I recently met with a client responsible for organizational development in the financial services sector who was seeking ideas, information, and input from ImagineNation towards cultivating a “fail fast” organizational culture. It caused me to explore what might be some…
Leadership
Do You See the Invisible People?
During my flight home yesterday evening, I made an effort to acknowledge the work of an amazing flight attendant. “You’re incredibly good at your job,” I said, “and I simply wanted to say thank you.” She replied with a genuine…
Don’t Be a Clueless CEO
“Please, I need separate checks for our meal.” That caused me to look up from my menu because I had never heard that before. Our normal routine is that he pays for one lunch/dinner and the next time it is…
Where Did We Go Wrong with Leadership Development?
Most of us seem to intuitively understand the connection between leadership and success, because collectively we invest a lot of time and money in self-help classes and books intended to improve our leadership skills. In 2011, the self-help market in…
None of Us Are Rational, So Smart Leadership Means Learning to Deal With Emotions
Emotions drive behavior in the office, often much more than we’re aware of. To be more effective leaders, we need to become more attuned to our own emotions as well to those of the people around us. This may come…
Emotional Intelligence Is Not Just For Leaders
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) isn’t something that can be easily taught or trained, which is why it’s such a vital competency for the employees within your organization to have. The term EQ has been tossed around the HR space for the…
What Does a Great Leader Look Like? Here’s a Checklist
In the current economy, leaders and executives often forget that their leadership objective is not only to manage the company processes, or to supervise the production of widgets. Their role is made important by the charge to lead people. As…
Beware the Myth of the Super Leader
“We will all learn together. I want to learn from you as well as you learn from me.” This, from a new CHRO who sits on the executive committee for a global organization. She is at the table with a…
For the Good of the Organization You Need to Be a Little Machiavellian
In our workplaces, as in society at large, we try hard to create open, transparent, meritocratic structures. Our increasing success can blind us to some nagging obstacles. We can persuade ourselves that we are creating new utopias: workplaces in which…
Are You the Leader They’ll Thank On Your Last Day?
“This is when you know that you have achieved something important by creating an amazing team and they thank you like this on your last day.” That was a lead-in quote from a video of the GM of the Address…
Top Organizations Do Pay Differently From Everyone Else
In the latest “Compensation Best Practices Report,” which gathered responses from 7,100 respondents on their pay practices, PayScale – the company where I work – took a look at what really sets top performers apart. In this report, top-performing organizations were…
Why a Compensation Strategy Is a Must
How many of you reading this article have a piece of paper that you can lay your hands on, one with the title, “Compensation Strategy”? Do you know if such a document exists in your organization? The common response at…
3 Conversations to Help Your Team Get Through a Reorg
A while ago, I was counseling a senior executive of a government bureau who was two years into shaping his agency to be more customer and results-centered. He rebuilt his 200-person group, propelled key actions, coached his staff on changing…
Will Anyone Contribute Toward Your Gift?
“No one wanted to contribute to her holiday gift.” The assistant manager told me that during the holidays, it is customary of all employees of the retail store to chip in to buy gifts for the store manager and the…
6 Ways Real Leaders Turn Insincerity Into Inspiration
The biggest barrier between leaders and followers is distrust. And the window dressing for distrust is insincerity. People put up with a lot of quirks in their leaders and coworkers just to keep the peace, but insincerity particularly grates on…
Don’t Let Succession Planning Be Just a C-Suite Thing
“Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting to expect higher dividends and stressed that succession planning is a priority,” Bloomberg reported last month. “Cook also made some of his most explicit comments on succession…
That Seat at the Table Is In the Library
“I spend so much time reading now. As I am finally a member of the executive team, there are so many areas that I needed to brush up on as the organization is in such a growth spurt.” This discussion…
Decision-Making Doesn’t Always Require Collaboration
Collaboration is in vogue today. It’s a favorite theme for how to be a great leader and in how to solve most business problems. I’ve always tried to be collaborative and inclusive – even in situations when it probably wasn’t…
What to Do About Leaders Who Think They Are Better Than They Are
With fewer peers and more power, it’s easy for leaders to lose touch with those they lead. A study by Hay Group’s McClelland Center finds that senior leaders in an organization often gain power at the expense of self-knowledge, and are…
Hired to Clean Up the Mess? Here Are 3 Ways to Be a Success
Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, has had his work cut out for him — and it doesn’t look like his load will lighten anytime soon. After everything the company went through in 2017, including the departure of former CEO, Travis Kalanick,…