Category Archive: Leadership Development

Great Leaders Learn To Delegate Well

Posted by on October 16, 2017

Great leaders have come to the realization that it is more important to develop people than it is to deliver results.  This will empower their people to use their competencies and significantly increase the capacity of the organization.  Empowerment is also directly linked to job satisfaction and a major factor in retention.  This HBR post is excellent:

“One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading. As a new manager you can get away with holding on to work. Peers and bosses may even admire your willingness to keep “rolling up your sleeves” to execute tactical assignments. But as your responsibilities become more complex, the difference between an effective leader and a super-sized individual contributor with a leader’s title is painfully evident.”

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3 Ways To Help Leaders Reach Their Potential

Posted by on October 9, 2017

One of the keys to sustaining leadership excellence in your life will be the practice of life long learning.  I continue to gain great value from reading books but I now find podcasts to be just as helpful.  Even reading through my daily social media stream often gives me exactly what I need for that day.  Michael Hyatt is a pro at leadership development:

“Years ago, I wrote a list of “100 Things I Want to Do Before I Die.” It’s really an amazing, audacious list. Whenever I review it, I am both inspired and stunned by how many of the items I have already accomplished. And yet, there is so much more. The list keeps growing!”

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6 Questions Great Leaders Ask Their Teams

Posted by on October 6, 2017

Effective leaders are no longer the person who sits at the head of the table and answers all of the important questions.  Today the best leaders have developed the ability to ask great questions that empower other people to be fully engaged.  Collaboration by its very nature requires a conversation and this Forbes post is spot on:

“It’s humbling to ask questions. After all, the moment that you ask a question is the moment you reveal what you don’t know. To some, asking questions is a death-blow to their ego, while to others, it’s a stepping stone to clarity. In fact, during research for their book The Innovator’s DNA, the authors discovered that the strongest leaders (and the people destined for the C-suite) asked questions because they were humble enough to acknowledge they didn’t know everything and confident enough to admit it.”

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Why You Get Distracted At Work

Posted by on September 25, 2017

I used to love multi-tasking because it felt like I was getting so much done.  That is because I falsely believed that activity equals productivity.  I now totally reject that idea, unless I am working on the most administrative tasks of the day.  Anything else demands blocked time for deep and sustained work.  This Michael Hyatt post is great:

“It’s hard to maintain your focus in an office. With so many meetings to attend, drop-ins by coworkers, calls, emails, and countless other interruptions, it can seem like a miracle that anything ever gets done.  But do you know who the biggest culprit often is when it comes to sabotaging your productivity with distractions? Look in the mirror.”

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How To Work Smarter Not Harder

Posted by on September 18, 2017

I always get caught with the tension of spending time learning some new technology that will help me and the reality of needing immediate results.  However, after making the commitment to becoming proficient with some personal project management software my life is significantly more productive.  I am not interested in just doing the wrong things faster and this Fast Company post hits all the issues:

“Possibly no piece of productivity advice is more well-worn than the adage, “Work smarter, not harder.” Of course, the directive points to the fact that it’s not how many hours you put in at your desk that matters—it’s how you spend your time there. In other words, get results faster and you won’t be spending so many late nights at the office.”

But what does it really mean to work smarter?

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How To Stay Calm Under Pressure At Work

Posted by on September 15, 2017

We all are dealing with incredible amounts of stress at work with no end in sight.  Therefore, we must learn how to turn all of that energy into effective habits that increase our productivity not minimize it.  Many times the critical factor is simply our perspective about the stress and not the stress event itself.  This Forbes post was very practical:

“I once had a client who was constantly frazzled with intense anxiety every time she even thought about work. It was not only affecting her productivity, but also her quality of life! We put a plan in place to help her feel in control again, and now she has a better idea of how to manage stress in the workplace.”

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Four Things Leaders Must Do When Times Are Tough

Posted by on September 4, 2017

In normal business cycles change is always there and we are able to realign our company cultures to continue to be effective.  Today disruption is the norm with multiple parts of our value chain changing and never coming back.  Leaders must be dealers in hope that the future will be better than the present.  This Forbes post is excellent:

“The average lifespan of a company in the S&P 500 was 67 years in the 1920s. Today, it’s under 15.  Companies have to adapt to new environments and situations faster than ever before, and the threat of macroeconomic turmoil and business model disruption is as high as it ever has been.”

As a leader, what can you do in the midst of these challenges? In difficult times, research shows that the key is to instill trust, compassion, stability and hope.

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When Delegation Becomes Abdication

Posted by on August 28, 2017

One universal truth about leadership is that most of us fail to delegate all of the work that someone else could do just as well or even better.  It is one of the primary ways to develop other leaders.  However, when we do it poorly then our expectations are not met and the other person feels like they failed.  This Michael Hyatt post is helpful:

“Tell me you’ve had this experience. You assign a task but then forget about it. I sure have. As a leader, I am not a micromanager. That’s good news for my team. But I have to be intentional that delegation doesn’t drift into abdication.  It’s not always disastrous when this happens. If we’ve hired well, our teams bridge the gap and nobody is worse off. But sometimes when assignments fall through the cracks, we create serious problems for ourselves.”

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How To Develop The Next Generation Of Leaders

Posted by on August 25, 2017

When the primary purpose of your leadership is to drive results you will take your eye off the ball of the higher priority of developing new leaders.  It clearly is a short term investment of time now that will pay significant results later for the entire organization.  This post by the Forbes Coaches council is spot on:

“Baby boomers are stepping into retirement in growing numbers. This means that companies are starting to lose institutional knowledge and experience, not to mention an entire section of leadership. While there is still time to get younger generations up to speed on leadership tasks, that training is not something that should be an afterthought.”

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Good Leaders Do Not Need A Hammer

Posted by on August 23, 2017

Today if you have to tell someone you are the leader in reality you probably are not.  Positional authority has given way to relational trust in most work cultures.  Does that mean that all directive leadership is dead?  No, however you must adapt to a situational leadership model to align with what you team needs.  This Forbes post is excellent:

“Multigenerational teams have given leaders cause to pause for review of their management styles, tools and techniques. It is no secret workforce changes have prompted a revisit of everything from training delivery to employee benefits to leadership development. What worked for the baby-boomer generation doesn’t necessarily work for Generation X, millennials or Generation Z.”

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