Various pieces of research, including those by Frederick Herzberg (2003) and Harry Levinson (2003), have shown clearly the importance of distinguishing between extrinsic incentives like pay and conditions and the intrinsic ones that lie deep...
Most professionals enjoy their technical work. After all, they chose the career in the first place primarily because they were attracted to the work involved and felt that it suited their abilities and personalities. Of...
Good leaders can inspire team members to excel by fostering optimism and a positive outlook. Here are some practical tips: Create a virtuous circle of positive expectations. Expect your team members to perform well. People...
Most professionals enjoy their technical work and get a kick out of serving their clients well. However, when I visit some offices where groups of professionals are at work, I notice that the atmosphere is...
I have noticed that many leaders of professional service teams do a lot of the formal things that are required of them. They hold meetings to review performance, they conduct performance review interviews, they keep...
Most professionals and support people welcome the opportunity to provide ideas for doing new things and for doing things better. These may be concerned with services, processes, systems or structures. They may be relevant to...
In professional teams responsibilities vary in terms of range and complexity. However, everyone is part of the team. Everyone’s work is important. It is a sad fact that in professional environments this is not always...
A failure to delegate properly is not uncommon, especially, but not exclusively, in law firms. In other words a large proportion of the professional work time of more senior people is spent doing things that...
In professional service teams the more senior people, for instance partners and associates, usually have all of the responsibility and authority that they need to undertake their work. On the other hand the more junior...
It is sad but true that many people, senior as well as junior, go through their working lives without receiving any kind of personal appreciation or recognition. Whenever I speak with leaders of teams of...
Energetic and enthusiastic leaders who demonstrate a vigorous drive for results have a positive effect on their team members. They act as role models. There are a number of things that you can do: Make...
When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. — (Eleanor Roosevelt) Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. — (Mother Teresa) The drive to...