What if we asked more questions? You might be thinking that you do ask more questions, at least compared to the people around you. Here is some research on kids that I believe applies to adults. Do you really think the graph starts going back up AFTER the age of 18? It comes down to being aware of how our EGO gets in the way and committing to asking GREAT questions vs GOOD questions.
People who want to be there best find ways to feed their thirst for excellence. For me, Seth Godin is a voice that feeds me. He takes a fancy corporate slogan like Entrepreneurial Spirit and makes it simple, real, and actionable. I have two questions I ask people to see how hungry they are for knowledge and personal excellence – Do you read Seth? and What is your favorite TED talk? Here is a few thoughts for leaders and individuals.
Change is not easy, and we make it harder by not being masters and processing it well regardless of how effective our leaders are at managing it. Here are three tips to make you a force for positive change. People that do this are on their way to becoming Linchpins (thanks to Seth Godin for coining that title) in their organizations.
When relationships matter, process trumps outcome. Leadership does not have to be about relationships or performance, and yet there are circumstances where performance do trump relationships. Great conversations start with a question. Here are some questions to help you think about how you are aligned as a leader.
What was your first leadership lesson? Mine happened when I was 19 and learning how to operate a jackhammer. Here is what I learned, and how it frames my work as a leader, a coach, and even a father. Some thoughts, and a question for you: What are you challenged with today that you have to learn to let the jackhammer do the work? Great conversations start with a question. Lead well and go have one.
I am most comfortable dressed as a Superhero. This is a value of a company that has built a unique culture around a very successful business, and you have to see the picture in my blog post about how they rolled it out to their team. This group inspires me, and hopefully their story will inspire you as leaders to be more intentional about building your culture.
Captain John Meier understands that great conversations start with a question. He also knows that to serve first as a leader one must seek answers and input first. Of course, he commands an aircraft carrier, so he has some experience leading. Here are two tips he shared to move an intent to serve to an ACTION that your team will see and feel.
Talent management is about great conversations. Sometimes it starts with a conversation with ourselves. Here are two videos that evoked a conversation within me – one on Slomo and the other on Alex Zanardi. They are not corporate titans, but men who faced a fork in the road and chose a path. Very different people, but both reminded me of the piece of mind that results when we own our choices. Great lessons for individuals facing decisions around career or professional development. Remember, do what you love.
Great conversations start with a question. Leadership development is about learning to listen and then react, and to act out of an understanding of most of the variables in the situation so that the decision is the best one for your people and the organization. That is what I believe, and this is a piece of how to DO that has a leader. This is also a foundation for talent management.
We try to avoid labeling people, and yet words have definitions that help us clearly state something we are seeing. In the world of talent management, there is a fine line between being ignorant and stupid. Effectively managing talent means knowing their attitudes towards learning and how agile their are. Talent management is about great conversations, and here are some tips for leaders to have them with themselves and their people.
Talent management is about having great conversations. Having a great conversation starts with an invitation, and too often leaders get focused on who does not participate vs focusing on who does. Here are 2 tips for leaders who are starting the process of one-on-ones, team meetings, or monthly strategy sessions as a way of generating more purposeful conversations with their people.
Relationships are tricky. They start at random places – soccer games, first days of a new job, school functions, board meetings. They only actually become a relationship, a thing that we can point to or hold up as something that has been created if we continue to deal with each other or are connected in some way. Leaders need to be good at this. Talent management requires this. Great conversations happen when we are focused on this.