Category: Leadership Matters
Sustainability and Focus
Sustainability gets a lot of attentions these days… and rightly so. As a society, we’re bringing greater consciousness to the preservation and endurance of the environment, energy, and more. Yet, there’s one precious natural resource that rarely gets the same attention. And for too many people, it’s reaching dangerous depletion levels. How sustainable is the […]
Ruining Recognition
It’s hard to imagine that in the workplace something as constructive, positive, and uplifting as recognition could go wrong. After all, it’s free. And research consistently points to how effectively appreciation builds morale, engagement, and bottom-line results. But each and every day, well-meaning managers inadvertently ruin it. Last week I worked with two managers whose […]
Plaques and platitudes can lead to paralysis
Walk down Mahogany Row in most corporate offices and you’ll be able to read a lot about what the organization stands for. You’ll likely see plaques that outline core values, posters that tout a commitment to the customer. Some examples: Guiding Principles • Mission • Leadership model • Philosophy • Vision • Code of conduct • Our commitment • Goals • Roadmap to […]
Great Work = Great Career Development
While most organizations expect great work, we don’t necessarily take the time to identify what actually contributes to it. In his book, Great Work, David Sturt has done that for us. Drawing on the research of O.C. Tanner and a Forbes Insight Study of over 1,000 individuals, five key skills or behaviors have emerged: Ask […]
Brand Boring
A prospective client asked to talk with me recently. (To protect her identity, we’ll call her Lara.) Lara’s executives wanted to clarify and begin driving a leadership brand throughout the organization. What unfolded during our conversation was a plan whereby their values, credo, code of conduct, and core competencies would converge into a leadership profile […]
How Well-Populated is Your Pipeline?
Last year, the Aberdeen Group conducted a research study exploring the business impact of building learning capability. Using three key performance criteria to distinguish best-in-class companies, it was found that: 83% of employees in these companies received performance ratings of ‘exceeds performance expectations’; 13% experienced year-over-year improvement to revenue per full-time equivalent; and 78% of […]
