The Recovering Engineer

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Today, I’ve got another interview to share with you that I did with David Birkus of LeaderLab. LeaderLab is a great site if you’re looking for practical advice to become a better leader. For periodic email updates, special offers, and other occasional gifts available only to email subscribers, complete this form.

FAQ 216

FAQ Engineering Emotional Intelligence Self-aware 216

The Recovering Engineer

MAY 24, 2012

During my six-hour watch (shift), I led the team that charted course, controlled direction and depth, coordinated atmosphere controls, and a number of other activities. We then looked over the Night Orders to see what the Captain wanted my team to accomplish during my watch. And, it taught me a whole lot about how to work with a team.

Compliance 197

Compliance Course System Motivation 197

The Recovering Engineer

MARCH 11, 2013

Most supervisors deliver performance feedback to members of their team. If they are slower paced and focused on relationships , tie their actions to how they can help others and how their contribution builds the team. Use the tips above as a starting point to understand your team. Avoid pushing too quickly for results.

Quality 164

Quality Report Objective Tips 164

The Recovering Engineer

JUNE 24, 2013

In short, he wondered aloud how a team that had not moved the football in 58 minutes of a 60 minute game could focus for the last two minutes and score a touchdown. After all, a football team cannot possibly run a two-minute offense for a full game. As he asked that rhetorical question, I immediately thought “they can’t do that.”

Objective 173

Objective Workshop Skills Project 173

The Recovering Engineer

AUGUST 28, 2013

It seems to me that the level of creativity a team exhibits falls fully within the confines of everything. Which brings me back to Idea Number One: You are responsible for the level of creativity in your team, and it is not totally within your control. Your Now Steps: Think of a project where you or your team are creatively stuck.

Creativity 135

Creativity Stress Learning-by-Doing Mentor 135

The Recovering Engineer

APRIL 1, 2014

Very few supervisors have no flexibility in how they assign tasks and instruct their team members. Ask your team members what slows them down. Your Now Steps: Plan thirty minutes within the next 48 hours to consider the work processes used by your team. Almost all supervisors have at least some flexibility.

Leadership 162

Leadership Engineering Efficiency Process 162

The Recovering Engineer

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

There are things you can do or say that undermine your efforts to empower the members of your team. When a person on your team makes a mistake, you need to correct it. Your Now Steps: Identify someone on your team who you want to behave in a more “empowered” way. In fact, the second part is outside your direct control.

Skills 147

Skills Constraint Motivation Budgeting 147

The Recovering Engineer

MAY 29, 2013

And, if you want the people on your team to learn, grow, and develop, you have got to let them make some mistakes. Your Now Step: Pick a person on your team who you would like to learn new skills. As a consequence, you will see the people you lead make mistakes. If you are like most of the leaders that I know, this will frustrate you.

Learning-by-Doing 235

Learning-by-Doing Skills Delegation Travel 235

The Recovering Engineer

MAY 7, 2011

So, let’s set aside the idea that the leader provides the motivation and move on to the idea that a leader can learn to identify the things that do motivate the people on his or her team. Side note – Parents can use this idea with their children as well.

Motivation 218

Motivation Tips Delegation Reference 218

The Recovering Engineer

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

We have been amazingly busy – Kevin, the whole Kevin Eikenberry Group team and I have been preparing for a great day on Tuesday, February 15. Related posts: It Takes a Team. In some ways it actually shows the excitement and activity that is going on behind the scenes to make this launch a success. Check it out here.

Video 128

Video Books Blog Resources 128

The Recovering Engineer

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

If you are looking for ways to inspire high level performance on your team, this book is for you. It’s full of great insights, data, and suggestions for creating a recognition culture in your workplace. It is detailed, practical, easy to read, and full of great ideas.

Books 185

Books FAQ Engineering Emotional Intelligence 185

The Recovering Engineer

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Since I work with leaders and teams to resolve workplace conflicts and to build the confidence people have to address conflicts, I think it’s a really good question. I often get asked if every conflict can be resolved. The short answer is: yes, every conflict can be resolved. The question does have one problem though — it is incomplete.

Short-term 190

Short-term Cost Definition Operations 190

The Recovering Engineer

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Employees, team members, group members — whatever you call them — can be like the woman in the picture. In the picture above, the woman is fighting to get her need for air met. Until the need is met, she probably cannot possibly think about anything else.

Engineering 199

Engineering FAQ Video Self-aware 199

The Recovering Engineer

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

This individual ability to solve problems, applied in a team environment, can become a weakness as the new leader pushes strongly for a solution that others resist. The biggest problem with collaborative problem solving is the collaborative part. Many new leaders became leaders because they know how to get things done.

Succession 221

Succession Brainstorming Workshop Skills 221

The Recovering Engineer

JULY 29, 2010

During the workshop, I told a story I often tell about a situation in my life where, as a leader of a team, I was confronted with large scale changes that impacted me in ways that I could not change or control. The decision was to do a “cost-benefit analysis&# of our new situation.

Cost-Benefit Analysis 114

Cost-Benefit Analysis Workshop Engineering FAQ 114

The Recovering Engineer

JUNE 21, 2010

People with strong supportive traits are great at building relationships, easing tensions, helping others, and holding a team together. Consistently passive communication and conflict avoidance can create situations where conflicts go unresolved and continue to simmer under the surface until they explode and destroy a team or family.

Engineering 230

Engineering FAQ Emotional Intelligence Self-aware 230

The Recovering Engineer

JULY 13, 2010

For periodic email updates, special offers, and other occasional gifts available only to email subscribers, complete this form.

Workshop 194

Workshop Middle Management Engineering FAQ 194

The Recovering Engineer

JANUARY 22, 2013

Your Now Step: Think about a change you hope to create within your team. In any case, do the best you can to make the communication clearly state how the change will affect them rather than how it will impact the organization. Now, think about a person that you need to communicate with about this change.

Resistance 177

Resistance Motivation Energy Tips 177

The Recovering Engineer

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Even if the work rules, pressures from your boss, or level of cooperation from your team scream at you about the things that you can’t do, there is still something that you can do. You do not have to stay in that mental and emotional state. There is always something that you can control.

Cooper 182

Cooper Objective Workshop Travel 182

The Recovering Engineer

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

It Takes a Team. The lesson for leaders? Start with relationships, and you’ll likely wind up with engagement. Photo by Martin Cathrae. Related posts: The Launch is Almost Here. Employee Motivation: Interesting Ideas to Consider.

Books 230

Books Letter Video Proposal 230

The Recovering Engineer

MARCH 31, 2015

In the next 24 hours, do something to protect you and your team from those emotional responses. What emotions do those changes create? Think through the issues and situations where strong emotions could derail your change efforts. Write them down. photo credit: Barbed wire for SNIPS via photopin (license).

Short-term 100

Short-term Licensing Long-term Goal 100

The Recovering Engineer

MAY 6, 2012

Many leaders see this initial response, and grow frustrated with their team like I grew frustrated by the initially unmoving people at the top of the escalator. When confronted with uncertainty or unfamiliarity – when a situation or surrounding looks different from what they expect to see – people freeze.

Management 138

Management Uncertainty Fashion Tips 138

The Recovering Engineer

NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Just in case you don’t know him, he played many seasons with the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. He was speaking specifically about baseball players, and the lesson applies to all of us: leaders, team members, co-workers, parents, and spouses. He spoke about his personal perspective on perseverance and success. Photo by dbking.

Commitment 105

Commitment Emotional Intelligence Self-aware Engineering 105

The Recovering Engineer

AUGUST 11, 2010

Related posts: From Bud to Boss: My Audio Interview With Wayne Turmel My Interview With Mike Phillips on Lead the Team Tags: audio interview , bud to boss , Leadership Skills , mangement tips , nick mccormick Guy Harris describes himself as a recovering engineer.

Tips 185

Tips Management FAQ Engineering 185

The Recovering Engineer

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Leaders have too much to do and too many responsibilities to cover to miss important details or to overlook commitments they have made to their team, their peers, their customers, and their families to try holding it all in their heads. It’s a simple concept with big implications for leaders.

Commitment 108

Commitment Compliance Engineering System 108

The Recovering Engineer

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

As I lead workshops on conflict resolution, leadership, team dynamics, and communication skills, this communication tip frequently comes to the surface for discussion: Say what you DO want rather than what you DON’T want. To illustrate the power of this tip, imagine a young child walking across your kitchen with a cup of milk.

Engineering 200

Engineering FAQ Emotional Intelligence Self-aware 200

The Recovering Engineer

FEBRUARY 4, 2010

All week, I have been sharing my thoughts and insights on communication skills, motivation theory, leadership, team-building, and persuasion. The thought behind much (not all) of what I was asked in my role as seminar leader and expert panelist basically reduced to this: How do I get people to do what I want them to do.

How To 218

How To Engineering FAQ Cooper 218

The Recovering Engineer

JANUARY 21, 2010

You may have many opportunities to discuss change and the impact of change with your team this year. As we discussed this observation, we spoke about the importance of connecting with the emotional response that people often have to change rather than ignoring or minimizing it. Photo based on work by Rennet Stowe.

FAQ 188

FAQ Emotional Intelligence Engineering Self-aware 188

The Recovering Engineer

MARCH 12, 2010

Through his work, his publications, the work of his team, and a network of Human Behavioral consultants certified to teach his material; he has reached millions of people around the world. I guess that’s a by-product of working as a consultant and trainer of conflict resolution, communication, leadership, and team dynamics skills.

FAQ 230

FAQ Hammer Engineering Tools 230

The Recovering Engineer

MAY 7, 2010

Use These Conflict Resolution Tips To Get Your Team Performing Rather Than Bickering says: May 11, 2010 at 3:38 pm [.] . — Learn More… Comments One Response to “Seven Workplace Conflict Resolution Tips&# Trackbacks Check out what others are saying about this post.

Tips 198

Tips Emotional Intelligence Engineering FAQ 198

The Recovering Engineer

JUNE 3, 2010

Whether you are trying to change your behavior, your team member’s behavior, or your child’s behavior, remember that everyone has a self-control limit, and when you exceed the limit you invite failure. You invite failure to comply with rules, failure to cooperate, and failure to do things in new and different ways.

FAQ 235

FAQ Self-aware Emotional Intelligence Engineering 235

The Recovering Engineer

AUGUST 3, 2010

Like so many other issues that surface in the discussion of how to lead a team (business, sports, family, church, etc), the rule-relationship issue is a both-and scenario rather than an either-or scenario. They might say that only relationship matters as a leader. Well, I wouldn’t go that far either.

FAQ 201

FAQ Emotional Intelligence Engineering Self-aware 201

The Recovering Engineer

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Related posts: Conflict Resolution Tips: Task Oriented People with People Oriented Individuals Fulfilling Employee Needs – Ten Critical Issues for Leaders to Remember Communication Tips: Connecting With Reserved, People-Oriented People Communication Tips: Connecting With Outgoing, People-Oriented People It Takes a Team Tags: business relationships (..)

Engineering 210

Engineering FAQ Tips Video 210

The Recovering Engineer

MARCH 21, 2010

He has degrees in Chemical Engineering and he served as a Nuclear Engineering officer in the U.S.

Motivation 123

Motivation Video FAQ Engineering 123

The Recovering Engineer

OCTOBER 26, 2010

For periodic email updates, special offers, and other occasional gifts available only to email subscribers, complete this form.

Performance Review 105

Performance Review Engineering FAQ Emotional Intelligence 105

The Recovering Engineer

JUNE 16, 2010

Do this, and you will significantly improve your effectiveness as a leader, team member, or parent. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The more I work at it though, the better I get. And you can do it, too. This article is from the DISC FAQs series. Use the links below to read more from this series.

FAQ 114

FAQ Emotional Intelligence Self-aware Engineering 114

The Recovering Engineer

JANUARY 26, 2010

Did you catch the reinvention part of the story? You see, I’m a lot like Bubble Wrap. For part of my career, I diligently pursued technical roles.

Succession 108

Succession Chemicals Engineering Self-aware 108