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Mar 21 2024

Addressing Harassment and Conflict is Empowering

Dealing with conflict is part of the reality of being on a team. So is harassment.  But do we consider how leaders could make managing these issues an organizational strength? This is ...
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Mar 18 2024

7 Steps for Incorporating Culture Change into HR Processes, No Matter When the Change Occurs

Often, organizations want to change certain aspects of their cultures, and the need for change is often precipitated by fear of some sort, i.e., potential liability, loss of sales, declining employee morale ...
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Mar 4 2024

Remote,  Flexible, and Hyrbrid are NOT are NOT the same

Is your organization remote, flexible, or hybrid? If you've gotta be at your desk from 9am - 5pm, whether at home or in the office, then, your job may be remote, but ...
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Feb 19 2024

You are the Expert! What do you believe are the fundamentals of leadership?

How often do you meditate on what you believe are the fundamentals of leadership (i.e., without these qualities, a person cannot be effective as a leader)? Yes, we can read all of ...
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Jan 16 2024

A Leader’s Impact Beyond the Office

When I heard about Dr. Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey’s suicide and bullying, my heart sank. I took a long pause because I could, in fact, imagine some of what she must’ve experienced. Experiences ...
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Dec 6 2023

The Employee Who Isn’t Thriving

If you can keep plants alive, you're probably good at understanding ppl and figuring out the conditions under which they thrive. Conversely, if you kill plants, you might want to ask if ...
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Feb 7 2023

Employee Survey Skeptics Might Have a Point

What's your main reason for distrusting employee survey data? The recommendations arising out of the data are so impractical, costly, or unfeasible that they can’t support be supported without more, better, or ...
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Mylena Sutton - Are you afraid to practice?

Jan 19 2023

Are You Out Of Sync With Your Team?

Are You Out Of Sync With Your Team? Your business is constantly evolving and being in values-based alignment will position you to meet the growing needs and expectations of your employees, partnerships, ...
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Consulting Firms

Jan 5 2023

It’s Time

Leaders, It's Time.... Recently, I had a conversation with the executive director of a nonprofit that took an interesting turn. We went from talking about dealing with conflict to “how long do ...
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Employee doesn't respect or trust me

Jul 6 2022

I Can’t Believe They Said That!

Has an employee ever told you that they don’t respect or trust you? Yes No View Results  Loading ... If you’ve ever been in the unfortunate position where a key employee hit ...
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Mylena Sutton - Are you afraid to practice?

Jan 11 2022

Are You Afraid To Practice?

In everything that we do in life, we know repetition helps us get better (regardless of your position on the nuances on the 10,000 hours rule. If you don’t know what I’m ...
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Jan 3 2022

Do You Trust Blindly, SMARTly, or Not At All?

The authors push you to reconcile your assumptions about the trustworthiness of people with the idea that your trust default position significantly impacts your relationships: essentially, your own biases and predispositions affect ...
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Nov 18 2021

You Don’t Have to Fall

Often, I lament that people don’t have hobbies and passions anymore. It seems that everything has turned into a vehicle to make money, become some sort of influencer, or strengthens one’s career. ...
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Descend a Mountain

Oct 28 2021

Don’t Descend a Mountain w/Someone who Doesn’t Know What They’re Doing

I hope you’re planning a good weekend…This past weekend, I went hiking twice. If you’ve never bested a mountain, you don’t know joy! ---------------------------------------------------------------   On Saturday, I took an older couple ...
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Camp Club Getaway

Sep 10 2021

Camp Club Getaway: Adult Summer Camp!

I hope you had a good weekend! Over Labor Day Weekend, I stepped into a version of myself that I’ve always admired: I attended adult summer camp at Camp Club Getaway in ...
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storm clouds

Aug 24 2021

Leadership is Risky

I hope you had a good weekend - I did.   This past weekend, I set out for a bike ride on Saturday morning. If you live in the northeast, you know we ...
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Jul 12 2021

Teamwork OFF the Clock

The majority of time, I do my outdoorsy stuff alone because I can be a bit self-centered: I want to go when I want to go, stay as long as I want, ...
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Jun 16 2021

My Juneteenth was May 10th

One of the things that I never share with people who aren’t family (and I don’t share this with all of them) is that it bothers me that my family has always ...
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Mar 16 2021

Make Conflict (Management) An Everyday Thing

Most people hate dealing with conflict! It’s uncomfortable, takes time, and frankly, it’s often low on the priority list. Seriously, each of us can think of other things we’d much rather do ...
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Mar 8 2021

So, You Think Your Boss is Retaliating Against You

Other person: I think my boss may be retaliating against me. Me: ↓↓↓↓....................... (Yes, I said all of this!) Is this problem really retaliation?  To begin, you should be careful about the ...
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Dec 16 2020

5 Checklists to Get Your People Aligned for the New Year

Take the beginning of the year to set the tone about what matters to you and your team!  If you take all five steps, you’ll even set aside time for check-in throughout ...
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Dec 16 2020

Identities WITH Benefits

If you don’t celebrate Christmas or want to participate in gift exchanges, what is it like for you at work from Thanksgiving until the New Year? If you celebrate Christmas and its ...
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Nov 1 2020

In the Grip of Chronic Stress

Three Things to Know about People and Stress that will Help EVERYBODY at Work People behave differently when they are operating under stress. Their best bet for working through stress comes from ...
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Oct 14 2020

Influencer: Conflict Management Series (3 of 4)

Have you ever seen a leader at a stand off with their team about something that the leader asked or told them to do, but the team has refused to do? Rarely ...
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Oct 12 2020

Reasons better than, “It’s the Law” to do Anti-Harassment Training

If you only provide anti-harassment training because it satisfies risk management or compliance obligations, it’s time to shift your perspective! If you see it as a “check the box” thing, you’ll convey ...
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Oct 7 2020

Books and Podcasts for Leaders

Did you know that studies tell us leaders exceed their goals when their colleagues and direct reports describe them as having great emotional intelligence or good people skills? Data also tell us ...
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Sep 24 2020

Yes, Sexual Orientation is Protected

This past summer, the SCOTUS issued a decision that impacts how employers treat sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. The decision addressed three legal cases all at once, and they ...
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Sep 9 2020

Announcing “They”

Why? Because necessity is the mother of adoption, and while debate about the word may seem new, singular they has been on an “inexorable forward march...” Time Magazine, January 17, 2020   ...
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Aug 24 2020

I’M DONE! …Giving Up on an Employee

Which employee are you most likely to give up on first? _______________________________________________________________ Employee 1: Can’t Do: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities You have an employee on your team who has great energy and ...
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Aug 19 2020

Are you a Coach, Supervisor, or Deadbeat Parent?

Think about most of the leaders that you've worked with....would you say that you've worked with more As, Bs, or Cs? a) coaches (They help you figure out what's in your way ...
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Jul 23 2020

When The Leader Won’t Lead

Note: our blog posts are written to be inclusive of gender-nonconforming and non-binary people; thus, you will see the pronoun “they” in many places where you would traditionally see he or she. ...
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Jul 22 2020

Paternalism is a Fail in Employment, Including During Covid

What does it mean to be a fair leader?  What does it mean to be an empathetic one? Consider this situation.   You are conducting interviews and one of the applicants is ...
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Jul 14 2020

Because of COVID “I don’t feel safe” (Part 2 of 2)

Key “Compliance” Employee Return to Work Issues. Click for resources on each of these. FYI, these rules apply to public, private, and nonprofit employers.   1. An employee says,  I don’t feel safe ...
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Jul 14 2020

Lead Them Back To Work (Part 1 of 2)

Your team, maybe your entire organization, just took a major hit, but you need to get them back on track. You know they are skittish,justifiably so. You also know that you have ...
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Jun 30 2020

Crucial Accountability: Conflict Management Series 2 of 4

This review of Crucial Accountability is the second of four extended reviews covering the Vital Smarts books, which also include Crucial Conversations, Influencer, and Change Anything.  This focus of book is to ...
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Jun 25 2020

Is it culture or “just checking the box”?

How does your team know the difference between a true organizational value and things that “management and HR” require simply because they want to look better just in case the organization is ...
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Jun 4 2020

Silence is NOT Golden

Note: this message was originally designed to be a video, but due to circumstances beyond our control, it's now presented as text.   It matters that YOU (you personally, not your your ...
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Apr 20 2020

Don’t schedule the meeting until you can answer this question: 3 Tips Remote Employee Engagement

Don’t schedule the meeting, virtual or in-person, until you can answer this question: “What do I want people to think, feel and do after the meeting?” Studies tell us that leaders think ...
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Apr 2 2020

Rapid Fire Change and Self Care for Leaders

Self Care for People Like You - Who Run Teams or Work Solo and Need to Pivot to Survive and Thrive   Rapid sudden change is to leaders what a sudden heart ...
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Mar 18 2020

I had an “IN OFFICE” team last week; Now, it’s REMOTE!

What a Difference a Day Made. 24 little hours. Can we say that again! Who would have thought that we would be in a situation where, nearly overnight, a group of more ...
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Mar 18 2020

Leader-Managers in a Crisis

A crisis could almost be defined as any problem that we don’t have ready answers for that is going to have a significant impact no matter how we respond. It is the ...
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Mar 15 2020

This is How the Fight Started…And Why It Keeps Going

Want to see a fight at work?  Easy! Just add one of these. Want to see a civil war at work? Add more than one.  Perceptions of unfairness, including perceptions of favoritism.  ...
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Mar 1 2020

What’s Your Next Move? Your Team Plays Anticipatory Chess

What do you think these 10 statements and questions represent?   1) Formal discipline and public acknowledgements: how often you give either and as a regular of what types of triggers? 2) ...
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Feb 15 2020

Crucial Conversations and Emotional Intelligence

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. Peter Drucker Some years ago, I wanted to create some videos. After a lot of hunting, I found a great videographer ...
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Jan 30 2020

What Went Wrong?

Wells Fargo managers interviewed women and people of color for already-filled jobs to make it look like they were trying to boost diversity, Joe Bruno says. A Dollar Tree in Indiana is ...
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Jan 14 2020

The Key to Getting the Most from your Leadership Consultant

If you’re an experienced leader in an organization, I bet you have at least one story about engaging an external consultant and not getting exactly what you’d hoped for. In all likelihood, ...
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Jan 3 2020

You’re The Expert On Your Work Experiences!

What do you really believe about the workplace? More specifically, what do you believe is the purpose of work, the role that work plays in our lives, and what makes for a ...
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Dec 15 2019

Does Your Team Have a Holiday Wish List?

I talk to employees to nearly everyday. Interestingly, it often seems like employees are unhappy, some sort of complaint, or a wish for a more perfect workplace. Broadly, the frustrations are as ...
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Dec 11 2019

Please Be Advised: December 2019 Compliance News

New Jersey Salary Ban:  January 1st! On January 1st, 2020, New Jersey’s Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act law goes into effect.  Essentially, the new law prohibits an employer from an applicant ...
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holiday party dress code

Nov 30 2019

Can I enforce a dress code at the holiday party?

People think all work bets are off when they are not on the clock or at their desks. Whether for good or bad; they are wrong. Anything that connects an employee to ...
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holiday slow down

Nov 15 2019

The Holiday Work Slowdown

Can you really get meaningful productivity out of employees in November and December? While it may seem counter-intuitive, the November - Mid January holiday season is an excellent time to get work ...
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Nov 6 2019

Uh oh! My Manager Received a Harassment Complaint

One of your managers receives a harassment complaint. Do they know what to do? While harassment complaints are never welcomed, they should be anticipated by your organization’s policies. Not only should your ...
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The MBTI, Teams, and EI

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, also known as the MBTI, is probably one of the most well-known personal assessment tools available. Whether someone completed the assessment while in college many years ago ...
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Oct 15 2019

APPOV: Disengagement Begins with Small Things

Each week, I volunteer to count money for an organization. Since I have been doing it, it seems like there is a complaint every week about mistakes. The person who relays the ...
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Sep 30 2019

The Consultant’s Dilemma

One of my greatest stressors as a consultant is ending the project. Sometimes, I stress more than others, but I always stress and it’s about the same thing: will this project die ...
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regina - appov

Sep 15 2019

APPOV Leadership: Regina

Regina is the kind of leader who you don’t see coming. She’s the leader of my church ladies fellowship group. Get this: I don’t actually attend her church. Nope. Not at all. ...
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team hiking

Sep 1 2019

Analyze this True Story with Your Team: The Hiking Trip

Context: I’m part of a meetup group whose purpose is to get people who don’t normally hike to try getting out into the great outdoors. Because of our mission, our activities are ...
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Aug 15 2019

21 Signals that It’s Time to Quit!

Professionally-speaking, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was to terminate someone. Although that experience took place quite some time ago, I remember it as if it were yesterday. ...
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