Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

How to Incorporate Pause into Leadership

As a leader, have you stopped, pause, and reflected before reacting?  I know this can be difficult at times, especially when in the middle of a crisis.  We want to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.  When pausing, we won’t jump immediately into the wrong conclusion.

Incorporating the Art of Pause into Leadership:

The PAUSE and REFLECT Technique
When at work and someone is rude to you. Or you don’t agree with them.  Pause for three to five seconds before responding. Pausing will give you time to reframe your reply or decide not to respond at all.

Pause, Reflect and Don’t send an email response you will regret!
I think everyone has sent an email they regretted sending sometime or another.

What if you receive a nasty passive/aggressive email?  
 Before responding to the email.  Write out your reply. Don’t send it and walk away. If possible sleep on it.  Then rewrite the email response, when you have calmed down. Have someone else read it to help tone down the language before hitting the send button.

“Anger doesn’t solve anything.  It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything”. – unknown

Don’t get me wrong as a leader. There are times you have to be direct with employees for them to improve their work performance. We can’t ignore the situation and let it continue. Have a plan on how to address it.  Write it out and practice what and how to say it. There are also times when you do need to respond immediately and make a quick decision. When possible, take the opportunity to pause and reflect. What is happening around you?  It may change your approach and captivate a great solution.

Discussion Questions:

What are your thoughts about the art of pause?

How will you incorporate it into your leadership style?

Comments are always welcome.  You can always use your initials or anonymous for your name, if this makes you feel more comfortable to respond.  🙂   Did you find this helpful?  if so, please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks!  Thank you. 🙂

For more information about Becoming a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

Do you want even more work-life balance strategies? Come and join the Facebook group called Work-Life Balance with Patti

Work-Life Balance Hacks for Busy Leaders who LOVE their Career but Want MORE in Life! 

This mini course is for leaders who are crazy busy, working 24/7 and want something more in life beyond their career.  7 easy hacks to create some personal life balance in this so-called busy life!

Enroll today for $25.00

To schedule “one on one coaching” with Patti – click on the “Schedule Now” button below:

Online scheduling

Incorporate the Art of Pausing into Your Leadership!
Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration, Polls

Tips on How to Reverse Rude Behavior in Meetings

As a leader having efficient and effective meetings is crucial to running a successful business. Group meetings that aren’t productive are a waste of valuable time and cost the company money.

Have you ever been in a meeting, and there is at least one person or all attendees that have nothing positive to say about anything?

I remember one day I finally snapped in a meeting. My leader wasn’t listening and talked over me while explaining why my team needed some technical help. So I started raising my voice over my leader. I was so upset with myself. That day, I realized this isn’t for me, and I didn’t particularly appreciate pushed to respond that way. I knew that this was the norm for the group, always trying to one-up, and I didn’t want to play anymore. I started putting my exit plan into action; it was time to remove myself from working there.

 

What are rude behaviors in meetings?

  • Interrupting the person speaking
  • Not listening, acting bored, or lack of engagement
  • Being disrespectful to the speaker
  • Two people talking privately among themselves while someone else is speaking
  • People are just plain hostile to each other
  • Arguing over whose point is right
  • Over talking each other
  • Sarcastic, mean comments to the speaker or each other
  • Being very judgmental to each other
  • One-upping each other
  • Participants taking everything that is said very personally due to the hostile interaction
  • Embarrassing the host or leader with malicious remarks

I have been in group meetings where all of these actions have happened, been the target, and been a participant in some disrespectful behaviors. I am not proud of the way I acted, discourteous and unprofessional at times, but that was acceptable to voice your opinion. Was this behavior a way to conquer and get what was needed? Not really. Did anything get resolved? Most of the time, nothing accomplished.

What lesson did I learn? I wanted things to be different, and I probably cared too much. I was tired, beaten down, disrespected, and unhappy with the results. I knew nothing would change in these meetings, and I had to either accept it, change my thinking or leave.

 

  • On the bright side, my team at the time had a code of conduct for our meetings. People were respectful to each other and followed them. If someone didn’t follow the code of conduct, including me, the team would call you out on it. Things got resolved, and people felt heard.

    What happened to common courtesy, collaboration, and respectfulness towards each other?

    How can we change the behavior? I believe it takes one person at a time and the leader to lead by example and reverse this unprofessional behavior.

    Here are some tips:

    • Set up rules of conduct for meeting(s). Go over them at the beginning of each meeting as a reminder. Have the code of conduct on the agenda template. As time goes on with the same group of attendees, the code of conduct will not need addressing because it is on the agenda. I would recommend that a new person attend the meeting to read the code of conduct at the beginning of the meeting.
    • When someone says something negative, turn to them and say something positive about the topic or person.
    • When someone intentionally breaks meeting etiquette, politely remind them or refer to the code of conduct.
    • As the leader, focus on following the code of conduct, leading by example, and positive meeting etiquette will become achievable by all participants.
    • Redirect the “off-topic” discussions for later.

     

Takeaway:

Having a set code of conduct and behavior etiquette is so essential to running successful meetings. Being courteous and respectful allows everyone to speak, be heard, participate, engage, and this is when great results will happen. Be organized and prepared. As a leader, we lead by example and if we are not focused and engaged; our employees will not be either. ~ Patti

Comments are always welcome. You can use your initials or anonymous for your name if this makes you feel more comfortable responding. 🙂 Did you find this helpful? If so, please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks! Thank you. 🙂

For more information about Becoming a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

To schedule “one on one coaching” with Patti – click on the “Schedule Now” button below:

Online scheduling

Does my work bring value to you and others? If you enjoyed this blog post, how about sharing a cup of coffee with me

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

The Leadership of Pete Nelson – the Treehouse Master


My husband and I enjoyed watching the TV show the Treehouse Masters on the Animal Planet channel.  Pete Nelson is the Treehouse Master.  He is a gentle and kind man.  He is passionate about his job.  He loves to have fun and designs each treehouse very special for his clients.

Treehouses lift the spirits. They inspire dreams. They represent freedom: from adults or adulthood, from duties and responsibilities, from an earthbound perspective. If we can’t fly with the birds, at least we can nest with them. – Pete Nelson

The treehouse(s) that Pete Nelson and his crew build are unique.  Pete meets with his clients and designs what they want.  He spends time getting to know his client(s) by asking questions and really listening to their desires.  He is friendly and open.  Pete gets very excited exploring and finding the perfect location with the right type of tree(s) to support the treehouse. When his clients see the treehouse for the first time their expressions of joy are priceless.

When his clients see the treehouse for the first time their expressions of joy are priceless.

Pete Nelson Leadership Style:   He meets with his crew, gives them instructions and they build the treehouse. Pete gets out of the way and let’s his crew do their jobs.  You can tell the staff love their work.  They joke around but pay attention to detail.  They work in all kinds of weather and still enjoy it.

What can we learn from Pete Nelson leadership style?

  • It is okay to laugh and have fun at work
  • Spend time getting to know your client(s) by asking questions and really listening
  • Take every client(s) challenging request and make it a reality
  • Give your client more than they ever dreamed possible
  • Get out of the way and let your staff do their job
  • Trust your staff that they will do a great job when you are not around

Discussion Question:

What can you incorporate starting today in your leadership from Pete Nelson example as a leader?

Comments are always welcome.  You can always use your initials or anonymous for your name, if this makes you feel more comfortable to respond.  🙂   Did you find this helpful?  If so, please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks!  Thank you. 🙂

For more information about Becoming a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

Are you interested in one to one coaching with me?  I have coaching packages available.  Contact me at patti@coachingforinspirationwithpatti.com

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

The Leadership of Inspector Edmund Reid

I like mysteries whether reading books or watching TV series.  Currently, I am watching the TV Series on Netflix called Ripper Street based in the East End of London in the Whitechapel district in the 1889’s and beyond.  There is violence, cruelty, corruption and human trafficking.  There are times it is hard to watch due to the nature of these acts.  The TV shows starts six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper’s murders. The main character is Inspector Edmund Reid.  Inspector Reid and his team had been in charge of the investigation of the Jack the Ripper’s murders. Imagine the stress, guilt and dissappointment they felt from not finding the murderer.

Inspector Reid is a workaholic driven by his failure to capture Jack the Ripper, his daughter Mathilda is missing and presumed dead and his wife Emily left him.  Inspector Reid works most nights in his office trying to solve cases to make Whitechapel safer. He is obsessed with his job and it takes Inspector Drake his former Sergeant for him to see the importance of appreciating his staff and their loyalty to each other.  

Inspector Reid has many good qualities, but is very much human and has made some devastating mistakes throughout his career and personal life.  His values were tempted, tested and sometimes failed him.

He works day and night to protect his district from evil and corruption but at times his emotions get the better of him.  Does he care too much?  Maybe?  That is probably one of his best qualities, as well as one of his worst.  Caring too much for the greater good and wanting to make his part of the world a better place.

Caring too much will swallow you whole.    Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline said to Inspector Reid

Now, why do I say caring too much?  Sometimes when you care too much it becomes a down fall for a leader because you trust others, betrayal happens and then you become jaded by those actions.  Getting hurt by others who are doing things for their own personal gain and will step on anyone to get what they want.

This happened to Inspector Reid.  One of his constables was spying on him for another Inspector who was corrupt.  Due to the betrayal it cost lives and changed Inspector Reid forever.

As a Leader, have you care too much and been betrayed?

When you are in a management position you will be betrayed.  People have their own personal agenda’s and a leader’s values are tested.  That may sound harsh but it does happen.

We battle monsters and we become monsters.   That Abyss you talk about it’s not only around or out there, it is inside us.  It’s a blackness that swallows all light.  – Inspector Drake to Inspector Reid

Inspector Reid response – We are the abyss.

How does a leader fall? 

🦋  When they lose site of their vision, values and purpose.  

🦋  Sometimes those values, visions and purpose are ripped away. 

🦋  Sometimes they get lost in someone else’s personal gain.

🦋  Sometimes the leader becomes jaded, by betrayal and trust is damaged.

No leader is perfect.  We all have some sort of flaws.  A good leader has empathy and does care.  By not letting disappointment and lack of vision destroy you is the key to staying sane in a world of disarray.  

Discussion Question:

As a leader, have you ever cared too much?

Comments are always welcome.  

Please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks!  Thank you. 🙂

To schedule “one on one coaching” with Patti – click on the “Schedule Now” button below:

Online scheduling

Does my work bring value to you and others? If you enjoyed this blog post, how about sharing a cup of coffee with me

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration, Polls

When There Isn’t Enough and Emotions Get in the Way

In today’s blog post I am going to tell a story about getting upset over a situation which may sound ridiculous.

Recently, I was at the bowling alley.  I get to the bowling alley pretty early to reserve a table and chairs for my team. Tables are precious commodity because there are not enough tables for all the bowling teams.  If you don’t get a table your team has to sit down on the lanes or stand up all night.

Past experience:

I’ve had people actually move my stuff off the table or take chairs if I walked away.  Now, when I get a table I feel I can’t even walk away until one of my bowling team members comes and sits down.

Usually, I am pretty easy-going and don’t confront people on their rude behaviors.  But this particular day I had enough and said something.

My version of what happened:

This guy (I will call him Fred) from another bowling team grabbed one of the chairs at my table and move it so his daughter could sit down and Fred put her right in front of our table.  He didn’t say anything to me just grabbed the chair.  If Fred had asked me I would have said sure she can have the chair and go get another chair.

Here are the thoughts that were going in my head:

I get there an hour and a half early to reserve the table and chairs and Fred walks in 15 minutes before bowling starts and acts like he owns the place.

So I said to Fred you need to get me another chair.  He said ma’am you are being rude just take another chair from the table next to you.  Then one of his team members says to me “you already have 6 chairs”.  I had 5 chairs for the 5 team members on my team.  I wasn’t going to take one from another reserved table.

Then Fred commanded his daughter to grab a chair from the table next to me which another team had been saving almost as long as me.   His daughter didn’t want to do it.  But Fred insisted and she did.

I was so angry.  Usually, I wouldn’t have been mad or even said anything but his attitude and arrogance reeked of “I don’t care” and “I am going to do what I want”.  No consideration at all to others.

So I told (Chuck, not real name) on another team what happened and Fred said “quit talking behind my back the chair was for my daughter”.  This made Chuck very uncomfortable, he got up and said I don’t know what to tell you, talk to the league secretary.  Later, I found out Fred and Chuck are sort of friends.  (Awkward!).  The reason I told Chuck is because he was there early just like me and has had similar things happen with his tables.

Feeling embarrassed and betrayed I did a group text to my bowling team about the chair incident.  This foolish chair escapade had me upset all night, needless to say I didn’t bowl good, however Fred did.

At the end of the bowling night one of my team members (Seth, not real name) went and spoke with Fred.  Fred told Seth that he had a rough day and he was just getting the chair for his daughter.  Seth said to Fred if you asked her she would have gladly given you the chair.

Why do we get so upset over the little things and continue not to let it go?

Yes, I should have probably handled the situation in a totally different way but I didn’t.  Yes, I probably shouldn’t have gotten other people involved, but I did.

Was it ridiculous to get upset over a chair?

Maybe, however the small things will continue to add up into bigger things when the issue is not resolved.

Takeaway:

We all make choices whether good or bad throughout life.  Each day is a learning lesson.  Sometimes not saying anything is the best result.  Maybe the less we respond to rude people, the less drama we create in our lives.  Here is a good reminder. You may never know what someone else is going through and just maybe they’re having a really bad day.  Be kind anyways. ~ Patti 🦋

🦋 My question for you 🦋

 How would you have handled this situation?

 

Comments are always welcome.  

Please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks!  

Do you want better relationships? If yes, come hang out with Angela Ambrosia, Love & Relationship coach and me while listening to all of our podcast adventures called Building Better Relationships at Home and Work with Angela & Patti Podcast

Want even more tips about creating better relationships? Come join our Facebook group called Building Better Relationships at Home and Work with Angela & Patti Facebook Group

Does my work bring value to you and others? If you enjoyed this blog post, how about sharing a cup of coffee with me.

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

How Do We Reattach with Work at the Start of a New Day?

This question below was recently tweeted to me and few other coaches by Robbie Stakelum @Robbie_BXL.  He attached a new study on reattachment.

In professional and personal coaching we often talk about importance of detaching from work outside of working hours.  But how do we reattach with work at the start of the day? Do we have routines that set ourselves up for a productive day?

What does being reattached to work mean?

According to the new study Sonnentag and Kühnel (2016: 380) described reattachment to work as rebuilding a mental connection to one’s work after a non-work period (e.g., a free evening or a weekend). Reattachment means thinking about the upcoming workday and mentally preparing for it.

My Response:

I thought I would spend some time answering this question here in a blog post. There is no way I could respond with 140 characters on Twitter.   Plus this study and question has me fired up BEWARE!  

Yes, I feel all employees should be reattached when they are at work.  People need to be focused, motivated and actually do their job!

At the start of the work-week or start of the work-day, of course, you need to mentally prepare for it, however, my regular audience are the people who don’t turn off work and are constantly thinking about work 24/7, they don’t unattached from work at all, this is why they need work-life balance strategies.

I know there are people who don’t reattach at work.  They do the bare minimum not to get fired and are just going through the motions.  In their mindset, they are just collecting a paycheck. They make their coworkers and supervisors angry because they are not lightening the workload.  Yes, they really do need to step it up, reattach and take pride in working.  Do they ever wonder why they don’t get promoted or respected.  Well, it is because they are not attached to doing their job.

It’s time to reattach!

You have come back from the weekend or a vacation.  I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and relaxed.  Now, it’s time to get back to work.

How do you get reattached to work?  It’s quite simple.  Motivation comes from within the person.  You have a job to do.  Time to get refocused on your job duties.

🦋  During your commute get into the right mindset of going back to work.

🦋  When you get to work prioritize your workload.

🦋  Concentrate on the things you need to get accomplished and complete them.

Conclusion from the Study:

Taken together, this study brought to light the multiple pathways by which reattachment to work in the morning relates to work engagement during the day. Results suggest that reattaching to work before actually starting work sets the tone for the workday through anticipating high task focus, mobilizing positive activated affect, and recognizing available job resources. Task focus, positive activated affect, and the availability of job resources, in turn, enable high work engagement. Reattachment to work in the morning is a low-effort strategy that employees can use in order to start their workday in an optimal way. Organizations may develop norms and routines that help employees reattach to work and that support them in smoothly transitioning into the workday.

My view of the conclusion of the study:

I do agree with the study that reattachment to work in the morning has a positive effect on your day and work performance.   I don’t agree with the study, that it is up to organizations to develop norms and routines to help employees reattach to work and support them in smoothly transitioning into the workday.  I believe that motivation comes from within the employee, not the organization developing norms and routines for them.

Takeaway:

Employees need to take responsibility and accountability for their own work performance.  It is not up to the organization to develop norms and routines for reattachment to work.  Who wants to be known as (“the slacker” or “that person”) who everyone dislikes because they aren’t focus on their job duties and others have to carry their workload.  Be responsible, accountable, motivated, engaged and take pride in your work performance.  It really is easy to reattach yourself to your work, if you set your mind to it. ~ Patti

Please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks! 

How about creating Harmony in Your Life; click on the link  21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop.

Stay up to date and receive the Coaching for Inspiration with Patti quarterly newsletter by clicking HERE.

Follow Coaching for Inspiration with Patti for daily updates on FACEBOOK  and TWITTER

Do you want more work-life balance strategies? Come and join my new Facebook group called Work-Life Balance with Patti

Do you want better relationships? If yes, come hang out with Angela Ambrosia, Love & Relationship coach and me while listening to all of our podcast adventures called Building Better Relationships at Home and Work with Angela & Patti Podcast

Want even more tips about creating better relationships? Come join our Facebook group called Building Better Relationships at Home and Work with Angela & Patti Facebook Group

This question below was recently tweeted to me and few other coaches by Robbie Stakelum @Robbie_BXL.  He attached a new study on reattachment.

In professional and personal coaching we often talk about importance of detaching from work outside of working hours.  But how do we reattach with work at the start of the day? Do we have routines that set ourselves up for a productive day?

What does being reattached to work mean?

According to the new study Sonnentag and Kühnel (2016: 380) described reattachment to work as rebuilding a mental connection to one’s work after a non-work period (e.g., a free evening or a weekend). Reattachment means thinking about the upcoming workday and mentally preparing for it.

My Response:

I thought I would spend some time answering this question here in a blog post. There is no way I could respond with 140 characters on Twitter.   Plus this study and question has me fired up BEWARE!  

Yes, I feel all employees should be reattached when they are at work.  People need to be focused, motivated and actually do their job!

At the start of the work-week or start of the work-day, of course, you need to mentally prepare for it, however, my regular audience are the people who don’t turn off work and are constantly thinking about work 24/7, they don’t unattached from work at all, this is why they need work-life balance strategies.

I know there are people who don’t reattach at work.  They do the bare minimum not to get fired and are just going through the motions.  In their mindset, they are just collecting a paycheck. They make their coworkers and supervisors angry because they are not lightening the workload.  Yes, they really do need to step it up, reattach and take pride in working.  Do they ever wonder why they don’t get promoted or respected.  Well, it is because they are not attached to doing their job.

It’s time to reattach!

You have come back from the weekend or a vacation.  I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and relaxed.  Now, it’s time to get back to work.

How do you get reattached to work?  It’s quite simple.  Motivation comes from within the person.  You have a job to do.  Time to get refocused on your job duties.

🦋  During your commute get into the right mindset of going back to work.

🦋  When you get to work prioritize your workload.

🦋  Concentrate on the things you need to get accomplished and complete them.

Conclusion from the Study:

Taken together, this study brought to light the multiple pathways by which reattachment to work in the morning relates to work engagement during the day. Results suggest that reattaching to work before actually starting work sets the tone for the workday through anticipating high task focus, mobilizing positive activated affect, and recognizing available job resources. Task focus, positive activated affect, and the availability of job resources, in turn, enable high work engagement. Reattachment to work in the morning is a low-effort strategy that employees can use in order to start their workday in an optimal way. Organizations may develop norms and routines that help employees reattach to work and that support them in smoothly transitioning into the workday.

My view of the conclusion of the study:

I do agree with the study that reattachment to work in the morning has a positive effect on your day and work performance.   I don’t agree with the study, that it is up to organizations to develop norms and routines to help employees reattach to work and support them in smoothly transitioning into the workday.  I believe that motivation comes from within the employee, not the organization developing norms and routines for them.

Takeaway:

Employees need to take responsibility and accountability for their own work performance.  It is not up to the organization to develop norms and routines for reattachment to work.  Who wants to be known as (“the slacker” or “that person”) who everyone dislikes because they aren’t focus on their job duties and others have to carry their workload.  Be responsible, accountable, motivated, engaged and take pride in your work performance.  It really is easy to reattach yourself to your work, if you set your mind to it. ~ Patti

Please share this blog post with your colleagues, friends, and family on all your social networks! 

How about creating Harmony in Your Life; click on the link  21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop.

Stay up to date and receive the Coaching for Inspiration with Patti quarterly newsletter by clicking HERE.

Follow Coaching for Inspiration with Patti for daily updates on FACEBOOK  and TWITTER

Do you want more work-life balance strategies? Come and join my new Facebook group called Work-Life Balance with Patti

Do you want better relationships? If yes, come hang out with Angela Ambrosia, Love & Relationship coach and me while listening to all of our podcast adventures called Building Better Relationships at Home and Work with Angela & Patti Podcast

Want even more tips about creating better relationships? Come join our Facebook group called Building Better Relationships at Home and Work with Angela & Patti Facebook Group

To schedule “one on one coaching” with Patti – click on the “Schedule Now” button below:

Online scheduling
Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

I USED TO BE A PEOPLE PERSON THEN PEOPLE RUINED IT!

I used to be a people person then people ruined it! ~ unknown

My husband and I were at Walmart and we saw this phrase on a T-shirt.  I held up the T-shirt and said I am going to buy this.  Being a leadership and work-life balance coach my job is to encourage people not to feel this way.  So why did I want to buy the T-Shirt?  Well, to be honest I had many days that I felt this way.

Have you ever felt this way?  I know I did throughout my career especially when knee-deep in the day-to-day grind (Bull Sh*t).  There were days I would go home and think why are people so hateful, judgmental, petty and disrespectful.  Myself included.

What happened to kindness, empathy and compassion?

Reflection Questions About Daily Interactions With Ambitious People

Why is everything about who can “one up” each other?

Why is “knowledge power”?  Instead of sharing it.

What happened to being genuinely happy for a coworker and recognizing their accomplishments?

Why is being so “busy” acceptable and “ignoring” family okay?

When will these concepts change in leadership?

Is anybody else out there ready for a mind shift in some basic decency and respect towards others? I know I am!

How about you?

To answer the 🔥 burning question:  Did I buy the T-Shirt?Yes, I did. 🙂

P.S.  I have received so many comments from people when I wear this T-Shirt.  Like: That shirt is so funny.  Oh, that shirt is so true.  I love that shirt! Why do you think that is?

Would love to see your thoughts and comments about this topic. ~ Patti

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, and family on your social networks! Sharing is caring.

For more information about Becoming a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

How about creating Harmony in Your Life; click on the link  21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop.

Want “one to one coaching” with Patti – email me patti@coachingforinspirationwithpatti.com

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Inspirational Moments, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration

Bad Leadership Styles Series

Bad Leadership Styles Series

Thank you for joining me with the Bad Leadership Styles series. I know as a leader, I have been all of these at one point or another. Recognizing it and realizing there are going to be bad days and we are going to mess up.

Breathe, pause, pray about it, then regroup and apologize when needed. Forgive and let go.

Mistakes and bad experiences help us grow to become better leaders. My intention for this series is to give you insight and wisdom on your own personal leadership journey.

A truly great Boss is hard to find, difficult to part with and impossible to forget!  ~ unknown

I hope this series inspired you to become a great boss. ~ Patti

In case you missed any of the Bad Leadership series here are the links below:

The Destruction of the Absentee Leader

The Hazardous Results of the Inflexible Leader

The Signs of a Workplace Bully Leader

The Dangers of Leadership Ghosting

The Draining of Leadership Vampires

For more information about Becoming a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

To schedule “one on one coaching” with Patti – click on the “Schedule Now” button below:
Online scheduling
Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration, Polls

The Signs of a Workplace Bully Leader!

The Signs of a Workplace Bully Leader

Bullying in the workplace has become an important topic in today’s world of leadership. Many of us have experienced workplace bullying during some time in our careers.

Today, I am going to discuss the warning signs of Workplace Bully Leaders to increase awareness.

What is Workplace Bullying?

According to Wikipedia  Workplace bullying is a persistent mistreatment pattern from others in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm. It can include such tactics as verbalnonverbalpsychologicalphysical abuse, and humiliation. This type of workplace aggression is particularly difficult because, unlike the typical school bully, workplace bullies often operate within the established rules and policies of their organization and their society. In the majority of cases, bullying in the workplace is reported as having been by someone who has authority over their victim. However, bullies can also be peers, and occasionally subordinates. 

Signs of a Possible Workplace Bully Leaders:

    • Demeaning, disrespectful, and devaluing employees capabilities
    • Public ridicule, sarcastic, insults, name-calling, threats, and intimidation
    • Targeting and creating social isolation with staff
    • Blaming, lying, gossiping, spreading rumors and whispering
    • Failing to give credit to employees for their work
    • Overloading targeted employee with a huge workload
    • Micro-Manages and commands respect without earning it
    • A know it all

Bully leaders create isolation and silo work environments. They divide staff and departments to keep control.

Why don’t people speak up? Employees are afraid of losing their jobs.

Bullying by leadership has several physical and behavioral health issues for the targeted employees.

Warning Signs of an Employee Being Bullied:

  • Becomes less socially active or confident
  • Appears scared, stressed, anxious or depressed
  • Calling out sick more frequently than normal
  • Physical signs of tension such as headaches, backaches, not sleeping well, and suicidal thoughts

If bullying is unaddressed, the aggression and unresolved conflicts will continue to escalate. When not dealt with, it causes adverse effects on the targeted workers – maybe even psychological, financial and physical burdens.

The Results to the Employers: 

  • High Turnover and Absenteeism
  • Low Productivity
  • Lack of Creativity
  • Legal Costs
  • Damaged Reputation

If you recognize Workplace Bully Leaders in your organization or within yourself:

Here are a few tips to encourage behavioral change for this type of leadership style.

  • Sit down with them and discuss the behavior you have observed
  • Ask questions, give feedback on their management style and suggestions on how to improve engagement with staff
  • Set a zero-tolerance approach to workplace bullying
  • Build trust and open-door policies to discuss bullying
  • Schedule leadership training courses, primarily on bullying – Udemy.com
  • Schedule emotional intelligent courses – Udemy.com
  • Schedule interpersonal communication courses – Udemy.com
  • Schedule conflict resolution courses – Udemy.com
  • Schedule constructive criticism courses – Udemy.com
  • Read John C. Maxwell Relationships 101 book
  • Get them a mentor who is a successful leader
  • Hire a leadership coach to help them succeed
  • Becoming a Better Leader [e-Book] Click here to download your copy.

Takeaway:

Bullying promotes an atmosphere of fear, vulnerability, anxiousness, and uncertainty. Awareness is the key to change. Develop a zero-tolerance workplace accompanied by training, coaching, and mentoring to display compassion, empathy, safety, and trust.

Have you had a Workplace Bully as a Boss?  

If yes, How did they make you feel?  

How did you overcome it?

Answering these questions above and sharing your experiences may help someone else dealing with a workplace bully.

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, and family on your social networks! Sharing is caring.

How about creating Harmony in Your Life; click on the link  21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop to learn more.

Want “one to one coaching” with Patti – email me patti@coachingforinspirationwithpatti.com

Posted in Blog, Business Inspiration, Career Inspiration, Leadership Inspiration, Personal Inspiration, Polls

The Destruction of the Absentee Leader


What is an absentee leader?

An absentee leader is someone in a leadership position who is psychologically absent from their responsibilities. They are known as the “silent killers.”

Here are some characteristics of an absentee leader:

  • Psychologically absent from their staff.
  • Take value out of an organization without contributing back.
  • These leaders are laissez-faire (to let people do as they choose)
  • Don’t show up to meetings, unresponsive to emails, give zero feedback, and share important information with employees.
  • Seldom engage with staff.

Organizations rarely confront absentee leaders. If left unaddressed, they can halt succession planning, block potential staff from promoting and cause unproductivity in the workplace. Those who report to them may become frustrated, which negatively impacts the employees and the work environment.

Teams with absent supervisors often feel they have no direction, are unrecognized, neglected, and overlooked without clear goals, guidance, and feedback. Employees don’t develop under an absentee leader.

The Destruction of the Absentee Leader:

  • Degrades the employee’s job satisfaction
  • May lead to job performance uncertainty
  • Employee’s stress levels and talents become drained

As long as the absentee leader has an employee who will pick up the slack, this behavior will continue. The absentee leader enjoys the perks and entitlements of their title but isn’t doing the job. This type of leadership style is destructive. The hard-working employees who do the work aren’t receiving the support, recognition, or crucial feedback. The absentee leader accepts credit when things are going right and pushes the staff’s blame when things are not.

Suppose you recognize an absentee leader in your organization or within yourself. Here are a few tips to encourage behavioral change in this leadership style.

Companies don’t always see the effects of this leadership style until the damage has already occurred.

Takeaway:

Recognize the absentee leader within your organization or inside yourself and address the situation. Employees want a leader who is there for them. Staff follows a leader who will coach, train, motivate, recognize their accomplishments, and help them to succeed.

 

Have you experienced an absentee leader?  If yes, What was it like?

Comments are always welcome and please share this post with your colleagues, friends, and family on your social networks! Sharing is caring.

How about creating Harmony in Your Life; click on the link  21- Days Optimal Work/Life Balance Workshop to learn more.

Want “one to one coaching” with Patti – email me patti@coachingforinspirationwithpatti.com