Integrative thinking is the process of using the tension from two conflicting approaches to a problem in pursuit of a new and innovative outcome. Instead of responding to competitive or strategic situations with the same approaches, try these 5 tools to identify new and superior approaches.
The most effective leaders understand their role in breaking away from the gravitational pull of the status quo. They focus daily on the learn, adapt, influence cycle as they strive to help their teams and firms level-up
There’s an awful lot of conventional wisdom that is nothing more than a cover for organizational and managerial laziness. It pays to cultivate an allergic reaction to anything that smells like: “We’ve always done it this way.”
Gary Morton, author of Commanding Excellence: Inspiring Purpose, Passion, and Ingenuity through Leadership that Matters, shares his wisdom and experiences in this wide-ranging interview with Management Excellence and Leadership Caffeine author, Art Petty.
Even a sound strategy process that effectively characterizes the situation and way forward still faces considerable risk in the form of strategy execution. Ultimately, the ideas are relatively easy. It’s the work of bringing strategy to life that is difficult. Here are 4 key ingredients you require for successful strategy execution.
In too many organizations, the absence of a galvanizing vision, meaningful, livable values, and a planning process that engages employees from top to bottom result in a form of zombie apocalypse. Instead of purpose, focus, and continuous improvement, people wander aimlessly searching for professional sustenance. If the leaders at the top won’t fix this, you need to spark the revolution from the middle.
Success with the work of strategy demands hard work and the irreplaceable ingredient of leadership courage. It is this courage that allows management teams and organizations to ask and answer the hard questions critical for survival and renewal.
For any leader or management team struggling to navigate strategy, there are two tools I find incredibly useful in helping groups navigate complexity. They share a common trait in challenging strategy groups to focus their energy on cultivating a clear picture of a firm’s reality and then defining a way forward, before defining actions. Too many teams jump to the actions and skip the heavy lifting and deep thinking. These tools keep you honest when it comes to strategy.
My recent interview with a CIO from a major publicly traded firm reminds us all that some of our biggest adversaries in our push to survive in this tumultuous world are the caretaker managers inside our organizations.
Few of us are exposed to what it means to follow effectively, yet followership is requisite for success in every organizational and business setting. This article offers a fresh perspective on the role and 8 key behaviors of effective followers.
