Derek is the head of a large division. He’s technically brilliant, a great strategic thinker, with strong analytical skills, and tremendous drive for delivering results. Derek’s impressive track record garners respect. He’s fairly personable and most people like him. These are the reasons he’s had a series of promotions and is one of the youngest […]
Read post »360 multi-rater feedback assessments are now used by more than 85% of Fortune 500 companies. They’ve become a foundation of leadership development efforts because they’re like a GPS unit showing leaders their current leadership effectiveness (“you are here”) and mapping a route to increased effectiveness. 360 feedback tools derive their name from getting feedback in […]
Read post »A key reason The CLEMMER Group has partnered with Zenger Folkman is their research-based and highly practical leadership development systems. An outstanding example of that is in their book, The Extraordinary Coach: How the Best Leaders Help Others Grow. Two years ago I reviewed the book and declared it the best on this vital leadership […]
Read post »Just after we announced our new relationship with Zenger Folkman a reader sent me an e-mail inquiry that directly hit an issue Zenger Folkman has researched: “Do you have any suggestions on how to promote and get buy in from employees regarding productivity standards? Any suggestions or resources you could give would be appreciated.” Getting employee […]
Read post »So far this year my blog posts with the biggest reader response concerns the nonsense we keep hearing about generational differences. My first post was We Need Less Generational Nonsense and More Leadership. Last month I posted a follow up blog on More on Less Generational Nonsense. In response to that last blog, Rande Matteson, […]
Read post »I am fed up with the continuing stream of unsubstantiated psychobabble about how younger generations need to be managed so much differently than previous generations. This usually comes from, or is spouted by “experts” to, mediocre managers who aren’t inspiring leaders. In their solidly researched book, The Inspiring Leader, Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman provide […]
Read post »There’s a lot of mumbo jumbo being sold by “generational experts” that today’s young workers are very different from previous generations and need to be managed differently. Clearly there are differences between groups of people who grew up in different times, circumstances, and cultures. But people are people. And what we’re looking for from our […]
Read post »In the past few months I’ve been asked by workshop participants and readers for my recommendations on organization improvement, leadership, or personal development books. One example was an e-mail from a manager at the American Society of Training and Development: “We are building our reference list for the ASTD Forum Lab in India in October. […]
Read post »Here are a few insights drawn from The Inspiring Leader: Unlocking the Secrets of How Extraordinary Leaders Motivate: “Adequate leaders get everyone to do their jobs, but inspirational leaders are able to get people to rise far above that mark and achieve more.” “Inspiration and emotion are inextricably linked together. The inspiring leader learns how […]
Read post »This is an extraordinary book on leadership from the experts in extraordinary leadership. In 2002, legendary training and development expert Jack Zenger (he’s been given numerous international awards and citations) and Joe Folkman (renowned psychometrician with extensive expertise in survey research and leader assessments) published their groundbreaking book The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into […]
Read post »“…positive psychology researchers finished a ‘meta-analysis,’ a study of nearly every scientific happiness study available — over 200 studies on 275,000 people worldwide… happiness leads to success in nearly every domain, including work, health, friendship, sociability, creativity, and energy.” “Data abounds showing that happy workers have higher levels of productivity, produce higher sales, perform better […]
Read post »Looking beyond the commercialization of Valentine’s Day, it’s a great time to nurture our inner romantic and express gratitude for our loved ones. As I write I am listening to a randomized Beatles playlist. Of the nearly 200 songs on the list, “The Word” started playing as I began this blog post. Its opening lines […]
Read post »Like the debate on whether leaders are born or made, an early debate in the emerging Emotional Intelligence research was whether our EQ, like IQ, is fixed once we hit adulthood. The debate is over and the verdict is in: like building leadership or other forms of expertise, we can improve our EQ at any […]
Read post »May you enjoy a Moose-free Holiday Season! Moose-on-the-table is a concept I’ve written about extensively such as in my “edutaining” fictional book by that title. Around the world I’ve facilitated management teams having courageous conversations about elephants in the room, and kangaroos or camels on the table. The original concept comes from families with significant […]
Read post »‘Tis the season of gifts and giving. The warmth and good cheer of the Holiday Season is often the reminder we need of how giving and helping others can really help us too. George Burton Adams, an early 20th century American educator and historian once observed, “Note how good you feel after you have encouraged […]
Read post »The cover article in the December issue of Harvard Business Review reminded me of this powerful little story: A scout leader was trying to lift a fallen tree from the path. His pack gathered around to watch him struggle. “Are you using all your strength?” one of the scouts asked. “Yes!” was the exhausted and […]
Read post »Fellow professional speaker and good friend, Donald Cooper, makes this excellent point in his December newsletter: “In many conversations with business owners and their teams I’ve been amazed and distressed at how many business owners use ‘I’ and ‘my’ when they should be using “we” and “our”. They constantly say, ‘I did this and I […]
Read post »If you’ve never taken in one of the amazing and spectacular shows of the Cirque du Soleil, you really need to treat yourself and see one. Cirque travels extensively to major cities and have permanent shows with elaborate stages and buildings in Las Vegas. One of my favorite shows of all time is their The […]
Read post »In today’s economic uncertainty employee engagement is critical. Organizational engagement surveys are showing that employee frustration is accelerating as engagement plummets. They feel trapped. With higher unemployment rates and tight job markets, many people on the frontlines — especially those with less specialized skills — are clinging to jobs they don’t enjoy. Employee engagement is […]
Read post »I just came across a Corporate Executive Board (CEB) study showing the incredible penalties and pay-offs of good and bad communication practices. A survey of 300,000 employees shows that open and honest communication pays huge dividends to companies with transparent cultures. A CEB poll found that nearly half of executive teams don’t get critical information […]
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