The 3 Steps to Making Tough Decisions - Bold Advice From an Ex-Marine Officer
rom the cockpit of a Marine helicopter landing at night on the pitching and rolling deck of a carrier, to the seeming quiet of a boardroom subtly coaxing a new leader toward a preferred course of action, it has become increasingly clear to me how difficult it is for leaders to make tough decisions. After some soul-searching and tapping into the experience of leaders I admire and respect, I have identified some key things that simply helped me get better at it. As a CEO, and a former U.S. Marine Corps Officer and pilot, I’ve worked with military leaders, civilian executives, and my own employees and Marines to help guide them through the challenging and sometimes even perilous waters of tough decision-making. As pilots we used to say emergency procedures were written in the blood of those that went before. I share my lessons learned in that same spirit.
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5 Common Mistakes Managers Make, According to Their Workers
Over the last five years, I have conducted several workplace surveys to get to the bottom of what mistakes managers make more frequently than others.
The data reveals some obvious patterns that continue to exist even as we have shifted to remote work. My findings are broken down by the five most common themes -- the five biggest mistakes bosses make that disengage their employees.
1. Micromanaging
This should come as no surprise. Managers who dominate people, decisions, and processes and lead by fear makes this the No.1 mistake. Micromanaging ultimately derails your team's motivation and creativity.
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How to Identify Your Team’s Remote Work Style
From an abundance of communication to uninterrupted blocks of alone time, we all have certain ways we like to get things done. When everyone is in the office, it can be easy to identify an employee’s style by observing their behavior. With remote working arrangements, however, it can be harder to discern. When you’re a leader, it’s important to identify and understand your team members’ styles, says Ed McQuiston, executive vice president at the content services provider Hyland.
“Everybody works differently,” he says. “Some want to interact quite a bit, some prefer to be given work and then left to do it, and others fall somewhere in between.”
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