We all know that change is the only constant, yet when faced with the need for our organizations to change, our first instinct is fight or flight. A better and career-enhancing approach is to jump in, ask questions, and importantly, volunteer to help. It’s the only way you can actively shape the change.
One of the most effective leaders I’ve worked for used his natural curiosity to infect us all with a sense of wonder, exploration and experimentation. Yet our practices in organizations today often stifle or manage curiosity out of the equation. Ironically, curiosity might just be that key ingredient required for survival and success in our era of change.
Building high performance teams is a critical part of a leader’s job. However, when you build the team without clarity and commitment for the mission, watch out for these 5 painful leadership lessons:
Growing the leadership pipeline is mission critical for every organization. Unfortunately, this process is either missing in action or based on old-world approaches in too many organizations. This articles offers 6 ideas to jump-start your thinking on refreshing and reinvigorating your emerging leader development efforts.
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.
Remote work policies are under fire in technology and other pioneers of this practice. IBM’s recent announcement that all remote workers must either rejoin a physical IBM location or leave the company is the latest example. After a decade of living and supporting remote working in my technology companies, I still see some pros and cons, but it is not a binary issue.
We’re taught from an early age in school what we need to do to earn the “A.” Unfortunately, the real world isn’t that structured, predictable, or kind. Learning to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty in business is essential for survival. Learning to leverage these characteristics is essential for success.
Travis Kalanick, the CEO and founder of Uber, has had a tough few weeks. With a major sexual harassment investigation and a lawsuit by Alphabet (Google) for patent infringement, the last thing he needed was another viral bad moment. Unfortunately, that’s what he got when he berated an Uber driver and was captured on camera. Mr. Kalanick indicated that, “It’s time to grow up,” and he “wants leadership help.” Here’s a “Leadership To Do” list to help him get started…
The big fixes complete with broad frameworks and their own vocabularies are alluring. They also are sinkholes of despair and frustration for groups unable to translate the ideas into coherent actions. Instead, focus on the small, subtle changes in behaviors that offer the potential for big results. I call this: sweeping incrementalism.
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.
