If you find yourself racing toward the end of the year like a runner to the finish line, you're not alone. At work, the last quarter of the year can be busier than all the other months combined. At home, the holidays are approaching...
By Margaret Wilson, Tandem Partners & Ann Quinn, Quinn Strategy Group There are times in every organization’s lifecycle when everything hums along without a bump in the road. At moments like this, it can be tempting to take your eye off strategy and simply enjoy...
By Margaret Wilson, Tandem Partners & Ann Quinn, Quinn Strategy Group In a world marked by constant flux and the unforeseen, the ability to adapt is important to individuals and organizations alike. If we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that the readiness...
Did you know that by 2026, Fortune 500 companies – the iconic list of largest companies in the U.S. by revenue – are projected to maintain their status for an average of only 14 years? That duration is less than half what it was...
By Margaret Wilson, Tandem Partners & Ann Quinn, Quinn Strategy Group It’s no secret that winning organizations have both a clear strategy and a cohesive team (what we call a People Strategy). After all, fast-paced organizations operating in dynamic environments know that building team cohesion...
Here’s a question to ask the managers in your organization: “What kind of employees do we want to have in our workforce? Employees who think for themselves? Or workers who mechanically do only what we tell them to do, exactly when and how we...
By Margaret Wilson, Tandem Partners & Ann Quinn, Quinn Strategy Group As advisors to leaders and teams, we’re often asked, “Can people be taught to think strategically?” Our answer is an unequivocal “Yes.” While some people are born with a predisposition to thinking long term...
Be honest – how many times has something like this happened to you? Your company is working on a big project and your team members have defined roles. One of your employees runs into a roadblock with an assignment and comes to you for...
Most leaders will encounter this dilemma at least once in their careers: An employee who’s pretty bad on some days and just good enough to get by on others. An employee who shows up consistently, but doesn’t ultimately contribute a whole lot. A manager...
As winter comes to an end, it’s a great time to clear out the cobwebs and invite fresh air into your business. Just as dust and dirt are a natural byproduct of living in our homes, clutter comes with normal business operations. Over time,...
As the final season of the hit series “Succession” unfolds, fans of the Roy family’s power struggles will be glued to their sets. While the show may be an overly dramatic portrayal of a family enterprise, it serves as a reminder that the critical...
Raise your hand if you love turning the clocks back in November and hate springing forward in March. Yeah, us too. That one lost hour can be so disorienting. And it’s not as if you didn’t already have enough on your mind and your...
By Margaret Wilson, Tandem Partners & Ann Quinn, Quinn Strategy Group We’re well into the new year now and the economy continues to give out mixed signals. Growth has slowed, but half a million jobs were added last month. Inflation is high but consumers are...
Years ago there was a popular game show called What’s My Line?, in which blindfolded celebrity panelists played “20 Questions” to determine a mystery guest’s occupation. In many companies, there’s a similar guessing game going on: “Whose job is that?” “How did that decision...
In recent years, much has been written about leadership and the importance of playing to our strengths. While this is certainly essential, the reality is that other people more often pay attention to our bad habits than they do to our good deeds. In...
Have you ever noticed that family conflict seems to surface more around the Holidays than at any other time of year? For many families, Thanksgiving is a time to gather together, share a meal and renew family ties. Unfortunately for others, it’s an opportunity...
Running an early stage business often poses the classic “can’t see the forest for the trees” dilemma. You’re so focused on the next project, the next sale or the next new hire that you may not see the larger picture of where your business...
Recently, Margaret Wilson appeared on Java with Jim Ries, Director of Business Development at Offit | Kurman to discuss the origin of Tandem Partners and its dedication to helping families, owners and businesses in transition....
Employee burnout is real. And while it’s not new, during COVID it got worse. During the last two years, compounding pressures including hybrid work and high turnover have impacted the stress that employees feel, their ability to do their work, and whether they’ll look...
Like many of you, we belong to professions that require us to be licensed or certified to practice. Every year, Tandem Partners coaches and consultants engage in continuing education, just like our friends who are social workers, engineers, estheticians, and architects. We do it...
Has anyone complained to you recently about a lack of communication in your organization? Are you hearing that people feel like they don’t know what’s going on? Maybe you’ve even privately thought this to yourself. Or maybe, like others in this time of resignations...
When you were younger, did you ever participate in a spelling bee? I recently reconnected with some childhood friends and it reminded me of something I hadn’t thought of in a long time – the day I lost the 5th grade spelling bee. I...
By Margaret Wilson & Ann Quinn | As the world emerges from the global pandemic and many people resume their normal activities, organizational leaders are faced with new questions...
By Margaret Wilson & Ann Quinn | This time last year, we thought we were looking back on the longest 12 months ever. We couldn’t have known then that 2021 would be equally challenging and memorable. Yet even now, when things have...
No one knows exactly when people started making New Year’s resolutions, but whenever that was, the habit of breaking them probably started a few weeks later. Failed resolutions are such a common occurrence that a lot of leadership coaches aren’t in favor of making...
Some unusual events have surrounded the Summer Games since the first modern Olympics in 1896 – wars, boycotts, and this year, a pandemic and an absence of spectators. But the Games went on, and the Olympians persevered. We all know it takes more than...
As we celebrate Independence Day, freedom is very much on our minds. It is fitting to reflect on the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson who said, “…let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollection of these rights, and our undiminished devotion to...
If you feel like you’re slowly crawling your way to the end of the year like an exhausted runner to the finish line, you’re not alone. It has been one of the most challenging years we can remember, and we’re all exhausted. Like many...
All over the world, companies have been challenged by the pandemic to adapt and find new ways of working. Flexible structures and “flatarchies” have emerged to support rapid response and decision-making. Remote work has kept businesses operational and many will stay with at least...
By the end of May, all 50 states had begun easing the restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. In many places now, people can go back to restaurants and retail stores – yet not everyone is ready to venture out....
Has anyone else noticed a rash of aggressive driving lately? It seems that some people are taking advantage of the empty roads to drive at excessively high speeds. And reckless driving is far from the worst behavior that’s been making headlines over the last...
Here at Tandem Partners HQ, we’re entering week six of our new work-from-home, stay-at-home life, as are many of you. People are still sick, stores are still closed, and business is still taking place inside four walls and our computer screens. But also, people...
It’s safe to say that the last month has kicked us way out of our comfort zones and the routines we took for granted. This crisis has also disrupted the way leaders are interacting with their teams, and not just in the working-from-home sense....
The willow that bends to the tempest often escapes better than the oak which resists it. -- Albert Schweitzer What a month it has been. The last few weeks have been dominated by a barrage of sobering headlines, new working-from-home schedules, and all kinds of big...
Yesterday our state moved into new Stay-At-Home orders, and it really hit me: We’re going through what will probably be a life-changing experience on a worldwide scale. People everywhere are in defensive mode, scrambling to protect their health, their families and their livelihoods. Business...
Over the last week, we’ve been in touch with many leaders who are struggling with everything from crisis communication and resource planning to rapid decision making and managing employee fears. The Coronavirus is changing our lives and work in ways we don’t yet fully...
The If-I-Want-Something-Done-I’ll-Do-It-Myself Solution - A business owner named Sue had initiated a succession process at her company. Like many leaders, Sue struggled to relinquish responsibility to younger leaders. She’d always been reluctant to delegate, and often found herself re-doing others’ work. This tendency seemed to...
When you’re a leader, it’s easy to become preoccupied with your own significant workload. However, when that happens, you’re necessarily less available to your team. Of course, there will always be issues that you personally must attend to. But think about what it means...
When you hear the term “leadership development” what comes to mind? Who comes to mind? If you’re like most people, you think of leadership development as about the people coming up behind you. People younger than you, or less experienced. The next generation, you...
Here’s a question to ask the managers in your family business: “What kind of employees do we want to have in our workforce? Employees who think for themselves? Or workers who mechanically do only what we tell them to do, exactly when and how...
Most leaders accept that at some time in the future, their time at the helm will end and the business will be given into the care of the next leader. However, just thinking about the transition can be daunting and overwhelming for the senior leader. If that weren’t enough, most owners experience their own succession just once. Tandem Partners provides the experience and professional guidance needed to move through the strategic, operational and interpersonal issues that are all a part of transition.
When it comes to developing leaders and teams, one size does not fit all. Your business is unique, and has specific strategies and capabilities that drive it forward. We help you identify and develop the specific leadership competencies that make you who you are as an organization and who you’d like to be. We work with leadership teams on the real issues they’re facing now, helping them to see more, be more, do more and lead more effectively, together.
For families in business, success is not just measured in fiscal years, but over generations. Yet often, leaders are so focused on the day-to-day that they aren’t able to step back and focus on the issues that impact long-term sustainability. We help leadership teams assess where they are now, where they’re trying to go and how they’re going to get there. Our expertise in the areas of organizational strategy, structure, process and performance is a unique feature of our work, and integral to our transition management approach.
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