Dad conducted a master class in overcoming adversity as a child. From an early age placement in an orphanage to navigating poverty, suffering from severe crossed eyes until a radical surgery in his teens, he personified tenacity. We called it "sticktoitiveness," and to Dad, this was a key to success. He carried this forward through his life.
Culture in a group is too important to be left to chance. Managers must work together with group members to define what it means to collaborate, communicate, problem-solve, and innovate in pursuit of their function's charter.
Our traditional methods for developing leadership talent in our organizations, including check-box training, loose mentoring, and limited access to coaching, need to be changed for a world where all organizations need to field talent able to help align, execute, and renew at the speed of change. We need a different model for leader development.
Transparency is measurable. Accountability is binary. If transparency is low and accountability is turned off, expect to struggle.
A large part of the outcome from your daily encounters with team members depends upon your careful use of questioning. Are you an interrogator or an explorer? Depending upon your style, the outcomes are very different.
Yet again, we are faced with a firm that potentially allowed the pressure-to-produce force decisions that impacted not only lives but all of the organization's stakeholders. As a manager, you may not face life or death consequences, however, manage long enough and you will encounter situations that challenge your ethics and values. Here are six ideas to help you navigate a situation where the prevailing approach is one you believe detrimental to the firm.
David Loy, CEO of Leverage Creative Group offers up fabulous insights on personal branding, carving out your niche, developing your personal leadership philosophy and much more on this issue of the Leadership Caffeine podcast.
The question, "Do I have to be a jerk to get ahead?" is spoken out of frustration. There's no doubt that in sharp-elbowed organizations, noisy, manipulative individuals can be the ones gaining the plum assignments and key promotions. If you want to get ahead, you don't have to mimic their behaviors, but you do have to choose a strategy to compete. Here are some ideas to help you get ahead without compromising your values:
Every year I read Peter Drucker's classic article, "Managing Oneself," as part of my personal-professional career navigation process. His powerful questions and frank commentary on what we need to do in our careers helps me reorient and reset on my priorities and activities. I've added five questions of my own that are relevant in our emerging world.
Not talking about the right issues at the right time closes off access to an unknown series of potentially game-changing outcomes. It's like closing the door on your future as a firm and your career as a manager.
