so your vision is never lost.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
It is critical to the success of a group, team or business when collaborating to say only what you believe to be true. At times in meetings with clients, we get the right noises from the leadership team, but not the powerful actions we need. We do not see the conflict that is necessary to get real movement, real commitment. This may mean that the team really doesn’t believe what is being said and are faking it. The individuals may […]
Sometimes we notice that our clients are not paying enough attention to right now. They are focused on where they will be in the future and what will be happening then. Or they are worn out and simply trying to fix problems that have already occurred in the past. Both situations can cause not enough attention to be paid to great opportunities with great relationships right now. It may include eliminating a negative situation or relationship rather than continuing to […]
Some organizations believe that the goal of every interaction is to engage everybody. There’s an entire industry out there of consultants, trainers and coaches that tell the general public, business leaders, and teams that they need to engage their people. We believe in general that is true; however, as a sound bite, it sends the wrong message. Engaging everyone can get too much happening too quickly and engagement may not be right for an individual situation or team. We have […]
Evaluations are critical to the success of companies, but are often poorly done with little thought or effort. More importantly, they are sometimes done with little follow-up or forward thinking. This can easily change with the use of a few tips that make evaluations a pleasurable experience to ultimately benefit both the employee and the employer. Evaluations are an opportunity for real communication to occur. A few things to remember when conducting evaluations: 1. Although the review is conducted […]
A while back, a leader we were working with was in a tough spot. He was trying to get the boss (the owner) to grow the business. But no matter what he did, he could not convince his boss to take steps to grow the business. There was much blame, justification and shouldering about why this was happening. Then, later, in a meeting the leadership team was having, we challenged the team to “just do it”. Respectfully, build a rough […]
Clients often wonder why so much time is spent with the teams of people in an organization rather than the leader. We have found that talking to the team reveals a lot of information about their leader. A large percentage of the time team members are confused about the vision of the company as well as the direction they are trying to go. Generally teams understand that the goal is to increase business, to improve processes and maintain a healthy […]
A good friend and client, in his 60’s, who I believe is one of the smartest well-read people I know, and is constantly learning, likes to say that “Standing around looking stupid, you can learn an awful lot.” Originally, I thought I was smart, but I have learned that my real job is to stand around looking stupid and ask a lot of questions. This brings out the wisdom of any group and gets the debate going. It is also […]
By definition, a real leader is typically taking a group of people into a new and better future. For this reason, there is going to be inertia towards where the group is right now. Shifting the inertia, causing change, also causes pain. People resist pain. Granted, some people are easier to work with than others when change is required. However, different attitudes, different cognitive experiences and different conative strengths require leaders approach change with individuals and groups based the audience, […]
In this week’s video blog our expert guide, Don Hadley, discusses the lack of communication within an organization and it may begin with a misconception of what it really means to communicate with a person or group. Communication is not merely telling people what you know, it is about creating a dialogue where you exchange thoughts, feelings and ideas. Then, allowing what you hear to affect what actions are taken and how perceptions are shaped. Some questions to consider: […]