Don’t Forget the “Why” in Your Mission Statement

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Powerful Mission Statement

A colleague of mine, Gwen Kinsey, led a crisp, interactive presentation at a recent leadership breakfast event. The topic was about how mission statements engage (or not) your employees. Gwen's session drove home a point for me and I'd like to share it here. She put us in small groups and handed out two mission statements, one to half the groups, the other to the other half. Our task was to read the mission we were given and find connections between it and what we value highly. It turned out … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Change Management, Employee Engagement Tagged With: , ,

Great Example of Leadership in Action

January 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
robert_griffin_III

Living in the Washington DC area, you can't escape the excitement of Washington Redskins fans as their team–finally, after four losing seasons–contends for a playoff spot. At the center of their big turnaround from 3 wins & 6 loses to ending up at the top of their division is their rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin, aka RG III. The Washington Post had an extensive piece recently on this phenomenal leader. What the article revealed was a classic case of some core leadership traits and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: , ,

Reactive vs. Creative Mind-sets…and Results

February 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

At the core of The Leadership Circle (360 degree assessment) model are the Reactive tendencies and Creative competencies. If you look at the circle itself, you will see Reactive structure of mind represented by the lower half of the circle and Creative structure by the upper half. When leaders operate from the Reactive mind-set they are, of course, able to achieve at least some level of results through their people. The problem is that, as research shows, at some point they hit a ceiling. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership, Performance Coaching Tagged With: , , , ,

Employee Engagement in Action–an Example

May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Campbell's Soup

I actually came across this article from Forbes.com in 2009 but never got around to sharing it. The piece tells about Douglas Conant, the new CEO of Campbell Soup Company, who came on board in 2001 and over the next eight years grew EPS by 5-10% every year. His strategies included invigorating their work force by concentrating on employee engagement. In 2002 62% of employees reported being not actively engaged and 12% were actively disengaged. By 2009, 68% were actively engaged and only 3% … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employee Engagement Tagged With: , ,

Fear and Managers’ Fears

May 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You seldom hear the word "fear" in management development workshops. Of course the word is not welcome anywhere in organizations. It's the "F word" in offices and plants. Odd, isn't it, since fear is always lurking in our workplaces, especially during the last few years of economic hell? For some inexplicable reason your people think that you aren't worried about your own job or about the brutal labor market you would be thrown into if you lost it. They think only they have fears. But, as you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communicating, Leadership Tagged With: , , ,

Choose Stewardship Over Entitlement

December 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Frodo & Ring

Most of us have had the experience, at least once in our career, of working for a boss who loved his/her role because it was all about: I'm special (after all, they made me the boss) I deserve extra respect (because I'm special, of course) I have real power (try opposing me and you'll feel the brunt of it) I own this place (let's be clear, this is my operation) I'm more important than my staff (not really, but…well, I guess so) This screams entitlement!, I'm sure you would … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: , ,

Oh Yeah, That’s Why We Do This Work

October 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
raise_gaze

I have been working lately with an organization that serves the homeless population by first finding them a place to live and then attending to their many needs. As with many non-profit enterprises these days, they have their share of frustrations that can tip staff morale down a notch or three: lack of adequate funding, coping with the whims and delays of government funding arms, attracting and keeping good front line people who work effectively with their destitute clients, and so … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employee Motivation Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review – Leadership From the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
leadership_inside_out

by Kevin Cashman Berrett-Koehler, 2008 ISBN #978-1-57675-599-0 At the point our body and our senses (eyes, ears, touch, etc.) meet the world lies a crossroads. At this very point we experience a constant, two-way flow from the… Outside in–situations, actions and events in their environment Inside out–how we feel, interpret, process these situations and decide on our response Kevin Cashman talks about this intersection as it applies to leaders. On the one hand, a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Change Management, Leadership, Leadership Development Tagged With: , , , , ,

True Leaders Leave a Huge Hole

April 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Brian_Betts

I was struck by a local news item in The Washington Post on Brian Betts, a model middle school principal, who was found gunned down in his home. While the story obviously includes the murder aspect, I was touched by the leadership angle. Rising to a challenge: Here was a white man who took over a school that was struggling, in a lower income community that is predominantly African America and Hispanic. Furthermore, he talked openly with parents and students about it. Open to innovative ideas: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: , , , ,

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Warren-Bennis

The inaugural issue of The Korn/Ferry Institute's quarterly journal, Briefings on Talent & Leadership, has an article on one of the giants in the study of Leadership, Warren Bennis. Apparently Bennis tells his students at the University of Southern California a story about a young U.S. Army officer that was commanding a squad that entered the Shiite holy city of Najaf in 2003. They found themselves suddenly surrounded by an angry and increasingly volatile mob. Then, at a pivotal moment … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: ,