There’s a significant shift developing as GenXers and Millennials take on leadership positions. Employees now want creative ownership—an expectation that contrasts sharply with traditional views on leadership. “Today, people believe that their value is in their ideas and creativity, not in their ability to be agents for someone else’s vision,”
Today, workers expect more from their jobs than ever before—they want purpose, a sense of belonging, and personal fulfillment. In response, organizations have started contemplating questions like: Why do we exist? What are we doing? Are we a force for good? Yet, for all the buzz about purpose, business purpose alignment
Every company needs a corporate purpose. In fact, long-term business viability depends on it. Millennials and Generation Z, who together make up nearly half of the full-time workforce in the U.S., want the companies they work for and buy from to have a purpose greater than profit or shareholder value.
By: Mackenzie Doheny Over the years, I have done much hiring, training, and mentoring of executive assistants. In that time, I’ve learned to recognize the characteristics of highly successful assistants. Much of their success comes from their attitudes—towards their leader, their job, and the organization. Here are three things that
By: Thomas Schlick We’re told that “feedback is a gift,” right? If that’s the case, then why do so many people who give and receive feedback look at that gift much like a young child who expects his or her favorite toy for Christmas – and opens the present only
By: John Sandahl What do leading a team and raising a newborn have in common? I’m a new father of a beautiful 7-month-old daughter, and she is already doing things and learning faster than I thought possible. As I watch her grow, I’m struck by how she, in her very
If you want a glimpse into how well an organization is run, take a look at how they run their meetings. The value they get out of their meetings usually reflects how well the organization is run as a whole. Meetings are designed to accomplish a particular objective. There are
The quality of an organization’s meetings is often tied to the quality of the organization’s overall work. Like effective organizations, effective meetings have clearly defined roles and objectives. There are four different types of meetings: decision-making, informational, creative, and motivational. While every meeting type is important, decision-making meetings are perhaps
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been dramatized in plenty of science fiction movies. In these films, the robots gain consciousness, realize that humans are their enemy or simply unnecessary, and attempt to destroy them. While it doesn’t seem likely that robots will be attempting to eradicate the human race anytime
In his book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, Thomas L. Friedman observes that three forces are combining to change our world at unprecedented rates: the exponential growth of computing power and access (Moore’s law), the widespread and connected effect of
A word is dead when it is said some say, I say it just begins to live that day. – Emily Dickinson Words can uplift or cause lasting harm to others, but can words uplift or cause lasting harm to nearby substances like water and rice? Can those substances absorb
When the gears of your organization or team lock up, how often is it because someone is waiting for permission to take action? And how frustrated, angry, and irritated do you get when this happens? What does it mean to be responsible? At Pixar, there is a collaborative culture and
What is often frustrating to leaders is energizing to this executive coach. People often ask, “Where is the most fun for you when working with a client?” I respond, “Picture a venn diagram where leading self, leading others, and leading the organization all intersect. Because of growth, it looks and
A group of leadership experts from around the world will soon be providing their insights on how to crack the leadership code. They will provide their successful models and strategies so that you, too, can grow your and your organization’s leadership skills and abilities.
Jobs at risk for automation An Oxford University study conducted by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne suggests that 47 percent of US jobs are at high risk due to computerization; they could be replaced in the next decade or two. This study was based on a detailed study
“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”–Jonathan Swift As leaders, we can feel too visible–both when things go wrong (and people seek someone to blame) and when things go well (and people want to give us too much credit). More often, though, we don’t feel visible
Dr. Jon Warner has once again compiled the annual update of the 50 Best/Top leadership blogs on the web as of July 2013. On Ready to Manage, he explains why the list changed so much over the past 12 months: Alexa rankings of individual blogs have changed considerably. This mainly arises not
Employee motivation is directly related to the expectations set by their manager. Discover the steps to keep expectations high to deliver great results.
Becoming a Leader: Challenge #1–Humility in your success Humility: a modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance; not believing that you are superior to somebody else. In the famous words of Charles Schwab: “I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise.” Schwab counted as his greatest
Becoming a Leader: Challenge #1–Humility in your success Humility: a modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance; not believing that you are superior to somebody else. In the famous words of Charles Schwab: “I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise.” Schwab counted as his greatest
“The spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear. Only boldness can deliver us from fear, and if the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is violated.”
Leadership Goals are accomplished by great leaders by using the process known as GPSing. You must first begin by asking goal questions, then position Q.
Leadership Teams to be exceptional must move implicit to the explicit. As leader, you are the Chief Conversation Officier making the unspeakable speakable.
In this series of posts, we will examine how Latin maxims can provide today’s leaders with new insights. A maxim is defined by the Free Dictionary as “a succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth, or rule of conduct.” The first of the Latin Maxims Bis dat qui cito
Leadership Efficiency can be costly to the sustainability of an organization. When you strive for efficiency you can lose your sense of purpose.
Lead by how you Ask Questions CO2 Partners founder Gary Cohen is not alone in his remarkable approach to leadership: ask questions to build alignment, engagement and accountability. In this series of posts, I am discussing “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life” by Marilee Adams, MSW, Ph.D. She offers 10 very
Accountability Busters If you want employees to get things done, instead of complaining and blaming others, here are three steps to take: 1. Encourage action-taking, not permission-giving. The more people who have to sign off on a decision, the longer that decision will take. And the more likely people up
The people who burn the brightest can burn out. Are you a high performer who is no longer performing at a high level? Instead of showing up at work at 6 or 7 a.m. after a good workout, are you showing up between 9 and 10 without having exercised? Do you feel filled
How much Klout do you have? Klout measures your level of influence online. To increase your Klout score, you must drive action online (by getting lots of “likes” and comments on Facebook and LinkedIn, retweets on Twitter and reshares on Google+, for instance). Just generating online content isn’t enough; people
Discover Your Hedgehog My former business partner, Rick Diamond, created a great tool to help people discover their optimal path and career goal. He took Jim Collins’ Venn diagram for the Hedgehog Concept for business success and applied it to an individual’s career search. Collins’ diagram has three circles: “What
Leaders often decry meetings–the number, the quality, the length, the size, you name it. It’s easy and fun to bash meetings. It’s also largely safe, since the meeting or meetings are the focus of the criticism, not an individual. But is that the full truth…
Leaders often decry meetings–the number, the quality, the length, the size, you name it. It’s easy and fun to bash meetings. It’s also largely safe, since the meeting or meetings are the focus of the criticism, not an individual. But is that the full truth…
Leaders often decry meetings–the number, the quality, the length, the size, you name it. It’s easy and fun to bash meetings. It’s also largely safe, since the meeting or meetings are the focus of the criticism, not an individual. But is that the full truth…
Criticism and blame can quickly destroy a culture. In this post discover how this behavior leads to a vicious cycle that kills productivity and employee engagement.
In coaching leaders I find one of the most difficult areas for them to overcome is firing one of their direct reports. Over the years I have come to see six clear barriers for them to overcome to move forward on a decision that they have been avoiding. This post
How to lead an efficient and effective meeting Communicate the importance of attendance, participation, and punctuality. If key staff members don’t show up, cancel the meeting. If their absence has been approved in advance, have them delegate their decision-making responsibility to someone else in the meeting. Make sure all agenda
Leaders don’t enjoy firing people. They may feel relief after they’ve done so, but rarely joy. Even Donald Trump seems to feel a measure of regret when he says, “you’re fired!” Leaders want to inspire their team members to improve and become success stories. They want to find a way—perhaps
We stake a lot on our beliefs–our reputations, our livelihoods, and, in some respects, the livelihoods of our team members. We’re so eager to be right that we can fall victim to confirmation bias
Today I was catching up with a dear friend, Bernie Sucher, who lives in Russia. He shared with me an amazing program modeled after Teach for America. It is called Venture for America. It was founded by Andrew Yang who is the current president of the organization. Take a look
Many leaders want to change self-defeating behaviors and beliefs, but desire isn’t enough. Here are 10 ways to make changes stick: 1) Hire a coach or consult a mentor to help you locate and define the change you wish to make; 2) Brainstorm potential barriers; 3) Plan counter-moves for each
“The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.”–Socrates Unlike a computer that makes no meaning or connections between the information it retains, your brain relies upon connections. It stores related sensory data together, which enables you to recognize patterns and make predictions. For example, you may not
When I ask leaders where they are most productive, they often say on the plane. They enjoy being unplugged for several hours, and they get more done. Avoid using wifi on planes if you can. And if you’re not on a plane, imagine you are for the next few hours.
Sometimes not feeling like you belong has more to do with you than with the others in the group. Try changing the question. Instead of asking yourself “Do I belong?” or “Why don’t I belong?” ask, “How do I belong?”
The leaders who invest the time to put their philosophies, stories and strategies in a book are the ones that stand out from the crowd. Let’s face it: leaders who are authors have a leg up on credibility and appear as an authority in their respective worlds.
The leaders who invest the time to put their philosophies, stories and strategies in a book are the ones that stand out from the crowd. Let’s face it: leaders who are authors have a leg up on credibility and appear as an authority in their respective worlds.
Although the importance of a good leader cannot be denied, followers also play an equally important, if often overlooked, role in the success of any group or organization. We believe the strength of any team is in the followers and there can be no leaders without followers, but the vast
This is part three of our seven part series on Trust. Many leaders think of trust is something for them to gain rather than give. This series supports the priority of giving trust to support your goal to become an exceptional leader. Capacity is one of the core tenants of
Learn how to gain influence in Washington and in your own state.
Take a survey to see how you stack up against your peers in asking questions as a leader.
Dean Bachelor, founder and CEO of the Platinum Group in Minneapolis, says the reasons for the U.S. manufacturing advantage is because of the exchange rate of the dollar and the productivity of our workforce. Jean Taylor, CEO and President of Taylor Corporation, says he’s finding fewer quality issues in U.S.
Impostor Syndrome keeps leaders from accepting themselves to great detriment. Many leaders in their quiet moments think that they are impostors.
Cali Ressler & Jody Thompson Interview Cali and Jody created the Results-Only Work Environment from within the bowels of Corporate America – while juggling families, careers, and all the other demands of life. Work sucked and the traditional solution–more flexible schedules–wouldn’t address the problem. So they set out to fix
For those who are not familiar with Kevin Maney he is an author and journalist who has interviewed many of the biggest names in business in a career spanning 25 years. His most recent book is Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On and Others Don’t, published in the fall of
For those who are not familiar with Kevin Maney he is an author and journalist who has interviewed many of the biggest names in business in a career spanning 25 years. His most recent book is Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On and Others Don’t, published in the fall of
Common Good Breakfast SeriesThursday, January 21 The Common Good breakfast series highlights businesses and nonprofits who are taking some uncommon actions to solve the challenges they face and to thrive. These leaders are truly driving for the common good, making the region a better place to live and work for
Bill Treasurer is founder and Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting (GLC), a courage-building company that exists to help people and organizations live more courageously. Bill is also the author of Courage Goes to Work (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008), a book about how to inspire more courageous behavior in workplace
Thanks for following us on Twitter! Below is your complimentary download of the Ask, Don’t Tell eBook.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” – Abraham Lincoln Oftentimes when an organization is going through a downturn in its business cycle, industry cycle, or economic cycle, it is faced with trade-offs that leaders likely wouldn’t consider making during more robust cycles. According to columnist and business book author
A board member I met with yesterday is brilliant when it comes to numbers. Without even knowing what a business produces, he can see all its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities just by looking at the financials. What a gift! At the meeting, he tried to relay his concerns emanating
This interview with Tim Brown, the chief executive and president of IDEO, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. Adam Bryant: What were the most important leadership lessons you learned, and how did you learn them? Tim Brown: My very first professional design job was with this little company in
The Association of Management Consultants Firms hosted a daylong event at the Union Club in New York this week. It reminded me of my days working in British Parliament. You know that feeling of clubish collusion. Where the walls are adorned with men-in-wigs-Rembrandt-type paintings and the furniture is old, worn
This article originally appeared in Training Magazine When the Dow Jones industrial average goes from over 14,000 to under 7,000 in roughly a year’s time, not much is certain. Will your chief supplier survive the credit crunch? Will customers return to their old spending habits or continue to conserve? Is
By Steve Watkins Posted 10/15/2009 06:14 PM ET Hold people accountable and you’ll get more productivity and profit. Here’s how: • Define it. Make sure your people know what you mean. Accountability comes down to people doing what they said they would in the time frame they set, says Linda
By Steve Watkins Posted 10/15/2009 06:14 PM ET Hold people accountable and you’ll get more productivity and profit. Here’s how: • Define it. Make sure your people know what you mean. Accountability comes down to people doing what they said they would in the time frame they set, says Linda
The Power of the Right Questions By Gary P. Cohen Voltaire wrote, “Judge others by their questions rather than by their answers.” If you want to be judged well, ask the right questions. Most leaders ask questions with the hopes of generating thought, focus, and action from the listener, but
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This interview originally appeared on Simplicity Today it is my great pleasure to interview Gary B Cohen author of a great book that I’ve just read called “Just Ask Leadership – Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions.” Gary, as President and co-founder of ACI Telecentrics, grew that company
Leadership in crisis may become a constant for leaders today. The way you may have led before may not be working for you any longer. You may have to go from a position of knowing to that of not knowing to lead in an environment of uncertainty. Paradoxically, this takes
Often, leadership experts look at trust as in “How do I get those that I work with to trust me?” It is my contention that trust for leaders starts with the leader trusting their co-workers first. Often, leaders don’t trust their team members. Not because the team members are not
Matt Crowe’s radio show Every Friday at 1PM CST tune into The Matt Crowe Show where Entrepreneur, Author, and Venture Capitalist Matt Crowe hosts a live show about business, entrepreneurship, philosophy, and life. He will have regular guest appearances from other successful entrepreneurs and innovators, authors, leaders, and visionaries.
Matt Crowe’s radio show Every Friday at 1PM CST tune into The Matt Crowe Show where Entrepreneur, Author, and Venture Capitalist Matt Crowe hosts a live show about business, entrepreneurship, philosophy, and life. He will have regular guest appearances from other successful entrepreneurs and innovators, authors, leaders, and visionaries.
StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 20b – An Interview with Gary Cohen, author of Just Ask Leadership, part 2 of 2Posted by StrategyDriven on September 24, 2009 StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior
StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 20b – An Interview with Gary Cohen, author of Just Ask Leadership, part 2 of 2Posted by StrategyDriven on September 24, 2009 StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior
Top 16 Leadership Conferences – Research indicates that the top CEO’s of large enterprises get asked to speak on average 3.4 times per week. These are some of the top conferences that they speak at and that are well attended by the top leaders today. This list is a compliation
By Markets Media Magazine
StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 20a – An Interview with Gary Cohen, author of Just Ask Leadership, part 1 of 2 Posted by StrategyDriven on September 17, 2009 StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve
Dan Ariel speaks about his book Predictably Irrational – a great book if you have not yet read it. In this video he describes behavioral economics. Another way to describe this is the science of behavior that the business world has not yet adopted. Dan Ariel shows us how humans
by Agatha Gilmore As we progress through school — from kindergarten to 12th grade, from college to that graduate degree — we achieve success by responding to questions correctly. Think about it: The more you know, the better you do and the more rewarded you become. Once you’ve made it
Leadership summit hosted by The George Family Foundation, with support from Target, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and Fredrikson & Byron, featuring Bill George (Fmr Chair and CEO, Medtronic), Marilyn Carlson Nelson (Chair and fmr CEO, Carlson Companies), John Donahoe (Chair and CEO, eBay), David Gergen (CNN and Harvard), and Anne
This interview originally appeared on What Would Dad Say Ed. Note (GL Hoffman): Gary Cohen is a friend of mine here in Minnesota. He is a proven entrepreneur, one of the companies he started went from two employees to over 2,000. Seriously. He is a thoughtful, interesting guy to say
Rabbi Michael Latz opens the service for Adam Rochlin’s Bar mitzvah saying, “that having a Bar Mitzvah is very ordinary. It happens every weekend around the world. And yet this one is extraordinary for Adam and all of us participating in the service.” I had several hours to consider this
Rabbi Michael Latz opens the service for Adam Rochlin’s Bar mitzvah saying, “that having a Bar Mitzvah is very ordinary. It happens every weekend around the world. And yet this one is extraordinary for Adam and all of us participating in the service.” I had several hours to consider this
When you walk across the street, when you’re speeding down the highway at 65 miles an hour, why do you trust these perfect strangers driving in front of you and beside you with your life more than you trust people on your team with your career or the entire business?
Flow is the Psychology of Optimal Experience when they maximize their skill against the most challenging of situations.
Last night Jim McCarter, President and CSO of Divergence, a company that is solving major issues in the agriculture world by eliminating nematodes from our food supply, and I went to a fundraiser at Bill Danforth’s home in St. Louis. We were there to meet Secretary of State Robin Carnahan
We have more individual choices than ever. We can choose from sixteen movies at a mega-plex, eight different kinds of orange juice (low acid, some pulp, not from concentrate, etc.), and countless shoe brands and styles. Is it any surprise that we want to be free to make choices in
I was in a meeting the other day with someone who was an executive at one of the worlds largest beer companies. He said that he would be told what the name of the new product would be by the aging leader. This was a beer that was going to
Leaders want to produce the best work possible, while increasing revenue and limiting expenses. Unless they lose some big clients or receive sharp complaints, they don’t always give due consideration to their clients’ expenses. They generally want their clients to spend more, not less. Quality work is important, but leaders
Just returned from the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network. This was the second gathering of the alumni from all the Aspen Institute’s Leadership initiatives from around the world. Of the 900 members, there was a very strong showing of support with 150 members in attendance. If you spend any time
In Hanover, Germany, I recently presented to executives from a a business that manages cross-border MRO supply: V-Line. The participants were from all over the world – Saudi Arabia, Omen, Bahrain, Pakistan, Brazil, North America, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, China and Japan. Whether it is tiny stainless steel screws or entire
In building a training program for leaders, I’ve given a lot of thought to definitions of leadership. Here are a few that I have come across: “A leader is simply one who has followers.”To have followers isn’t much of a threshold. Cults have followers, and so do NFL teams and
Finding alignment is critical to great leadership. To do this one must gain insight in their values, beliefs and drivers.
Finding alignment is critical to great leadership. To do this one must gain insight in their values, beliefs and drivers.
Often individuals and organizations become so focused on their primary business, they don’t fully appreciate all their core skills, talents, and resources. Sometimes it takes an outsider, or a bestselling book like Strength Finder 2.0. Charles McCabe founded People’s Income Tax, Inc. in 1987. He planned to open multiple tax
To change often requires us to look at things from a different perspective. You may need to let go of old ways of thinking and grab on to new ways of being in the world. Are you ready to let go? The Bridge by Edwin Friedman There was a man
