Does culture matter at your company? If it does, where do you start in order to make it stronger? Here is some help answering both of those questions – prepare to be challenged to add the title of Chief Culture Officer to your job description.
It is expensive to replace great people, so understanding why you lose people is critical for leaders. It is especially important for executive leaders who are far removed from the day to day work, because where there is smoke (turnover) there often is a fire starting (leader not being effective). Here is one powerful question you should make sure you get an answer to whenever someone walks out of your organization voluntarily.
Do your people TRUST you as a leader? Here are three questions to test that by simply asking and listening. The hidden benefit of asking a great question and listening is that it actually builds trust.
Leaders need to have guides in place to help them return to their path. Quotes can do that, and here are two that are guides for me.
How well do you manage change? More directly, how skilled are you at seeking the help of your peers, leaders, and key people when leading a team through a difficult change? Too often leaders treat Help like a four letter word, never to be uttered lest we be punished! Here is a lens to assist leaders in seeing their role in supporting in and dumping out, so that help becomes part of the process of change and healing.
What is the impact of being a loner? What is the impact of feeling a part of a community? Data provides the answer, and the message is consistent and powerful for finding friends and building connections in our teams. Here is a sip of data, and 4 things every leader needs to do to drive towards the positive side of community, both personally and with the team they lead.
Seeing plants grow and watching people perform results in the same comment: “Wow, they love it here.” How do you recognize that sweet spot, and more importantly, do you know how to get back there? Here are a few tips to know when you are there, and 3 resources to help identify and find your own sweet spot.
Leadership lessons are all around us. Here is a lesson I learned around EGO during a golf game. The irony is that I failed to listen to the exact words I wrote and the metric(my score) reflected it. Here is how to identify where your ego is getting in your way and three questions to step back and reset. Watching the movie Tin Cup is your homework if you want to explore the topic further.
As a parent of infant children, bath time taught me a few leadership lessons. My method of framing the choice of ‘Easy Way’ or ‘Hard Way’ has found its way into my coaching practice and in my own roles as leader, father, and friend. Here are some tips on facing these challenging intersections as a leader and individual.
What is your lens on success? Does it look like this? Success = Perfect (does not do x, y, and z). In the season where we celebrate success, I am reminded of how this fundamental formula opens very different doors for us. Here is a challenge to this view of success and one subtle thing we can do to open a different door.
Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough resources. Not enough budget. Do you live in the state of any of these? A wealth manager taught me something today that translates through a lot of situations leaders run into personally and with the teams they lead. Explore it and learn a couple of key questions that can help move past ‘not enough’ to ‘enough’.
Managers make widgets; leaders make change. Seth Godin said this, and I believe it. It is why change management is one of the key skills we need to develop as leaders. Opportunities to develop these skills are found both in and outside of work. Here are two models that will help you navigate any life change, and a free download to help guide you next time you are faced with a change.