Leadership inputs yield predictable organizational outcomes. This is typically no secret to anyone in the organization, but often this clear cause and effect relationship is a blind spot for the leader.
This infographic illustrates the effects of leadership clarity and consistency vs. leadership ambiguity and inconsistency.
Organizational health and productivity are the leader's choice.
With the current war for talent in full blaze, your organizational culture has become a critical retention tool. We have worked on hundreds of organizational culture projects for 20+ years and observed the strongest cultures directly connect work and personal values. This enables employees to align with both sets of values without having to be a different person at work than they are at home, ultimately living and working authentically.
Trust is not spoken, it is demonstrated. Trust cannot be requested, it must be earned. Answer these three questions to assess how trustworthy your team thinks you are.
In 2008, Bernard Madoff scammed over 5,000 investors out of 65 billion dollars. Like any crime that you read or hear about, it's concerning to each of us. Shortly after I learned of the scandal, my reaction deepened when I spoke with an old friend whose aging parents had invested their entire retirement savings with Madoff. I felt the real-life implications of broken trust as my friend's parents had to consider selling their house, changing a lifestyle they had worked years to earn and feeling the angst of an uncertain final chapter in their lives.
Your values form the foundation for your team members' expectations, actions, and performance. Have you built a strong foundation for your team?
When my wife and I built our home, I discovered that leadership corresponds to the phases of homebuilding. Constructing a house occurs in three major phases: foundation, framing, and finish-out.
My family has a long tradition of thoughtful gift giving dating back to my Grandma Minnie. With legs too thin to hold up panty hose (she had to put rubber bands at the top to hold them up) she sold houses as Ohio’s first female real estate broker. Her small stature by no means matched her big strong heart. As she carried a purse almost as big as her, loaded with a hammer and other items required for a quick house repair, grandma loved so much and had such a strong faith.
The distinction between being a boss and being a leader may seem small, but it means the world to the people who work for you.
Being the boss does not necessarily mean you are leading. Here is a list of 10 characteristics that will help you determine if you are having a positive impact on your employees.
Customer service initiatives tend to resurface with new packaging every so often as leaders re-learn the importance of the customer to their businesses. Although the environment changes, the fundamentals of leading a great organization have been stable for decades, and some would argue even centuries.
For example, here is a poignant quote for today’s leader from a great leader from the past. So, as you can see, the times have indeed changed, but the truth about customer service has indeed remained constant...
