Many organizations are devoting more resources to attracting and retaining women with leadership potential. Then why are we seeing many of these women leave prematurely, step off the leadership track, and not progress as quickly or high as was hoped?
strategy+business profiles & articles
The Mother of All Off-Sites
Skilled leaders inspire people to open themselves to new and challenging experiences. René Redzepi, owner and chef of Noma, did just that when he moved his entire staff of 66, from waiters to line cooks, to a restaurant he opened temporarily in Tokyo, Japan. The lessons he learned are instructive to leaders of all kinds.
Peer Coaching as a Tool for Culture Change
What does it take to be successful at changing the culture within an organization? In this article I address the subject of peer coaching, an inexpensive and underutilized tool. When each member of a peer coaching pair acts as resource for the other, it provides them with a forum, a process, and a means of support.
The Entrepreneurship Coach
Ernesto Sirolli’s unusual insight into what successful entrepreneurs do well comes from more than 30 years of helping others start businesses that thrive. His most sage advice: shut up and listen.
What’s the Secret to Leadership Presence?
Is it a coincidence that “presence” and “present” have the same root? I don’t think so. While mannerisms and dress matter, it is the ine who gives their undivided attention that demonstrates real presence.
Why “Leadership” Isn’t Just for Leaders Anymore
You don’t need to head up a large organization or be a boss to benefit from knowing how to be a good leader. Having leadership skills are useful when guiding teams, innovating solutions, and making decisions.
It’s Better to Receive Than to Give
Anyone leading a team, attempting to engage a business partner, or navigate a relationship will soon learn that the process of giving feedback is complicated and often counterproductive. Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, in their book “Thanks for the Feedback” argue that the smart investment is not teaching managers how to give feedback, but rather teaching employees how to receive it.
How Women Leaders Have Transformed Management
Those in hiring positions like to see candidates with leadership experience. But there’s an important distinction between “emergent” and “traditional” leadership. Emergent leadership experience is more desirable to companies with a collaborative culture.
An Extreme Take on Restructuring: No Job Titles, No Managers, No Politics
A holacracy is a method of decentralized management with no job titles and no managers. Zappos recently announced that they would be transforming their structure in this manner, making them the largest company every to attempt it.
How to Create Meaning at Work When the Outcome Isn’t Always Meaningful
Author Tammy Erickson has written that for many millennials “meaning is the new money.” Given that today’s workplace is demanding and competitive, it isn’t surprising. But is it that simple? Is it meaning or engagement that millennials seek?
Best Business Books 2013: Managerial Self-Help
Listening, questioning, and motivating others are strong themes among this year’s best business books. Edgar H. Schein, Daniel H. Pink,and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg offer examples and advice on improving influence, inquiry, and action.
The Three Habits of Highly Effective Demotivators
While some managers know how to motivate a team, others are best at stamping out morale and getting the least out of their employees. After interviewing several employees of a education startup lead by an A-1 demotivator, I’ve compiled a list three tried and true tactics to suck the energy and life out of staff.
Why “Keeping It Simple” Can Be a Complicated Mistake
While many organizations are focused on the mantra of fostering change, the time and space dedicated to stimulating thoughtful conversation is disappearing. Instead, it has become all too common to think short term, to look for quick fixes, and to focus on getting through today rather than building the groundwork for a better tomorrow.
Laura Rittenhouse’s Candor Analytics
Former Lehman Brothers executive Laura Rittenhouse started an investor relations company after reading one of Warren Buffett’s famously folksy shareholder letters. Rittenhouse set up to build a company to help clients communicate more effectively with their investors.
Feminine Values Ascending
John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio have found that most people, worldwide, are not happy with the state of world. But why? Government, the economy and, the aggression, ambition, and analytical orientation of men. In their book “The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future” Gerzema and D’Antonio sampled 64,000 people in 13 major countries and their findings are compelling.
Best Business Books 2012: Organizational Culture
Culture has an important role as the essential driver of effective change. Too many authors urge such change using mere exhortation: Be more open! Behave less hierarchically! By contrast, this year’s best books offer more specific ways to engage culture. I believe that these are more likely to result in more effective, productive, and innovative organizations.
Best Business Books 2010: Human Capital
Peter Drucker once noted that an organization’s most valuable resource is vested in the heads of its people, and leaves the building with them when they go home. This revelation led many companies to begin viewing their people as a resource rather than a cost. This year’s best business books address this subject of human capital and suggest that our approach to it is due for a correction.
Charles Landry Knows What Makes Cities Great: Distinction, Variety, and Flow
Consultant, writer, and thinker Charles Landry has spent his life considering exactly what drives talented people to a particular city or region. As founder of Comedia, Landry works clients worldwide to identify and build support systems that are effective in attracting the best workers.
Best Business Book Roundup 2008: Human Capital
This year’s four best business books address the subject of human capital. They each offer clues as to how to address how to retain, develop, and leverage human capital resource they depend upon most.
The Practical Wisdom of Ikujiro Nonaka
Tokyo-based business scholar Ikujiro Nonaka explores how consistently superior Japanese companies develop innovative products and services. Drawing from firms such as Toyota, Honda and Cannon, Nonaka-san finds that their success stems from their ability to harness the power of knowledge creation.
The Dance of Power
Is leadership an art or a science? The question has long been subject to debate. Which side you’re on probably determines whether or not you believe leadership can be taught. But for developing leaders who can respond to the challenges of today’s 24/7 business environment, perhaps the art-versus-science dichotomy is too theoretical to be of use.