Leading Change Blog
Leading Change Blog (119)
Friday, 19 July 2013 12:59
The Art of Asking the Right Questions
What makes a good question? Is it really that hard to ask a question that will open up discussions, create learning and sharing, and result in productive communications? The truth is, most of us don’t know how to ask good questions, or when we do ask a really great question, it is by accident. There are several ways to ask questions. Some people seem really good at it, while others use a random, what-ever-pops-into-their-head approach. Fifty percent of good communications is good listening. Asking the right questions must precede good listening. Good questions pave the way for good communications. We have all encountered problems with bosses and colleagues, and especially with spouses from asking the wrong question at the wrong…
Friday, 19 July 2013 12:55
Finding Your Flow at Work
Have you ever experienced “flow”? Have you ever experienced one of those exceptional states of blissful, yet effortless focus and concentration called “flow”? Perhaps, like me, you have been inspired by an idea which compels you to write. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a crowded café or in a quiet room; everything disappears from your consciousness, except for the idea and its expression. Once the “flow” takes hold, your full attention is on the transition of the idea from your mind to the page. Hours can pass where you are in a state of bliss, unaware of the passage of time, of any physical sensations or egocentric distractions, until the experience is concluded and you are jolted back into…
Friday, 19 July 2013 12:47
Creating a Culture of Execution & Accountability
“Execution is the great unaddressed issue in the business world today. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to other causes.” ― Ram Charan, author of What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards that Work. In the year 2000 alone, 40 CEOs of the top 200 companies on Fortune’s 500 list were fired or made to resign. When 20 percent of the most powerful business leaders lose their jobs, something is clearly wrong. Leaders make big promises … and then what their organisations actually deliver falls short. They have accountability problems—people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do. Execution is a culture with a…
Friday, 19 July 2013 12:45
The Three Biggest Mistakes Executives Make When Leading Behavioural Change
Why is it that leaders frequently fail to hold people in their organisations accountable for their behaviour? Implementing such recognised measures as performance management, job design, program evaluation, risk management, and planning to achieve better job performance, furthermore, consistently fails to deliver it. The basic problem is that it can be profoundly difficult for leaders to change their own behaviour, let alone influence sustained behavioural change in others. Three basic mistakes contribute to this problem. Failure to Confront Problem Behaviour Leaders such as you want to be liked as much as anybody else does, so you’re likely to delegate the distasteful job of confronting people about their behaviour to other people or to business systems. Good leaders, after all,…
Friday, 19 July 2013 11:56
Transparency & Trust: A New Metric for Leadership
We need a better way to evaluate our business leaders, assert James O’Toole and Warren Bennis in a recent Harvard Business Review article “A Culture of Candor,” (June 2009). It’s no longer prudent to judge American corporate leaders’ performance solely on the extent to which they create wealth for investors. Moving forward, a new metric is proposed: the extent to which executives create organisations that are economically, ethically and socially sustainable. The new metric is trust. Building a culture of transparency is a fundamental first step to achieving trust. Broadly defined, transparency refers to the degree to which information flows freely within an organisation, among managers and employees, and outward to stakeholders. Trust in our leaders is alarmingly low. While…
Friday, 19 July 2013 11:51
7 Career Mistakes That Turn Your Mojo Into Nojo
If you’ve been working hard for any length of time, in any field, chances are you’ve experienced at least one humiliating career failure. Career “hiccups” can kill your spirit and make it difficult to regain your motivation, dignity and drive. Some of the “bad” things that happen to hardworking, well-meaning, capable people each day include: depressedman2 200x300 7 Career Mistakes That Turn Your Mojo Into Nojo Missing the big opportunity Getting passed over for a promotion Getting demoted Losing a lot of money Getting fired Going bankrupt What happens to us when our worst career nightmares come true? There may not be scandalous headlines in the local papers, but with the emotional turmoil you’re…
Friday, 19 July 2013 11:44
Turning Complaints into Commitments
What are people complaining about in your organisation? tension stress ball1 201x300 Turning Complaints into Commitments “We never have a chance to really talk about the big picture of our work. We’re under so much pressure to deliver what is needed now. There’s little opportunity to understand how things tie in with larger goals; consequently, there’s no breathing space for creativity or innovation.“ “I’d be able to grow and develop at work if I didn’t have to babysit around here…If my subordinates didn’t come to me for every little decision and if they would take more initiative, I’d be freer to do the same in my own job.” “There’s too much talking behind one’s back here. People…
Friday, 19 July 2013 11:36
The Truth About Motivation
Most business leaders have lost sight of what motivates people at work. In fact, some companies haven’t updated their management practices in years, which means they’re incapable of creating high-performance teams.carrot and stick Small3 200x300 The Truth About Motivation Companies continue to ignore the obvious: Offering incentives and rewards is less effective than tapping into truly meaningful intrinsic motivation. Leaders operate on old assumptions about motivation despite a wealth of well-documented scientific evidence. The old “carrot-and-stick” mentality may actually inhibit employees from seeking creative solutions, partly because they focus on attaining rewards instead of solving problems. So, how can you successfully tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive? How can you boost the number of actively engaged employees from…
Friday, 19 July 2013 11:30
Get Back in Control with SMART Goals
Maxwell SMART Agent 86 from the GET SMART television series and movie has a lot to teach us about aligning our values with our intentions and goals. His character is crystal clear about his values and priorities. He is on a mission as an agent of CONTROL battling the forces of KAOS and always emerges triumphant at the end of the day – even though his GOALS for success are often fraught with obstacles.BullseyeSmall 300x300 Get Back in Control with SMART Goals Just as Agent 86 had his heart and mind focused on a specific intention, it is equally crucial that you motivate both your mind (what you think you should do) and your heart (what you value). It is…
Friday, 19 July 2013 11:29
Free Consultation Questionnaire
FREE CONSULTATION QUESTIONNAIRE JUMP START 2010 Select the following questions, and copy using the right click on your mouse. Click on
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and paste the questions, together with your answers, and we’ll be back in touch to set up your free session. Your Name Role Business Best Contact What are your top 3 goals for 2010? What will it take for you to get from where you are now to where you want to be? Name 3 of your strengths that will help you succeed Name 3 resources that will support your success What are your biggest challenges? What has stopped you in the past from achieving your goals? On a scale of 1-10, how committed are you to achieving…
