Before you fix the team, watch the team. September has a particular rhythm. The kids are back at school. Teams are back from summer vacations. Projects that slowed down in July and August start moving again. And in those first few weeks, you can learn a lot — if you pay attention. As a parent, I notice it with my daughters. You can tell pretty quickly whether a new routine is working. Who is tired. Who is overwhelmed. What is going smoothly. What needs adjusting. Teams are

The person holding the trophy is rarely the only one who made the win possible. Awards season is a good reminder of something we sometimes forget at work: success is almost never a solo act. The actor gives the speech. The director gets the interview. The executive gets the headline. But behind every great production is a much bigger team: writers, editors, camera crews, lighting, sound, design, assistants, schedulers, drivers, technicians, and dozens of people whose names

Removing the problem is only the beginning of rebuilding trust. There’s been a lot of discussion recently about what happens when a senior leader leaves an organization following a failure in conduct. The departure may be immediate. The cultural impact usually isn’t. When something goes wrong at the top, employees are left with questions. What happened? Were the rules applied consistently? Did people know about the behaviour before action was taken? Could someone have spoken

A Labour Day reminder for leaders. Labour Day is coming up this weekend. For many of us, it means one last long weekend before fall really begins. But it’s also worth remembering what the day recognizes: the people who do the work. Strategies don’t build mines. PowerPoints don’t operate plants. Plans don’t pour concrete, maintain equipment, solve problems on the floor or get the product out the door. People do. And very often, the people closest to the work understand things

The best leaders never graduate from being students. Around our house, this time of year means getting the girls ready to head back to school. New classes. New teachers. New things to learn. And something occurred to me. We fully expect kids to go into a new school year not knowing everything yet. That’s the point. They’re there to learn. Somewhere along the way, adults can lose that comfort with being beginners. Especially when we become leaders. Suddenly we think we’re supp

Restructuring may end on paper long before it ends for your team. Organizations restructure. Positions disappear. Teams merge. Priorities change. People leave. Eventually, leadership announces that the restructuring is complete. For the people who remain, it may feel like it’s just beginning. They’re looking around at empty desks. Wondering whether there will be another round. Taking on work that used to belong to someone else. Missing colleagues. Feeling relieved they still