Toxic people are those whose attitudes and behaviour poison the environment. They blame, complain and criticise, put people down, and infect everyone with their pessimism, negativity and bad humour. Some moan about anyone they see as more successful than they are; some are angry; others are bullies who dominate and humiliate anyone they see as [...]

My heart sinks when I hear someone say, ‘John isn’t performing well these days. I must send him an e-mail’. Doesn’t everyone know by now that you can’t do sensitive and difficult conversations by e-mail!
In any conversation that has a strong emotional tone you must be face to face. These are the kind of conversations [...]

It is very difficult to change adult behaviour, and the older the adult, the more it is difficult.
Many people, including human resources people who should know better, still behave as if a few days in a classroom can produce managers who will build high performing teams and people who will communicate effectively. Would that it [...]

It saddens me to see how so many adults have poor self-esteem and low self-confidence. By the time people are in their twenties, thirties and beyond, life patterns are in place that are hard to change. It would be so much easier if we did not acquire those negative perceptions of ourselves in the first [...]

There’s some really good news this week. I’ve had the proposal for my second Straight Talk book accepted for publication by my publisher, Random House Struik!
And there’s some really bad news! They want the manuscript by the end of January for July 2011 publication. So whatever other plans I had for the December holidays, they [...]

One of the things that managers most dread about performance appraisals is the woman who breaks down in tears at the first hint of critical feedback.
The very best way to handle this problem is to avoid having it happen in the first place. There are two things you can try.
Prepare for the conversation by gathering [...]

One of the problems that almost all business managers wrestle with is that of holding people to account. When you don’t do it effectively you find yourself surrounded by people who are driving you crazy with their incompetent performance or inappropriate behaviours.
Conversations about poor performance often end with promises of improvement that come to nothing. [...]

How do you convince someone to improve their performance when they have been paid – and promoted – for years, for what you consider to be sub-standard performance?
One of the most difficult performance management problems is the one where you have taken over a team where people have not received honest feedback in the past. [...]

Coaching and mentoring gets a lot of publicity, to the point that one could believe success is not possible without a personal coach or mentor.
The word ‘mentor’ comes from Greek mythology. In Homer’s Odyssey, Mentor was a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus went off to the Trojan Wars, he left his son Telemachus in the [...]

It starts like this.
‘We need your help. Sam is not performing, seems demotivated, doesn’t follow instructions and has become quite surly toward everyone. Can you come in as a coach to find out what is wrong and to help improve the situation.’
Sam could be anyone at all: an expensive graduate with potential, someone nearing retirement, [...]