Create and support the parts of the organization that can execute and keep a sustained focus on the details. Find vendors or partners who will perform those functions. And then remember to celebrate and fete their work in parity with the brilliant idea. read more >
Speakers have been announced and tickets now are available for the TEDx event in Little Rock, scheduled for July 24 from the Ron Robinson Theater in the River Market District. read more >
Listening is hard. Like most things that we all do, there are levels of mastery that are only available to those who practice and train. Here then is a quick overview and some suggestions about how to become a better listener. read more >
There are reams of articles on listening, with approaches that vary widely. Most of what is required to listen, however, is to pay attention, remove distractions and remain fully present for the work in front of us. read more >
When Arkansas CEOs come together at their Vistage support group, egos are checked at the door. read more >
Last month, all over the country, we experienced a change in leadership. With the elections behind us, new leaders stepped into roles in all branches of government. As is the case with new corporate leaders, the first weeks show us a lot about how our new political leaders will lead. read more >
Mindfulness as a leadership concept is becoming trendy. I worry when something this foundational becomes au courant, since topics that are trendy often get the inch-deep, mile-wide flavor-of-the-month treatment. The concept of mindfulness is centuries old. It is one of those few meta-skills that impact all other leadership capacities. And for most of us, it is a lifetime's work. read more >
If you could, like Shakespeare's Henry V, walk anonymously in the hallways and meeting rooms of your business, what stories would you hear? Are they focused on historical challenges or on where the company is headed? Are they stories about what the organization can create or on limitations and problems from historical habits or even failures? read more >
As a leader you have a plan for your organization. Your vision is clear and your plan well developed. The last thing you want is distraction. read more >
The phrase “Up Until Now” (UUN) is almost an incantation for creating accountability. It is a small but very powerful reframing that reminds any leader that he or she is accountable for the future the organization creates for itself. It is critical for leaders to be able to assess reality honestly. If the current conditions are not good, you can either put lipstick on the pig and keep it — or find a way to actually be the catalyst for a different future. After all, that is what leadership is about. read more >
For any change to happen (whether it proves positive or detrimental), some oppositional energy is required. Advocacy and debate are supposed to be a constructive process of developing the best ideas and possibilities, refined and melded into a solution. But when the debate devolves into finger-pointing and a desperate insistence on being right and even demonizing others who have a different view, we do not see those benefits. We only get the diatribe. read more >
The capabilities most closely aligned to sustainable performance are integrity and courageous authenticity. Taken together they are the best predictors of a leader's ability to consistently get the best from an organization. They are also great examples of how not all “soft skills” are about charisma or even popularity. Each of these two capacities requires a level of focus, clarity and courage that will often create friction — especially in cultures that have been sleepy for long periods. read more >
It does seem to me that having leadership skills is one of those areas in which women still have to be better than men in order to be recognized, because men can still get away with demanding followership without immediately being written off as bossy. read more >
A CEO can delegate just about everything except culture. And every company will have a culture, whether it just happens or is implemented purposefully and continually by leadership in every decision and hire. read more >
We all make mistakes. Some are simple and practical, but as leaders we can screw up in visible, expensive and very painful ways. I have recently had the opportunity to experience firsthand the impact of a very personal screw-up (mine, I am afraid), which took me back to some best practices I have learned over the years for dealing with mistakes. read more >
In the end, listening became the proverbial superpower that most of us thought had the greatest impact on leadership. From a first blush perspective, this seems fairly ho-hum. After all, we listen all the time, right? read more >
As it turns out, all of Isaac Newton's laws of motion apply to human behavior — and especially to leading change. So, with apologies to the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, of which Sir Isaac was a member, here is my spin on Newton's three laws of motion as they apply to people and organizations. read more >
Here was the scene. About 250 unhappy travelers were all gathered in a crowded departure lounge. Weather and traffic snarls on the East Coast were playing havoc with getting equipment and people where they needed to be. Here are some powerful lessons in personal presence as modeled by a Delta pilot on a stormy night in Atlanta. read more >
Barry Goldberg offers seven tips on getting the most out of your business meetings. read more >
It is natural that a new CEO wants to put his or her imprimatur on the company. A bold move to let the employees and stockholders know that “I am here and I am taking the reins” is part of the modus operandi for a new leader. After all, every new alpha wants to mark the territory. read more >
