Category: Management + Culture

How to Lead Through Crisis

The outbreak of COVID-19 severely impacted hundreds of thousands of small businesses. Even as many of them begin to reopen, the lasting uncertainty and ongoing financial pressure can make it difficult for business owners to stay motivated and focused. How do you reopen while keeping people safe? How do you rally your employees and engage … Continued

How to Motivate Employees

Several years ago, I gave a speech at a conference full of some of the most respected and accomplished business leaders in America. At one point, I asked them what motivated these executives and CEOs to come to work in the morning, and they all said some version of the same thing. They said they … Continued

How to Lead During a Crisis

In March 2020, after the first known case of coronavirus in the United States was reported not far from Gravity’s Seattle headquarters, our leadership team realized we needed to prepare for the possible economic fallout from this pandemic. In the weeks that followed, as our small-business clients were forced to close or cut back services, … Continued

How to avoid the “scattershot approach” when you share feedback

Have you ever heard a manager give feedback to their entire team, but you knew that feedback was intended for one specific person on the team? If so, you’ve witnessed the “scattershot approach” of giving feedback — spraying little pellets of candor across the entire team rather than delivering a tough message to the single person who … Continued

How to Manage Your Team’s Performance

One of the biggest challenges managers face is dealing with performance issues when they arise. As a manager, your job is to help each one of your employees do their best work, but if someone is struggling, you might have to take more direct action. Ignoring performance issues will not only impair your team’s ability … Continued

Delegation Tips for New Managers

If you’ve recently moved into a management role, it will be crucial for you to develop the skill of delegation. Delegation is not merely a tactic to minimize your personal workload; it is one of the most effective ways to develop your people and give them stretch assignments to grow and improve. Although it’s natural … Continued

How to Lead an Effective 1-on-1

You’ve probably been on the receiving end of 1-on-1s for a while. If you recently transitioned into a management role, you’ll likely be tempted to run your 1-on-1 meetings the same way your boss ran them, which may or may not be an effective way to do it. The Importance of 1-on-1s Meeting personally with … Continued

How to Manage Former Peers

If you recently made the transition from team member to manager, you understand that managing former peers can be challenging. You want to maintain personal relationships but aren’t sure whether doing so will give the perception of favoritism. Some of your closest friends may be on the team, which can make performance conversations even more … Continued

Creating a Culture of Candor

In the past two weeks, two people at Gravity have thanked me for giving them unsolicited feedback.   I was struck by this because, even though I’ve worked at several companies before Gravity, I’d never witnessed a culture in which feedback was not only tolerated but appreciated. While we’re far from perfect, our company’s pursuit … Continued

The 3 Enemies of Feedback

Receiving critical feedback is one of the most difficult things about working with others. But why is it so dang hard? And how can we get better at both receiving feedback and learning from it? One thing to keep in mind is that half the battle comes before a tough message is ever shared. Those … Continued