Leadership Nugget #6: Is the Decreasing Quality of Public Education Forcing Organizations To Reconsider How They Develop Talent?

The Availability of Talent Is Deteriorating • 72 % of 400 CEOs surveyed in 83 countries indicated availability of key skills was a major threat to their business. (USA Today 1/20/16) • 65% of business leaders say people applying for jobs right out of college are only “somewhat” prepared for success. 40% say they are… Continue reading Leadership Nugget #6: Is the Decreasing Quality of Public Education Forcing Organizations To Reconsider How They Develop Talent?

The Most Important Leadership Skill You Never Thought About

Thought for Contemplation: Great leaders do not think in silos! One wonders how all the high achieving thinkers ended up writing posts about leadership and all the dullards ended up in actual management roles. Only in our imperfect world could such a mismatch of talent occur. If one reviews the multitudes of leadership posts, he… Continue reading The Most Important Leadership Skill You Never Thought About

Trying To Create Role Clarity Is Making You An Autocrat – Part 1

The Role Clarifying Autocrat “This is your role.” “Here are your duties”. “Perform these activities and nothing else.” “Stay in your box.” “That’s not your job.” Or to paraphrase comedian Bill Engvall would say, “ Here’s your box!” We all have heard statements like these and whether the words were said politely or harshly, they… Continue reading Trying To Create Role Clarity Is Making You An Autocrat – Part 1

“That’s On Me” Why Is Accountability Just For the Little People?

One of the indicators of the quality of individual and organizational leadership is how pervasive accountability is in the workplace. Like every other important leadership principle that has become a fad, accountability may be implemented in a genuine way or it may be implemented in a way that shows that leaders apply this characteristic to… Continue reading “That’s On Me” Why Is Accountability Just For the Little People?

Why Good Is A Barrier To Great and Great Is A Barrier To Operational Effectiveness

Bruce Kasanoff recently posted an interesting article titled “Why Good Is Not The Enemy Of Great”. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-good-enemy-great-bruce-kasanoff). In his article he makes a provocative statement: “Our mindless obsession with greatness may well be the root cause of much that is wrong today in the world of business and, well, the world.” Do not miss the… Continue reading Why Good Is A Barrier To Great and Great Is A Barrier To Operational Effectiveness

Maybe The Problem With Communication Is More Than Poor Listening Skills

Accenture recently surveyed 3,600 professionals from 30 countries. Participants were evenly distributed between men and women and across generations and their positions ranged from entry-level through management. One of the survey’s major conclusions was that listening skills are lacking in the workplace. Some of the findings were: 96% of respondents consider themselves good listeners 98%… Continue reading Maybe The Problem With Communication Is More Than Poor Listening Skills

Promoting High Achievers: A Case Study

Should organizations always promote high achievers? Do organizations create the “Peter Principle” by pushing high potentials ahead even when that high potential is ideally suited for their current position or do they lose great talent by not actively supporting their upward mobility? Consider the following case study. Background A high achieving employee has consistently produced… Continue reading Promoting High Achievers: A Case Study

What I Learned About Engagement From A Typewriter: A Case Study

Engagement is not a new concept; great leaders have been using it for years. But it is a concept whose time is now. Organizations need strong employee engagement. Picture an organization with its employees united in finding and implementing solutions to issues and opportunities. Engagement has not only the potential to create high quality decisions… Continue reading What I Learned About Engagement From A Typewriter: A Case Study

Teamwork Lessons From One Of Baseball’s Greats

Today I read Dan Schlossberg’s great article, “Gehrig’s image endures, 75 years after ‘luckiest man’, USA Today, July 4, 2014. While Schlossberg was not approaching the life of Lou Gehrig from a point of being a great teammate, the lessons jump off the page. Please read his moving tribute (quoted often below) to a great… Continue reading Teamwork Lessons From One Of Baseball’s Greats