“The only people who are truly incompetent are those who refuse to listen to and accept feedback from others.” “People do not give equal attention to all attributes. Some characteristics count more than others. Understanding which characteristics are most critical is an essential element in bringing about change.” “Small changes in specific areas can have […]
Read post »“I’d like to give you a little feedback” sends shivers up the spine of many people. Sometimes prefaced by a cursory point or two on our strengths or what we did well, most of the feedback centers on what we’ve done wrong or on fixing our weaknesses. Rather than benefiting from the power of feedback, […]
Read post »Needs assessments and performance evaluations look for gaps and design training programs to fix weaknesses. This is a major reason participant motivation to build skills has been very low and transfer of learning poor. On Monday I delivered a 60 minute webinar on The Strengths-Based Leadership Development Revolution and its refreshingly different impact on leadership […]
Read post »A number of participants in our February 12 Building Extraordinary Coaching Skills webcast provided comments and raised interesting questions about this vital leadership skill. One question was whether there’s a marked difference in coaching those in volunteer roles versus people in paid positions. In the webcast I outlined our definition of coaching as “interactions that […]
Read post »My last blog reported on our Building Extraordinary Coaching Skills webcast where I outlined 6 Steps to Building a Coaching Culture with Exceptional Leaders. During the webcast more than 80% of the over 500 participating sites completed a series of six surveys on the state of coaching and coaching skill development in their organization. My […]
Read post »Last week I delivered a one hour webcast on 6 Steps to Building a Coaching Culture with Exceptional Leaders. Participants from 41 countries registered to attend. At broadcast time 536 unique sites signed on — many were teams or groups viewing the webcast together. The best feedback on whether participants feel they are getting high […]
Read post »I’ve been delivering keynotes, webinars, facilitating workshops, and discussing our Strengths-Based Leadership Development System for the past month with many highly experienced HR, Learning, and OD executives. It’s been fascinating to see most of them go through the same struggle I did when I first dug into the compelling research. On the one hand, comments […]
Read post »My last blog announced that my September webinar hosted by the Canadian Society for Training and Development is now archived and available for viewing at The Strengths-Based Leadership Development Revolution. Right after the webinar was broadcast I received this e-mail from a participant: “I had a chance to attend your webinar on The Strengths-Based Leadership […]
Read post »Last week I delivered a 50 minute webinar on The Strengths-Based Leadership Revolution hosted by the Canadian Society for Training and Development. We wrapped it up with 10 minutes of thoughtful participant questions and discussion. This archived webinar is now freely available here. Given the breadth and depth of our Strengths-Based Leadership Development System a […]
Read post »Last week I received this e-mail from a manager in Toronto: “You were recommended to me by my boss. He is interested in having me take some leadership training specifically on the issue of ‘managing up.’ I see that this is an area you discuss on your website. Would you have some time to discuss […]
Read post »Sometimes it feels like our technology picks the toughest time to test us! I was on the Calgary leg of a road trip to Regina, Calgary, Seattle, and Anchorage a few weeks ago when my computer failed to boot up as I arrived at my hotel room that night. I live on this thing. I […]
Read post »I’ve been using a 1 minute and 44 second video when working with groups wrestling with the challenges and choices that come with organizational or personal change. The “Lost Generation” video features a poem written by Jonathan Reed for a “U @ 50” contest among 20 – 22 year olds on what future they see […]
Read post »The global economic crunch has brought persistently higher unemployment levels to many countries. That dramatically slowed – and even reversed – a focus on attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent. In some cases, organizations were focused on survival. But in too many cases it was a near-sighted focus on the short term. We’re seeing a […]
Read post »Strong leaders build leadership skills at all levels (“leadership is an action, not a position”) and share ownership by bringing out the best in people on their team and throughout their organization. Unfortunately, these leaders are rare. More common – and often unaware – are stressed out managers who take on too much while reducing […]
Read post »What does Toyota’s ongoing recall problems and Tiger Woods’ infidelities have in common? They’re both a great source of material for comedians and late night TV. They are also very expensive, make sensational headlines, and have tarnished stellar brands. But an especially interesting leadership link is how these two big news stories vividly demonstrate today’s […]
Read post »Are meetings or conference calls a good way for you and your team to get work done or are they black holes sucking vital energy and scarce time out of your day? Many managers, project, or team leaders practice very poor “meeting hygiene.” People drift in and out, side conversations distract from the main discussion, […]
Read post »You probably spend large chunks of your day in meetings or on conference calls. That’s especially true if you’re in any sort of management, project, or team leadership role. Whether in person or using communication technology, meetings, conferences calls, or webinars are more important than ever in our increasingly complex and interconnected world. Research clearly […]
Read post »Now that the writing, publishing, and launch of my latest book Growing @ the Speed of Change is through its busiest phase, I am able to spend more time indulging my passion for reading. I generally have a novel of historical fiction, a book on spiritual/philosophical/meditation, and one or two personal growth/leadership/organization effectiveness books on […]
Read post »Positive psychology is an exciting new and rapidly expanding movement pioneered by Martin Seligman, Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology in the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Psychology and director of their Positive Psychology Center. His book, Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, is one of the best […]
Read post »We’ve heard a number of inspiring stories and seen many examples of personal and team excellence during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. “The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.” – Vince Lombardi “At the winter […]
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