Tim Brown, author of Change By Design, provides a clear synopsis on how design thinking can impact an organization in his article, “Unlock your Organization’s Creative Potential“. He espouses that by allowing it’s people to be creative in problem-solving, operations, and creating opportunities for the organization to meet its full potential it will be a win-win-win experience for the organization, its people, and its customers.
I have just sat in two days of interviewing applicant for an executive position. Many good questions were asked by the interviewers but the one question/approach that is discussed in the article One Interview Question That Reveals a Superstar Job Candidate seems like a very intriguing way to identify potential successful candidates for a position within your organization.
To read the entire article: http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/one-interview-question-that-reveals-a-superstar-job-candidate.html#ixzz34QljJHQD
A possible downside of the approach described in this article may be the hiring someone who could become too argumentative.
I was speaking with my brother earlier this week and he was reflecting on how much better our world would be if we all lived for each other and not our selves.
This article on social entrepreneur discusses how as entrepreneurs we can give back to the our society and our world and still be successful in business.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saudia-davis/4-ways-you-can-succeed-as_b_5187192.html
This TED Talk on leadership focuses on what many call servant leadership.
According to Ted Talks: What makes a great leader? Management theorist Simon Sinek suggests, it’s someone who makes their employees feel secure, who draws staffers into a circle of trust. But creating trust and safety — especially in an uneven economy — means taking on big responsibility.
Many people feel caught in a what they consider to be dead-end jobs and feel that there is no way out of them. This article, “Stuck in a Dead End Job? It Could be Your Fault” discusses how being stuck in a dead-end job could be our fault.
As leaders we must keep in mind that our future is defined by what we do to create our future and not to be passive actors in our careers. As leaders we should consistently be working on improving our performance and our work knowledge. We should also be working to mentor others along in their career tracks.
Win the Business with this Elevator Pitch.
As leaders, we must always be prepared to share the vision and mission of our organization. This blog link shares how to prepare an elevator speech to make potential customers aware of your company’s products and services. I believe leaders should also have an elevator speech prepared to share the vision and mission of their organization in a brief and succinct way to employees and customers. This brief overview of the organization can be the divining rod that leads people to a common core of your organization.
Smart Leaders Get More Out of the Employees They Have.
The under utilization of employees by leaders can create tension and dissatisfaction in workers. Workers who feel their talents are not being utilized become disillusioned with their organization and may look for another organization that will make them feel more useful by employing the skills and talents that their current organization may be ignoring or unaware of their existence.
Leaders would benefit themselves and their organization if before they look for talent outside of their organization they look inward to see what talent may exist from within the organization.
The cost of turnover in personnel far exceed the savings and benefits of using the talents that exist within your organization. Leaders should continuously encourage their colleagues to excel and share their knowledge with others. Be the change you want to see in your organization. Encourage others in the organization to take the bushel basket off of their talents and let them shine. Your organization will be better because your people will feel they are part of the vision and mission of the organization.
Kyle Wiens blogged in the Harvard Business Review an essay on the proper use of grammar in writing. Her essay,”I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.” she postulates that “grammar is relevant for all companies” and the use of “good grammar makes good business sense.”
Leaders should be clear and concise in their communication. In this digital age, when communication is done digitally, more often poor communication can come back and be detrimental to the leader and her/his organization. Digital texts and audio and video recording record every utterance of a leader.
The intelligence, both intellect and emotional, can be demonstrated by an individual’s manner, style, and tenor to communication. A quote attributed to Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln, “It is better to be thought a fool than to open you mouth and remove all doubt,” brings to consideration, a leader should spend more time listening and when she/he does speak or write, it should be done with proper grammar and message.
Here are a few of links to free online grammar course:
English Grammar 101: http://englishgrammar101.com/
Grammar Monster.com: http://englishgrammar101.com/
English Grammar 4 You Online: http://www.ego4u.com/
The following video presentation provides an interesting overview of issues that leaders and managers of the 21st century will need to be prepared to address.
In John Kotter’s, article in the Harvard Business Review, “What Leaders Really Do,” he sets about defining the differences between leadership and management and their inter-dependence and inter-relationship. He states,
“Leadership is different from management, but not for the reasons most people think. Leadership isn’t mystical and mysterious. It has nothing to do with having “charisma” or other exotic personality traits. It is not the province of a chosen few. Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it.
Rather, leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.”
He further states that management is about coping with complexity while leadership is about coping with change. Managers make things work while leaders look for the next thing.
This is a link to Mr. Kotter’s full article from the Harvard Business Review.
http://hbr.org/2001/12/what-leaders-really-do/ar/1
Leadership & Management 