Dan Cable, author of Alive at Work, shares in a Harvard Business Review article about a consumer banker in China named Jungkio. Jungkio’s predecessors had regularly scheduled times at each branch to pressure staff to cut costs, causing the staff great anxiety. Jungkio eliminated the meetings and instead began arriving at branches unannounced. He started by serving the staff breakfast. ...
One of the most important roles of leadership is listening — really listening. Empathetic listening. Active listening. Unfortunately, the voice you occasionally get to hear is that of whining. As difficult as it may seem, as a leader, you’re to empathize and listen. Consider the story of Job who whined to God about His circumstances. God patiently listened before setting ...
Tom’s a CEO who had a leader who was struggling at work. He needed some additional oversight until he matures into his potential. But he was reluctant to release any control. Tom knew that if this leader didn’t accept his recommendations willingly he would likely sabotage any help he sent his way. He needed to prove that he was teachable, ...
Researchers Alison Reynolds and David Lewis studied how businesses tackle complex problems. These researchers labeled the businesses that were best as solving problems as “Generative.” Two key attributes stood out at these Generative companies; being Cognitively Diverse and Psychologically Safe. Reynolds and Lewis discovered that teams that were diverse in their backgrounds and thinking styles proved more successful at solving ...
When I was a young and foolish 25-year-old, I read an article about a new business concept called “Rent a Wreck.” After leaving public accounting I was searching for my next career, so I started a used car rental agency. Looking back, I heard only what I wanted to hear. When friends and bankers asked me tough questions, I had ...
Are you able to allow someone else to make a decision? Or do you give the responsibility for a decision to someone else only to take it back? Taking back previously given responsibility compromises your leadership and undermines your staff. Jeremiah 8:4 says. “Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he ...
The Peter Principle says if we continually promote high performers, we will eventually promote them to a level of incompetence. According to Harvard Business Review, Alan Benson and Kelly Shue tested this theory by researching how well sales people did when they were promoted to sales manager. They discovered that high-performing salespeople were often not good managers, affirming the Peter ...
In 1910, according to historyonthenet.com, the White Star Line’s brochure praised their Olympic and Titanic ships, including the statement, “these two wonderful vessels are designed to be unsinkable.” By the maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912 the ship’s reputation became such that a deckhand reportedly said, “God himself could not sink this ship!” On April 15, 1912, the White ...
In a Harvard Business Review video, leadership consultant, Ron Carucci, claims that 50-60% of executives fail in their first executive role. Ron studied successful executives to find what they did differently from those who didn’t succeed. Carucci discovered four key factors that we’ll discuss this week. The first factor is Breadth. New executives tend to have a narrow view of ...
In most meetings, there’s one person in the room who everyone recognizes as high value. They speak, and the entire room listens. To become this type of person of influence, here are four critical practices: Be concise. Speak only when you have something meaningful to say. Be attentive. Actively listen and engage the other attendees with non-verbal communication. Ask questions. ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
