While some organizations are consistently high performing, the gross majority of firms operate in phases ranging from excitement and growth to malaise and meandering. If you are growing and changing, that is good, but the trick is how to sustain and even improve. If you are meandering or worse, declining, the challenge is how to break out of a challenging slide.

Over the course of the next few weeks or months, I am going to develop the concept and benefits of what I describe as Strategy-Fueled Leadership. Step one in the introduction of this externally aware, results-focused approach to leading, winning in the market and developing others, is recognizing whether your own leadership style and culture are adversely impacting your organization’s performance.