Mark Ledden shares a podcast where he is interviewed on how to change problematic behavior.  Mike Merrill:  Hi, I’m Mike Merrill. And I’m here with Kenning partner, Mark. Ledden.  Mark Ledden: Mike. Good to talk to you today. Mike: Today we’re talking about four steps for changing problematic behaviors. Do you want to describe what you mean by problematic behaviors?  Mark:  Yeah, we’ve all got these, right. You can call it a habit. You could call it a reflexive tendency,…

Darryl Stickel shares an article that explores building trust in a hostile environment. Amid the smoke and rubble of destroyed buildings stand a defiant Ukrainian people.  They are determined to protect their homeland from Russian invaders.  The Russians have more weapons, equipment, and trained soldiers.  But, within the borders of Ukraine, the Russians don’t have more people, and they don’t have a leader like Ukrainian President Zelensky. Many leaders must be looking at the situation in Ukraine and wondering how…

Diana Dosik shares a Ted Talk where she explains why we need to treat our employees as thoughtfully as our customers. Today’s companies know everything there is to know about their customers and will stop at nothing to ensure that their experience is pleasant and meaningful. But what if they directed some of that same energy at understanding and engaging their employees? What are the potential payoffs for a better motivated, more loyal and imaginatively innovating workforce? Using her experiences…

Xavier Lederer shares a company post that explains how these five tips will increase your employees’ accountability. My company has lots of potential, but I just feel my employees are not engaged. If I don’t push, nothing seems to happen. I’m working night and day and we’re still missing 40% of our targets. I once dreamed of being a firefighter, I guess that dream has come true. All I do is put out fires, I have no time to focus…

Conflict in the workplace is a common problem for all companies, however, in this article, Bernie Heine offers ways to resolve employee conflict and move it from destructive to productive.  We’re all very familiar with conflict, whether it be in our friendships, familial dynamics, or professional relationships. Conflict is a regular aspect of interpersonal relationships and, when handled productively, can lead to innovative solutions. Not being on the same wavelength with someone frequently occurs in a world of individualism and…

In most workplaces, there will be times when personal biases and issues clash causing workplace problems. In addition to interpersonal trust barriers, trust can be broken at an organizational or governmental level and media often creates silos that reinforce the breakdown of trust. However, there are solutions. Darryl Stickel shares a podcast where he was interviewed on the topic of creating trust in hostile environments. We know that trust is the number one leadership quality…but how do you build trust?…

Amanda Setili shares a short post on the problem of “placebo buttons” in the workplace and how to avoid using them.  Did you know that many “walk” buttons at intersections actually do nothing? Not because they’re broken, but because they were deliberately deactivated when computer-controlled traffic signals were put in place. Even now that I know this, I often find myself standing at an intersection with my bike, pushing “walk” repeatedly, hoping to nudge the traffic light into changing.  Placebo…

Sherif El-Henaoui shares an article that is designed to help you redefine how you identify and deal with difficult people.  Often I hear the term difficult about a person that colleagues don’t like or don’t like working with. I kept thinking about that for a while with the conclusion that there is no such thing like a difficult person. Let me explain using two cases. Case 1: Is John [the person for the sake of the example] understanding / acknowledging…

Barry Horwitz shares a post on employee management and how to ensure you know what’s going on in the workspace. Maybe you’ve seen the news: Apparently, Vladimir Putin is being misled by his advisors who are afraid to tell him that his ill-conceived attack on Ukraine is not going well. While I shudder to think what decisions Putin might make if he knew the truth, this situation is not surprising, since the Russian President is notorious for literally killing the…

Christy Johnson shares a professional development post that provides ten useful links to online courses. As organizations and individuals begin a new chapter of remote work today, this workshop series provides a solid foundation amidst an uncertain time. At Artemis Connection, our team has spent thousands of hours working remotely with clients across the world. It is easy to get swept up in the potential hardship of virtual teamwork, but we assure you there are a lot of benefits to…

Amanda Setili shares insights on managing remote employees from her own experience of working remotely. Many companies are wrestling with how to best manage and motivate the many employees who want to work remotely on a permanent basis. It recently occurred to me that others might benefit from the lessons I’ve learned during the many years that I’ve spent working in a similar manner. While I’m not an employee of my clients, they do depend on me to handle complex…

Barry Horwitz shares a post that explores the meaning of organizational structure, and why the right kind of strength is needed when developing strategies. One of the phrases I frequently hear — often attributed to management guru Peter Drucker — is that “culture eats strategy for lunch.” Many times, what’s being suggested is that strategy is, therefore, irrelevant. Naturally, as a strategist, I disagree! That said, it’s no accident that this quote has survived for as long as it has….

Tineke Keesmaat explains why talking is often better than sending an email when it comes to communicating and leading your team.  Research shows that over 90% of leaders still rely on emails to engage with teams. While email is useful, if you want to be an inspiring leader you need to actually talk with your teams. Here are some ideas to get you started. Orchestrate meaningful in-person sessions. Passion and pace can’t be created in an email. A formula we’ve…

Guillermo Herbozo shares effective guiding principles when implementing an adult learning program in the workplace. No one would know that they just attended three weeks of training” a distressed Manager from a Top 3 US Telecommunications company recently told me. The team had just completed onboarding and most of the team members didn’t have a good understanding of the company’s processes or systems; and they lacked many of the skills required for the job.  “I’ve been working here for 10…

Mark Ledden gets to grips with problematic behavior and how to deal with it, and he shares these insights in this post.  While Kenning coaches do sometimes help our clients learn how to invent and adopt entirely new behavior patterns, we often are asked to help our clients bring behaviors they already exhibit in one context to a different context.  As Ishan (name changed), an SVP I recently worked with, put it, “My boss, the CIO, tells me I need…

As advances in technology improve processes and operations, business leaders must still deal with the prevalent issue of human behavior, especially when it is problematic and recurring. Mark Ledden shares four key steps that can change the negative habits towards the positive. While Kenning coaches do sometimes help our clients learn how to invent and adopt entirely new behavior patterns, we often are asked to help our clients bring behaviors they already exhibit in one context to a different context. …

Jesse Jacoby shares key steps for leaders to help their team accept and manage change. In your role as a leader, you will likely encounter resistance to change at some point from one or more of your own team members. Resistance may come from a variety of sources: An individual with a difficult personality Someone anxious about impending change A person who disagrees with your vision Resistance is usually demonstrated in one of four ways, each with the potential to…

  Jeffery Perry explores what the new normal may look like as the return to the office begins. People want to get back to normal as the world emerges post-pandemic, but this has different implications across aspects of life. Back to normal may apply in social situations like visiting family and friends, dining at restaurants, going to bars, attending sporting events, and enjoying live concerts. However, for people who traditionally work in office settings and who worked remotely for over…

  Robyn Bolton recently had an article published in Forbes that is designed to help business leaders and managers get the best results from proactive employees.  One of the first pieces of professional advice many people receive from their managers is, “Bring me solutions, not problems.” From my perspective, this is good coaching because it teaches people to be problem-solvers, to think critically about the problems they see and to take ownership for solving them. But if you have ever…

  Giving feedback is a delicate process. It is a conversation that involves feelings, egos, judgment, bias, and misunderstandings. Xavier Lederer co-authored this article that provides the key steps on how to give feedback to ensure constructive outcomes.  When I was a young manager, I was panicked by the idea of giving feedback – until I was given a clear 3-step methodology to have ego-less, collaborative, and actionable feedback conversations. Having a feedback conversation is about preparing yourself mentally in…

  Shelli Baltman shares a post from an intern at her company that gives all team leaders, bosses, and managers insight into introverted employees and how to help them integrate.  As someone who’s always been the quiet person in the room, I never could have imagined that I would end up in an organization like The Idea Suite. An unconventional innovation agency teeming with energy, enthusiasm, and passion, we unlock the creative potential of people and businesses through innovation –…

Jesse Jacoby provides a post that explains why it is so difficult to communicate your vision of the corporate culture you would like to have, and what you can do to articulate the abstract. Ask 100 managers how they define organizational culture, and you’ll probably get as many different definitions as possible. Even scholars cannot agree; and that means that your definition is as appropriate as anyone else’s. This makes the challenge, however, of creating the culture that you want…

  Sean McCoy shares a concise post from his company blog that identifies six levers to influence behavior. Our third article in a series about incentives. Incentives are powerful levers for business leaders to change behavior. Sadly, incentives are often under-utilized and mis-used tools. Employee behaviors are a crucial element to every aspect of a business. In some regards, the only way to implement a CEO’s strategy is to change behaviors. If behaviors are not changing, plans are not being…

  Darryl Stickel shares a candid post on executive coaching, and how working with one mid-level manager revealed the problem and the solution to becoming a more effective executive leader. One of the primary differentiating factors between good and great leaders is the ability to understand and build trust. The more senior a leadership role we take on, the less direct control we have over outcomes. We become more and more reliant on those who report to us for our…

  Bernie Heine provides a few cost-effective ways to boost employee engagement, productivity, and loyalty. Showing gratitude to employees is essential, and a good and easy way to do it is with employee incentives that don’t cost money. A good business leader should reward the employees when they deserve it. However, the reason why they often shy away from it is that it costs money. While one could argue that losing valuable employees is more expensive, there’s a middle ground….

  Peter Costa shares a lesson from history to illustrate why leadership without management renders a leader ineffective and possibly dangerous.  What do you think of when you see the word “management”? Probably nothing good.  Management seems to have become a dirty word, the antithesis of what a real leader is supposed to be. I believe it’s time to rethink that view.  To be a truly effective leader, you need to develop a full suite of both leadership AND management…

  Nora Ghaoui shares an article that identifies how to read the signals that predict what people will do next.  Have you ever been in a situation where something happened, say, a relationship ended, and you thought, “I should have seen it coming”? Would you have wanted to see it earlier so you could do something about it? You can. You can see things coming by paying attention to the clues in people’s behaviour that tell you what they will…

  Jesse Jacoby shares a post that illustrates the importance of story, and why the corporate story is the key to engaging employees. We all love a good story, whether our preference is for fiction or nonfiction. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to the news, expanding your mind watching a TEDx talk or listening to a podcast. All these media use stories to communicate their messages. Why? One reason is because it…

  Zaheera Soomar shares a comprehensive and well-researched paper that highlights a framework organisations with remote and virtual teams can use as a guideline to build and maintain trust. Trust is an important concept in assessing and measuring business behaviour from an organisational performance and culture lens, and has become a source of competitive advantage for organisations especially within the knowledge economy. Studies show that organizations with a high level of trust have increased employee morale, more productive workers, and…

  Christy Johnson provides two valuable resources with reviews of tools to help guide your team through the current pandemic situation and maintain productivity, boost morale, and ensure effective communication.   The internet is saturated with ‘remote work tips and tricks,’ ’10 ways to stay focused,’ ‘best home office tools and gear,’ and other guides to make remote work more productive. At Artemis Connection, we believe there is something missing: research-based tools to foster employee morale and effective team communication…

  As the disruption continues, many businesses struggle to retain their employees. This post from David Burnie’s company provides strategies that can help keep employees on board, engaged, and motivated. Happy, successful employees are critical for a successful company. While companies must consider how to retain employees at the best of times, employee retention is an especially pressing topic during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Ontario continues social distancing indefinitely, maintaining an engaged staff will offer a sense of stability to…

  Sarah Ralston Miller and Zaheera Soomar co-authored this article on how to support and strengthen company culture during the current crisis.  Through the Covid-19 pandemic, our world of work has changed almost overnight. In the past few weeks, we’ve spoken with senior leaders at organizations with whom we have been working to strengthen their ethical culture. These leaders understand that their culture is an essential resource to navigate through the current crisis, and are finding new ways to cultivate…

  In this detailed article, Surbhee Grover identifies the decision-making inputs and new market approaches that will be required to survive in the new economy. For entrepreneurs, coming out of COVID-19 isn’t the end of a crisis. It’s the beginning of a new way of thinking about their approach to product-market fit, financing, marketing and go-to-market strategies. And for some, will be a time to reflect on their personal approach to risk. The exponential pace of change to society will…

  As more employees work from home, it is important to establish clear guidelines and routines, this post from David Burnie’s company provides ten questions businesses should ask to ensure the switch to working remotely runs smoothly.  Establishing a work from home (WFH) program is an essential part of a business continuity plan. In the current COVID 19 crisis, executing a work from home (WFH) policy is a top priority for organizations. A robust work from home policy will enable…

  Dan Markovitz explains why some methods of measuring performance and quality seriously lack the data to make an impact.   Pity the employees at a Starbucks in midtown NYC. In a misguided attempt to improve quality, the management posts monthly scores on a variety of metrics. . . without understanding anything about effective use of metrics. Measurement is a good idea, but only if it’s done well. These measurements? Not so much.  If you read Mark Graban’s blog or book,…

  Stephen Redwood provides answers to commonly asked questions that help his clients increase the strategic value of Human Resources (HR). If there is one thing that has been a constant over my years in HR and decades as a consultant, it has been the sense that the HR function is too often a supplicant to other functions and lacks the confidence to see itself as an equal. So, when clients ask me how they should be thinking about the…

  It takes more than talent to become a valued employee in today’s workplace. Sherif El Henaoui identifies the benefits of finding the right fit.  Top people are desired. Every company wants them: the intelligent, creative, endurable, high-performance worker. Since this desired workforce is rare, there is a “war” as suggested by the HR literature. I once heard a quote of a McKinsey partner commenting on the Internet bubble crisis saying, “We won the war for talent, but we ended…

  Mike Cox answers a question that is close to the heart of every business owner and entrepreneur who may be considering bringing new people into the business, “How much equity should I give a new hire.”   This question greys the hair of every business owner and entrepreneur. After all owners bear the burden of risk regardless of how they answer that question and the more that they choose to let go of equity, the less they feel like…