Is Leadership Born or Built?

By James G. Clawson

In his book, “Executive Instinct,” Nigel Nicholson of the London Business School suggests that there may be a leadership gene — that some people are just driven to be in charge. But the University of Michigan’s Noel Tichy — in his book “The Leadership Engine” — declares that leadership style and abilities emerge from experience.

Yet another opinion comes from the former chief executive of a $40 billion business who claims that leadership is irrelevant — it’s all about designing the right employer contracts. Continue reading

What to Do When You Fear Your Leadership Is Failing

By Les McKeown

You’re a good leader, and you don’t take the possibility of failure lightly. You realistically assess the possibility of failure in advance of any new initiative. You’ve set clear milestones that will help alert you when something is going off track. You’re accountable for evaluating the relevant data accordingly, and you don’t blanch at objectively assessing the situation.

Now, (gulp), something has indeed gone wrong. Your new product launch has flopped, perhaps, or the fire marshal has just handed you a list of code violations that means the hospice won’t open on time, or your team of anti-logging activists hasn’t received the visas they need to go on-site in Venezuela. Continue reading

10 Reasons to Focus Your Workforce on Value of Teamwork

By Laura Stack

There’s no ‘I’ in team, but there is in win.” — Michael Jordan, retired American basketball star.

Those of us who gravitate toward leadership in business organizations — or create our own businesses as entrepreneurs — tend to be the independent sort. It seems ironic, then, that we achieve our highest levels of productivity only when we come together as teams.

The fact remains that human beings are social creatures. We couldn’t have been otherwise and risen to become this planet’s dominant species. Continue reading

The 4 Most Effective Ways Leaders Solve Problems

Glenn LlopisBy Glenn Llopis

With as many problems as we are all faced with in our work and life, it seems as if there is never enough time to solve each one without dealing with some adversity along the way.  Problems keep mounting so fast that we find ourselves taking short-cuts to temporarily alleviate the tension points – so we can move onto the next problem. In the process, we fail to solve the core of each problem we are dealt; thus we continuously get caught in the trap of a never-ending cycle that makes it difficult to find any real resolutions.  Sound familiar? Continue reading

How To Solve Onboarding’s Awkward Alienation Problem

Even if you’re a management professor, starting out at a place feels weird. Such was the case for Francesca Gino, who left the Univerisity of North Carolina for Harvard back in 2010.

It’s 2010 and Francesca Gino is just about to start teaching at Harvard Business School. She was excited yes, but also “a little anxious” about meeting the standards of her new organization–proof positive that starting at a new place is a heady experience, even if you’re a professor of management. Continue reading