by Patti Blackstaffe | Jun 3, 2015 | Coaching Skills, Conflict, Culture, Engagement, Leadership, Management
First, a short story. Not long ago, a team we are familiar with described their experience with a difficult manager. The frustration level was such that the core team were ready to quit. Their issue? A lying Manager. The team was weary, distrustful, often cranky and...
by Patti Blackstaffe | May 8, 2015 | Business, Change Management, Customer Service, Leadership
Dear Criticizer, RE: Graham Sucha voted in as MLA for Calgary Shaw Both a daughter and a son in our family are restaurant managers, and I take great exception to the insinuation that restaurant managers are of a lower unqualified class of flunkies as portrayed by the...
by Patti Blackstaffe | Feb 17, 2015 | Business, Leadership, Team
I have a friend who was in the military and one evening over dinner he and his wife were discussing their training for an upcoming lengthy backpacking trip where the wife was slowly increasing weight by adding 10lb bags of sugar each week in order to build up to the...
by Patti Blackstaffe | Jan 19, 2015 | Culture, Engagement, Innovation, Leadership, Team Building, Transformation
Does your company have a suggestion box? It’s an old way of getting feedback from the front lines, but it works – if you take it seriously, and that takes commitment. The commitment is in Listening. An open mind to innovative thinking may just improve your already...
by Patti Blackstaffe | Jan 14, 2015 | Change Management, Culture, Leadership, Transformation
Many businesses going through a transformation do so for two reasons: 1. Their business is struggling and they need to stop the bleeding. 2. Their leadership is intent on maintaining a continual path to improvement and growth as they remain competitive. The latter...
by Patti Blackstaffe | Sep 4, 2014 | Change Management, Communication, Culture, Leadership
[BlogHeaderNewSub] It always surprises me a little when someone says; “I leave my personal life at the door when I come to work.” While that may be what some companies want to hear, the reality is quite different. People’s lives are not compartmentalized, every...
