I have been fortunate to have had (and still have!) great leaders and mentors in my life. As with most of us, an invested colleague, manager, friend or family member has guided me to the head of a particular path and, then with words of encouragement, set me off to explore that path on my own. Despite my seemingly singular journey, evidence of my mentor’s continued presence has always been apparent. Perhaps the guidance was manifest in a resource left for me to circumvent a boulder in my path, or through an encouragement – or reprimand – not to wander, to lengthen my stride or to get back in the game. Sometimes it was as simple as an invitation to look ahead to the parallel path my mentor walked, to emulate his/her successful behaviors.
We Can’t Do It Alone! 5 Tips to Engage and Empower Our People
Anyone that is driven to be successful, however you define success, is, usually, a “doer”. Whether we find that trusted person who helps make things happen or we just do it ourselves, we get things done. Making things better for a person, a people, a business, etc. are all reasons why we do what we do.
Why a Purposeful Corporate Culture is a Business Imperative – 4 Steps to Make It Happen
Corporate culture is alive and well! No longer a “nice to have”, executives around the globe know that a defined, purposeful culture is an imperative for business success. In fact, in 2015 executives acknowledged the critical relationship between culture and employee engagement as the number 1 global talent issue, with the vast majority of those executives (87%) making this issue a top priority to be addressed.
Vision and Mission: Just A Lot of Hot Air?!
If you are in the camp that vision and mission are just fancy consulting speak that have no real purpose in business, you are not alone. Quite honestly, during years in private industry, managing large global teams, I had to create the direction for my teams for the future. Did I call it a vision? A mission? No. I thought these terms were just consulting mumbo jumbo that no one really understood!
“I’m Failing!” 6 Tips to Implement Developmental Training in Your Business
Why Are Different Types of Communication Skills So Important? 5 Communication Skills of a Great Leader
We have all experienced a great speech. Maybe it was one that impacted us directly; for example, from the CEO of our employer. Or maybe it was from someone we were “less connected” to that still impacted us in a profound way; for example, a great political or charitable leader.
When a leader captures our views, imagination, excitement and support by presenting their own vision of what the future can become, and the impact that we can have in creating that future, we are drawn to help achieve that vision. Leaders with these skills are great at getting people committed to helping their cause.
Is it Broken? 4 Things Your Performance Review Process Tells You About Your Organization
Call Me Crazy – You Need to Develop Your Strategy for Next Year Now!
As we move into year-end, there are the usual litany of things that have to get done, including budgets for next year, year-end performance reviews, compensation analyses, etc. The revenue team is trying to close out the current year strong. You may be thinking about next year in the back of your mind, but it is really not getting the attention it deserves!
Learning Is Not Doing: 5 Core Skills in Leading Team Development
A highly successful developer of on-line learning software recently told me that the key to her success is to turn learning into doing. Her focus on doing as a part of learning, she said, has made her a key problem solver to her clients. Converting knowledge to action reinforces learning (the subject matter), develops high-performing teams and helps her clients resolve performance gaps that often result from misapplied training efforts. My friend lives by the adage that you have to learn how to do and, then, you learn by doing. Or as Benjamin Franklin puts it, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Our Latest Case Study Is Available: Developing and Embedding Strategy In An Organization
A clearly defined strategy is the foundation of any great organization. Supporting this strategy with prioritized objectives and related action steps provides the stepping-stones to accomplish the organization’s strategy. Further, an engaged workforce, empowered to execute based on the objectives and action steps will not only drive financial results, but will solidify a culture of communication, collaboration and accountability.