What’s this? This is episode 2 of our new show… It Ain’t Easy Being a Human. In this episode, we explore the importance of the tremendous impact leaders can have on the emotional experience, and the sense of wellbeing of the people in their care. Main Points… 1. When your people believe you may be […]

“How can I improve accountability in my team?” That’s the question we get again and again. Sometimes that question comes in different words. And when we dig in, we often find this is the question underneath. Looking for Accountability in Your Team A breakthrough in accountability on your team could become your company’s unfair advantage. […]

We get a lot of people asking us about the ‘F’-word. Feedback Almost every question we get is about how to deliver effective feedback. And that’s a great question. Often overlooked and at least as important… How to receive feedback. People who receive feedback well perform better. They learn and grow faster. They develop more […]

Team maintenance is easy to overlook. You’ve got stuff to do. Your team has stuff to do. THE PROBLEM People are the best part of your business, and they’re the hardest part. Your team has an operating system, an engine, that defines the way it functions. Company culture. And Deloitte gives us a few striking […]

Fear of the unknown is one of the great performance killers. It doesn’t have to be. Embrace the Fear We’ve got a choice. We can freeze. Or flee. Or fight.  Most of us clench our jaw, grit our teeth, hold our breath, and try to face down the fear. That’s the circumstance in which fear […]

We recently conducted a workshop on cultivating a high-performance, collaboration culture at HR West in Oakland. Here’s a teaser. Feedback is a critical component. A Common Critical Feedback Error At one point, a CEO in our workshop loudly bragged. “Here’s what I do. My executive assistant knows she’s doing a good job when she doesn’t […]

Accountability: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions Who’s it for? Accountability is one of the biggest concerns for leaders today. It’s a word I hear multiple times daily. At The Yes Works, we very often get the question, “How do I hold people accountable?” People resist accountability when they […]

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Says who? Often, it’s said to be Peter Drucker — management guru for the ages. Why? How does culture eat strategy for breakfast? Who do you imagine will perform better… A team of competent, motivated, collaborators without a plan at the start of the day, or a team of arrogant, […]

Empathy is a relatively new buzzword in discussions of corporate leadership. And it’s a good thing. Without empathy, leaders cannot profoundly effect employee engagement, motivation, and performance. With empathy, they can. Empathy alone can be disastrous. It’s important to be able to relate to one another’s feelings, to understand where one another is coming from, […]

People often undermine their own leadership development by looking to established leaders for help solving problems that they can solve on their own. It’s a part of human nature, and a personal-risk mitigation play. “If I ask the boss for the solution, I won’t be responsible for any failure.” Put another way, “I won’t get […]

The Dress Code Situation For years, General Motors had a dress code in their employee handbook that was 10 pages long. Whoa. “What’ll I wear today?” Glancing through the closet. “Wait a second, wait a second.” Sitting in the reading chair and picking up a ten pound employee handbook. “Gotta do a little source research […]

With just 5 cents, you can make a major upgrade to your company culture. And are you ready for the kicker? You don’t even have to spend the five cents. You can keep your money and still get the upgrade. Look in the sofa cushions, grab five pennies, and read on. COMPANY CULTURE There’s a […]