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.
What is leadership
The Smartest Person In The Room
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.
Never Start With Do
Leadership development is about honest conversations, that lead to thoughtful actions, and improved performance. It rarely starts with the DO of practice, but the DO of observation. Here is what I mean by that.
When we don’t react, and Listen
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.
What Leaders Do – To Serve
What does a leader DO? This is a big question, and these questions are the start of a great conversation for any leader to have with others, and with themselves. It is much easier to make a habit out of something you believe in, and that is the core of the training launching next month from the LeaderWork group around What Leaders Do.
Ignorant vs Stupid vs Agile
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.
Just Add Fear – Is this a line in your Leadership Recipe?
Fear is to an organization as water is to a house. It always finds a way in, and only does damage if it stays around for a while. Leadership by fear is a choice, and often it is not about intentionally doing it, but by ignoring the habits that replace fear with love. Here are some leadership tips about having great conversations that allow fear a voice, and create a conversation that makes it hard for fear to stay around.
4 Words That Frame the Succession Conversation, 2 Tips to Reframe it
Succession planning is an important conversation, and a difficult one. Here are two tips for making it easier, and some feedback from a recent keynote topic I did on the topic. Talent management is about having great conversations. Great is about having honest conversations, leading to thoughtful actions, and improved performance.
Development: Fun vs Easy, and 3 Tips For Leaders To Make It More Fun
Professional development is a lot like golf, and to make talent management work we have to figure out a way to make work more fun. Here are 3 Tips for making development more fun, and it involves a leader going first and making it safe for people to explore and learn while they work. Developing talent in an organization is about making practice part of the work, and leadership plays a key role in doing that.
Training is up . . . is ROI?
Talent management is about great conversations. Training can help develop your people, but the question is What can I do to improve the ROI on my training? Here are two tips for making your training dollars have a greater impact on your relationships with your people and with the performance of your organization.
Tough Conversations
Leadership is about having honest conversations. The skill of being able to handle difficult conversations (conflict, differing opinions, accountability) is one of the most critical skills for a leader. Fierce Conversations and Crucial Conversations are great books, and here is another offering – a video by Ash Beckham. Talent management is about great conversations, this will help you have more of them.
Lots of Reasons, No Excuses
Talent management is about great conversations. One aspect of a great conversation is Lots of Reasons, and no excuses. This is a leadership tool that will transform how you listen and how you lead. When you do it well, accountability and safety follows.