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Preview Thursday – Humble Leadership
Lead Change Blog
AUGUST 16, 2018
The following is an excerpt from Humble Leadership:The Power of Relationships, Openness and Trust by Ed & Peter Schein.
Lead Change Blog
Here’s What Could Be in HTC’s ‘Vive 1.5’
Lead Change Blog
JANUARY 5, 2018
HTC made a not so subtle tease today that a new version of the HTC Vive is on the way with improved resolution. While it doesn’t look like this will be positioned as a ‘Vive 2’, here’s what we could see from a ‘Vive 1.5’
Excellent Interpersonal Communication Requires a Safe Environment
Lead Change Blog
AUGUST 13, 2018
In a previous post , I posited the seven things you should do for excellent interpersonal communication: create safety, ensure feedback loops are in place, encourage trust in others’ competence, implement stepped decision-making, involve bottom-up, use transformational leadership, and match stated and actual organizational culture. In this post, I delve deeper into the first task: create safety.
Where Have All the Questions Gone?
Lead Change Blog
JULY 30, 2018
“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.” Albert Einstein. Engaging in conversation with someone who asks thoughtful questions with genuine curiosity is noticeable; perhaps because it is becoming rare. Where have all the questions gone? I polled leaders to see how they rate others on inquiry.
January 2018 Leadership Development Carnival
Lead Change Blog
JANUARY 9, 2018
Welcome to the January Leadership Development Carnival! The themes for this month are… Let’s get started! Productivity. Neal Burgis of Burgis Successful Solutions submitted Great Leaders Simplify Complexity.
Five Steps for Business Alignment
Lead Change Blog
JULY 17, 2018
As we continue to explore the business alignment steps I listed in my June Lead Change Group column ( Leadership Requires Healthy Relationships with Feedback ), we’re moving from Confronting Reality to Starting on the Inside. For any real change, you start at your core.
Are You Learning to Lead?
Lead Change Blog
OCTOBER 27, 2017
As a leader, do you ever feel like your habits automatically engage to turn a new experience into an old pattern of response? If so, you might consider using a surprising approach to personal and professional development: learning from experience.
Preview Thursday – Switchers
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 21, 2018
The following is an excerpt from Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success by Dawn Graham. Your Hold on How Things Are. An old fable about a hunter who sets a trap to capture a monkey offers a perfect analogy for your biggest obstacle as a Switcher.
Increase Your Influence – Stop Talking!
Lead Change Blog
OCTOBER 9, 2017
If your life was a silent film, could the people in the audience discern your influence? We leaders have become a communicative group. I just Googled “leadership,” and got 861 million hits. We’ve written books on leadership, blogs on leadership, articles on leadership, and white papers on leadership.
Leadership Requires Healthy Relationships with Feedback
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 7, 2018
Last month, we talked about the Circle of Frustration that so many leaders and their organizations fall into. It happens nearly every time that businesses start to go awry – they lose their focus, and too many team members or departments start going in too many different directions. In other words, they lose alignment. Over the next several months, we’ll explore seven steps that individuals and organizations can take to realign their organizations. But it won’t be easy.
Preview Thursday: Conversations Worth Having
Lead Change Blog
MAY 24, 2018
The following is an excerpt from Conversations Worth Having. What Kind of Conversations Are You Having? “The moment of questioning is also the moment of choice, which usually holds the greatest leverage for effective action and positive change.” ” ~ Marilee Goldberg.
Leadership According to a Horse
Lead Change Blog
SEPTEMBER 22, 2017
No-one I speak to disputes the fact that we live in a VUCA world full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
March Leadership Development Carnival
Lead Change Blog
MARCH 6, 2018
Welcome to the March Leadership Development Carnival! The themes for this month are… Let’s get started! Communication. Jason Carroll of IA HR provided How to Avoid ‘Fake News’ in Your Workforce Analytics.
Clarity and Character-Based Leaders
Lead Change Blog
APRIL 27, 2018
A lack of clarity can be very frustrating. We obsess over meaningless details and our uncertainty makes us decide over and over again. We waste effort worrying about factors outside our control. Clarity produces many benefits for character-based leaders. Being clear demands effort, but produces great results. Clarity brings out our courage. When we select something, we must choose not to select many others. One of my most persistent difficulties lies in my love of options.
No Formal Leadership Training? No Problem!
Lead Change Blog
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
To say I ‘fell’ into leadership is probably a little unfair, but when I found myself running a small sales team several years ago, I fully admit to suffering from imposter syndrome. Somehow, I’d achieved a position of authority (and a board seat) without any formal training.
10 Signs Your Leadership Strategy Doesn’t Work
Lead Change Blog
MAY 16, 2017
In any professional environment, management is composed of a leader and a group of colleagues working collaboratively. Together, they work towards their team’s goals. Ideally, the team should meet their targets and perform well under an effective management.
Helping Your Team Members Feel More Valued
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 18, 2018
People who do not feel valued at work look for a job change. This is not a new finding. All of us have experienced this during some part of our career. As human beings, all of us crave appreciation. Every individual in the team is valuable towards the success of the team. But to a great extent, it is the manager’s and the team leader’s responsibility to ensure that their team members feel valued.
A leader’s job is never done
Lead Change Blog
SEPTEMBER 11, 2017
Given that our state was in the path of totality for the August 2017 solar eclipse, people in our neighborhood gathered to watch. The closer we were to the time of totality, the larger the crowd became.
How the Word ‘should’ Divides and Disappoints
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 9, 2018
“Dave should have picked me to be on that special project team. He’s my boss. He should have known I wanted to participate.”. Should. Such a limiting word. It gifts us with frustration and anger. “I I should have been asked to lead the discussion group. They should have known that I’m good at that kind of work.”. Should. It leads us down paths of disappointment and resentment. Kathy should have been smarter than to disagree with the boss. She should have known it wasn’t her place.”. Should.
The 4 Origins of Influence
Lead Change Blog
JULY 27, 2018
If you influence others, I can think of four possible origins. Position. Power. Performance. Personality. Position. Many can influence our behavior because they have a position. They’re the boss or the president. You see many today resisting traditional positional influence. Positional authority is necessary for civilization, even though we may resist. It is the lowest common denominator in leadership. Power. Influence based on power is a close second on the leadership food chain.
June 2018 Leadership Development Carnival
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 5, 2018
Welcome to the Leadership Development Carnival. We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, employee performance and engagement, personal and professional development, productivity, team building, and more. Communication.
February 2018 Leadership Development Carnival
Lead Change Blog
FEBRUARY 6, 2018
Welcome to the February Leadership Development Carnival! The themes for this month are… Let’s get started! Communication. Jesse Lyn Stoner of Seapoint Center provided How to Make an Effective Apology and Restore Trust and Your Credibility.
Why Leaders Give Feedback
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 29, 2017
An important task you have as a leader is giving feedback. Not only in terms of task performance (so that the other knows how he or she is doing), but also in terms of social behavior.
Two Keys for Today’s Leaders
Lead Change Blog
APRIL 6, 2018
Imagine trying to lead an organization or team without words or conversation. Impossible, right? Everything leaders do is mediated through conversation. So, what are you doing with your conversations? What if you had the keys to ensure your conversations would fuel productivity and engagement? Keys that would inspire creativity, motivate collaborative action, and generate innovative possibilities for resolving complex challenges?
If You Want to Thrive, Sync with the Vibe
Lead Change Blog
AUGUST 6, 2018
Work culture, like music, has the uncanny ability to bring people together or drive them apart. Personal preferences about every genre from rock to reggae can end up building or burning bridges. Similarly, people in the working world may survive being out of sync with their company’s vibe, but they’ll never really thrive! It’s no wonder that new articles on what makes or breaks employee engagement drop every week like new albums hoping to top the charts.
Never the Sandwich
Lead Change Blog
JULY 9, 2018
Never, ever give feedback using the sandwich technique! When you order a sandwich, is it about the two slices of bread or what’s on the sandwich? The sandwich technique for feedback is a way to package something unpleasant: First start with something positive, then the criticism and round off with something positive. The negative stuff is sandwiched between the good stuff. Sounds good, so why do I say: Never, ever use this technique. The sandwich is about you as leader. The reason is simple.
Preview Thursday: Culture Wins
Lead Change Blog
MARCH 15, 2018
The following is an excerpt from of Culture Wins: The Roadmap to an Irresistible Workplace. How I Accidentally Discovered Our Company’s Staff Values. There’s a lot of old-school thinking about vision.
The Rhythm of Leadership
Lead Change Blog
MAY 21, 2018
The primary goal of any system is balance, and as a leader, your role is to orchestrate the balance within the organisational system. When a system falls out of harmony we get dis-ease; and yet many leaders I meet don’t understand the importance of balance and creating a sustainable rhythm to ensure the system works optimally. Everything in nature has a natural rhythm, and this provides predictable results which make us feel safe and secure.
How Great Leaders Unleash Passion
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 19, 2017
Picture this. You walk out of an airport to take a taxi cab to your hotel. The taxi driver has a sullen look, seems completely disinterested in you, plays music you dislike, and talks to his buddies on his phone all the way.
Elevate Purpose to Improve Performance
Lead Change Blog
MAY 25, 2018
Avoid the comfort trap. I recently read a post by Steve Keating titled The Benefit of Living an Uncomfortable Life. The post reminded me of my own bipolar relationship with comfort. I’m bipolar because I want comfort, but I also want to make a difference. Steve reminds us that comfort doesn’t change anything. We must be uncomfortable to make a difference. Comfort is a Poor Goal. I realized comfort is a default goal. A pursuit of comfort squeezes out all but our most elevated goals.
5 Secrets to Building Trust in Your Team
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 26, 2017
Are you going to force your employees to do what you tell them to do and achieve the goals you expect them to achieve? Or are you going to earn their trust and respect, so they will act towards the organization’s growth because they want to? Of course, you’ll choose the second alternative.
Anxiety, Communication and Leadership
Lead Change Blog
OCTOBER 6, 2017
In my post Once You Understand Emotion, Motivation Is Easy , I laid the link between Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory and current emotions. In this post, I will briefly expand these ideas and then focus on a specific emotion from a communication and leadership point of view: Anxiety.
Combining the Power of Self-Care and Leadership
Lead Change Blog
FEBRUARY 12, 2018
February is heart month. You might be wondering what that has to do with leadership. Lots more than you might think: if we fail to take care of ourselves, there’s no leading or serving others. Many of us spend lots of time on work and too little on ourselves, thinking self-care is something for self-indulgent sissies. That’s a thought to let go of. Years ago, when I mapped out what I wanted from life, being a statistic for heart disease wasn’t on the list.
What to Do When You Can’t Face Your Team
Lead Change Blog
JUNE 6, 2018
Every leader has experienced this at some stage during their professional life. You wake up, take one look in the mirror, and realise that you simply can’t face going into the office. The thought of standing in front of the team and addressing them on a particular issue, challenge, or announcement made by your superiors is overwhelming. What happens next is crucial. You either give up and move on, or face that fear head-on.
Why Do You Care About Your Title?
Lead Change Blog
AUGUST 21, 2017
Seven years ago, I accepted a leadership position at my school and asked the Lead Change community if having a title would matter. You can see the original post and discussion here. Seven years.
Requesting Assistance and Support
Lead Change Blog
JULY 10, 2018
An Indispensable Leadership Strength. Anxiety reared as I contemplated the crossing of a lengthy suspension bridge. This crossing, for many, may just be a mundane experience. Yet for someone who has always experienced an overwhelming fear of heights, this bridge was a daunting obstacle. An obstacle that was difficult to avoid, as I had to cross the bridge to attend my son’s wedding ceremony.
Practical Tips to Practice Empathy
Lead Change Blog
OCTOBER 24, 2017
“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.” ” Daniel H. Pink.
Be a Champion for Difference
Lead Change Blog
AUGUST 10, 2018
“Liz, you make me crazy. Can’t you do anything without planning it to death? This work needs to go out now.”. Hunter, this project isn’t ready to go. Several sections need more work. If we release it now, there’s going to be rework and more rework. Not to mention all the complaints we and the boss will get.”. Time is money, Liz. All your dithering over getting it right is costing the company money. We’ve got to get moving.”. Time spent on rework wastes money, too. Hunter.
Effective Communication is about Understanding Emotion
Lead Change Blog
JULY 28, 2017
Imagine a world in which you wouldn’t experience any emotion whatsoever. What would your life look like? No, it wouldn’t be drab, as that’s an emotion. Nor boring, peaceful or any other state of mind which implies an emotion is being experienced.
The Ultimate Leadership Test
Lead Change Blog
SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
A really great story bears retelling. And, the one about the CEO of Charles Schwab failing a one-question exam in his senior year in college is profoundly poignant about what really matters to be a great leader. .
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