You already demand skills, education, and experience with any new hire. Why not screen for engagement as well?
Yesterday I was on the phone with a CEO who was lamenting the fact that his two newest employees weren’t working out as well as he had hoped. He may need to let them go, only weeks after they joined his company, because they just haven’t gotten on board with the culture, performance expectations, or engagement levels expected of his workforce. Continue reading
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
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
By Mike Myatt,
If you ever wonder why we’re in a crisis of leadership all you have to do is to watch and listen to those in positions of leadership. While there are clearly many aspects of leadership that must work together in harmony in order for leaders to be effective, everything breaks down when leaders don’t understand how to engage effectively.
Let’s start with what leadership is not: Leadership is not a monologue, a speech, a lecture or a filibuster. Leadership is not talking at or over people. Leadership is not sequestered, does not live in a bubble or operate in a vacuum. Leadership is not exclusive or arrogant. Leadership is not about the leader. Continue reading
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
