Culture, Leadership, People
Matthew Harrington
Unlock the Secrets to Revitalize and Retain ...

We are thrilled to announce the release of our new e-book, "Revitalize and Retain Staff", now available for free download on our website! This comprehensive guide is packed with actionable strategies designed to boost employee engagement, retention, and resilience. Whether you're leading a small team or managing a large organization, this resource is your roadmap to creating a thriving workplace where people want to stay, grow, and succeed.

Unlock the Secrets to Revitalize and Retain Your Staff: E-Book Launch Today!
People, Leadership
Matthew Harrington
The Deep Ocean Model – Unseen Currents of ...

This post draws parallels between ocean currents and human behavior, suggesting that just as deep currents shape the surface waves, underlying beliefs drive visible behaviors. These beliefs, though often unseen, influence actions and decisions in the workplace, making it essential for leaders to uncover and address them rather than merely focusing on surface behaviors. By engaging in meaningful belief discussions, leaders can guide behavior changes, much like oceanographers study currents to predict and influence ocean movements.

The Deep Ocean Model – Unseen Currents of Belief and the Behavior That Shape Us
People, Leadership
Matthew Harrington
The Leader as a Gardener of People: Maturity

The final stage of development, Maturity, represents team members who have high aptitude and attitude, capable of bearing fruit and mentoring others. Leaders should empower these individuals by delegating responsibilities and encouraging them to guide those in earlier stages, like the Adolescent follower. By assessing and strategically supporting each team member's growth, leaders can cultivate a thriving and productive environment where everyone can flourish.

The Leader as a Gardener of People: Maturity
Leadership, People
Matthew Harrington
The Leader as a Gardener of People: Disgruntled ...

The "Disgruntled" stage in a follower’s development mirrors the secondary growth phase of plants, where individuals become experienced but may harbor negative attitudes and exhibit inconsistent behavior. These team members often have high aptitude but are susceptible to negativity, which can impact both their performance and the morale of others. Leaders must address these behaviors through open communication, setting clear expectations, and providing opportunities for growth to help them re-engage positively with the organization.

The Leader as a Gardener of People: Disgruntled Stage
People, Leadership
Matthew Harrington
The Leader as a Gardener of People: Adolescent ...

The "Adolescent" stage of follower development, akin to the teenage years, is a critical period where initial enthusiasm fades, and individuals start testing boundaries while seeking greater responsibility. Leaders must adopt a coaching approach that balances support and accountability, addressing behaviors that don’t align with organizational values, reinforcing early wins, and consistently adhering to established boundaries and goals. By proactively coaching and maintaining a positive environment, leaders can help their team members navigate this transitional phase and continue their growth into confident, competent contributors.

The Leader as a Gardener of People: Adolescent Stage

conflict

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The Leader as a Gardener of People: Adolescent Stage

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The Leader as a Gardener of People: Adolescent Stage

The "Adolescent" stage of follower development, akin to the teenage years, is a critical period where initial enthusiasm fades, and individuals start testing boundaries while seeking greater responsibility. Leaders must adopt a coaching approach that balances support and accountability, addressing behaviors that don’t align with organizational values, reinforcing early wins, and consistently adhering to established boundaries and goals. By proactively coaching and maintaining a positive environment, leaders can help their team members navigate this transitional phase and continue their growth into confident, competent contributors.

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Mastering Facilitation: Your Go-To Script

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Mastering Facilitation: Your Go-To Script

Effective listening is essential for successful facilitation. This involves techniques like paraphrasing, asking open-ended questions, and synthesizing ideas. Skilled facilitators also track opinions, engagement levels, and group feedback. Here is your go-to script to handle many items you might run into as a facilitator.

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Community Conflict: Regulate, Relate, and Reason

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Community Conflict: Regulate, Relate, and Reason

In an era of escalating conflicts, understanding how to manage disagreements is crucial for personal and community well-being. This blog post explores the essential steps of regulating emotions, relating to others, and reasoning effectively to foster safe, connected, and productive environments. Learn practical strategies to transform conflict into constructive communication and collaboration.

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I'm not always the best at being assertive, here are 7 Steps I learned to become more assertive

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I'm not always the best at being assertive, here are 7 Steps I learned to become more assertive

I have to be honest, and you may not believe me, but this is one of the hardest skills I am in the works of learning.  Perhaps it's my 8-person family, puritan upbringing, and as a middle child I just went along with what the group wanted, but assertiveness has never been a strength of mine.  I believe in a give, give, give, ask method of forward movement (in marketing, sales, strategy, people, etc.), however sometimes I recognize the ask has to come a little bit sooner.   Assertiveness is not being tough or arrogant.  It’s actually a very humble and thoughtful dance.  It is recognizing that we have value and we sometimes need to put up boundaries for others to recognize our value.  

The Millennial Gen-X Challenge: Driving The Future of the Organization, Together

The Millennial Gen-X Challenge: Driving The Future of the Organization, Together

In this post-recession business world, we need to prepare our organizations for a huge transfer of leadership and knowledge to new leaders that are ready and competent to close the gap.  The looming issue for our workforce and our organizations is that Gen-X and Millennials don’t like each other quite frankly.

Millennials, Remember to H.A.L.T. Before Your Next Fight

Millennials, Remember to H.A.L.T. Before Your Next Fight

It just takes one more push and your emotions get the best of you and you become the poster child for one of those Snicker commercials.  However, on the other side the person who has ‘pushed your buttons’ is actually confused about what you got so agitated about.  In many of these scenarios it has little to do with the topic they brought up.  Instead it was a physiological response on your end. Use H.A.L.T. to see where your energy level and if you're primed for a fight ahead of time.

Refuse to Walk by Shoddy Millennial Behavior Again

Refuse to Walk by Shoddy Millennial Behavior Again

I had an opportunity - yes let’s call it opportunity - to callout poor Millennial behavior recently.   The behavior was around providing me with what I had previously asked for on time and in the form I needed it.  I had asked for it twice and now I was waiting.  At the point that we were clearly beyond the polite lateness stage (this was one of my first interactions with the individual) and we began spiraling into the realm of rude lateness, I had a choice to make – keep going as if everything was normal (and keep waiting), or put a stop to the behavior in its tracks.

Millennials! Stop Playing The ‘Jump to Conclusions Mat’ In Your Relationships!

Millennials! Stop Playing The ‘Jump to Conclusions Mat’ In Your Relationships!

Do you remember in the movie Office Space when Tom talks about his great ‘million dollar’ idea called the “Jump To Conclusions Mat?”  According to Tom, “It would be this mat that you would put on the floor and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO.”

Not a great idea, like his friends pointed out in the movie, but it also isn’t a great idea for us to jump to conclusions in real life as well.  When we jump to conclusions in conflict we are putting “2 plus 2 together to make 5” which is never good math and leads to mistrust, communication issues and deeper conflict.