Productivity Archives - Aligned Performance

Category Archives for "Productivity"

The Answer Isn’t Always Training

“We need training.” This statement is a common knee-jerk reaction to address things like employee engagement, performance and turnover. However, there are many things that could be part of a solution, in addition to or instead of training. This article will get you thinking about all the possibilities. When a client requests training, I resist […]

5 Tips for Planning and Prioritizing

Here are 5 tips from my most popular workshop, “Planning & Prioritizing”: Schedule time for planning. When we don’t plan, we often spend our time reacting to other people’s priorities and taking on whatever is closest or loudest. Plan your work so you intentionally move toward your goals every day. It’s OK to turn your […]

4 Ways to Make Teambuilding Count

Teambuilding is more than bowling outings and falling backward with a blindfold on. Building an affective team takes conscious effort, and that could mean taking time away from the office to have ‘open’ dialogue about how the team is performing. Note the special emphasis on ‘open’. One of the reasons teambuilding has gotten a bad […]

What is a “People System”?

When a client asks me what the ‘magic pill’ is for business success, I have to respond by saying “people”. It’s not just employees, though. This includes all of your constituents – staff, vendors, customers, partners, suppliers, … But when I refer to people systems, I am referring to employees. I’ve outlined the 7 components […]

Have you Sharpened your Saw Lately?

Stephen Covey tells the story of a man who was walking through a forest when he came across a frustrated lumberjack. The lumberjack was trying to cut down a tree and was swearing and cursing as he labored in vain. “What’s the problem?” The man asked. “My saw’s blunt and won’t cut the tree properly.” The […]

Liberation Through Delegation

Do you wear every hat in your business? Should you? If you are interested in growing your business, you are going to have to do two things. One is to implement systems. And two is to attain help. That help may be an employee, a contractor, a virtual assistant or your 16-year old daughter. (See […]

Assessing a Team’s Effectiveness

Unfortunately, some companies have had an experience where they’ve hired someone to do conduct a team-building session and it turned out to be a fun activity but did not impact the team’s performance. How can you be sure this doesn’t happen to you? First, make sure the consultant you’re working with understands your team issues, […]

Effective Leadership For Greater Accomplishments

There are many definitions of effective leadership. One school of thought is of the opinion that a leader who can lead others in successful completion of a mission is an effective leader with better leadership traits. There are also institutes who categorize efficient leaders as those who take a back seat and let others do […]