The one leadership skill that impacts overall success

By Lydia Dishman

The single most important skill of a good leader may not be what you think. Although it is important to be visionary and a strategic thinker, a new study suggests that it’s more rooted in their daily dealings with people.

According to DDI, the leader who’s mastered having successful conversations is most likely to do well steering their team and/or their business. “By the end of each day, leaders likely have had multiple conversations with a range of their constituents,” DDI’s researchers write. “Each of these interactions will collectively determine their ultimate success as a leader.” Continue reading

Top 5 Leadership Predictions That Will Impact Business Evolution In 2016 And Beyond

by Glenn Llopis

Twenty-first century leadership requires you to be a change agent who is not afraid to get uncomfortable and take ownership when it comes to creating the next big thing for your business, people and industry to evolve.

Over the past several years, I’ve witnessed the decline of courageous leadership in American enterprise. Rather than welcome change in order to evolve, leaders are playing it safe. Where are the leaders with the strategic focus and wisdom to take a leap of faith and the tenacity to find new ways of doing things?

Twenty-first century leadership requires you to be a change agent who is not afraid to get uncomfortable and take ownership when it comes to creating the next big thing for your business, people and industry to evolve. But according to research conducted by my organization, 78% of leaders have difficulty understanding and effectively articulating the requirements to thrive in the rapidly changing marketplace – and the consequences of not doing so. Perhaps this explains why only 32% of leaders define themselves as change agents.

Leaders must think differently to act courageously upon the burning platforms that are reinventing industries. Here are my top five leadership predictions for your business to evolve in 2016 and beyond – the burning platforms we can no longer afford to ignore. Top Leadership Predictions Continue reading

The Unconventional Habits of Transformational Leaders

by Stanislav Shekshnia

Lessons from two Russian CEOs on turning stumbling state companies into global success stories.

In February 2012, The Economist reported that Russia’s state-owned Sberbank had become one of the best performing corporate stocks in a decade. Every $100 invested in the company in 2002, was worth $3,700 in 2012. Sberbank came second only to Apple, which for every $100 invested in 2002, was then worth $4,000. Although Sberbank’s stock declined following economic sanctions against Russia the bank continued to grow and will report record profits for 2015 despite a deep recession in the country. Continue reading

The leadership blind spot that’s killing your business

by Gretchen Fox

There’s a dangerous black hole in your organization, and if you are in the C-Suite you don’t even know it exists. Whether you realize it or not, you have a leadership blind spot.

This black hole usually exists either right below your nose or two rungs down and, day by day, it’s sucking the life right out of your business.

Before I can shed light on this hole you are missing, I need you to understand something very, very important: You are not going to be able to lean on your go-to staff right below you to help you solve this. Not yet. Not until you get an awareness of it yourself. If you don’t understand the issue first, you will remain locked in the blind spot. I’ll explain why momentarily. Continue reading

The leadership ‘X’ factor that can fix any business

By Mike Myatt

Businesses don’t fail – products don’t fail – projects don’t fail – leaders fail.

I have little use for leaders who can effortlessly call upon the right clichés and buzzwords in conversation, but fail to put into practice what they so frequently wax eloquent about. Words matter; but they matter more when put into action, when they become real, when they make a difference. If you’re a CEO prone to rambling on about culture, only to be blind to the reality of the culture you’re stewarding, today’s column is written just for you. Continue reading