How do you measure success? Money? Fame? Applause?

As a leader, how do your team members measure success?

It’s a deceptively difficult question, but one that’s critical to keeping your team productive, loyal, and engaged.

The question is deceptively difficult because it seems there would be as many answers as there are people on your team, or in your organization, or even in the world. Surely every person has his or her own criteria for success, right?

Wrong.

It turns out that there ...

There’s a very real chance that you’re not hearing your team’s best ideas.

I wonder what that’s costing you.

Many years ago, I was the president of a local non-profit association. Among my eight or so board members was a woman whom I’ll call Chanel because it sounds exotic. Chanel was someone whom you might call a “placeholder” on the board. She dutifully showed up at every board meeting, but she didn’t really contribute anything. She sat quietly and voted on things that ...