Much of the writing about leadership leaves out two of the most critical topics: power and politics. That’s a problem, because the political environment defines the playing field and those with the power dominate the organization’s agenda. Ignoring these facts of organizational life is a formula for futility. Here’s a checklist of 10 questions to get you started on forming a better picture of your firm’s political environment:
From radically changing business models to rampant creative destruction driven by digitization and globalization to a world where ideas are the primary form of capital and the purveyors of ideas move freely through this friction-free environment (think: gig economy), this emerging world of work and career has little resemblance to the one of even a mere decade-ago.
In the dozens of discussions I’ve held with 50-somethings on this Next Act career topic, I can literally count on one hand the number of individuals who expressed satisfaction with their work. It seems that after several decades of hard work, people are growing tired of the corporate grind. The most common answer to, “What’s next?” has been, “retirement” and, “play more golf.” If chasing a little white ball around a lawn doesn’t do it for you, it’s time to focus on making the pivot from where you are at to something that leverages your superpower.
Just about everyone I know has experienced a career setback at some point in time. Here are 7 ideas to help you begin navigating beyond this unfortunate event:
Health Warning: there’s no easy method for dealing with an abusive boss. Sometimes, the next exit ramp is the best approach. And sometimes circumstances require you to stay and attempt to cope. Here are 10 ideas to consider when striving to cope with an abusive boss:
For most of the later career re-inventors I’ve worked with, the wake-up call wasn’t so much a single trigger event as it was a confluence of several issues. It’s a big decision to leave behind something you’ve been doing for decades. It may be the best decision for you, but a bit of planning goes a long way. Here are 9 suggestions for anyone considering answering the career-reinvention wake-up call:
New and emerging leaders are our future. It’s essential to support their development as they take the reins in our challenging world. They are and will remain the focal point of my content here at Management Excellence. However, there’s an audience whose needs in my opinion are grossly under-served in the career and leadership blogging and writing ecosystem: the later-career (read: over-50) senior leaders and executives. With this post, I’m announcing a new blog feature focused on the needs of this experienced audience.
I can tell you with absolute certainty that I didn’t think about my own leadership legacy during the early part of my career. No one does, and that’s often a mistake. Here are 3 provocative questions to help bring your future as a leader into focus:
If you’re interested in gaining critical insights into how things work in a prospective employer, look to the style, values and priorities of a firm’s top leader.
I’ve worked in cultures like those ascribed to Amazon.com in the recent and controversial New York Times article, “Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace.” These battle-zone firms exists and they can be very successful. And for the adrenaline junkie career climber, these cultures are perfect. For the rest of us, not so much.
