The role of the chairperson is critical to the success of any meeting. There are three roles a chairperson can play.

Plan, structure and arrange meetings so everyone knows their purpose, what is to be discussed, and why.
Create an atmosphere during [...]

When you plan a meeting you must first be clear on its purpose and the items that are to be discussed. Then you can attend to the details of who should attend; where and when it should be held, and how it should be organised.
In deciding who should attend a meeting there is one rule. [...]

In a well run meeting you can solve problems, motivate people, initiate new projects, solve conflicts, get buy-in and build relationships more quickly and easily than in any other way. It’s no wonder meetings are so popular!
Research shows that the written word carries only about 7% of the true meaning of what you communicate and [...]

A performance appraisal interview is, in many ways, far more important for an employee than it is for a manager. It is essential that you prepare for your performance appraisals carefully and handle them skilfully.
A good performance appraisal can enhance your reputation and accelerate or change the direction of your career. An interview that goes [...]

If you want to build a high performing team you must know how to hold people to account for their performance. In general however, people are more skilled at avoiding accountability than others are at holding them to account. There are three tactics that are most commonly used. For each, there is a specific behaviour [...]

In most organisations it is assumed that if you want to build a high performing team you need to set stretch goals and objectives. Logically, it makes sense that setting challenging goals and objectives is the best way to inspire the most effort and the best performance. The only limitation that is commonly recognised is [...]

The old acronym K.I.SS. - Keep It Simple Stupid - is as well understood and relevant today as it ever was. In spite of that, much business communication is ineffective, whether it’s written or spoken.
People tend to ramble, never getting to the point. They focus more on showing what they know, rather than on [...]

The majority of organizations today claim they have a performance appraisal system in place.  The procedures and documentation are carefully designed and circulated every quarter or half year. Managers line up interviews with their staff. Sometimes people are asked to complete self assessments before their appraisal interviews.
Afterwards, the data is collected and analysed to identify [...]

Speaking up to anyone in authority can be difficult and high risk. If you get it wrong, it could be career limiting. But it may be the only way to remove feelings of frustration and dis-empowerment at work and can be a powerful way to increase your resilience.
One of the conversations that most people avoid is asking [...]

When the going gets tough and you have lost your bounce, it is easy to think only of what is difficult and what is going wrong. Resilient people have learned to focus on positive thoughts to build up their self esteem and energy. It doesn’t mean being unrealistic or denying reality. It just means you cope better.
Here [...]