There is a huge difference between leaders and managers. Never sell managers short, they are the stewards of resources. Their problems will cost you money Leaders are the stewards of culture. If the organizational culture is toxic, it is the fault of the leaders. Their problems will cost you your whole organization. …
<tap> <tap> CEOs <tap> <tap> Are you out there? Anybody? <tap> <tap> COOs? CFOs? <tap> <tap> Is this thing on? I really want to be that motivator guy. You know, the guy that runs around and pumps everyone up. I want to throw those pithy motivational quotes that seem deep and meaningful, but also contradict…
What is the point of all of it? Millions of dollars are spent each year on personality assessment tests. But, nobody can express a clear reason why. “Two and a half million Americans a year take the Myers-Briggs. Eighty-nine companies out of the US Fortune 100 make use of it, for recruitment and selection or…
Sitting in a chair does not make you a leader. (Not even if it is a really nice chair). I struggled for a long time over the difference between being a leader and being a manager. I knew there was an important way to parse the two, but it took me a while to figure…
Leadership, like any human attribute, comes down to DNA and culture – Nature versus Nurture. I am firmly convinced that every skill necessary to be a great leader can, unequivocally, be learned and mastered by anyone. Full stop. That is the “Nurture” part. The skills and the theory represent a limited field of knowledge. With…
Terrible Leaders and Recognition I seem to be on a recognition binge. So… one more thought. In as much as I believe leadership skills are important, there are an unfortunate number of people in leadership positions that are inexperienced, uneducated in, or actively ignore the “soft skills” of leadership. What can you do when you…
Leadership… no one seems to be able to agree on a common definition. A great example of this is in recent posting by Brittney Helmrich from the Business News Daily. In the article, “30 Ways to Define Leadership”, Helmrich quotes the definitions of leadership by 30 business executives. Each definition is sensible and stands well…
If you are just on the path to leadership and you have no idea what you should do, “The One Minute Manager” is a great start to untangle the big string ball that is leading people. I have probably bought close to 100 copies over the years since I first read the book (you’re welcome…
There is no guarantee that leadership will make a company successful, but I can almost guarantee a company will fail without it. I had a surprising conversation with an HR director in a European branch office of a US company about leadership and its role in the company. This person was a very experience executive,…
I discussed performance recognition in earlier posts and have a few additional comments. Genuine, honest praise pays dividends in morale, performance, and retention. Reinforce the recognition. Take the opportunity to recognize achievement at each lower level. I mentioned several ways of recognizing performance: individual recognition, peer recognition, formal group recognition, industry awards, industry travel and conferences.