In difficult situations, reality tinged with optimism and backed by encouragement serves as a more effective motivator than a saccharine-sweet message of false praise and manufactured positivity.
There’s an interesting article at Harvard Business Review, entitled, “How to Manage a Team of B Players,” by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. I appreciate the author’s attempt at describing the leadership challenge and approach to molding a group of “ordinary” individuals into a high performance team. He offers some compelling guidance. I am however, uncomfortable with his easy use of the term, “B-Players.” And while I am absolutely guilty in the past of using the A, B, C, designation to characterize individuals and their level of skill/capability/potential, I’ve grown uncomfortable with the cavalier assignment of people to these categories.
The oft-cited and disturbingly dismal numbers reported about employee engagement tell an interesting story about leadership effectiveness…or the lack thereof. Even in an environment of aberrant leadership behavior and high levels of unengaged employees, you have the ability and obligation to carve our a “safe” zone where people are treated with respect and support.
Newsflash, there are no shortcuts to great leadership. Much like the failure to change nature’s principles in search of longevity or turning lead into gold, one’s ability lead develops slowly over time and with much strain. Here are 10 lessons learned in search of success as a leader:
Every week I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. A great ending sets the stage for success next week. For this week, I’m offering a reminder to follow-through or follow-up on the professional development activities of your team members and I suggest a fun way to stimulate ideas and discussions around topics that matter. Enjoy and use them in great professional health!
Leadership is played on an open court in the workplace for all to see, yet, I submit that the game is won or lost in the mind of the individual as he/she pushes self-doubt and hubris back into their respective corners. This is the inner game of leading and it is very difficult.
There’s an interesting interview at McKinsey, with Heidreck & Struggles CEO, Tracy Wolstencroft, that explores what they describe as the changing nature of leadership in this era of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The interview prompted my own consideration of some of the changing leadership behaviors I’m observing in firms who are succeeding in navigating the fog of these times.
Before you move into a well-earned weekend of whatever it is you enjoy doing, take time today to address a few key leadership items on your agenda. The benefits of finishing strong will carry through into a great weekend and positive re-start on Monday. Here are 3 for today…
One of the core takeaways my MBA students express after investing 10 weeks immersed in the art and science of this discipline is new found appreciation for the role project managers play in our organizations.
One of the more powerful leadership learning moments in my career occurred when I was part of project team that was struggling to find traction around an important and complicated strategic initiative… . (note: this post by Art Petty originally appeared at The Management Excellence blog.)
