New War on Talent
To win, keep your top talent longer.
Cumulative Leader
The whole is greater than the parts.
Leader Likability
I'm the boss! Why should I care?
Leadership Power
What will ensure good governance?
New War on Talent
To win, keep your top talent longer.
Cumulative Leader
The whole is greater than the parts.
Leader Likability
I'm the boss! Why should I care?
Leadership Power
What will ensure good governance?
While coaching executives, I look for what I call well-cultivated self-awareness. Successful leadership is often a by-product of a heightened sense of self. Leaders need to have a deep understanding of who they truly are—and how their traits and abilities either serve or inhibit them in achieving desired results.
Three out of four organizations are infected with one or more of the costly behaviors of gossiping, shifting blame and turfism. Infected organizations experience much worse results across the board—with decreased productivity, quality, safety, customer satisfaction, employee morale and higher turnover.
We've seen dramatic changes in the role of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) as strategic stewards of human capital. Unfortunately, more employers are failing to keep pace with the new competitive standards in attracting, incenting, leveraging and retaining human capital. All leaders and managers must understand the changing role of the CHRO and shift its focus from administration to strategy. It's time to set and meet higher standards in people practices and to be held accountable by shareholders. It begins with raising the enlightenment of leaders, redefining the mandate of CHROs, and implementing public disclosure requirements on human capital practices.
Our world is crying out for effective leaders. The downfall of many high profile executives reveals the glaring need for competent, caring and committed leaders. The most pressing public problems require a new generation of leaders who move outside of themselves to engage, empower and inspire the world. We need leaders who find their authentic voice, connect hearts and minds, and impact the world in a positive way.
Some things never change; however, the business environment isn't one of them.
We hear the talk about actively disengaged employees. What about organizations that actively resist providing an environment for engagement?
As leaders , we don't know everything and can't do everything by ourselves. We hire people with the knowledge and talent to accomplish great things – but sometimes we don't see the desired results. Change is slow; resistance is high to anything new. People keep on doing what is within their comfort zone. Innovation is rare. There is a murmur of complaints; morale is low. Results are disappointing. You wonder whether you're dealing with people who have no good ideas or who are focused on their lives outside of work – or looking for their next job, rather than contributing value to the organization.
Leaders today are navigating a turbulent sea of change—bombarded with complexity. What are they to do? First, their mental models of reality must be flexible. They need to let go of comfort and stability and forget about prediction and control—and become improvisational and innovative, look for solutions in unexpected places, and surround themselves with associates who accept ambiguity, urgency, and flexibility. They must accept the inevitability of Peter Vaill's insight of "permanent white water" as the new normal.
When I was promoted to my first management role at Marriott International, one of my best mentors said, "Well, kid, welcome to the club—you're now dinner conversation." This meant that everything I said and did would be the topic of discussion among my team. These conversations can go one of two ways. People can be groaning, "Do you know what he said to us today?" or saying with excitement, "Guess what we did today!" The difference lies in reaching people on an authentic emotional level.
Imagine: You're in a tense team meeting trying to defend your position on a big project and start to feel yourself losing ground. Your voice gets louder. You talk over one of your colleagues and correct his point of view. He pushes back, so you go into overdrive to convince everyone you're right. It feels like an out of body experience – and in many ways it is. In terms of its neurochemistry, your brain has been hijacked.