Your fundamental values and beliefs represent the core of who you are, argue James Kouzes and Barry Posner in their book Learning Leadership. If you aren’t clear about your values, you won’t be clear about your decisions and the actions you take. Dr. Brené Brown lists 100 values and suggests selecting your top two. For more on this topic, check out my latest NH Business Review column: https://read.nhbr.com/nh-business-review#2020/12/04/?article=3620695
Read MoreJon Meacham, author of The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, was a recent guest on Brené Brown’s “Dare to Lead” podcast. Our better angels constantly do battle against our basic instincts, Meacham observes. Leaders are ultimately most effective when they are open and honest. Leadership is in each of us, ready to blossom and grow if we cultivate it.
Read MorePeople problems and work conflicts are among the most challenging aspects of being a leader, no more so when employees let political differences get in the way of their work with colleagues. Successfully managing these challenging situations is an important element of leadership effectiveness, including helping employees to develop new skills and better understand how their behavior impacts others.
Read MoreCourage is being brave and confident enough to do what you believe is right, including the ability to act when facing opposition or even risk to your reputation. Failure to apply courage can result in avoidance of important decisions which can have serious consequences, including undermining staff morale and diminishing the business bottom line. Applying courage, of course, is not always easy.
Read MoreSuccessfully managing employee performance is an important aspect of leadership effectiveness. An effective leader ensures that negative staff behaviors and performance are effectively managed, including use of a progressive discipline ladder process. The right combination of feedback and encouragement can make a big difference in both the lives of those you work with and the bottom line.
Read MoreEffective leaders use annual performance reviews to strengthen both business outcomes and individual staff capacity. A good performance review process incorporates goals, results, and workplace behaviors, as well as employee input and personal development planning. It is important for the manager to be thoughtful, thorough, and fair. A boss who conducts monthly supervision meetings will have an easier time writing quality annual reviews.
Read MoreMeaningful conversations about race are difficult and rare, a kind of third rail we often don’t want to touch. But these are not times to be quiet. If we want to build a better nation, all of us, especially leaders, need to become better educated and look deeper within ourselves for unconscious bias. We need to get out of our comfort zones and courageously encourage conversations with people different from ourselves.
Read MoreHow realistic is it to place a high value on meaning in career and work? Most of us need the paycheck, of course, but, beyond that, what are reasonable expectations from work? Successful leaders instill a feeling of purpose in their employees, communicating why work matters, and aligning individual roles with the organization’s purpose.
Read MorePositive interactions between managers and line staff are critical to business success. Yet, as many as 64% of workers say they would trust a robot over their manager. The power and beauty of the leadership role is creating positive opportunities that develop human potential and increase business success.
Read MoreWatching the COVID-19 epidemic unfold has a déjà vu feeling for me. in July 2014, I was Country Director for Peace Corps in Guinea when there was a spike of Ebola cases. As I reflect back on that experience, one of the things that really made a difference was the leadership by US Ambassador Alex Laskaris who demonstrated an array of key leadership skills.
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