Five habits of people who get promoted to leadership

by Rebecca Newton

Are you one step away from a senior leadership role? The secret to getting over the line and being promoted to that new leadership level can be one simple thing: giving yourself permission to lead.

People are often told that in order to move to their next level they need to “work on their leadership.” Except that, confusingly, the feedback they get on how they lead people and teams is already positive. There doesn’t seem to be any question of their leadership skills at all. The issue may not be how they lead others (influencing and facilitating) but rather how they lead the firm (driving the business forward). Continue reading

What is top talent and how is that identified?

 

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process.  Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the eighth in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.

 

mendez-eagar-largeTracy Mendez is the Senior VP & GM in Global Accounts, covering the Industrial & Retail Sectors at Xerox.  She leads a team of Managing Directors responsible for delivering revenue / OP growth through the full portfolio solutions (BPO and Document Outsourcing) to Xerox’s marquis clients.  The evolved sales and operations model supports strategic client partnerships focused on solving industry challenges. Tracy’s consistent record of driving revenue growth and improving profitability is underpinned by an approach that incorporates innovation & transformation.

Prior to this role, Tracy designed and implemented standardized Strategic Pursuit Centers worldwide.  Her international experience is derived from running Major accounts Xerox Global Services in Developing Markets, driving 45% growth to $415M. Continue reading

How leaders can let go without losing control

by Mark Bonchek

Massive iStock_000008828650Small[1]flocks of starlings, known as murmurations, exhibit a rare combination of speed and scale. The birds coordinate themselves with remarkable agility to find food and avoid attacks. Schools of fish do the same.

What’s noteworthy in these murmurations is the lack of a leader. Instead, each bird follows three simple rules: (1) move to the center, (2) follow your neighbor, and (3) don’t collide. The rules enable each bird to act independently while ensuring the group acts cohesively.

Every organization today wants to achieve both alignment and autonomy. Can what works for birds and fish also work for people? The answer comes from a surprising place: the battlefield. Continue reading

Listening is an overlooked leadership tool

110-Melissa_Daimlerby Melissa Daimler

 

“What do you think?”

I ask this question a lot. My team knows that when they come to me with a question, this is likely the question I’ll come back with first. Sometimes I even preface it with, “I don’t know.” As leaders in our organizations, it’s up to us to coach colleagues and our employees through finding that answer. More often than not, when I ask this question, my team has a better answer than I do — or one that I hadn’t thought about before. Continue reading

The simple way to be a better leader

iStock_000008828650Small[1]By Avery Roth

The world of work is changing at a furious pace. Innovation and disruption are causing radical market share shifts in many industries.

Millennials and working families are driving growth in remote work setups. Consumers and employees are demanding sustainable enterprise, which has a profound impact not only on economics, but also on organizational design and culture. Whereas yesterday’s leaders had a relatively clear sense of their market and the tools in their kit, today’s leaders face a landscape that shifts like a desert dune, and their toolkit is constantly becoming obsolete. Continue reading