Tag Archives: Careers

Lions and tigers and… CEOs? ‘The Wizard of Oz’ as leadership guide

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by Jake Turtel

The greatest leader in the Land of Oz wasn’t the wizard, according to a new business book. It wasn’t Dorothy or Glinda, either.

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore—we’re in a boardroom.

The little black Cairn terrier who rose to doggy-fame from MGM’s 1939 classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” (which was based on the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum) is arguably the most famous canine in movie history. Toto’s character (played by a female dog, believe it or not) might even be more important than some give him credit for. Kevin Fickenscher, medical executive and now business author, sure thinks so. Fickenscher, in his book Toto’s Reflections: Leadership Lessons from the Wizard of Oz, suggests that the greatest leader in the Land of Oz wasn’t the wizard. And it wasn’t Dorothy or Glinda, either. Continue reading →

Lead Without Trying So Hard

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80-whitney-johnson-1by Whitney Johnson

In early 2011, I gave a TEDx speech. Because I wanted my ideas around dreaming and disrupting to come alive in a way that’s not possible in writing – and because of my nagging performance anxiety – I started working with a speech coach. Since then, I’ve given a series of talks across the country. But it wasn’t until early in 2014 when I had a true breakthrough, one as much about being a great leader as it was about giving speeches. Continue reading →

How to Explain a Career That Looks Stalled

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80-john-leesby John Lees

People hold on to jobs too long for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s loyalty to co-workers at a company you’ve outgrown, or maybe you spent a long time thinking you were just about to get promoted… but never got the call. Or perhaps you simply had a lot going on in your personal life and your somewhat dull job felt steadying. During the downturn, many people decided to stay in whatever job they had, figuring that any job was better than no job. Continue reading →

Toxic Talent Management Habits

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80-Tomas-Chamorro-Premuzicby Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

All organizations have problems, and they always involve people. Indeed, talent management issues are a major cause of organizational underperformance. For example, a recent report by Deloitte, based on data from over 2,500 business and HR leaders from 90+ countries, shows that employers around the world are poorly prepared to tackle key human capital challenges, such as “leadership, retention and engagement, the reskilling of HR, and talent acquisition.” I see five specific bad talent habits over and over again. They all threaten the effectiveness of the modern organization. Continue reading →

Dear Manager: Please don’t tell your employees what they are doing wrong

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by Melissa Janis

 

One of your employees is under-performing and you want to give him corrective feedback so he can improve. Seems pretty straightforward right?

Not so much. Giving feedback is challenging; perceptions, personalities and preferences can easily get in the way. No matter how artfully you frame comments and suggestions for improvement, your message still can be derailed and potentially even backfire. It’s all too easy for well-intentioned feedback to inflame rather than engage.

So what’s a manager to do? How can you help your employees understand the gap between where they are and where they need to be if you don’t tell them? Continue reading →