Who Can You Really Trust?
“I simply can’t trust them,” he said with genuine disappointment in his voice. When delving into the situation more, what this supply chain manager revealed was that the regular supplier of a vital part for his company’s most important product was unreliable. Sometimes they delivered on time. Other times there were significant delays with little communication from them. As we explored the situation further with him, we asked a different question. “You say you can’t trust them
Is Empowerment Merely a Myth?
“You do realize that the popular concept of empowerment is a myth, right?” That’s not what a person usually says to their manager, but the frustrated shift supervisor said it anyway. And her manager was stumped. How should he respond? And what exactly did she mean? So how about you? What’s your understanding of empowerment? Is it a myth or some mystical power effective leaders are able to bestow upon those they lead? Of course not, you may say. So, what is it then? Why do we
Why the Blame Game is Always a Lose-Lose Proposition
When things go wrong, whose fault it? Who’s to blame? And how do you decide? In our role as executive coaches and consultants, we are often called in to help sift through the wreckage of a failed project or other challenging situation that is careening off course. Time after time we discover that a fundamental source of the problem comes back to people’s basic lack of understanding regarding responsibility and accountability. For example, when we begin sorting through a scena
9 Principles of Empowerment We're Seldom Taught
We wrote about empowerment last post and hopefully cleared up some of the confusion about what empowerment is and isn’t. This week, we’d like to continue exploring empowerment by presenting 9 principles well worth remembering. 1. While empowerment is a personal decision and cannot be bestowed on others, we can encourage, stimulate, provide adequate support, and model empowerment within a culture of accountability. 2. As we presented in our post last week, the three key elemen
How to Implement Empowerment Effectively
In our experience, the word “empowerment” is widely misunderstood in both corporate, political, and public life. To get a better understanding of this well-intended term, let’s first talk about what empowerment is not. For example, someone in a news conference or corporate meeting may utter the phrase, “I empower you to . . .” and then they’ll list the job or initiative they want carried out. What exactly do they mean when they say, "I empower you?" When we’ve interviewed a v
Three Secrets to Maximizing Your Power
In coaching and consulting in a variety of companies around the world, we find that there is often confusion about the terms responsibility and accountability. When we’re looking to help a team or department work through a challenge we’ll hear things like, “Well he’s responsible, but not accountable.” Or, “In a matrixed organization, responsibility and accountability or not so clear.” And then there’s, “Well, Jane’s 60% responsible, because she’s the manager, but Arturo and E
Waking Up From the Trance of Disempowerment
Dr. Milton Erickson said, “Most people walk through the world in a trance of disempowerment.” Erickson, considered to be the father of clinical hypnotherapy, succinctly stated the obvious. Personal disempowerment is chronic, with legions of individuals feeling they simply aren’t in control of their lives. If they’re not, their logic tells them, someone else is. That leads to what we call “The Blame Game.” I (Chris) recall creating a comedic game show pilot by that name in an
Are Other People Trying to Force Their Values on You?
We’ve all met authentic people who were living their values. Most of them weren’t celebrities. They were ordinary people, like the car valet who loves cars and treats yours as if it were his own; the waitress who is genuinely friendly, loves serving good food, and does everything she can to help you enjoy a peak dining experience; and the teacher who extends her working day without pay and covers the cost of field trips for kids whose families can’t afford them. What do they
What If I Don't Like Where I Am in Life?
What do you feel called to do? And who do you feel called to be?
Socrates advised that the unexamined life isn’t worth living. Similarly, t
