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Leading Admirably, Leading Authentically

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A leadership trait I tend to admire and encourage is authenticity because it seems to be so rare. Most often, it feels easier to hide behind whatever cover we’ve created, although it’s comfortable, it’s not really all that rewarding. If you’re wondering whether or not you agree… ask yourself: Do I value others more for how honest they are or how they appear?

Let me clarify. When I speak of honesty, I’m not suggesting leaders run around like crazy in chaos – no, no, no. That would be a lack of emotional intelligence, which you will never find me recommending. My definition and use of honesty includes these capabilities:

  • A level of directness that’s candid and comfortable.
  • A professional degree of disclosure about things that matter.
  • Feedback that’s meaningful, actionable and thoughtful.
  • The ability to express one’s thoughts, without losing control or being fake.
  • A willingness to discuss uncomfortable topics that are business critical.
  • An altruistic view of others, not a self-focused approach.

THE VALUE OF AUTHENTICITY

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By |May 19th, 2016|Comments Off on Leading Admirably, Leading Authentically
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10 Positive, Proactive and Powerful Performance Management Strategies

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Pete is the general manager of a west coast plant for a national company. He has had trouble meeting his revenue and profit numbers for the last year. His District Manager has asked him for a meeting to discuss action plans for performance improvement. Pete’s company is in a highly competitive market and margins are slim. He has been a general manager for several years, and reached company goals, but he never has achieved stellar results. This year has been particularly difficult. A bigger national competitor has purchased smaller local companies, lowered prices and he’s losing accounts. He has lost some employees due to turnover and has fired some of his managers for lack of results. Most of his salespeople are new and new sales have been slow in coming.

WCW, TrueTestPete’s been working long hours and the stress is getting to him. He has wracked his brain with how to improve results quickly. He has already:

  • Threatened his management […]
By |March 29th, 2016|2 Comments
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Management Excellence: 4 Powerful Ways to Execute Your Team Plan Successfully

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Let me ask you a question, if a company has “low-cost provider” (or quality or service) as a key corporate strategy, will they do everything they can to execute it well to win, or not? Of course! They will identify tactics throughout the organization to succeed, right?

Why is it that, according to a Fortune survey, 82 percent of CEOs were concerned about their companies’ ability to execute the company plan? Why is it that only 27 percent of the time the workload of employees are considered in making these plans? Why is it that only 5 percent of managers can really articulate their company’s strategy? One company recently bragged it had over 100 initiatives to achieve its customer loyalty strategy. What do you think the odds are that they will make excellent progress? Kotter says 70-75 percent of these change efforts don’t work or meet expectations.

WCW, PerformBetterPrepareBetterThis Catch-22 of grand strategies and failed attempts, plague businesses and managers everywhere. There are […]

By |March 18th, 2016|Comments Off on Management Excellence: 4 Powerful Ways to Execute Your Team Plan Successfully
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7 Fairy Tales Companies Tell Employees

7 Fairy Tales

In employee engagement surveys, one of the top areas of complaints is communication. The number one skill most CEOs say helped them get to the top is their ability to communicate.That is quite a gap in perception! Here are seven other common ‘fairy tales’, where companies say one thing and often do another, that are detrimental to your future career success.

Employees are our most valuable assets

Worldwide only 13% of employees are engaged. How can employees be the company’s greatest assets when most do not really like what they are doing or where they are doing it? Most companies treat employees as a small cogs in a large wheel. Enough said.

Customers are our #1 priority

I travel frequently and see the best and worst of how companies actually treat their customers. The poor experiences seem to overwhelm the best. For example, these companies below say they are customer oriented, but an ACSI survey proves they are not. Just like thousands of […]

By |March 7th, 2016|Comments Off on 7 Fairy Tales Companies Tell Employees
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How to Motivated the “Unmotivated”

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The first time that we met, John walked into the room with a scowl on his face. His eyes glittered with anger. I wondered, how do you motivate this guy? He sat down as if ready to pounce.  I’ve lived with teenagers so I don’t scare easily.  I shook his hand, made small talk and began to ask a few low key questions. Over a series of meetings we developed a rapport and trust. (Early in my career I did educational coaching and training.)

John told me he was considered a “tough guy”. His family had a history of trouble with the law. His older brother created a bad reputation for all of them. John was targeted early on by authorities. They felt he was unmotivated. Teachers cornered him and roughed him up on the first day of high school to warn him about bad behavior.  The local police chased him on the street. In John’s word’s, “I showed them that their worst nightmare about me was true.”  […]

By |February 25th, 2016|Comments Off on How to Motivated the “Unmotivated”
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How to Create a High Performance Team

In this team leadership training video Rick will share two keys to building a high performance team: content and process. Content involves the goals and tasks of the team. Process is how people work together. This involves communication, planning, handling conflicts, problem solving, facilitating relationships and other people related skills. This is where most teams-over 60% of them-fail.

Why a Team Fails

Teams fail because they lack five primary ingredients:

1. leadership
2. group training
3. goals and plans
4. conflict resolution skills
5. problems solving skills

To overcome this you need the High Performance Formula. It’s a guide to inspiring your team without you needing to be a motivational speaker.

The High Performance Formula

Rick will also challenge your mental models to think differently. As a leader, to create a real T.E.A.M. (and not a shallow acronym), you will have to change. It’s one of the of the keys to understanding and applying the HIGH PERFORMANCE FORMULA: HP=CE X (C + C+ C). He will define these four ingredients that will facilitate creating a high performance team.

Great leaders learn to creatively renew their team’s energy […]

By |February 15th, 2016|Comments Off on How to Create a High Performance Team
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The DNA of a New Species of Leaders

NewSpeciesofLeaders

They are out there, a new species of leaders. Change is brewing. A radical transformation has germinated from the dead works of corporate fraud and political fat cats. Employee are tired, frustrated and fed up with many of the leaders of today. Distrust and resentment reigns. According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, less than 50% of people in most countries trust business leaders. People don’t trust companies and it is becoming increasingly challenging to rebuild credibility.

Business, if not world leadership, is at a precipice. Will the old guard continue to dominate in their greedy, selfish, unethical manner? Or, will employee and customers alike become even more restless, disengaged and maybe revolutionary in thought or action, and demand a wholesale leadership change?

A new species of leaders is arising. In nature, geneticists call this sympatric speciation. The professional DNA of these leaders is unique. It’s not about profit, promotion or political gain. It’s about the need, and selfless service to […]

By |February 10th, 2016|Comments Off on The DNA of a New Species of Leaders
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Want a Great Team? Stop Doing Stupid Things!

Great team

Sometimes managers do stupid things and then they wonder why their teams aren’t a…team.  For example, a manager attended an orientation meeting for some of his new employees.  He gave a short five minute speech and ended with, “I have an open door policy.” Later that week I observed him yelling at an employee by saying, “Don’t you see I am busy here?!  Never interrupt me again!”  Here are some of the most obvious errors that turn employees off and cause them to start looking for another job.

1. Berate people in front of others

Nobody wants to be embarrassed or deserves to being treated disrespectfully. “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers,” said Stephen Covey

2. Flap your mouth and don’t listen

Managers hold lots of meetings. Our research shows that in two out of three meetings they hold, they do most of the talking and very little listening. One study of 400 […]

By |February 9th, 2016|Comments Off on Want a Great Team? Stop Doing Stupid Things!
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