Effective leaders are comfortable with paradox. They can call on skills and work in ways that seem to be contradictory. Dictionary.com defines paradox as “a seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true.” As I study the field, I find many paradoxes associated with leadership. I see that developing the skills of a great leader requires us to work in apparently … [Read more...]
5 Communication Red Flags
People desperately want to feel connected, especially now when so many are working remotely. Helping employees feel like they’re an integral part of a caring, trusted team is not just a nice thing for companies to do; it’s more like a survival strategy. The highest levels of performance require that people care about and understand each other and feel cared about and understood … [Read more...]
Do You Have a High-Performance Culture and Why Does it Matter?
CEOs and C-level team members are generally focused on building the right company culture, and the “right culture” for many is a high-performance culture. The term has become a buzz word for company growth, and many executives believe that they have already mastered this culture. But does your company actually have a high-performance culture, and why does it matter if you … [Read more...]
Manage “Everything is Urgent” Behavior
We all know one person who thinks every to-do is urgent. Everything the person asks of you needs to be done right now. Maybe, as the leader, you are that person, expecting your employees to drop everything to focus on your requests, no matter how insignificant. Right now, when people are already feeling stressed, overwhelmed and distracted, that kind of attitude can have a … [Read more...]
A Simple Leadership Message on Election Day
If you live in the United States, you likely know it is Election Day. Direct mail, yard signs, neighborhood canvassers, radio and television ads and more – all add up to an important day in the life of a democracy. This post isn’t about politics, and while I have often written about what we can learn from politicians as leaders, the lesson today is different. The lesson … [Read more...]
Should You Ever Be Silly?
As leaders, we're often convinced that we need to be serious and put together all the time, but is that realistic or even recommended? I believe a certain amount of silliness and playfulness belongs in leadership. In part because being a great leader requires you to be transparent and real. All real human beings laugh, are playful and have fun sometimes, don’t they? Have … [Read more...]
7 Old School Workplace Strengths that Are Now Weaknesses
Ed Hess, author of Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change, says that many of the skills and mindsets that were once prized and sought after have actually become liabilities. Here he identifies seven skills and attitudes that not long ago might have gotten you a corner office—but may now get you fired: Command-and-control leadership style Expecting people to … [Read more...]
3 of the Smartest Words You’ll Ever Say
In her new book Heartfelt Leadership: How to Capture the Top Spot and Keep on Soaring, Deb Boelkes lays out the path to leading with the heart. Full of real stories and lessons from top heartfelt executives, the book will help you learn to transform from a person people follow because they have to, to one they want to follow. One lesson that really stood out to us comes from … [Read more...]
140 Top CEOs Identify Nine Crucial Skills and Mindsets for Future Leaders
This is a guest post by Jacob Morgan, author of The Future Leader. When I would speak at conferences and events around the word, I would frequently get asked, "What should we be teaching leaders now to prepare for the future?" Unfortunately, there is not much research that explores this, especially including the perspectives of top CEOs, so I decided to tackle this with my … [Read more...]
How to Build Your Brand as a Go-To Person
This is a guest post by Bruce Tulgan author of The Art of Being Indispensable at Work. You need to grow to make yourself even more indispensable, by steadily increasing, expanding and professionalizing your repertoire of specialties into areas beyond your job. The more specialties you have, the more of your time you’ll be able to devote to high-impact value adding — working … [Read more...]