What Inspiring Leaders Do
Originally posted on Harvard Business Review June 20, 2013 What do top executives want from their leaders? IBM recently asked this question of 1,700 CEOs in 64 countries. The three leadership traits that most mattered were the ability to focus intensely on customer needs, the ability to collaborate with colleagues — and the ability to … Continue reading
Did I Offend You? The Science Behind Being Polite
Originally posted on Forbes.com June 5, 2013 A short time ago my daughter came to observe me facilitating a workshop for a group of executives. At the time she was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Music Dance Theater. During the workshop I told a story of an innovative mayor who hires a bunch of actors … Continue reading
Everything Counts: The 6 Ways to Inspire and Motivate Top Performance
Originally posted on Forbes.com May 20, 2013 Despite all research about the nature of leaders, practitioners and scholars still acknowledge that many aspects of leadership remain a mystery. Today I would like to address one of the key mysteries that seems to consistently defy traditional analysis. Often, leaders are identified as possessing a remarkable quality … Continue reading
Workplace Feedback: A Puzzle? A Punishment? Or A Gift?
Originally posted on Forbes.com May 8, 2013 A few years ago I was reading comments on an employee survey and came across a choice comment that said, “I don’t know if I am in line to become the Janitor or the CEO. PLEASE, GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK!” Everyone would like to know where they stand, … Continue reading
Update on Zenger Folkman’s New Book “How to Be Exceptional”
As I said to Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman in last week’s Strengths-Based Leadership Development webcast (click on title to view the archived session). How to Be Exceptional: Drive Leadership Success by Magnifying Your Strengths (click on title to read my review) really is an exceptional book. In my 35 plus years of studying, applying, … Continue reading
The Perfect Solution
Have you ever received a gift that you both needed and valued? I remember receiving a wheelbarrow for father’s day some years ago. I needed a wheelbarrow but it seemed like the implied message of this tool was; “Now you have no excuse for not doing the yard work.” This gift was needed but not valued. My wife always wanted a back massage and I could never satisfy the need, so I bought her a massage chair. This gift was both needed and valued and years after I gave the gift I still get thanked.
The 16 Days of Competencies: #2 Technical and Professional Expertise
As featured in the article “Making Yourself Indispensable” published in the October 2011 issue of Harvard Business Review. Yesterday, Harvard Business Review published an article titled, Making Yourself Indispensible, by Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman—co-authors of The Inspiring Leader and principals of the leadership development company, Zenger Folkman. After years of extensive research, we at … Continue reading
The Yin and Yang of Strengths and Fatal Flaws
When Jack Zenger and I discovered that what made leaders great was the presence of strengths and not the absence of weaknesses, it fundamentally shifted our view about how leaders can improve. Our efforts to make leaders better had been primarily focused on fixing weaknesses. As we teach people about this research on building strengths, … Continue reading
10 Ways to Pull, Rather than Push, for Results
There are two very different ways to achieve results. The most common approach used by leaders to achieve results is characterized by the competency “Drive for Results.” Leaders who drive for results might be describes as follows: Does everything possible to achieve a goal or objective. Is able to achieve goals and objective on time … Continue reading
Who Done It: The Danger of Assigning Ownership to Anonymous Feedback
When people receive anonymous 360 feedback there is a natural human tendency to look at the data and attempt to figure out “who done it”. It’s an interesting mystery and often people state with great confidence that they “KNOW.” We often advise our clients that about 50% of the time they are correct but that … Continue reading
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