence in our lives. They are Business (work),… Continue Reading
July 21, 2014
3 Reasons Why You Agree When You Don’t Want to Agree – At Work
Why do we agree with someone when we really don’t want to agree? What makes us say “yes” when we really want to say “no”? What are the causes of these behaviors? It all starts by understanding how we operate out of the 3 main circles of influence in our lives. They are Business, Social,… Continue Reading
July 16, 2014
Corporate Culture and Why It Can Derail Strategy
Management guru Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Here’s what he meant and here’s why it’s important. To grow, businesses need strategy. They need to figure out what to do about market share, competition, change, and customer and client needs. To do this, they spend a lot of time and money. Then, when it… Continue Reading
July 8, 2014
The Powerful Manager – Dangers and Opportunities
“The more powerful the manager, the less likely he or she was to take advice.” That’s what the researchers say in “Kidding Ourselves”, the latest book from Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Hallinan. They also say that “power tends to diminish perception and perspective…”. In other words, it narrows the scope and the focus of… Continue Reading
June 25, 2014
Stop “Should”ing On Me
It’s amazing how one word can make such a big difference. Take the word “should” for example. How often do you hear, “You should have…”, “I shouldn’t have to …”, We shouldn’t have to…” and “They should have…”. In every case, the message is always the same. Whenever we use the word “should”, we’ve given… Continue Reading
June 4, 2014
How to Tell The Difference Between Managing and Bossing
If you are a Manager or Leader and have sometimes wondered why you don’t always get the performance and commitment that you want from the people who work for you, here is a checklist that might help. If you recognize any of your behaviors under the BOSSING column, then these behaviors may be adding to… Continue Reading
May 15, 2014
The Golden Rule of Business
“If you are not directly serving or supporting the customer or client, you’d better be supporting or serving someone who is.”
May 8, 2014
3 Things Pioneers and Leaders Have In Common
Pioneers like Einstein, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela, Gloria Steinem, and even the Beatles have a lot in common with leaders. Specifically, these 3 things. They are… 1. Visionaries. They see things before other people do. 2. Misunderstood. They are often misunderstood because they see things before other people. 3. Lonely. It can be… Continue Reading
April 21, 2014
Communication Breakdown – “What’s Your Intent?”
Why does communication break down? What’s the cause? When communication breaks down, probably over 95% of the cause is the “misinterpretation of intent”. And this misinterpretation usually happens because one person has trouble understanding (and/or contexting) someone else’s behavior. Here’s what this sounds like… “Why did Kelly do that?”. “What was the purpose of Justin doing that.” “I… Continue Reading
April 11, 2014
3 More Things Men Can Learn From Women in Business
Men need to start paying even more attention to women. Here’s why… Nearly 50% of all medical students are women. Nearly 60% of biology degrees are awarded to women, including graduate degrees. And, nearly 50% of all people in law school are women. In other words, male dominated industries have changed forever. What’s going on… Continue Reading
April 2, 2014
One Important Key to Building Trust (“I feel your pain”)
There’s an Native American proverb that says, “Until you’ve walked a mile in another person’s moccasins you will never really know them.” In other words, you won’t have real empathy for them until you’ve experienced what they have experienced. The reason that it’s important to understand empathy is because it’s critical to building trust. So,… Continue Reading
March 10, 2014
How to Avoid a Dilbert Culture
The famous comic strip, Dilbert, is a brilliant look into the dysfunctional world of business, where apathy and incompetence reign. It’s so popular because readers everywhere see reflections of things and situations in this cartoon culture that resonate in their own business world. Most of us laugh at the cartoon. But when it happens for… Continue Reading
February 28, 2014
The Hidden Half of Empowerment
We hear the word ‘empowerment’ a lot these days – in the news, in business blogs, and in the workplace. Although it’s an important topic, it seems that most of the commentaries deal with only half of what ‘empowerment’ is actually about. That’s because they only focus on one need – the ‘task’ – or… Continue Reading
January 23, 2014
Persistence
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.- Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the U. S. Coolidge… Continue Reading
December 1, 2013
3 Elements of Effective Communication
Here is a simple and powerful way to communicate effectively. All you have to do is focus on the 3 major elements of effective communications. They are… 1. Set a communication goal. 2. Set “points of agreement” and “discussion boundaries”. 3. Agree that you reached the goal. Here are the details… 1. A ‘Communication’ Goal…. Continue Reading
November 21, 2013
Decision Making Simplified
Most of us make decisions hundreds of times a day. Although some are easy and some are difficult, the truth is that the decision making process that goes on in our heads follows the same principles for all of us. Let’s break this down. There are only three kinds of decisions that we ever make…. Continue Reading
November 13, 2013
How To Appropriately “Manage Up”
In our blog “why people behave the way they do” , we suggested that if you are not getting what you want from someone – or are having an issue with their behavior – you can make progress if you simply forgive yourself for being uncomfortable and let them know what you want anyway. This sparked… Continue Reading
November 1, 2013
Do You Feel Valued, Supported, Safe and…
At Breakthrough Management, our experience consistently tells us that people consider their managers to be effective when they walk away from any interaction with their manager, holding this lasting impression… “I have been listened to, I have been heard, I feel valued, supported, safe, and cared for. I am growing and being grown.”
October 24, 2013
If You Are a Manager, When is Your Job Done?
If you are a manager, you know your job is done when all of the people who directly report to you are impeccable self-managers and are all over-qualified to do their jobs. This means you will have essentially worked yourself out of a job because the people now manage themselves effectively and can all do… Continue Reading
October 17, 2013
The 3 Most Powerful Rewards and Punishers
Research into human behavior clearly shows that people would prefer to do something that is rewarding to them rather than something that is punishing. A REWARD can be something that is easy for you to do, you like doing it, you’re good at it, it’s exciting, it’s not boring, or you get noticed when you… Continue Reading
October 1, 2013
The 5 Steps to Effectively Deal with Non-Performance
If, as a manager or supervisor, you’ve ever had to deal with someone’s non-performance you know how uncomfortable it can be for you. And, no one wants to feel uncomfortable. That’s why, far too often, the non-performance is allowed to continue as if it will take care of itself or just go away. Just so… Continue Reading
September 17, 2013
3 Critical Things That Men Can Learn from Women in Business
There’s so much men can learn from women that would make them more effective in business. Here are just 3 important things that women have demonstrated they are better at than men… 1. They are willing to share power. This makes delegation much easier which implies and demonstrates trust. 2. They are willing to ask… Continue Reading
August 15, 2013
The Important Difference Between Versatility and Manipulation
We’ve been getting this question a lot. And, it’s a slippery slope. Here it is… “Why do some people see me as being manipulative in certain situations when I TRULY BELIEVE I’m being versatile?” The answer starts by knowing what versatility looks like. Here are some examples of versatility… You smile when you don’t feel… Continue Reading
August 7, 2013
Why Common Sense Isn’t Common
“Common sense isn’t so common.” Have you said this? Or heard someone else say it? Most of the time, you might just have a good laugh about the lack of ‘common sense’ but sometimes it can manifest as real misunderstanding or even as negatively judging someone else’s behavior, which can lead to serious problems. What’s… Continue Reading
July 7, 2013
How To Actually Make Simple Simple
Getting something simple takes enormous energy. However, keeping something simple doesn’t take a lot of energy. And, there’s the rub. Because, when something is ‘simple’ for you, you’ve usually forgotten how much time, energy, and effort you spent getting it simple in the first place – starting when you first tried to know, understand and… Continue Reading
May 13, 2013
Our Definition of Management
Our definition of Management is: “More than anything else, managers must have the ability to grow good people who can grow good people.” In the final analysis, it’s all about growing people. This inevitably to leads to more competence, greater loyalty, and enhanced collaboration and retention.
May 9, 2013
How To Support Your People Better As A Manager
If you are a manager and you believe that people are your most valuable resource, there is nothing more important that you can do in any given day than support your people. This means that if a direct report comes to see you about anything, their request and/or issue moves right to the top of… Continue Reading
May 3, 2013
5 Simple Steps to Run a More Effective Meeting
Someone said that 85% of meetings are a waste of time. Here’s 5 steps to make sure that your meetings are among the most effective. Have an agenda. A meeting without an agenda means the meeting has no direction to start with. Someone must run the meeting. The person who chairs the meeting must manage… Continue Reading
April 27, 2013
3 Steps To Help You Better Manage Your Time
If your time management is getting out of control, here are 3 steps that might help. 1. Take control. If you don’t manage your time, everybody else will. 2. Make a list. Think of all the things you have to do and put them into 3 columns… Seriousness, Urgency, and Growth. 3. Prioritize. Use the… Continue Reading
January 21, 2013
The Biggest Cause Of Business Failure
What is the biggest ongoing cause of business failure in North America, today? If someone asked you, what would you say? Based on our experience, most people would answer that it was the result of one or more of these 3 factors – not enough opportunity, not enough resources or not enough talent. However, it… Continue Reading