A cornucopia of great little reading riches
My inbox has been overflowing with amazing things to read. Here is a sampling:
From my favorite blogger, Peter Bregman. The Martial Art of Difficult Conversations. While Peter is describing a personal difficult conversation, everything in this piece is applicable to the workplace. And since “difficult conversations” are the number one issue identified by every [...]
When is a new problem a sign of progress?
The disappointment was palpable in the manager’s voice. “I thought I was doing a better job but I have now found two new problems that we need to address before we can achieve the results we need. I thought I had a handle on all of this, but now . . .” [...]
New resources November 2009
In the last few days I have added several substantial new resources. Here is a summary:
Leading After Layoffs: Best Practices for Re-Energizing Your Workforce. Wendy Mack and Deanna Banks have written this free e-book as “a gift for leaders who are looking for ways to re-energize and align their people in these tough [...]
A feel-good strategy with proven financial results
Many of us believe that good morale and a positive work culture are terrific goals –but when pushed to prioritize, we tend to focus on hard results (like productivity or expenses), rather than what we perceive to be soft-touch, fuzzy options like morale.
That’s why I love that the American Psychological Association (APA) has compiled a [...]
Delegation on my mind
“More effective delegation” is a goal of almost every single participant in the Middle Management training programs I lead. Sometimes they want to learn how to get their boss to delegate better; they almost always want to learn how to delegate better themselves.
But what they really want, when we dig into a little bit, is [...]
In Flurry Mode too long?
All too often, public-sector behavioral healthcare Middle Managers often live in Flurry mode, rather than visit it.
Let me back up.
Yesterday I was listening to Melanie Benson Strick describe the difference between Flurry Mode and Strategic Mode for Leaders. Flurry Mode occurs when we have massive projects, requiring tight coordination, project planning, multiple resources, and [...]
A vaccination for the turnover blues?
Turnover continues to be a major morale, effectiveness, efficiency drain on public sector behavioral health organizations. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the turnover is caused by layoffs and downsizing, hiring freezes, or just normal staffing cycles. The results can be devastating. Here are some practical solutions to take now to prevent some of [...]
Moving from data to action, or “Where’s the bacon?”
I was struck by something Marcus Buckingham said the other day. (Actually, I am struck by almost everything he says, but that’s a story for another day.) Here is the quote:
“Conventional wisdom says ‘What gets measured gets managed.’ True, but still, you don’t make the pig any fatter by weighing it everyday. You must [...]
Latest OIG audit offers practical guidance
It seems that the number of OIG audits in behavioral health have slowed down in the last fiscal year – probably not a coincidence with the Obama inauguration occurring in January.
The one audit related to Target Case Management (TCM) is dated September 1, 2009, and concerns a review of Pennsylvania’s Medicaid payments for TCM. [...]
Training and fun
This weekend I have been learning some new technology and having so much fun that sometimes I feel giddy. Now this is not some new computer game – this is a work technology, and I enjoyed myself so much I had to make myself stop to go eat.
This has me thinking about all those trainings [...]
Lee Ann Slayton
President, Slayton Consulting, LLC