Much of what passes for leadership conversation in the workplace is filled with unnecessary and meaningless jargon that gets in the way of the true message. It’s time to de-clutter our conversations and choose words that are meaningful and actionable to our team members.
For most Americans, the Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. This long three day weekend tends to be filled with barbecues, picnics and sporting events. Take a moment out of your activities and barbecues this weekend to live up to the spirit of the order and Remember.
I was reminded yesterday of one of the fundamental failure points of many marketing and sales teams: lead management. This reminder was painful. The short-story version is that in spite of tremendous advances in technology tools to analyze, monitor and manage sales leads in the three years since I’ve been charged with doing this, many (actually, the word used was “most”) firms are less than diligent in managing leads from the initial touch-point to final disposition.
I sat and talked yesterday with a uniquely impressive entrepreneur. She is not yet successful, and in fact she is barely two weeks young in her new adventure. If I was asked to handicap her chances of success, the odds would be very good.
I often look through the lens of history for lessons in leadership and strategy that can be applied in business. Unfortunately, it seems as most of the pivotal events of human history involve wars. And while war is an odious event, there are many lessons to learn—both good and bad from the leaders that give birth to the events as well as from the leaders and followers that prosecute them.
One of my favorite outcomes of blogging has been the opportunity to meet and learn from some really sharp people that share a passion for many of the same topics that I write about: leadership excellence, high performance and personal and professional development. Consistent with my desire to hunt for great new books, I've been seeking out new (to me) writers on topics that are relevant to anyone engaged in working with and leading others or focused on developing themselves. I plan on sharing these posts and authors with you from time to time, just like I would a great new book or a newly discovered writer. This week's posts and authors include...
This week’s focus is on scouting talent, and like most of my posts, I’m encouraging you to break some established rules. The best leaders that I know are also the best talent scouts. They are acute observers of people and extraordinarily quick to identify individuals with potential. They are also great developers of talent, but that’s a separate topic for another day. In my experience in working around and talking with individuals that have outstanding track records in finding and developing new talent, there are three core attributes that they look for...
At the risk of inviting the ire of a great number of readers and trainers, I am once again opting for the dissenting opinion on a controversial topic. I absolutely hate the use of the “sandwich” technique in delivering constructive feedback. Here's why and here's my guidance to help you throw away this leader's crutch and to start delivering clear, polite feedback that supports behavioral change.
For those of you that have followed this blog, heard me speak or have been a participant in one of my MBA classes or workshops, you know that I've opted for the dissenting opinion on this youngest generation in the workforce. I am a huge fan! I was thrilled when the professionals at CW Bulletin, the on-line supplement to Communication World magazine invited me to share my thoughts on this new generation and to offer some guidance for leaders on how to harness the talents and fire of these young knowledge workers. The result is my latest article, aptly named: Leadership and the Millennials.
At the beginning of my leadership workshops, one of the ice-breaking activities is to have the participants think about and jot down the characteristics and behaviors of great and lousy leaders that they've experienced in their careers. It's always fun to watch the small groups attack this task with relish.
