A few years ago, I was working with a mid-level manager who was, by every external measure, succeeding. Promotions on schedule. Strong performance reviews. A team that consistently hit its numbers. But in a conversation that started as a routine check-in, she said something that stopped me cold: “I don’t know why I keep coming back.” She wasn’t burned out […]
Dan Goodman said it plainly in a recent LinkedIn post: “PIPs suck for everyone.” The employee wrongly being managed out through fabricated documentation. The manager forced to manufacture performance claims to justify a decision already made. The HR professional doing leadership’s dirty work. He’s right about all of it. But here’s where I’ll push back: PIPs don’t suck because they’re […]
Three weeks into a major project implementation, a junior staff member caught me in the hallway after a meeting. She started to say something, hesitated, then said, “Never mind. I’m sure you’ve thought of this.” I was busy. I had the answers. I let it go. Three weeks after that, we hit a critical issue that pushed the project back […]
