Ever wonder why some companies seem full of people who spend more time hiding and making sure they can't be blamed for anything instead of achieving results?

 

As with most things, it all starts from the top. Companies with a cover-your-butt culture inevitably have a CEO with a "drive-by shooting" approach to leadership--a style that is quick to criticize and reluctant to praise.

 

One CEO Nancy worked with went so far as to actually carry around a toy taser gun that he would pull out and pretend to fire at executives he thought had screwed up. What's worse, if the CEO thought someone was doing a good job, he wouldn't say a thing.

 

Instead, be sure to spend some time each week with your direct reports to learn about issues, challenges and successes in each area.

 

At least once per quarter, discuss individual career and development plans with each executive.

 

And finally, insist that each executive be accountable for reporting back to you both the good and bad news.

 

 

Related book: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink. Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people--at work, at school, at home. It's wrong. As Pink explains, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.