Tag: J. Mike Smith

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[Tips for Leaders] How to Face Your Critics AND Give – and Get – Great Feedback

John Baldoni recently blogged on the best way to handle  your critics, using President Obama’s recent session with Republican Congress members as an example. Baldoni’s post at the Harvard Business Review – How to Face Your Critics –  suggests the following steps:

  • Show up.
  • Be cool.
  • Acknowledge your shortcomings.
  • Criticize gently.
  • Smile frequently.
  • Leave them asking for more.

Beyond facing your critics, a key foundational pillar for you to be a good manager and an even better leader is your ability to give and get great feedback.… Read the rest

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[The Job Hunt] If the Recovery is Here, Are You Ready? 5 Ways to Be Prepared

One of the adages in career coaching is that the best time to look for a job is before you need one.

With the signs of both Spring (at least in San Francisco) and an economic recovery in the United States appearing, a thaw in job opportunities looks like it has hit. But the jobs won’t likely be in exactly the types of roles as before, and maybe not even in the same geographies as the bumpiness of an uneven recovery hits different parts of the country.… Read the rest

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[Tips for Teams & Talent] What’s “Glee” Got to Do With It?

The title card for the musical comedy series G...
Image via Wikipedia

Glee, the Fox TV show in its first season that just garnered a Golden Globe for best comedy television series, has something for everybody: jocks, nerds, deceivers, beauty queens, and true believers.

The regular glee, a choir activity in which people both sing and dance – like the TV show – provides a great illustration of what makes good groups click, and bad groups stumble.… Read the rest

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[Life Back West] Leadership & Boards of Directors: Proof of the Pudding is in the Performance

The best adage I know for good cooking is captured in the phrase “Proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

For teams, the perfect saying might as well be “Proof of the team is in the performance.” And while we’ll hear a lot about good and bad teams over the next couple of months – from the Super Bowl, to the Winter Olympics, to the US men’s and women’s collegiate basketball tournament known as “March Madness” – the fact of the matter is that the best teams are teams that perform well when called on.… Read the rest

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[Recruiting] How to Say “No Thanks” to Candidates – Facebook and Others

Organizations tell you lots of about themselves from how they deal and treat applicants. The task, for candidates, is to make sure you’ve got your radar up, and don’t bliss out and fall in love to the point were you stop tracking all the things that go on in front of you.

If a company treats candidates poorly, you shouldn’t be surprised if some of that behavior carries on after people come on board.… Read the rest