Developing Gen Y Leaders

April 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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What leadership competencies do newly minted Millenial employees need to develop, from the get go? And what strengths do they, as a cohort, bring to the workplace? We hear so much "gen Y bashing" these days. We hear the stereotypes: unfocused, texting obsessed, ADHD prone, the world owes me recognition and, BTW, I'm pretty well ready for the C-suite…now! The Center for Creative Leadership set out to learn more. They conducted a study of about 500 managers and reported the results last year … [Read more...]

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Developing Leaders for the Horizon

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Leaders Make the Future, Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World by Bob Johansen

They say Wayne Gretzky was a step ahead of other players because he skated to where the puck was going to be. Are you developing your up-and-coming leaders for where your markets and your environment are going to be? Will your leaders be prepared for the daunting complexity that's coming? Or are you preparing them for today or maybe just the next year or two? The Leadership Circle, whose 360 assessment profile and Culture Survey we use with our clients, says that even today's (forget about … [Read more...]

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They Won’t Know if You Don’t Get it Right

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Recently I spent two days teaching front-line managers in an installation service company how to have effective conversations around job performance. The training included an approach that was new to the managers and thus involved for them a new way of thinking. Instead of telling, they were to do a lot more asking of questions and get the employee to take greater accountability. At the end of Day 2 I turned the meeting over to the Director of Field Operations to sum up and close. He left … [Read more...]

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TED Talks Videos Worth the Manager’s Eyeballs

September 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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If you haven't yet run across TED Talks, I heartily recommend you check them out. "TED" stands for technology, entertainment & design. The organization began way back in 1984 and calls itself "a nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading." It holds two main conferences each spring, plus a global conference in the summer, and licenses a number of smaller programs held around the world. Experts and thought leaders from many disciplines present at these conferences. They are filmed and then … [Read more...]

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Step into Your Leadership Strengths

June 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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I was working with a coaching client recently, "unpacking" the results of his Leadership Circle Profile (360˚ feedback assessment). While his profile was very positive–he is doing well as a leader–I was struck that on several less desirable factors (e.g. Passive, Critical, Arrogance) he scored himself high while his employees saw him as low, not demonstrating these factors very often. What does it mean when we as leaders see ourselves one way and our staff another? And when this … [Read more...]

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Develop Your Leadership Competence Asynchronously

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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It being New Year's time again, Bill George recently blogged about "Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders." He talked about things you can do to develop yourself, beyond what you do in your direct job: such as finding a mentor, setting up a mastermind type group with other emerging and aspiring leaders,volunteering in the community in a leadership role, and traveling beyond your nation's borders. If you are serious about growing your leadership potential, these are all excellent … [Read more...]

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Praise their Process Over their Competence

December 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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The name and work of Carol Dweck keeps coming up in discussions among experts in cognitive development. I wrote a review of  her important book, MindSet. In it she talks about two fundamental mindsets in people (and, therefore, of course, in employees): Fixed and Growth. Someone with a Fixed mindset believes they can't get any better, improve their skills, or turn around a failure. Growth mindset people believe the opposite. Therefore, they are much more open to feedback, to learning from … [Read more...]

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Accelerate Your Growth with a Mastermind Group

September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Bill George, an author whom I have reviewed and whom I respect, has just come out with a new book, True North Groups. This is a more structured version of the classic "mastermind group" which many of my speaker colleagues have formed or joined. This new publication just reminds me to urge you to form or join a mastermind group. For over a decade I have belonged to a group of 12 owners of non-competing businesses. Since this blog is for managers, I suggest you form your group around fellow … [Read more...]

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Up Your Self-Awareness to the Next Level

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Puzzle-Breakthrough-Ceiling

I am a fan of the theory and research linking one's level of adult development to one's effectiveness as a leader. One of the hallmarks of more highly developed human beings (and bosses too, of course, they being humans and all) is their degree of in-the-moment self-awareness. Let's look at just three levels of awareness: Some managers are not at all aware of their own behavior or its impact. For example, a manager who is curt and cool with her staff when they don't get right down to the … [Read more...]

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Can Trainers Guarantee Results?

August 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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This has been a hotly debated issue among those of us who work in the so-called "soft skills" area. Our clients, understandably so, want a high degree of certainty that their investment in training will generate certain outcomes. In particular, that their trainees will learn and successfully apply the skills taught. And they would prefer the results be promised in the form of solid metrics. And so would I…if t'were possible to guarantee. The fact is that management development is … [Read more...]

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