How Leaders Can Best Manage Conflict Within Their Teams

*Note: Lindsay cowrote this piece with Joan Bunashe, The Optimization Coach. 

It’s no secret that conflict is a part of life and definitely a part of day-to-day business. When we spend so much time with the same people every day, conflict is inevitable. But, as a leader, you probably dedicate more of your time on issues like productivity and meeting deadlines than on conflict resolution. When there is strife and personalities clash, you may reach for what you think will be a quick fix: find the “problem” people and separate them from the rest of the group.  Despite your best intentions, hunting for a problem person, labeling, or ostracizing is not the answer. Labeling any of your team members or allowing them to label each other as “toxic,” “the problem,” “a jerk,” etc., only perpetuates disconnection.   

If not handled properly, conflict alienates people and gets in the way creativity and productivity. There’s another, more effective way to bring your team back together and lead them to success. Of course, despite your best efforts to keep the team intact, you may realize that a particular employee is not the right fit for your culture, making it a good time to consider...

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How to Develop the Soft Skills of the Successful Entrepreneur

Can you really teach entrepreneurship? That question gets asked a lot, both in business and academia. Some claim you can learn the skills necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. Others say you either have “it” or you don’t, whatever the heck "it" is.

But I think we're asking the wrong question. It's not about whether you can teach skills to be a successful entrepreneur, but rather what skills need to be taught or learned. For instance, when it comes to the hard skills, anyone can learn them, either in a classroom or on the job. These include things like finance and accounting or branding and marketing or legal. They are the skills that lead to specific action… the “doing” of running your business.

But, more important are....

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How Technology Demands a Different Approach to Your Job

Technology has created a shift in the way we work day-to-day. In ways large and small, it's made tasks easier. None of us can live without tech in the workplace, and we are often thankful at how it has improved our productivity.

But technology can also threaten your livelihood if you're not careful. The rise in productivity has increased the competition for key roles. If you want to stay competitive, you have to watch out for these five things:

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Why You Don't Have To Be An Owner To Be An Entrepreneur

If you’re employed by an organization that you don't own, can you still be an entrepreneur? Sure, we tend to look at entrepreneurs as company owners or founders, not the people who might work for them. But that’s not completely accurate. The truth is, all employees can be entrepreneurs, too. Most don’t realize it and because of that, few have the keys to ignite their career.

That’s why a Gallup State of The American Workplace report shows that “70 percent of U.S. workers are not engaged or actively disengaged at work.” Some blame the economy. Some blame employer’s apathy or disregard for employees. Some blame a problem with overall culture among U.S. companies.

I blame the employee....

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Microsoft's CEO Apologized, But He Was Actually Half Right

OK, first off, let's just say that it never pays to go to a conference full of business women -- or anyone for that matter -- and tell them to do nothing to help their careers. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella essentially did just that, when he answered a question about how women could increase pay and opportunities by saying they should focus on "good karma." The "let go, let God" approach only goes so far.

But Nadella was too quick to backtrack from his remarks because he was on to something. And it actually could have been a great step forward in tackling what is perceived to be a problem with gender inequality in both jobs and pay at tech companies.

First, rather than focus on his alleged gaffe, let's...

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The Biggest Dating Problem Entrepreneurs Have

Being single isn't fun when you don’t want to be. But, for many entrepreneurs, it is a fact of life.

Entrepreneurs aren't your typical person. We eat, breathe and sleep our businesses 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year in a way that even the most dedicated employee doesn’t. Entrepreneurs are responsible for their organizations ability to pay bills, pay employees, pay themselves and still generate a profit. They are responsible for the health and well-being of the enterprise and for the company’s ability to remain relevant and grow. There is almost no separation between them and their businesses and they are always working, even if that work is simply thinking about their business.

So much of our business is our life that we tend to approach relationships as business transactions, too. And that's why....

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