The Value of Visibility
January 16, 2018 | | 3 Comments
If you’re a leader, you likely struggle to find creative and effective ways to help your employees grow. Formal training can be expensive and time-consuming. Informal training sometimes lacks the focus and application required to make the investment pay off. And the stretch assignments and projects that typically characterize experience-based learning require significant ongoing support over time. Want to offer an employee a targeted burst of development? Consider setting him or her up with an opportunity for visibility. Whether it’s attending a high-profile meeting, representing you with a key customer, or presenting at an upcoming conference, the intensity associated with visibility: …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged learning, mentorship, targeted development, visibility
“Pop-ups”: A Promising Model for Development
January 9, 2018 | | 8 Comments
Have you noticed the recent trend toward “pop-up” establishments? Over the holidays, I shopped in pop-up stores and ate in pop-up restaurants, and so did many other people. It’s a phenomenon in which retailers, chefs or other entrepreneurs temporarily take over a space to operate their businesses. They’re only there for one night or perhaps a whole season, and then they move on. Pop-ups are an ideal way to take advantage of a market or customer base and to seize a promising prospect quickly. Pop-ups are nimble — able to adjust and respond to changing conditions. They don’t rely upon …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged accountability, ask questions, collaborate, employee development, fluidity, inspire optimism, iterative, responsiveness, spontaneous
Deconstructing the Development Mindset
December 19, 2017 | | 3 Comments
Since Peter Senge coined the expression “learning organization” more than two decades ago, businesses around the world have aspired to leverage learning toward agility, transformation and long-term success. And most leaders will admit that they still struggle to make this dream a reality. But what if we reframe the conversation? What if we shift the focus from the organization to the individual? Because learning organizations are the result of individuals who possess a deeply held learning orientation and a commitment to growth. Learning organizations are the result of a workforce that shares a development mindset. Defining “development mindset” A development …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged development mindset, expectations, feedback, growth, Mentoring, modeling, transformation
Making the Most of Meetings
December 12, 2017 | | 3 Comments
Love them or hate them… meetings are a permanent feature of the business landscape. Getting things done in organizations frequently requires bringing together multiple minds, perspectives and experience sets. Complex problems cannot be solved nor innovative opportunities leveraged via emails, knowledge management systems, reports, or texting. This type of work demands the melding of minds and ideas—something that meetings are uniquely designed to enable. The problem is that in recent years, other ‘real work’ has increasingly been eclipsed as meetings have grown in number and length. And too much of even a good thing has become too much. According to …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged meetings, participation, physical space, preparation, productive, purpose
Coaching Mastery: The Art and Practice of Developing Others
November 29, 2017 | | 2 Comments
Guest Post by Kevin Cashman I’ve been a fan of Kevin Cashman since first reading The Pause Principle nearly five years ago and have followed his work since. Kevin is a leadership luminary and Korn Ferry’s Global Leader of CEO & Executive Development. His most recent effort Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life, Third Edition, is an exploration of eight powerful ‘mastery areas’ that will support leaders at all levels of the organization. I’m delighted host this guest post from Kevin! Leadership is more than a job. It is a sacred calling with sacred responsibility. That …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged agility, authenticity, awareness, character, contribution, courage, leadership, purpose, service
Deconstructing Delegation
November 16, 2017 | | 2 Comments
Delegation may be among the most misunderstood and mishandled of all supervisory responsibilities. Ask any employee and you’ll hear stories of managers throwing tasks “over the wall” with little or no direction or support. At the other end of the continuum is the criticisms of leaders who can’t let go and end up limiting their careers by insisting upon doing everything themselves. It’s rare to hear of the Goldilocks delegator who does it “just right.” This may be because delegation is far more complex and nuanced than most realize. Many managers perceive delegation as a monolithic supervisory responsibility, something they …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged assessment, complexity, delegation, frequency, leadership, results
Life, Leadership and the Ukulele
November 1, 2017 | | 1 Comment
On a recent trip to Hawaii, I decided to escape the afternoon sun for a complementary ukulele lesson offered by a local musician, Jason Jerome. About ten hotel guests gathered – from age 8 to 80 – to learn a little about how to play the instrument… and a lot more. After a few minutes of instruction, we had mastered three simple chords that would allow us to play hundreds of songs. Sensing that we were ready to go to the next level and get fancier with our technique, Jason took the opportunity to demonstrate his mastery of the instrument …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged achievement, building relationships, inclusion, individuals, risk-taking, Teams, togetherness
Developing Employees is Like Brushing Your Teeth
October 26, 2017 | | 4 Comments
Helping others develop, learn and grow. It may be among the most fundamental responsibilities human beings have to one another. And it’s played out for millennia, as the lessons and cultural norms of past civilizations were passed on generation to generation much like parents today guide their children toward adulthood. Yet, in the workplace, where it plays an equally vital role supporting organizational (and sometimes individual) advancement and survival, development doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Over the years, leaders have become confused about what it is and how it operates. They’ve internalized some inaccurate beliefs that drive ineffective …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged checking in, commitment, connect, context, development, lessons, performance, trust
The Supervisory Squeeze
October 11, 2017 | | 1 Comment
Being a front-line supervisor can be the most gratifying and exciting of roles that anyone will ever experience. It can also be the most terrifying, overwhelming and demoralizing. This is because new supervisors generally have no idea of the “squeeze” into which they are stepping. The front line is the firing line Imagine a place where the most challenging of work is reserved for those who are least seasoned and least prepared. Welcome to most organizations. After the initial glow associated with the promotion fades, new supervisors find themselves facing a difficult set of dynamics. They are fundamentally responsible for …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged front line, goals, leadership, pressure, supervisors, targets
Career Development: A 5-Year Retrospective
October 3, 2017 | | 2 Comments
Five years have passed since I wrote Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want with Beverly Kaye. It’s been a transformative time for me both personally and professionally as I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world, talking with business leaders from all walks of life about their commitment to the development of their people. From China to Lithuania, from Brazil to Russia, from Muscatine to Washington DC, I’ve connected with thousands of managers who are working tirelessly to support the growth of their people—and those who want to learn to do it better. And I’ve …
Posted in Career Matters
Tagged career development, Conversation, engagement
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When you help employees grow….engagement, retention, productivity, and business results will grow as well.
