People continually and automatically evaluate situations and objects for their relevance and value … The evidence suggests the real possibility that there are no emotion mechanisms in the brain waiting to be discovered, producing a priori packets of outcomes in the body. Emotions may not be given to humans by nature … If the clearest [.]. For Executive Coaches For Executives Be Transitive Emotion Making Meaning MORE

It happens to all of us. We get overwhelmed with our “to-do&# lists and even the opportunities that come our way and begin to lose focus, causing us to start moving in circles and eventually to get stuck. MORE

Have you ever noticed that when people talk about leadership, the unspoken but overpowering assumption is that it is a positive and constructive force? Have you ever questioned that presumed relationship? If you have, what sort of reaction did you get? The falsity of this putatively inviolable connection is among the most grave of the many very serious problems with the modern leadership movement’s (MLM) concept of individual leadership in organizations. MORE

If you have read more than 25 blogs on leadership this year, I would venture a guess that you have come across at least one post that at a minimum referenced or was focused on employee engagement. MORE

Knowledge at Wharton published a very well-done summary article on the problems with and alternatives to the traditional annual performance review. Here are my favorite excerpts. “an overall performance management process — one that focuses on goal setting, feedback, coaching and clear statements of the company’s performance expectations — is absolutely critical&# and indeed, is [.]. For Executives Performance Reviews MORE

By Mike Myatt , Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth. Time; it’s the only thing we all have in common, yet it’s how we choose to spend it that defines and differentiates us as individuals. Even though time is a key success metric, I am always amazed at how many leaders don’t manage it as such. MORE

We get confused about what forgiveness is and what it isn’t. Maybe we don’t really know sometimes. Forgiveness is not an option for the believer. We are to forgive others as we have been forgiven. For most of us (all of us if we will admit it), that’s a whole lot of forgiveness. MORE

I am fortunate to work with some very smart, creative leaders. Most of them are seasoned managers and a select few have figured out how to catalyze learning in their organizations. Stephen Sorenson (who has given me permission to use his name; you can follow this clever guy on Twitter @stephensoren) is one of MORE

Do you seem to struggle to get where you hope to get in life? Do you watch as others accomplish their dreams, but yours never seem to materialize? Why do some people move forward after difficulties, but others stall? MORE

When I give my ‘No Nonsense Retention’ speech to groups across the country, I get frustrated feedback from audience members about poor leadership hurting retention in their organization. MORE

In a recent article by CNN by A. Pawlowski discussed the disparity between the amount of vacation for Americans compared to other developed nations. Vacation time is federally mandated as workers’ rights in these other countries. MORE

By Mike Myatt , Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth. “ Managing Up &# is a great catch phrase and an interesting concept - it’s also a practice that can get you in deep trouble rather quickly if misunderstood or misapplied. MORE

Here’s a book I requested to give away on my blog. I don’t know the author, and honestly I don’t remember how I received this book, perhaps as a request to write a review. Either way, I kept staring at the title and decided to read it. “ I Quit!: MORE

The chorus is support is growing for Christine Lagarde to lead the IMF. I think it is safe to say that a woman might be a wise choice after the apparently criminal, and despicable, inexcusable, utterly depraved behavior of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. (Yes, Yes, I know that he is innocent until proven guilty. But I’ve read the [.]. Randy's blog entries Christine Lagarde Dominique Strauss-Kahn MORE

Criticism accompanies leadership. The only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing. If a leader is taking an organization somewhere, and really even if he or she isn’t, someone will criticize his or her efforts. MORE

Building a great team around you is one of those leadership skills that can make or break you. It’s one thing to get all the “right people on the bus&# (to steal a Jim Collins phrase), but it’s quite another to get the team to create an unstoppable collective force that can achieve greatness. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s just a bus going to nowhere. Because you couldn’t find the right “keys&# to unlock the team’s potential. MORE

We complain about our leaders. So we eventually get rid of them and we move on to the next one with the hope that it will be different this time. But it’s not. And we’re back where we started. Jeffrey Cohn and Jay Moran ask Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? For starters,” they write, “because selecting the right people can be very, very, hard.” It’s easy to say that if we had better choices, we would pick better leaders. MORE

I read a ton of leadership books every year. While they all are unique in some form or another, they typically state a problem, reasons for the problem and some insightful ways to overcome the problem. A very broad description, but quite accurate in my opinion. MORE

All leaders should make an effort to surround themselves with people who stretch their thinking. Those who live out of the box, are different from us, way ahead of us, following the road less travelled, societal outcasts and those who live and work quietly – all are fair game to learn from. Ironically, those who have MORE

Happy Mother’s Day! I found this great website that reminded me that moms are the first coaches that help us to learn the craft of leadership early in life. I chose a few of the Momisms (bolded quotes) that you may have heard from your mother that prepared you for being the great leader MORE

What you value drives your behaviors. You can choose to be conscious of those values and purposeful in your behavior – or not. When you’re aware of the values that guide your decisions and actions, you are able to lead with clarity, align with your organization’s values, and can be more selfless - acting on values MORE

“Can you truly inspire people to follow you if you don’t believe in something bigger than self?&#. MORE

Next week will be the one-year anniversary of my foray into blogging. In some ways it seems hard to believe it’s been a whole year, in others it feels like the world has changed. MORE

(From www.majordickwinters.com). “I know plenty of heroes, but I am certainly not one&# - Major Dick Winters , commander, Easy Company, 101st Airborne division, World War II. These words are from a man who led his “Band of Brothers&# from the D-Day landings to the German Surrender, bravely and selflessly. MORE

I’ve been spending a bit of time reflecting on my journey over the past few years. As I have revisited the different challenges and victories, one of the biggest difficulties I experienced really stood out in my mind. MORE

In my recent post entitled, “ Leadership Guiding Principles of a Successful CEO ,&# I shared with you how one very successful CEO makes the book, “ Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times &# required reading for every member of his Leadership Development Team. MORE

If you saw green glowing ooze with a nasty vapor rising from it, how close would you get? You wouldn’t find me within a thousand feet of it, depending on the direction of the wind. I think most folks would feel the same way. MORE

Justin Menkes says that there are no longer periods of calm seas for leaders in any industry. So it’s not a matter of gritting your teeth and riding out the crisis. Leaders must get comfortable in an environment of ongoing stress. They must be Better Under Pressure. To do this a leader must possess a “highly unusual set of attributes that often run counter to natural human behavior.” This means leaders must “foster specific attributes to achieve maximum success in themselves and their people. MORE

One aspect of leadership is appreciating the people one leads. I must admit, this has to be a discipline for me, because I’m not naturally wired for this. I expect much from people, so I don’t always feel the need to acknowledge the excellent work I feel everyone should do naturally. MORE

This post was originally written for and published at Danny Brown’s Blog , but I wanted to share it with my readers here as well! MORE

Wow, I had no idea what kind of nerve I was striking when I wrote a post last week on taming your inner smart aleck. Lots of leader readers left fantastic mea culpa comments that shared stories of. Please click the headline to read the whole story. Books Current Affairs executive presence Leadership MORE

This post was originally written for the Lead Change Group blog. I wanted my readers to have the opportunity to read it in case you missed it there. ~. I’m quite fortunate to be part of the team at CEO Connection , working closely with our CEO members on a daily basis. MORE

When I was a kid, my sister and I would have coloring contests. We had a giant plastic bin with crayons and we would pour them out on the floor and just divide them as evenly as we could. The goal was to color a page in our coloring books as quickly as possible without coloring outside the lines. MORE

There are some things we can’t change and some things we can. Learning the difference and adjusting accordingly is in large part one of the secret’s of a happy life. MORE

One of the highest compliments that can be paid in our house is that someone GSD’s. While we have a somewhat colorful definition of what GSD means, the polite way to explain it is that it stands for. Please click the headline to read the whole story. Leadership MORE

I had the sincere pleasure this past week of attending the CEO Connection Spring Forum, Dinner and CEO Boot Camp in New York City. MORE

The biggest problem with business, in a one-sentence capsule, is: People exhibit misplaced priorities and impatience… seeking profit and power, possessing unrealistic views of purpose, and not fully willing to do the things necessary to sustain orderly growth and long-term success. MORE