Know who the hardest person to manage is?  No, it’s not the underperformer. Nor is it the high maintenance employee.  The absolute hardest person to manage is the person who can’t accurately self-assess. This type of employee never, ever sees himself or herself the way others do. And by others, I mean everyone else.  A recent Harvard Business Review article talks about ways to coach the person that doesn’t want to be coached.  

Is it just me, or is really bad leadership becoming more commonplace? This week, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner seems to be the latest example of leadership “don’ts”. Earlier this year, we saw Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie stripped of his Chairman title for making controversial statements. So what traits lead to bad leadership?

Along with millions of people around the globe, I was deeply saddened by the passing of Joan Rivers. She brought the kind of humor I think we could all use a little more of right now. She was ground breaking, gutsy and inspired others. So despite her critics, Joan led her life the way a great leader should by:

Who wouldn’t?  How great to be in the company of the likes of Google, Twitter, Southwest, Proctor & Gamble and 21 others who seem to make the list every year in Glassdoor's annual survey.  So what do these companies have in common that make their employees love to come to work?

1.    Core values.  Values that permeate every fiber of the company and not just a mission statement or a list that’s put in the annual personnel handbook.

What would happen if you had a whole team of "A" players?  You’d likely be having weekly therapy sessions on your way to becoming “manager of the year”.  Is it worth the higher level of stress and anxiety?

Besides being a huge challenge just to find so many "A" players, here’s what your day-to-day life would be like:

·      Meeting attendance? Forget about it.  Only if they have a few moments to spare between winning everything.

Do you have a diversity council at your company?  Are the members primarily made up of women and people of color? If you answered yes to either or both of these, I’m sure you have a very diverse workplace, right?  Maybe not.

Since creating a diverse culture starts with the hiring manager and not a “diversity council”, building the right environment takes more than creating policy and giving speeches.