Phase 1: people note differences, people remain focused on issues; people remain rationale and considerate; people continue to exchange ideas and don’t overprotect their positions; suspicion has not set in; people are focused on resolution. // Actions: Value individuals – don’t brush off their concerns and assume they will “get over it”; keep group direction and priorities clear; respond to complaints with fairness and justice; realize that small misunderstandings rarely go away on their own.

Phase 2: Uneasiness is present in group dynamics because of perceived unfairness or hurt; differences become accentuated as bad; language becomes generalized and more negative; people stop sharing information and begin taking sides. // Actions: Act quickly – do not take a “wait and see” posture; acknowledge the problem directly with the group or team; consider whether or not you should involve a neutral mediator.

Phase 3: Slander becomes acceptable; people take strong and entrenched positions; leaders emerge on “both sides”; either-or ultimatums are presented; structures are sabotaged or leveraged for influence. // Actions: Do not be indecisive, people will not tolerate it; get outside intervention.

“People change for their own reasons not yours.  If they don't see meaning in what's happening they will fight it tooth and nail. Some believe it's great to look at everything horrible that can happen, acknowledge it, embrace it and make sure you create a way forward that can bypass it. Some believe they should start from scratch, co-creating change so everyone creates meaning within the context of the change.” – Donna Karlin

Failure. We don't like to talk about it. But we all worry about it.

We worry about it in the present: Why am I not doing better in my career? Do my coworkers think I'm messing up? Is my boss unhappy with me?

We worry about it in the past: Why didn't I speak up at that meeting? Is it my fault I got laid off last year? What if I hadn't left that job ten years ago?

And we worry about it in the future: What if I don't get the project done on time? Will I end up without a bonus? Am I going to get fired?

But good leaders and CEOs respond differently. Faced with failure, they stay in motion. They quit bad jobs, separate from investors they conflict with, and get up off the sidewalk and go back to work.

To read the whole article, click here.

1. Bad meetings provide refuge. Bad meetings provide a sophisticated form of executive busyness. Some people find this useful because it keeps them from having to work on difficult tasks such as planning, coaching, learning, and communicating. Compared to these difficult tasks, sitting in a conference room is easy. In fact, it is so easy that a six-year old could do it, assuming you could convince the child to stay inside for such a pointless activity. // Better: An effective meeting is business activity where people work together.
2. Bad meetings avoid responsibility. Bad meetings never end with decisions, which means that no one ends up being held responsible for doing anything. Some people find this useful because responsibility implies accountability and accountability requires results. Thus, without responsibility there is no failure and everyone appears to perform well. This masks poor performance so that everyone continues to receive raises and promotions, even when they accomplish nothing because (you guessed it) they spent all of their time sitting in meetings. // Better: Effective meetings produce decisions that someone is responsible for implementing.
3. Bad meetings provide excitement. Bad meetings feature all of the elements of a good drama, such as conflict, tension, and pain. For example, the participants deliver self-aggrandizing reports, denigrate their colleagues, and engage in politics. Some really terrible meetings play out like pathetic battlegrounds with verbal gladiators battling for favors while the boss watches. // Better: Effective meetings occur in a safe environment of respect.
4. Bad meetings serve food. Bad meetings become an enviable executive perk when they provide snacks, coffee, and (sometimes) meals. The attendees then use eating to offset the boredom of having to hear meaningless discussions. It also saves them the expense of having to buy food. // Better: Meals should be a separate activity used to build relationships and (sometimes) rest.
5. Bad meetings entertain. Bad meetings resemble a party. People tell stories, trade jokes, and argue over trivia. Some meetings feature comedy performances by the office fool. Others feature humorous insults by the office bully. And if neither of these occurs, the absolutely unbelievable discussions amaze and entertain everyone. // Better: Effective meetings use process tools to make methodical progress toward results.

From BNET.com: You’d like to think that even under pressure, your moral compass would keep you from doing anything unethical at work. Only unscrupulous types get caught up in things like backdating stock options and peddling subprime mortgages — right? But Babson College scholar Mary Gentile says acting ethically isn’t as easy as wanting to do the right thing; it’s about knowing how to do the right thing even when the stakes are high. Practice helps.

More than 80 business schools around the world are pilot testing a new approach to teaching ethics developed by Gentile, along with the Aspen Institute and Yale School of Management. The idea is simple: Teach MBAs to anticipate how they will be tempted to rationalize unethical behavior, and get them to practice countering the impulse. The goal: to make ethical choices come naturally, even in difficult situations.

Click here to view three case studies from the curriculum that are based on real-life dilemmas. In each case, the real subject successfully managed both the ethical issue and the internal politics. You can vote for how you would handle each one and then click below for the real-life answer.

Can You Motivate Everyone?

At the basis of motivation is the why of human behavior. The fact that there are so many methods used to encourage people to put forth their best effort, speaks to the complexity of the issue. But can everyone be motivated? The simple answer is no. You can’t successfully motivate everyone. And some might say you can’t motivate anyone. Motivation is an internal process. Much is dependent on an individual’s concept of themselves and their interpretation of the environment or situation they find themselves in.

In Motivate Like a CEO, author Suzanne Bates reminds us that “you can inspire people to discover their own motivation. If you communicate effectively and connect people with purpose, they will feel the spark that motivates them.”

Additionally, she writes, “By consistently communicating purpose with passion, you attract the right people with the right talent, skills, and motivation. The right people come into your orbit; those who aren’t right will move on.”

At the same time, Bates does offer a caution. “Throwing your hands up and acting on the assumption that you cannot motivate everyone can actually damage motivation further. This assumption was “true in boom times, when organizations were bloated and some people you hired were marginal. Those days are over. Now that companies have downsized and are arguably leaner and meaner with the best talent, this is a damaging assumption.”

It is a leader’s responsibility to motivate employees. It’s time to stop blaming employees, and start looking to leaders to ignite the spark in their organizations.