Monthly Archives: August 2013
Creating Alignment & Balance through High-Performance Leadership
Guest Blog by Charles Walsh One of the most important aspects of leadership today is intentional alignment of purpose and direction. A four-quadrant approach will assist you in achieving high-performance leadership while ensuring balance of effectiveness and impact of results. In the 21st century, the battle cry of top leaders is achieving and sustaining high performance. Such performance is built one employee at a time and is driven by high-performance leadership at all levels of the organization. High-performance leadership understands the differences between and behaviors required for both effectiveness as a manager and influence and impact as a leader. The Concept of High-Performance Leadership Today, high-performance leaders are engaged with employees at all levels, interacting moment by moment to accomplish the enterprise’s work by focusing on the motives and …Continue Reading
Leading Board Members Who Aren’t Natural Followers
Guest Blog by John Balkcom The board chair by definition and by charter is assigned to be the leader in the boardroom. But board members, especially when selected well, are rarely known for their willingness to follow. What’s a board chair to do? Here are my recommendations based on years of service on both for-profit and non-profit boards. 1. Invoke “team up” instead of “man up.” As a guest speaker in a recent business school class on governance, I asked, “What does a group of guys usually do when they get together?” A young man in the back responded firmly, “Man up!” Then, I asked, “Okay, what does a group of women usually do when they get together?” A young woman in the front row asked quietly, “Team up?” The …Continue Reading
Four Steps to Mastering a Stressful Day
Guest Blog by Brandon Lee As leaders, we have stressful days that can undermine our leadership if we let them. I have learned that how I handle the stress is the one thing I can actually control. Here are four steps I use: 1. Mental Break. I take a walk or read something that is not related to work. The point is to remove myself from a stressful situation, because experience tells me that emotional decisions are never good decisions. Just knowing that I can take a short break and that the world will not implode if I don’t act immediately gives me freedom. 2. Talk to a “Go-To” Person. I have a small group of people who have agreed to be my “Go-To” people when I need it. My call to …Continue Reading
Life’s Leadership Lessons in Lots of L’s (Over 100, Just for Fun)
By Bob Vanourek Leaders aren’t loners, nor are they letter-perfect, lily-white, lazy, lordly, or loud-mouthed. Leaders don’t lie, loot the limelight, feel locked by conventional limits, pay lip service to things, leer, or lecture people. Leaders often share lunch at the local eatery with colleagues, listening deeply and looking carefully. Leaders set a lodestar that inspires people to follow. Leaders break logjams, lightening the load on others. Leaders are both logical and emotional at the appropriate time. Leaders are loyal and engender loyalty in others. Leaders respect the law and are level-headed. Leaders lend a hand to others and know when to let go, leaving the unessential behind. Leaders lay aside resources for the inevitable lousy days, living lean in the meantime. Leaders are lifelong learners, drawing lessons from experience …Continue Reading
Love as a Leadership Imperative, or What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Guest Blog by Chief Karl Bauer We study, teach and write about how to become better leaders. We espouse collaborative visioning, champion the empowerment of subordinates and challenge each other to harness collective wisdom when setting organizational goals. We call upon leaders to provide clear direction, cultivate a climate of support and work tirelessly to create opportunity for others. Whether in academia or on the assembly line, it seems the aforementioned principles weave their way into every leadership dialogue, as well they should. So, what’s love got to do with it? We tend to avoid talking about love as a leadership principle, let alone as an imperative. The concept of love may arise in the context of deeply enjoying one’s chosen profession or organization, but we tend to not talk …Continue Reading
