Tag Archives: Communication

These 5 Barriers Prevent You From Being a Better Leader.

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by Alison Davis

Here’s What to Do Differently

I spend a lot of time asking employees about how leaders can be more effective communicators. Just yesterday, in fact, I moderated a focus group with employees at a fast-growing consumer products company.

The people in the group provided the same feedback I hear time and time again: Leaders are pretty good at sharing information, but they’re lousy listeners.

As a leader myself, I know how hard it is to slow down and actually pay attention to what your team member is saying, especially when you’re thinking about the 87 other issues you have to address and you’re pretty sure you already know how to solve the team member’s problem.

But you can’t be a great leader if you’re a terrible listener. As Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning write in How to Communicate, “Listening is a commitment and a compliment.”

“It’s a commitment to understanding how other people feel, how they see their world. It means putting aside your own prejudices and beliefs, your anxieties and self-interest, so that you can step behind the other person’s eyes.”

And listening is a compliment because it says to the other person, “I care about what’s happening to you; your life and experience are important.”

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Leadership: What not to do

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by Susanne Biro

In my career, I have learned more about exceptional leadership by being on the receiving end of its opposite. Here are three fundamental things I have learned never do to others, simply because I know first-hand how damaging they can be.

1. Don’t lie. This includes blatant lies, half-truths and errors of omission. If you make a mistake, own it, clean it up, and apologize to all impacted. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Be transparent, sharing your thinking and your decision making process. Share what you can, as soon as you can, so people don’t need to make up a story. Be brave, pick up the phone and have the real (and often hard) conversation with the person you need to have it with. Live your values, as everyone is always watching. Call yourself on your own bull. This is perhaps the most important one, as few human beings handle power well. Keep your ego in check. When you need help, ask for it. Be human alongside the rest of us mortals. Remember whom you serve. Keep your promises. Be your word. Address reality. Discuss the undiscussables. Do the right thing. I repeat: do the right thing. You will not be trusted otherwise. And trust is the only thing you have. Continue reading →

Why Leadership Is So Important To Millennials Right Now

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By Sarah Landrum

As Gen X and Baby Boomers cede more and more economic control to Millennials, the world must also contend with a shifting of values.

With young people graduating from college and joining the workforce for the first time, some of us are taking our first looks at a more global and more swiftly changing world than the one in which our parents grew up.

In several specific ways, Millennials bring a new perspective to the very idea of leadership — not just in the workplace, but also across society in general. Let’s discuss the two kinds of Millennial leadership and what they look like in, and what they mean for, the future of work.

Leadership Of The Self

The “why” is complicated, but Millennials are at the forefront of a leadership movement. But the most visible part of this transition isn’t dominion over others, but rather leadership of the self.

It’s not a new idea, but Millennials are giving it new life as they come of age. The idea is simply that we endeavor to become more in touch with who we are, what we’re capable of and what we want out of life. It’s true that as the world has grown more global and interdependent, it has also grown more decentralized — that is, we’re increasingly less likely to work for organizations with strong singular physical presences and more likely to do what we do from a variety of locations.

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Cultivating the essential ingredient in leadership: Energy

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By Brett Steenbarger

There is a very simple measure of the health and culture of any team or organization: its energy level. Among high-energy groups, we witness motivation by inspiration. There is a buzz in the air. Individuals and teams are innovating, displaying enthusiasm and optimism about their work. In lower-energy organizations, we see motivation by tasks and timelines. There is a sense of busy-ness, but little excitement about the business of the group.

In this article, we will examine the role of energy in leadership, including the novel perspectives of a military Special Operations leader who has lived leadership on the battlefield and in the boardroom.

Leadership As Focused, Directed Energy

When we examine the writings of those who have worked extensively with leaders and organizations, the energy factor pops up repeatedly. Tom Peters, in his book The Little Big Things, explains that “the ‘business’ of leaders at all levels is to help those in their charge develop beyond their dreams” (emphasis mine). Consider what this means: the effective leader perceives strengths and potentials that may be invisible to team members. Such leadership is more than instrumental; it is grounded in a vision. It transforms.

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Keeping your team innovative requires leadership finesse

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By Dr. Rachel MK Headley

Although often draped in HR-y words like “retention,” the success of your team is entirely in your hands. Their ability to execute on your vision is a choice that you make, and knowing how to leverage their strengths based on who they are will revolutionize your approach to leading your team.

 

 

The Challenge

I count myself among a growing group of entrepreneurial CEOs. We work crazy hours, want to create constantly and are eager to solve problems.

Entrepreneurial CEOs have special challenges when it comes to leading their team. There’s a constant level of change within their organizations. And, although your team knows that there is a dull roar of constant new ideas, this level of chaos can be difficult for your team to maintain for any length of time.

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