Zenger Folkman is rapidly being recognized as one of the leading-edge leadership development and consulting firms of the 21st century. Global leaders in the automotive, financial, engineering, technology, retail, consumer products, and professional services sectors are using ZF’s ground breaking systems as the foundation of their leadership and organization development. Now in the second year […]
Read post »After months of searching for just the right executive I am delighted that Brad Smith recently joined our team as Director, Business Development. Brad has nearly twenty years of experience as a trusted advisor in organizational effectiveness, leadership/culture development, learning, career and talent management, consulting, Human Resources, and performance improvement to hundreds of organizations in […]
Read post »If you’re a LinkedIn member please join our Strengths-Based Leadership Development group. If you’re not already connected to me, please click on http://ca.linkedin.com/in/jimclemmer/ and send me an invitation to connect. As a reader of this blog you should find our recent discussion (How do you help leaders let go of focusing on their weaknesses?) useful. […]
Read post »In the opening lines of the chapter entitled, “Making Strength Productive” in his 1967 book The Effective Executive, the “father of modern management,” Peter Drucker writes, “to make strength productive is the unique purpose of organization. It cannot, of course, overcome the weakness with which each of us is abundantly endowed. But it can make […]
Read post »We’re now planning our fall series of webinars, briefings, and public workshops. You can see what we’ve got planned in our Coming Events section. I pulled together, updated, and condensed our research, workshop materials, and key learning from The Extraordinary Leader and The Extraordinary Coach development systems into a 60 minute complimentary webinar. To provide […]
Read post »A highly productive component of The Extraordinary Leader development approach is the Importance Ratings section of the feedback report. This is where each set of raters — including the participant being assessed — are asked to identify the four most important competencies (of the 16 Differentiating Competencies) for their role. What’s especially useful is comparing […]
Read post »We’re currently facilitating a customized version of The Extraordinary Leader development sessions with hundreds of supervisors and managers in an organization using just self-assessments. Executives in this company had very negative past experiences with using 360 feedback assessments. They agreed that those experiences came from the all too common weaknesses-based approach grounding most 360 feedback […]
Read post »With last week’s death of the “Iron Lady,” former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, many world leaders and commentators looked back on her forceful and charismatic personality. Charismatic leadership is a popular media stereotype of strong leadership. As much as I’ve enjoyed reading Fortune magazine for the past few decades, they keep adding to this […]
Read post »“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 »Leadership has been a lifelong passion for me. I read thousands of books, papers, articles, and blogs on the topic. I’ve also written seven books, hundreds of articles and blogs, facilitated over a thousand retreats and workshops, and delivered hundreds of keynotes on personal, team, and organizational leadership. As I wrote in the September issue […]
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 »For the last few decades leadership development has used a linear approach. For example, communication skills training might involve breaking down the key actions of the skill, showing examples of strong communication, practicing key steps of the skill, and getting coaching or feedback. Linear training is effective and will often help a motivated learner get […]
Read post »“In all our research to predict the satisfied, engaged, and committed employee versus the dissatisfied, disengaged, and uncommitted employee, one variable emerged as the best predictor of the differences. That one variable is, “Who is your immediate supervisor?” ” … leadership strengths as those qualities that are highly valued in most cultures, that are valued […]
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