Many organizations struggle to convey the rationale of organizational decisions as reliably as the operational details involved. A similar challenge concerns the feedback employees receive on the results of their efforts. Employees often say that they are given very little information about the impact of the day-in, day-out work they complete. They may be told they have done exceptionally well. …
I have recently been using the Hanging the Mirror: The Discipline of Reflective Leadership in my leadership coaching and consulting work. After reading the book at my suggestion, a leader in one of my client organizations had the self-awareness and courage to tell me that he believed he was doing a poor job in the area of truly involving the …
Organizations struggle not only because leaders don’t know what choices to make, but also because they simply don’t make the choices that they know are the most productive and constructive. This is an issue that lies at the heart of leadership. But it also affects our relationships with those outside the workplace. Time and again clients have expressed to us …
Leaders often feel handcuffed by circumstances beyond their control. And in many ways they are powerless to prevent or alter such externalities. But while leaders may have limited choice over what happens to them, they have almost unlimited control over how they respond. We all, whatever our role or title, live in a world filled to bursting with choice. To …
New Years’ resolutions have a bad reputation. Gym memberships are bought and ignored; book clubs are joined and eventually dropped. So common have such patterns become that it sometimes seems like the more earnest the commitment, the more likely its failure. But while our intentions might often outstrip our dedication, the motivation behind New Year’s resolutions is a good one. …