I learned to love challenging conversations the hard way. I delayed and destroyed a number of these earlier in my career until I recognized these are truly the opportunities for managers to mine gold in the form of development, learning, problem-solving and innovation. Here are some key reasons why you need to learn to love challenging conversations:
Leadership Grit is that grind-it-out sticktoitiveness in the face of adversity displayed by individuals long on character and short on “I can’t.” It's also THE essential leadership characteristic I want to see in my developing leaders. Here are 12 examples I'm grateful to have observed and learned from:
Too often, our approach to professional development and growth comes in the form of big, broad solutions and approaches. While these approaches sound appealing, they often don't address the core behaviors essential for improving performance. Instead, learn to thin-slice your professional development for effective behavior change. It helps to recruit a Swim Buddy along the way.
Instead of fretting over annual resolutions that tend to fizzle by February, focus on strengthening your effectiveness as a leader every single day. Here are 3 daily resolutions guaranteed to help!
Peter Drucker's classic article, "Managing Oneself" may be the best career guide since Ben Franklin penned Poor Richard's Almanack. Here are six added questions for our era to accompany Drucker's simply powerful original five.
The shift from individual contributor to first-time manager is one of the most challenging in all of organizational life. My Succeeding as a First-Time Manager online plus mentoring program is designed to help new managers build a strong foundation and gain access to the tools and approaches essential for success.
Credibility is the manager's currency. Without it, you are bankrupt. Here are 16 behaviors to help you build this critical store of value as a manager:
Perhaps the single most valuable piece of career advice I ever received happened early in my career. I'm not certain I understood the importance of this advice at the time, but it stuck with me. The advice is:
Starting out as a manager and learning to lead is hard enough, without the obstacle course of doom many of our organizations set for us. However, there are some approaches that can help you move beyond "bad at the beginning." Here are 3 leadership hacks to help smooth the process a bit:
The idea of reinventing yourself in your career is intimidating and even overwhelming. Yet, a disciplined approach to navigating this journey will help you mitigate risk and gain traction. The six stages of career reinvention provide a framework to help you get started on this important journey.
