Opportunity for Leaders
Okay Leadership students. Take out your pen and paper and answer this question for today’s pop quiz:
What is your vision for how you will change or grow as a Leader between now and December 31st?
Pause to think about your answer before reading further . . . .
Labor Day is upon us. A change of seasons. With it, daily indications that the worst of the economy’s downturn is behind us. Some leaders have been stuck in neutral with their companies — trying every trick in the book but unable to grow sales. Others have continued to (painfully) cut employees and close stores — trying to stay afloat and ahead of the lenders. And some have been weathering things well, but have shifted themselves into neutral for summertime.
Well, it’s time to get to work — opportunity awaits! What is your vision for where you want to be 120 days from now?
Leaders Getting the Right Things Done
“I think my biggest challenge right now is time management.”
I ask this Leader, “how, exactly, are you spending your time?” “Well, I’m doing this and this and this . . .” he rattles off the list of meetings (that’s always a big culprit!), phone calls, studying of reports, returning emails, etc. that occupy every leader’s day. The “activity” list comes easily.
When I sense he’s starting to wind down, I ask “what are the most important things you need to be doing right now? What are the key results you need to achieve today . . . this week?”
This brings a pause, hesitation.
Isn’t this a great challenge for all of us? Maintaining a clear understanding of what results we need to be focused on — from our vantage point as Leader of the organization? The blizzard of ACTIVITY white’s out our perspective on RESULTS.
Leaders: Lamenting or Inventing
My colleague Chris Cavanaugh recently made the observation that people find themselves in one of two groups these days: lamenting or inventing.
Many of us are looking backwards and lamenting. We grieve what has been taken away, either from us personally, or someone we know:
* our retirement account
* our job
* our house
* our club membership
* our assumptions about the way life works
* our confidence that we know what we are doing
Leaders Staying Positive
Geoff Ramsey is a good friend and CEO of eMarketer in New York. eMarketer has become “the authority” on research and trends in online marketing, and it’s charts and data regularly appear in national newspapers, magazines and advertising industry periodicals. Geoff himself is considered a leading spokesman for his industry and is frequently invited to […]
The Leader's Place is Not in Management
“Lieutenant McKinnon, you are dead!”
I’ll never forget those words, barked at me by the Captain evaluating me on a dusty, hot morning at Fort Knox, Kentucky, early in my officer training. I was leading a six-man team of fellow officers through a series of Leadership Simulation Exercises — the Army’s version of leadership training scenarios like you might encounter in an Outward Bound-type setting. We had a problem, in this case, getting our entire team to the other side of a “room” laced with tripwires and “explosives,” that we had to solve in a limited amount of time. Rapid-fire assessment, delegation, direction-setting, monitoring and action were demanded in a pressure-filled, time-limited environment. The grade would either by Mission Accomplished or Mission Failure — no in-between.
Sound like one of your days at the office?
Preventing CEO Suicides
The recent surge in suicides seems to parallel the surge in bad news that is touching all Leaders in some way right now. While only a few choose to take their life, many other Leaders are feeling the pressures build and the options fade. And herein lies more opportunity for bad choices . . .
Leaders, Gaps and Game-Changers
What are your plans for the new year? How will you be as intentional as possible in defining this year, as opposed to passively letting the year define you?
Here are a few thoughts for you if you’re feeling the nudge to put some stakes in the ground.
Leaders and the Illusion of Reputation
“It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.” — Warren Buffett He was considered a legend in his industry. Wealthy individuals from around the country asked if they could be his clients; many were turned away. Past chairman of the NASDAQ. Former board of governors member of the National […]
Leaders in the Headlines
I’ve grown weary of reading the bad news in the print and internet media over the past week (see what I did about it at the bottom of this post). So I decided to look at the Leaders I see in action around me who are writing their own headlines . . . CEO, CFO […]
Leaders in the Face of Fear
“Fear, like joy or curiosity, is contagious among beasts and birds, as it is among men . . . . Animals are afraid on general principles. Anything new and strange excites their suspicions. In a herd of animals, cattle or horses, fear quickly becomes a panic and rages like a conflagration. Cattle men in the […]