It’s a fascinating time to study leaders. Remember, you can learn from poor examples as well as great ones. I keep a dedicated file in my memory bank labeled, “Don’t Do That—Do This.” Recently, I’m running short on memory for storage. For me, the counter-balance to...
Our reflex action is to follow conventional thinking and apply accepted processes to solving problems at work. Leaders looking to spur innovation have a different approach. They think and do differently. They understand that every problem offers an opportunity to spur creativity and catalyze innovation. Thinking and doing differently is their mantra, as they deliver oxygen to their firms in the form of much needed innovation. If your firm or team is suffocating, it’s time for you to think and do differently.
Yesterday’s models of managing and leading emphasized coordination and control. Both are in opposition to the needs of today’s organizations for ideas and approaches that blow up traditional ways of doing things. A core job as a leader today is to promote more creative disobedience.
Our leadership and management focus on productivity ignores the critical need for us to move strategically. For most of us, strategy is a series of incremental moves around a long-standing theme. Today’s world demands that we find a way to punctuate equilibrium or we risk going out of business one efficient day at a time.
The world is filled with uncertainty and ambiguity, yet we teach our children, students and team members to work according to the rules and to color within the lines. Instead, we should teach our teams to leverage ambiguity by writing their own rules in pursuit of a shared goal. And effective leaders understand that action begets action and ultimately insight, even in the most uncertain circumstances. Sometimes, you just have to “paint the wall” while searching for the next step.
Energy always flows from the source to the sink. In your hot water heater, the water is the sink. Eventually, the consumption of hot water is capable of exceeding the capacity of the source. The same applies in our professional and leadership lives. It’s essential to identify and eliminate the heat sinks in our daily lives to free capacity to focus on the work that matters. Here are 12 ideas to help you with this important mission:
Leading by the numbers isn’t leading. Numbers are outcomes of nearly countless workplace and customer encounters. The real goal of the leader is to make certain those encounters create value. Do a great job building energy for the mission and good results will follow.
For now and forevermore, vow to be a leader that serves as a source of growth. To do that, employe these seven powerful tools…
In a recent discussion with a potential literary agent for my book proposal for, “Level-Up—The Career Guide to Surviving and Thriving in an Era of Change,” the agent suggested that books built around the theme of “change” were unlikely to sell. That perspective is preposterous. Learning to help our organizations navigate change while constantly leveling up in our own careers is a core challenge that all of us face in our professional lives. We need more help on this, not less, regardless of the views of publishers. Here’s why…
Crises happen and the right top leadership and organizational response is essential for survival. Unfortunately, too many of these events catch our firms and top leaders unprepared. A starting point is to adopt a standard of required behaviors in the face of a crisis. Consider these “10 Commandments for Acceptable Corporate Crisis Behaviors” as a starting point.
