#management

Feb 8
2 min

As a leader how can you prioritize your mental health?

Mental health can be something that many leaders overlook, however it's a vital leadership skill that is a key part of long-term success in an organisation. As a leader, it's critical that you have an sound understanding of your team's mental. In addition as a leader, it's important to prioritize your mental health in order to effectively lead and make decisions. Some ways to do this include: Taking regular breaks throughout the day to rest and recharge. Practicing self-care

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Jan 26
3 min

Dealing with Difficult Personalities at Work

As much as we would like to think that our workplace is a utopia where everyone gets along and works together seamlessly, the reality is that we all have to work with people who have difficult personalities. These individuals can range from the passive-aggressive colleague to the outright aggressive boss, and they can make the work environment a living nightmare. However, with the right tools and strategies, it is possible to manage and even thrive in a work environment with

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Jan 12
3 min

The Importance of Having Difficult Workplace Conversations

In any workplace, difficult conversations are an inevitable part of the job. Whether it's discussing a mistake that was made, giving feedback on a project, or addressing a problem with a colleague's behavior, these types of conversations can be uncomfortable and stressful. But despite their challenges, it is essential that these conversations take place in order for the workplace to function effectively. This is the key topic my co-author Ken Cameron and I talk about in our 5

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Jul 25, 2022
3 min

Does the search for 'talent' actually hold us back from developing our employees?

In my corporate workshops I often talk with participants about taking a coach approach to leadership . Rather than seeing themselves as a leader as a 'heroic' figure, who goes around the organization solving problems, they should consider looking for opportunities to coach and develop their employees so that they can solve problems for themselves. This often prompts at least one participant to ask "but what if our people don't have the talent required to be coached, shouldn't

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May 27, 2021
2 min

Seven Is A Lucky Number ... And So Are These Seven Lessons Of Effective Leadership

Several years ago I struck up a conversation on the C-Train and the individual upon finding out what I did for a living, asked me 'What is the one piece of advice you would give to a new leader?' I replied 'Don’t be a jerk!' And whilst I stick by that piece of advice, I later crylalized my thoughts and created the Vision EXCITE leadership model I have gone on to use this model with clients from a mulitude of different organizations. More recently I discussed the model on Face

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May 18, 2021
3 min

5 Things You Should Never Tell Your Employees During a Performance Review

All too often the performance review can become a tense affair, with the the reluctant employee and manager dancing round the 'shit' sandwich .... sorry the feedback sandwich, see a previous blog on the exact subject This Is Why The Feedback Sandwich Is A S**t Sandwich. Often in my work I hear from managers who are struggling with how to structure their performance reviews and sometimes are concerned with saying the wrong thing. I cover below 5 phrases you should avoid during

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Mar 10, 2021
5 min

Speak Up! ... 'You should fire him' ... What Next?

In our workshops I will discuss with participants how, despite planning out what you are going to say beforehand, often when the 'action' starts during a 'difficult' workplace conversation, the other party doesn't react as expected. By using live actors in our worships we give participants the opportunity to think on their feet and develop positive reaction strategies. This is also a theme my co-author Ken Cameron talk about in our recently published book 'I Need To F***ing T

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Feb 26, 2021
4 min

I Can't Work With You When You're Like This ...

In my corporate workshops I often talk to participants about taking early proactive management action when they first notice an issue arise with a team member. At this early stage there is a choice to make, do I live with the situation or deal with it? This is a theme my co-author Ken Cameron talk about in our recently published book 'I Need To F***ing Talk To You - The Art Of Navigating Difficult Workplace Conversations' What follows is an extract from our book where we cons

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Feb 5, 2021
6 min

This Is Why The Feedback Sandwich Is A S**t Sandwich

In my corporate workshops I often talk about the limitations of the popular feedback model the 'feedback sandwich'. In this article written by my colleague Ken Cameron, he explains the model's limitations. Over to Ken .... 'We’ve all done it. I know I have, and I can’t be alone in this. So, I’m willing to bet you’ve done it too. You’ve given at least one of your direct reports the feedback sandwich. You’ve started off with something positive to get your employee on board. The

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Jan 15, 2021
4 min

A Viking, a Construction Worker and a Graduate walk into a bar ....

Both in our corporate workshops and our recently published book 'I Need To F***ing Talk To You - The Art Of Navigating Difficult Workplace Conversations', my co-author Ken Cameron and I discuss the benefit to a leader of separating the person from the behaviour when it comes to managing our employees. What follows is an extract from our book where we consider a useful method to do this .... If we agree that it’s not effective to think of our employees as “fxxxing unmanageable

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Dec 14, 2020
4 min

Are People Really 'Unmanageable'?

Both in our corporate workshops and our recently published book 'I Need To F***ing Talk To You - The Art Of Navigating Difficult Workplace Conversations', my co-author Ken Cameron and I pose the question 'Are people really Unmanageable?' Even the most disagreeable or truculent of our employees or co-workers, are they really 'Unmanageable'? What follows is an extract from our book where we consider this specific point.... Before we proceed any further let’s dispel a myth now;

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Dec 8, 2020
2 min

Can You Create High Performing Teams If Everyone Is Working Remotely?

For many managers the reality of managing a disparate group of people, who are used to working in close proximity but now work remotely, has been a challenge. A fine line to walk between micro managing on the one hand and leaving people to their own (electronic) devices on the other. In this blog we look at three areas that can help managers confidently meeting the challenge ahead in the coming weeks and months. Often managers will think of how they can create a High Performi

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Apr 2, 2019
3 min

The Manager's Bermuda Triangle

Hi there!! Russell Stratton, president and leadership champion with Bluegem Learning. I work with organizations just like yours to help managers improve individual and team performance so they get even better results for your business. In the last couple of VLOGS I've been discussing the topic of Leading from the Middle and there's been a lot of emphasis on how we can lead within the organization when you are in the middle of the organization and you have people working for

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Mar 25, 2019
4 min

Influencing Strategies for Managers & Employees

I'm Russell Stratton, President and Leadership Champion with Bluegem Learning. I work with organizations just like yours to help managers improve individual and team performance so that they get even better results for your business. In my previous article in our Leading from The Middle Series, I discussed the unique position that a lot of middle managers find themselves in. Specifically I was providing some analysis as to our positional power in different types of organiz

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Mar 19, 2019
3 min

Eat or Be Eaten: Know the Political Landscape in your Organization?

Hi there. Russell Stratton, President and Leadership Champion with Bluegem Learning. I work with organizations just like yours to help managers improve individual and team performance to get even better results for your business. The topic I'd like to come back to today is this concept of Leading from the Middle, which I've spoken about briefly before. Middle managers in an organization are in a unique position... They are stuck bang slat in the middle of the organization. Th

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Mar 15, 2019
11 min

Effective Leadership When You're Stuck In The Middle

“Why can’t I just tell the bastards what to do?” asked the Commander squinting at the diagram in front of him. He adjusted his cap to block out the light, which caused the sun to glint off his cap-badge. I could tell the veteran Borough Commander was half-joking, but it was the half that wasn’t joking that worried him. Fergus, however, was unfazed. “Because, you old sod,” retorted Fergus in the same tone. “the world has changed under your feet in case you hadn’t noticed.” F

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Mar 5, 2019
3 min

Three Contenders for The WORST Boss EVER

Hi there. Russell Stratton, president of Leadership Champion with Bluegem Learning. Over the last 25 years I've worked with a range of organizations to improve bottom line productivity. In the last couple of blogs I've been talking about Managing Your Boss. As I've said before, this is one of the key topics that people come to talk to me about after my workshops. How do I deal with my boss? And often they've brought an anecdote or a story to tell me about the person they're w

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Feb 25, 2019
3 min

How To Manage Your Boss in Four Simple Steps

Hi there, Russell Stratton, President and Leadership Champion with Bluegem Learning. For the last 25 years I've worked with organizations to develop leaders to maximize team performance and improve bottom line productivity. In our last vlog we were talking about the seven types of bad boss and as I was saying, this is one of the most common topics that people come up to me after my workshops and say, "Hey Russ, how do I deal with managing my boss?" So we identified the seven

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Feb 22, 2019
3 min

The 7 Warning Signs of a BAD Boss

Hi there. Russell Stratton, President and Leadership Champion with Bluegem Learning. For the last 25 years I've worked with organizations to develop leaders so that they can maximize team performance and improve bottom line productivity. One of the questions I get asked at a lot of my workshops is... "How do I deal with a bad boss?" This seems to be the number one topic that participants have in their mind. How do I deal with a bad boss? So it got me thinking about people Id

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Feb 15, 2019
6 min

The Survivors Guide To Managing Your Boss

People don’t leave their job - they leave their boss. The business relationship you have with your immediate manager, your boss, is one of, if not the most important relationships you have at work. A good boss can help you progress your career to new heights... ...a bad boss can be like a dead weight around your neck and leave you frustrated and searching the job adverts. In the course of my work I regularly get people come and tell me about their “problem” boss and ask what

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