The act of listening is probably the most powerful tool you have as a leader. There are many ways to listen; the most obvious is with your ears. The act of listening is carefully paying attention to sounds, not just to words. The pace, breath, tone, and inflection of the voice all [...]
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Talent is necessary for building a winning leadership team, but talent is not sufficient. You can recruit the very best in every functional area of responsibility in your organization, but unless they work well together, you will fail to create sustainable value. And in a competitive environment, you will lose to teams with [...]
Part II: Clear Communication
It is obvious to anyone who has ever led a team that clear communication is an imperative. When communication isn’t working well, the team’s performance degrades. Sometimes that poor performance is evident in business metrics like revenues or margins. More often, poor performance is experienced as a lack [...]
Part III: Balance
A typical leadership team has between 5 and 10 members. Too few, and the power is too weak. Too many and discussion becomes unwieldy. Because the challenges faced by even small organizations today are technically complex and often global, the best leadership teams include a rich diversity of human [...]
Listening is by far the most important skill for a leader to hone. We need to pay attention to the words and actions of others while suspending judgment long enough to allow your intellect to catch up with your instincts. Why? Because as leaders, if we speak too soon, we shut of creation. We shut [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )There are key behaviors that are necessary for great leadership. Whether they are sufficient we leave for later debate. The necessary behaviors fall into three groups. The first is self imposed deliberate doubt; suspending judgment long enough to observe and collect evidence without forming a theory to explain where it came from, [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )For much of human history, it was believed that leaders are born. Even worse, it was believed that leaders were not only born but they were born only in certain families. Anyone else showing aptitude for leadership was considered an opportunist and if successful, an usurper. Just 50 years ago, in this country, it was [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )I went to the Washington State Presidential primary caucuses yesterday, which put my brain into history mode. It struck me again that great leaders stand their ground under fire, at times even under persecution. It’s not what they promise; it’s what they do when their mettle is tested. Great leaders face daunting challenges [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )While it is true that great leaders inspire by painting a mental image of a better future, many charlatans and mean spirited characters can and have done as much. The hallmark of a great leader is a willingness to embrace doubt while driving to separate facts from opinions and theories. In short, the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Leadership coaching is a professional relationship focused on your development as a leader. A good coach will listen, evaluate, and apply their skill and experience to encourage you, and at times push you. For leadership coaching to work, you will need to be open to new ideas and strategies, learn new skills, and practice them. [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Provoking and supporting brilliant leadership
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