Straight from the desk

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx Bella has never read a leadership book. She has never attended a workshop on psychological safety or workplace dynamics. Yet, she has taught me some of the most useful lessons I know about trust and leadership. Bella is my dog. As she's grown older, I'm becoming more aware of the fact that she has a mind of her own. There are days when she listens to everything I say. And t

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” — Bobby Unser, race car driver Most employees think promotions are decided during appraisal season. Almost none of them realise the amount of discussions that goes behind identifying talent that deserves the growth. When the discussion reaches a conference room after weeks of reviewing employees and the work they've done over the past year, most decisions are already obvious. The honest insider truth is - Promotions are ea

“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” — Joe Louis Come March every year, every team member I have worked with wants a promotion. Very few want to hear the feedback or understand that they have to earn one. And contrary to popular belief, no manager looks forward to telling that talented person that they did not get the rating they hoped for. I have had this conversation more times than I remember, and it never gets easy. But over the years, I've chipped