That Leadership Bench Won’t Grow Itself
Better than half of newly appointed, first-time business leaders fail in their first two years, resulting in their removal from position, either voluntary or otherwise. I hesitate to wonder how many more are left to quietly and more slowly drown on their own. If new doctors failed at that same rate, hospitals might find it […]
Leadership is About Blood, Sweat, and Occasional Tears
In the time that I’ve served in a leadership role, in both for profit and non-profit venues, I have tried mightily to operate with a short list of simple, understandable maxims, like… Take pains to hire adults, and treat them as such Ensure that, from day one, everyone on the team understands and shares our […]
You Might be Struggling to Find and Keep Good Talent If…
Convention season is in full swing, and if the groups I’ve been invited to speak for are any indication, one of THE heaviest concerns weighing on the minds of employers almost everywhere is this: Where, and how, am I going to find enough qualified people to grow our business? (Or in some cases, just to […]
Got Self-Awareness?
“Wad some Power the giftie gie us, To see oursels as ithers see us, It wad frae mony a blunder free us…” OK, so if you don’t speak Scots, you might need a little help with that. What Scottish poet Robert Burns, whose 259th birthday is being celebrated today by Scots and their descendants around […]
Assume Positive Intent
In April, 2008, as part of a Fortune Magazine segment in which notably successful people were queried about the best advice they had been given, Pepsico Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi volunteered a nugget given to her by her father: “Assume positive intent.” At its core, Mr. Nooyi’s knowing advice to his daughter capitalizes on the positive expectancy […]
Becoming a Two-Fer Leader
As managers we are responsible for seeing to it that the right things go well. That involves keeping extraneous things off our team’s plate, putting more W’s than L’s on the scoreboard, and finding ways to identify and correct (or prevent outright) the things that contribute to team losses. Looking back over my career, and […]
Making No Decision is a Decision, and Usually the Wrong One
Last week I spoke for a group of college students in a management course. Corresponding with a chapter of the text currently being studied in class, the subject of my remarks was, “You Get Paid to Think.” As a contemporary template for encouraging the class to do exactly that, I challenged them to assume the position of the […]
Three Things Leaders Can Do To Earn the Benefit of the Doubt
When I begin a new executive coaching engagement, my due-diligence process usually involves conducting focused interviews with a representative sample of my client’s peers, direct and indirect reports, other close associates, sometimes their spouse, and of course, their reporting senior. One of the questions I ask is, “Does this person enjoy the benefit of the […]
Three Ways You Might be Undermining Employee Engagement
We won’t bore you with yet another recitation of Employee Engagement stats. They’re ugly. And it’s costing businesses worldwide more than anyone can afford. Way too few people are excited about their work, and the organizations and people they work for. And it shows. Before (but not in place of) worrying about what you’re doing to increase […]
Recognizing and Dealing with Gross Leadership Failure
Often there comes a time in the history of an enterprise when a designated leader has lost the followership of those they are responsible for leading. Followers don’t believe what he has to say, don’t feel he has their best interests at heart, they see her holding herself to a lower standard than everyone else, […]