HCHP - ever heard of it?

This acronym stands for high-commitment and high-performance.

I recommenced you read the HBR July-Aug 2008 article The Uncompromising Leader.

The authors’ premise: HCPH leaders are able to balance the tension between people and performance, refusing to choose between people and profits.

Their four leadership strategies are:

- earn the trust of the organization by being open to the truth
- be deeply engaged with people
- mobilize people through a focused agenda
- build strong leadership teams

My acronym: SMART.

Happy Team?

I just ordered Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities.

This is a hot topic for me: how to embrace differences in opinions and styles; keeping them from becoming negative and ugly-critical but not stifling different points of view.

Artificial harmony – when everyone agrees with each other – is a symptom of a workplace that is broken.

Healthy teams require healthy conflict – and that means speaking up and getting important issues and disagreement out on the table.

So, speak up. Just remember, it is O.K. to disagree but don’t be disagreeable.

Check Out Aretha

Treat Me Right

Seriously, how hard is this? And I mean real respect not just courteous behavior.

We don't feel respected when:

- We are ignored.
- Others make decisions about us without our input.
- We are not asked what we think we need.
- We are not taken seriously.
- We are lied to.
- We are not asked for our ideas.

Starting today - encourage coworkers to express their opinions and ideas and then use those ideas or pieces of those ideas to change or improve work.