Marshall Goldsmith

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

I have a unique compensation system in my job as executive coach: I only get paid if my clients get better. "Better" means my clients achieve positive, measurable change in behavior, not as judged by themselves but by their key stakeholders. My coaching process usually takes about 18 months and involves an average of 16 stakeholders. I have been asked many times where I came up with this "pay only for results" idea.

Quality 126

Quality Executive Coaching Commitment Class 126

Marshall Goldsmith

APRIL 9, 2012

I am amazed at how much time gets wasted by people who complain all of the time. According to a survey done by badbossology.com and Development Dimensions International, a majority of employees spend 10 or more hours per month complaining -- or listening to others complain -- about their bosses or upper management. Even more amazing, almost a third spend 20 hours or more per month doing so.

Survey 124

Survey Ethics Morale Advice 124

Marshall Goldsmith

MARCH 12, 2012

My first suggestion in trying to improve delegation skills is for you to always remember: "Delegate more effectively -- don't just delegate more frequently." My good friend and mentor Paul Hersey showed me why more delegation was not necessarily better delegation. If we delegate an assignment to a person who lacks the motivation and ability to do the job, we do a disservice to both the person and our organization.

Delegation 123

Delegation Hersey Report Mentor 123

Marshall Goldsmith

MARCH 26, 2012

I am sometimes asked "How I can ensure that my staff and I are in alignment (in terms of priorities and efforts)? Sometimes it seems we are on a different page." I would suggest having a quarterly one-on-one meeting with each of your direct reports. In each of these meetings address six key questions. Ideally, each question will result in a two-way dialogue that helps clarify priorities, ensures alignment, and promotes mutual understanding: 1.

Report 121

Report Open-book Advice CEO 121

Marshall Goldsmith

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Every company claims to discourage suck-ups. Every leader claims to despise suck-ups. If we all hate suck-ups so much, why does so much sucking-up go on? Sucking-up happens because we all tend to create an environment where people learn to suck-up to us. We can easily see this in others. It is just hard to see in ourselves. You are probably thinking, "Marshall is making a good point.

Engineering 121

Engineering Class Learning-by-Doing Participative 121

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 30, 2012

"I always make new year's resolutions but seldom live up to them. Do you have any suggestions for helping my resolutions become reality?" I am going to delegate this response to my daughter, Kelly Goldsmith. Kelly is a Whitebox Doctoral Fellow at Yale, where she received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Marketing. She is very interested in behavioral decision making.

Short-term 121

Short-term Long-term Delegation Cost 121

Marshall Goldsmith

APRIL 23, 2012

The most common problem faced by the very successful executives I meet is wanting to win too much. Winning is, of course, not bad thing -- quite the opposite. But the desire to win can become a problem, especially when the topic is meaningless or trivial. To gauge my clients' "addiction to winning," I present them with the following case study: You want to go to dinner at restaurant X.

Case Study 118

Case Study Follow-up Efficiency Energy 118

Marshall Goldsmith

APRIL 16, 2012

Has anyone ever looked at you with a disappointed expression and said, "Are you listening?" My guess is that for you - like almost all of us - the answer is yes. Have you ever then replied to the person in an annoyed voice, "What do you mean I am not listening?" and then repeated what he or she said verbatim - to prove they were wrong? My guess is that for you - like almost all of us - the answer is again yes.

Advice 115

Advice Learning-by-Doing Video Books 115

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

by Marshall Goldsmith. Talent management is a field that requires a healthy dose of leadership on the part of its practitioners, who must be innovators and influencers. And despite the apparent novelty of the concept of “talent management,” that’s always been true. What’s changed, however, is the way people are led. Gone are the days when leaders could be – indeed, were expected to be – aloof and unapproachable, handing out orders from on high like some sort o

Talent Management 114

Talent Management Active Listening Bond Magazine 114

Marshall Goldsmith

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

I have observed more than 50,000 leaders from around the world as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise, in which I ask participants to play two roles. In one role, they provide "Feed Forward ": They give another participant suggestions and as much as they can help with a specific issue. In the second role, they accept Feed Forward : They listen to suggestions from another participant and learn as much as they can.

360-Degree Feedback 114

360-Degree Feedback Participative Committee Efficiency 114

Marshall Goldsmith

AUGUST 26, 2012

My good friend and Dartmouth Professor Vijay Govindarajan (VG) reveals a bold discovery with far-reaching implications in REVERSE INNOVATION: Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere (HBR Press, April 2012): Innovation flows uphill and its future lies in emerging markets. The launch of the book Reverse Innovation has been hugely successful. Here are a few highlights: 1.

Innovation 111

Innovation Govindarajan Review CEO 111

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Can you see in yourself what others see in you, or do you see in others what you don’t want to see in yourself? by Marshall Goldsmith. In the early ’70s, as a PhD student at the University of California, Los Angeles, I considered myself to be very hip and cool. In my mind I was a deep person who was focused on meaningful issues such as self-actualization and uncovering profound wisdom.

360-Degree Feedback 110

360-Degree Feedback Class Learning-by-Doing Energy 110

Marshall Goldsmith

OCTOBER 29, 2012

by Marshall Goldsmith. As anyone who regularly checks this space knows, I am a big proponent of good communication in businesses. The quality of information flow within an organization often is a good indicator of the quality of the organization, period. Sadly, this attribute is lacking in many companies. And in this day and age, enterprises that suffer too many breakdowns in communication just won’t survive.

Bureaucracy 110

Bureaucracy Talent Management Travel Magazine 110

Marshall Goldsmith

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

As an executive coach who is accustomed to working with corporate chief executives, I found this recent request to be an interesting challenge: Give some coaching advice to two coaches, Joe Torre, the former coach of the New York Yankees, now coaching the LA Dodgers, and Joe Girardi, the new coach of the Yankees. Here goes: For Joe Torre: 1. Never say, "When I was with the Yankees we.

Advice 110

Advice Executive Coaching Reference Succession 110

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

It’s important that you not only have a clear understanding of your organization’s objectives and the reasoning behind them, but also an intense passion for performing well in your role. by Marshall Goldsmith. As legendary football coach Vince Lombardi famously stated, “Winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing.” Less known, though, is his addendum to that chestnut: “If winning isn’t everything, then why do they keep score?

Sports 104

Sports Talent Management Objective Magazine 104

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 31, 2012

Executive educator Goldsmith gets to the bottom of why some of us don’t meet our goals – and gives some free advice. by Marshall Goldsmith. I am probably the only executive educator that you have ever heard of who actually measures if the participants in my leadership development courses do what I teach – and then measures if they are seen as becoming more effective leaders.

360-Degree Feedback 102

360-Degree Feedback Follow-up Bottom-up Participative 102

Marshall Goldsmith

OCTOBER 23, 2012

And then make it permanent. by Marshall Goldsmith. MOST OF ANY LEADER’S annoying habits and interpersonal flaws are rooted in information compulsion. Sharing and withholding are two sides of the same tarnished coin. For example, when you insist on adding more value, passing judgment, making destructive comments, announcing that you already know, or explaining why something won’t work, you are compulsively sharing information convinced that you are making people smarter or inspiring t

360-Degree Feedback 102

360-Degree Feedback Commitment Information Learning-by-Doing 102

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 10, 2012

“Fining” people for making destructive comments (and giving the money to charity) will help your company and people in need. by Marshall Goldsmith. I have helped more than 70 major organizations identify and profile desired leadership behaviors. Almost every company I work with wants to encourage collaborative leadership and has in its inventory of desired behavior such things as “effectively builds teamwork,” “develops positive partner relationships with co-workers

Positioning 98

Positioning 360-Degree Feedback Education Teamwork 98

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

by Marshall Goldsmith. Communication breakdowns in organizations can hinder their operations, if not shut them down altogether. In this column I discuss why these lapses happen in the first place and how they can be avoided. Today, the cliche that knowledge is power is truer than ever, which makes withholding key data extremely counterproductive – inhibiting or suppressing vital information for any reason eliminates value.

Information 98

Information Delegation Loyalty Sports 98

Marshall Goldsmith

OCTOBER 16, 2012

Our greatest challenge as leaders isn’t understanding the practice of leadership; it’s practicing our understanding of leadership. by Marshall Goldsmith. The consistent and ongoing misassumption of almost all leadership development programs is, “If they understand, they will do.” This assumption is not valid in any aspect of our lives, and leadership development is no exception.

360-Degree Feedback 96

360-Degree Feedback Follow-up Ethics Training 96

Marshall Goldsmith

AUGUST 5, 2012

I have observed more than 50,000 leaders from around the world as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise, in which I ask participants to play two roles. In one role, they provide “Feed Forward “: They give another participant suggestions and as much as they can help with a specific issue. In the second role, they accept Feed Forward : They listen to suggestions from another participant and learn as much as they can.

360-Degree Feedback 89

360-Degree Feedback Participative Committee Positioning 89

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 25, 2012

Warning! Warning! Warning to Coaches! Get Over Yourself!!! by Marshall Goldsmith. Over the past 30 years, I have had the opportunity to teach hundreds of thousands of leaders, human resources professionals and external coaches about the process of coaching for behavioral change. I am frequently asked the question, “What is the greatest challenge faced by a coach?

Learning-by-Doing 87

Learning-by-Doing Human Resources Quality Succession 87

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Children of Cultural Revolution-era parents are driven to succeed. The next generation, however, may be a different story, and that could imperil China’s growth. by Marshall Goldsmith. On a recent trip to Shanghai, I had the opportunity to meet several brilliant, newly minted MBA graduates. These youthful stars were part of a study, called “China 2024,” that’s tracking their lives and potentially making a movie about their experiences in the “new China” over a

Learning-by-Doing 87

Learning-by-Doing Magazine Motivation Education 87

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

A seemingly innocuous message could come back to haunt your company in a legal proceeding, say the authors of Send. by Marshall Goldsmith. In this column I discuss a book called Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley, the deputy editorial page editor of The New York Times and editor of its Op-Ed page, and Will Schwalbe, the editor-in-chief of Hyperion, who is also my publisher and friend.

Price 87

Price Cost Course Books 87

Marshall Goldsmith

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

There’s a fine line between being competitive and overly competitive, between winning when it counts and when no one’s counting-and successful people cross that line with alarming frequency. by Marshall Goldsmith. The reason I devote so much energy to identifying interpersonal challenges in successful people is because the higher you go, the more your problems are behavioral.

Skills 114

Skills CFO Cost-Benefit Analysis Welch 114