The corner office can be a lonely place. With decreasing tenures and increasing demands, today's CEOs face unprecedented challenges in leading their organizations. While McKinsey's groundbreaking research in "CEO Excellence" reveals six fundamental mindsets for success, what truly stands out are the counterintuitive lessons beneath the surface.
In the dynamic and demanding landscape of modern leadership, the power of connections is often overlooked. Yet, it's the threads of relationships that weave together the fabric of our success. Your network isn't just a collection of names; it's a reservoir of knowledge, support, and opportunity. By strategically building and nurturing your leadership network, you can unlock doors, amplify your impact, and drive your career forward.
In the dynamic and competitive landscape of modern business, the success of an organization is inextricably linked to the capabilities of its leadership. While external factors such as market trends and technological advancements play a significant role, the quality and development of leaders are the driving forces behind long-term sustainability. Let’s explore the critical importance of leadership development in fostering company growth and resilience.
Leaders are often cast as the architects of their own destinies, expected to build empires while maintaining an idyllic personal life. The concept of work-life balance, a term laden with equal parts aspiration and unattainable perfection, has become a modern-day myth. Yet, thriving in this high-stakes world is not about achieving equilibrium, but rather, about cultivating a dynamic harmony.
As a strategic business coach, I work with leadership teams daily. We focus on crafting winning strategies, building high-performing teams, and achieving ambitious goals. But what separates the truly exceptional teams (and leaders) from the merely good ones? Often, it comes down to a skill set that goes beyond traditional business acumen: emotional intelligence (EQ).
the clearest vision, the perfect strategic plan and an exceptional product or service, but without the right team, you won’t get too far.
Legendary business guru Patrick Lencioni, author of The Ideal Team Player, says to look for three essential values in every team member. “It’s the combination of the three where the magic happens.”
I recently attended Patrick Lencioni’s first-ever UnConference, an event focused on teamwork, leadership and organizational health. Patrick, the acclaimed author of Five Disfunctions of a Team, The Advantage, and many other books, delivered a wealth of information around maximizing the “health” of your company. Additionally, he had several renowned CEOs who shared their leadership strategies and successes in driving winning cultures in their organizations. One of the most extraordinary was the keynote from Alan Mulally, the legendary former CEO of Boeing and then Ford, who is credited for turning Ford into the number one automobile brand in the USA.
Alan has been on Fortune’s list of World’s Greatest Leaders. He’s also known as one of the kindest, most authentic leaders. As he spoke in depth about the leadership principles that have guided him throughout his career, I could absolutely see why all of this was true. In fact, he believes that Skilled and Motivated Teams are the foundation of every successful company, and he showed us his Principles, Practices and Management Systems which were printed on a single sheet, and said he reviewed this with his team before each meeting.
New Year = Fresh Start. It’s the perfect opportunity to evaluate where you’re spending your time and to make necessary changes which will improve your performance and effectiveness.
We’ve all heard of the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule): 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities. How much time are you devoting to tasks that don’t have a significant impact? The key to boosting personal performance is understanding what your high-payoff activities (HPAs) are and making sure these are prioritized. Identifying these HPAs will bring the greatest value to you, your organization, team and customers.
New Year = Fresh Start. It’s the perfect opportunity to evaluate where you’re spending your time and to make necessary changes which will improve your performance and effectiveness.
We’ve all heard of the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule): 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities. How much time are you devoting to tasks that don’t have a significant impact? The key to boosting personal performance is understanding what your high-payoff activities (HPAs) are and making sure these are prioritized. Identifying these HPAs will bring the greatest value to you, your organization, team and customers.
You can’t do it alone. If you want to scale your company and achieve those big, audacious goals, you need an engaged, aligned team to turn your vision into a reality.
Unfortunately, many companies aren’t focusing enough attention on employee engagement.
According to a recent IBM Smarter Workforce Institute Study, 75% of high-performing workers would be interested in a new job at a different organization if presented the right opportunity. The same study found that 70% of all millennials are already planning their next move! Gone are the days when you can expect good employees to stick around if they’re not highly engaged in the company.
What can you do to engage your employees -- so they have a passion for their work, feel a profound connection to the company and its purpose, push for innovation and have a relentless desire to help move the organization forward?
Here are some helpful tips:
Engagement starts on day one. Are you making a team member’s first day something to celebrate? Are they saying “Best Day Ever” and can’t believe how fortunate they are to join your company? Focusing on the onboarding process so that the new hire immediately feels welcomed and a part of the company culture is the perfect time to set the stage.
Celebrate regularly. Are you highlighting people and company wins whenever you can? Recognition is a huge motivator. It not only makes employees feel valued for their work, but also increases productivity and loyalty to the company which leads to higher retention.
Employee journey. Does your workforce know what their growth opportunities are? Are you investing in their learning and development and helping them improve their skills? The LinkedIn Global Job Seeker Trends report states that the #1 reason employees change jobs is lack of career advancement opportunities.
Open communications. Is there regular communication to keep your entire team informed about strategy, top priorities and key metrics and how their work aligns with the big picture? This transparency increases their passion and connection to the business.
Seek feedback. Are you regularly surveying your team members about their experiences within the company and taking action on the results? I especially like the powerful Net Promoter Score (eNPS) question, “On a scale of zero to ten, how likely is it that you would recommend this company as a place to work?” Calculating the results will quickly allow you to distinguish your promoters, passives and your detractors.
Bottom line: The importance of employee engagement can’t be overstated. It will reduce turnover, improve productivity and efficiency, retain customers at a higher rate and improve profitability. And most important, engaged employees are happier, both at work and in their lives!
We’ve all been guilty of it. We’re making solid progress on a goal, putting in the up-front work and watching it move from idea to execution. Then something new comes along — a fresh idea, interesting project or new marketing strategy that suddenly grabs our time and attention.
This is the Shiny Object Syndrome…it’s the Disease of Distraction! It may be what’s preventing you from successfully scaling your business. You not only confuse your team, you may burn through cash and you’re often jumping ship before realizing any meaningful results.
With the 4thquarter just weeks away, CEOs are prepping for their annual strategic planning sessions. Leadership retreats are being scheduled, agendas are starting to form, but do you have the foundation in place to draft your plan?
I encourage leaders to answer these four questions before their strategic planning event.
