When Someone in Your Workplace Doesn't Like You

As a leader, how do you deal with those who don't like you? 

Having enemies in the workplace is often destructive. Ideally you should try to work with your rival instead of against him. But if your collaborative efforts fail, try one of these strategies instead:

• Find a common ally. Seek a third party whom your enemy trusts. A common ally may convince him of the benefits of working with you.
• Wait for the right time. Sometimes people need time and space before they can see your side. Put off communication until the right opportunity presents itself.
• When to go elsewhere. The effort of converting a rival is sometimes so great that you're better off focusing your energy on another relationship.
• Have a direct conversation.  This is the toughest one of all.  Many of us avoid difficult conversations but when all else fails, you need to.  Check this blog for listings about 'challenging conversations' and 'difficult conversations' to develop some specific strategies for engaging your enemy. 

Adapted from "Make Your Enemies Your Allies" by Brian Uzzi and Shannon Dunlap.

When To Share Bad News

As a leader, how and when do you share bad news? 

When you're privy as a leader to information that your staff isn't, should you share the news or protect them? When deciding whether to divulge bad news, do these things first:

• Know your tendency. We all have a preferred approach when it comes to privacy. Some keep things quiet, while others are more open. Understand your tendency and find a middle ground.
• Question your motives. Whether you're eager to share news or resisting a conversation, question your motives. Are you feeling guilty about harboring information? Are you afraid of people getting angry?  What value will be gained by sharing the information? 
• Tend toward transparency. Lean toward transparency if possible. As long as you're not violating school/organizational policy, give your team the bad news — especially if it's going to impact their work.

Adapted from "When to Share Sensitive Information with Your Team" by Amy Gallo.

Leading Decisive Meetings

As a leader, do you know how to lead a decisive meeting? 

Simply because someone is appointed to a leadership position, it doesn't mean that they automatically know how to lead effective meetings.  To keep momentum in your work, you need to run great meetings. Make your next meeting productive with these three guidelines:

• Restate the meeting's purpose. Even if you think everyone knows it, it helps to remind them and sharpen the group's focus.
• Include everyone. If one or two people dominate the conversation and others are shy about leaping in, draw out people through facilitating by saying, "Thanks for those ideas, Carl. What are your thoughts about this problem, Megan?"
• End well. Close the meeting with specific actions to take and a clear time frame. State the decisions the group has made, who owns what, and when they need to report back to the team. 

Adapted from Guide to Project Management (HBR OnPoint Collection).

Trust Your Gut When Challenging Authority

As a leader, how comfortable are you challenging line authority or the authority of tradition? 

Most of us are taught to defer to authority in our organizations.  This is true of line authority as well as the authority of 'how we've always done things here'.  As a result, we can often tend to disregard our internal compasses. But your instincts are often right. Here is how to counter your conditioning and question authority:

• Listen to your inner voice. Take a moment to breathe and consider what is going on. Ask yourself, "Are there other ways to approach this work?"
• Constructively question. Ask your boss, or important stakeholders: Why do we do it this way?  Can we - as a school/organization be open to different ways? Can we experiment?
• Reflect. Whether you've followed along or pushed for an alternative, think about what happened. Remember what it felt like to go against authority - or popular will - and think about how you might handle it differently in the future.

Adapted from "Learn to Trust Your Gut" by Ron Ashkenas.

Do Your Staff Exceed the Quality of Your School/Organization?

'The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers'   

(McKinsey  Report - How the World's Best Performing School Systems Come Out on Top).  

A variation on a theme.....

'The quality of an organization cannot exceed the quality of its staff'    

As leaders, if we can accept the above statements as true, what does this mean for us and our leadership?  If the quality of the school/organization cannot exceed the quality of the staff who work in our schools/organizations, it is incumbent upon us a leaders to engage continuously in the development of each and every staff member.  

Is Your Stump Speech Ready?

As a leader, do you have a stump speech ready to go....just in case?


As leaders, we are often called upon to speak - without advance notice - about any of a number of issues related to our work.  For those who can speak readily 'off the cuff'.....congratulations!  However, for the rest of us, we may not do quite so well without something prepared.  


Think about what's important in your school/organization that you might at some point be called upon to speak about.  There will probably be two or three 'hot topics' or issues that come to mind.  Collect your thoughts on these issues along with your key messages.  Craft them into a few nuggets that could serve as your speaking points.  


Keep in mind that you, as the leader, are the face of your school/organization and people look to you for insight, direction, reassurance when things get difficult or tense.  Be ready with some collected thoughts.....just in case.....

Is it Leadership or Management?

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

Peter Drucker