by Mike Myatt | Leadership
Should you play to your strengths or shore-up your weaknesses?
If you pose this question to a group of professionals some will answer play to your strengths, some will answer shore-up weaknesses and others will answer both.
The truth is that they are all correct to a degree.
The real answer lies in understanding context, environment and priority of the situation to which the question is being posed.
Continued professional growth, leading to increased performance over time, is what separates the good from the great. Rapidly evolving markets demand that successful business people have fluidity in their approach to professional development. However many executives and entrepreneurs focus on the wrong areas, at the wrong times, and for the wrong reasons in their efforts to refine and improve their skill sets. In today’s post I’ll share insights on how to prioritize your professional development efforts. (more…)
by Linda Fisher Thornton | Leadership
Today’s guest contributor is Linda Fisher Thornton, CEO of Leading in Context LLC and one of the 2013 Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Leadership for the University of Richmond School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Her new book is 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership.
Linda Fisher Thornton
Most people would agree that leaders are responsible for balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders.
But knowing that, we are still left with these questions:
– Which stakeholders should we include?
– Should some stakeholders carry more weight than others?
– Once we have considered the situation and the needs of the stakeholders, how will we know which decisions would be most responsible? (more…)
by Bill McBean | Leadership
Today’s guest contributor is Bill McBean, author of The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don’t. Bill spent many of his nearly forty years as a successful business owner in the automobile industry. Since selling his company, Bill has been involved in several new businesses, including McBean Partners, an investment and business mentoring company.
In the late 1980s, when I first read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, I learned a number of things that I’ve used throughout my ownership career. (In fact, it’s why I still recommend the book to young business people today!)
One of the most important of these is that when there is a problem in your business, the first thing you have to do is determine exactly what the problem is.
Where you stand (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
Barry wasn’t happy that his boss put him through the 360 evaluation process.
He was even unhappier after receiving the feedback. In fact, he was shocked, angry and disbelieving.
Under no circumstances did he view himself as being unethical, thoughtless, and lacking integrity.
In following the trail of bread crumbs to the root cause of his issues, Barry was amazed to discover it was his propensity for changing meeting schedules that had opened the door to the lack of trust, low satisfaction and poor performance that dogged his department. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
“After Tessa got away with simply saying I’m working on project xyz in the daily readout session I started doing the same. No point in doing the extra prep work if I didn’t have to.”
“Didn’t your boss call you out for not sharing issues, obstacles and accomplishments like you’re supposed to?”
“He never said a word.”
This exchange occurred in a meeting in which the company owner was explaining how ineffective the daily readout sessions had become and how the new online data reporting system would fix the communication problems. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
I love contrarians.
Those who take a different or opposite point of view or attitude can move the conversation and decision-making to a higher level.
A level where alternate ideas and options are introduced.
A level where comfort zones are pushed.
A level where a richer and better outcome is produced.
They can also bring things to a complete halt or introduce disarray.
All depends on whether you’re dealing with a devil’s or angel’s advocate. (more…)
