We previously explored the human knowledge base and its importance to building effective human systems. Unfortunately, knowing something isn’t the same as acting on that knowledge. Any roomful of leaders can rattle off a long list of characteristics that define outstanding organizations. The systems headed by those leaders, however, will often fail to manifest the very principles they have articulated. …
In the landscape of today’s working world, organizations are the fundamental and defining structures within which we work, produce, and get things done. Very few people now work outside of an organization. The pervasiveness of organizations in our society is now so complete that we take them as a given and no longer question the rationale behind their existence. In …
Recognition of and appreciation for the efforts of employees is central to a culture of engagement, ownership and commitment. The success of such initiatives, however, depends on more than questions of how, when, and in what venue. Leaders’ efforts at offering recognition are shaped — and potentially limited — by a host of below-the-line mental models, attitudes and values. And …
Crucial to growth as a leader is a comprehensive process of personal stock-taking, an ongoing discipline of objectively looking at our actions and beliefs and considering the effect they have on the individuals and systems around us. Though such reflection encompasses many constituent elements, three seem to be of particular importance: knowledge, choice, and perception. For any given question, we …
Employee ownership, commitment, loyalty and initiative are key to any outstanding organization. But astute leaders know that such qualities are too important to be left to chance. They must be woven into the fabric of workplace functioning. They must, in other words, be made a part of organizational culture. Take a moment to think about culture. Derived from the Latin …
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 …