Albert Einstein’s oft quoted definition of insanity is, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, we’ll keep getting what we’ve been getting. To move our leadership effectiveness to a new level, we need to blaze new paths. Feedback is critical to increased […]
Read post »“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.” – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning […]
Read post »As the sands of time run out on another year I’ve found this quieter time is great for looking back over the past twelve months and focusing on what lies ahead. One of the biggest challenges of our time is the tornado of multi-tasking crazy-busy bustle that can spin us around in ever faster circles. […]
Read post »Just one more sleep before kids get their big performance review. Where will the big guy watching from the North Pole mark them on the naughty-nice scale? Will it be enough to get them into the next gift bracket? When we published Growing @ the Speed of Change: Your Inspir-actional How-To Guide For Leading Yourself […]
Read post »Tom is a strong manager with a solid track record of energizing and pulling teams together to deliver results in difficult circumstances. He’s been rising steadily in his organization. Tom thrives on ever more challenging assignments and driving hard to continue growing his leadership effectiveness and career opportunities. A recent 360 assessment from Tom’s direct […]
Read post »“Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.” – James Russell Lowell, 19th century American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat “All leaders, whether contrarian or otherwise, are heavily influenced by what they read. Indeed, in many cases leaders are directed and inspired as much by their readings as […]
Read post »As an avid reader and author I was delighted to come across recent research on the impact of reading on leadership effectiveness. In a series of five experiments conducted by social scientists at the New School for Social Research in New York City, they found that readers of literary fiction scored higher in empathy and […]
Read post »Charles Darwin was a 19th century British naturalist who revolutionized the study of biology with his theory of evolution based on natural selection. His most famous works include Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. One of his key research findings was that, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor […]
Read post »As the frenetic pace of organizational mergers, downsizing, and restructuring picks up speed, middle and senior managers are faced with career opportunities and major threats. A few months ago I coached “Sheila,” a manager who had been through our Extraordinary Leader development process. Sheila had been given 360 feedback from her manager, peers, direct reports, […]
Read post »Eleanor Roosevelt, American diplomat, writer, and U.S. First Lady once said, “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” My book, Growing @ the Speed of Change, was built around the fundamental choices of […]
Read post »Jack Zenger’s latest Forbes column brings to mind the ancient woodcutter’s fable. A strong young pioneer is energetically chopping down trees with his broad axe to clear farming land. His productivity amazes and surpasses everyone else. As his axe dulls from heavy use his production drops while his frustration rises. A veteran community member working […]
Read post »A few months ago in Charismatic Leadership is Vastly Overrated I quoted from a European study published in Sloan Management Review on the downside of charisma. I also quoted Good to Great author, Jim Collins, reporting on his findings that charisma can be more of a leadership liability than an asset. Despite the mounting proof […]
Read post »Last week’s blog on You Are Here: Multiple Feedback Points Locates our Leadership Skills described the work we’re currently doing introducing hundreds of leaders at one company to the groundbreaking new approach of strengths-based leadership development. As we continue to use only self-assessments to discuss leadership strengths we’re seeing an overwhelming interest in getting much […]
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 »The founder of MacDonald’s hamburger chain, Ray Kroc, was well known for his motto, “when you’re green you’re growing, when you’re ripe you rot.” May is a great time for us in the Northern Hemisphere to reflect on whether we’re greening ourselves with new growth or stagnating and decaying. Once again this spring I’ll be […]
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 »As 2012 winds down, ’tis the season for looking back at the year’s highlights. Harvey Schachter reviewed dozens and dozens of business, leadership, and management books for The Globe & Mail last year. As I contemplate my ever expanding must-read book list I am in awe of how many books he reviews. Harvey’s either a […]
Read post »As I said to Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman in last week’s Strengths-Based Leadership Development webcast (click on title to view the archived session). How to Be Exceptional: Drive Leadership Success by Magnifying Your Strengths (click on title to read my review) really is an exceptional book. In my 35 plus years of studying, applying, […]
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 »In the 19th century “snake oil salesmen” travelled throughout North America selling unproven or fraudulent oils, elixirs, and various cure-all remedies. In 1906 the US Pure Food and Drugs Act began to regulate medicines. This was followed by decades of research into drugs, vaccines, public health regulations, and medical treatments that dramatically reduced and even […]
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