I’ve talked to many 40 and 50-something professionals on how their perspectives and attitudes on personal and career issues have changed over time. Their insights are instructive and inspirational. Enjoy! (note: this post originally appeared at the Management Excellence blog. Copyright 2015 Art Petty.)
Note: this post originally appeared at the Management Excellence blog by Art Petty. The pursuit of effective management is a noble calling. It's too bad that too many managers give it a bad name. Here are at least 10 unnatural acts of less than brilliant managers:
From Art Petty, writing at the Management Excellence blog: The ability to see around corners or, see over the horizon, are two phrases that relate directly to the idea of perceptual acuity. While we’re barred by physical faculties from literally achieving those feats of optical gymnastics, as professionals, we are accountable for attempting to translate the external noise from our customers, our competitors, the new developments in technology and the many other forces propelling our world and our industries and then making decisions to either exploit opportunities or mitigate risks. Those who do this successfully…great strategists, product managers, management teams, entrepreneurs and innovators of all kinds, strive to see patterns and opportunities where the rest of us might see randomness. Here are 5 ideas to help you strengthen your professional acuity:
A great deal of what’s written and spoken about leadership focuses on describing the actions most often associated with effective leaders. The actions are tangible…we can see them and observe their impact on people and we can mimic them in our own attempts at guiding, motivating and developing others. It’s good to mimic good behaviors. However, it’s important to remember that these actions of effective leaders are backed by a strong, personal belief in purpose...
It’s hard to argue with either of these statements, nonetheless, too many project managers deeply skilled in the mechanics of their vocation fall short on learning and practicing the soft-skills critical for high performance team development. When project fail...and too many do, there's a safe bet that people-related issues are key contributors to the initiative's demise. Great project managers define their role beyond the project mechanics liberally. Here are 7 steps to help you define and begin using your own Project Leader's Charter in pursuit of high performance:
Good competition raises the level of performance for all involved. Whether in athletic endeavors or business, a skilled, aggressive competitor forces us to raise the quality of our own game. Strenuous competition with aggressive, skilled performers tests us physically and mentally and helps us find that extra gear needed to perform at our best. Annoyingly, the opposite also seems to hold true.
Our core body muscles groups…those muscles in your pelvis, lower back and abdomen all work in harmony to provide stability and to help propel us through our daily lives. A strong core is critical to long-term fitness health and stability, while a weak core leaves us susceptible to muscle injuries, lower back pain and other muscle-related maladies. Much like our physical core, there’s a set of professional core muscles that require on-going exercise and development for optimum health. These include...
Frankly, this is a remarkable time to be in business and to be serving in a leadership role. The risks, fears of change, possibilities of disruption or the realities of creative destruction and non-destructive creation are all facts of our business lives and they create a remarkable backdrop for us to create…to innovate. But first, we've got to fight our natural tendencies when determining how to act in this environment. Here are 3 key pitfalls to avoid and 5 key skills that leaders must cultivate to succeed in this ever-changing world:
As managers, it’s our sacred responsibility to create and continuously improve an environment that allows our people to do their best work. Few managers would disagree with their responsibility and accountability for creating this effective environment. Like breathing, it’s a good idea to invest time and energy in practices that promote a healthy, efficient and effective system. In reality, many firms do a good job on this in stable markets. However, when faced with the need to adapt or change due to market disruptions, too many firms struggle to change their system to support the pursuit of new. Here are 7 ideas to help managers avoid the most common mistakes as they venture forward into uncharted territory:
Much of our common dialog around leadership focuses on the lofty and noble. That’s good and appropriate. After all there are some remarkable opportunities for growth and reward in the life of a conscientious leader. Why then is it so damned exhausting to serve as a leader? And better yet, how does someone entering the power dive of leadership fatigue find a way to pull out and continue serving enthusiastically in pursuit of the noble? Here are 10 idea to help you recover and recharge from a case of Leadership Fatigue:
