Think in Threes

Simplicity facilitates clarity. “Thinking in Threes” is a powerful way to simplify organizational thinking and combat complexity so your team can be crystal clear. As a by-product, it also forces prioritization and focus, and the resulting clarity trickles down the organization. For example, we routinely ask clients to reduce their strategies from perhaps six to…

Listen to Understand

Another habit that healthy leaders adopt to demonstrate respect is one that is harder than it seems: listening effectively. Leaders who listen well make it a priority to listen first. They listen to understand rather than to respond. This allows them to truly discover what is important to the other person, which should in turn…

Tame Your Technology

In our increasingly fast, tech-driven world, it is especially important to establish respectful norms related to both the virtual workplace and our phone use. Screens exert a magnetic force on our attention, leading us to disengage from others in ways we never did before smartphones and constant notifications. How many times have you seen someone…

Connecting

Here is an excerpt from Leadership Matters. It contains 31 daily insights to inspire extraordinary results. day 7: Connections How often do you hear people speak with envy about companies with “real heart”? Companies like Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, Southwest Airlines, Harley-Davidson, Nordstrom, The Container Store, Apple, FedEx, Fossil and Google, to name a few.…

Leadership Blind Spots: A Lesson from Seinfeld

blind spots

All the questions in the world will not help your team if you are not listening. You don’t learn when you’re talking; you learn when you’re listening. Excellent coaches are also excellent listeners and learners. Mark Twain said, “If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two mouths and one…

Leading with Authenticity

Winning leaders are accessible and authentic. That formula for leadership success has not changed in 25 years. Here are some examples and steps you can take to step up your leadership game. For 25 years, we asked lots of clients and colleagues questions about their experiences with strategy execution (what we call "adherence"), including this…

Teamwork

Teamwork is connected independence. Stunning photography and inspirational quotes are combined in The Nature of Excellence 88-page, coffee-table-size ($14.95) or gift size ($7.95) book. Through the twin lens of insight and imagery, you’ll discover the natural excellence that surrounds us. You will also learn from the wisdom of more than 100 successful people who have…

Leadership Clarity and Consistency

Leadership inputs yield predictable organizational outcomes, particularly during uncertain times. This infographic illustrates the effects of leadership clarity and consistency versus leadership ambiguity and inconsistency. Your team's health and productivity are your choice.  They are depending on your clarity and consistency now more than ever. Contact us to discuss how we can help. ------------------------------------Check out 7 Moments... that…

Parent as Leader – Leader as Parent

The more we lead, the more we work with leaders, and the more we parent, the more we see compelling parallels between leadership and parenting. Leaders are parents, and parents are leaders. They are in different settings with parallel roles. Here is an excerpt from a poem by Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D. titled, "Children Learn What They Live." As you…