by Steve Adubato, PhD

Q. We all hear a lot these days about executive coaching. The problem is that often it is so darn expensive and our company just can afford it. As a manager who wants to help his people fully develop, what can I do to become a better "coach" to my people?

by Steve Adubato, PhD

One of the characteristics of a first-rate team is the regular sharing of valuable information. Sure, great teams need great leaders, but if team members withhold or ignore important information the team will miss opportunities and make big mistakes.

by Steve Adubato, PhD

Leadership means different things to different people. Candidate for Governor in New York Andrew Cuomo criticized incumbent George Pataki for "holding Rudy Guiliani's coat" after the September 11th disaster. Apparently, Andy Cuomo thinks leadership is about being out front. He argued that it was Rudy Guiliani's face we saw during most of the press conferences and that Pataki was playing second fiddle because he stood behind the Mayor. I couldn't disagree more. While Rudy Guiliani exhibited extraordinary leadership after September 11th, so did countless others whose names and faces we will never know. Leadership is not about who gets the most publicity or who is out front the most.

by Steve Adubato, PhD

Last week we explored an energy-charged workplace at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, which is featured in the book "Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results." We also met Mary Jane Ramirez, a talented manager of the Operations group at First Guarantee. Mary Jane is so impressed with what she sees at the fish market that, while skeptical, she attempts to implement some of their principles at her workplace, which has become known as a "toxic energy dump."

by Steve Adubato, PhD

"There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself." This quote is taken from a great little book (107 pages) called "Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results," written by Stephen Lundin. Fish is the story of the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, a workplace filled with energy, excitement and enthusiasm. It's also the story of a fictitious company called First Guarantee and their Operations group, which is characterized as "unresponsive, unpleasant, negative and zombie-like."

by Steve Adubato, PhD

People talk about thinking "outside the box" all the time. Thinking "outside the box" means coming up with new, creative and different ways of doing things. It's about being imaginative and sometimes unorthodox. But for all the talk about how great it is supposed to be to think and act outside the box, rarely do we actually see it happen. But when it does, it can be pretty powerful.

by Steve Adubato, PhD

Being a great leader is largely about being a coach and mentor, yet much of coaching and mentoring comes down to knowing how to giving constructive feedback to team members. So what is the best way to give feedback without being seen as simply criticizing or chastising?