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It Might Be Time for You to Start Acting Like The Leader You Want to Be

Apr 28, 2008

A blog post at on Looking and Acting Like a Success at Alan Weis’s Contrarian Consulting site triggered some thoughts on what it means to look and act like a leader. While Alan’s post emphasizes how a successful person might act to present a desired image, how does a leader portray himself or herself as competent? If this seems superficial to some, I would challenge that a leader is responsible for acting (and to an extent looking) the part.

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Want to Improve Your Business? Fire the People Holding You Back.

Apr 25, 2008

Why is it that so many managers struggle with the issue of firing the employees that justifiably require firing? I’ve watched as brilliant business owners and otherwise accomplished leaders have agonized over this issue, unable to take the final step, while knowing all the while that it has to be done

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Teammate Yesterday, Manager Today

Apr 22, 2008

ndoubtedly, one of the most difficult and awkward professional transitions is the jump from team member to team manager. The people that you’ve worked with side by side, joked with and shared lunch with are no longer your peers, they are your employees, and for good or bad, your relationship with them will never be the same. If you are truly interested in developing as a leader, this awkward situation is an outstanding rite of passage, complete with some hardcore lessons on what it takes for you to build credibility, motivate, direct, support and lead others.

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How to Improve a Dysfunctional Meeting Culture Without Removing the Chairs

Apr 17, 2008

This is a follow-on to my recent rave against the time-wasting, dysfunctional debating society events that masquerade as meetings in many corporate settings. My drive to momentarily stay on my “effective-meeting” soapbox was galvanized yesterday, when I spoke with a good friend who had just started a new job. Her first day coincided with an operations meeting that she described as an all day rugby scrum where everyone got bloody, but no one scored.

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Leader: Are Your Meetings Straight Out of A Dilbert Comic Strip?

Apr 16, 2008

My observation is that only a minority of leaders (managers, supervisors, executives, project managers) understand how to properly prepare a team for and run an effective, purposeful and productive meeting. Ironically, look at the Outlook calendars of most people operating inside corporate walls, and their schedules are filled with one meeting after another. With all of these unproductive meetings to attend, who has time to work?

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Why Strategy is the Leader’s Most Potent Tool

Apr 15, 2008

Leading is more than just being the person in charge. It’s about selecting and developing talent, providing direction and motivation, creating the effective working environment and providing consistent and timely feedback on performance. The “direction and motivation” component comes directly from the leader’s understanding of the firm’s strategic environment (market forces, competitors, customers) as well as the direction and strategies (goals/actions) that have been selected by an organization’s management. Strategy is context that gives meaning and purpose to individual roles and group activities and goals.

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Coping Strategies for the Project Manager Facing an Executive Mandate on Schedule

Apr 13, 2008

A management team well attuned to rapidly emerging market forces might recognize an opportunity that can be leveraged for significant gain and competitive advantage if the organization acts quickly. It is management’s prerogative and responsibility to identify and motivate the organization to act and seize these opportunities, even at the expense of order and business as usual.

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Training for the Swimming Leg of the Leadership Triathlon

Apr 10, 2008

Feedback is the leadership triathlon equivalent of the swimming leg. Everyone knows that it is the difference maker in overall performance, but because it’s hard, uncomfortable and easy to flounder with, many choose to de-emphasize or even ignore it.

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Read Any Good Cultures Lately? Honing an Essential Career Skill.

Apr 9, 2008

Every organization has a distinct culture defined by its history, norms, values, and behaviors, and every team in an organization develops its own subculture. Learning to read a culture and adapt your style to fit (or at least complement it) is essential to success regardless of your level or role. It’s also something that can be honed as a skill through increased awareness and consistent application of a few basic approaches.

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Management by Jane: Leading Effectively from the Middle

Apr 8, 2008

“Jane” is a senior leader exerting broad influence on an organization, while sitting smack in the middle of the organization chart. She’s a testament to the power of maintaining the right attitude on all fronts, and she clearly has learned several of the most valuable lessons of leadership: select great people, deal with them openly and honestly, provide opportunities and challenges and let them do what they do best.

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