His opening gambit was, What do you do? Not my ideal subject for small-talk during a short flight, but Oh well . . . I spoke of coaching leaders to lift their game through a systematic focus on developing their own and others’ capacity for effectiveness . . . how this saves an extraordinary degree of otherwise wasted energy and . . . As his eyes began glazing over, I invited him to talk about his work. Although my companion spoke enthusiastically of recent developments in his (very … [Read more...]
Managing and reflecting on your leadership
Is leadership simply a higher form of management? Should leaders command, direct, explain, plead, role-model, inspire, cajole, threaten, bargain, encourage, coach, mentor, manipulate, or expect people to just get on with what they're paid to do without being "bossed"? Do your leadership KPIs measure leadership quality or organisational performance? Are they the same or separate issues? Can leadership effectiveness be reasonably argued if your part of the organisation succeeds and … [Read more...]
Start with why
When asked about meetings they attend, people often roll their eyes or sigh heavily and say, "Don’t ask!" Clearly, something’s wrong. While "ineptly-facilitated" is one of the usual suspects and an obvious contributor to the problem, something fundamental and frequently overlooked usually lies at its heart. It’s a major flaw which seriously reinforces the tendency of meetings to waste time, squander potential and irritate the participants. One researcher points bluntly to it when he describes … [Read more...]