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.
Management
Help is Not a 4 Letter Word
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.
The Sweet Spot: How to find it for yourself
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 Wisdom 101: Developing Your Capacity to Lead Change (Part 2 of 3)
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.
The Importance of Clarity + 2 Tips for your Organization
A trip to Italy reminded me of the importance of speaking the same language…and the barrier is not always cultural. In organizations, we use different words for things which results in conflict between departments and a lack of alignment between leadership plans and the priorities people are working to each day. Here are two tips to address that in your organizational strategies.
The Trust Bank: 9 Habits That Make Deposits
The trust in your team is not defined by the big events, but by the thousands of events in between. People-centered leaders get that, and here are 9 habits that make deposits in the ‘trust bank’ so that big withdrawals can happen – and they will happen. For Entrepreneurial Operating System leaders, this is called transparency.
5 Powerful Questions for New Leaders & 1 Habit to Maintain Traction: Guest Post by David C. Baker
What are 5 powerful questions every new leader should get answers to? What is the one habit that new leaders should continue to practice as they work toward their goals and the goals of the organization during that first year? David C. Baker has worked extensively with leaders on building successful businesses. This post is about helping new leaders get traction in their new role and maintain it as they build their own legacy as a leader.
Guest Post: Blue Collar Scholar, Jim Bohn – What is our Organizational Level Engagement?
What is more important than employee engagement? The Blue Collar Scholar, Jim Bohn, believes it is organizational level engagement. Here are the questions leaders should be asking themselves and others to assess it, build it, and lead it. Great conversations start with a question, and learn from Jim how you can start this conversation in your organization.
10 Daily Questions to Assess and Reset Your WORK as a Leader
How do you align your actions as a leader with the principles that form how you lead? Here are 10 questions from a leader who has honed the skill of resetting each day.
Two questions to assess mindset; One question to invite a shift
Having a tough time with traction? A key leadership skill is assessing the mindset of your team. Here are some key questions based on the research by Carol Dweck and her book Mindset. It is not about being a good or bad person, it is about being effective at helping the team and company grow.
TGIM
A positive attitude is infectious. Do you TGIM? Why not start the experiment today and continue it for the rest of the summer. Here is what it meant to one leader. This is a leadership lesson for everyone.
2 Free Resources to Learn and Grow as a leader
Learning + Doing = Growth. In an effort to support committed people-centered leaders here are my two articles on creating and managing gaps as leaders. I also include links to other favorite reads, and all of these are great summer reads because they are easy reads.