For most people Monday is the most dreaded day of the week.

This is unfortunate as Mondays occupy 15% of your week and another 10-15% of Sunday (assuming you start dreading returning to work the day before). Now perhaps you as a leader, are immune to this way of thinking. Fair enough. However what about the team you lead? More than likely they are NOT immune to the dread of Monday. A recent LinkedIn survey indicated that 66% of professionals start thinking about and dreading going to work on Sunday. So let’s spend a little time looking at how to address this dis-ease.

Why do we dread Monday’s so much?

Part of this is perfectly normal. The weekend is filled with fun and/or relaxation and we don’t want it to end. We look forward to ‘long’ weekends and relish the time we have with our loved ones. But even a ‘long’ weekend doesn’t end the dread of the first workday – it just moves it back one day. The start of the week is filled with problems and gremlins that appear to have been beefing up all weekend – just waiting to unleash themselves on us. It is also the day that weekly meetings tend to be scheduled, further eroding the amount of time we have to spend those troublesome gremlins. Oh yes – and email – that scourge of the 21st century business professional. Even if you took the weekend off there always seems to be a lot of people that decided to spend their weekend hours getting ahead start on cluttering your inbox with urgent requests. It’s no wonder that Monday is the least favorite day of the week for most people!

If 66% of your team is feeling this way it makes sense to try to see if we can address the parts of the Monday dis-ease that are at least within our control and/or influence.

Here is a short list of simple actions you can take that will help your team make this week different:

  1. Ask your team NOT to open email first thing in the morning. For many professionals this is the first thing they do when they wake up. The psychological damage this does to your creativity and ability to be proactive cannot be overestimated. You are immediately mentally doing battle with your gremlins even before your week has started. But you ask: What if there is a crisis in there? What if I do not see it right away? What if indeed? If your clients or coworkers expect you open email immediately in the morning they may send you an email to alert you to the crisis. In most cases however, they would have texted or called you. Now be honest with yourself: The reason we open email first thing in the morning is because it is a habit. We want to know what awaits us. You don’t have to. You WANT to. It’s like watching an accident – you just can’t look away. When should you open your email – after you complete the second item on this list – and NOT before.
  2. Identify your Weekly TOP 3. Those of you that have followed me for some time know that I am big on lists of three. Jack Johnson immortalized the number three in his hit The 3 R’s where he convinced us that 3 was the magic number. Why do I mention this? Well, some of you followed that hyperlink and listened to a bit of that song. That is what we refer to as a rabbit hole :). Did you fall for it? Even if you didn’t – you know you do at different times of the day, usually when we are at a low energy level. And your mind will always be attracted to what you focus on. If you focus on just ‘surviving the day’ that is exactly what you will get. Part of the way we address this in our flagship coaching process LeaderShift One2One is to have leaders identify three most important items that they want to make progress on in a given week, before they start engaging in the tactical work and the crises of the moment. What are the three most important items you want to make progress on this week? These should be the kind of things that you will feel good about at the end of the week – knowing that you made progress and did not just settle for survival.
  3. Lead with The Positive Focus: Make sure you recognize that your team is a collection of individuals that have lives and interests outside of work. One of the best ways to do this is to have each team member share one positive thing that happened over the weekend at the start of the weekly team meeting. This frames the meeting in everyone’s mind in a positive manner. The benefits to this simple exercise are too numerous to mention here (I’ll write about them in another blog). However – the more unimportant this exercise seems to you the more critical it is that you engage in it. Task oriented leaders are notorious more thinking this is ‘fluff’ and margialzing the importance of connecting with the team. Don’t fall victim to this thinking!

So that’s it. Three simple actions that will help you and your team dread Monday less.

Oh and did you notice there were 3 action items – 3 truly is the magic number.

March 6, 2023 / By

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Is charisma necessary to be a truly effective leader? We would argue it is critical if you wish to reach your full leadership potential.

And yet many leaders feel that they are not charismatic. Too often we confuse manipulative charisma with true charisma. Some people may have a sort of natural charisma – however they have never worked at developing the character of their leadership – and so there is nothing there to maintain the attention of anyone once they get close. These individuals come across as manipulative once you get to know them.

The good news is that true charisma can be developed. In this Insight we show you four steps you can take to attract others to yourself and your cause.
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Leaders tell us that what frustrates them the most is having the same problems day after day

The LeaderShift Framework helps leaders move past those problems so they can experience the success they truly desire.

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May 20, 2020 / By

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If you have ever hired an employee and a different person showed up than the one you interviewed, then this Insight is for you. I mean – not really a different person. They looked like the same person, however they did not ACT the way they said they would while being interviewed.

While it is easy to blame a lack of honesty in the interview process – there may be a deeper challenge at play here.


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If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –

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May 13, 2020 / By

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When emotions run high your team may approach you to discuss their frustrations with other team members. What you do next will either reinforce your position of leadership or undermine it.

Too often leaders commit one of the cardinal sins of leadership in this situation. In this Insight we will share this error – and how to avoid it while ensuring you help your whole team deal with the negative emotions that are being surfaced.

If you get this wrong you will alienate one part of your team – or in the worse case scenario – both parts of your team.


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If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –

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May 5, 2020 / By

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Teams are under more pressure than ever – and if you are not careful factions can easily emerge – undermining team effectiveness. Perhaps you have seen this occurring in your team. Or maybe it is happening and you are unaware of it. In times like these some team members will  become frustrated with their peers, and then reach out to individuals who see the situation much the same as they do. These factions are talking, but only to team members that see the problem the way they do.

In normal times these team struggles would be more visible – and more easily addressed  – as we would be working in the same physical space.

In this Insight, we will share with you why this is happening, why it is completely predictable, where the factions will develop, and what you must do about it as a leader.


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If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –

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April 30, 2020 / By

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Your current level of success is directly tied to your current habits. So, it makes sense that if you would like to enjoy more success it will require you to acquire new habits.

Most of the time leaders not only struggle with changing their own habits, they also struggle with changing the habits of the employees whose results they are responsible for. Changing habits is instrumental to helping your employees achieve their full potential – and yet it is incredibly hard to do.

In this Insight, we will share with you the process you must use if you seek to change any habit permanently, and also the most common mistakes leaders make when they undertake habit change.


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If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –

Click here to learn more about this powerful online resource to accelerate your team’s progress.! 

April 20, 2020 / By

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I know what you’re thinking. What could an alarm clock possibly have to do with Leadership?

And yet, the alarm clock, and more specifically the way we interact with it is a perfect analogy for the way that the human mind works.

Once you grasp this simple truth you will be on your way to changing any result you desire to change in your own life – and you will also be able to start bridging that gap for the people you manage. Leadershift Online

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If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –

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April 14, 2020 / By

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It is more important than ever to be able to lead effectively. And yet, one of the hardest skills to self assess is leadership.

How do you know if you are leading effectively? Well it turns out that your people will tell you if you just ask.

No – I am not suggesting you literally ask them if you are an effective leader. It would be a rare employee that would be willing to answer that you are not. 🙂

As it turns out, it is easy to know whether you need to improve your leadership skill. You just have to ask them the right questions.

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April 7, 2020 / By

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In times of crisis your people need steady leadership more than ever. But how do you lead when you yourself are unsure of exactly what the next month or week might bring?

In this week’s insight we share with you a simple way to understand your natural reaction to times of crisis, and how to make sure that you are giving very member of your team the leadership they need.

We will also show you the most common mistake leaders make when try to encourage their team in times of crisis.

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March 30, 2020 / By

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It’s much easier to manage and lead a team when you all are located in the same office. But what do you do when you suddenly are thrust into working as a remote team?

How do you ensure employees stay connected, productive and engaged?

In this week’s insight we share with you a simple way to learn exactly what every employee needs, and how to establish a baseline daily interaction that will ensure that your team stays on track.

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March 19, 2020 / By

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* The Balanced ScoreCard (Kaplan/Norton)