Terry Starbucker

JULY 1, 2012

C’mon folks, if you have to e-mail the person in the next cubicle or office…… Lack of action on problem staff, and the loss of high performers - When the underperformers stick around, and the stars leave, watch out – trouble’s a brewin’ This is a huge morale killer.

Leadership 350

Leadership Bond Morale Strategy 350

Terry Starbucker

JULY 8, 2018

But more importantly, the team’s growing resentment is casting a big shadow over morale and productivity. First, it’s clear that George, as part of a 10 person group, has been a drag on the overall effectiveness of the team. This is where the math magic kicks in.

Morale 171

Morale Productivity Products Skills 171

Terry Starbucker

APRIL 23, 2011

There were lessons to be learned from those that had come so many years before us – lessons of humanity, faith, courage, morality, love, friendship – and ultimately, life itself. It was like a switch got turned on in my head – one that deepened my interest in going beyond words on a page, or people on a stage.

Morale 251

Morale Class Follow-up Project 251

Terry Starbucker

AUGUST 26, 2012

I thought that delivering a lot of “good jobs” would help with morale, and spur the team on to greater heights. I was correct on the first part, but totally wrong on the second. And who doesn’t want to be praised? Later on, I became a leader and discovered the real hazards of those two little words.

Metrics 275

Metrics Incentives Morale Career 275

Terry Starbucker

MAY 20, 2012

And a morale killer to boot. We all have our ways of soliciting it, gathering it, or cajoling it out of our teammates. Because after all, without it, we’re most likely taking our #leadership shots completely in the dark. Not a good thing.

Team 278

Team Consensus Morale Mentor 278

Terry Starbucker

AUGUST 11, 2013

That is, we had drilled down hard on what I thought was a relatively insignificant metric, rather than look at the bigger picture of what was happening out there – improved morale, higher trust, and a turnaround on the “big stuff” (the overall customer satisfaction number, among them).

Leadership 272

Leadership Motivation Metrics Morale 272

Terry Starbucker

JANUARY 23, 2011

In my case, it was the satisfaction of returning to places where the “yeah, rights&# became “thank yous&# accompanied by smiles and a great “can do&# morale. These folks were no longer in the dark. They trusted us, and what we were trying to accomplish as a company.

Team 311

Team Morale Policies Execution 311

Terry Starbucker

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

Or else, what SHOULD be one of the best things leaders can ask can easily put them in a danger zone filled with morale destruction and ineffectiveness. Eventually (and mercifully) I left that job, but not without learning a very valuable lesson: When you ask for someone’s opinion you have to really want to hear the answer.

Consensus 150

Consensus Open-book Proposal Morale 150

Terry Starbucker

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

10 ) Keep the promises (by being prudent with them) - It’s easy to make promises, especially when we need a quick morale boost. We just need to make ones that we can keep. We took the time to answer the “why” question, and it paid off. I know, it sounds so logical, so… easy.

Long-term 346

Long-term Morale Policies Operations 346

Terry Starbucker

JANUARY 29, 2017

10 ) Keep your promises (by being prudent with them) – It’s SO easy to make promises, especially when we need a quick morale boost. Take the time to answer the “why” question – it will pay big dividends. You just need to make ones that you can keep. I know, it sounds so logical, so….easy. But in the heat of business battles, it’s not.

Morale 150

Morale Policies Team Operations 150

Terry Starbucker

DECEMBER 12, 2010

The team isn’t jelling as well as they need to – and morale is no better than “just OK&#. We may not even know this is happening, simply because we believe that this is the way a leader is SUPPOSED to act. Eventually, we end up scratching our heads because things aren’t working out the way we had hoped.

Follow-up 294

Follow-up Morale Policies Team 294

Terry Starbucker

JANUARY 15, 2017

In a nutshell, they can be morale killers. To talk like a leader, you must avoid… “Negation Words” – These are those lovely conjunctions that can, in one fell swoop, cancel out whatever you put before it. The poster child word in this instance is “ but “. I once wrote a whole post about the problems with that one.

How To 150

How To Learning-by-Doing Morale Conference 150

Terry Starbucker

MAY 22, 2016

We needed something else to really get us beyond “morale killer”. It would be handed out by a local manager, who would have all the right corporate talking points for the immediate questions. The bases were all covered. It wasn’t a “ lay off and run ”. But it still felt cold. This isn’t enough,” I thought. I knew this was a business.

Letter 171

Letter Leadership Call Center Long-term 171

Terry Starbucker

MARCH 26, 2019

It’s really a huge assumption that quickly becomes an even bigger risk to a leader’s success, because it can even more quickly become a morale and culture killer. But here’s the big problem – Osmosis may work in a laboratory, or on the planet Vulcan, but it doesn’t work in the workplace.

Leadership 236

Leadership How To Metrics Travel 236

Terry Starbucker

DECEMBER 30, 2012

I was noting a string of bad behavior incidents and morale issues, and suggested that the manager there needed to “get tougher” with his team. When I was first starting out on my leadership path, I was having a discussion with my boss about some performance deficiencies at one of our subsidiary companies.

Leadership 342

Leadership Short-term Budgeting Morale 342

Terry Starbucker

OCTOBER 9, 2016

When one lives with grace, they also possess grace, in that they draw moral and spiritual strength from it, and ultimately, true happiness and fulfillment. This warmth is capable of spreading to everyone this person encounters, so that the person is described as adding “grace” to an occasion or to any other gathering.

Bond 150

Bond Call Center Morale Process 150

Terry Starbucker

APRIL 11, 2010

The “reaction&# that must be considered here is the morale of the team that remains (not to mention the collateral costs of the displacement). Making this decision will displace several people.

ROI 273

ROI Cost Blog Learning-by-Doing 273

Terry Starbucker

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

If you can build this Fortress of Credibility successfully with these 6 blocks, then the next time you deliver your goals and objectives, the vibe will be far different.

Objective 258

Objective Reputation Blog Execution 258

Terry Starbucker

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

But more importantly, the team’s growing resentment is casting a big shadow over morale and productivity. First, it’s clear that George, as part of a 10 person group, has been a drag on the overall effectiveness of the team. This is where Bizarro math kicks in.

Learning-by-Doing 269

Learning-by-Doing Blog Media Review 269

Terry Starbucker

JUNE 6, 2010

How is overall morale? Assess Team Performance - Make sure the team you evaluated in January still has the right stuff in June. Are there any “cracks&# in resolve, or commitment to the plan? Are there any lagging performers that need to be coached and/or reassigned? If you hit them already (or are about to), raise the bar again.

Leadership 263

Leadership Blog Learning-by-Doing Benchmarking 263

Terry Starbucker

OCTOBER 10, 2010

Charisma does not mean that a leader has managerial competence, or any sence of moral direction. [link] Wally Bock Thomas W Cornell October 13, 2010 at 4:43 pm Charismatic leaders, especially in the political areana can be the most dangerous leaders ever. We can all think of such examples. In other words they can sell.

Charisma 309

Charisma Welch Stage-Gate Self-aware 309

Terry Starbucker

DECEMBER 13, 2009

In a nutshell, they can be morale killers. The poster child word in this instance is “ but “ I wrote a whole post about the problems with that one.

Learning-by-Doing 288

Learning-by-Doing Blog Consensus Books 288

Terry Starbucker

JANUARY 3, 2010

Ethical leadership calls for morals, fairness, caring, sharing, no false promises or unreasonable demands on others, etc. There are those who believe that their effectiveness can be increased through education, other methods of training and development, and experience, though to a limited extent. Is “ethical leadership” an oxymoron?

Leadership 418

Leadership Ethics Course Learning-by-Doing 418