Roxi Bahar Hewertson is a leadership expert, Presence-Based® and ICF Certified executive coach and organizational development expert with more than three decades of practical experience in the worlds of higher education, business, and non-profits. She is the CEO of Highland Consulting Group, Inc. and author of two highly-acclaimed books, “Hire Right, Fire Right: A Leader’s Guide To Finding And Keeping Your Best People” (Rowman & Littlefield) and “Lead Like it Matters…Because it Does” (McGraw-Hill). With a successful career focused on developing high performing leaders, Roxi is a foremost authority on helping executives and managers create thriving teams and work cultures that achieve stellar results. Her no nonsense, practical, tell-it-like-it-is insights have graced the TEDx stage and been featured by premier media outlets. She holds an MPS from Cornell University where she was Adjunct Faculty and a Senior Administrator. You can preview her Leading with Impact: Your Ripple Effect Course here. Connect with Roxi online at AskRoxi.com and HighlandConsultingGroupinc.com.
In any group, in any industry, all we have to do is whisper the word, 'meeting', to elicit a groan, eye rolls and sighs. It’s no wonder. When I ask people what percentage of their time is wasted in meetings, the answer is always, always…at least 50% and often far higher.
Too often people find themselves in a position of leading others without the experience or training they need and assume they can, and will, figure it out as they go. While they are 'figuring it out,' a great deal of damage can be done to the people and to the business’s results. These five leadership myths are alive and well today in every enterprise. Let’s take a look at some common leadership mythology.
When you think about, imagine, or hear the word FAILURE, does your heart sink? Do you droop your head or get angry and frustrated? If you don’t, you’re in the minority of folks who can see and react to failure as a new opportunity to try again and again, thinking more like Thomas Edison when he said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." Ice hockey legend, Wayne Gretsky, reminded us that "We miss 100% of the shots we don't take." The truth is that most people, and certainly most leaders, don’t think about failure in a very positive way.
It’s been a wild and bumpy ride over the past eighteen months for everyone, everywhere! Burnout is rampant in many workplaces, and HR professionals are often the most underrecognized workplace heroes, just as vulnerable to burnout as everyone else. If you are feeling physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually drained, you need to pay attention to your own ‘burnout’ meter’ and take care of yourself, so you can better take care of others.
First, let’s address when it’s NOT a good idea to create a new policy. When a manager or supervisor thinks it’s easier to make a policy than deal with a performance issue with one or a few people, they are going to find themselves in a heck of a mess. It’s not a good idea to subject everyone to a policy that is generated by the misdeeds or misunderstandings of a few.
A lot has been written about the importance of culture within a team, a division, or the larger organization. It matters. Culture is akin to the air we breathe – it’s all around us, and even though you might, or might not, be able to see it, you can feel it, you know it’s there. You know it affects how you feel. And just like air, when the wind blows or a storm rolls in, you can feel that, too.
How are Emotional Intelligence and Diversity intertwined with each other as we work to create healthier, more equitable, and diverse workplaces?
We all make immediate assumptions about each other - it’s part of our basic survival instinct driven by our reptilian brain. In a nano-second we decide whether the person in front of us is likely to be more or less safe or dangerous, and then we act according to that instant answer, even as more clues to come into focus.
I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight…
When you are a human resource professional or hiring leader, firing right is just as important a part of your job as is hiring right. No one wakes up in the morning looking forward to terminating a staff member’s employment. In fact, people hate it so much they often wait far too long. While firing the right way won’t eliminate all the pain for either party, it will make the conversation much more palatable.
